Vegan Chili Mushroom Bites

 One of the questions I get asked a lot is “what do you eat at parties, or family get togethers?” Most of the party food out there is either meat or dairy based and sometimes both! So often when I go to parties it is usually slim pickins for me, hence why I am always bringing food with me everywhere I go.

This weekend was my sister in law Brittany’s, 21^st birthday and she had TGIF at her house to celebrate. TGIF is Devon’s families way of staying in touch with each other throughout the weeks. Almost every Friday we all get together at someone’s house for appetizers and drinks and catch up with each other. I usually bring some sort of dip like hummus for me to eat and share with people but this week I tried something new. I’ve been really itching to make these and I was super excited to give them a shot.

Every stuffed mushroom recipe I have come across uses some sort of cheese mixture in them. Which got me thinking, what about stuffing them with other things rather than cheese?!?! I mean it’s not like cheese is the only thing that would taste good stuffed in mushrooms, so what would? CHILI would! And of course I would be using my famous sweet potato chili. Now that I had the main ingredients figured out, what would a good garnish? How about a little Daiya cheese and jalapeno? Devons family haven’t had a lot of exposure to Daiya so why not top off these tasty bites with a little, plus why not add some heat with a bit of jalapeno? Yum! These sounded so good, I knew that they would be a huge hit with the family.

When I make my chili I try to freeze half of the pot in single serving portions. This not only helps me not eat the whole pot of chili but also saves me some time on nights that I don't feel like cooking. I just so happened to have two bags of chili in my freezer, the perfect portion for my chili bites. This averaged about 4 cups of chili, which filled up 3 small pkgs of mushrooms.

These heavenly bites turned out awesome, the whole family loved them and the only thing I would change is the fact that I didn’t make more!

Ingredients

4 cups – appox – sweet potato quinoa chili

3 small pkg of mushrooms, destemmed

2 jalapenos, sliced

½ cup Daiya Cheese

Stuff the mushrooms with the chili, top with jalapeno and cheese. Bake in a 350 degrees oven for 15 mins and serve!

Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili, Vegan and Gluten Free

Go To Recipe #2

As much as I love the summer months here in Saskatchewan, I do really love Fall. The smell of brisk cold air outside, the crunch of leaves and the comforting feeling of eating a hot meal to warm you up. For me nothing says comfort food more than chili and with today being the first snow fall of the season I thought it was time to share my awesome chili recipe. 

I am constantly bragging that my chili is the best. In fact, it is so good that my older sister who is a raw vegan ate 3 large bowls!! She picked around the beans, but absolutely devoured the rest. Good thing I wasn't looking forward to left overs... :) 

When I first started to cut out meat from my diet, hamburger was one of the first things to go, along with all poultry. So when making chili I just used beans and veggies but it just wasn't as satisfying. I missed the hearty feeling that chili had, and with just beans and veggies it felt like a thick soup. Then I discovered Quinoa and found a new main star for my chili. Quinoa gives the meaty texture, its gluten free and seeing as there is 22 grams of protein to 1 cup, this is something that will definitely fill you and your family up.

This recipe is super simple to throw together and if you don't have a couple of ingredients, substitute them out for other things you have in your fridge. The only thing I suggest you try and keep in there are the Sweet Potatoes which add a great chunky texture and of course the Quinoa.

Vegan Chili

1 tbsp of coconut oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 medium sweet potato, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
5 large mushrooms, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large can of black beans
1 large can of kidney beans
1 can of beans in tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste
1 large can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of vegetable stock 
1 cup of uncooked, strained quinoa

1 tbsp of chili powder

1 tbsp of cumin

1 tbsp of coriander

Cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium low heat. Add onions, garlic, celery and sweet potatoes and sauté for about 10 minutes.  Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, chili powder, corriander and cumin and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring until spices are fully blended in. Add the mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini, beans, stock, and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, then add the uncooked strained quinoa. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, or until quinoa and potatoes are cooked and the chili has thickened. Top with avocado and chopped cilantro.

Thanks for reading!!

xoxo -N