All-in-One Thanksgiving Dinner

By Kathy_Hester

You may not want to go through all of the trouble of making a big holiday meal if you’re cooking for only one or two. This three-layered dinner takes no time to put together and is a complete Thanksgiving dinner. All that’s missing is the pumpkin pie! (photo by Kate Lewis)

Ingredients

• FOR THE BOTTOM LAYER (TEMPEH AND GRAVY):
• 1 cup (235 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons (14 g) Golden Veggie Bouillon Powder (recipe below)
• Pinch each salt and pepper
• 8 ounces (225 g) tempeh (*or seitan for soy-free), cut into 2 slices
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (8 to 16 g) flour (**or gluten-free thickener)
• FOR THE MIDDLE LAYER (STUFFING):
• 1 1/2 cups (42 g) packaged vegan stuffing (**or gluten-free stuffing)
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 1/4 cup (28 g) minced cranberries or pecans
• FOR THE TOP LAYER (CANDIED SWEET POTATOES):
• 1 medium sweet potato, cut into thick rounds
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch salt

Details

Servings 2
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 420mins
Adapted from healthyslowcooking.com

Preparation

Step 1

Please note that this recipes is for a 1 1/2 to 2 quart slow cooker. You can double or triple to use a larger slow cooker.

Tear off 2 pieces of parchment paper or aluminum foil big enough to make an enclosed packet in the slow cooker. You will use these for the middle and top layers. Set aside.

Add the water, Golden Veggie Bouillon Powder, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker and mix. Add the tempeh (or seitan). Set the flour aside for use right before serving.

In a bowl, mix the stuffing ingredients. Transfer the mixture to the middle of one of the pieces of parchment and close it up so it will fit in the slow cooker. Place on top of the tempeh.

Spread out the other piece of parchment and arrange the sweet potato slices on it and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and salt. You may need to stack them so they will fit in the slow cooker: close up this package, place it on top of the stuffing packet, and replace the lid.

Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours (or 3 hours on high). Remove the top two packets and set aside. Turn the slow cooker to high, remove the tempeh, and set aside. Whisk in the flour and set the tempeh back in. The gravy should thicken up enough while you plate up the potatoes and stuffing. Add a little more flour if needed. Place the tempeh on the plates and cover with gravy and stuffing.

Golden Veggie Bouillon Powder

SOY-FREE, GLUTEN-FREE, OIL-FREE

I typically make my bouillon and freeze the extras to use later. But what if you have no room in the freezer or if you want to take some camping? This powder is your answer. It stores in your spice cabinet and you just use 2 tablespoons (14 g) to substitute for 1 bouillon cube.

1 cup (96 g) nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons (5.4 g) dried thyme
1 tablespoon (1.3 g) dried parsley
1 tablespoon (7 g) onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika

Add everything to your food processor and blend until uniform. Use 2 tablespoons (14 g) bouillon powder wherever a recipe in the book calls for a bouillon cube.