Irish Stew & Red Beans and Rice...CHEAP!

Hello, hello and happy Monday to you all.

Today I made my first recipe from my new cookbook, Appetite for Reduction (which is by the author of Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance and that awesome vegan cupcake book).



The recipe I chose was the Irish Stew with Seitan and Potatoes.




It was perfect for a cold day! I'm doing a fun weekly cookbook challenge on a vegan cooking forum, so you'll see a lot of recipes from cookbooks in the coming weeks. I'll try to do a mini-review of each recipe!


Irish Stew with Seitan and Potatoes (Appetite for Reduction)

What I liked:
It was very easy and filling. Perfect for a winter weeknight. It was not heavy like a meat based stew, the lemon added at the end made it yummy.
The ingredients were also very inexpensive.

What I disliked:
Nothing at all, it was delicious!!!

What I substituted:
I like the lemon flavor in this, but I also used 2 1/4 tbsp instead of 3 because it seemed like it that was plenty...although who knows, maybe I missed out ;)

I also used a lager for the "ale" cause that's what I had on hand.

Recipe notes:
It seemed like the amount of oil used was not quite enough. After sauteeing the seitan and removing them from the pan, there seemed to be no oil leftover for the onions and spices. I just added some water and it was totally fine, but it could be a problem without a non-stick pan.
It was very true to the time it estimated for the recipe, which is always great!

My man's opinion:
He absolutely loved this and requested I make it again :)

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I also made my requisite day-before-payday Red Beans and Rice.
There is no real recipe here...just use what you have! I make it in my crockpot and it always comes out delicious.





All you need is:

Red Beans (kidney beans)
Cajun seasoning ( I used Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning)
Veggie broth or water
Chopped celery and onion (can be left out, just add more spices)
Liquid Smoke (can be left out)
White Rice

Put the beans,celery and onion in the crockpot and cover with about twice as much water or broth. Turn on high and let them cook all day or at least 5 hours. When the beans are nearly done, add as much seasoning as you like, just keep tasting the liquid in the pot. Add a couple of drops of liquid smoke. That's it!!! Sometimes I add leftover seitan or even softened "bacon" bits (omit liquid smoke for this).
Serve with rice, cornbread and greens for a yummy and truly cheap meal!

If you want a stovetop method with the spice mix broken down, this recipe is great too:
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/02/real-louisiana-red-beans-and-rice.html

The cornbread muffins I served with these are from Robin Robertson's book 1000 Vegan Recipes, a wonderful tome of great recipes!

I love this recipe because it is all pantry ingredients. No soy yogurt or egg replacer needed! That makes it cheap and easy to add to any meal. I added jalapeños to the batter this time, yum!

Hope you all survive the coming week...! :)