Cheater Chick'n & Cheeze Empanadas: Pockanadas?

The golden, crispy exterior

I hate to call these empanadas. I feel like I'm doing a huge disservice to that which is a true empanada. So, we'll say these are somewhere between a super fancy hot pocket and an empanada. Fancy Pockanada? No? I'll work on it. But I definitely see Hot Pocket stealing that from me. THEN who will have the last laugh?

That being said, these are insanely delicious. Inside, the Daiya cheese and cream sauce melt together to make a phenomenally decadent center. The gardein chicken is strong enough to handle all the cooking, so it retains it's flaky, chicken-like consistency. A little jalapeno makes for a touch of heat. A handful of spinach to make you feel good about it. And the puff pastry outside... well, find me someone who hates puff pastry. We'll talk.

Crispy Gardein Sandwich

Delicious and beautiful

I've been eating at home a lot and cooking AND taking photos. The posting part has just escaped me lately.

This sandwich is amazingly easy and quite delicious. It's also sort of elegant looking with the flat bun and fresh spinach. It's almost like a flat bread sandwich, which if you ever eat out or watch tv - you know it is so hip right now.

Gardein "Beef" Red Wine Stew

I guess you could technically call this a vegan "Beef Bourguignon", but this dish seems to be a lot more than just "beef and red wine". I know I'm not breaking any molds here by making a stew. According to wikipedia they've been making stews since the 4th century BC, but I'd like to think they weren't making mock-meat stews like this. In fact, I bet they weren't this good.

I like this stew a lot. Stews sometimes have the bad rap of being bland, and it makes sense. I think people rely on the beef flavor too much. But when you're working with mock meats, you have to be a little more inventive. It doesn't really matter what red wine you use, it's just an accent to the overall flavor. The touch of chipotle powder adds a smokiness and the basil & oregano give it some herby savoriness. By adding the carrots last, they don't get overcooked and mushy-- and I hate mushy carrots. So you have some good texture contrasts in there. And if you've never had gardein before, you'll love these skewers. They have a meat-like texture with a beefy flavor, which is good for a "beef" stew.


[[Gardein "Beef" Red Wine Stew]]
Serves 4. Or 2 if you're hungry.

2 tbs. vegetable oil
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 packages of Gardein BBQ skewers
1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp parsley
1 tbs fresh chopped basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 1/4 cup red cooking wine
2 cups no-chicken broth
1/2 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1 bay leaf
2 carrots, sliced
more parsley for garnish

-- In a ziplock bag or a large bowl, add flour and onion powder. Mix together to fully incorporate the onion powder.
-- Remove the gardein from the packages and remove skewers. Rinse the gardein chunks with cold water to remove excess sauce.
-- Place rinsed gardein in the flour mixture and shake to full coat in flour. Remove coated gardein from the flour mixture and discard excess flour. Set aside the gardein.
-- Get a large pot and add 2 tbs vegetable oil. Heat on medium/high heat.
-- When heated, add the minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Lower the heat if the garlic starts to burn.
-- Add the gardein to the heated vegetable oil/garlic mixture. Allow the gardein to get crispy and flip to cook the other sides. About 3-5 minutes per side.
-- Lower the heat to a medium/low. Add the onions & all the spices and cook with the gardein about 5 minutes allowing them to get soft.
-- When softened, add the red wine. The red wine will simmer down and should begin to thicken from the flour on the gardein. This may take 5-10 minutes. Raise heat if it's not simmering.
-- After it simmers and thickens, add 2 cups of warmed no-chicken broth. Stir to fully incorporate.
-- Add the carrots, mushrooms, and bay leaf. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. It will begin to thicken some more and the vegetables will soften.
-- Serve over mashed potatoes or rice and garnish with parsley. Remove the bay leaf first!

Vegan MoFo Day 19: Gardein Marsala Sans Mushrooms

I had gardein for the first time while eating a faux chicken salad sandwich from the Clintonville Community Market made by Del's Wellness Forum Foods. The "chicken" was suspiciously chicken-like, and ever since I discovered it was gardein, I've been trying to figure out what the hell gardein is. While I'm still not entirely sure what it is or how it's made, I did recently find it at Kroger. They had a bunch of other varieties, but I grabbed the gardein chicken filets. They're flavor neutral, so you can make them with whatever sauce you want. Each fillet is only 70 calories and under 2 grams of fat. The ingredients aren't too crazy looking either - it's a combinations of soy, vital wheal gluten, various vegetables, and "ancient grains" including quinoa.

I've never had Marsala wine before, and honestly I don't know very much about wines. It turns out this 18% alcohol wine is too high to be carried at Kroger. Or any other grocery store for that matter. I forgot about these alcohol laws here that don't exist in California. We could have gone to Huffman's in Arlington, but they close early.

Anyway, his parents came to the rescue at 9:30 last night and had half of a bottle sitting in their fridge. I almost got frustrated at Kroger and just bought a regular, generic white wine. But I am so glad I didn't. Marsala wine has a really distinct flavor that makes chicken - or gardein - marsala really tasty. I should also mention that this dish traditionally is served with mushrooms, but since I didn't have any, I made it with thinly sliced red onions.


[[Gardein Marsala - Sans Mushrooms]]

1 tbs earth balance
1 tbs olive oil
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 box of gardein chicken-style fillet's - four fillets

3/4 cup dry marsala wine
1 cup no-chicken broth
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
a dash of oregano, thyme, parsley, pepper, and salt

2 servings of whole wheat spaghetti, cooked and tossed with a little garlic and earth balance

-- Pre-heat oven to 250 F and start the pasta.
-- Mix flour and first set of seasoning.
-- Heat butter and oil in a skillet on medium high heat.
-- Dredge the fillets in the flour mixture and cook in the butter/oil for 2-3 minutes per side until golden and crispy.
-- Place in a baking dish and put in the oven to keep warm.

-- Keep the oil and butter in the pan. Some of the flour should have come off of the fillets and make a sludge in the pan.
-- Keeping the heat on medium, add the Marsala wine while scraping excess bits from the bottom of the pan.
-- Add the seasoning and let the wine simmer and reduce about 5 minutes.
-- Add 1 cup broth and bring back to a simmer. Let that thicken slightly and reduce a bit.
-- Add the onions. Let simmer on low to medium heat until onions are limp.
-- Toss the pasta with a little earth balance and garlic, top with fillets from the oven, and add the sauce.