Who doesn't love tacos!? 

They're wonderfully versatile, delicious, and easy to throw together on a Weekday night. 

This recipe is inspired by one that Alex's family made for me one of the first times I met them. I took the same basic concepts from their family recipe and made it 100% Vegetarian but (in my opinion) just as delicious. I use Smart Ground Veggie Crumbles instead of ground beef and Vegetarian Refried Beans instead of the regular guys (which usually contain lard! Gasp!) You can always go ahead and make your own Refried beans if you're into that, but for the sake of laziness, I use Rosarita beans. 

You can top these tacos with whatever you like best; avocado, nacho cheese sauce, jalapenos, sprouts, fritos, whatever makes you happy. I've included a list of what we usually top ours with, basic but yummy! I also use a hodpodge of random spices to get my Veggie Crumbles to taste how I like them, you can feel free to use store bought taco seasoning, just make sure you account for the size of the recipe (taco seasoning packets are usually for much larger recipes than this one.) 

Alright! Let's make some tacos! 

Vegetarian Double Decker Tacos
About 4 servings

Ingredients
1 Package Smart Ground Veggie Crumbles
1/2 Yellow Onion
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Can Vegetarian Refried Beans
1 Tbsp Canola Oil
Hard Taco Shells
Small Flour Tortillas

Seasonings
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Hot Sauce
1/8 Cup Water

Toppings
Chives
Cheddar Cheese
Black Olives
Lettuce
Sour Cream
Salsa
Tomato

Chop your onion, bell pepper and garlic, set aside. In a medium bowl use a fork to lightly fluff your Smart Ground crumbles. At this point you can start heating your refried beans on low in a small sauce pan on a back burner.

In a large non-stick skillet heat your TBSP Canola oil. Add your onion and bell pepper and saute until just tender. Add your garlic and saute for one minute, then add in Smart Ground Crumbles and all your seasonings and hot sauce. I like to season to taste here, tossing in spices until it tastes just right. I add about a TBSP to an 1/8 cup water at the end to soften up the crumbles. (Make sure to let all the water cook off before serving, you don't want soggy crumbles!)

To assemble; lay out your soft taco, spread on a layer of refried beans, press your hard shell taco directly into the beans using them as a delicious glue to hold your shells together. Fill your hard shell with your veggie crumbles mix, top with lots of cheese and layer on as many other toppings as physically possible then Enjoy! 
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These are ridiculously good. Usually Alex and I end up making these on a Friday night and eating leftover tacos All Weekend! It's wonderful. 

Give them a try! You won't be disappointed.

Thanks for stopping by!

​-Ashley

Casserole weather is here! 

This is one of my personal favorites, it's as close to meat and potatoes as a Vegetarian can get! It involves tasty Smart Ground Meatless Crumbles, fresh veggies, a simple roux gravy, cheese and seasoned tots=delicious. 

First, you'll pop your seasoned tots in the oven to cook while you saute your veggies...

Once they're tender you'll add your Garlic and Veggie Crumbles, all your seasonings and Worcestershire sauce...

Then you'll take your veg off the heat and throw together a quick Roux gravy, mix it into the veggies and crumbles and pour the whole mixture into a casserole dish. You'll top with shredded cheese and your tots and bake it for 15 minutes! 

It's super yummy, I promise. I'm lucky if I get leftovers because Alex loves this dish so much! Try it! You'll like it!

​

Vegetarian Tater Tot Casserole

Veggies
1/2 Yellow Onion
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic

Main Ingredients
1/2 Bag Frozen Tater Tots
12 oz Package Smart Ground Meatless Crumbles
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
​1 Cup Shredded Cheddar 
Seasoning Salt (French Fry or Lawry's etc.)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper

Roux
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup Veggie Broth
Salt and Pepper

Preheat your oven to 350° spread your Tots on a baking sheet, sprinkle with Seasoning Salt and pop them into the oven for about 10-15 minutes while you chop all your veggies and grate your cheese.  

Heat Olive Oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium heat, toss in your Onion and Bell Peppers, saute until tender. 

When Veggies are almost done, add your Garlic, then add in your Smart Ground Crumbles, Worcestershire, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, salt and pepper. stir to combine, remove from heat. 

For the Roux; In a small sauce pot melt your butter over medium heat, whisk in your flour and salt and pepper and let bubble for a minute or two. Slowly pour in the Veggie broth and let it come to a simmer while continuously stirring. Once gravy is desired thickness mix into the skillet full of Veggies and Smart Ground.

Pour your veggie/gravy mixture into a greased 2 quart casserole dish, top with cheese and Tater Tots and bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until Tots are crispy and cheese is bubbly. 

Voila! Perfect comfort food! 

Here's the printable recipe

Give it a shot! It's wonderful!

Thanks for stopping by! 

​-Ashley 

Vegetarian Chicken!? What does that mean? 

It means Beyond Meat. My favorite Veggie Chicken! It's made of soy protein and tastes fabulous in soups (as long as you don't cook it too long, it's definitely an add at the last minute ingredient.)

This recipe is simple, delicious and you can throw it together super quickly on a Weekday night. 

The cast of characters (I know I call for a red bell pepper, my grocer was out of 'em! What to do!?)

You'll saute your tasty Veggie Chicken, shred it, saute your veggies, toss all the other stuff in the pot and Voila! Soup! You can adjust the spiciness to your liking, I like a super spicy soup so I usually throw in a couple extra dashes of Chili Powder. 

Here's the recipe, get cooking! 

Beyond Meat Chicken Tortilla Soup
(Serves 4)

Main Ingredients
2 Tbsp Canola Oil (Separated)
3 Cups Vegetable Broth
1/2 Package Beyond Meat Veggie Chicken strips
1 Can Rinsed Cooked Black Beans
*1/4 tsp baking soda

Veggies
1/2 Yellow Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Cup Corn
1/2 De-seeded Jalapeno
1/3 Cup Diced Tomatoes (drained if using canned)

Spices
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Paprika
Pinch of Cayenne
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Optional Toppings
Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese
Cilantro
Toasted Tortilla Strips

Saute Beyond Meat Veggie Strips in Canola Oil until lightly browned, let cool and shred with two forks. Set side. Saute Onion, Bell Pepper and Jalapeno in a small soup pot until tender, then add Garlic and Tomato and cook for an additional minute or until fragrant. Add Veggie Broth, Corn, Beans and Spices (and baking soda if using) and bring to a simmer, reduce heat and add Veggie Chicken, optional toppings and serve immediately. (Overcooking the Veggie Chicken will make it too soft!)

*I like to add a 1/4 tsp of baking soda to the soup directly after adding the veggie broth and tomatoes, then let it bubble and cook off for a few minutes to cut the acid from the tomatoes. This will cut down on heartburn if you have a tomato related weakness like I do.  

Here's the printable Recipe;

I usually add a heaping spoonful of sour cream and some shredded cheddar with a couple crumbled up tortilla chips on top, it's wonderful! 

Give it a try and let me know what you think! 

Thanks for stopping by!

​-Ashley

​

In preparation for my annual Friendsgiving I've put up my Thanksgiving Decor^ AND compiled a list of my very favorite Thanksgiving Main Dishes, Side Dishes and Desserts. Hopefully these will help you along the way, especially if you're new to going veggie or just want something less dangerous sounding than a Tofurky. 


Main Dishes
​1.) Vegetarian Meatloaf. This is delicious, it's made from lentils and oats and herbs and spices and it'll blow you out of the water, especially if you make it with this Vegetarian Gravy (more on that later.)

2.) Shepherds Pie. Ok, I know, this one is not Vegetarian BUT grab yourself some Smart Ground Meatless Crumbles and it instantly is! And what is more Festive than a pie covered in Potatoes. Plus, if you wanna get Really motivated you can always make this Shepherds Pie from scratch. They're both delicious! 

3.) Speaking of Pies, you should try Lentil and Potato Pot Pies with Rosemary Biscuit Crust OR Vegetarian Pot Pies with Feta Scallion Biscuits. Or you could also make my Recipe for Pot Pies, equally yummy! 

Wow, that's a lot of pies!

4.) One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese in my opinion Chili is a Holiday food, perfect for Football games and family gatherings, I served a big pot o'chili at last years Christmas gathering. This guy calls for meat stuff but you can easily sub in some Veggie Stock and Smart Ground Meatless Crumbles and presto! Vegetarian! 

5.) Soups! Nothing is cozier that a bowl full of soup! For Thanksgiving I'd recommend Slow Cooker Potato and Corn Chowder, Cheesy Vegetable Chowder, Vegetable Stew with Herb Dumplings (seriously, so good) and Crock Pot Minestrone. Crock pot soups are my favorite for entertaining, the soups make themselves and you can busy yourself with other important parts of the meal while they cook. 



Side Dishes
1.) Deviled Eggs, duh! This is a Holiday staple, there are a million different recipes for these magical things but the traditional version is my favorite. 

2.) Potatoes! Mashed Red Skin Potatoes, these are super simple to make on the big day. You could always try two of my other favorites; Cast Iron Skillet Rustic Potatoes (I seriously only own Steak Seasoning so I can make these tasty things) and Crash Hot Potatoes, Alex loves these guys! 

3.) Brussels Sprouts! This is my favorite Veggie side dish, I know Alex is not a fan but he can deal, I've gotta have my tiny alien heads. You should try Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries and Pecans, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Rosemary and Garlic or The Best Brussels Sprouts with tasty breadcrumbs. So many options! 

4.) Dip! I don't think I've celebrated a Holiday in years without bringing a dip along with me. These are a couple of my Holiday favorites, Zannies Black Eyed Pea Dip, Hot Artichoke Dip and Spicy Skillet Artichoke Dip. Yum! 

5.) Lastly, and most importantly=Vegetarian Gravy. This recipe is AMAZING. I seriously want to put this on everything. You must try it with mashed taters and veggie meatloaf and biscuits! Yum! 

5.5) I know I should include a biscuit recipe but I usually just make the canned croissants, I KNOW, I'm a big, fat cheater. Or I bake a loaf of Focaccia Bread and position it near the dip and let everyone choose their own adventure. 



Desserts
1.) Surprise=Pumpkin Pie! This is my favorite recipe, I like to make two at a time. They're magical. I've also been known to throw together a Cheesy Apple Pie or this Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie that got rave reviews. 

​2.) Cinnamon Maple Pecan Scones. Make them, they're delicious. 

3.) Cleta Bailey's Toffee Squares. I like to bake an entire sheet of these guys, (don't roll them out too thin!) and freeze them then give them out to guests as they leave as a little treat for the road.  

4.) Cinnamon Rolls! These are perfect especially if you have overnight guests for the Holiday. 

5.) Cookies; for November I like to make Apple Oatmeal Cookies with Glaze (pictured below), Twix Thumbprint Cookies or White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies.

I love pizza. You might have figured that out by such posts as Vegetarian Sausage Calzones and DIY Pizza Charms. I can't get enough of the stuff. 

This recipe makes wonderful deep dish skillet pizzas that will blow your mind with deliciousness. The dough recipe is your simple, basic crust BUT the Cast Iron Skillet is where all the magic happens. 

Cooking the dough in the skillet while you throw the ingredients on it makes the bottom all crispy and bubbly like, then a quick spin in the oven with an even quicker broil finishes it off with a nice, crispy, brown top.


Super simple, just saute your veggies...

Then throw your crust in a hot cast iron, reduce the heat and toss in your sauce...

Deep dish goodness! 

Then throw in all your veg and veggie meat...

Then toss on a bunch of cheese, then into the oven for a bit!

This pizza will blow your socks off! You can pick whatever toppings make you happy. I've made this with corn and zucchini, pesto and tomatoes, garlic chicken (well, soy chicken), roasted potatoes, the list goes on and on. 

Here's the recipe, give it a try! 

Cast Iron Skillet Pizza 
Makes 2 Pizzas

Dough
1 Cup Warm Water
1&1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Sugar
2&3/4 Cups Flour
11&1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast

If using a Bread Machine, add ingredients in order listed, choose Dough setting and let your machine do its thing! Make sure to check the dough about 5 minutes into the first Knead cycle to make sure it's not too dry, add an extra teaspoon or so of water if it is. 

If making dough from scratch, combine warm water and yeast, let sit for about 5 minutes until frothy. While liquid and yeast are sitting, sift together salt, sugar and flour. Mix activated yeast water to dry ingredients then knead into a ball, set into a large, greased bowl, covered and let rise for one hour (I like to spray the top with a mist of canola oil so it doesn't dry out.) Knead after one hour, put back into greased bowl and let rise for another hour. 

Separate dough in to two balls. I like to make a dough "log" and run a pizza cutter through the middle to make two even portions. 

Ps. I wouldn't recommend frozen dough for this recipe because frozen dough turns out a little tough on reheating imo. If you don't plan to make two pizzas in this style I'd use the leftover dough for an oven baked crust. just sayin.

Toppings
(to be divided on two pizzas)
2 Field Roast Sausage Links
1/2 Red Onion
3/4 Green Bell Pepper
4 Tbsp Black Olives
2 Clove Garlic
2 tsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Marinara Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly saute red onion, bell pepper, sausage in olive oil until slightly tender, then add garlic and saute until fragrant, set aside. Heat Cast Iron Skillet until smoking on a medium high burner. Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to fit skillet. Reduce skillet heat to Medium, quickly (carefully) throw your dough into the skillet then cover with half your toppings in this order; sauce, veggies, olives, cheese and red pepper flakes. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 400° (keep an eye on it) then broil for one minute or until cheese gets a nice hint of brown to it and crust is toasty. Slide pizza onto cutting board and make pizza number two in the same manner. 

Here's the handy printable version. 

This has become one of my favorite ways to make pizza, it's quick, simple and gives your crust an awesome texture. 

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by! 

​-Ashley 

This weekend my friends and I got together for a spooky Halloween tradition; Pumpkin Carving! 

I made a big crock pot of Zuppa Toscana Soup, a huge batch of Chex Mix and two fantastic pumpkin pies! 
​

I was going to share the soup recipe here but, unfortunately, it did not turn out as delicious as planned so it's being rewritten and should be posted up here as a November recipe. The Chex Mix turned out marvelous though, I used this recipe from Half Baked Harvest  and it was buttery and delicious and my  guests couldn't get enough of it. 

 My Pumpkin Pies turned out great! I used this recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction (the woman is a genius) and doubled it, made two fantastic pies, my friends were fat and happy by the time they left. 

We made some felt face masks before we carved our pumpkins. These ones are mine. Alex is The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and I'm a Peacock! 

Jess made herself a Luna Cat mask, from Sailor Moon. 

Hannah and her boyfriend Alex worked together to create a mask for Perchik, her beloved stuffed animal. Here he is in his Victoria Secret Angel costume. 

And here he is in his festive Halloween mask. 

After all that hard work a few us finally got around to carving the Pumpkins! I made my annual kitty cat Pumpkin, it's tradition! 

My Alex made a Mike Wazowski Pumpkin.

And Jess made a Corey Hart Pumpkin. He wears his sunglasses at night. 

Hannah and her Alex supervised. They were too cool to carve. 

Our Punkin's turned out super cute! 

After carving and crafting and eating everyone slipped into food comas. We watched Halloweentown II, Eerie Indiana and Goosebumps. I like to keep my Halloween shows rated G. 

It was a successful night of good, clean Halloween fun. Everyone went home with extra soup and Pumpkin Pie! 

I hope you are carving your Pumpkins in preparation for the big day! Thanks for reading about our Holiday adventures. Happy Halloween! 

-Ashley 

Pie Season is here! It's time for Pumpkin Pies and Apple Pies and Pot Pies! I couldn't be more thrilled! I thought I'd share with you today one of my favorite Fall dishes; biscuit pot pie. Yum! It's buttery and starchy and full of tasty veggies, herbs and spices. You've gotta try this.  

My recipe is loosely modified from this recipe from Annie's Eats (which is also delicious.) If you desperately need this pie but don't have any buttermilk on hand you can always use this invaluable trick that Ree Drummond taught me and add about a 1/4 tsp of vinegar to your (pre-measured) regular milk and turn it into buttermilk. Easy peasy. 

I love biscuit pot pies because they're just as buttery and flaky as your average pot pie but you don't have to go to the trouble of making pie crust,  just throw together some buttermilk biscuits at the end. And if you don't have ramekins you can always pour your veggie/gravy mix into a casserole dish and cover with lots of little biscuits, which will be just as adorable. 



First you'll want to saute your veggies until they're nice and tender, (take your time, you'll want them pretty soft) then add the garlic and flour and mix it right it. Then add the veggie broth, herbs and spices until they form a heavenly gravy. Don't forget to add the peas! 

Then ladle your gravy/veg into some ramekins or a pie dish...

Then cover with homemade biscuits and brush them with extra buttermilk! Cook for 20 min at 400° and you're done! 

Here's the Recipe;

Vegetarian Biscuit Pot Pies
Serves 4

Filling
3 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Yellow Onion
2 Peeled Carrots
4 Baby Yukon Potatoes
2 Stalks Celery
3/4 Cup Peas
2 Cloves Garlic
6 Tbsp Flour
2 Cups Vegetable Broth
1/4 Cup Water
1/8 tsp dried Sage
1/8 tsp dried Thyme
1/8 tsp dried, crushed Rosemary
Shake of Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper

Biscuit
1&1/2 Cups Flour
1&1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
6 Tbsp Cold, Unsalted Butter
1/2 plus 1-2 Tbsp Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400° lightly grease 4 small ramekins or a small casserole or pie dish. 

Chop onion, celery, carrots, potatoes and garlic. Melt butter on medium heat in a large saucepan or dutch oven, toss in all veggies but the garlic and saute until quite tender. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes, let cook for about a minute, toss in 6 Tbsp of flour and stir to coat veggies. Slowly mix in veggie broth, add herbs and salt and pepper. Cook until gravy is thick and bubbly, add extra 1/4 cup of water IF the gravy is too thick. Remove from heat and add peas. Pour your filling into your prepared container(s) and throw together some biscuits. 

For the biscuits; whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. Cut in 6 Tbsp of cold butter w/forks, knives, pastry cutter or your food processor. Slowly stir in milk until it comes together into a soft dough. Roll out onto floured surface with rolling pin to approximately 3/4" thick, cut out your biscuits to fit your ramekins. You will need to roll out the dough twice to get all the biscuits cut, try not to overwork it! I got about 7 biscuits out of this dough, if you have extras just bake them next to your pies on some parchment paper. 

Place your biscuits on top of your pie filling and brush the tops with any leftover buttermilk. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before eating. Enjoy! 

Here's the printable version;

These are amazing! The gravy is top notch and will make your house smell like magical herbs and buttery garlic and all that is good in the world. I recommend sauteing your veggies until they're super tender, these little pies only bake for 20 minutes and it's not quite long enough to do any damage on those veggies if they're too crisp going into the oven. 

Try them! I've made these twice this month already. It's Fall, I need pie! 

Thanks for reading.

-Ashley 

I love a good Cobb Salad but most recipes call for lots of meat, and that's not my bag. This recipe is simple, delicious and goes together super quickly. You can use any dressing you like, I think a traditional Cobb calls for Blue Cheese dressing but i prefer a Vinaigrette or a Caesar, it's up to you! Find what feels right. 

This recipe does call for some veggie "meats." Specifically, MorningStar Bacon Strips and Beyond Meat Chicken Strips, Textured Vegetable Protein, Yum! 

Vegetarian Cobb Salad
Serves 2

1 Bag/Head of Lettuce
4 Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
6 Strips Beyond Meat Veggie Chicken Strips
4 Strips MorningStar Veggie Bacon
2 Tbsp Black Olives
2.5 Tbsp Olive oil (divided) 
Kosher Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Croutons
Parmesan Cheese
Dressing of Choice (I used Balsamic Vinaigrette)

First of all you'll want to boil your eggs and potatoes. Boil potatoes in a small pot for 20 minutes or until fork tender. To hard boil your eggs; put them in a small pot, fill with water, make sure there’s at least an inch of water on top of your eggs. Bring to a boil, immediately remove from heat and set aside, covered for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from water with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water to cool until ready to peel. 

Peel cooled eggs and roughly chop, set aside. Quarter cooked potatoes, toss in a bowl and drizzle with 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, add a sprinkle of kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and garlic powder, stir and season to taste. 

To fry up the veggie "meat" I like to heat two small skillets, each with a Tbsp of Olive oil. I like to fry up the Veggie Bacon on the cast iron so it gets extra crispy and delicious and the Veggie Chicken in the non-stick otherwise it sticks like crazy. After the Veggie Chicken is brown and crisp take it out and shred it with two forks. Drain your fried Veggie Bacon on some paper towels then give it a rough chop. 

Place bacon, chicken, potatoes, eggs, onto a big bed of lettuce, add olives, croutons, cheese and a drizzle of dressing. Toss and/or chop salad to desired consistency. 

You can toss on tomatoes, mushrooms, blue cheese crumbles, avocado whatever floats your boat! Get creative!
Enjoy! 

This was wonderfully delicious and I wholeheartedly recommend you give it a try! Especially if you haven't tried Beyond Meat Veggie Chicken, you'll be impressed! 

Here's the Printable version,

Thanks for stopping by!

-Ashley

Comfort Food! 

Casserole season is upon us!!! This is one of my favorite recipes, I've spent years perfecting it to be just the way I like it! No evil mushrooms, extra creamy and no cans of stuff! It's a pretty large recipe, Alex likes to eat Tuna Casserole leftovers morning, noon and night so I usually make a big batch. (Pictured is the recipe cut in half.)

We tried out about 5 different Tuna Casserole recipes before we decided we just needed to make up our own! None of them were quite right! Too bland, too many servings, canned soups, cream cheese! This one is just perfect for us, plus, it's super easy to cut in half if you'd like to make less. I actually ended up using 2 cans of tuna for the halved version today just because I really like tuna, but it's up to you! Choose your own adventure! 

Without further ado, here is my magical recipe; 

Here's the printable version. 

Not gonna lie, this is the cats favorite recipe too. They get pumped the second they hear the cans come out of the cupboard. Hehe. Try it, you'll like it! 

Thanks for visiting!

-Ashley 

Every September I get super excited to bust out some of our favorite Fall recipes. We spend the whole Summer making burgers and stir fry so when September rolls around I'm more than ready to eat some comfort food. I've listed some of the substitutions we use to make a lot of these recipes Vegetarian. 

 Without further ado, here are ten of my favorite Fall Recipes! Warning, starch ahead! 

#1) Soup! Nothing says cozy like a good, hearty soup. We love the Cheesy Vegetable Chowder from Lulu the Baker. I've made it about 100 times and it always turns out delicious. We've also made it in the crock pot a few times with great success. 

#2) Casserole! The Bakey Cheesy Pasta from Back to Her Roots it one of my very favorites. It's quick and easy and reheats wonderfully. We substitute Smart Ground Veggie Protein Crumbles instead of ground beef and it turns out nice and tasty. 

#3) Mac&Cheese! Who am I kidding, we make this all the time! The Baked Macaroni and Cheese from A Beautiful Mess appears on our menu at least once a month regardless of the weather. 

#4) Seafood! Is there anything better than a gravy based dish on a cold day? This Shrimp Etouffe recipe from Closet Cooking is just ridiculously good. This dude knows what he's doing in the kitchen. 

#5) Chili! This One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese from Damn Delicious is the comfort food to end all comfort food. It's soup, but it's pasta, but it's casserole!? It's all the magical hearty Fall foods mixed together and covered in cheese. We substitute Smart Ground Veggie Protein Crumbles and Veggie broth in this recipe and it turns out great every time. 

#6) Potatoes! Man, it was tough to pick a favorite, I LOVE potatoes! In the end Ree Drummonds Crash Hot Potatoes won. We start making these as soon as the weather gets cool. They're perfect with Salmon or a big Cobb Salad. Try them! You'll like 'em! 

#7.) Fritatta! I love me a good Fritatta. It's the best way to use up all your leftover veggies. This Cheesy Bacon and Potato Fritatta from A Cook at Heart is awesome! We use Morningstar Veggie Bacon Strips and add an extra egg or two because our skillet is a little bigger than the recommended size, and it is magical. 

#8) Bread! Alex is pretty much crazy about caramelized onions and when I came across this recipe last year I knew he was gonna love it. This Caramelized Onion and Cherry Tomato Focaccia Recipe from Cake Duchess is fantastic. (Though if I put Tomatoes on it I'd have a riot on my hands!)

#9) Pumpkin Spice! I wait all Summer to make these. Seriously. They're that good. Baked Pumpkin Donut Holes from The Comfort of Cooking.  They totally taste like super fried, unhealthy donuts, but they're not! They're baked, and we all know baking burns off all the calories! :) (I would recommend keeping these guys in the fridge otherwise they get a little soggy by day 2 from the delicious buttery coating.)

#10) Pie! Skillet Shepherds Pie from The Cooking Jar is fabulous. Of course we substitute Smart Ground Veggie Protein Crumbles and Vegetable Bullion. This recipe calls for frozen mixed veggies so it comes together in a pinch. Sometimes I even toss in Kidney Beans to make it a little more filling. 

I really wanted to include a more traditional Veggie Pot Pie recipe for you guys but every recipe I have saved has a long list of substitutions and additions, and well, isn't quite true to the original recipe. I guess I'll just have to write one myself!  

Give these a try! I've made all the recipes on this list a bunch of times and have never been disappointed. Go forth and make comfort food! 

Oh man, I think I need to go for a jog after looking at all these starchy recipes! 

Thanks for reading!

-Ashley