Vegetarian Dressing Thanksgiving Food

SAVORY VEGETARIAN STUFFING RECIPE

Steps:

• Begin by preparing the vegetables. Wash and slice the mushrooms, wash and dice the celery, peel and shred the carrots (use a large-holed cheese grater), dice the onion, mince the garlic, and chop the parsley.
• Add 3 Tbsp of the butter to a large pot along with the sliced mushrooms. Sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until they have released all of their moisture and have begun to caramelize and brown on the edges (about 5-7 minutes).
• Add the garlic, onion, sage, thyme, some freshly cracked pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt to the pot. Continue to sauté the onions are soft and transparent (about 3-5 minutes), add the celery and continue to sauté for a few minutes more. Finally, add the shredded carrots and continue to sauté for a couple more minutes, or just until the carrots begin to soften.
• While sautéing the vegetables, add the chopped walnuts to a dry skillet. Cook and stir the walnut pieces over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or just until they begin to give off a nutty aroma. Remove them from the heat immediately.
• Finally, add the toasted walnuts, the remaining 3 Tbsp butter, and a handful of fresh parsley to the pot. Stir until the butter has fully melted. Taste the vegetable mixture and add a touch more salt if needed. It should be well seasoned.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cut the stale bread into 1/2-inch cubes. Add the cubes to the pot with the sautéed vegetables and herbs. Stir well to coat the bread in the butter. Finally, pour in the vegetable broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well each time before adding more. The bread will not be completely saturated, but will absorb more moisture as the stuffing bakes.
• Coat the inside of a 3-quart casserole dish with non-stick spray. Add the stuffing mixture to the casserole dish, spread it out evenly, and compress it down slightly. Cover the dish with foil. Bake the stuffing in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crispy. Garnish with any remaining chopped parsley just before serving.

SIMPLE VEGETARIAN STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray or butter. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
• Add onion, carrot, celery, and 1 tablespoon sage. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 7 minutes.
• Add the garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
• Add the vegetable stock and remove from the heat.
• Pour the stuffing cubes into the prepared baking dish and add the remaining sage and broth mixture. Stir well to coat.
• Bake 45-60 minutes, stirring once, until the stuffing is beginning to crisp on the edges.

VEGETARIAN DRESSING

Steps:

• Place bread cubes in an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, stirring twice. Set aside., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook celery and onion in butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in the cranberries, salt, rosemary, thyme, sage, poultry seasoning and pepper; cook 2 minutes longer., In a large bowl, combine bread cubes and celery mixture. Add broth and combine., Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until lightly browned.

SIMPLE VEGAN STUFFING

Steps:

• The night before, cube your bread and set it in a large bowl to dry out - you want it to be the texture of day old bread - noticeably dry but not rock hard.
• The day of, if you haven't already cooked your lentils, do so now by thoroughly rinsing 3/4 cup lentils in cold water, then adding to a small saucepan with 1 1/2 cups veggie broth or water (amount as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size).
• Cook over medium-high heat until a low boil is achieved, and then lower to a simmer and continue cooking uncovered for 20-30 minutes. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a 9x13 pan (or comparable sized dish // as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size) with foil or spray with nonstick spray. Also prepare flax egg by mixing flaxseed meal and water and set aside.
• Sauté onion and celery in the olive oil or vegan butter and season with a bit of salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant and translucent - about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• To the bowl of bread, pour most of the broth then add the remaining ingredients (sage, cooked veggies, flax egg, and lentils) and mix with a wooden spoon. The key is to make sure it is about the consistency of a meatloaf: Moist but not soggy. It should hold its shape if formed into a shape but liquid shouldn't squeeze out of it. Too dry and it will be really dry after cooking. Too wet and it will be soggy and never get any crisp texture. If too dry, add more broth and mix again. If it's gotten too wet, add more bread.
• Transfer to the prepared pan and cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. Then remove the top layer of foil so the top can brown. Increase heat to 400 degrees F (204 C) and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the top is well browned and crisp.
• Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Leftovers reheat well in the microwave or oven, though best when fresh.
• This dish would be awesome with vegan mashed potatoes and my vegan mushroom gravy!

MUSHROOM STUFFING

Steps:

• Butter one 9x13 inch casserole dish. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Rinse, pat dry and quarter mushrooms. In large skillet heat butter and add mushrooms, onion and celery; saute 5 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.
• In large mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs with broth and eggs, add mushroom mixture, apples and parsley; mix well. Turn into casserole dish.
• Cover and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for about 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake 15 minutes longer to brown top.