Broccoli and Rice Casserole and Bread Pudding

This weekend, all plans for Saturday were cancelled when Doc and I realized someone had broken into our car, smashing the passenger side window and throwing the contents of the backseat and glove compartment all around the cab. They didn't take anything, mind you. Not the GPS. Not anything. After that happened, the day was filled with police report filing, (many) calls to our insurance agency, repair shops and leasing company, and driving to Norristown with a towel covering the empty window to get the window fixed. Getting back around dinner time, we decided to have a lazy evening as it continued to lightly snow outside.

On Sunday Doc made the cheese sauce from the Cheesy Bean and Cheese Enchiladas recipe from Vegweb. (Thanks C for introducing us to this dish!) I sauteed some sort of tofu taco filling, and we had a yummy pile o' nachos for lunch. Only using about half the cheese sauce, we had quite a bit left. That's why, last night, I made...

Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:
1/2 carrot, grated
1 1/2 cups prepared rice
1 cup cooked split peas (also leftover from another recipe)
1 lg head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 medium onion, diced
garlic powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast to taste
1/2 Cheese sauce recipe
a few gobs of Earth Balance

Directions:
1. Steam broccoli for 2 minutes.
2. Saute onion with olive oil and spices in a large pot until soft. Turn the heat off. Add everything else to pot. Mix well. Season to taste.
3. Spoon mixture into a casserole dish and top with a few gobs of Earth Balance. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Out of the oven, this dish looked amazing. It was bubbly and crispy in places. Taste-wise it was pretty good. I added hot sauce to mine and Doc added more red pepper flakes.


Ever since my recent trip to Horizons with my friend, Ladybeth, I've had a hankering for bread pudding. (Photos of our visit will be posted soon!) I decided to try my hand at making bread pudding.

Bread Pudding

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups almond milk (or soy, or whatever)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 and tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp Earth Balance
1/2 apple, cubed
1/2 baguette, cubed

Directions:
1. Warm the almond milk. Add the vanilla, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and EB.
2. Place the cubed apple and bread in a baking dish and pour the mixture on top. Toss, coating the bread. Let sit for 15 minutes.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve hot.

My attempt did not come any where close to equaling Horizons' Sticky Toffee Bread Pudding with caramel apples and eggnog ice cream (drool, right?). In fact, it turned out more like sweet, cinnamon-y stuffing. I guess I needed to add more liquid. Although a caramel and ice cream topping would not hurt.