Deep Fried Veggies

I got a craving for fried mushrooms the other day and decided to try making some myself.  I happened to have a fridge full of avocados as well so I fried some of them as well and they came out great.

Ingredients:
-1 part water to 1 part flour: for example 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water
-oil to fry
-panko bread crumbs
-garlic powder, salt, Italian seasoning to taste

To make:
-whisk together 1 cup of flour and l cup of water until smooth add seasoning as desired
-fold veggies into flour mix and take out one by one with a fork and coat with panko bread crumbs
-fry until golden brown
*tip - only use firm avocado to fry and cut into large chunks as smaller and softer pieces do not stay together well

Slow Cooker Vegan/Vegetarian Sunday Sauce

This had my meat loving coworkers drooling! 

Ingredients:
-pasta of choice
-1/2 green pepper chopped
-1/2 yellow onion chopped
-1 small package of mushrooms chopped
-1 large can of crushed tomatoes
-olive oil
-1 package of beyond meat meatless crumbles
-3 cloves of garlic chopped
-2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
-1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
-a generous sprinklings of nutritional yeast

To make:
Sautee chopped garlic, onions, peppers and mushrooms in oil until onions are translucent and add beyond meat crumbles.  Cook until defrosted and slightly browned.  In a slow cooker add a layer of sauce and then 1/2 of the veggie mix on top.  Top this with seasonings and nooch.  Add another layer of sauce and top with the remaining veggies and more sauce.  Cook on low for a minimum of 4 hours.  I cooked mine for 8 hours. 

Sauce in the crock pot after being cooked for 8 hours.

I used Banza pasta with the sunday sauce and it was amazing!  It tastes great and has a ton of fiber and protein.  I found some at Fresh Market and I will definitely be back to get more!

 

Vegan Kosher Icebox Pie

I am on a mission to prove to my mom that you can Veganize just about any meal and it will taste amazing!  I decided to try a vegan version of her ice box pie. 

-make or purchase graham cracker crust...I found a premad vegan Kosher chocolate graham cracker crust in Walmart Neighborhood market and they sell them at kosher markets as well.
-4 sliced frozen sliced bananas
-1/2 cup of almond milk
-1/4 cup of cocoa powder
-flavoring if desired - I added a few drops of vanilla extract
-toppings if desired - I added pecans

-Mix frozen bananas, almond milk, cocoa powder and vanilla in a blender or food processor until smooth.  I like to make my nice cream in my ninja blender but as there is not a lot of room for the bananas to move around as they process I sometimes have to stop the blender and move the bananas around with a spatula.  The almond milk also helps to break up the bananas as well so if you are having a hard time you can add some more milk.  When bananas are smooth pour into pie crust and top as desired.  Freeze until set and enjoy!

 The pie on top is before adding topping and freezing and underneath it is after freezing overnight.

Fresh Orange Cranberry Sauce

While I haven't been updating the blog for some time I still have been cooking plenty so I will work to update this blog with about a year+ of reviews and recipes :)  My favorite thing to make on Thanksgiving is fresh cranberry sauce.

This recipe calls for:
-1/2 cup of water
-1/2 cup of sugar
-1 bag of fresh cranberries
-1 can of sliced mandarin oranges
-1 orange juiced and some grated orange peel

Add water and sugar to a sauce pan and cook on medium high heat.  Stir to combine and once sugar is dissolved add all other ingredients except the sliced oranges.  As the cranberries cook they will make an audible popping noise.  When the cranberries stop popping (this should take about 15 minutes) add oranges and cook for an additional five minutes.  Stir to combine as they are cooking.  Take off of heat and let sauce thicken for several minutes before eating.  Add additional sugar to taste as needed.

 

Cranberries cooking...

Cranberries after taken off heat and sauce thickens.

Garlic Black Bean Hummus

One of my favorite snacks to make is Garlic Black Bean Hummus...it is super easy to make and has great flavor!

Ingredients for hummus:
-1 teaspoon tahini
-l can of black beans (I use low sodium but the seasoned work just as well)
-1/2 of a lime juiced
-1/4 cup of cilantro to mix and more as garnish
-2 cloves of garlic
-2 teaspoons olive oil
-salt to taste

I also like to fancy up some pita bread to go with the hummus - I cut store bought pita bread with a pizza cutter and place on a baking sheet.  I brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt.  Then I bake them for 10 minutes or until crisp at 350 degrees.

To make the hummus:
Mix first 6 ingredients in a food processor, add more olive as needed and salt to taste.  Garnish with cilantro and enjoy :)

So Delicious Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk

I am already a huge fan of So Delicious products. I typically have some of their ice cream in my freezer. Their products are a great option for people who cannot or chose not to have dairy products and do not want or like soy. I was pretty excited when I saw this product at whole foods! I love coconut milk but I have never had any from So Delicious and this flavor sounded amazing!

Let's forget about the nutrition information here. It's a limited edition item that can't unfortunately be consumed every day of the year. The serving size seems a little unrealistic too - a half a a cup...no way am I only drinking a half a cup at a time.

Smell: heavenly! 

Consistency: smooth and think, it looked like cream

Flavor: amazing taste of chocolate mint, it was easy to forget I was drinking coconut milk because there wasn't any flavor of coconut in this drink

Texture: very creamy! Great dessert drink for the holiday season

Grade/review: I absolutely loved this, just like every other So Delicious product I have tried. Their products really are delicous. I think it's very good for my health that this is only a seasonal item! A

Quest Protein Chips

I had read on several blogs about Quest Protein Chips so I was pretty excited when I saw them in my local health store. I chose two flavors- the Sea Salt and Sour Cream and Onion flavors. Some information about these chips: they are gluten free, baked, have no soy, are vegetarian, have 5g of carbs, 120 calories in a bag, 15% of your DV of calcium and 21g of protein!! Another thing to know is the serving size is 32g (1 and 1/8 oz) and it cost me $2.50 per bag of chips! So a little on the pricy side! This is a review of the Sour Cream and Onion flavored chip.

Smell: like any other sour cream and onion chip out there, not to overpowering

Look: 

Definitely looks baked, not quiteas appetizing looking as you may think from the picture on the front of the bag.

Taste: I have to admit that I didn't see they were baked until I got the bag home. I am not really a fan of baked chips. That being said these had a really strong sour cream and onion flavor. This was good because it covered up the baked flavor that I am not a fan of. I think I would not like the sea salt flavor, that might be a little too plain for me.

Texture: so this one is a little weird for me , there were a lot of textures going on in this little chip. It was crunchy due to being baked, airy (there were actually pockets of air in the chip) and also had a slightly chalky reside on the chip. I am a fan of crisp and airy, not so much chalky. These chips also made my mouth a bit dry. You could put a chip in your mouth and it would just crumble also (I think this was due to the airiness). 

Grade: the chalky texture really threw me off and I am not a huge fan of baked chips so I am a little biased here. These would be better with a drink. I would give them a C.