Thanksgiving Vegetarian Dressing. Yum Good!

                    NO TURKEY IN THOSE WOODS
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It is Thanksgiving and friends and family are together for the occasion. Placing the perfectly cooked turkey in the center of the table is usually the signal for dinner to begin. Hold on a moment. Don't forget the thousands of people in today's society who do not eat turkey, or any other kind of meat. Dinner is not ready until the vegetarian entrees are on the table. People vary in their interpretation of being a vegetarian. Vegans are the very strictest. They not only abstain from meat, but from any animal product such as eggs, butter and cheese. Vegetarians will eat eggs and dairy products, but refrain from eating any part of a slaughtered animal. Then, there are those who classify themselves as vegetarians, but who will occasionally eat fish or chicken. Judging from the number of vegetarian restaurants across the country, and the vegetarian associations, the trend toward this life style is becoming more and more appealing to a large number of our society. While planning my meal, I visualize the dinner plates of my vegetarian guest. I want to make sure they will have at least 5 selections.

Next, I determine if my guest are vegans or vegetarians. If they are vegans, I omit the eggs, butter, cheese and any other animal product. When preparing my vegan dishes, I use olive oil instead of butter or you can try one of the vegan margarines that are on the market. Vegan dishes can taste rather bland if they are lacking in oil and seasonings.

Corn Bread dressing with cranberry sauce is necessary for a Southern Thanksgiving. In this part of the country most of us would feel deprived if it wasn't on the table. Here is a Vegan Corn Bread Dressing recipe so good you just might not miss the turkey.

Vegan Corn Bread Dressing

1 package of imitation chicken strips

4 cups of crumbled corn bread

3 to 4 cups of Vegetable broth

1 can cream of celery soup

½ cup of chopped onions

1 stalk of chopped celery

½ tablespoon of ground sage

1 teaspoon of Parsley Flakes

4 tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Put crumbled corn bread in a large bowl. Mix in the vegetable broth, cream of celery soup, sage, parsley flakes, salt and pepper. Use as much liquid as needed to make your dressing the right consistency, which should be juicy.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Cube 3 pieces of the imitation chicken strips and add to the oil. Add the chopped onions, celery, and sauté until tender, but not overcooked. Mix with your bowl of dressing, making sure you get all of the oil from the pan. The oil will give your dressing richness and flavor.

Place several chicken strips on top of your dressing.

Bake in a 400-degree oven until firm and a little brown on top.

For vegetarians add 3 chopped boiled eggs, and use margarine to sauté.

Hearty Whole Green Beans with Bacon Bits is delicious with vegan dressing.

Hearty Green Beans with Bacon Bits

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add 4 cups of whole, frozen green beans. Do not add any water. Add to taste, pepper, salt, powdered garlic, minced onions and artificially flavored bacon bits. A dash of soy sauce is optional. Stir well to mix the beans with the oil and seasonings.

Cover and cook over low heat until tender, but not overcooked.