Boca Burger

I love the Vegan Boca Burgers. I can use them in pasta recipes or tacos. Anything you want to replace ground meat with. My son actually likes Goulash made with these better than ground beef. Hubby will also it it now!! As long as I don't use those Tofu crumbles again!! LOL

But a delish Burger is just what I needed to Ring in Spring. I can't wait till I can use my grill outside again!!! Happy Spring. This would be great with some Vegan Potato Salad. Which BTW between me and you have become pretty famous with my friends. They all make me make it for parties during the summer!! But I've never told them that it's Vegan!! Hehehehe!!


Here's what I used

Seitan 'meat' Balls

So I have been wanted to make Seitan for awhile. I really didn't know how easy it was!!! My girls love to help me cook so of coarse they helped toooo!! I've made these 3 times already and OMG I'm inLOve!!! really they are amazing!! So going Vegan people have asked me what Meat I miss! Well I always say non!! I was never a big meat eater. But I have to say I used to love making a big pot of homemade sauce and meatballs on a Sunday!! That's one meal I did kinda miss. Not anymore. I'm not huge into having meat replacers. Like Fake meats. I do love a lot of them but it's for replacing! I like it for the sake of liking :) Like if anything reminds me tooo much of a Real meat I get turned offfffffff. Anyways here we go with my Balls. They are so super duper easy to make and they taste soooo damn gooooodddddd. I snuck one in my sons dish and he never even knew!! When he was the one who had made them that day. But he said he wanted real ones. So ok ok.... I try not to push my Veganism on anyone, but I do educated my family in hopes they can make a Great decision someday.... Well eat it just fine. LOL i love fooling my family it's pretty funny LOL... Hubby is the one to always catch on. I remember a few years back I tried sneaking some fake ground meat in some gloulash and Hubby asked me if I burnt the beef LOL...

Ok Ok already here's the recipe

http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2009/12/make-your-own-seitan-how-to.html

What you'll need . . .
1-1/2 cup wheat gluten (found in the bulk foods section)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 large basil leaves, chopped
3/4 cup cold water
4 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons vegetable broth
I doubled this. She baked this. I rolled my balls into balls an then in tin foil. Then I boliled them for an hour. After that I added to my homemade sauce and eat it up!!! LOL

Basic Seitan | Country Chicken Fried Chicken | Vegan KFC Double Down

Split Pea Soup

So I've been craving some split pea soup!! So decided to make it even though nobody in the house but we will eat a GREEN mushy SOUP.... LOL that's ok!!!!!!! Even Hubby wouldn't try. I ate this for days!!! It was so good!!

First I started with this


Then you know I can't leave nothing alone like Hubby says. I added about 4 cups of water and some veggies bullion. I added carrots and onions and potatoes to it!! It was so freaking delish!!! I don't think I would add the potatoes next time!! Just cause I do like mushy texture and the potatoes made it chunky. It was so yummy though!!! I was so mad nobody would even try my soup.

Vegan BLT

I'm in love with some fake bacon!!!!!!! LOL I put it in a lot of dishes. Why I never made a BLT with it?????? I have not a CLUE?? I used a Pita for this yummy lunch!!! I'm still trying to get used to Vegan Mayo. It reminds me of Miracle Whip and that stuff is kinda gross. I was always a Hellmans kinda girl but sadly couldn't have much or I would get sick from the eggs. Anyways I used bagged salad & some tomatoes and of coarse my fav bacon from Light House.

Vegan Lunch Time

I love buying the big box of already bread eggplant at BJ's. It's always something to make an easy dinner with. Well I was craving it for Lunch tooooo!!!!!!!! I baked it then melted some Vegan Cheese on top and some Vegan Mayo on a pita and Lunch!!! It's quick and yummy!!!!

Vegan {corned beef} Hash

Hubby and I used to love Corned Beef Hash with a Sunday breakfast. I used to put it on buttered toast with a ton of Ketchup!!!!!! I KNOW not very healthy!!!! It was good though!! SO I had to find a way for me to eat something LIKE this but VEGAN!!!!!!!! Here's what I've come up with and it's sooooo tastey!!!

1 can of White beans, here I used white kidney beans but I do like the navy beans better.
About 3 good size potatoes 4 if they are kinda small cut into small chunks
3 Slices of Vegan Bacon
Few Dashes of Garlic Salt (If you want more garlic flavor use Garlic Powder)
Few dashes of Pepper
About 2 TBSP of Earth Balance or any Vegan Butter

First Mash up your beans in a glass dish that's oven safe



Then add your potatoes


Then add some Fakin Bakin



Add butter and seasonings and mix well.


Put in 375f oven for about 35-40 mins. I like the top to be nice and crispy!!!!

Vegan Mac - N - Cheese

I've been following this blog Meet the Shannons. So it is just one of my fave blogs to read!! She's cooking here way through a Betty Crocker book!!! Oh and of coarse making it all Vegan!!!! What a great idea right!!! I've made so many recipes from the blog already! i'm having a lot of fun cooking Vegan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So here is a recipe I found and had to try!! I'm super obsessed with MacNChesse and cheese has been the hardest thing to give up being Vegan!! Well not anymore! This is actually BETTER then my old Mac-Cheese.......... YUP i just said that!!! LOL I meant it too!!! I'm eating left overs as I type this!!! So here is her recipe down below!! The only things I did different was use Whole Flour cause that's how I roll LOL!!! I added real onions instead of onion powder and I had garlic salt instead of garlic powder but used less!!!

In no particular order :
Nutritional Yeast : Yes -An unfortunate name that keeps many people from trying this little bit of heaven turned into a yellow powder that is the perfect replacement for Parmesan cheese ( I mean seriously sprinkle it on pizza, salad, popcorn - whatever ). It is also the key ingredient to the best Mac & Cheez ever ( see below ) and making a vegan gravy that you'll want to eat like soup.
3 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
1/2 cup ( 1 stick ) vegan margarine
1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Pinch of turmeric
1 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
A few dashes of liquid smoke
Paprika & Black Pepper, to taste

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Cook the elbow macaroni according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
• In a saucepan, melt the margarine over low heat. Whisk in the flour.
• Continue whisking over medium heat until smooth and bubbly.
• Whisk in the boiling water, salt, soy sauce, liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder, and turmeric - add a few dashes of black pepper to taste.
• Continue whisking until dissolved. Once thick and bubbling, whisk in the nutritional yeast flakes.
• Mix 3/4 of the sauce with the noodles and place in a casserole dish. Cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the paprika.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Broil for a few minutes until crisp.

Here's My picture!! And let me tell you something my son who always covers his Mac-N-Cheese with Ketchup did not put a drop on this and came back for MORE!!!!!

click here to meet the Shannons

Guacamole Garlic Hummus

I made this for New Years Eve and it was a big hit besides my salsa ( that I forgot to take a pix of)

1 Avocado
1 (15 oz) can Chick Peas drained
A lot of Garlic. I'm not gonna lie I used like 10 cloves
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/8 tsp of whole peppercorns
1/8 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp Cumin
1/8 tsp Adobo Seasoning
About a cup of fresh Cilantro (washed and)
Olive Oil about a 1/2 cup. I start off with a little and keep adding more  if I'm having trouble mixing.

Put ever thing in a food processor and just mix till nice and smooth!! The more lemon juice that you add the longer this will last. Mine was out all night and never turned brown. Use less garlic if you don't want bad breath like me LOL

The nest day I used it on a Veggie Burger and it was amazingly Yummy!!!

Also I wanted to add that Hubby doesn't like Guacamole but he loved this stuff!!!

Friday Pizza Night

For years now just about every single Friday I make pizza for the family. I know it sounds like it can be boring after awhile but trust me I find all kinds of ways to make pizza!!! Most of the time I use what's in the garden or in my fridge! Sometimes I use my leftovers. I love to make Mexican a lot on Thursdays cause then I have some yummy tofu and cooked veggies for me! The boys have to have their meet!!! I don't give it to them all the time cause I'm mean LOL but I did this time cause the past few times I didn't LOL well I did have some fake chicken on it a couple weeks ago and nobody know any different!!! LOL suckers!! Lately the girls want nothing on their pizza and take everything off so I decided to make some of my pizza plain for them. I added flaxseed meal and vegan parm! Gotta try and sneak in a little bit of healthy stuff! So here's the recipe I've been using for a very long time! I just started adding the Agave Nectar to it and love it! Last week I had no Olive Oil and had to use oil and the crust came out amazing!!!

Pizza Dough
3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour ( I've use whole wheat but never had much luck, it comes out too hard!
2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 tsp salt
1 Pkg of yeast
1 Cup of Luke Warm Water
1 tsp Agave Nectar or Honey
Mix flour & salt in a mixer , I use my Kitchen Aide cause I can't live without it :) Make a well in the middle and pour your water in and add the yeast. Let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then ad the Agave Nectar or Honey, use the bread attachment for mixing and mix away! Take out and roll in a ball. Add the oil to the bowl to coat the bowl. Put your ball of dough back in and cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 1 hour. Then poke a hole with your finger to deflate the dough. Put some flower on your hands and knead the dough a bit. Make a ball again and put back in bowl. Put towel over it and let it rise for about 45 minutes to an hour. Now you are ready to make pizza. This recipe will make a big thick pizza or 2 kinda thin pizzas. I normally use a big cookie sheet to make one big one. But now that I eat Vegan cheese I make 2 pizzas. I like to use a glass from the cabinet to help me roll it out on my cookie sheet. Then use whatever yummy stuff you wanna top it with and bake at 375F for about 25-30 minutes deepening on how thick it is! Just let it get nice and crispy!

The Boys Pizza
What I used
~ sauce
~ mozz cheese
~ bacon ( pre- cooked )
~ onions
~ green peppers
~ fresh tomatoes
~ mushrooms
~ garlic
~ & a few jalapeños

Before Baking


After Baking!! Sorry everyone dug in so fast I didn't get a pic in time till after dinner!


The Girls Pizza
what I used
~ Vegan Mozz
~ Vegan Parm
~ Yellow Squash ( pre cooked)
~ Green Peppers
~ Onions
~ Garlic
~ Black Olives
~ Fresh Tomatoes
~ Italian Herbs
~ Rosemary
Before Baking


After Baking


So I'm still unsure what I'm putting on the pizza tonight? I wish I had fresh herbs to make some pesto sauce!!! Guess I'll have to go dig around the cabinets and see what I come up with!! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!! ~ Lisa ~

My First Vegan Meatloaf Ever

So here's the thing I've been working on being a Vegan since October 2009 and it's had it's ups & downs!!!! I've had some set backs put was always happy that I didn't give up and I don't plan on giving up!!! Finding new recipes and experimenting with new foods is really fun!! So if you are a Vegan already please bare with me!!! As I am kinda a newbie and learning along the way!!! So I wanna start sharing my recipes with you! So here we go.......... Vegan Meatloaf. I never used TVP before and I never know what the heck it was!!!!!???? But I'm sure glad I found it! There a certain comfort foods that I think just stick with you! Mine include, meatloaf, stuff cabbage, chili, mac & cheese, & something with biscuits and gravy!! So let's talk about my meatloaf!! I did a bit of research online!! Read some recipes tooooo! But....... well if you talk to my Husband he will explain that I don't know how to follow rules, direction and I just don't know how to leave things alone!! LOL I don't care if it came from Paula Dean I'm add my own person touch to a recipe. Well it came out really good but I know I can do better! It was a bit dry and had way too much worcestershire sauce. It did taste better the next day for some odd reason! Now I don't measure very many things :P LOL I guess I should if I'm gonna post up recipes HUH!!! So here's what I did!

1cup TVP ( rehydrated)
Saltine crakers
worcestershire sauce
Liquid Smoke
shredded carrots
tomato
shredded yellow squash
garlic
green pepper
Ketchup
couple drops of hot sauce
seasoned it with Goya Sazon
&& baked it at 350 f about 35 mins

My Kids Like Tofu Scrambies

I love making Tofu Scrambles......... We like to call them Tofu Scrambies!! My 4 year old finally decided to try some! Guess what????? Yup she loved them and tells everyone now!! LOL so the other day I ask my son if he's like some on toast with me & his sister!! He tried and liked!!! Kid tested kid approved :) So I will make them more offend!

When I make mine I just throw what's ever in the fridge or the garden! In these ones I used shredded carrots, onion, garlic, and green peppers. Plus we had vegan sausage too :)
It's good to get your kids to try new things!! They might shock you how they're little taste buds change!! You can see from my daughters pix by the time I took her pic almost all her food was gone!!! Have a wonderful weekend!