Recently I've made a few things that we have LOVED and I want to share them with you!  I love finding vegan recipes that I can add to our recipe files that we all love.  We are not vegans, and quite frankly I wouldn't call us vegetarians either!  What I would say is that we eat mostly like vegetarians, and love to try stuff that is vegan!  The other day Aaron and I went to a restaurant that is all vegan and it was quite lovely!

Here are my newest recipes to try out:

Sweet Potato & Lentil soup – I've done in the crock pot for 3 hours on high, and I've also done on the stove, boiling for about an hour.  Either way works great!

Ingredients:

3 cups of lentils (either canned or soaked overnight) — 3 cubes of cubed sweet potatoes — 4 cups of stock (i use veggie of course) & I've also needed to add more water sometimes — 1/2 cup diced onion — 1/2 cup diced celery — 1/2 cup diced carrots — 3 tbsp agave — 3 tbsp orange juice – 2 tsp parsley — oil, salt, pepper and I add chipolte spice to mine.

First, sweat the onion, celery, & carrots in a pan on high heat, with a little oil (i use canola).  Let it simmer until the onions are clear.  When they are done, add the sweet potatoes and a splash of the stock, and cook for another 10 minutes.

Add the mixture, and all the other ingredients to your crock pot or pot on the stove.  For crock pot, cook on high for about 3 hours until potatoes are tender.

My kids devour this and Aaron claims it as his favorite soup I make.  I do believe this is vegan too!!  Very healthy and the sweetness of the orange juice and agave make it great for kids to enjoy if you think they won't like it – they will, I promise!  This recipe makes barely enough for us.  There is nothing left, so I need to double it now.

I also made carrot soup this week and it was again a favorite!  Amos could not get enough of this soup!  It is so good for you, and I think your kids will really like it!  Add chips, or cheese and it's a fun soup for your kids!

I have also started making a pasta salad that Aaron loves and claims that it's his favorite pasta salad ever.  Isn't he being so nice lately with claiming everything I make is THE BEST and HIS FAVORITE EVER!  He's been known to exaggerate his happiness of something, but it clearly makes me happy to hear it from him!

 

Broccoli, Grape & Pasta Salad from Southern Living (Sept 2011)

1 cup chopped pecans — 1/2 (16-oz.) package farfalle (bow-tie) pasta — 1 pound fresh broccoli  — 1 cup mayonnaise  — 1/3 cup sugar — 1/3 cup diced red onion  — 1/3 cup red wine vinegar  — 1 teaspoon salt  — 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved  — 8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
2. 2. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
3. 3. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems, and separate florets into small pieces using tip of a paring knife. Peel away tough outer layer of stems, and finely chop stems.
4. 4. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add broccoli, hot cooked pasta, and grapes, and stir to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours. Stir bacon and pecans into salad just before serving.

(photo from Southern Living website)

This is such a good salad and here's what I change.  I use veganaise, and not real bacon.  I also used gluten-free pasta when my mom was in town and it was perfectly wonderful as well!  This is a fun pasta salad and looks pretty as well!

Certainly last but not least I recently made a GOLDEN POTATO SALAD from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook.  This cookbook is one of my favorite cookbooks to use and I feel that it has a great variety of foods and you can even see options for dairy free and vegan.

GOLDEN POTATO SALAD

— 1 large sweet potato — 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes — 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed — 1 medium bell pepper, cut into narrow strips — 2 scallions, thinly sliced

dressing:  — 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used veganaise) — 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt or soy yogurt — 2 tsp yellow mustard — juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

1.  Bake or microwave the potatoes in their skins until done but still firm.  Allow 2 to 3 minutes per potato, test for doneness, then add a little time as needed.  Let them cool to room temperature.  Slip their skins off and cut into 1/2 – 3/4 inch chunks and place in serving container w/ the peas, bell pepper and scallions.

2.  Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir together.  Stir into the potato mixture.

3.  Season with s&p and enjoy!!  I added garlic salt and onion powder.

We all loved this and it's a great side to a meal.

What new meal have you tried lately that you love?  Share the recipe with us, because we love to try new stuff!