Vegetarian Pasties

Since my wife likes veggies, I have taken a Pasty recipe and omitted the meat. So, for all you pasty purists out there, please forgive me for taking liberties with the recipe; and for those of you who are vegetarians, you can now have the same great taste, but without the meat. So, without further ado…

What you need:

Stuff you need

Pasty Crust
3 Cups Flour
1 ½ sticks of cold margarine, butter, or shortening (you choose)
1 tsp Salt
1 Pastry cutter
1 Cup Cold Water


Pasty Filling
1 Onion, diced
5 potatoes, diced
4-5 Carrots, diced
1-2 Turnips (1 large or 2 small), diced
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper


Putting it Together:

• Take 3 cups of flour and add to a large bowl
• Add 1 tsp of salt and mix into flour

Flour with salt added

• Take the margarine and cut it up into slices (about 6-8 slices. The number of slices does not matter. It just makes it easier to cut into the flour)

Sliced butter

• Add a few of the slices into the flour and using the pastry cutter, cut into the flour until crumbly

Butter added to flour prior mixing

• Add a few more slices of the margarine into the flour and repeat until all the margarine is added
• Continue cutting margarine into the flour, until thoroughly incorporated
• Take the cold water and add about ¼ cup to the dough and mix with fork
• Continue to add water a little at a time until dough comes together and forms a ball

Completed dough ready to rest

• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator while you prep the veggies
• Take the onion and dice into small pieces and add to a large bowl
• Peel and dice the potatoes into small pieces and add to bowl
• Peel and dice the carrots into small pieces and add to bowl
• Peel and dice the turnip into small pieces and add to bowl
• Add the salt and pepper to the veggies and toss with your hands to coat them.

The diced and salted veggies

• Take the dough and divide into 4 equal parts (for large pasties) or 6 equal parts for smaller ones
• Roll each dough portion into a ball and set aside
• Take 1 ball of dough and roll it out into a circle (think about it like making mini pie crusts)
• Take 2/3 cup of the veggies and add to the middle of the dough
• If there is room on the dough, you can add more
• Just make sure that you have enough room to fold the dough and enclose the veggies
• Add 1-2 tsp (does not need to be precise. This is just to add moisture to the pasty as it bakes) of margarine to the top of the veggies
• Wet the edge of one side of the dough with water (the other half of the dough will be dry)
• The water that you used to moisten one half of the pasty crust will act as a sealant to the other half and thus seal the entire pasty

Filled pasty. Wet the bottom half of the dough and bring both
bottom and top together and crimp

• Take both halves of the dough and join them at the top of the pasty and crimp to seal
• Seal entire pasty in this manner
• Place on baking sheet and pierce a few times with a knife (to vent)
• Repeat with remaining pastries

Filled and folded pasties

• Set oven to 425⁰
• Bake for 45 - 50 Minutes or until pasties are golden brown

Fresh out of the oven

For any leftover veggies:

• Place in an oven-safe bowl
• Add a few dollops of margarine
• Cover with foil
• Bake in the oven

Vegetarian Slow Cooker Chili with Lentils and Quinoa

If you’re looking for a great tasting chili, but want to go sans meat, then this is the chili you need to try. While the chili is entirely vegetarian, you wouldn’t know it by tasting it.

This goes great with nacho chips, naan bread (Naan Bread recipe here), crackers, or just by itself. You can eat it heated or cold; makes no difference, as it tastes great either way. So, without further ado…


Ingredients for chili

What you Need:

• 1- Cup of lentils (rinsed)
• ½ Cup of Quinoa (rinsed well)
• 1- Onion (diced) (red for a sweeter taste or white for stronger taste)
• 1- Bell pepper (any color, but I used red) 
• 5- Carrots (peeled and diced. You can just slice them for a heartier texture) 

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie (with Vegan Substitutions)

I have to admit, that I'm used to making this pie with meat. However, since my wife can no longer have meat, I made the leap to the "other side" and made it using vegetables. Many recipes you find out there give the proportions for making just one pie, however, I feel if I'm going to go to the trouble of prepping all the veggies, I might as well make several pies instead of just one. The recipe that follows will make 3 (9-inch) pies; you can eat one now and then freeze the others for a later time. This recipe can also be easily converted to a Vegan recipe; I will provide the alternatives throughout. So, since you came here for a recipe and not a story on why I'm making it with vegetables, let's get on with the recipe.


Interior of the pie

What you need:



For Potato Topping:

• 1 bag of potatoes (10-pound bag. I used Russet potatoes) I told you, it will make more than one pie :)
• 8 Oz's. low fat cream cheese
  • Vegan option:  Tofutti, Follow Your Heart (both made with soy), or GO Veggie!^® (made with coconut oil and soy
• 8 Oz's Buttermilk
  • Vegan option: You'll have to make your own... take 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar and add it to 1-cup of soy or almond milk; Stir and let it set for 5-10 minutes
• 1/2 cup of butter or margarine (1 stick)
  • Vegan option: Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
• 1 tsp salt to start. (Add more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp pepper to start. (add more to taste)
• Cheddar Cheese (optional)
• Vegan option: Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds, GO Veggie!^® Cheddar Cheese Alternative, and Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheddar Cheese

For Veggie Portion:

• 2 Onions
• 1 stalk of celery
• 8 carrots
• 4 cloves of garlic (or 1 tablespoon of minced)
• 1 packet of mushrooms, about 8 Oz's (I used cremini)

Zucchini Casserole

I made a zucchini casserole last night. It was fairly easy to do, I basically just chucked whatever veggies I could find and added them to the zucchini. I then added some feta, Parmesan, and some panko breadcrumbs. This is a good recipe to use if you want to empty out some veggies that you might not know what to do with.

What you Need:

• Zucchini, large
• Veggies (you can use frozen or fresh)
• Feta cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Breadcrumbs

Putting it together: 

• Take your zucchini and remove the skin
• Remove the seeds. The easiest way to do this is to slice the zucchini lengthwise and use a large spoon to scarp out the seeds.
• Cut the zucchini into bite-sized cubes
• Steam the zucchini until tender (takes about 10-15 minutes)
• Once cooled, in a large bowl add the zucchini and all the other ingredients, except the breadcrumbs
• Add some salt, pepper, and any other herbs and spices you like
• Mix together
• Put everything into a 9 x 13 baking dish
• Sprinkle top with breadcrumbs and extra cheese
• Set oven to 350 and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes
• Enjoy!