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More Recipes, News and FUN! :-) 

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Stuffed Shells

Reader's Choice! I hope by now you know that I love responding to your comments and answering your questions and requests... If you didn't know that, well, here's proof!! 

Veggie Dagwoods

It's been a while since I've posted but that is due to the crazy snow and freezing temperatures we've been having.  I've seriously eaten more potato/vegetable soup than I care to admit.  It was just so easy to make huge batches and reheat when I was hungry.  With spring FINALLY here (at least on paper... maybe not in weather yet...) I wanted to post a recipe that has gotten a lot of requests on my facebook page.

This can be served as one HUMONGOUS "DAGWOOD" sandwich or it can be split into smaller sandwiches and served up as mini sammies for a party.  A Dagwood is a tall, multi-layered sandwich normally made with a variety of meats, cheeses and condiments. It was named after Dagwood Bumstead, a main in the comic strip Blondie, who is frequently illustrated making/eating enormous sandwiches.  Today's recipe is a Veg version of this infamous kind of sandwich (no meat!)

I first made these sandwiches years ago as a Meatless Monday option at my parents house.  It is originally a vegetarian recipe (and I will post the easy vegan switches in parenthesis).

Marinated Tomatoes
2 large tomatoes
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp pepper

Marinated Radishes
1 bunch radishes
1 lemon, juiced
kosher salt and pepper

Marinated Zucchini
2 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 lemon, zested and juiced
kosher salt and pepper

Pickled Onions
1 ¼ cups red wine vinegar
6 TBS sugar
½ tsp fennel seeds
1 bay leaf
pinch red pepper flakes
½ tsp salt
2 red onions, sliced

Grilled Eggplant
1 eggplant, thinly sliced
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp thyme, minced

Grilled Mushrooms (I used my mushroom marinade instead- let me know if you'd like that recipe)
8 portobello mushroom caps
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Spread
1 cup mayonnaise (*sub in your favorite vegan mayo, I like "Just Mayo" the best)
3 TBS ketchup
1 TBS sweet pickle relish

Sandwiches
24 slices bread
1 heart romaine lettuce
Grilled/Marinated Vegetables
12 oz. Dill Havarti Cheese (I like Daiya's provolone/swiss slices and then added some fresh dill to my sandwich or for a little more bite, thinly slice the jalapeño garlic havarti wedge from Daiya)

For Marinated Tomatoes: Thinly slice tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let marinate for 20 mins.

For Marinated Radishes: Thinly slice radishes. Toss with juice of lemon and season with salt and pepper. Let marinate 20 mins.

For Marinated Zucchini: Thinly slice 2 zucchini lengthwise. Lay on a platter and sprinkle with the zest and juice of lemon. Season with salt and pepper. Let marinate 20 mins.

For Pickled Onions: Bring vinegar, sugar, fennel seeds, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, and salt to a boil. Add red onions and simmer 1 minute. Let cool.

For Grilled Eggplant: Mix olive oil, garlic and thyme. Brush onto eggplant slices and grill 3 minutes per side.

For Grilled Mushrooms: Mix olive oil and garlic. Scrape out gills from mushroom caps. Brush caps with garlic oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill about 4 minutes per side.

For Spread: Whisk mayonnaise, ketchup, and relish together.

For Sandwiches: Lay out 24 slices of bread. Lightly spread 1 side with mayonnaise mix. Top 4 slices of bread with lettuce and grilled mushroom. Top with another slice of bread (mayonnaise side up) followed by cheese, grilled eggplant and third slice of bread (mayonnaise side down).

Top 4 more slices of bread with lettuce, cheese, and tomato. Top with another slice of bread (mayonnaise side up) and zucchini, radishes, and onions. Top with remaining slice of bread (mayonnaise side down).

And to make this one big sandwich, put the top slice of bread from the grilled veggie sandwich mayo side up and continue to stack the marinated veggie sandwich on top!  These are soooo yummy and filling!!!  **Side Note—I like to toast the bread to make sure it can sustain the moisture from all the veggies... But I don't like biting into a toasted top/bottom slice, so put two slices of bread into the same toaster slot, they will come out warm and soft on one side and crusty/toasty on the other side!!

Side Dish.. not necessary.  I've served with salt potatoes or have even grilled 2 romaine hearts, cut them in half lengthwise and drizzled Italian dressing on them… sooo good but we were STUFFED!  

Chocolate Boxes

You asked for it and it is FINALLY here!!! I apologize for the delay, I made these once about a year and a half ago and really had to rack my brain about what all went into these and what I did to make them!

These little desserts are SUPER SWEET so they would be great to make for a dinner party or even a wedding/bridal/baby shower where there are a lot of people (one box per person will be enough).  It's a time consuming dish but they can definitely be made ahead of time and filled just before serving.

There are some shortcuts you can take with this to save time: using raspberry preserves (or another type of fruit preserve), and/or using store bought whipped cream.  But I can't make any comments about how any of that would effect the outcome of this... It would probably still be tasty... Just not as tasty as my recipe :-)

Alright here we go, hopefully I can remember everything!

Chocolate Boxes with Raspberry Coulis and Coconut Whipped "Cream"

1 Box of Chocolate Cake mix (Duncan Hines Devil's Food is yummy)
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Ener-G Egg replacer for 3 Eggs

Prep according to the box in a 13x9 baking pan. Remove from oven when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes.

At this point you can leave it in the pan to cool completely or you can turn it out of the pan and let it cool completely.

When cooled completely, cut a half inch off of each side, creating a 12x8 rectangle of cake (makes for easier measuring when cutting slices into cubes for the boxes).

Cut cake into 2x2 in cubes.  Depending on how high you cake baked, you may want to cut it in half so it's 2-in wide x2-in long x 1-in high.

Coconut Whipped Cream:
1 can FULL FAT Coconut Milk (don't use lite coconut milk or this won't work)
1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 TBS confectioner's sugar

Place the coconut milk in the fridge overnight.  Crucial!! This allows for the cream and liquid to separate and the cream to harden enough for this to work.  Put a bowl in the freezer 5 minutes before you're ready to whip so the cream stays cold!

Upon removing the can from the fridge, carefully turn the can over.  Open the can and pour out all the liquid. (either throw this away or use in another recipe) The cream at the bottom of the can is what you need to whip!

Spoon the cream into the cold bowl and whip with hand mixer until fluffy.  

Add confectioner's sugar and vanilla and whip again making sure it's evenly distributed.  

Cover and Chill until ready to use.

Chocolate Panels: 

2 bags of Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Melt the chocolate chips (I suggest over a double-boiler.. it just melts more evenly).  Spread an even, approximately 1/8 in thick, layer on a piece of parchment paper

Allow to harden in a cool room.  When the chocolate is just set, cut the chocolate into 2-inch squares,(see where I'm going with this?) place in the refrigerator until ready to use

Raspberry Coulis:

1 1/2 pints of fresh raspberries (can use about a bag of frozen raspberries if fresh ones aren't available)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 TBS lemon juice
1/2 tsp cornstarch + 2 tsp cold water


Put the raspberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice into a small-med saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce to med low and cook until the sugar is dissolved and the berries are very soft (about 10 min).  

Sprinkle the cornstarch over 2 teaspoons cold water and stir to dissolve. Pour into the simmering raspberry mixture. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.

Strain through a fine-mesh wire sieve into a medium bowl; discard the seeds. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Now that you've made all the components, here's how to assemble the boxes!

With a pastry brush, brush raspberry coulis onto the 4 sides around the cake, leaving the top and bottom without. 

Press a chocolate panel onto each side that has been brushed with coulis, allowing the chocolate panels to be flush with the cake at the bottom of the box. The top of the box will have an inch of panel "overhang".  When all four panels are intact, pour a thin layer of coulis in the "well".  Chill for at least 20 mins (this is where you can stop if you are making these ahead of time)

Top with about a  whipped cream, a drizzle of raspberry coulis (if you have leftovers) and a raspberry if you want.

I'm thinking about making these again now that I've finally remembered all my ingredients and the process... Maybe I'll do it for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  The boxes are so cute and everyone gets their own, like a little present!

Kung Pao Chick'n

Thanks to @gardein for their wonderful vegan meat substitutes for making this recipe and most of my others beyond possible!

As you may know, I have recently added a facebook page specifically for this blog where I post pictures of food that I have made for myself but haven't blogged about.  This allows followers of the page to request (by "liking" or commenting on the photos) a recipe.  Well, this recipe is a result of that.  4 people liked this photo just minutes after I posted it, so I knew I had to get to blogging the recipe!  **You can thank them for this :-)


1 pkg gardein Chick'n Scallopini, thawed & cut into chunks (or 2pkg mandarin crispy chick'n)
1/4 cup roasted cashew pieces (can replace with 3 TBS roasted peanuts)
8-12 dried red chilies, seeded and cut into halves
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
5 slices peeled fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk scallion (chopped)
Marinade:
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (rice wine cooking wine)
1 teaspoon oil
Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon vegan Worchestershire sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon corn starch

Marinate chick'n chunks (or chick'n pieces) with the ingredients above for 30 minutes.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat up a wok with one tablespoon cooking oil and stir-fry the marinated chick'n until they are almost fully cooked.  Remove from wok and set aside

Clean the wok and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until it smokes.

Add in the ginger, garlic, onion and bell pepper and do a quick stir before adding in the dried red chilies.  Stir fry the dried red chilies until aromatic and they smell spicy, then add back in the chick'n chunks.

Do a quick stir before adding in the roasted cashews and continue to stir a few times. Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chick'n is evenly coated with the sauce. Add in the scallions and stir to combine then serve.