Sort of Like Mom Used to Make
I can remember several birthdays when my Mom would ask what I wanted for my birthday dinner. If it wasn’t Sherried Beef, it was Spinach Fandango. Fun to say, yeah? So, tonight was my first attempt at my beloved birthday meal. It’s pretty much a casserole of ground beef, mushroom soup, rice, spinach and tons of melty cheese on top. This vegan version had Gimme Lean, spinach (fresh and frozen), onions, garlic, soymilk blended with rehydrated porchinis, baby bella mushrooms, Tofutti sour cream and rice. I topped it with some Vegan mozzerella. It was okay for a first attempt. Good enough to eat, but not mind melting like when I was a kid. Definately not comparable yet. The biggest problem was the type of veg cheese I picked. It didn’t melt at all. I need to get my mits on some Teese. I’ve taken my notes and have some ideas on how to do it next time. Step 1, take out the Gimme Lean. I always forget that that stuff has an overly smokey flavor that can throw off a dish. Step 2, get better mozzerella. Step 3, figure out a better cream o’ mushroom sub.
I served it with lemon parmesan zucchini. That was amazing! Also a side salad with veggies that only had a day left in them.
I don’t know if this could help, but I obsessively love the Mushroom Gravy from VWAV. It is probably a little too salty to use in place of soup, but it is completely awesome, and you could just adjust the seasoning. Just a thought….that sounds like a yummy casserole. I have yet to have any luck with fake cheese though.
Zucchini looks totally yummy too!
Yeah, I don’t use much fake cheese, but it’s such a big part of the original casserole. Thanks for the mushroom gravy suggestion. VWAV has yet to be added to my collection, but perhaps I can justify the purchase to my husband…”but honey, Gina said…”
Vegan cheeze is so disappointing! I’ve given up on it altogether now
(
Good luck veganising favourite omni recipes of yore!
Can I just say that the ’smilies’ on wordpress have a mind of their own (I’m clearly doing it wrong!). That one above was meant to be a sad face. I’ve learnt not to bother putting rabbit ears on them! I despair!
Maybe I should learn the correct smiley shortcuts……
They totally need a bunny face…Darn emoticons.
Well, it sure looks delicious though! I can’t stand Gimme Lean, my favorite faux ground beef is Morningstar Farms crumbles. The Boca ground crumbles are pretty good too.
Thanks for the suggestion, River. I try to avoid all faux stuff, but sometimes you can’t get around it. I’ll have to grab the Morningstar stuff. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed w/ Field Roast stuff, too. But yeah, Gimme Lean, blegch!