Vegan Casseroles Giveaway!!

Julie Hasson has gone and done it again! The woman who gave us steamed vegan sausages, the first-ever vegan pizza cookbook, and vegan pot roast has written the first (and best!) tome about the ultimate comfort food — casseroles!

Y'all know this is right up my little Southern cookin' alley. I roll my eyes at pretentious, overly garnished meals that are more about plating than pleasing the palette. Fancy just isn't my style. But casseroles?! Yea, that's my language. That's the kind of good eatin' I grew up on. Needless to say, I was thrilled when Julie's Vegan Casseroles arrived in my mail.

Now the casseroles I grew up eating were the sort of throw-it-together meals made from condensed globs of mushroom soup and processed cheese food. And those things make for delicious casseroles, don't get me wrong. But Velvetta ain't vegan.

Because so many vegan convenience foods like that just don't exist (and wouldn't be healthy if they did), Julie makes her bases and sauces from scratch. There are recipes in the book for homemade Cream of Vegan Chicken  Soup, several gravies, and a cashew-nooch cheese sauce. And those are stirred into casseroles and baked in the oven. I had my little heart set on trying some casserole that called for her Almost Alfredo Sauce made with white wine. So I picked this Creamy Rice & Dill Casserole.

Sure, it's not so pretty. But are casseroles ever pretty? A pretty casserole probably doesn't taste very good. But this one tasted fantastic! A generous amount of cashew-white wine cheese sauce is mixed with brown rice, vegan chicken (I used Beyond Meat), fresh dill, and spinach. And then it's baked in the oven for a bit. The best part of any casserole are the crusty edges!

This casserole is so creamy, and I love that it's so full of healthy green goodness. I enjoyed this with a side of collard greens for extra alkaline fun.

Anyway, this is just the tip of the casserole iceberg. There are so many recipes I want to try! Nacho Mac Casserole (macaroni, nacho "cheese," tortilla chips!), Nacho Tots Casserole (yea, so I really like nachos), Baked Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce, Truffled Cauliflower Mac, Veggies & Dumplings, Pale Ale Stew (potatoes, beer, gravy).

And there are so many recipes that you'll want to try too! And you just might have a chance at winning one of five copies of Vegan Casseroles! The publisher is hosting a giveaway using Rafflecopter. The grand prize winner will receive a Breville Smart Oven, and five other winners will get Julie's book. The contest is being hosted by all the blogs on Julie's blog tour, rather than just on my blog alone. But your chances are still good! Give it a shot. The giveaway ends on November 12th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway