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Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

5 May

I love celebrating Cinco de Mayo! Not only does it mark the start of New England’s amazing springtime, but it is also an excuse to drink margaritas… my favorite! Unfortunately this Cinco de Mayo I’m not in New England ): but that won’t stop me from celebrating!

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Ground Beefless Tacos

Serves 6-8

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper chopped

1 package Yves Meatless Ground, original

2-3 Tbsp. taco seasoning (I used Simply Organic brand southwest taco)

4 Tbsp. tomato sauce

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large nonstick skillet with 1 Tbsp. olive oil, saute the onion and bell pepper until just softened; stir in 1 Tbsp. taco seasoning.  Spoon mixture towards the side of the pan to make a well then add the “beef,” tomato sauce, remaining taco seasoning, and salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Stir well and cook until hot.

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Meanwhile, preheat your oven or toaster over to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a pan with taco shells.  Add about 1/3 cup of the taco meat mixture to each shell then top with your favorite vegan cheese.  I used my current obsession Daiya Provolone Slices.  Once the oven is preheated, change the setting to broil and put the tacos in to melt the cheese.  Once melted, top each with your favorite taco garnishes: salsa, lettuce, jalapeno, avocado… etc!

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Approximate nutrition per 1/3 cup of taco “meat:”

78 calories, 2.4 grams of fat, 7.5 grams of carbohydrates, 2.4 grams of fiber, and 8.1 grams of protein

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

27 Mar

I am so excited to share this recipe! Every Spring, particularly around Easter, I am bombarded with my childhood favorite candy… Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. Oh how I miss these!! I’ve made it until now, but this year I have had it! I need some peanut butter eggs (:

To my surprise, it was very easy to find a recipe. I stumbled across a blog called The Whimsical Princess and based my vegan Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs on hers.

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CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL RECIPE

Chocolate Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

Makes about 40 eggs

4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter

4-5 Tbsp. unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or any vegan milk that you prefer)

3 cups vegan chocolate chips (you may need more or less, but I’d say buy 2 bags of chips so you don’t run out)

4 tsp. Earth Balance vegan butter (per every couple cups of chocolate)

Toothpicks

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and 1/4 cup Earth Balance.  Slowly add in the powdered sugar, by the cup, and the almond milk, by the tablespoon, stirring well between each addition. The dough will be very tough to mix and crumbly, but don’t add too much milk ro the dough won’t be stiff enough.

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I needed some muscles to help me… AKA Derek (:

Once the dough is completely incorporated, use a tablespoon measure to portion out into about 40 balls then shape into eggs.  Stick each with a toothpick and line them up on a cookie sheet. Freeze for a minimum of 1 hour, the longer the better.

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Once the peanut butter eggs are completely frozen solid, melt the chocolate with the Earth Balance in a double boiler. I divided all the eggs into 3 different batches to prevent them from thawing off the toothpick (because trust me, they do… and when they do they fall into the melted chocolate and cause a big mess lol). Dip each egg into the melted chocolate, tap off the excess, then place back onto the cookie sheet. Don’t worry about the area near the toothpick, cover that once the rest of the chocolate has hardened and the egg is easier to maneuver. Continue with all the peanut butter eggs, freeze for about 20 minutes, then remove the toothpick and cover the hole with chocolate.

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Don’t worry about them looking perfect. After all, they’re homemade, they aren’t supposed to look perfect (: Enjoy!!

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We stored about 10 on the counter, 20 in the freezer, and gave 10 away… I wish we gave more away :P

Happy Easter!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

5 Jan

In addition to mozzarella sticks for Brianna’s birthday dinner, we also had vegan spinach and artichoke dip!! I used trusty Google to do a recipe search and chose to base the recipe on a recipe from AllRecipes.com. This dip was absolutely amazing if I do say so myself. Even my boyfriend, who is not a fan of artichokes, loved it (: or maybe he was just being nice…

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Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Yields enough for 4-6 people

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese; I used Follow Your Heart brand
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper
2 (14 oz.) cans artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1 (10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well
1/4 cup vegan shredded cheddar cheese; I used Daiya brand

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, nutritional yeast, dried basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir well to be sure the mixture is lump free and fully incorporated. Gently stir in the artichokes then spinach.

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Transfer the mixture to an oiled baking dish, or a bread bowl. Top with the cheddar cheese and bake in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 25 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

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Serve with sliced bread, veggie sticks, and/or pita chips. Enjoy warm (:

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