Veggie Pizza (Non-Dairy or Dairy)

• 1 – 11oz. can Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Crust
• 1 – 15 oz. jar Contadina pizza sauce (or less depending on sauce preferences)
• ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 zucchini, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 ½ cups shredded Soy or Rice mozzarella flavored cheese (if you eat dairy, use regular shredded mozzarella cheese)
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

Sauté onion and garlic over medium heat with a small amount of olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and bell peppers, partially cover and continue to cook until the veggies are all well cooked, about 10 more minutes. Season with salt & pepper, to taste.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 15” x 14” cookie sheet with cooking spray. Unroll the dough onto the cookie sheet. Pre-bake the dough for 5 minutes.

Top with pizza sauce, cooked veggies and cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is golden brown. Let it sit 3-5 minutes before cutting.

Serves 3-5.

Veggie Sandwich

• 1 Earth Grains whole wheat thin bun
• Vegan mayo (or regular, if you eat dairy)
• Spicy brown mustard
• Dill relish
• ¼ cup shredded soy or rice cheese (regular cheese if you eat dairy)
• 1 large slice tomato, lightly salted & peppered
• ¼ avocado, mashed
• A few thin slices yellow onion

Layer the sandwich with condiments, cheese, tomato, avocado and onion.

Heat a small fry pan over medium heat. Once hot, spray the pan with cooking spray. Add the sandwich and cook until warm and cheese is melted, about 5 minutes, turning carefully a few times.

Serves 1.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 3 - 15 oz. cans black beans
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 ¾ cups vegetable broth
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained
• 1 – 15 oz. can sweet corn, drained


Coat the bottom of a large stock pot with olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.

Place one can of beans, undrained, in food processor or blender. Add sautéed onion mixture, red pepper flakes and cumin. Cover and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture back into stockpot. Add vegetable broth, salt & pepper.

Put a second can of beans, undrained, in food processor or blender and puree until smooth, add to stockpot.

Add the third can of beans, rinsed and drained, the Rotel and corn into the stockpot. Bring it to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

Serves 4 (2 cup servings)

MEXICAN CASSEROLE

For the skillet mixture:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 – 15 oz. can sweet corn, drained
• 2 – 15 oz. cans Pinquito beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cans Rotel tomatoes, drained
• 1 – 4 oz. can fire roasted chiles
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Sea salt, to taste

For the polenta topping:

• 1 cup polenta
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance (or butter if you eat dairy)

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and bell pepper and continue to sauté until the onion is golden brown, about 3 more minutes. Add the corn kernels, beans, tomatoes, green chilies and seasonings. Stir well and simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt. Remove from the heat.

Gradually add polenta to boiling, salted water, stirring constantly until it starts to thicken. Lower the temerature to simmer, stirring frequently, for approximately 20 minutes. Blend in butter and mix well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 3-quart 9 x 13.5 x 2 baking dish with Pam and pour in the veggie/bean skillet mixture. Top with the cooked polenta. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the polenta is golden and begins to get crusty. Let stand for 5 minutes. Scoop out sections to serve.

Serves 6 – 8

Black Bean Burgers

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 whole egg)
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons Cholula hot sauce
Fresh fround pepper
Olive oil
Cheese (optional)

Put beans in a food processor to mash. Put mashed beans in a bowl and add egg substitute, yellow onion, bread crumbs, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Mix well to combine then shape into 4 patties.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Arrange patties in a single layer and cook, flipping, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes total.

Add cheese (or soy cheese) and cover to melt.

Mexican Polenta Stuffed Peppers

Mexican Polenta Stuffed Peppers
• 4 bell peppers
• ½ cup polenta
• 2 cups vegetable broth (plus a little extra)
• ½ teaspoon sea salt (plus a little extra
• 1 tablespoon butter (If you don’t eat dairy, use Earth Balance)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
• 1 can corn, drained
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded & minced
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Cut off the tops of bell peppers and cut slits in the bottom of each pepper. Remove seeds and stem. Par boil peppers in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Remove, lightly salt the insides and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil. Gradually stir in polenta & salt. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until polenta is tender, thick, and creamy, stirring often and adjusting heat to maintain a gentle simmer, about 15 minutes. Stir in butter (or Earth Balance) and set aside.

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Sauté the onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook for a minute, until fragrant. Add beans and corn and mix. Add this into the polenta and mix well.

Fill each pepper with the polenta/bean/corn mixture. Bake until peppers are soft and polenta mixture is hot, about 30 minutes.

If you choose, top each pepper with shredded cheese (soy cheese for non-dairy) and put under the broiler until cheese is melted and crispy brown.

Veggie Chili

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 

• 1 large red onion, chopped 

• 1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped 

• 1 green bell pepper, seeded & chopped 

• 2 tablespoons minced garlic 

• 2 Serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded & minced 

• 4 medium zucchini (about 1.5 lbs.), chopped into ¼” pieces 

 • 1 – 15 oz. can sweet corn, drained 

• 2 tbsp. chili powder 

• 1 tbsp. ground cumin 

1 tsp. ground coriander

• 1/2  tsp. sea salt 

• ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper 

• 1 can Rotel tomatoes

• 1 – 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes with garlic & olive oil

• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained 

• 1 – 15 oz. can tomato sauce 

• 1 cup reduced sodium vegetable broth 

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and Serrano peppers, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. 

Add the zucchini and corn, and partially cover, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. 

Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

Add the Rotel, diced tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock, stir well, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Yields six 2-cup servings.  ENJOY!

Shown here with a sprinkling of plant based smoked provolone.  Yum!