I like meat substitutes.  They’re an easy way to make the transition from a full-on meat eater to an occasional or even full-time vegetarian.  Meat substitutes lets you cook with the same taste and textures meat eaters love, but they’re made from vegetable products.  I’ve been using them for years and my husband can’t always tell if a meal is vegetarian until he sees me take a bit.  Still sometimes they’re too close to their animal counterpart and I have a hard time eating them.  I have to keep reminding myself that they’re not real.

I’ve tried just about every vegetarian meat substitute out there that’s sold from the freezer or the deli case, and I do definitely have a preference for those.  The people at Harmony Valley Foods wanted me to look beyond the frozen and prepared options and try their dried version so they sent me their hamburger and sausage replacements to try out.

The concept is simple.   Add water to the package of dry mix, let it sit in the refrigerator for a minimum of 10-minutes or as long as overnight, and you’re rewarded with a protein alternative that you can use as you please.  Sounds simple and it is!  I made the sausage variety first, let it reconstitute overnight, and then fried it like traditional sausage the next morning.  I boiled potatoes, chopped them up, and place them in the bottom of a square pan.  I topped the potatoes with the cooked sausage and chopped onions and then added an egg mixture of 8 eggs and 1/4 cup milk, salt and pepper, and parsley and poured it over the top.  I baked it for 45 minutes at 350°; just until the center was set.  Before serving I topped each serving with grated cheddar cheese.

We loved the breakfast casserole and ate it for several days.  The sausage flavor was very mild and not overwhelming and since it was vegetable sausage, it wasn’t greasy!

Harmony Valley Vegetarian Mixes have a place in our pantry now and I’m looking forward to seeing what else I can do with them.

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