Chili Cheeze Fries

Earlier in 2010, I posted my Horseshoe Sandwich recipe which has an amazingly awesome homemade cheeze sauce I concocted. I wanted to do something with this sauce again because I liked it so much so I thought to myself, "chili cheeze fries!". I made this recipe along with the Po Boy Sandwich for my 87 year old father who is definitely not a vegan. He had never had vegan meat or vegan cheeze... he coudn't tell the difference in my cheeze sauce! He ended up really liking this recipe and wasn't too big on the sandwich. C'est la vie!


Chili Cheeze Fries

* Prep Time: 20 minutes
* Cook Time: 30 minutes

* Ingredients (for chili):  

• 1 large can stewed or diced tomatoes
• 1 regular can kidney beans
• 1 regular can black beans
• 2 celery stalks, diced fine
• 1 med size yellow onion, diced fine
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 pepper, ancho or another non spicy pepper
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1-2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp oregano
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp yellow or brown mustard

• 1-2 tbsp cornstarch with twice as much water, mixed

* Ingredients (for cheese sauce): 

• 1 large red pepper roasted, peeled, and seeded
•  3/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup beer (lager)*

• 1-2 tbsp cornstarch with 5 tsp water (combined)
• soy milk (to desired consistency)

* Ingredients (other): 

• 1 bag of frozen crinkle fries, cooked as package describes
• kosher salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp vegan sour cream
• 1 spring onion stalk, chopped

* Recipe (for chili):

1. Add all the chili ingredients in a medium sized pot.
2. Cook over low-medium heat until everything is tender, at least 30 minutes.
3. To make it thicker for the fries, mix the cornstarch with water in a small bowl. Add it once the veggies are about tender.

* Recipe (for cheese sauce):

1. Roasted red pepper on broil until it is soft.
2. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
   
3. Add seeded, peeled, roasted red pepper to cheese sauce mixture. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour mixture into pot on medium heat.
5. Add cornstarch and water mixture, bring to boil. Add the milk in slowly; depending on how thick or runny you want the sauce, add more or less.
6. Once boiling, lower heat and let simmer. Keep stirring the mixture.
7. Continue stirring until you pour over fries.

* Recipe (for building):

1. Place crinkle fries on a baking sheet. Bake in oven as directed by instructions on fries.
2. When fries are done, place on a plate and sprinkle with kosher salt.
3. Top the fries with cheeze sauce, then the chili, followed by a dollop of vegan sour cream with fresh spring onions.

* Note: Make sure the beer is vegan! Check out Barnivore for more information on vegan alcohol.