Red Beans and Rice

A few years ago, I went to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and fell madly in love with Red Beans and Rice. Here is my vegetarian version.

1 Bag Quorn Grounds
1 Package Tofurky Italian Sausage

1 Medium Onion

1/2 Tbl fresh squished garlic
2 Tbl Olive Oil
Water
2 Cans Pinquito Beans (or some kind of seasoned pinto or kidney beans)
1 Tbl Liquid Smoke
3 Tbl Paprika
1 Tbl Dried Oregano
1 Tbl Dried Basil
1/2 Tbl Dried Thyme
1 Tsp Cayenne
Salt to taste
Tabasco sauce to taste
4 C. cooked white rice

Saute onions in olive oil until they're clear. Cut sausage into rounds and add sausage and grounds to onions. Saute for a few minutes. If you're going to slow cook, pour sauteed mix in slow cooker and add 4-6 cups of water. If you're going to cook it to eat soon, add 2 cups of water (adjust as necessary; it should be watery). Regardless of method, pour in beans (whole cans if they're seasoned, drained if they're not), liquid smoke (give it a smokey flavor without adding ham), paprika, oregano, basil, thyme, cayenne (note that it's teaspoon, NOT table). Bring to boil, and turn down to simmer. The longer it simmers, the better the flavor (don't burn it). Taste it and add salt as necessary (it should be a little salty when you taste it since it will be served over rice). When you're ready to eat, serve over rice. Cornbread will really add a great touch!

Recipe turned out (on a scale of 1-5): 4

On the "Can I see the box to make sure this isn't meat?" to the "Are you sure this is edible?" scale: The grounds are very convincing (enough that I think it could easily fool a meat-eater). The sausage was okay (better in the left-overs), but was not my favorite, and I think was pretty obviously a veggie sausage (very hard to recreate the skin of sausage).

General Tso's Chik'n

I got a hankering for General Tso's chicken, and while many places will do General Tso's tofu, I wanted to try it with more chicken-y texture. I modified this recipe.

Chicken

1 bag Quorn Chik'n Tenders
1 bundle of green onions (diced)

1 1/2 tsp. Fresh Garlic, minced

Vegetable oil for frying
Cooked rice

Cornstarch Slurry
1/4 c. Soy Sauce
2 eggs
3/4 c. Cornstarch

Sauce
1/2 c. Cornstarch
1/4 c. Water
3/4 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Soy Sauce
1/4 c. Rice Vinegar (or white)
1/4 c. Wine
1/4 c. Red Pepper Flakes
14 1/2 oz. No-Chicken Broth

Heat oil. I did mine in a wok and heated it to about medium. Put sauce ingredients together and mix well.

Mix Cornstarch Slurry in a bowl - this mixture is SO weird. It has a very science experiment feeling about it. It works though. Coat chik'n in the strange substance, and drop into hot oil (to check oil to make sure it's ready, flick a little water in it, and if it hisses and pops, it's ready). Fry to a golden brown.

Put small amount of oil in a pan and fry garlic and green onions for a minute or so. Add sauce and cook and stir until sauce is thickened (should be as thick as gravy, or whatever you like). Add friend chik'n toward the end so it gets coated but stays crispy. Serve over rice.

Recipe turned out (on a scale of 1-5): 4

On the "Can I see the box to make sure this isn't meat?" to the "Are you sure this is edible?" scale: This was pretty convincing, it's a little softer than chicken, but pretty darn close!