Vegan Lasagna and Black Bean Enchiladas

I have been craving lasagna and the recipes I kept coming across just didn't look like what I wanted. So, I decided to create my own version and the finished product was quite tasty. The only thing I would change would be to either double the sauce recipe or make an additional sauce (such as fresh marinara) to top the lasagna with - mine was a bit dry, especially since the sauce is fairly thick. I used some of my seitan sausage (recipe in previous post) and crumbled it to resemble bulk sausage - it turned out much better than eating a patty of seitan sausage. All in all, this dish was filling, tasty and fulfilled my craving for Italian comfort food! And to top it all off, my 4 yr old liked it - definite plus!!

Vegan Lasagna
(this sauce recipe is a twist on Vegan Yum Yum's Creamy Tomato Pasta sauce)
1/2 cup fire roasted diced tomatoes
1/2 cup cashew cream
1 T tomato paste
2 T olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
Heat olive oil in a skillet and add garlic, cooking until golden. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour sauce into garlic skillet and cook for 5 min to blend flavors. Set aside.
10 cooked lasagna noodles
1 cup seitan sausage, crumbled
1 chopped onion
1 1/2 T olive oil
In a skillet over medium high heat, heat oil. Add onion and sausage and cook until onions are translucent and sausage is browned.
Layer noodles, sausage/onion mixture, and sauce in a baking dish. Bake for 20 min in 400 degree oven.

I am always in the mood for Mexican food...well almost - and I have found several enchilada recipes that look good. I must admit that I am a bit skeptical about enchiladas sans cheese however! When I came across the recipe for Averie's "Spicy Doritos" Cheezy Dip (Amber@AlmostVegan), I decided to make up my own ensemble of ingredients. The result was pretty spicy and I don't think the cheesy sauce tastes a bit like Dorito flavoring but it was still pretty good!


Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas with Cheesy Sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup water
1 T chili powder
2 t cumin
1 t garlic powder
2 t fine sea salt
2 t minced dried onions
3/4 cup spicy vegan sausage (I used Field Roast Chipotle), crumbled and browned
10 corn tortillas
1 recipe Spicy Doritos Dip (see below)
Combine beans, water and spices in a saucepan and heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and mash until most beans are smooth. You can leave a few whole for added texture. Stir sausage into beans and set aside. Heat tortillas on griddle to increase pliability. Fill each tortilla with a scoop of the bean mixture. Roll up and place in an 8x8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour sauce over enchiladas. Bake at 375 degrees until bubbly and tortillas are tender - about 15-20 min.

My adapted version of Averie's "Spicy Doritos" Cheezy Dip
1/2 C cashew cream
1/4 cup vegan sour cream
1/4 nutritional yeast
1/2 of a Red Pepper
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Tsp Salt (or to taste)
1 1/2 Tsp Chili Powder (add more to taste if desired)
1/8 Tsp Cayenne (add more to taste if desired)

Combine All Ingredients and Blend until Smooth