Potato Soup

1 to 2 large Potatoes per person, Peeled & Chopped; I like Yukon Golds
Water
1 Medium Onion, Chopped; Optional

Almond Milk
Vegan Butter; I like Smart Balance Light
Salt & Pepper

This is very easy and can be made for any number of people without a real recipe change. Use 1 to 3 large potatoes per person. I like to make extra so I can have left overs.
Place large pot full of water on stove. Bring to boil while You and peeling and chopping the potatoes & onion. Boil the potatoes in water till they are fork tender but not falling apart. Drain.

Put onion in bottom of pot with a small amount of water. Let the onion cook till translucent. Then add potatoes back. Cover the potatoes with Almond milk. Let the almond milk be about 1 to 2 inches above the potatoes so you have enough soup for all potatoes. Let the milk heat up but not boil. Boiling could curdle the milk. Add a couple Tbsp of butter to the soup. About 1 Tbsp for every 2 people. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve with Saltine crackers.

• You could also wilt some kale down into the soup; Potatoes & Kale are always yummy together
  
• Or peas would be really good too
• You could also thicken the Milk w/ a roue of butter & flour or oil & flour and add the peas to have Peas & Potatoes in Gravy. Which is also really good.
  

Mixed Berry Cobbler

Berry Filling

• 2- 12 to 14oz bags of frozen Organic Berries (Fresh organic berries about 4 to 5 cups)
• 1/2 to 3/4th cup sugar (depends how tart you like your berries. Only add 1/2 cup if they are really sweet berries)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Cobbler dough

• 1-1/3 cups (165 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) granulated sugar, divided
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons (70 g) Vegan butter (I use Smart Balance light)
  
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) Almond, soy, or other non dairy milk

If berries are not frozen put all ingredients in and set aside so berries get juicy. Even if the are frozen you can do this. Preheat oven to 375F.

To make dough. add all dry ingredients to bowl. Crumble butter into flour till it feels like wet sand. Then put in the almond milk. Mix till it makes a sticky dough.

Place the Berries into a non oiled 8x8 pan or a Pyrex container for baking. Make sure its atleast 2 inchs high. Place a pan under it in the oven to make sure it doesn't boil over. Place berries in baking dish. Take your fingers or a spoon and pull apart the dough and place on top of the berries. Take a little extra almond milk and brush the top of the dough.

This needs to bake a good 45 to 50 minutes. Let top brown. Make sure the underside of the dough is done! This will be the last part of the cobbler to finish cooking. And it does take dough a pretty good amount of time to cook in the top of a cobbler.

Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Flax Celery Stuffing

These potatoes turn out sweet and yummy. They are easy & you will never miss the Heavy syrup canned version. This also allows you to use Organic which I jump at the chance for with most veggies, fruits, & legumes.

• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 or 3/4-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup Organic Brown Sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F

Peel, Rinse, & Chop Sweet Potatoes into nice bite sized pieces. About 1/2 inch cubes. ( I wear gloves because they dye your hands orange. But its not necessary.)Throw them into a Medium Mixing bowl. Then add all the Ingredients listed above and toss together till all potatoes are nice & coated. Place on a 9x13 in baking sheet. Cover with Aluminum Foil and place in Preheated oven. Let bake for 15 Minutes covered and then uncover & stir place back in oven uncovered. Bake another 15 minutes and stir again. Then bake another 15 and stir. They are done when they are tender and some are being caramelized.

Celery Flax Stuffing
Super easy & quick!

4 Cups Dry Bread stuffing
Broth
Vegan Butter
1 Cup Celery
4 Tbsp Flax Ground

If you use plain bread add 2 tsp poultry seasoning, its just mixed herbs

Add oil or vegan butter to a pan and saute celery until tender. Put butter & broth into baking dish and add the celery & flax (You can hold the flax till the end if you don't want to put it in the oven, If has more nutritional value if its not heated.) Bake as directed on bag.

Smoky Barley & Veggies - 4 ways, Crock Pot, Speedy, Bake, Pie

Crock Pot Smoky Barley & Veg Soup

This is almost basically a "rock" soup. Meaning you just throw in everything you have. This is a basic recipe. You can add or take out any of the veggies or barley. Add A little more paprika if you want a little more flavor. This will fit tight in a 5qt Crock pot.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Oil
6 Carrots, Chopped
4 Celery, Chopped
1 Onion, Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic
3 Potatoes, Chopped
1 Cup Corn, frozen or Canned
3 Cans Beans, Drained (I use Kidney & Black beans)
1 Cans Chopped Tomatoes
6 Cups Veg Broth
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Hot sauce ( add an extra if you like it hot, I use the smoky Tabasco)
3/4 Cup Pearled Barley
Salt & pepper to taste

You could also fold Kale into this soup.

Cook covered.

Heat Crock pot for 15 or 20 minutes. Put oil in bottom of Crock pot. Chop up all veggies and put them in the crock pot with the oil, paprika, corn, garlic, & bay leaves. Mix up well. Then add the drained beans Tomatoes, Veg Broth, & Hot sauce. Let cook on High for 4 to 6 hours. Add the barley 15 minutes before you are getting ready to eat. But even if you leave it cook longer the barley will hold up pretty good. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Quick Stove top Fix

Heat pot on stove. Add oil. Add all veg, garlic, paprika, & bay leaves. Let cook till veggies are tender. like 15 minutes. Add Everything else including the barley. Cook covered. Let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

All Done!

I like to take toasted bread & let it soak up some of the broth. It is very yummy!

Bake/ Pot Pie/ or Shepards Pie
You can also turn this into a cake. Follow instructions as listed above. Except just let veggies start to get tender. Don't let them get totally tender. You can add the barley or not. It you add the barley. Add an extra 3/4 Cup. Let in soak up all the liquid.. Put in oven and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Check done ness of veggies to know when it can come out. About 10 to 15 minutes before it comes out of the oven add the vegan cheese (such as daiya). Let it melt and slightly brown. Then it is ready.

• You could also cook it like the pot pie below. Have everything done and stick in oven just to melt the cheese. But this won't carmalize the tomatoes and cheese on the sides. And that cruchy top is yummy.

• You could also put biscuits on top to bake.

• Or Mashed Potatoes like a shepards pie! Add a little Boca crumbles or other crumbled vegan meats.

Pot Pie
You could also turn this into a pie. Don't add all the broth & barley if you are going to do this. Only use like 2 to 3 cups broth. Cook till veggies are done. If the broth hasn't cooked down and thickened from the potato starch add some oil & flour mixture. Heat the oil like 20 sec in microwave. For every Tbsp of oil add a tbsp of flour. For every cup of liquid you want to thicken add 1 tbsp each. After this thickens put into pie crust. With a bottom and top crust. And bake till crust is browning.

• If you are topping with crust, bread, or potatoes it is a good idea to take out the barley so that there are not as many carbs in the meal.

I will be back to add some links to some crust & biscuit recipee....

An Indian Rice Recipe with Veggies & nuts & Roti

Indian Rice w/ Veggies & Nuts

1 1/2 Cups Long Grain Organic Brown Rice
1 Tbsp Smart Balance Light or Vegan butter of choice
1/4 tsp Cloves or 4 whole Cloves
1 Cinnamon Stick, small
1/2 tsp Cardamom or 3 to 4 Cardamom pods
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Veggies, Like carrots, peas, corn, green beans
1/4 cup chopped nut of choice ( I like cashews or almonds)
1/4 Cup Organic white raisins
2 1/2 tsp salt
3 to 3 1/4 cups water

Let rice set in water for 30 minutes or longer. Strain and let rice dry out some. Heat the pan with the butter. Add he rice. Let the rice soak up the butter and fry a few minutes then add spices (Not Turmeric). After a minute add the Turmeric and let cook for another 3 minutes. Add Veggies, Nuts, salt, & water. Bring to a boil and let cook for 30 minutes with a lid on. After the 3o minutes if there is no water visible and there are wholes in the top of the rice, take the lid off and cook for 5 minutes. To let some of the water evaporate. Put lid back on and let set for 10 minutes. Make sure there is water left before you leave it open on the stove for those 5 minutes. Stir it if you see water then leave it on the burner. If not take it off and just let it set for the 10 minutes with the lid on. This way it will not burn. Fluff with a fork and then it is ready to serve.

Roti- Indian flat bread

Will make 12 small Roti or 8 Big Roti

4 Cups flour
1 1/4 Cup water
Smart Balance Light or other vegan butter

Mix flour & water into a dough. Knead then set aside for 15 minutes. Break into 12 balls and the role each bowl out with a rolling pin. Put butter on the skillet and fry each piece of Flat bread on each side. Let small sections brown. If there is a small amount of flour left on bread when done that is ok.

You can also serve this with Curry & a protein source. We normally have tofu or tempeh.

Another good way to eat this bread that isn't so good for you is with butter & sugar. It is very yummy! :)

Crock Pot Chili or A Quick Chili

Crock Pot Chili - 5 QT

3- 15oz Cans Chili Beans w/ liquid
2- 15oz Cans Chili Beans w/ liquid
2- 15oz Cans Mixed Beans w/ liquid
6 Carrots, Chopped
4 Stocks Celery, Chopped
2 -28oz cans Chopped Tomatoes (1 w/ liquid & 1 w/o)
2 Simply Organic Mild Chili Packets
1 Tbsp Chili powder
Paprika- Optional to taste

Put all the ingredients in the crock pot and set on High for 4 to 6 hours. Its done as soon as the carrots & celery ate tender & the flavors have combined.


Quick Pot chili

Same ingredients but add 1 onion. and 1/2 a small can or tomato paste.

Place chopped carrots, celery, & onion into pot w/ a small amount of oil. Cook till tender. About 10 minutes. Add Tomato paste and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add all the other ingredients. Let cook on stove at a simmer for about 30 min- to 1 hour. Just long enough for the seasoning to grow and share its flavor. Then you are ready to eat!

Chili is even better the 2nd day. The flavors have time to come together some more and the sauce thickens a little more. It is so good!

• You can also add pasta, rice, quinoa, barley, etc.If you do this make sure you don't let it cook for to long after wards.
  
• Kale & other hearty green would be good to wilt in at the end as well.
• You can also turn left overs into pot pie!
• You can also pot ground flax in this recipe for some Omega-3
• Or you could add some Vegetable puree like sweet potato or chuncks of sweet potato to add to the nutrient spectrum.
  

Wraps

Wraps are easy and quick here is a couple super quick and easy choices.

Vegan Riblet Wrap

1 Morningstar Riblet
2 Trader Joes Lime Jalapeno Flour Shells (Very yummy!) or shell of your choice
1/2 Tsp Smart balance light (or other vegan butter)
Corn

Cook the riblet in the microwave as directed. Heat up pan and take the shell to smear around the butter. Place the shell in pan to start browning. Put the riblet in a bowl and pick apart into small pieces. Place half the riblet & sauce on the shell. Place corn either in the shell or on the plate. The corn is really good with this. Let the shell brown nicely and get crisp not floppy. This is so yummy and addicting.

There are so many more concoctions you can come up with

Ideas:

• Vegetarian refried beans w/ tomato, lettuce, & sauce
• Vegetarian refried beans with tofurky slices

• Tofurky slices & vegan ham slices w/ vegan swiss cheese (opt)
• Tofurky slices w/ Dijon mustard

• Left over tofurky roast w/ stuffing, corn, green beans (any side you had) w/ a cranberry dipping sauce.
• Tofurky, Ham, Dill slice (kinda like a Monti cristo w/o the egg & cheese) w/ a soy gravy mustard sauce
• Scrabbled tofu
• The omelet from Vegan brunch
• Grilled or roasted veggies: green peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc with a dipping sauce
  
• PB&J
• Vegan Sloppy Joes
  
• Vegan Burger fried w/ simply organic taco seasoning w/ tomato, lettuce, etc w/ optional tofutti sour cream
  
• Vegan burger whole or crumbles w/ caramelized onions & sauteed mushrooms
• Vegan burger whole or crumbles cooked. Add BBQ sauce & onions rings
• Vegan crumbled burger fried with peas, carrots, green beans, vegan worcestershire sauce, pepper, etc ( Kinda like a Shepard's pie in a wrap)
  
• The Monti Cristo Idea form above w/ a Vegan coleslaw both cooked inside the shell
• Indian food would go good in these also. Alot of Indian food is eaten with bread kinda as a spoon. These breads are normally Roti /Chapati or Parantha. Which you can prepare easily and use almost just like this instead of like a spoon. For a more authentic taste & feel.
  

You can also do desserts.

• Like cooked apple w/ Cinnamon & vegan butter of choice. Put between two shells and toast in pan.
• Semi- Sweet chocolate chips or carob chips with peanut butter

The possibilities are endless!

Almond Milk recipe

Almond milk instructions.

Basically you:

• Measure out 2 cups or 10oz of almonds and soak them over night.

• Then you drain them and put them in the blender with 6 cups of water. You blend it all together with a high speed blender.

• Some people like it plain others add some dates for a sweeter end product. I'm sure you could add other sweeteners like agave nectar if you would like.

• After it has been blended you poor it through cheese cloth or something similar to remove the almond pulp.

Then you have the milk. It will keep for 3-7 days.

After you strain the pulp either freeze the almond pulp for cookies and such or dry it with a dehydrator and make flour! So there is really no waste.

Thai Peanut Butter Sesame Noodles w/ Tempeh

Thai Peanut Butter Sesame Noodles w/ Tempeh

1 Package any pasta, Try Soba, They are really yummy buckwheat noodles that are used in Asian food.

1 Pack Tempeh per 2 or 3 people

Sauce
4 Tbsp Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
4 Tbsp Reduced Sodium Soy soy
1 Tsp Ground Ginger

Start Preparing pasta. And start frying Tempeh. While everything is cooking mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Coat noodles in sauce.

To make the Tempeh make a half recipe of the sauce. Coat tempeh in sauce and then mix tempeh into pasta. This way there is a nice kick of sauce on the tempeh.

This dish is good cold and hot. I really like it cold. I also really like it with Broccoli, bean sprouts, shredded carrots and/or snap peas. Tofu is good to.

Easy Pizza Sauce

Easy Pizza Sauce w/Flax

2 or 3 Stewed Tomatoes
1/4 Cup Tomato Sauce
1 Whole Roasted Red Bell Pepper
1/3 Cup Chickpeas (optional)
2 Tbsp Flax, Ground
1/4 to 1/2 tsp Pizza Spice

Blend all and the put on Pizza.

Chocolate Brownie Cake

Made a Chocolate Brownie cake this year for my lil Sisters B-day. I used the very easy Chocolate cake recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, actually I made 2 double recipes for 2- 9x13 cakes. But after that I got lazy and used some boxed items. Duncan Hines Family style brownies. (which to my knowledge are vegan. If I'm wrong please someone tell me.) And some Duncan Hines chocolate & vanilla icing which are both vegan. Normally I make icing. But I was running short on time, energy, and powder sugar. Oops... lol. But it turned out really good. Everyone loved it! (The photo was taken at my parents house).

To replace the egg in the Brownie mix I used 1 Tbsp Flax with 3Tbsp water. And for the 2nd egg I used 1/4 cup Raspberries apple sauce with 1 tsp baking powder. (Actually I accidentally used corn starch.. but I meant to add baking powder ...oops ). They still turned out though. You do need to cook them a few minutes longer. The apple sauce must really up the most. So cook longer or maybe add a small amount of flour or Arrowroot. I do have a problem with them getting done around the edges before they get done in the middle too. If anyone has any ideas like turning down the heat and maybe cooking them longer... let me know. I made these in a 9x13 pan and they turn out thin. So you might want to try 2 boxes. Although they work best in small batches. But they turn out thin even when my Mom makes them with eggs. They do have a slightly different texture. But they are not as bad as some of the other vegan brownies I have tried. They still taste great and if you get them at the right temperature they bake nicely. Still working on just the right concoction to equal the texture of eggs though.

Vegan Sloppy Joed Dogs w/ Omega 3

Vegan Sloppy Joed Hot Dogs w/ Omega 3

1 Pound/Pack Vegan hot dogs
1 or 2 Medium Green Pepper
1 or 2 Medium Onion

Chop all. Cook hot dogs till drown. Put in Green peppers & Onions. Cook till Soft.- Sauce listed Below.

Sauce

1- 8 oz can Tomato Sauce
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
3 Tbsp Brown Suger- (Depends on desired sweetness. I don't add quit that much)
2 Tbsp Flax Seed- (You can add more or less- Its optional. But you don't even taste it!)
1 tsp Pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp hot sauce- I like them hot but my husband doesn't
1Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Worchisire sauce ( I was out so I used some steak sauce, John eats it on Vegan boca
burgers. lol. Strange I know. But I did miss the W- Sauce tang)

After the Hot dogs are brown and the Peppers & Onion is soft dump in the sauce. Let it heat up good then your done. Put on Toasted hot dog bun or toast and enjoy!

Taco Burger Roles

Makes 7 to 9

1 loaf frozen bread or enough dough to make a loaf
1 packet simply organic taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 to 1 & 1/2 packs of morningstar or boca crumbles

Try these with oven roasted tomatoes and then dip them into taco sauce. Or just eat them plane.

Follow instructions on all packets. Then put the burger into the dough and fold around the filling. Grease baking sheet. Make sure you let them raise a 2nd time. Then follow bread instructions for baking.

Variations:
Light life peperoni
w/ pepper sauce
w/ soy cheese
Burger crumbles
w/ oven roasted tomatoes
Tofurky sausages
w/ peppers

There are a ton of different things you could try.

Recipe Testing Pics- Color me Vegan

I had mentioned that I was picked as a recipe tester for Color Me Vegan, Colleen Patrick- Goudreau's new cook book which comes out in 2010. I thought I would post some pictures of a couple of the recipes I have had the opportunity to make. So there are no recipes with these pics. The link I have to offer you today leads you to Colleens Website but no recipes. But Check her site out!!!

This is just a couple pf the recipes. I wish I had taken more pictures. But the camera has been lost & left at various places. Sorry..

Beet Burgers













































Sugar & Spice Almonds



























Parsnip soup

Strawberry Pie, Blueberry pie, Coffee cake, boiled peanuts

The Strawberry Pie was my fav dessert this year. It was nice and sweet but had that tang at the end from the lemon. It was nice. I wish I would have had some rhubarb though.


Preheat oven to 425F
5-7 cups of strawberries (depends if you want a pie that
domes or is flat.)
2-3 T Lemon juice
1 T Lemon Zest
1/2 - 3/4 C Sugar
3 T Corn Starch
2 Pie Crusts

I used half frozen half fresh but you use which ever works best for you. Thats just what I had on hand. If you use frozen let the berries thaw and dump the water off of them. Then put mix all ingredients and let them set for 10 -15 minutes before you dump them into the pie. After the 15 minutes dump into the shell place top shell on. Make sure you cut a vent hole.

Bake at 425F w/ edge of crust covered for 30 minutes. Then lower the temp to 350F for 40 minutes of until crust starts to brown. Don't let it burn. Uncover the edge of the crust about 15 minutes before you take it out.

The Blueberry cobler cake from the book " The Joy of Vegan baking" this was Johns fav. This link will take you to the recipe. This recipe I also used half fresh/ half frozen and it turned out great.















The Coffee cake came from " The Joy of Vegan baking" aswell. If you haven't guess thats my goto dessert book. All of the recipe I have made from it have turned out great. I made this primarily for my Non-vegan mom. She always goes out and buys donuts before the parade on the 4th of July. So I thought if I made this it might hold her off of buying the not so animal friendly donuts. It turned out nice and she really liked it.. and guess what.. No donuts were bought.. :) I should have got a picture after I took it out of the pan..oops.




Boiled Peanuts.... My husband was born and raised in Charleston, SC.. So that is were the peanuts come in. It has been I think 3 years since we have been down there. So to bring a little bit of the south to him I made him some boiled peanuts. We stop at the road side stands and convenience stores every time we are down there. At the convenience store they sit right beside the sweet tea just asking to be eaten...so he has me hooked on them aswell. It has been hard trying to find raw peanuts around here but just by luck last week we ran into them at an International Store in Morgantown. We bought 2 1/2 pounds. So I thought I would surprise John and make them for the 4th. They turned out really great. They are a little extra salty but I will cut that back in the recipe I post on here. They are super easy to make. So everyone should try these. And if you ever go anywhere Down south they are a big thing for locals so try them their aswell.

2 1/2 pounds raw shell on peanuts
1/2 to 3/4 cup salt

Rinse all the peanuts in their shells.
Fill pot of water. I used the pot I make my soups & beans in. Its just the 6qt pot I think. The biggest pot that comes with a set. lol... Add salt and peanuts. Cover. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Then let simmer for around 4 hours. Check the bigger peanuts when they are soft not crunchy they are done. Check the little nuts aswell to make sure they are not getting to done. You don't want them totally mushy. But 4 hours should do it. Store them in your refridgerator in there liquid. If you think they are still a little salty put them in half their cooking water and half fresh water to set in the fridge.

You can also make cajun. They are really good too.

Vegan Hot Dog Sauce
When I was younger and still consumed meat I still didn't eat ground meat. So I never ate hotdog sauce. But I made this a few years ago but veganised and loved it. I even eat it like a sloppy Joe.

2tsp salt
1tsp Tabasco sauce
3tsp Paprika
2tsp Chili powder
1 small onion, optional
2 1/2 cups water
2T Vinegar
2T Brown Sugar
4T vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 small Bottle Katchup 12oz
1 small can tomato paste
2 packs Boca or Morningstar ground burger ( I used one of each). Brown, add 2 cups water & onion. Let the water cook out. Then add all other ingredents. Let cook till it thickens. Which shouldn't be that long. I let it simmer for about 30 minutes after it thickens. This makes 3 to 4 cooks. It freezes well.

Recipe Tester for "Color Me Vegan"

I was picked to be a recipe tester for Colleen Patrick- Goudreau New cook book "Color Me Vegan" which will be in stores net year.. !I am so excited. I have already tested one recipe and now have the next three....!!! I will update more later!!!!

Lima Beans & Corn, Sweet Potato Pasta, Oven Zucchini, Breaded Fried Tofu

Lima bean & Corn - Makes 5 cups

I had these at the dinner after my Grandfather's funeral. They were really good. Although I am really hoping they did not have chicken broth in them...! I am really kinda wondering now if they did. I had never had lima beans before and this has quickly become a go to side dish me me. Or if I am home alone I boil up some beans add some frozen corn and eat it as a meal... I like to boil the limas in advance and freeze them. that way it doesn't take an hour and a half to cook them first or a $2 can of beans.

3 cups g Cooked Lima beans
2 cups g Frozen corn
Enough Veg broth to cover all the beans and corn
1 tbsp Vegan Butter of choice
1 tbsp Flour
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Bring veg Lima beans, Corn , Veg broth, & Pepper to a boil. Melt Better add the flour to it and add to boiling pot. Make sure not to let it clump. When it thickens which should be fast it its done. Maybe about 10minutes all together if the beans where cooked in advance.


Sweet Potato Pasta

This was an accidental find. I was going to have some buttered noodle and beans for diner but accidentally opened the wrong can. But I love it. I really like to have it as a side to the Morningstar Farms vegan BBQ riblets. Or I just like it plain. It is a nice replacement for Mac & Cheese. I don't really like the nutritional yeast mac & cheese. But this turns out creamy and yummy... and sweet... :)


Box of whole wheat Pasta
1/2 cup Sweet Potato Puree
1/4cup soy milk
2 tbsp Smart Balance light
Salt to taste

Cook pasta as normal. Put the sweet potato puree in a pot with the soy milk and smart balance light. Let come together. Stir a little. Then add it to your pasta. If you don't want to make it on the stove top you don't have to. Just put it in a boil and stir together. If you put it in the microwave make sure you don't spoil the soy milk.


Oven Baked Zucchini

I love oven baked zucchini and though it is probably easy for everyone but me... I still make it. I have a horrible track record. I seem to either always forget about it and it turns into burnt zucchini chips or I get impatient and take it off early and eat it...

Zucchini - 1 whole for each person
Onion
olive Oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400. Slice onion and chunck up zucchini into bite sized pieces, or slices. Or you could just leave them cut long ways in to two or four pieces. the bigger the pieces the longer they take to cook. Put a little oil on the veggies and mix. lay on baking pan add salt. Then bake for 30 minutes or till desired doneness.


Tofu Nuggets- Pictured above with Zucchini

This recipe has been converted from the Deceptively Delicious Cook Book.

1 Cup Bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1 tbsp Vegan Parm like galaxy- optional- or try nutritional yeast
A pureed veggie of your choice. Depending on what you make it with.
1 tsp paprika
Egg replacer mixed with water- enough for all tofu
1 Pack extra firm tofu- this may work with tempeh
1/2 salt
oil

Mix all dry ingredients. Mix egg replacer with veggie puree in another bowl.
Slice tofu into bight sized chucks. Heat the oil. I like using thawed tofu. But tofu that had been frozen to give it more texture. Then dip into bread crumbs. Then put in pan with just a Tablespoon of oil. Do not use to much oil. They will fall apart or just be totally soked with oil. Then enjoy with your fave dip.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

It is quick & simple. The only thing you really have to do is chop and wait.... The pie looks super full after you add everything but it cooks down really nicely.

This has become one of my favorite desserts coming in only behind Pumpkin pie and Black Berry coobler. There are tons of recipes out there for rhubarb and I have been wanting to try some. This pie I have made 3 times now and it has turned out perfect each time. The recipe came from Vegan-licious.blogspot.com. Check back for more Rhubarb recipes because I have a ton of it to use and maybe even some more where that came from. The last picture was taken when the pie was cut and it was still warm... I couldn't wait... But it does set up very nice when you put it in the fridge.

Kale & Potato Enchiladas w/ Chips Plus Potato & kale soup

There are tons of recipes for Potatoes and Kale and I know why.. Because they go so well together.

Kale & Potato Enchilada's
Make sure you buy the book it is Great!

This recipe came from Veganomican..... and it is really good. It takes a little time but it is worth it. This was the first time I have ever had enchiladas so I am sure you figured out that this is the first time I have made them. The mix in Potato and Kale mix was so Yummy and the sauce was a good topper. But It can be kinda messy... But like I said well worth it.

We also made chips out of the rest of the corn tortillas. They were a nice salty & crunchy extra.

Tortilla Corn Chips

Just cut the tortilla
Spray with oil
Sprinkle / salt
Put in the oven at 350F
and bake till browned and crispy.. Between 7 and 15 minutes..

There are also so many different toppings you can add. The possibilities are endless.

Kale & Potato Soup

I loved this recipe from Vegan Vittles. It turned out awesome. It was supper easy and I made it two days in a row when I was sick. It is definitely a comfort food..! I don't know what else to say about this one.. Just TRY IT! You will love it... Buy the book!!!! All the comfort food you could ever want... Plus potatoes and Kale are both super cheap and you can make a ton of it. I think I will have this for dinner today.

CousCous, Pasta & Beans, Vegan white sauce & Brussel Sprouts

I have been cooking sorry I have neglected posting. I have been totaling busy. But with no further ado.... Here are some of the recipe I have made lately...

Corn & Couscous salad from the Martha Stewart living web page.. Out of all the couscous recipes I don't know why I chose this one but sadly I did. I am not a big fan of curry powder alone. And this tastes alot like curry powder. John and I both really did not like it... But here is a link incase you would like to try it.... Martha Stewarts Corn & Couscous salad

Next up is Pasta with a Northern Bean white sauce. I make this when I want something quick and easy.. very quick and easy. I throw spinach in also. Just to round it out a little.
I take a can of northern beans and drain it.
Put half the can into the blender of food processor and add a good amount of pepper and some water or soy milk. You might want to try some nutmeg too. Thats the spice that is in dairy white sauce. You aso might want to try so light smart balance in the mix.
I put the rest of my beans in the pasta. Mix in the spinach and then poor the sauce over. 15 minutes and dinner is served....


Sometimes I also just use the white beans, pasta & spinach. Just melt some smart balance light and some salt and pepper.. That way you have far less dishes and done even quicker. Fast and simple for those of the go days..

I have also recently become a fan of Brussel sprouts having my first one just a month or so ago. I used the recipe from Vegan Lunch Box Names Best Brussel Sprouts and John and I loves them..! I could have just had a dinner of Brussel...!!! they were awesome. But we had it with Roads end soy mac and soyrizo. This is also the first time I have also had soyrizo. In this pic they are not mixed together. But we mixed it with the Roads end and made Chili make and it was pretty good too. The soyrizo is pretty spicy. I was kinda surprised.

Lately I have also tried the soy chreese packets on my Popcorn too.. It is pretty Tasty.. And I am not a big soy cheese fan.

Found the camera!!!!!

This is the first post in sometime..... oops.... But I will get straight to the point.. Food!!!

1st a snack I love to have....

Banana's, berries, w/ peanut butter Rye Crackers

Quick simple and is really tasty. I'm not big on the rye crackers by them selves but w/ the peanut butter and bananas....I love them. They are high in fiber and protein!!!! Plus you can get a couple servings of fruit with them.


4 Rye Crackers
1 Tablespoon peanut Butter
1 Banana
Berries of you liking


Fried Tofu w/ sweet & sour mixed veggies & lo mien

1 pack firm tofu (drained, frozen. thawed and redrained)
Sweet snap peas or Green beans
carrots
Red, orange sweet peppers
Pineapples (fresh or canned in pineapple juice)
Lo mein noodles
Sweet & sour sauce

I fry my tofu ahead of time. It can sit for a while. I cook it when I feel like it the same day I am going to eat it. Then later when I want to through the rest together it is all done. I normally used frozen peas & beans so unthaw them. Throw all the veggies in together. Boil the lo mein seperaly. When the lo mein is almost done throw in with the veggies and it will finish cooking off in there. Add the tofu so that it reheats and then add your S&S sauce.

Banana Bread

This recipe turned out great. It came from the PPK website. Its one of Isa's recipes so you now its going to be good!








Baby Bella & carmalized onion sammies

This sammie is from Sarah Kramers book The Garden of Vegan. The only thing different I do is I purchase baby bella's and slice them up thin. I don't like the mushroom texture or the black oil that portabellas leak off. Plus I don't ass the goddess dressing. But these are really good try them. The recipe is on page 56.

Strawberry Cake w/ tofutti cream cheese icing

This strawberry cake turned out pretty good. It came from The Joy of Vegan Baking the Strawberry Cupcake recipe on page 87. The tofutti cream cheese icing came from the same book page 231. It was a tad bit liquidy though. I added extra toffuti cream cheese to get it to thicken up some. When you mix up the batter to this came it is an awesome red. I wish it would stay that color. But the flavor is good and it turns out a light pink brown color. The toffuti cream cheese icing is awesome on it. I can't wait to try it on a carrot cake!














Chocolate Chocolate Chip muffins


These are from the book Vegan with a Vengeance. This recipe always turns out yummy and very chocolatey. Definitely try this recipe! (Sorry I can't list the page number I can't find my book...)












Shepard's pie

This recipe originated from Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals. But I changed it up a lot. So I am going to post my recipe and click on her name for the link to her recipe.

Ingredients

Potato Topping
2 to 3 pounds Pototoes
2 Table spoons tofutti sour cream or cream cheese (I used the Toffuti sour cream)
1/2 cups Veg stock or soy milk (I used stock this time)
Salt & pepper

Filling
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pack ground boca crumbles
3 Carrots
1 Cup sweet peas
1 onion
1 pack tempeh of choice
2 Tbsp Smart Balance Light
2 Tbsp flour
1 Cup veg broth
2 Tsp Vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 Tsp Paprika

Instructions
Boil potatoes. Strain and add the tofutti sour cream, stock, salt, & pepper and mash.

while potatoes ate boiling. Add oil to skillet over medium heat. Add the Onions to cook down some and after onions sweat down some add the carrots so they can become tender. After carrots get tender but still have some texture left add Boca burger and tempah to brown. Add peas. Let cook 5 minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add smart balance & flour let cook a minute. Whisk in veg broth & vegan worcestershire sauce so that it forms a gravy. Pour mixture into an over safe pan if you didn't cook it is one. Place the mashed potatoes on top. Sprinkle w/ paprika. Broil for 6 to 8 minutes. Till the potatoes are crusty. Serve....











Pinto Beans
I just started cooking beans from scratch. This batch turned out great. I froze a big bowls full. And then I made these for dinner.

Pinto Beans- Boil water then turn off. Let set for an hour or two in the hot water with a cover over it. Strain and rinse. Let cook for 3 to 4 hours. Don't cook till done if you are going to freeze them. Freeze in there broth.

Pinto beans w/ bread or Corn bread
Finish cooking beans with pepper, salt, and onions. (Onions are optional). Cook beans till desired tenderness. In a cup or bowl melt smart balance or add oil and some flour. I part butter to one part flour. Depending on how much bean broth you have to thicken. About 1 Tbsp of Flour & oil pour cup of fluid. Add some water to you cup to thin out flour mixture. Then add slowly to beans. This will thicken them. Make sure the broth doesn't scald the flour mixture because then it will not mix in and will leave chunks of flour throughout your food. Which is not good..... Add a good amount of pepper.... This serves really good with corn bread. But when I don't feel like making corn bread we have it on regular buttered bread. Even when I do make corn bread I make the sweet corn bread and I have it for dessert and have my beans on regular bread. After it thickens it is ready to serve.