Vegan "Dorito" casserole

Alright, so I realize that I post intermittently  (I am a full time student with a full-time and part-time job, ya know.... ;) ) and I know that most people who read this (if any) are seeking healthy, low fat raw vegan or low fat vegan recipes, perhaps that are preferably light. This is not one of those recipes. This is  healthy trash food. That's not to say its in anyway "unhealthy"....I am a firm believer in not being too dogmatic or firm with one's diet, but trying to make each dish as healthy as possible.

I had just walked in the door from an extremely difficult exam to greet my boyfriend and his friend/coworker covered head to toe in dirt, mulch and grass debris. Clearly we'd all had a rough day. Which, for a couple hard-working dudes, mean "put comfort food in my belly asap," and I didn't blame them. So I decided to whip the pooped boys up a classic "kitchen sink casserole" of Dorito Chicken. Like many vegans, I despise the thought of touching dead animal carcass, but luckily their recipe only called for canned chicken, so I just opened the can and closed my eyes into a heaping bowl of creamy goo. Luckily for me also, I found the perfect way to rid the shelves of one more bag of junk food. But as I started to make their dish, the smell of the Doritos started calling to me. I don't know where this came from, probably stress, because I have NEVER liked chips and least of them all Doritos. However, the boys bugged me about eating with them, so I decided in the spirit of friendship, I'd share a meal with them...done "my way," of course.

This is Dorito Casserole done "my way":
(I will highlight substitutions with an asterisk*)

1/2 head of broccoflower, cut up into florets*
1 medium tomato diced
1/2 chopped jalapeno (without seeds)

1/2 package of silken tofu*
1/2 lemon, juice + chopped fruit
dash cayenne powder
1Tbsp Nama Shoyu*
1/4 C nutritional yeast
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 C "cream of vegetable soup" (see below)
1 clove of garlic
1/2 small onion diced
1/4 C almond milk
dash cumin
dash of paprika
dash dried oregano
sprinkle of nutritional yeast*

"cream of vegetable soup":
3/4 C almond milk
1 vegan vegetable bouillon cube
1 1/2 Tblsp Arrowroot Powder*

1. preheat oven to 370*F
2. In a 1 qt. pyrex, spread broccoflower florets to cover the bottom
3. make cream of vegetable soup in saucepan over the stove; whisk until thickened (about 5 minutes). Cool.
4. To Vitamix, add all ingredients besides tomato, jalapeno, sprinkle of nutritional yeast, and broccoli. Blend.
5. Add tomato-jalapeno mixture to Vitmix. Do NOT blend; stir in. 
6. Pour this mixture over broccoflower florets
7. sprinkle with extra nutritional yeast (optional) 
8. Bake for 35 minutes. Broccoflower will be cooked, but still crunchy.

I have to say, this turned out SOOOO much better than I expected; the boys promised to try one bite each of the "Jen version". They said mine was almost identical with the exception of the gooey cheesy and crunchy chip textures, both of which I didn't want in there anyways. Check out the pics, and tell me you're not drooling. 

Substitutions: 

*Broccoflower= 1 can jackfruit (This might be the solution for anyone wanting this to be entirely raw; just use all the substitutions and keep the "cheesy" flavor with nutritional yeast only.)

*Tofu= 1/2 C soaked cashews + splash of soak water

*Nama Shoyu= 1/4 C soaked seaweed, drained

*Arrowroot powder= equal amount of coconut flour or 1 Tblsp Chia/flax

*sprinkle of nutritional yeast=sprinkled daiya cheddar shreds