Accidentally Vegan: Pantry Staples

Bread Crumbs- This is the brand I use because they're under $2 a box and I can find them in most store's baking aisle (usually the top shelf). Alone, they have little flavor so I...

1. have one bowl bread crumbs, one bowl mayonnaise mixed with enough soy milk to create a yogurt consistency, and one bowl of flour mixed with ranch seasoning or any combo of spices you have...or even just lightly salted. I dip seitan or tofu pieces in milk, flour, milk, bread crumbs and deep fry, bake, or pan fry. My husband and I like a little more crunch and flavor so we do an extra round of the milk, flour, milk, bread crumbs.

2. melt a tablespoon butter, add about 1 cup bread crumbs, pinch of salt, and maybe some italian seasoning, then sprinkle on top of your favorite casserole recipe before you bake it. The bread crumbs will turn a golden color and add a yummy crunch, a little something extra to your casserole.

Uncle Dan's Classic Ranch- I grew up on Uncle Dan's (as a non-vegan) So when I happened to read the back of the packet and saw it was vegan, I freaked out. You can follow the directions for ranch dip using vegan mayo and sour cream, and I'm not joking when I say you could serve this with veggies to any non-vegan and they would have NO idea it was vegan. It also has directions to make ranch salad dressing. My family likes a zesty ranch with hot wings, so I use the ranch dip directions then add apple cider vinegar until it reaches the flavor we prefer. I use it a lot to flavor breading on seitan. Make sure you check your package because the un-vegan "creamy" ranch is sold right next to the vegan "classic". The price seems a tiny bit high when you look at this small packet, but a little goes a LONG way, one packet lasts me many recipes.

Chocolate Pudding- Many of the Jello brand instant pudding mixes are vegan, but for some reason I find that the chocolate is the only one that thickens up the way I like (it does say right on the box that soy milk wont let it thicken). I use to make a chocolate peanut butter silk pie, but I would have to have the right kind of tofu on hand and clean my food processor, so I came up with a cheaper (less healthy) version that I can always have on hand incase a pie emergency happened.

Add the larger (5oz) box of Jello chocolate pudding with 1 1/2 cups soy milk. Add a cup of peanut butter (we like chunky) to the pot and cook med-high until the peanut butter is melted and everything is well mixed. You can add more peanut butter to taste or soy milk for a silkier consistency. Pour into a ready made graham cracker pie shell and chill for a few hours so it sets up.

Keebler pie shells- I've never tried the chocolate but the ingredients listed online are vegan and I've yet to run into a honey graham shells (we don't believe honey is vegan). The mini pie shells are awesome and sort of fancy up a simple dessert if you serve it to friends (I like the portion control aspect). The pudding and shells are both under $2, so for about $3 I can have a backup dessert ready to go in my pantry all the time.