DDD #64 – My “You Are Not Vegan Enough” Rant & Holiday Leftovers Shepherd’s Pie & 14 Other Ideas

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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Ok – so I posted my Vegan Whole Turkey (seen above) – and the vegans on Facebook lost their collective shit.  Despite knowing it was a vegan item – I got blocked & banned & verbally assaulted SAVAGELY.  This video below is my response to the “You are not the right kind of vegan” attacks I got from the most self-righteous douchebags ever.  I also show you how I reinvented a bunch of random leftovers into and epic Shepherd’s Pie.

Below the video here are the 14 recipes I suggest as potential uses for your holiday leftovers.

Click the image to watch the video.

Thanksgiving Vegan Torta Rustica with Creamed Spinach and Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes & Sweet Potato-Butternut Squash Puree

Vegan Chicken & Mixed Vegetable Pot Pie

Vegan Spicy Chicken Enchilada Soup with Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

Vegan Marinated Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich

Vegan Horseradish Chicken Salad with Pecans and Jalapeno Potato Salad in Baked Wonton Cups

Vegan Chicken Salad Wraps

Cool Vegan Cashew & Cranberry Chicken Salad Tacos with Avocado

Sweet & Spicy Vegan Island Chicken with Pineapple

10-Minute Spicy Vegan Sriracha Chicken & Broccoli Bowl

Healthy Vegan Chicken Fricassee with Tarragon

Healthy Vegan Chinese Chicken Salad with Spicy Asian Dressing

Vegan Cold Chicken Piccata Pasta Salad with Asparagus & Spinach

Vegan Firecracker Chicken

Vegan Beef and Vegetable (Shepherd’s Pie) Empanadas

DDD #42 – Fresh Pineapple Mojito Cocktail

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

Click the image below to watch the video.

Fresh Pineapple Mojito Cocktail

2 cocktails

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fresh pineapple chunks

10-20 mint leaves

4 oz white rum

juice of 1/2 – 1 lime

Splash club soda

1 TBS sugar or simple syrup (optional)

Dragonfruit ice cubes (optional)

Ice

Garnish – maraschino cherries, pineapple wedges & mint sprigs

DIRECTIONS

Muddle the pineapple & mint in a cocktail shaker.

Add rum & lime juice and sugar (if using) & shake will.  Pour into ice-filled glasses (regular ice or dragonfruit ice cubes) and top with club soda.  Garnish as desired & serve.

DDD #31 – Sweet & Spicy Vegan Island Chicken with Pineapple

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2017

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

This is a very easy recipe & it is very flexible.  You can use the veggies that I did or sub in ones you prefer.  You could use jalapeno for a spicy dish or add brown sugar for a sweeter dish.  Click the image below for the recipe video & please subscribe to my channel.

Sweet & Spicy Vegan Island Chicken with Pineapple

INGREDIENTS

2 TBS coconut oil

9 oz vegan chicken

1 jalapeno – diced (optional)

1-2 cups dice fresh pineapple

1 red bell pepper – diced

1 cup carrots – chopped or grated

1-2 cups broccoli florets

3 garlic cloves – chopped

2 TBS soy sauce (or liquid aminos or tamari)

2 TBS sriracha

2 TBS ginger – minced

juice if 1/2 lime

2 TBS brown sugar (optional – I did not use it as I am not a fan of things too sweet)

Cornstarch

S&P

2 cups cooked rice OR tortillas (for tacos or wraps) OR lettuce leaves (for lettuce cups)

Garnish: cilantro or sesame seeds or sliced scallions

DIRECTIONS

Thaw the chicken, cube it & toss with some cornstarch.  Set aside.

Heat the coconut oil in a large pan or wok.  Add the veggies (bell pepper, broccoli, jalapeno, carrots) & saute until soft.  Add the vegan chicken tossed in cornstarch. Add the soy sauce, sriracha, ginger & combine.  Add brown sugar (if using – I did not). Combine & then add pineapple.  Combine & then add rice (if doing a stir fry).  Stir in the garlic & squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lime.  Season with S&P to taste.  Heat through & serve (either with rice or as tacos, wraps or lettuce cups).  Garnish as you desire & devour!

Jamaican Jerk Shrimp Pizza with Candied Jalapenos & Spicy Peach, Pineapple & Mango Salsa

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Oh no!  Guess what!  Another recipe born of leftovers & other remnants in my fridge.  This one commits the crime of combining seafood with cheese but, sometimes, you just gotta cook like an outlaw.

This recipe used my Spicy Peach, Pineapple & Mango Salsa

and my Candied Jalapenos

and my recent Marinara Sauce recipe

I also used this Jamaican Spice Paste (which is VERY tasty & has quite a kick!)

If you cannot find that kind, do not worry!  I guess Lowry’s makes a Jerk sauce & I am sure there are many other pre-made options out there.

I also used this BBQ sauce.  You can use your own favorite.

I made this pizza with some pre-cooked frozen shrimp (of which I am not a fan – but someone else bought them & left them here).  Grilling shrimp that has already been cooked & then baking it, too?  I think you can guess that my shrimp were quite dried out by the end & I think that is evident in the photos.  In fact – I found myself picking them off the pizza as I ate it.  But that was only because they’d had the bejeesus cooked out of them & they were poor quality shrimp to start with.  If you start with better quality raw shrimp – you will not have this problem.

Jamaican Jerk Shrimp Pizza

INGREDIENTS

Candied jalapenos

Spicy Peach, Pineapple & Mango Salsa

Pizza dough – mine is HERE or use you own favorite

1/4 cup marinara – mine is HERE or use your own favorite

1 tsp BBQ sauce

1/2 cup plus 1 TBS jerk sauce of your choice

12 or so good quality shrimp

Grated pizza cheese (quantity to suit your taste)

Cilantro

DIRECTIONS

Heat your oven to 450-500

Marinate your shrimp in 1/2 cup jerk sauce for at least an hour – or more.

Grill your shrimp – or pan fry them in a little olive oil.

Blend the marinara, bbq sauce & 1 TBS jerk sauce in a bowl.

Roll out your dough & place it on a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or wiped with olive oil.

Spread the marinara blend over the crust & then top with the cheese & the shrimp.

Be SURE your oven has reached at least 450 before putting the pizza in.  A hot oven is critical for a crispy crust.  Bake the pizza for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted & crust is browning.  Top with the jalapenos & salsa & chopped cilantro.  Listen to Bob Marley & eat the whole fucking thing yourself.  I did!

Road Kill Roasted Cauliflower & Hominy Tacos with Homemade Corn Tortillas & Spicy Peach, Pineapple & Mango Salsa

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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Roadkill?  Caught your attention, didn’t it?  Silly!  I don’t eat meat.  But I did buy some Dean Jacobs Road Kill Grill Rub because of the promise that it “Makes all critters taste great.”

I bought it in Gilroy (the garlic capital of the world) for my boyfriend, Miles, who lives almost as exclusively on meat as zombies do on brains.  Whenever I think of zombies, and these days – what with their resurgent popularity – I think of them quite often – I think of my favorite zombie chant.  (I stole the image below from Google.)

The monomaniacal nature of zombies can sometimes be quite endearing.

At any rate – I bought the Road Kill rub in Gilroy on a road trip that led to my vagina-centric post about Elsy’s Antojitos & my Shrimp & Cheesy Grits post which got into my pug, Memphis, and his tooth removal & the drunken, loopy slob he returned home as – still wobbly from getting put under.  Look how drunk he looks in the pose he struck!  🙂

That was last September (when I bought the Road Kill Grill) & Miles has never used it so I decided to bust that shit out.  It has a very smokey salty flavor & it worked AWESOMELY for this dish but, if you cannot find it, any taco seasoning or other grill rub would likely work.  Even a homemade blend of spices would work – and you can Google a zillion options for that.

The recipe for the corn tortillas is HERE.

The recipe for the Spicy Peach & Pineapple & Mango Salsa is HERE.

You can use pre-made corn tortillas and any kind of salsa you like.  The real magic here is the roasted cauliflower & hominy filling.  I have been long obsessed with each of those ingredients & the threesome we had last night was – well – worth repeating.  Much like my Vegan Pozole, and any taco recipe, the toppings are up to you.  Here are a few ideas:

IDEAS for the toppings –

Grilled or fresh corn cut from the cob

Chopped tomatoes

Chopped cilantro

Sliced avocado

Sliced radishes

Lime wedges

Chopped cabbage (red or green)

Red onion – diced

Lettuce – chopped

Feta or Cotija (or other) cheese

Sour cream or yogurt or Mexican Crema

The only thing you need from me here is the recipe for the roasted cauliflower & hominy – so let’s get to it!  I found myself devouring it right off the roasting pan.  Try to use a high quality spice mix – and not something that has been in your pantry for 6 years & requires a fork to break it up.  OK?  I can’t take responsibility for your old, ashy spices!  🙂

Roadkill Roasted Cauliflower & Hominy

1 head cauliflower – broken into the tiniest florets

2 cups hominy

3 tsp Road Kill Grill rub (or rub/spices of your choice)

olive oil

S&P

DIRECTIONS

Heat your oven to 425.

Place your tiny cauliflower florets on a greased cooking sheet.  Drizzle with a little olive oil & toss TWO (reserving one) of the tsps of spice rub in.  I tossed this with my hands to get a good even mix.

Roast for 15 minutes.  In the meantime – toss the other tsp of spice with the hominy with a teensy bit of olive oil (not more than a teaspoon).

When the cauliflower is done, add the hominy to the pan & roast all of it another 15 minutes.

Take out of the oven.  Try not to just stand there & eat that shit.

Now – you simply have to assemble your tacos!

Spicy Peach, Pineapple & Mango Salsa with Jalapeno

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I WROTE A BOOK!!!!!  Check it out!

 

This hardly counts as a recipe.  All you really do is chop everything up & toss it together.  You can lose any one (even two) of the fruits or the jalapeno (if you dislike heat) & there would be no significant change in the quality here.  This makes a lot – like – enough to put out for a party.  I like to eat a little every day on a fancified veggie dog.

It’s pretty delicious on pretty much anything – fish, shrimp, tacos, quesadillas, chicken – whatever – so don’t be shy with it.  I am going to post a new cauliflower concoction soon that I used this on.  So – look out for that!

Peach, Pineapple & Mango Salsa with Jalapeno

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fresh pineapple (or canned)

1 mango – peeled

1 peach – pitted

1 red bell pepper

1/2 red onion

3 jalapenos – seeded

1 cup cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

juice of 1 lemon

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Chop up everything but the lemon & lime.  Toss everything with the juice of the lemon & the lime.  Add S&P to taste.  Rejoice!