vegan mcMuffin (January 29)

Brunch

It is the battle of the Benedicts vs. McMuffins at our house every time someone requests an egg-y dish, namely David wanting Benedict. The kids are getting a little tired of it and would rather have a McMuffin type of sandwich instead of the upscale version that is the Benedict. For me it is easier to make the sandwich than make Hollandaise sauce as well, but invariable I make both. What a push-over I am.

This time, I made a sausage-tofu-McMuffin. I like using the Gimme Lean version of sausage because it is good, it is lean (the name says so) and it fits on a sandwich perfectly. I just slice it, compress it a bit so it fits on the English Muffin even better and pan sear it until golden brown.

I make the tofu just as I do for the Benedict, then add some Daiya (or not), veganaise (or not) and a slice of tomato (or not). The kids get their sandwich and David gets his Benedict.

Cost Breakdown:

tofu: $2

English Muffin: $2

Gimme Lean: $3

veganaise, Daiya, tomato: $1.50

spices, nutritional yeast: $.50

Total to make 6 sandwiches:

 $9.00

VEGAN MCMUFFIN PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

baked eggplant over scampi pasta

Italian Night

Over the MoFo I made a Chick'n Scampi pasta dish from Olive Garden. This dish impressed Mikel so much he requested it again. I wanted to change it up somewhat, so I married Eggplant Parm and the Scampi dish and came up with this course: Baked Eggplant over Scampi Pasta.

As the name implies, Scampi includes lemon and garlic.

I baked the eggplant which turned out just as crunchy as frying it, but without the obvious oily texture. You can add some Daiya to it at the end to get the Parmesan effect.

The pasta sauce is soy free, using cashews as the base of the creamy sauce. Mikel's only complaint was the size of the peppers. Therefore, I have adjusted the recipe since the picture to reflect his concern; dice the peppers and not slice them.

I served these over rice pasta so if you are using gluten free pasta, make sure not to over cook it; it'll turn to mush.

Cost Breakdown:

eggplant, bread crumbs, spices: $4

cashew, nutritional yeast: $2.50

pasta, lemon: $3.50

garlic, pepper, onion: $3

Total to make 4 servings:

$13.00

Baked Eggplant over Scampi Pasta Recipe