Expect to see new stuff from us

We've decided we need to start updating this blog again! we didnt do much with it the first time around, but this time we are going to do more......Candi has been a vegetarian for a little over a year now, I however have not. I now want to make a better life choice once again, and I think that this will help me. soooo, expect more from us!

It's been awhile...

Ok so I know it's been a long time since we have written anything here. I'll try to get some more recipes and stuff up soon. :) we haven't really been trying out new recipes or anything lately. Except I did make an awesome pot of vegan Italian wedding bell soup and lettuce rolls (we didn't have any cabbage so I had to use lettuce leaves instead.) They were delicious! Yum! Ok well I have to go to sleep now. Bye!

Scramble, Soup and Mac n Cheeze

On Wednesday I woke up and decided I wanted to make a tofu scramble from the Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook. So I started making it and it had an option to do a spice blend scramble and I decided to make it. That was a big mistake. It tasted like curry..and I'm not that big of a fan of curry. So needless to say it pretty much went to waste because Nicole and I disliked is so much! I will make this again...just not with the spice blend in it.

The same day I also decided to make a Celery Root with Granny Smith Apples soup. You're supposed to blend it in a blender but I just mashed it with a potato masher. I liked the chunks in it and it was Apple-solutely delicious!!! It kind of takes a while to prep, because you have to make a cashew cream and a chive oil, cut the celery roots and apples, onions and all that then wait for it to boil and then usually you're supposed to blend it in batches..so it takes a while to make. But well worth it!

Yesterday for lunch I made a mac n cheeze recipe from a site I found: www.randomgirl.com/recipes.html And it was pretty good. I added garlic powder and then a chili garlic sauce to it and it was awesome! I also recommend adding some soy milk in it just to make it a little more creamy and smoother. I paired it with some spicy chili hot dogs from Yves...and those were blah! They tasted just like the scramble and I couldn't eat them. I should've got the regular kind because I know I would've enjoyed them. But yeah, it's all about trial and error.

So far we're doing very well on our path to living a veggie/vegan lifestyle. I actually enjoy the food a lot more than when I ate meat. I found it was getting repetative and boring. There are so many different things you can make as a vegetarian or vegan. Nicole and I are going to make seitan (sp?) soon. I can't wait!

Oh yeah, I also made some guacamole with a homemade tofu mayonnaise. I got the recipe out a Kraft "What's Cooking" mag and just used the tofu mayo instead of the regular mayo and it is awesome! It pretty much tastes the exact same. I love to add diced tomatoes to it too. I'll be adding pics soon. :) taa taa for now!

Tofurky Feast Dinner a Success!!!

I've heard about this Tofurky thing for a very long time, so i went on youtube to see what it was and how to make it, because I was thinking about trying it sometime. I've seen the videos, and it seemed easy enough to make and prepare.
So!!! Candice and I went out to the grocery store and bought the Tofurky!!!!
We got it home and opened the box (we wanted to see what was in it obv.) to see what was in it. Here's what it included :
1 Tofurky (stuffed in the middle with bread and wild rice)
8 dumplings (stuffed with potatoes, cranberries and apples)
1 container of mushroom gravy.


We were like whaaaaat!!! thats insane! and it was only $29.99!
So today I made it!
I peeled and cut into chunks about 4 or 5 medium sized potatoes, 2 carrots, and i cut up some shitaki mushrooms.  I got a small round pan that can go in the oven, and put my unwrapped Tofurky in the middle, then i placed all the potato, carrot and mushroom chunks all around it.
Then I made the baste it says to make (there are 2 choiced I picked the orange juice, soya sauce and sweetener baste). I actually doubled that recipe because i didnt think it would be enough, so i poured half of it onto the Tofurky and veggies and put the lid on and stuck it into the oven for 1 hr and 15min.
While that was in the oven, I waited until there was 30 minutes left to the timer, and boiled water in a pot and once the water boiled i added the dumplings, for four minutes, took them out of the water and onto a pan where i fried them up and browned them on both sides.  Then i took the same pot I boiled the dumplings in (after emptying the water), and put the gravy in and heated that up.
When the timer went off, I took of the lid to the Tofurky, added the other half of the baste and stuck it back in for another 10 minutes uncovered.
after that I cut the Tofurky into slices and then it was ready! I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with everything! The dumpling were awesome, the gravy (which I was a little worried about, thinking it wouldnt be that great) was delicious, the Tofurky was AMAZING!!! and the veggies in the baste were great! I will use the baste for other recipes as well, it is sooo good.  And I will be purchasing Tofurky again!! Definately.

The above picture is the Tofurky by itself, with no gravy on it. You can see the stuffing on the inside.

above is the Tofurkey, potatos, carrots, and mushrooms, and the dumpling covered in the mushroom gravy

Here is another shot of the Tofurky feast.

Oh I forgot to mention that this meal is 100% Vegan. There was a sticker on it that said it :) So Vegan and Delicious!!! AWESOME!!!

Tofu Sloppy Joes

I had some tofu in my fridge and I didn't know what to make with it, so I decided to go online and find a recipe. I decided I'd try this sloppy joes recipe. And I must say it was pretty good. As usual I kind of switched the recipe around and added and took some things out. But it was scrumptious!

Tofu Sloppy Joes

~ 1 lb firm tofu

~ 2 tbsp oil

~ 2 tbsp minced green pepper

~ 1 tbsp minced fresh garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder

~ 2 tbsp minced onion or 1 tsp onion powder

~ 1 tbsp jalapeno pepper

~ pinch of cayenne pepper or chipotle pepper

~ 1 tsp dijon mustard

~ 1 c water

~ 1/4 c ketchup

~ 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

~ 1 tbsp soy sauce

~ 2 tsp brown sugar

~ 2 tbsp parsley

~ salt and pepper to taste

1. Mash the tofu, and mince the veggies.

2. Heat oil on medium in a large frying pan, fry onion and garlic for 5 minutes.

3. Add tofu, jalapeno, and green pepper, fry for 5 minutes on high.

4. Add dry spices and fry for 2 minutes.

5. Add ketchup, water, mustard, soy sauce, brown sugar, parsley, and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Tofu moisture content varies, so add more ketchup and water as needed if the mixture seems dry.

7. Serve over bun with fixins. (ie. tomatoes, lettuce, avacado slices, mayo, ect.)

We didn't have any jalapenos or dijon mustard, so instead I used roasted red peppers, and regular mustard. I found that it was a little bland so Nicole and I added an asian garlic chili pepper sauce to it and it was amazing! We also didn't eat it on a bun. We ate it 2 different (actually 3) ways. First we put it on our rice and it was so good we wanted to have more. So we decided to try it on pita bread. I too a bite in mine and then I found mold and that kind of wigged me out. Plus I thought the bread the little too thick. I decided to scrape off the sloppy joes and eat it with toast. It was just as good as it was on rice. YUM! I actually have 2 pics of this dish, one on rice and one on pita bread (and yes those are paper plates..haha.) I wouldn't say that this tasted like sloppy joes though, but at the same time I didn't expect it to. I think the next time I make sloppy joes I might just use veggie crumble and sloppy joe mix (if it's vegan.) lol Ok well that's all for now. I'm going to go sift through my Vegan with a Vengeance cook book.

Pasta with Artichoke Hearts

Ok so after my blogging frenzy a few days ago, I didn't really have much to say so I didn't blog yesterday(not to mention my internet was out most of the day.) And I was watching Jersey Shore all day. haha

I think I'm doing pretty good at trying to stick to a vegan diet. Yesterday for lunch I had a tofurkey wrap with a ton of veggies and vegannaise. It was delish. :) For dinner I had a yummy salad with a homemade balsamic vinegarette dressing. That was good too.

Today for lunch I found a recipe for a pasta and artichoke heart salad. I was thinking about making something like this and then I came across it. So I was pretty excited. So here is the recipe:

Creamy Pasta Salad with Artichoke Hearts

~ 1/4 c vegan mayonnaise
~ 2 tbsp lemon juice
~ 2 c cooked pasta (elblow, rotini, or small shells)
~ 4 green onions, chopped
~ 1 6oz jar of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
~ 1 1/2 tbs fresh or 1/2 tbsp dried basil
~ 1/2 tsp salt

Stir the mayonnaise and lemon juice into pasta. Add the green onions, artichoke hearts, basil, and salt and mix well. If salad is too dry, add more mayo and/or lemon juice.

I looked in my fridge and realized I didn't have lemon juice so I used lime juice instead. I also didn't have green onions (which I didn't mind because I don't like onions anyway.) So I left them out, but I added green peppers, mushrooms, and black olives. I also added pepper, garlic powder (I love garlic), and tabasco sauce. And it was awesome :) I will definitely be making this again. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be eaten hot or cold, but I think it will be good either way.

Banana Pancakes

All I have to say is YUM! And that's a pretty good compliment coming from me, seeing as I pretty much hate pancakes. These were absolutely delicioso! They weren't heavy and didn't give you that bloaty ugh feeling afterwards. They were so good. I didn't however garnish it with bananas like it said to..but they were still good non the less. I wasn't sure if I should post the recipe but Nicole said I should. So for all you that want to try a good vegan banana pancake recipe, here it is :)

Banana Pancakes

~ 1 c flour

~ 2 tsp baking powder

~ 1 banana, mashed

~ 1 1/4 c soy milk

~ 1 tbsp sugar

~ sliced banana for garnish

Mix flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. In a small bowl mash the banana with a fork and add 1/4 c of the soy milk. Mix until there are no lumps. Stir in banana mixture, the rest of the milk, and sugar into the flour mixture. Portion about 3/4 c of batter onto a hot, non-stick pan or oil frying pan and cover with a lid. Let it sit on medium heat until the center starts to bubble and become sturdy. Flip pancake and cook until golden brown. Serve topped with sliced banana and maple syrup or brown rice syrup.

I didn't cover the pancakes when I cooked them and they still turned out good. This recipe made about 5 - 6 pancakes. And this time I remembered to take a picture of them :) So I hope you guys try it and enjoy it as much as Nicole and I did.

I got this recipe off of www.randomgirl.com/recipes.html

I almost forgot to get a pic....so half way through the meal I remembered..that's why there is a chunk taken out haha.