"Chicken" Peanut "Alfredo " & Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

For father's day I made a variation of the cupcake recipe found at http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com with some changes since I can't leave recipes alone. I began by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F, and then put the apple cider vinegar and almond milk in a pyrex measuring cup and let stand. Next I thoroughly combined all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. I then added to the liquid mixture: vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and the seeds from one large vanilla bean. I then combined the liquid and dry ingredients thoroughly and put into a muffin tin with liners, and cooked for 20 minutes (they were a little moist; depending on your oven you may want to cook for 25-30 minutes). I did some searching online and found that the homestyle version of Duncan Hines icing is vegan, and therefore would save me lots of time!! I gladly used it on top of the cooled cupcakes.
They were moist, flavorful, and surprisingly easy!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes:
1 TB apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 c almond milk
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 c oil (I think substituting mashed banana for oil would be GREAT in this recipe!)
2 tsp mexican vanilla
1 large vanilla bean


Tonight for dinner I made a spin on chicken alfredo since I had been craving some pasta recently. I began by putting the tofu, garlic, almond milk, nutritional yeast, and peanut sauce in my Vitamix. I blended for roughly 30 seconds to make sure all was combined. I then poured the sauce into a saucepan and let heat on the stove.
Next I lightly sauteed some onions, and added the "chicken". Once the "chicken" was browned, I added some spinach and let sautee for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile I chopped up mushrooms and put them in the "alfredo" to cook. I then put the onion/spinach/"chicken" into the sauce and let simmer while I cooked Udon noodles. I cooked fewer noodles than I had sauce (a pet-peeve I have is old pasta...I prefer cooking new pasta and pouring the premade sauce over!), but spooned ~2 spoons of sauce on the noodles, combined and ate.
The peanut flavor is slight, but enough to add an interesting flavor. I will definitely be making this one again!

"Chicken" Peanut "Alfredo":
1 package silken tofu
3 tbsp peanut sauce
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional- more for me getting all of my amino acids than flavor)
1 medium vidalia onion
1 package Gardein chik'n strips
2 large handfuls spinach
Pasta/Noodles- how much depends on how much sauce you want/ how you prefer your leftovers.

Butternut Squash "Lasagna"

These past few months have thrown me for a whirlwind and I haven't had the time to post any of my creations. The dinner I made tonight was so delicious I had to return to share it! (And I will be updating much more frequently now that my schedule has changed, especially with the recipes I have been making throughout!)
This lasagna recipe I made is based on the one from http://www.veganlunchbox.com/ although I made a few slight changes.
I began by peeling and thinly slicing the squash ans setting it aside. I diced the onion and water sauteed until tender, then added the chopped kale and cooked for another 10 minutes until the kale was wilted. I foiled a 9x13 pan (greasing would work fine) and placed a layer of squash rounds on the bottom. I then spread all of the onion/kale mixture, the topped with a second layer of squash. I spread the diced tomatoes on top, sprinkled w italian seasoning and garlic salt,  and cooked for 60 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Once done, I spooned premade tomato sauce on top (lightly), and cooked for another 5 minutes.

The steam coming off this made it blurry, but trust it looked, smelled, and tested SO GOOD!


Butternut Squash Lasagna
2 small butternut squash
1 bunch kale
1 vidalia onion
1 28 oz can no salt added diced tomatoes
 1/4 c tomato sauce
seasoning to taste

Stuffed Peppers

This dish took a little longer to complete, but the outcome was well worth the wait! I began by cooking a 50/50 mix of red and white quinoa as normal. I then diced up all of the veggies and lightly sauteed in vegetable broth, garlic, and salt and pepper. While those were cooking, I de-seeded the green bell peppers and placed them in a dish (I only had 3 peppers, but this could easily make 4!)
Once everything was cooked, I mixed the veggies and quinoa to get this beautiful mix:

I put the mix into the bell peppers (pictured above), and covered with store bought marinara sauce (I didn't have the time to make that, too! The marinara sauce from Pasta alla Norma would be perfect here if you have the time!), and placed them into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
The flavor was perfect, and the mix of quinoa and veggies was a good balance.

Stuffed Peppers
1/2 cup red quinoa
1/2 cup white quinoa
1 zucchini
1 zucchini squash
1 red bell pepper
1/2 orange bell peppers
1/2 container baby portabella mushrooms
3 green bell peppers (there was enough mix for 4)
3/4 cup marinara sauce

Banana-Nut Bread

STOP everything you're doing, gather the ingredients at the bottom of this page, and do yourself a favor and make this bread!!!

I've been looking around at different recipes and decided to combine a few and came up with an AMAZING combination! It's so simple- mush up the bananas, add the rest of the ingredients and throw into a greased bread pan in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. Then wait a few minutes to cool and enjoy!!

 This is the bread right out of the oven......

...and about 5 minutes later because it smelled too good I needed to taste!! =)


Banana-Nut Bread
3 bananas
1/3 c. vegan margarine
1/4 c. vegan sugar
2 c. unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1/4 c. chopped almonds
1/4 tsp apple pie spice  (mix of cinnamon/nutmeg mostly)

Spaghetti Squash noodles with a Tomato-pesto sauce

I made an absolutely delicious healthy meal the other day that I HAVE to share!
I began by cutting the squash in half (I used two whole squash) , removed the seeds, covered with tin foil, and baked in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.
I lightly sauteed onions, red potatoes, broccoli, and mushrooms in a skillet with light salt and pepper. Once the squash was cooled, I took a fork to the squash and pulled it across to form "noodles". Once this was done I mixed in the sauteed veggies.
Next, I pulled out the Vitamix and made the sauce. I placed the tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and garlic in and turned it on high for about 15 seconds and it was done! I didn't want to mix the sauce into the noodles for fear of the leftovers getting soggy, so I poured it on each plate individually.

Here is a picture of the "noodles" with the sauce on top before it was mixed in. The flavor of the sauce was so perfect, and the squash noodles were so easy and a great carbohydrate substitute-- I will definitely be making this and other squash noodle recipes again!!

Tomato-Pesto Sauce
2 vine ripe tomatoes
1/2 oz fresh basil
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

New Green Smoothie and Panang Curry

I took a week's vacation in the Florida Keys this past week and regrettably fell off the band wagon with my diet and exercise regimen I have been so good about the past few months. It was beautiful and so much fun- but it's definitely time to kick my diet and exercise into high gear again!!

I made a green smoothie this morning with a few new ingredients and it was SO GOOD!! I used spinach as always, banana, fresh mango, fresh unsweetened coconut shavings, and coconut water. The mango added a perfect amount of sweetness and the coconut shavings added a unique texture and flavor. (I purposely did not blend the coconut to pulverize it- such a good decision!) This will definitely be a new favorite!!
Here are all the yummy ingredients in my vitamix!!

This evening I made a dish I have been CRAVING weekly since I first had it a few months ago. This was my first attempt at this dish, but I would say I knocked it out of the park! The ONE thing I would change would be to thicken the sauce a but more with either flour or cornstarch. The flavor was perfect though, and I will be having this again soon!!
I began by making some brown rice, then I created the sauce by slicing the peppers and cooked for about 8 minutes, then added the cubed tofu and simmered for an additional 5. It was surprisingly simple and delicious! (for my non vegan friends/family...instead of tofu you can add chicken or whatever!) Here's a pic of the sauce n veggies over brown rice.

***Edit: I made this again this past week and added 1 tbsp flour to thicken the sauce and it was PERFECT*****

Coconut Green Smoothie
2 large handfuls of spinach
half of a fresh mango
half a banana
2 tbsp shaved coconut
1 1/2 c coconut water

Panang Curry Tofu
brown rice
1 package extra firm tofu
1 large red pepper
1 large green pepper
1 13 oz can Tahitian coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp red curry paste
***1 tbsp flour

Stuffed Mushrooms & Spinach Pasta Pie

While I have taken a break from posting I have still been in the kitchen experimenting with many recipes and have come across two that I want to share. The first is the stuffed mushrooms from the SB cookbook.
I began by de-stemming 28 medium mushrooms and placing them stem-side down on a cookie sheet, and placed them into a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes. While they were in the oven I finely diced and sauteed the mushroom stems, one small shallot, and one red bell pepper with one tbsp coconut oil, and salt and pepper. Once they were sauteed, I removed from the heat and set aside to cool a bit. I took the panko bread crumbs and added the parsley. I mixed this together then added the sauteed veggies. Once the mixture was combined I placed a rounded tsp in each mushroom cap and baked for an additional 20 minutes. Next time I would be heavier with the seasoning, but other than that these mushrooms were delicious!! They would make a GREAT addition to a potluck, or a great appetizer for a small group.

The next recipe I want to share is derived from "Sandra's Money Saving Meals", but I had to add some things to fit my veggie taste! I began by cooking half a box of angel hair pasta (spaghetti would work too). I then cut a bunch of asparagus into 2 inch pieces and sauteed them with salt and pepper with a pot lid over to help steam. I added the garlic then the artichoke hearts. Once these were combined and the asparagus was cooked I added the spinach and sauteed for a few minutes then removed from the heat. I then mixed the pasta with the olive oil and egg substitute. I placed into a pie dish and formed into a pie-crust shape. Once the spinach mixture had cooled I added the almond milk and 2 servings of the egg substitute and combined thoroughly. I then put the spinach mixture in the "pie" and rimmed it with a thinly sliced a roma tomato. The last step was to place it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Next time I make this I don't think I would add the artichoke because there was something not quite cohesive with the flavors, although it was still tasty-I would recommend keeping them out entirely. Other than that, this dish was easy, flavorful, and hearty!


Stuffed Mushrooms
one large container of mushrooms
one small-medium shallot
one red bell pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley
6 tbsp panko bread crumbs
one tbsp coconut oil

Spinach Pasta Pie
1/2 box angel hair
1 bunch thin asparagus
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
1lb bag of chopped frozen spinach, thawed
3 "eggs" of an egg substitute
1/4 cup almond milk
1 roma tomato
1 tbsp chopped garlic