I talked about the benefits of TVP in the TVP Sloppy Joes, but here’s just another one, the fact that you don’t have to give up a simple family friendly dinner like meatballs, whether on a hoagie or spaghetti, to be a vegetarian. My husband, who is a “home vegetarian”, loves Wawa meatball parm hoagies and still thought these were excellent and both my babies loved them too. Annnndddd they only took 30 minutes to put together.

TVP absorbs liquid almost instantly, so the first step is to combine 2 cups of TVP with 2 cups of vegetable broth in a medium pot. Turn the heat on high and combine until the TVP has absorbed all the liquid and warmed through. Transfer the TVP to a large bowl and add all the seasonings: 1/2 tsp garlic, 1 tsp poultry seasoning, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or liquid aminos if vegan), 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 tbsp parmesan, 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast (or 1 tbsp nutritional yeast if vegan), and 1 egg (flax option, if vegan).

All the things! Except egg, that was a last minute decision.

Combine the TVP, egg and seasonings well. Take handfuls of the mix and create meatballs. I made mine pretty big knowing we were having them as hoagies, but if I was making them for spaghetti I would have made them a bit smaller. Mine made 14, but it could easily make 20 if made smaller.

Preheat your oven to 400 and cook for 20 minutes flipping halfway through. While you are waiting on the meatballs to cook, make a quicky marinara sauce. In the pot you used to combine the TVP and broth, pour in a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, . Place this on medium heat and let it simmer until the meatballs are finished, stirring occasionally. If it’s popping, drop the temp to low and place a lid on top.

Once the meatballs are finished cooking, serve as you desire.

TVP Meatballs

Ingredients for TVP Meatballs:

2 cups TVP
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tsp garlic
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce or liquid aminos
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tbsp parmesan
1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Ingredients for quicky marinara sauce:

28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a medium pot, combine 2 cups TVP with 2 cups vegetable broth over medium/high heat. Let this heat for a few minutes until the broth has absorbed and TVP is heated through.
Transfer the TVP to a large bowl and add the seasonings: 1/2 tsp garlic, 1 tsp poultry seasoning, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 tbsp parmesan, 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast, and 1 egg. Mix well until all seasonings and the egg are combine with the TVP.
Preheat oven to 400. Using medium handfuls, create meatballs and place them on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping half way through.
While waiting on the meatballs, make a quicky marinara sauce. In the same sauce pan from earlier combine 28 oz of crushed tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Let this sit on low/medium heat until ready to serve.
Serve on rolls as a hoagie with mozzarella or over spaghetti.

Black Bean and TVP Tacos with Homemade Refried Beans

August 17, 2020 AlyssaLeave a comment

Jump to Tacos : Jump to Refried Beans

Tacos are a common staple in our house. We make them in various ways depending on the time we have on hand and what kind of ingredients and produce we have available. One of my complaints is that when we just throw it together with minimal ingredients and zero measuring is that we don’t have leftovers. Who wouldn’t want leftovers of tacos for the rest of the week or for lunch?

This recipe for Black Bean and TVP tacos is filling, flavorful and makes a ton of leftovers for a small family or plenty for each person in a bigger household. It comes together really quickly. Seriously, the rice took longer than the actual taco filling. It uses a homemade version of taco seasoning (or you could use store bought) and mostly canned goods so you can always have the stuff on hand.

I’ll be honest, no matter what I did refried beans just aren’t pretty and don’t photograph well. I wish they did because the picture doesn’t do them justice. They taste better than store bought and have none of the processed or hidden ingredients (aka lard) found in store bought.

The tacos and the refried beans come together in about the same amount of time so it doesn’t matter which you start first. I’ll start with the refried beans, but feel free to skip on if you are only making the tacos.

Refried Beans: Drain and rinse a 15 oz can of pinto beans. Place the beans in small/medium pot with 1/2 cup vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast, and 1 1/2 tbsp cumin.

Bring this to a boil. Once boiling drop the temperature to medium and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. If the broth evaporates before the end of the 10 minutes, add a bit more as you will need it when you blend them. After 10 minutes, place in a glass or metal bowl and use an immersion blender to blend them to your desired consistency.

They aren’t pretty, but they taste good.

Adding a note here that you can use a blender or food processor for this also. If you use an immersion blender, make sure you do not do it in your pot. It will damage the non-stick coating.

Black Bean and TVP Tacos: Dice one bell pepper, then drain and rinse a 15 oz can of black beans and a 15 oz can of hominy. Place the bell pepper, black beans, hominy, 15 oz diced tomatoes, 1 cup of TVP, 1 cup vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt in an extra large skillet. Stir this all until well combined. Bring to a boil and then allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed.

That’s it! You’re ready to serve. Goes wonderful with raw onion on top, fresh cherry tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, all the toppings! We served ours on corn tortillas, but they’d go great in store bought shells or flour tortillas.

I chose tomatoes and raw onion on a corn tortilla.

Black Bean and TVP Tacos with Homemade Refried Beans

Refried Bean Ingredients:

15 oz can pinto beans
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tbsp cumin

Taco Ingredients:

1 medium bell pepper
15 oz can black beans
15 oz can hominy
15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup TVP
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp garlic
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
Optional: Corn tortillas, flour tortillas, taco shells, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, raw onion, sour cream

Refried Beans:

Drain and rinse the pinto beans. In a small/medium pot, combine the beans, 1/2 cup vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast, and 1 1/2 tbsp cumin.
Bring to a boil, then allow this to simmer for 10 minutes. If the liquid evaporates before the end of the 10 minutes, add a bit more.
After 10 minutes, place the beans and bit of liquid in a glass or metal bowl and using an immersion blender, blend to desired consistency. You can use a food processor or blender if you do not have an immersion blender.

Black Bean and TVP Tacos:

Dice a medium bell pepper. Drain and rinse a 15 oz can of black beans and 15 oz can of hominy. Then combine bell pepper, black beans, hominy, 15 oz diced tomatoes, 1 cup of TVP, 1 cup of vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt in an extra large skillet.
Bring this to a boil. Once boiling, drop the temperature and allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Serve on choice of tortilla with refried beans and toppings of choice.

TVP Sloppy Joe’s

July 27, 2020 Alyssa2 Comments

Jump to Recipe

Texturized Vegetable Protein is one of my favorite products as a vegetarian. It is a simple replacement in meals that are usually meat based and it is full of great nutrients which can be difficult to replace in a vegetarian diet. In just a 1/4 cup, there’s 13g of protein and 10% DV of iron.

TVP can be difficult to find depending on the area you live in, but it’s usually available through Bob’s Red Mill site or Thrive Market. If you are checking in the grocery store, it should be in the health food/organic section, near polenta or almond flour.

This is one of the first meals I created after becoming a vegetarian and one that we have probably once or twice a month because it’s so simple and family friendly. It goes well with all kinds of sides so its easy to mix it up.

First dice up 1/2 an onion and one bell pepper. Throw the onion, bell pepper, and one tsp minced garlic into a large skillet with a tsp or two of olive oil. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic over medium to high heat for about 5 to 10 minutes until the onion is translucent and the bell pepper has softened a bit.

Drop temperature to medium low. Add 1 cup of TVP to the skillet with 15 oz of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, 2 tbsp of tomato paste, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a dash of oregano, salt and pepper and 2 tsp of Annie’s (vegan) Worcestershire sauce (you can use any brand but some brands have anchovies, so that’s up to you). Stir and combine well. Let mixture sit on low to medium heat stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes until it has thickened and warmed through.

Serve on burger buns or kaiser rolls, with some starchy sides and vegetables.

TVP Sloppy Joe’s

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 medium bell pepper
½ an onion
1 tsp minced garlic
olive oil
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Texturized Vegetable Protein (TVP)
15 oz canned tomato sauce
½ cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp Annie’s (Vegan) Worcestershire sauce (or any brand, see note above)
pinch of red pepper flakes
dash of oregano
salt and pepper
6 hamburger buns or kaiser rolls
6 slice of cheddar cheese (optional)

Instructions:

Dice bell pepper and 1/2 an onion. Saute onion, pepper and garlic over medium high heat until peppers are tender, about 5-10 minutes.
Add 1 cup of TVP, 15 oz canned tomato sauce, ½ cup of vegetable broth, 2 tbsp tomato paste, a pinch of red pepper flakes, a dash of oregano, salt and pepper, and 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce to the skillet. Stir to combine.
Reduce heat to medium low. Let mixture simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened.
Serve on roll of choice with or without cheese.