Monday, June 27, 2011

Sausage and Gravy Filled Biscuits

I've become obsessed with Morningstar sausage egg and cheese breakfast pockets, and I eat them way more than I should. They're so good! I decided to try to recreate them myself, but make them vegan and maybe slightly more healthy (I don't think there is ever such a thing as a healthy biscuit, but at least I know I used good, fresh ingredients!)

Anyway, these came out fabulous. Seriously amazing. They were a little time consuming, so next time I make these I probably will just have the biscuits and gravy the old-fashioned way (unstuffed). The reason I stuffed these was because I wanted to freeze them. My husband and I are moving out of state, and I'm trying to cut down on the amount of cooking I do. I'll update this when I find out how they are after being frozen.


From Food pics



Ingredients
For the tempeh:

1 package tempeh, crumbled
1 cup veg broth
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
about 1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1. Combine everything together and let sit to marinate 30 minutes-an hour.

2. I timed this so that I was cooking the tempeh at the same time I was cooking the gravy (see below). Add the tempeh plus the marinade to a large pan and cook about 20 minutes, until the marinade has all been absorbed/evaporated. Taste for flavor and add more soy sauce/liquid smoke if necessary.

For the gravy:
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cup veg broth
1/3 cup flour
2-3tsp thyme
several shakes crushed black pepper
1 can navy beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp soy sauce

1. Saute the onion and garlic over medium heat (I sauteed in water instead of oil) until the onion is translucent.  Add the thyme and saute a couple minutes more. Do this in a saucepot, because you can reuse the same pot later without washing it.

2. While the onion and garlic is cooking, stir the flour into the veg broth and mix until there are no lumps.

3. In a blender, combine the broth mixture, navy beans, soy sauce and pepper. Blend really well, until smooth. Add the onion and garlic and blend until there are no big lumps.

4. Pour mixture into a saucepot, and bring heat to medium. Stir pretty constantly until the mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste for flavor and adjust as needed.

For the biscuits:

3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup COLD vegan butter (I like Willow Run or Earth Balance)
1 cup soy milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Stir the vinegar into the soy milk and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Add the butter and cut with a pastry cutter until is resembles coarse meal.

4. Make a hole in the center and add the soy milk. Mix well. Turn out on a floured surface and knead until everything is combined - don't over knead or the biscuits will be tough.

To assemble: 

1. Spray a muffin tin with oil.

2. Take a small amount of dough and press it into the tin. Press it up around the sides, and it should fit in sort of like a pie crust. Try to keep the thickness uniform everywhere so that it cooks evenly.

From Food pics

3. Stir the gravy into the tempeh mixture. Use a little gravy at first and add more as needed - I ended up with more gravy than tempeh. Spoon the gravy/tempeh mixture into the dough crust and fill it about 3/4 of the way.

From Food pics

4. Flatten a small piece of dough and place it over the tempeh. Fold over the sides of the crust, and pinch so it attaches with the other piece of dough.

From Food pics

5. Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Let cool before serving - the insides area really hot!

From Food pics

(I do have to say sorry for the crappy photography - I left my good camera in my office and had to use the other, less good camera).


2 comments:

Grayone said...

These look amazing!

E.J. said...

These look great. I can't wait to be your taste tester again.