Chile Rellenos

Mexican food is one of my favorite things to eat.  Its loaded with great flavors and textures.  What's not to love?  Well, for one thing, all the fat and calories that come along with it.  And, for all the vegans out there, its hard to avoid the dairy that accompanies almost all Mexican dishes.  Here is one dish that is not only delicious, but easy on the hips. 

Chile rellenos are traditionally made by stuffing a large chile with cheese, dipping it in an egg batter, and deep frying.  Delicious - yes!  Healthy - not so much.  So, I have modified the recipe and included ways to make it completely vegan while still maintaining that great flavor.  And, the best part - it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare.

Chile Rellenos

1-7oz can diced green chiles
1 package wonton wrappers - egg roll size
2 cups shredded cheddar or jack cheese or
1 package Daiya vegan cheese shreds - cheddar flavor*
1 tsp olive oil
small dish of water

*I recently discovered Daiya vegan cheese and am blown away by it.  It is as close to cheese as I have found without actually being cheese.  It tastes great, looks great, and melts incredibly well.  Check out the picture below of the packaging for Daiya and the wontons:

Preheat the oven to broil on high.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.  Place a wonton wrapper on a flat surface.  In the middle, place a handful of cheese.  Top that with a spoonful of chiles.

Fold the top and bottom in and roll the wrapper as you would an egg roll.

Dip your fingers in water and dab along the seam to seal it.

Arrange the wontons on the baking sheet and lightly brush all over with the olive oil.

 

Pop into the oven on a middle rack.  Cook until browned - about 10 to 15 minutes.  Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.  You can serve them with a number of toppings, such as tomatoes, onions, black olives, salsa, sour cream (or sour supreme - my favorite vegan sour cream), and guacamole.

An alternative way to cook these is to pan fry in about 1" of preheated oil.  Cook on all sides until golden brown.  The wrappers will be crispier, much like an egg roll. 

Great sides to compliment your burgers

Thinking of having burgers but not sure what to make with them?  Here are a couple quick and easy ideas.

Smashed Lemon Potatoes

10-12 small baby red potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Wash the potatoes and stick each one with a knife a couple times.

  Cook the potatoes - skins on - until tender.  I usually microwave them.  Most microwaves have a potato button that will set the time for you.  Another option is to boil them.  After cooking, allow them to cool enough to be able to touch.  Turn the oven on to Broil.  Place the potatoes, one by one, on a hard surface and smash them flat with the palm of your hand.  Transfer them to a baking sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.  Brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 Place under the boiler for 10-20 minutes - or until crispy and golden brown.  As soon as they come out of the oven, squeeze half a lemon over the potatoes, then immediately follow with another sprinkle of salt and enjoy!

You can always pan fry these potatoes as well if you want them crispier.  Place about 1" of vegetable oil in a frying pan and heat up.  Fry the potatoes, about 4 at a time, cooking each side about 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown.  After cooking, proceed as above with lemon and salt.


Grilled Asparagus

This is my favorite way to cook asparagus.  It is very quick and easy...and healthy!  No oils needed.


Preheat the grill on high.  Wash the asparagus and cut the ends off  - about 1-2".  While still damp, sprinkle with salt.  Lay the asparagus directly on the grill.

Turn occasionally until the asparagus has grill marks.  You don't want to over cook them.  You want them to maintain a little crunchiness.  Remove from grill and enjoy immediately! 

I usually makes these sides to accompany veggie burgers.  Our favorites are Morningstar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burgers or Original Grillers.  If you want to spice them up a bit more, you can make a flavored mayo.

Chipotle Mayo

1 Cup mayo (any variety, including vegan mayos, will work)
2-3 chipotle peppers (in adobo sauce)
1-2 tbsp adobo sauce
Juice from 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Use more or less chipotle peppers and adobo sauce depending on how spicy you like it.

Basil Mayo

1 Cup mayo (again, any variety works)
1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 Cup fresh basil, chopped (I often use basil in a tub - located in the produce aisle near the fresh herbs - its tastes great and keeps a lot longer than fresh basil.  You would use about half the tube or a little more, depending on personal taste)
1-2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor until smooth.

Lemon Waffles with Blueberry Sauce

We all woke up pretty hungry this morning, so I thought I'd share breakfast :)  This is a super easy way to make ordinary waffles from a mix into something really delicious!


For the sauce:

2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed (strawberries or raspberries would work too)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
fresh juice from 1/2 lemon
water as needed (add 1 tbsp at a time)

Thaw 2 cups of frozen blueberries (frozen strawberries or raspberries work well too).  Put in a blender.  Zest one lemon and set zest aside for waffle mix.  Add the juice from one half of a lemon (save the other half for the waffle mix...see below).  Start to blend on low.  Depending on how much liquid was in the berries and lemon, you may need to add water to thin out the sauce.  Add water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the sauce is thin enough to pour easily.  Once you have reached this consistency, add 1/2 C of powdered sugar and blend thoroughly.  This sauce is good both cold and warm, whichever you prefer.

For the waffles:
Use your favorite store-bought mix and make according to directions.  To it, add about half a lemon worth of fresh juice and the zest from one whole lemon.  (To make zest, grate the unpeeled citrus with as fine a grater as you have.  The finer, the better.)  Mix together and cook as you normally would.  You can do the same to pancakes. 

Welcome to Easy Vegetarian Cuisine!  My goal in creating this blog is to share some of the tips I have learned over the years on how to make delicious and easy vegetarian and vegan dishes.  I was not raised vegetarian, but married one.  So, I am always looking for ways to satisfy both of our cravings.  I have found many great meat substitutes to insert into some classic recipes.  I also like to try uncommon ingredients to add some zest to otherwise boring meals.  I hope you find this info useful!  Please leave comments/questions as they come up.  Enjoy!