Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

Life has been so crazy lately, I feel like I can’t catch up on the things I need to do! It’s been a great summer so far… our 10-month old is kinda almost walking and our 2 1/2-year old is hilarious with her ever growing vocabulary. Sorry I’ve lagged on posting recipes lately but things have been nuts! Hope all is well with you and your family!

Ok so pizza, who doesn’t enjoy pizza?! Pizza on portobello mushrooms? What’s better than that! No bloated processed pizza crust feeling, no processed food headache… you can have pizza ALL THE TIME this way!

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

My hubby loved this so much he asked me to make it again this week. His last favorite, Ancho Lentil Bowls with Low-fat Vegan Cheese is fading out of heavy rotation here so we needed something new. Our toddler LOVED this pizza too, she ate a whole one and asked for more. We felt bad since we had already eaten the rest so I’ll have to make more next time.

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

* 6-8 Portobello mushrooms (allow for at least two per person… three if you’re really hungry)

* 2 cups pizza sauce – I LOVE the Muir Glen Pizza Sauce when I don’t have time to make homemade. Use your favorite.

* Cashew Basil Cheese (see recipe below)

* Chopped roasted red & yellow peppers – I used half a jar of Trader Joe’s fire roasted red & yellow peppers in water

* 1 green pepper, chopped

* 1 medium onion, diced

* 1 can black olives, chopped

* fresh basil, chopped (add on top OR use dried italian seasoning)

* 1/2 – 1 tsp red pepper flake

Directions:

* Preheat oven by setting the broiler on low or just broil if that’s the only setting you have.

* Take a baking sheet and cover with a silicone non-stick baking mat or parchment paper for easy clean up.

* Make your Cashew Basil cheese (see below). Set aside.

* Remove stems of Portabellas and gently rub Portabellos with a wet cloth to clean. Place Portabellas ‘belly’ side up on the baking sheet.

* Spoon about 2 tablespoons of pizza sauce into each mushroom. Now spoon about 2 – 4 teaspoons of Cashew Basil Cheese on top of the pizza sauce (see recipe below).

* Top the portobellos with remaining ingredients, sprinkle with fresh basil and/or italian seasoning and a sprinkle of dried red pepper flake.

* Broil in the oven on the lowest temperature setting on the middle rack for about 10-12 minutes, watching closely as broiler temperatures vary. Serve immediately and enjoy!

The cashew nut cheese is an excellent addition to these pizzas! You could also use the Pizza Cheese recipe from a few weeks ago, that would be GOOD! I changed the original recipe to suit our tastes and nutritional needs. I plan on making the Goaty Cashew Cheeze (Thank you Melomeals!) next time and experimenting with different toppings. The possibilities are endless!

Cashew Basil Cheese 

Ingredients:
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/3-1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp leftover bean cooking liquid (or liquid from canned beans…. or water, that will work too!)
• 1 fresh basil leaf – I didn’t have this last time I made it so I added 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 small clove garlic
• 1.5 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
* 1 tsp yellow miso paste
Directions: Place 1 cup of raw cashews in a bowl of water, cover, and soak overnight in the fridge. When cashews are ready, drain and place all ingredients (cashews, Himalayan sea salt, bean liquid/water, basil, garlic, nutritional yeast, miso and lemon juice) into a food processor and process until smooth, stopping to scrape sides of processor as necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Place ingredients into food processor and process until smooth’ish… like a chunky ricotta cheese consistency

Ready for pizza! Or collard wraps, or salad…. hmmm…..

Remove stems, wipe mushrooms with damp cloth to clean, place on cooking sheet and fill “gill” sides with pizza sauce.

Add your dollops of Cashew Basil Cheese first, then follow with all your toppings!

Ready to broil!

Yummy!

Portobello Pizza goodness!

Pizza Hummus

I’ve been trying to make a new hummus flavor each week since we eat so much of it, the plain version gets a little old after awhile. I wanted to try a pizza flavored hummus since we loved the Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil “Cheese” so much. This turned out pretty good! I may use sun-dried tomatoes next time, just to see how that turns out.

Pizza Hummus

Pizza Hummus

* 2 cups garbanzo beans – I used cooked beans but I think you could use about 2 cans worth, drained and rinsed

* 1/2 cup tomato sauce

* 2-3 cloves garlic

* 2 T bean liquid – I use this instead of using oil. Try water instead if you don’t have bean liquid leftover from cooking or canned

* 4-6 Tbsp nutritional yeast

* 1 1/2 – 2  tsp dried oregano

* 1 tsp dried basil

* 1/8 – 1/4 cup fresh basil – I used a little under 1/4 but just add to your liking

* pinch of salt

– Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth, taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. 

Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth

First taste…

I think it’s good now!

Ready to eat!

AMAZING BBQ Tempeh, Broccoli & Goaty Cheeze Pizza

Dinner was AMAZING tonight, a leftover extravaganza!! I emptied the fridge and put this together using some of my leftovers for the week, you may recognize a few!

Ingredients:

* Chickpea Flatbread Pizza “Crusts”

* 2-3 Tbsp Kale Butter

* 1 1/2 cup frozen broccoli florets, cooked

* 4-6 slices BBQ Tempeh, mashed with sauce

* Goaty Cashew Cheeze, to top pizza (about 1/2 cup)

* 5-6 cloves of garlic (or 3-4 Tbsp jarred chopped garlic… I like a lot!)

* Fresh or frozen basil (I take fresh basil, add it with a tiny bit of olive oil in the food processor and blend until smooth. Then I freeze it flat in a plastic bag and break off chunks when I need fresh basil for a recipe)

Directions:

* First, I made a new batch of Chickpea Flatbread using my new Creole Spice Mix from World Spice Merchant (instead of Creole Seasoning called for in the original recipe). My spice order arrived today so I was looking for a way to test it out!

* Fresh spices make such a huge difference! Here’s my Chickpea Flatbread Pizza “Crust” (Recipe from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day)

Chickpea Flatbread/Pizza

* Then, I mashed up my leftover BBQ Tempeh and heated it…

BBQ Tempeh Leftovers - Mashed

* Next I spread my leftover Kale Butter onto my new Chickpea Flatbread Pizza “crust”…

* Then I steamed 1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli in the microwave…

* Saute garlic in pan – I used jarred garlic and sautéed it with the liquid from the jar. I like my garlic brown…

* Top pizza in this order or the order you wish – kale butter, bbq tempeh, broccoli, Goaty Cashew Cheese (dollop it evenly onto pizza using a small melon baller or whatever works for you), basil and sautéed garlic. SO FANTASTIC!!!

Just one more pic…

Goaty Cashew Cheeze

It’s crazy how much this tastes like goat cheese! I’m always amazed at how you can make “cheese” out of cashews and sauerkraut… sounds gross but it’s really good! You can use this cheeze on anything – pizza, salads, sandwiches, etc. I added this to my BBQ Tempeh Wrap with Goaty Cheeze today and it was awesome!

Ingredients

This recipe is from… again, Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day.

Goaty Cashew

  1. 1 c cashews or almonds
  2. 1 c sauerkraut
  3. 2 T miso
  4. 2 t Dijon
  5. 1 t Umeboshi vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  6. Pinch salt (optional)


Method:

  1. Blend very well in either a high power blender or food processor
  2. If you have a yogurt maker, culture overnight
  3. If you don’t have a yogurt maker, let sit covered for 2 days – ON THE COUNTER! You can put it in the fridge if you are worried but I didn’t and it came out great!

Goaty Cheeze

Chickpea Flatbread (Gluten-Free)

These are really healthy, easy to make, delicious and can be used in many ways. The batter can be made into flatbread for pizza, wraps or a thick soft tostada type base (minus the fried crunch)… almost anything, really! I’ve also toasted them under the broiler with garlic and cilantro and served them with soup. They are made with chickpea flour which makes them low-fat, high in protein, many vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fiber. Chickpea flour is also called besan, garbanzo bean flour or gram flour.

I made a thicker batch of these last night and used them as tostadas topped with leftover TVP Taco filling, smothered in the most delicious Chipotle Dressing/Sauce ever! I know, you’ve seen a lot of this mixture but it makes excellent leftovers!

I use this Organic Chickpea Flour  – You can buy it on Amazon.com for a great price! (2 – 35oz packages for $14.62/Free Shipping)

This recipe is from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day, one of my favorite sites!!

Chickpea Flatbread

1 c Chickpea Flour
1 C Water – (I’ve found that I get a thicker “dough” if I use 1 cup so I use that amount to make the soft tostada style. I add more water for the flatbread/wrap size)
1/2 t Garlic Powder
2 T Nutritional Yeast
1/2 t Tony’s Cajun Seasoning – (I’ve used this and other spice combinations and they always turn out great!)

This is my favorite seasoning to use – Susie Q’s Santa Maria Style Seasoning – I add a bit more than 1/2 tsp to make it a little stronger.

Method:
Heat a 12 inch non stick skillet over medium heat and brush with oil
Whisk the ingredients in a mixing bowl until most of the lumps are gone. Ladle into skillet. Leave it alone for 3-4 minutes or until the sides start to pull away from the pan. Flip and cook for another minute
Yield: 3 Flatbread

My Soft Tostada Style

Ready for toppings!

Larger size