Your Favorite Side Piece

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 

I spent my Thanksgiving enjoying the home cooked flavors of yesteryear. If you've ever heard me talk about my love of cooking, you know that I learned everything I know from my Nana. The first thing I ever made was Jiffy cornbread, so today when I veganized a boxed Trader Joe's cornbread, I couldn't help but smile from the inside out. 

The holidays force me think of my Pa-Pop, Nana and Mommie. They have all gone on to glory and admittedly, the holidays are still fun for me, but they will never have the exact same allure. I've made peace with that, and I won't let family traditions go because they are the foundation of my love for the season and for cooking in general. 

Side dishes are the essence of the holidays. Sure, folks like meat dishes, but if the sides aren't right, it's all wrong! This is the only time of the year when it's appropriate to be a side piece! :-)

My favorite Thanksgiving side dish is cornbread dressing! Below are my pics from today's culinary experience. I pray that you are enjoying the holidays with your family and friends. If you're anything like me, you don't mind enjoying it with yourself and movies on TVOne either! 

I can't wait to veganize more of my favorite family dishes for Christmas. Stay tuned! Follow me on Instagram for more vegan holiday meals, sweets and snacks. 

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Ignore the whole "1 large egg" nonsense. Simply use Earth Balance and almond milk and the rest will take care of itself. This mix has actual corn in it. YUM!

Crumble the cornbread and add in your pre-cooked celery, onion, and veggie stock medley. You can add spices like sage, parsley, salt, pepper, etc. to it as well. 

Spoon the cornbread dressing into your washed portabella mushrooms (remove the stems and use those for mushroom gravy if you choose) and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. 

The juice from the portabellas will begin to run mid-way through the cooking process. Do not be alarmed, that's just the natural moisture from the mushrooms. Simply remove the almost done mushrooms and put them in another baking dish and continue to bake for another 20 minutes. 

YAY! You can use the mushroom juice as "drippings" for your mushroom gravy.

The mushroom is hiding under the dressing, but trust me, it's there and it was filling and delicious!
​Turkey who?