Veggicate Podcast

Hey everyone! In this podcast I interviewed my good friend Chelsea Huddleston who has provided me with incredible support on my choice to become a vegetarian. She has great insight on the benefits of becoming a vegetarian so check out the podcast to hear what she has to say!  

Vegetarian Chili

The secret ingredient for this meatless chili is in fact "meat"...imitation meat that is.  This spin on Chili is an unexpected treat that you could feed to any meat eater and I can guarantee that they would not be able to tell the difference. I fed this to my roommate who eats meat on a regular basis, was fooled by this imitation meat. In this recipe I used Meatless Crumbles made by Simple Truth, the main ingredient being soy. You can find these meatless crumbles at any main food supplier HyVee, Dillon's, Natural Grocers, or Walmart.

Ingredients:  

• 1 package of Meatless Crumbles 
• 3-5 fresh/frozen tomatoes (we happened to have home grown tomatoes that we froze) 
• 1 onion 
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic 
• 2 cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 can of kidney beans 
• 1 can of Rotel 
• 1 tablespoon of dried basil leaves 
• 2 tablespoons of ground cayenne red pepper (I like my Chili spicy, if you don't put 1 tablespoon) 
• 2 tablespoons of chili power 
• 2 teaspoons of cumin 

You'll want to start out with a large pot. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of the pot. Add chopped onion and let it cook for 2-3 mins on medium heat then add the meatless crumbles and let that cook for a good 5 mins or so. 

 Once the onion and the meatless crumbles are cooked your going to add the 2 cans of tomato sauce, 3-5 fresh or frozen tomatoes, (you could also use can whole tomatoes if that is what you have on hand) and 1 can of rotel. Let that simmer for a few minutes.

 Once you let that simmer for a few minutes its time to add the assortment of beans and all the spices listed above. You are more than welcome to add more or less of the spices depending on taste. I also decided to add a dark beer I happened to have in the fridge that added a deep richness to the chili, so that's also an option for you.

Let the chili simmer on the stove for 30-40 mins. The longer you let it cook that better it will taste because it gives the flavors time to come together and marinate. Resulting in some delicious "meatless" chili. You could serve the chili over a baked potato or fries topped with some sour cream and cheddar cheese. I prefer my soup the classic way, in a bowl served with some crackers. Enjoy!!

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Its that time of the year....Soup Season! Its time to cuddle up on the couch, watch some Netflix, and eat some tasty soup. Try out a (vegetarian friendly) bowl of broccoli and cheese soup!

Ingredients:

• 4 heads of fresh broccoli 
• 1 whole onion, diced 
• 1 stick or half cup of butter 
• 1/3 cup of flour 
• 4 cups of whole milk 
• 2 cups of half and half 
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 3 cups of grated cheese. (Mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, or both)
• salt to taste 
• ground pepper 

Cooking Instructions 

Start off by melting the butter in a pot. Add onions and cook for about 3 mins or until they are translucent. 

After the onions turn translucent, add the 1/3 cup of flour. Let that cook for about 1 minute. 

Once your done with that it is time to add the milk, half and half, salt and pepper, pinch of nutmeg, and broccoli. Make sure you cut the broccoli up into smaller pieces so the broccoli cooks all the way through. 

Let that cook for a good 20-30 minutes on medium low heat. Or until the broccoli is tender. Once its cooked long enough you have a couple of options. You could blend it to make the soup nice and creamy or you could leave it how it is to add some texture some texture. I choose to put the soup in the bender. After bending the soup add the 3 cups of cheese. 

Now its time to snuggle up on the couch and enjoy your vegetarian friendly soup! Enjoy friends! 

It's Okay to Cheat..

I've been a vegetarian for about 6 months now and it has definitely not been the easiest life style change for me. Let me first make it clear what my new diet consists of. The formal definition for a vegetarian is eating only plant based food with or without eggs or dairy. However, I am technically a pescetarian because I eat fish but no other meat products and when I do eat fish I try to make sure that it is wild caught fish. Taking meat out of my diet was a drastic change for me since I grew up on meat and potatoes. That's one reason why I have kept fish in my diet because it would have been way to drastic of a change for me. After 6 months I have narrowed it down to only eating fish about 3 times a week. I hope to eventually take fish completely out of my diet and only have a plant based diet. Since I started my new diet I have not been perfect. There has been a handful of times were I could not resist my roommates cooking up some bacon or my dad bringing me some of his homemade chicken noodle soup. It's okay to cheat! Just as long as you stick with it!

Philly Mushroom Sandwich

Philly Mushroom Sandwiches
6 portobello mushrooms
2 medium onions
2 green/yellow/red peppers
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of cilantro
3 table spoons of soy sauce
3 table spoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of vegetable broth
2 table spoons of all purpose flour
6 submarine buns
Sliced Provolone cheese

Begin with olive oil in a large pot heat set to medium/high. Add the onions and cook till soft roughly 2-3 mins. Then add mushrooms, peppers. onions, cilantro and garlic. Stir occasionally till vegetables are soft . Once all vegetables are soft reduce heat too medium low and sprinkle flour over veggies and stir till they are all coated. Then add soy sauce and vegetable broth. Let it simmer till thick. Preheat the oven to 425 to toast the buns. Be careful not to burn the buns! After the buns are nice and toasty add the provolone cheese and the philly mushroom mix to the buns. And now you got yourself a tasty vegetarian philly mushroom sandwich!