I’m taking a little me time this week after finals, and a crazy weekend with my parents and some of their clients. From golfing to the holiday party, helping entertain them from here in the US and from the UK, France, Ireland & Scotland is EXHAUSTING! So it’s downtime for a few days. Well down time for me. 😄 Still very little actual sitting down time, but at least the activities are relaxing. 😄
So while I was getting up this morning I had a craving for really good spaghetti and biscuits. So I made Cheddar Bay Cheesy Biscuits, but vegan, made some of my vegan meatballs, and spiced up my Marinara sauce a bit.
VEGAN CHEDDAR BAY CHEESY BISCUITS
Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened Oat milk
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (No aftertaste but you can use white. This turns the vegan milk into “vegan buttermilk”.)
½ cup salted vegan butter, melted. (I use Miyoko’s)
2 cups all-purpose flour
5 tbsps. baking powder
1 ½ tbsp. vegan sugar (3/4 tbsp. stevia as an alternative but halved due to Stevia’s sweetness level compared to real sugar.)
¾ tsp salt
2 ¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp Old Bay seasoning (YES It’s vegan!)
8 oz shredded/grated vegan cheddar cheese (I like the Nuts for Life brand extra sharp cashew cheese for this because of its stronger flavor than other vegan cheeses and holds up a little better for baking.)
For the topping:
4 tbsp. salted vegan butter, melted (See brand above)
¼ tsp dried parsley leaves
½ tsp garlic powder
Instructions:
Prepare a baking sheet using parchment paper or vegan non-stick spray. I like the parchment paper as sprays can create a frying condition under the biscuits.
Add Oat milk and apple cider vinegar together (remember, this makes vegan buttermilk). Set it in the fridge.
Melt butter and set it aside.
Preheat oven to 425-450 degrees F depending on your oven.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, garlic powder, and old bay seasoning. Stir in the cheddar cheese and set aside.
Add the vegan buttermilk and melted butter together, then pour into the large bowl with the flour mixture and mix with a spatula until a dough has formed and the ingredients are no longer dry. Do NOT overmix. If you over mix they will come out as flat smooth rounds. Not raised biscuits.
Using 2 spoons, (or a melon baller if it’s easier) to scoop out the dough. You want about 1/4 cup per biscuit. Place on the baking sheet, leaving a little more than an inch between each biscuit.
Bake for 12 – 18 minutes or until they are golden brown.
While the biscuits are in the oven, mix the 4 tablespoons of melted butter, garlic powder, and parsley.
Brush the biscuits with this mixture when they come out of the oven.
MEATBALLS:
Ingredients
1 Pound Beyond Meat (I use 4 of the avocado oil patties and repurpose them as the loose meat is too loose in my mind for anything. (I don’t like the flavor/spicing of the Beyond meatballs so I make my own.)
3 tbsp. of Just Egg vegan eggs (Not needed but I like the texture it makes them.)
½ cup grated Violife parmesan cheese
½ cup finely minced yellow onion
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasonings (any mixed blend of dry spices is fine.)
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup sliced basil (I chop it very fine, that releases the oils of the basil and it infuses into the meatball better and enhances the sauce as well.)
1/2 tsp hot chili flakes (Optional, if I don’t spice sauce I use 1 tsp of chili flakes.)
**NOTE: I use no bread crumbs, tomato sauce, etc., in my meatballs. That makes them meatloaf balls. A meatball is meat. Vegan or not.**
Instructions:
Prepare a cookie sheet using parchment paper if baking, without parchment paper if broiling.
Using two teaspoons (or a melon baller again), make small rounds of the mixture. Roll in your hands if you can’t do it with the spoons.
For Broiling, cook 10 minutes on one side, turn over and just brown the other side.
For baking, preheat your oven to 425 F. Cook for ~10 minutes on one side, turn over and another 5 minutes to brown the other side.
I prefer cooking them in a skillet. Place them, in the skillet on medium to, on my stove top, medium and an 1/8th of an inch.😄 Cover and cook for a few minutes, then turn, continue covering and cooking for about 3 minutes, then turn them again. Do so until they are browned on all sides. This will also ensure they are cooked clear through. For some reason this way tastes the best to me
MARINARA SAUCE:
I used my personal recipe from here: MARINARA
I added Baby Bella mushrooms, quartered and sautéed in the same buttery sauce used to top the biscuits.
I added one whole small green pepper, cut into half inch pieces, sautéed in olive oil with a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic.
Sautéing them softens them a bit, but not to much, I like both to have some chew in the sauce, but it also brings out their flavor, so when you put them in the sauce and simmer for about 15 minutes on low to low/med it infuses their flavor into the sauce. If you are a fan of pepper and mushroom pizza you’ll notice the same flavor profile with the sauce done this way.
PASTA:
I did not use homemade this time, I stuck with my fallback of Barilla Spaghetti noodles as 95% of their products are vegan. Just follow their instructions. 😄
And there you go! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
