Hi Savvys,

Welcome to the 3^rd post in my Vegan Holiday Series!  I will be sharing with you 3 easy mains that you can impress any guest!  All of these recipes take 30 minutes or less to prepare which is always great during this hectic time of year.  I’m excited to share with you my pot pie made easier with store bought pastry, a lentil loaf with homemade cranberry orange sauce and a pumpkin barley risotto that is so creamy that you’re guests won’t even realize it’s made with barley!

Hope you guys enjoy these recipes! Now set forth and be Savvy!

Ingredients for the Pot Pie

• 1 cup of soy curls (you can substitute beans or tofu if you cannot find soy curls)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup of leek, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stock, diced
• 1 potato, diced
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1 1/2 cup of water
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup bunch of parsley, chopped (about 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped)
• 1 premade crescent roll dough (Pillsbury is vegan, though it does contain palm oil so it’s debatable)

Directions for Filling of Pot Pie

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Put the soy curls into a large bowl and cover with water to hydrate – set aside
3. In a large sauce pan, heat the butter and cook the leeks and garlic over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute
4. Add the diced carrot and celery and cook for another 3 minutes
5. Add the potatoes and dried spices and cook for 4 minutes (if using fresh parsley, do not stir in yet)
6. Add a splash of water if the veggies seem dry and are sticking to the bottom of the pan
7. Add the flour and coat all of the veggies until you don’t see any raw flour left
8. Add the soy milk and water and mix until well incorporated.  You will notice that a thick sauce is starting to form
9. Drain the soy curls by squeezing out all of the excess water.  Add the soy curls to the pot along with the frozen peas and corn
10. Mix until well combined.  Take off the head and add the parsley and mix into the mixture.

Directions for Assembling Pot Pie

1. Pour the mixture into a 10-inch pie dish
2. Arrange the premade pastry dough on top of the mixture so it creates a crust
3. Bake, covering the top with a baking sheet (to not burn the pastry dough) for 40 minutes
4. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes to brown the top

Ingredients for the Lentil Loaf

• 3 flax eggs (3 tbsp flax seed, 9 tbsp water)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 package 222g mushrooms, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp sage
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 cups packed chopped kale
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 2 cup brown lentils
• 1 cup quinoa

Ingredients for the Cranberry Orange Sauce

• 1 bag of cranberries (340 g)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• the zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1/2 cup of water (you want 1 cup of liquid when combined with the orange juice)

Directions for the Lentil Loaf

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare the ingredients for the flax egg and set aside
3. Heat the butter on medium heat and cook the garlic and onions until fragrant, about 2 minutes
4. Add the carrots and cook for another 4 minutes
5. Add the mushrooms and all of the dry spices and cook for 2 minutes
6. Add the kale, soy sauce, ACV and ketchup and cook until the kale is wilted, about 1 minute
7. Take off the heat and add the mixture to the food processor along with the lentils, quinoa and flax eggs
8. Pulse until well combined, but do not puree completely as you will need to texture in order for it to hold up
9. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and add loaf mixture to the pan
10. Bake for 60 minutes with a cookie sheet covering to prevent burning

Directions for the Cranberry Orange Sauce

1. Add all ingredients to a pot and simmer with the lid ajar on medium heat for 30 minutes
2. Blend half the mixture in a food processor, and add to the other half of the sauce to get a chunky consistency
3. You may also blend the entire mixture in a food processor if you like your cranberry sauce to be well blended

Ingredients for Pumpkin Barley Risotto

• 4 1/2 cups stock or water
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup barley
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 cups packed spinach
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup vegan parm
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions for Pumpkin Barley Risotto

1. Bring the stock/water to a simmer in a small pot, and keep in on low while you prepare the remaining ingredients for the barley risotto
2. Add the butter to a large dutch oven and cook the garlic until fragrant over medium heat, about 1 minute
3. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes
4. Add the barley and coat in the onion and garlic mixture
5. Add pumpkin puree and mix well into the barley mixture until well combined
6. Turn heat down to medium low and add ½ cup of the warm broth/water to the barley mixture and stir. Let sit and stir for 4 minutes until absorbed.  With the barley risotto, you do not need to tend to it the entire time so you can periodically stir as you add in more liquid
7. Continue adding ½ cup broth at a time to the barley mixture and stirring until all of liquid is absorbed, covering the pot with the lid ajar after each time you add the liquid to allow the barley to soak the broth up
8. After all of the liquid is added and absorbed, take off the heat and add the spinach and remaining spices and stir to combine.
9. Optional: Top with more vegan parm