milky lemon pepper italian broccoli and rice casserole

This casserole has so much flavor, I love it :) Warning: Be careful on the seasonings because a little goes a long long way! And it's so nice when you have everything on hand when you want to create something in the kitchen...

milky lemon pepper italian broccoli and rice casserole
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Casserole:
1 recipe for lemon seasoned tofu (added below)
1 recipe for italian seasoned sauce (added below)
32 oz frozen broccoli
2 cups whole wheat rice, steamed with 1 tsp chicken flavored base
roasted vegetable ritz crackers, to top in the casserole dish

Add all ingredients together in a casserole dish and bake at 300 for 15 minutes.

lemon seasoned tofu:
1 package pre-cubed firm or extra-firm tofu OR one package firm or extra firm tofu, drained, and cut into 1" cubes
4T freshly squeezed lemon juice (or store bought)
1T olive oil
1T shoyu
1tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fresh black pepper

1. Open tofu package and drain excess water, place in a medium sized bowl (or leave it in the tofu package if you're like me and hate making more dirty dishes!).
2. Add all other ingredients and let marinade for as long as it takes your oven to preheat to 350.
3. Put in a small over-safe dish with a lip so the liquid won't spill. Bake for 30 minutes.

italian seasoned sauce:
3 T margarine
3 T whole wheat flour
1 cup original unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
5 T nutritional yeast
hardly-noticeable pinch of nutmeg
hardy-noticeable pinch of dry mustard
generous pinch of spike seasoning
salt and pepper (go lighter on the pepper if you want to allow the pepper in the tofu to be the main pepper source)

1. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan. Add flour and whisk until think. Add broth, milk and nutritional yeast. Once it starts to get to desired thickness, add seasonings.

This seems a little more involved, doesn't it? Well, I felt like it was really easy because there wasn't any chopping or peeling! :) Just a few simple little recipes to make.

compassionate cream of broccoli soup

I have been craving cream of broccoli lately. I have really noticed as I have gotten older just how much I adore soup. It's savable, a good snack, doesn't make you feel weighed down, and is portable....and freezable! I love it. The problem is, I haven't been able to find vegan versions in any of the stores around me, but I have been able to find them online. I just don't love the thought of having to buy some of my groceries online and I didn't want this delicious soup to only be a one-time deal, or even an occasional treat because I had to buy it on the internet. So I decided to try making it on my own (I love finding an excuse to cook...). It was, how shall I put this....totally curbed my craving and is incredibly simple and it makes a generous amount! I have been able to take this to work for a full week every single day and still have some left. Gotta love that.

Even though I don't have pictures up of this yet, I sure hope at least one person tries this out. It's extremely easy. You only have to chop some celery and 1/2 an onion then shred some carrots. The rest is dump and pour and mix and simmer ;) You can deal, right?

cream of broccoli soup
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4 stalks celery, chopped
1 generous cup of shredded carrot
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
4 cups frozen broccoli florets
1/2 tsp onion powder
8 T margarine
8 T whole wheat flour
1 - 32 oz vegetable broth or stock container

1 cup of non-dairy milk (I have even used unsweetened coconut milk, and it is still really good)
1 T torn up fresh parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Using about a 5 quart pot, bring enough water to a boil to cover broccoli florets, onion powder, and carrots. Boil until slightly tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Using the same pot, melt margarine and saute onions until translucent and tender. Add 4 T of whole wheat flour. Stir in broth (or stock) n' milk, stirring constantly (I usually whisk here), and add the additional 4 T of flour.
3. Once boiling, let it simmer for about a minute. Mix in broccoli, carrots, celery, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cover n' simmer for 30 minutes, or until desired done-ness, stirring occasionally.