Match Meat Pizza

It’s another #MeatlessMonday!!  But wait you say, it’s Thursday!  That’s true, it is Thursday, but I’ve been pretty lax in my support of #MeatlessMonday the past few weeks and I wanted to get back in the swing of things.  So all this week, we’re doing meatless recipes.  (By the way, next week will be a celebration of all thing seafood in honor of lent and the sacrifices made around the world by Catholics everywhere.)

Anyhoo, this recipe is pretty simple.  I included it for two reasons.  First, it’s a simple.  It’ s not quick due to the fact I’ve included a whole wheat crust recipe, but that can easily be replaced by something store bought.

Secondly, it’s vegan.

Now for the recipe »

but with extra diabla and some vegan crab Match meat.  All of which makes really good

Camarones a la Diabla Minus the Camarones

So, there’s a lot going on with this post today.  In brief, what I wanted to do was keep the week of #MeatlessMonday recipes theme going on, so this recipe is absolutely 100% vegan.  It doesn’t get much more #MeatlessMonday than that.

Secondly, in case you don’t know what camarones a la diabla are, they are one of my absolute favorite Mexican dishes.  Translated literally it means shrimp of the the devil, or deviled shrimp, but they are a fabulously spicy shrimp dish I order a lot at Mexican places.  The shrimp are stewed in a spicy tomato sauce and served with warm tortillas, rice, and avocado.  So good.

Of course, there’s a problem, right?  Camarones are meat.  This is #MeatlessMonday (Wednesday edition.)  That means no camarones.  So that’s when I turned to my good friends at Match and their Uh-may-ZING vegan crab made from plant proteins.  So good.

In the end, I came up with something that was not bad for a first attempt at a Mexican dish.  It still needs some work, but I think I got pretty darn close.

Now for the recipe »

Yeah, I know it’s Tuesday, but I want to keep #MeatlessMonday going on all week long, so how about

Vegetarian Quesadillas with Mushrooms

Okay, so a quick footnote.  This entire week, I’m going to be blogging #MeatlessMonday recipes despite the fact that only one day can actually be Monday (and that, of course, was yesterday.)  However, I missed a few #MeatlessMondays and I am atoning for it this week with lots of vegetarian and vegan recipes. 

Also, I am thinking that this is timely for lent since a lot of you have to go without meat on Friday.  I promise that meatless does not have to be borning.  And who knows, maybe next week, we’ll talk fish.

Okay, anyway, let’s talk quesadillas with mushrooms.  So, I got this idea tonight at dinner while perusing the vegetarian section (what can I say, I was looking for ideas?)  and on the menu there were several versions of quesadillas with “marinated mushrooms.”  Some came with zucchini and other vegetables, which all sounded good, but for some reason, the idea of a simple mushroom quesadilla just sounded good.

So, let’s roll with it.

Now for the recipe »

So the question was asked at today’s #FNI what’s my favorite soup, which has to be

Creamy Potato Soup

Specifically, the creamy potato soup from Panera served with a nice piece of whole wheat French baguette.  (Though, I answered Beef Barley soup, but that was just pandering.)  Anyway, I got to thinking how a good creamy potato soup recipe would be just the thing for a great #MeatlessMonday post.

Except for one thing.  Bacon.

I’m pretty sure one of the things that makes Panera’s creamy potato soup so good is none other than bacon.  And yes,  bacon does taste good, but this is #MeatlessMonday and so we’re going to take it out and see if we can’t make a great soup anyway.

Now for the recipe »

It’s Valentine’s Day, what are you going to do for romance?  How about a nice

Asparagus and Avocado Salad

Now, maybe you think I’ve lost my mind here and you probably wouldn’t be too far off.  But see, I know my other #letslunch compatriots are going to do romantic meals with chocolate and probably strawberries and all that fancy schmancy romantic stuff.  But I’ve found that romance is really something you have to tackle on a case-by-case basis.

For instance, if you want to romance me with food, show up with sushi.  Or crab legs.  Preferrably both.  And a nice sweet champagne.

If you tried that on my wife, well a) you’d have me to deal with but b) she hates seafood and doesn’t much like champagne.  She’s more of a chocolate only kind of gal.

So I’ve decided to do what I do best and turn this romantic Valentine’s Day into nice cheap potty humor.  How you might ask?  With a little help from the Romans.

Now for the recipe »

Stir Fry

So, I was asked today about veggie stir fry recipes and after doing some searching and head scratching, I realized I hadn’t ever done a post on plain ol’

Vegetable Stir Fry

It’s an oversight I shall now correct.

Make no mistake about it.  Stir fry is so easy to do and, as such, is one of the WellDone family’s quick and easy go-to meals.  It’s also wonderful when we have a bunch of odds and ends that need to get turned into a dish just hanging out in the fridge.  Stuff like a stalk of celery, a carrot, half a green pepper, what have you.  We throw it all in a hot wok and in about 2 minutes you have a tasty, healthy, meatless, dinner.

Now, there is a trick to making a good stir fry, and it’s not what you think.  What is it?  Read on…

Now for the recipe »

It’s one thing to get to be sent marinara and vodka sauces.  It’s another to be sent Paul Sorvino’s authentic neapolitian marinara and vodka sauces. 

Now, I’m not one to go ga ga for a movie star, but I really like the movies Goodfellas and Bulworth (both starring Mister Sorvino) so it was kind of cool when someone from Paul Sorvino Food sent me two jars of sauce: one of marinara and the other of vodka sauce.  It was even cooler when I came home to find my wife watching Goodfellas and I could go in to the pantry and grab one the jars (which feature a picture of Mister Sorvino) and ask “Look familar?”

It was less of a thrill when she replied “No.  Who is the guy on the jar?”

Anyway, that’s neither here nor there.  It was still pretty cool to review a sauce made by one of the stars of arguably the greatest mafia movie ever (yes, I preferred it to The Godfather. What you gonna do about it??)  And yes, I realize Mister Sorvino is an actor, but let me say he’s a supremely good actor.  Maybe a little too good.

So, just in case, let me say in no uncertain terms that Paul Sorvino Foods’ sauces are the best pasta sauces I’ve ever had.  No questions asked.

Okay, in all seriousness, Paul Sorvino Foods opened in 2007 when Mister Sorvino decide to release a series of food products based on his mother’s recipes.  Undoubtedly, his mother was a great cook because her sauce, even after it survived the jarring and shipping process was nice and rich and chunky.  That was a very pleasant surprise and more like what I expect from an Italian restaurant.  The vodka sauce was a lot smoother, but creamier.

And how do they taste?

Let’s start with the vodka sauce.  I am not the world’s greatest alla vodka sauce fan.  I like my vodka, I just don’t like it with tomatoes.  With that said, if I had to do penne alla vodka, I’d probably reach for a jar of Paul Sorvino Foods’ sauce.  I really like both its sweentess and its pronounced tang.  I especially liked the lack of overpowering alcohol flavor.  When fixing for guests, I might add a pinch more red pepper flake, but that’s because I like heat and I want it to balance the sweet.

On the other hand, the marinara was definitely my favorite.  When we first tried it, I took some straight out of the jar and put it on my noodles (shells in this case, because they are BWD, Jr. friendly)  and the sauce tasted fine, but it was a little thin. 

After dinner was over, I got to thinking about the thinness of the sauce and went back and read the label.  Sure enough, it said that the marinara needed to be simmered before eating.  So I put it in a sauce pan over medium heat (per the label) and let it bubble away for 10-15 minutes.

The resulting sauce was so much better.  The flavors were bolder, the chunky tomatoes broke down and gave the sauce a much richer tomato flavor, and the chunks of garlic got soft and perfumed the marinara.  Much, much better.  Much better.

So, my suggestion is that you try Paul Sorvino’s mama’s marinara and vodka sauces.  My recommendation is that you set them to simmering about the same time you get your pasta water boiling.  Cleaning the extra pot will definitely be worth all that extra flavor.

The picture was taken from Facebook.com/PaulSorvinoFoods and is used without explicit permission.

What would unResolution Month be without

Vegan Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

using Newman’s Own Newman-O’s?  No where, that’s where!!

Real quick, first it is with a heavy heart that I make this post.  This is the final day of not only Vegan Week, but unResolution Month as a whole.  It’s a bittersweet moment, but it is a sweet moment since we’re going out with vegan ice cream!

We love this recipe in the BlogWellDone household.  We’re ice cream fans here in a bad, bad way.  For this, I blame Mrs. WellDone since when we became one in that whole marriage ceremony thing, I seem to have gotten her sweet tooth.  On the other hand, she seems to have gotten my desire to tinker with recipes.  Thus, it is with all due praise and admiration that I admit that this is her adaption of a recipe that came with our ice cream machine.

She was even the one who decided to add the Newman-Os, which are vegan chocolate sandwich cookies produced by Newman’s Own Organics, a company which produces some fantastic products.  (I’m in no way affiliated with them, we just like their vegan Newman-Os, lemonade, and salad dressing.)

The only problem I have with this recipe is that it requires an ice cream maker.  I wish I had a recipe for ice cream that didn’t require additional equipment, but it does.  The good news is that ice cream makers are not that expensive and they make really great ice cream.  Vegan or otherwise.

Now for the recipe »

Tofu Rules! at 1177 West Hastings by Roland

Tofu + chocolate?  Must be unResolution Month’s Vegan Week and

Vegan Tofu Chocolate Pie

Yes, that’s right tofu chocolate pie.  Seriously.

Oh, real quick.  Welcome to the second-to-last day of unResolution Month!  It’s been an educational, enriching, delicious, resolution-breaking month!  I hope you’ve enjoyed the recipes as much as I have!  Plus, don’t worry, we’ll do it next year, too!

Anyway, back to tofu chocolate pie.  This whole concept may sound weird.  I know when I was first vegan, the whole concept of blending chocolate and tofu sounded about as sane as mixing chocolate and Velvetta.  Then I had chocolate soy milk, which is mixing soy + chocolate and that’s really good.  I highly recommend it. 

So if a little chocolate mixed in with some soy milk is worth a try, I guarantee this pie filled with delicious chocolate, margarine, and sugar is really, really worth it.  Oh, and tomorrow, I promise I’ll give you that vegan ice cream recipe so you can have vegan pie a la mode!

Now for the recipe »

Okay, one last vegan wing recipe and it is

Vegan Asian Zing Wings with Match Chicken

Yes, I am following a theme of veganizing Buffalo Wild Wings recipes with the frying instructions for Match Chicken.  No, I’m not sorry because BWW makes AWESOME wings.  However, today I finally get to feel useful since there is a good chance the Asian Zing sauce isn’t vegan right off the bat. So, I’m going to veganize it.

See, the Asian Zing sauce uses chili-garlic sauce, which you could kind of call Asian ketchup and not be too far off the bat.  I’m pretty sure that the sugar they use when making the sauce was processed using animal bones and therefore, should not be considered vegan.  The good news is that it won’t be too hard to make our own chili-garlic sauce knock off.

Oh, and as a word to the wise, one of the commenters on the recipe was complaining that the wings were too hot.  I think that’s because she used the wrong type of chili-garlic sauce.  As near as I can tell, there are two types of chili-garlic sauce.  One basically looks like runny jelly with little red flakes.  That’s what you want to use.  The other stuff is thick and red and looks like tomato sauce.  That stuff is HOT and would kill you in this recipe.  (I think that’s Sichuan chili-garlic sauce, actually.)

Now for the recipe »