INSTANT DEEP DISH PIZZA

Here's the thing I missed most when I became a semi-fundamentalist vegan -- Pizza!

I now live in Chicago and voluptuous, orgasmic, deep-dish pizza is ingrained in our DNA. I especially missed it on those nights when I’d had one-or-a-half-dozen too many and it would’ve be oh!-so easy to click on my Grubhub account to have an ooey-gooey deep-dish, Chicago-style vegetarian-with-pineapple insouciantly appear within the hour. . . 

. . . sigh . . . We’ve all been there. Don’t you dare say you haven’t.

Yes, we have vegan options. There’s the ever-present cheese-less roasted vegetable pizza perched among the others at Trader Joe’s. Or, you could buy a ready-made crust and forge out with your own. . . .

But wait! That vegan pizza at TJ’s turned out to be my savior. (Yes, it tasted like unsalted spackle when I tried it on its own), but let’s bring it home to dress up. With a few alterations, our inexpensive little spackle-puppy can become our convenient, satisfying, juicy vegan pig-out, go-to deep dish pizza that would thwart any Grubhub temptation. 

Our little secret to Chicagoans: Let our veggies become the "deep" part of the pizza.

Here’s what you always need to have on hand:
(Seriously. Always have this on hand.)

• A pound of frozen chopped spinach.
• A 10-oz. container of fresh crimini mushrooms (or any brown mushrooms) in your freezer.
• 1 28-oz. can of marinara sauce. You’ll need half.
• “Parmegan cheese” in your fridge. As much as you like. (Blend 1 cup roasted, salted cashews in a food processor with ¼ cup nutritional yeast, and ¼ tsp onion powder until crumbly. If using raw cashews, toast them in a dry pan. If using unsalted cashews, salt the mixture to taste. You get the idea. Keep this on hand in your fridge as you would the nasty ready-made Parmesan cheese we used to eat from the green container.)

1. Remove the frozen spackle pizza from the container, line a baking tray with foil and spray it with vegetable spray, and place the pizza on it.

2. Thaw the spinach under running warm water in a colander, toss in the mushrooms, and squeeze the hell out of it with your hands, grinding up the mushrooms. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Give it a good sprinkle of salt and mix it in. Don’t forget that.

3. Pour half the 28-oz can of marinara on the pizza, spread with the back of a spoon to cover; mound with the spinach-mushroom mixture and coax it to the edges. Cover the pizza. Pile it on.

4.  Sprinkle liberally with the “parmegan cheese” – as much as you like. Douse with olive oil and bake twice as long as the directions say.

Thick, juicy, indulgent, vegan pizza results.

Let's review: Keep a cheap spackle-pizza in the freezer along with frozen, chopped spinach, frozen cartons of crimini mushrooms, and marinara sauce in the pantry. (How hard can that be?) Finally, keep “parmegan” cheese on hand in the fridge. 

Trust me. You’ll never be unsatisfied; never without a decadent pizza again. 

Deep Dish Vegan Goodness!

Enchilada Casserole: THE Best Casserole EVER

In the endless quest to create a casserole that (1) is easy to make (2) that everyone will eat (3) that is nutritious to-boot; I've come up with a lot of recipes that fit the bill. 

But this is one that is so appealing, so satisfying, so freakin' scrumptious, that it'll have you stealthy poking in to it before it's served -- and your guests will be lucky if there's anything left!

I grew up in South Texas and longed for the taste of true Tex-Mex. Trust me. This is the taste of enchiladas, south of San Antonio and north of Laredo. 

Did I mention that it has a nutritional value that is off the charts? 

Enchilada Casserole:

(Prepare recipes for Enchilada Sauce and Mexican Cheese below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Combine the following ingredients into a large bowl:

1 cup cooked brown rice (yielding 2 cups)

10 corn tortillas, diced into half-inch pieces

1 lb. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 lb. crimini mushrooms, sliced

2 cups frozen corn, thawed

1 recipe of Enchilada Sauce (see below) or substitute a 28 oz. can of your favorite enchilada sauce. 

Pour half of the mixture into an oiled 9 x 13 casserole dish, dot with ½  recipe of Mexican Cheese (see below), add remaining rice/tortilla mixture, top with remaining Mexican Cheese, and dot with your choice of salsa (I like chipotle salsa). Cover with diced raw onion, drizzle with olive oil and bake for one hour at 400 degrees. Decorate with diced green onions and red jalapenos.

Enchilada Sauce:

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

2 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Sauté all ingredients except the tomatoes in olive oil until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes

Mexican Cheese: 

Blend the following ingredients in a food processor, scraping down as necessary:

1 10 oz. package of firm tofu
½ cup roasted cashews

¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil

¼ cup nutritional yeast

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp salt