First and most importantly enjoy the holidays and being with the people you love! Be grateful, don’t sweat the small stuff and of course practice conscious cooking!
I cook free form and encourage you to do the same – cooking is creative, meditative and fun! Make every dish your own!
All quantities depend on how many you are cooking for but that said I always make more than needed because left overs are amazingly tasty and it’s nice to give your friends and family a little leftover goodie bag to go home with.
Foturkey It’s completely delicious!!! It comes with gravy and stuffing inside so your fine if that’s all the effort you want to put in but personally I make my own gravy and stuffing.
This is soy based so you might want to have some grilled tofu as another protein option. Here is a great recipe.
Alternative to Soy
Try getting a Quorn Turkey Roast, it is made from corn and is a very very tasty!
Gravy:
Here is a link to a recipe to make it from scratch but I personally use the vegitarian powder packets, about 2-3, and just add an entire box of vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, pepper and garlic powder. You can add scallions and parsley as well. Stir regularly and let it thicken if it thickens too much, or to freshen a left over batch, just add some vegetable broth.
Stuffing:
This is my most requested dish! When I cook this I purposely make more than needed so my friends get to leave with some leftovers and I put some in the freezer to enjoy later. Get any bread stuffing you like, I prefer the organic multi-grain pre seasoned with herbs but there is every kind under the sun these days, even gluten free. I spray some olive olive oil into a large pan and make the dish right in it and this makes it super easy to make, throw it in the oven and then straight onto the table if you like – but I do think putting it in a nice big bowl is nicer.
I use three bags of stuffing and add chopped up scallion x2, onion x2, watercress x2, spinach x3 bags, kale x1 and garlic x 3-5 cloves. Add salt and pepper x 1 teaspoon or to taste. Add two cans of organic split pea, cream of celery and cream of broccoli soup. Fake sausage can really add that something special, to me it’s not the same without it! I like Gimme Lean you can pre cook it and crumble it into main stuffing pan but sometimes if I cannot find that brand any veggie sausage brand is fine, and if you like spicy you can get them spicy version…yuuummmmy – which ever you use make sure it’s in small pieces. I mix it all together and cook at 450 degrees. I have to pull it out of the oven a few times to stir it and turn it over so that every bit of it gets a chance to get a bit crispy.
Sweet Potato Mash
Leave the skins on – tons of great nutrients in them! Chop into small pieces, boil, drain water, and put potatoes back in pot and mash. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste.
Woman’s health has more than one great recipe for this tasty and super healthy food.
Veggie Potato Bake:
Chop up potatoes – the petite small and colorful ones are fun! Lots of root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, turnips’, onion and garlic. Sprinkle olive oil liberally and add salt and pepper – to taste can vary for many people so go light to medium and let everyone add what they like once it’s done. That said remember you always need more salt and pepper than you think! Bake in the oven at 450 degrees until crispy. You will have to stir it a few times to make sure all of it is crispy on all sides and you may need to add a bit more olive oil when you stir it up.
Veggie Polenta
You can’t go wrong with this! Depending on how many you are serving you will have to gage how much you need but let’s say you have 6-10 people…
2-3 tubes of polenta – I like the garlic basil – you want to chop it up and it will become a mash once you begin to cook it.
Chop up all the veggies you love – I use 4-5 squash, 3 bags of spinach, 1 bag of kale, 1 onion, 1 scallion, 6 garlic cloves, a handful of parsley
Spice it up – I use nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, garlic, a bit of cayenne if your people like spice (if you are unsure it’s best to just have it on the table) and whatever else you love.
Get out a big pan or wok – that’s what I use, pour in a bit of olive oil, you do not need much! And throw it all in and begin to stir, stir, stir and as you do keep adding water and that will turn the polenta into a mash as you stir. It’s a constant repeat of add water, sir and repeat. Do this until you achieve the texture you want. I would say I add half a cup of water about 5-6 times while I am stirring it all up, sometimes more.
I actually make this for myself all the time and keep it in the freezer so I can have it whenever I like without having to do it all from scratch every time.
Broccoli Casserole:
I have had many versions of this and they are all great! This is how I do it. In a large pan I layer from the bottom up 4-6 cups of cooked brown rice, 4-6 bags of chopped broccoli with 2 cans / boxes of cream of celery soup mixed in (I sauté the broccoli in the cream of celery soup for just a few minutes before I put it on top of the rice so it’s a bit soft) and 4-6 bags of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Bake at 450 degrees until golden brown.
I also found this broccoli quinoa casserole recipe that looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! The woman who wrote it did it for Easter but I’ve always eaten this during the end of year holidays – I pretty much think it’s amazing anytime of the year!
Garlic String Beans:
They are easy to over cook so I do a three-minute boil. Add just a bit of olive oil if you want but it’s not needed honestly. Light salt, pepper and very finely chopped garlic. Sprinkle some shaved pine nuts on top (or have on the side in case anyone is allergic to nuts) and room temperature is perfect for this dish!
Spinach pie:
Chopped spinach x 4-6 bags, eggs / egg whites x4, shredded mozzarella cheese x3 bags, chopped garlic x3 or 4 cloves, salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some parmesan cheese, about 1 cup and it adds a little something extra. Mix all ingredients very well! Butter or olive oil your pan very well and bake in the oven at 400 degrees until lightly brown on top.
Here is a tasty looking spinach and Gruyere quiche recipe. Personally I would loose the piecrust and just make it as above but it’s your meal, your choice.
Brussel sprouts:
Use at least three pounds but if more than 12 people go for 4-6 pounds. Cut into half’s, sprinkle with some olive oil and add salt, pepper and garlic powder and bake at 450 degrees until well done – I even like it when some are close to being burnt! In general crispy is a crowd favorite.
Vegetarian Times has some good options as well!
Here are some other great holiday meal ideas from Eating Well, enjoy!
