Vegan Taco Casserole

I feel like I am in school again!! I am participating in NSP's education week, that is one webinar a day for five days. I am also on 3 master mind groups, am doing NSP's Unstoppable Challenge and 2 webinars a month for the next 5 to complete another section of my herbalist degree. The information is fantastic, organizing my schedule takes discipline and daily attention.

I was in the mood for something different, good, fast and this recipe came to mind. This is a recipe I veganized. It is quick, easy and there are rarely leftovers. It is not something I recommend eating on a daily basis, just occasionally like enchiladas, but always a welcome treat. This is NOT a diet recipe :o)

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best. This is one of them.

Vegan Taco Casserole

• 1 package vegan ground beef (morningstar, smart ground, boca, tvp, etc)
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
• 1/2 cup taco sauce
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• dash of Tabasco sauce
• 6 ounce bag corn chips, slightly crushed
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 2-3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 vegan "cheese" sauce recipe (see below)
• chopped lettuce, 5 ounces or so

Heat oven to 350F Heat oil in pan on medium add vegan ground beef and brown. Mix in the taco sauce, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic salt, oregano and Tabasco sauce. Simmer 10 minutes. Put half on bottom of a 3-quart casserole. Top with about half of the crushed chips. Add remaining vegan ground beef mixture, some chopped tomato, onion, chopped lettuce, and cheese. Put remaining corn chips on top. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes, or until hot.

Makes a quick, satisfying meal that even your kids'll love.

To save time, you can substitute one taco seasoning packet for the taco sauce, tomato sauce, chili powder, garlic salt, oregano, and Tabasco sauce. Just heat the "beef", add the season packet and following the directions on the back

This is from a great vegan cookbook called Hot Damn and Hell Yeah, Recipes for Hungry Banditos by Ryan Splint. Great book, loooove his enchiladas recipe.

Vegan "Cheese" Sauce

1/3 C. or more, nutritional yeast
1/2 C. flour
1 T dried onion
1/8 t turmeric
1/8 t pepper
6 T olive oil
2 t prepared mustard
2 t salt
1/2 C. ketchup - this is what the recipe calls for. I think it is WAY too much so I use anywhere form 2 T to 1/4 C.
1 3/4 C water

Blend all ingredients in sauce pan over medium heat, whisking continuously until it come to a boil and thickens to yer liking. It'll continue ta thicken as it cools, so it's best hot. To reheat, add a bit of water and stir well over low heat.

There are plenty of ways to make this more healthy, but if I wanted to do that, I would make something different like chili on salad w/ baked tortilla chips, etc. It's nice to indulge :o)

Ooh and I have a pumpkin pie in the oven..... ;o)

Killer Vegan Brownies!!

I make some killer vegan brownies!! As my bros sing, you can't win friends with salad, but you can with Nat's vegan brownies!!

I should be in bed, well, technically I am, but I should be sleeping. Instead, I'm typing the recipe to these killer brownies. Enjoy.

My twin bro and his girl prefer the dark chocolate kind, plus dark chocolate has more antioxidants and lowers your blood pressure, so that is what I am posting.

1 1/3 cup sugar (I prefer beet sugar, but whatever vegan sugar you have is great)
1 cup applesauce
2 tbls + 1/2 cup water
1 scoop vegan protein powder
1 1/3 cup non-bleached flour
3/4 cup dark coco powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (or more) chopped up vegan dark chocolate bars
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

(If you don't have protein powder, cut down the applesauce to 3/4 cup and you can add a couple tsp of ground flaxseed.)

Put all except last 2 ingredients in bowl and mix until smooth. Stir in chocolate pieces and walnuts. Pour into greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until chopstick comes out clean. (You can use a toothpick, but I prefer a chopstick).

If you prefer semi-sweet, you can use the regular coco powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips, Ghirardelli semi-sweet are vegan, and/or Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate bars. I believe Ghiradelli dark chocolate is vegan as well, but always check labels to be sure.

Let cool for a bit and enjoy!! These are really, really rich and go great with a glass of Silk omega 3 fortified soy milk!! mmmmm...yummy!!!

That is all for now. Enjoy and goodnight!!