Vegan Taco Pizza

1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted (or crescent roll dough, or pizza dough)

1/2 can vegetarian refried beans

1/4 cup salsa

2-3 Tbsp vegan cream cheese (optional)

1 handful kalamata olives, diced

1 vegan chorizo sausage, crumbled (I used the recipe from Vegan Brunch)

1-2 handfuls Daiya cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If using puff pastry, bake it on a pizza stone for 10 minutes before adding toppings.

Mix the refried beans with the salsa and cream cheese. Spread a generous slathering on the crust. Top with olives and sausage, then with Daiya. Press everything down flat. Bake for 20 minutes.

Mediterranean Artichoke Casserole

This casserole was borne out of pantry desperation, but it turned out lovely. I might ditch the fake chicken next time, though... it just didn't impress me.

2 cans white beans, drained (I used white kidney and butter beans)

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1-1/2 cups artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1 package Trader Joes chicken-less strips, diced (or other equivalent, optional)

1 tsp dried sage

3-4 Tbsp vegan cream cheese

1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted

Mix the beans, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, 'chicken' bits and sage together in a casserole dish. Distribute little bits of the vegan cream cheese across the whole thing and stir. Top with puff pastry and bake at 400 for 45 minutes, or until the puff pastry is all puffed up and golden.

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If you have a little strip of puff pastry left over, I like to slather it with raspberry jam, sprinkle on some chocolate chips, roll it up and dust it with hot cocoa mix, then bake for 20-30 minutes. It tastes amazingly decadent, and it's so damn easy.

Laura's Amazing Creamy Tortilla Spread

This recipe was veganized off one from my friend Laura, who makes these amazing tortilla roll-ups for parties. My accidental reformulationrecipe has become a huge hit around my house. It doesn't layer up thick enough to make neat slices, but it's damn tasty just slathered and rolled on a tortilla.

1 8 oz. tub vegan cream cheese

1 cup (ish) of hummus

2-4 Tbsp salsa

diced black olives to taste

Spread thickly on a tortilla and roll up.

Soup from a Stone

When I was a kid, there was a book I loved called 'Soup from a Stone.' It's in a poor village where people are hungry, and a visitor comes around claiming that she can make soup from a stone. (Hence the book's catchphrase: "Soup from a stone? Fancy that!") She convinces the locals to throw in little bits of whatever they've got on hand... a carrot, a potato... and before you know it, they have delicious soup!

I love soup, for many reasons. 1) It's dead simple. 2) It's generally pretty good for you. 3) It's an easy way to use up otherwise unusable things and thereby save money.

This soup started with a hunk of collard greens I'd cooked and frozen earlier this year. Then some lentils, a handful of nearly expired baby carrots, and a potato that was starting to grow eyes. Chuck in the crock pot and serve. Couldn't be easier.

Soup from a stone? Fancy that!

2 cups frozen greens

1 cup dry brown lentils

1 can diced tomatoes + 1 can water

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 tsp vegetable bouillon (I used 'Better Than Beef')

Cook on low in a crock pot for 8 hours.