I'm not a big fan of imitating meat, but I do love vegetarian meatballs. I couldn't find the ones I usually get at Trader Joes, so I made my own. This actually turned out to be absolutely delicious!
Cranberry Glaze Cooking...
16oz can jellied cranberry sauce
12oz bottle of chili sauce (I used the 10oz one from Trader Joes and it was fine)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
4 sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into cubes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons butter, cubed
1 cup mini marshmellows* (yes, these contain gelatin so omit if you're a strict vegetarian)
Set oven to 425°F
Boil sweet potatoes until tender, drain, return to pot
Toss in all other ingredients and mash
Put mashed mixture into oven safe dish and top with mini marshmellows
Bake for about 10 mins ... or just until top is slightly brown
Spaghetti Squash
Since I had to use the oven for the veggie meatballs and the sweet potatoes, I baked this in the microwave. It worked just fine ...
1 medium sized spaghetti squash, cut in half and deseeded
grated parmesan cheese* (some parmesan contains rennet so omit if you're a strict vegetarian)
olive oil
freshly ground pepper
Put squash in bowl with about 1/4 inch water, cut side down
Microwave for about 15 minutes
Squash pulp should break up easy with a fork when done.
Scrape squash pulp out of skin and throw into a casserole dish
Toss with a little olive oil, pepper, and parmesan cheese
Vegetarian Meatballs
2 packages 12oz prebrowned veggie crumbles (I used Boca brand)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup italian style bread crumbs
4 cloves minced garlic
grated parmesan cheese* (I eyeballed it)(*some parmesan contains rennet so omit if you're a strict vegetarian)
1 tsp each of your fave italian herbs (I used dried parsley, dried basil, and dried oregano)
1 tsp (or so) of fennel seeds
Preheat oven to 350°F
Thoroughly defrost veggie crumbles in a skillet over medium heat.
Remove from heat and combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Form mixture into about 24 balls. (My mixture made 24 small balls and 4 medium balls)
Bake in baking pan or on cookie sheet at 350°F for about 15 mins or until firm
(I baked mine in a mini muffin pan.)
4 comments:
After seeing your post on lj, all i have been talking about is making meatballs and sweet potatoes. I'm gonna do it tonight and I am so excited. I searched everywhere for vegan marshmallows. They have them at a co-op in west Philly, but I am not going to be able to get them in time. I am just going to use olive or walnut oil instead of eggs to hold the meatballs together. I think that should work ok. I even got the chili sauce from trader joe's that you said you used. i really like your cooking blog!
-sarah
Oh yay! Let me know if oil was enough to hold them together. I would prefer not to use eggs, but it gave them a nice texture and firmness. I want to make this again - soon! It was soooo yummy. Thanks!
The oil held it together enough to make meatballs to hold together and bake. i ended up just mashing the meatballs off with the sauce because it was a little spicy. we made it with the squash and rice and collards and it was a really nice dinner.
oh fun! :) sounds yummy!
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