Thursday, August 27, 2009

Bethany's vegetarian breakfast sausage

Ok, so I was telling my husband and exchange student the other day how much I love breakfast sausages but Morningstar is getting silly expensive with it now being $3.32 for only 6 patties. I just can't justify stocking up or buying them often at that price. So I was thrilled with the idea when our exchange student Bella suggested I try making my own with my TVP (vegertarian meat substitute). So I went on the hunt for a recipe but I didn't find anything I like, but I did find some that was able to give me ideas to come up with my own. I was quite happy with the result (well after I was able to get the consistancy right). Although there is still some changes I am going to try next time I make them, which hopefully will be really soon. I will update it when I do. I want to try using gluton flour instead of unbleached flour next time, to give it a chewier consistancy.
UPDATE: The next time I made these I used gluton flour also, and added an extra egg and they turned out GREAT! They held together even better and were quite a bit chewier.

Ok, so here is the recipe.



Bethany's Breakfast Sausage

2 cups TVP (Textured Vegetable protien) or any other vegetarian meat granuals. I use sausage flavor, gives the patties even more flavor.
1 1/2 cups Boiling water
3 Tbsp Soy sauce ( the second time I made this I used Bragg's Liguid Aminos, loved it!)
4 Tbsp Margarine (softened)
3 eggs
2 tsp dehydrated minced onions
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp flour
4 Tbsp gluton flour (can increase reg flour to 4 Tbsp if you prefer not use gluton)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You will notice in the picture below I don't have flour and water showing. But the water is used to hydrate the TVP and the flour was something I used as an after thought (along with an extra egg) to hold the patties together when the first four fell apart in the frying pan. lol


In a mixing bowl combine TVP with boiling water and let hydrate for 5-10 minutes (I almost forgot, I also hydrated my onions in a sperate bowl with a tad of water for about 5 minutes too). Add all ingredients together and......


Mix :)


It should look something like this.


Cook the patties in a pan over medium heat (spray pan with cooking spray) approx 2 minutes on each side.
I used a bisquit cut out my mom gave me to use as a form maker. It worked great! I put about 1/4 cup of mixture into the cut out and then gently pushed it down with the back of a spoon and then removed the bisquit form otherwise the patty wants to start sticking to the edges. It works great for giving them a nice form! There were times I used two spatulas to flip them over, just to be careful they didn't break.


And here is the finished product! Takes about 30-40 minutes to make (including hydrating TVP) and only cost approx $2.50 for 16 patties!!!! That is compared to Morningstar's Sausage patties, 6 for $3.32

By the way, Gabe gives these a BIG thumbs up! :) I plan to make a big batch every month and stuff them in the freezer.



And as for the first four patties that fell apart before I tried adding the extra egg and the flour? Well.....



It tasted great in speghetti sauce for lunch! :)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Fajita's!

I love these!!! I have to give my sister in law Lisa (my brother Brian's, wife) all the credit though! These are so good and easy to make!


















You will need the following....

1 package of flour tortilla's

















1 small-medium sized onion.

















1 1/2 Medium sized Yellow Squash
(as you can see I only have 1/2 of one in this picture, but this was the leftover)















1/2 of a Pablano pepper
















2 cans vegitarian Fried Chic (WITH JUICE!)
















1/3 bag of baby carrots
















1/2 package of both McCormick Grill Mates Mesquit and Mojito Lime

















Mix in all above ingredients along with the fried chic juice in a 9 x 13 pan.


Then put it on the bbq grill and bring it to a boil. We let it simmer like that for about 10-15 minutes. Just watch the vegi's till you think they are done. The carrots are a good thing to use as a guide. When done just place a few spponfuls in the warmed flour totillas and enjoy! We also served ours with vegitarian chili and rice.


















Sorry this is a picture of before it was cooked on the bbq. I forgot to take one after it was done.