Christmas Eve Shepard's Pie

We are at my mother-in-laws for the evening. We were planning on going to my mom's for dinner tonight, but it is a blizzard out there (like it is in much of the rest of the country, I hear). So, we decided to stay in, and make dinner here instead. I made this very comforting shepard's pie, with lentils for the "meat." Topped with a simple gravy (my husband's specialty), and a side of roasted garlic brussels sprouts from VWAV.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound lentils, cooked
• 7-8 potatoes, cooked and mashed with 1/4 c. soymilk and 1/4 c. "butter"
• 1 bag mixed frozen veggies (corn, beans, green beans, carrots, etc)
• one onion, diced and saute'd in olive oil
  
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp parsley
• salt and pepper
  

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. In a 9x13 casserole dish line the bottom with cooked lentils, then layer with cooked onions, frozen veggies, and mashed potatoes. Top with spices and bake in oven for about 40 mins.


For dessert we had sparkled ginger cookies (so good, I made another batch!), and hot peppermint cocoa made with Vitasoy chocolate peppermit soymilk. Thanks vegan_noodle for the idea, sooooo good! That little mushroom in the background is the rattle we got for Sebastian for a Christmas present, how cute is that??!!

Saag Aloo & Spicy Potatoes

I've had a bad cold the last week. A few days ago hubby made this for me to help clear my sinuses (curry is great for clearing sinuses) Not sure what he did, but it was yummy!

Purple Potato Soup

It actually snowed in Salt Lake today! It didn't stick on the ground, but it was definitely a day for soup! I love creamy soup on cool, rainy & snowy days. We had some purple potatoes from the farmer's market we thought would be cool to try in a soup. It left just a tint of purple, and was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 small - med purple potatoes
• 3 carrots
• 2 stalks celery
• 1/4 cup chopped white onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 1 cup plain soymilk
• 1/8 c. flour
  
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Dice potatoes (leaving well-washed skin on) and carrots. Place in large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to med/low. In a small skillet, add heat oil and add onion and garlic. Saute until onions turn clear and add to soup. Dice celery , add to soup. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and soymilk, and add to soup. Stir everything together. When potatoes are soft, soup is done! Serve with toasted bread, and warm your tummy after a wet and cold day!