Layered BBQ Seitan

There's nothing like having dinner ready when you come home. Since I'm a single parent, the only way that's going to happen is by relying on my long-time soul-mate: The Crock Pot. This little vittle definitely takes some prep time, so unless you're a super chipper morning person, I recommend making it the night before and sticking it in the refrigerator. The next morning all you have to do is plug it in! :o)

Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed well and thinly sliced
1 bell pepper (any color), quartered and sliced
3 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced (leave the peels on)
1/2 recipe Homemade Seitan or Cheater Seitan, or 1 package commercially prepared seitan, sliced into small cubes
BBQ Sauce (recipe will follow)

Pour a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet and bring to medium heat. Add onion, all at once, and cook until soft. If desired, cook until onion begins to carmelize, which creates a wonderful flavor for any dish. Put onion directly in the bottom of a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker.

Spread sliced potatoes on top of hot onions, followed by peppers, carrots and seitan (in that order). Prepare BBQ Sauce.

1 6oz can tomato paste
1 t. ground mustard
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. molasses
2 T. Sucanat
1/8 c. soy sauce*
1/8 c. Bragg's Liquid Aminos*
1 c. hot water

Combine all ingredients except water in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk until combined. Add water, whisk again, and stir continuously until all sucanat has dissolved and all ingredients are combined.
*Note: I used a single 1/4 cup measuring cup and eyeballed it halfway with soy sauce and the rest of the way with Bragg's. You can use all soy sauce or all Bragg's or any combination. I like the flavor of the soy sauce for this dish but the health benefits of Bragg's, so I use them both!

Slowly drizzle BBQ sauce over layered veggies and seitan. Do not stir! Just do your best to cover all the seitan with the sauce. It will become moist as it cooks.

Cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours. If making ahead and sticking in the refrigerator, allow an additional hour or so of cooking time. All crock pots vary, so start checking it as close to the end of the cooking time as possible. There's nothing ickier than trying to scrub burned BBQ sauce off a crock pot.

Tip: Those little green scrubbing pads you find in the cleaning section of the grocery store make quick work of scrubbing root vegetables like potatoes and carrots. When I get them home I cut them in half and boil them to eliminate any ickiness you wouldn't want to come in contact with your food then keep them handy for food prep. It may be obvious, but don't try to use them on softer foods - only sturdy root vegetables. :o)