Vegan Dracula's Revenge

Delicious roasted garlic and browned vegan sausage mingle in a creamy, cheesy sauce mixed with penne pasta and baked to golden perfect. If you like garlic, cheese, and sausage this dish is going to become a staple!

Every september for years and years my family would make Dracula’s Revenge. It was my little brothers absolute favorite dish and he would always request it for his birthday. How he even found out about this oddly named pasta bake is beyond me. It seems like a weird request from a seven year old but what do I know.

For some reason, the other day, I was really craving it. Of course Dracula’s Revenge is decidedly NOT vegan but it certainly wasn’t hard to veganize this nostalgic dish. It did not disappoint! Have you ever had or heard of it before?

Vegan Dracula’s Revenge

By Kathleen Henry from Produce On Parade

Delicious roasted garlic and browned vegan sausage mingle in a creamy, cheesy sauce mixed with penne pasta and baked to golden perfect. If you like garlic, cheese, and sausage this dish is going to become a staple!

Ingredients

• 1 large garlic head
• ½ tbsp olive oil
• ½ tube (7 oz) Gimme Lean Lightlife Sausage
• 8 oz dry penne pasta
• 3 tbsp vegan butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 cups plain, unsweetened soymilk
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp salt, to taste
• ⅛ tsp dried rosemary
• ⅛ tsp dry rubbed sage
• Dash of white pepper
• A few drops of liquid smoke (optional)
• ¼ cup shredded vegan mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta and preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Remove the excess papery skin from the garlic head but leave the head intact; wrap the entire thing in parchment paper then aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour then remove from the oven and allow to cool to the touch. Turn up oven to 400° F.
3. Once cool, separate the cloves and squeeze to extract garlic the pulp. Smash the garlic in a small bowl with the back of a wooden spoon to make a paste; set aside.
4. In a large cast iron skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Break up the sausage into bite size pieces by hand and saute for about 5 minutes until browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. When the water is boiling, cook the pasta according to package then drain and set aside.
6. In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for about three minutes until lightly browned. Slowly whisk in the milk, ensuring no lumps, and cook for about 8 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Stir in the remaining ingredients until well combined; then stir in the pasta and sausage.
7. Spray a small casserole dish with a nonstick cooking spray then transfer the pasta into the dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes until thoroughly heated. Serve hot and topped with additional cheese if you like.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 4-6

Kale, Vegan Sausage, and White Bean Soup

This is one of my very favorite soups, perfect for a dark winter night. It’s full of healthy, fiber-filled vegetables and protein-rich beans. Normally I make this soup with diced Italian sausage but after my mother-in-law made it using Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage, it’s become my new favorite way to make it. I finally wrote down my recipe to share with you all! There’s a method for a pressure cooker and a soup pot.

My favorite meals are often a soup and that is especially true when winter rolls around here in Alaska. Ever since soup has been my jam. I remember getting a ‘soup’ cookbook from my grandma when I was below double-digits in age. #thatishowmuchilovesoup My blood is basically soup and this is one of my most beloved.

There’s a lot of recipes online for this type of soup. Basically they all involve kale, beans, and sausage… but there’s not a lot of vegan recipes, though not to worry. I got you covered. I think you’ll for sure love this soup as much as my family does. I could eat this for weeks nonstop, seriously.

Kale, Vegan Sausage, and White Bean Soup

By Kathleen @ Produce On Parade

Published 11/05/2018

This is one of my very favorite soups, perfect for a dark winter night. It’s full of healthy, fiber-filled vegetables and protein-rich beans. Normally I make this soup with diced Italian sausage but after my mother-in-law made it using Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage, it’s become my new favorite way to make it. I finally wrote down my recipe to share with you all! There’s a method for a pressure cooker and a soup pot.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons olive oil (optional)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14 oz package Lightlife Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
• 2 15 ounce cans white cannellini or white beans, drained and rinsed
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 1 credit card size piece of kombu, broken into small pieces (optional)
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp liquid smoke
• 1 large bunch of kale, stems removed and chopped
• Seasoning or table salt, to taste

Instructions

1. In a pressure cooker or large soup pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and softened. Add the sausage and saute an additional 5-10 minutes until somewhat browned, breaking the it into small bite-sized pieces with a wooden spatula.
2. Increase the heat to high and stir in the remaining ingredients except for the kale.
3. Using a pressure cooker: Bring to a boil and pressure cook on high for one minute. Remove from heat and allow to depressurize naturally for 10 minutes, then run cold water over the lid to completely depressurize. Stir in kale and salt according to taste; serve hot.
4. Using a soup pot: Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes then remove from heat and stir in kale. Salt according to taste; serve hot.

Yield: 8 servings

Tags: vegan, vegetarian, soup, sausage, kale, white bean, cannellini, easy, quick, healthy, potato

Now go forth and enjoy winter!

Veggie Kale Soup w/ ‘Sausage’

The cinnamon and smoked paprika really give this hearty veggie soup a delicious, deep, and satisfying flavor. Cannellini beans and vegan sausage lend protein to help keep you full, while kale and an assortment of fresh vegetables make this a nutrient-dense meal. It’s a perfect weekday dinner and terrific, clean-eating comfort food.

It's been raining nonstop up here in our little nook of Alaska. I absolutely love it. The drizzle, the dumping, the fog and mist, the hugging darkness; everything. I've always loved the rain though. Our newly implemented lawn is loving it too and we just got gutters on the house last week, so huzzah, just in the knick of time. I wish I could say it helped me sleep a little better; listening to the pitter patter of fat raindrops as they fall on the roof above me. Along with the sun setting earlier too, about 11:40 pm (which I know... seems really late, but it's not 2 am so I'll take it), sleep should be coming easier but it still often eludes me.  

Speaking of 2 am... Oliver is starting to sleep in his crib better, at least until waking at 2 to 5 am, which lets me sleep in ANY POSITION I WANT TO!! Nursing mommas (especially any co-sleepers) know exactly what I am talking about. It's pretty much the most amazing thing I've ever felt; stretching out in bed however I like. Normally I'm wedged laying on one side, almost falling off the bed because Oliver keeps sliding into my body divot in the Tempurpedic mattress, thus I keep scooching backwards closer to the edge. One bleary peeper is permanently cracked to ensure the covers haven't covered Oliver's face or that he hasn't rolled onto his tummy or that he is still breathing, let's be real (the checking breathing thing is no joke). 

It's important to keep this sleep-deprived body filled with loads of yummy veggies and our CSA is fantastic, I am so glad we are able to get such wonderful produce. I confess, however, it can be a bit of struggle to finish a full share between just myself and that veggie ambivalent love of mine. I vacillate between making a super healthy dish (think roasted radishes) mostly for myself and one that I know Todd will love too, like this soup! Or a spinach quesadilla, etc. This is hands down my favorite kale soup ever and believe me, I've made many renditions. It's great comfort food and perfect, cozy, rainy-weather eats. Not to mention a great way to use that scrummy CSA kale. I hope you love it as much as we do!

Veggie Kale Soup w/ ‘Sausage’

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 07/03/2017

The cinnamon and smoked paprika really give this hearty veggie soup a delicious, deep, and satisfying flavor. Cannellini beans and vegan sausage lend protein to help keep you full, while kale and an assortment of fresh vegetables make this a nutrient-dense meal. It’s a perfect weekday dinner and terrific, clean-eating comfort food.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegan butter
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium red potatoes (about 215 g), diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 large celery stalk, diced
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained
• 1 Field Roast Italian sausage link, diced
• 1 Field Roast Mexican Chipotle sausage link, diced (or another Italian link for no spiciness)
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves (or ½ tsp dried thyme)
• 1 large bunch of kale (about 10 oz), destemmed and chopped

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the cinnamon and paprika. Add the onions and garlic; saute about 5 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add the potatoes, carrot, and celery as you chop them. Saute for about 5 minutes after they are all in the pot, adding vegetable broth as needed to keep the pan from getting too dry. Pour in all the broth, tomatoes, and beans. Increase heat to high, bringing to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
3. Stir in the sausage and thyme. Simmer about 10 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are tender. Stir in the kale and simmer about 2 minutes until wilted.
4. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste; serve hot.

Yield: 6