Vegan meat & potatoes...in a soup!

In less than 48 hours, it will officially be "Veg Week 2014"! It's a national event when people can pledge to eat vegetarian or vegan (who don't normally) for one week. It starts this Monday, the 21st until the 27th. Visit here for more info and to pledge!! Veg Week 2014

I decided to pledge to eat vegan for the week. I'm really excited for Monday to get here! I don't know that it will be that difficult, since we eat vegan 50-75% of the time anyway. But making the commitment to eat 100% animal free for a week is really exciting me! If you've been reading my blog, I've been considering veganism and experimenting for a while now. It's funny; I've been a committed vegetarian since December 2005 when I was inspired by my vegan friend, Crystal, whom I met in a show. I didn't think veganism was for me just yet, so I jumped into vegetarianism and haven't looked back! I think she's going to be really proud of me.

So with that said, I'm into my latest creation. Dinner tonight ended up being spontaneous due to some items in our kitchen we had yet to eat. Namely, taters. Hubby suggested a soup, so I got to thinking about a vegan variation of meat and potatoes. We had Tofurkey italian sausage in the fridge (which I just looooove), so I pulled out the crock pot to get started. I made this recipe up as I went, so I'll do my best with proportions and measurements!

5 medium red skin potatoes, peeled and diced

4 Tb vegan butter

~1 quart vegetable stock

~2 cups arugula (or kale or spinach)

1/4 cup baby carrots

1/2 cup peas

salt & pepper to taste

1 Tb of olive oil

1 package of Tofurkey Italian Sausage (Use two links)

Makes 2-3 hefty servings!

-Place the potatoes in your slow cooker on high with about 2/3 of the quart of veggie stock and all the butter. Let it go for about four hours. Check to be sure the potatoes are cooked and softened, and blend with an immersion blender in the crockpot until velvety smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the rest of the veggie stock, arugula, baby carrots, salt, and pepper and leave for about 1.5 hours on high. Blend again with your immersion blender. Add the peas and leave for about 30 minutes on high. 

-During this 30 minutes, heat a pan to med/high with a 1 Tb of olive oil. Slice the links into small pieces and throw in the pan until browned on both sides. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Return to the crock pot, and blend again for the last time. Add more seasoning you'd like. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the sausage. Enjoy your "meat" and potatoes!

What I loved about this meal was the flavor of the soup complimenting the "sausage" so well. It really gave me that earthy potato taste, while having a burst of flavor from the sausage. Not to mention the soup is essentially ALL vegetables and really good for you! I think we've found another dinner winner!