Vegan Dracula's Revenge

Delicious roasted garlic and browned vegan sausage mingle in a creamy, cheesy sauce mixed with penne pasta and baked to golden perfect. If you like garlic, cheese, and sausage this dish is going to become a staple!

Every september for years and years my family would make Dracula’s Revenge. It was my little brothers absolute favorite dish and he would always request it for his birthday. How he even found out about this oddly named pasta bake is beyond me. It seems like a weird request from a seven year old but what do I know.

For some reason, the other day, I was really craving it. Of course Dracula’s Revenge is decidedly NOT vegan but it certainly wasn’t hard to veganize this nostalgic dish. It did not disappoint! Have you ever had or heard of it before?

Vegan Dracula’s Revenge

By Kathleen Henry from Produce On Parade

Delicious roasted garlic and browned vegan sausage mingle in a creamy, cheesy sauce mixed with penne pasta and baked to golden perfect. If you like garlic, cheese, and sausage this dish is going to become a staple!

Ingredients

• 1 large garlic head
• ½ tbsp olive oil
• ½ tube (7 oz) Gimme Lean Lightlife Sausage
• 8 oz dry penne pasta
• 3 tbsp vegan butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups plain, unsweetened soymilk
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp salt, to taste
• ⅛ tsp dried rosemary
• ⅛ tsp dry rubbed sage
• Dash of white pepper
• A few drops of liquid smoke (optional)
• ¼ cup shredded vegan mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta and preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Remove the excess papery skin from the garlic head but leave the head intact; wrap the entire thing in parchment paper then aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour then remove from the oven and allow to cool to the touch. Turn up oven to 400° F.
3. Once cool, separate the cloves and squeeze to extract garlic the pulp. Smash the garlic in a small bowl with the back of a wooden spoon to make a paste; set aside.
4. In a large cast iron skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Break up the sausage into bite size pieces by hand and saute for about 5 minutes until browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. When the water is boiling, cook the pasta according to package then drain and set aside.
6. In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about three minutes until lightly browned. Slowly whisk in the milk, ensuring no lumps, and cook for about 8 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Stir in the remaining ingredients until well combined; then stir in the pasta and sausage.
7. Spray a small casserole dish with a nonstick cooking spray then transfer the pasta into the dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes until thoroughly heated. Serve hot and topped with additional cheese if you like.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 4-6

Easy Vegan 'Chicken' Pot Pie

Everytime I make this pot pie it gets rave reviews. It’s really great with vegan chicken, especially for omnivores but of course it can be left out or replaced with tofu if you desire. I make my own vegan condensed soup to add to mixed vegetables and fresh spinach for a delicious filling. This dish is so easy and it’s sure to be a big hit!

Have you ever been surrounded by people who are the complete opposite of you politically and with regards to your values, especially those with disparaging views towards minority groups and repressed individuals. Raise your hand up high; you’re in good company. All I can say is hang in there and laugh when you can.

I’m an Alaskan at heart but according to my beliefs I should live in Hippie-Town-Liberal-Peace-Loving Oregontown (yes, that’s a real place, but please don’t fact check it). Sometimes this really gets me down. It just plain sucks having so many folks surround you that don’t strive for equality, or peace, or tolerance. Bigotry is rampant and it’s smothering sometimes.

Just because someone doesn’t agree with your morals doesn’t make them a bad person and you may even like them but goddamn, it makes it hard sometimes. I’ve been accused of being naive and too soft-hearted on more than one occasion but I’ll put my foot down on this one. Okay, getting down from my dusty soapbox. Thank you for letting me rant, now let’s eat pie.

Easy Vegan 'Chicken' Pot Pie

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Everytime I make this pot pie it gets rave reviews. It’s really great with vegan chicken, especially for omnivores but of course it can be left out or replaced with tofu if you desire. I make my own vegan condensed soup to add to mixed vegetables and fresh spinach for a delicious filling. This dish is so easy and it’s sure to be a big hit!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp mushroom powder (optional)
• ½ cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup unsweetened plain soymilk, divided
• 2 (9 in) prepared pie crusts (I buy them pre-made in the refrigerated section)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ½ medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (10 oz) bag frozen mixed vegetables, cooked according to package
• 1 (8 oz) package vegan ‘chicken’ strips, chopped (I use Tofurky Lightly Seasoned Chicken Meat Alternative in the refrigerated section)
• 2 cups torn fresh baby spinach
• 1 tsp seasoning salt, to taste
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp white pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour, garlic and mushroom powder; whisk frequently until lightly browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the vegetable broth and ½ cup of soymilk. Cook over medium heat whisking frequently until thickened, about 5-8 minutes. I like to use a hand blender towards the end to ensure a super smooth texture. Set aside.
2. Line a 9” pie dish with the bottom crust. Poke holes all over the bottom with a fork. Preheat oven to 375°F degrees.
3. In a large soup pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until fragrant and softened, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ½ cup of soymilk, mixed veggies, chicken strips, spinach, salt, thyme, pepper. Stir well to combine then add in the soup. Mix the filling well, remove from heat and to the pie dish.
4. Roll out the top crust and place overtop of the filling; seal the edges and remove any excess dough. Cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape; brush the top with soymilk if desired.
5. Bake for 40 minutes until the crust is lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.


Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Yield: 1 pie (6 slices)

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Rigatoni with Mushrooms and Vegan Sausage

This is a wonderfully quick and delicious meal that’s hearty and packed full of healthy protein. A comfort meal of pasta, cremini mushrooms, and vegan sausage that’s nutritious, simple, and fast; I think your entire family will absolutely love the creamy goodness in this dinner! We hope you’ll add this dish to your weeknight rotation.

*sigh* I aim for one recipe per week and wind up making it to about one per month! It’s not ideal, I know, but it’s hard work, with a wee man running around, to get the adequate time needed to recipe develop, create and make a recipe, do the photography, then write up a post. It seems simple enough, and it is (albeit there is a lot of toil that goes into making a post) but it just takes so much darn time.

It’s a great joy to be able to cook and write and share it all with you. However, now that Todd and I have a little family, I prioritize my free time with them; whether it’s skiing on the weekend with friends or just simply chillin’ inside by the fire reading and playing with stuffed animals. We actually cook and bake a lot, but Oliver loves to help and there isn’t a lot of measuring happening and we really just wing things together. Messily and quickly. It’s not super kosher for sharing recipes here on Produce On Parade.

While I try to navigate dedicating time to this space but not sacrificing time with family and friends, I want to thank you for being so patient. You’re all so wonderful; I love hearing from you, especially those of you who have been here since the beginning six years ago. It blows my mind it’s been six years already. Thank you guys! Happy Valentine’s Day to your loves, your friends, your family <3 Love makes you want to stay. Love is a day full of hugs. Love is cheers when you get home.

Bear with me today, I’m on Tamiflu (I don’t have the flu, but opted to take it prophylactically due to work exposure) and it really makes it difficult to concentrate. I think I’ve spent about 20 minutes trying to write one paragraph!

Rigatoni with Mushrooms and Vegan Sausage

By Kathleen Henry - Produce On Parade

This is a wonderfully quick and delicious meal that’s hearty and packed full of healthy protein. A comfort meal of pasta, cremini mushrooms, and vegan sausage that’s nutritious, simple, and fast; I think your entire family will absolutely love the creamy goodness in this dinner! We hope you’ll add this dish to your weeknight rotation.

Ingredients

• 1 lb dry rigatoni pasta (or pasta of choice)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 3 whole garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 oz) package of Lightlife Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage
• 12 oz fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 ¾ cup unsweetened, plain soymilk
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp salt, to taste
• Dash of white pepper (black pepper will work)
• Dash of shiitake mushroom powder (optional)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions


1. Over high heat, bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Cook according to package until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large rimmed frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes then add the sausage, breaking it into bite size pieces with a wooden spatula. Add the mushrooms; saute an additional 5-8 minutes, until the mushrooms have darkened and shrunk.
3. Whisk the nutritional yeast through the mushroom powder into the soymilk and stir into the mushroom mixture over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes; while deglazing the pan. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in cooked pasta. Serve hot, topped with fresh parsley.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 5 servings