No-Bake Chocolate Peanut butter Pie (yes its vegan)

This pie will bring out the toddler in you. "No I don't want to share!" "This is mine!" "Mom! She looked at me eating!"   You get the point.

It is delicious and SIMPLE! And of course as everything is on here... VEGAN.  But the other great thing is that those 'nay-saying-anti-vegan-food-eating' friends you still have will be forced to eat their words when they try this. Ready?

Special equipment: Blender or food processor
Level of difficulty: Super easy! The kids can help and the baby on the hip will be delighted to stick their fingers in the peanut butter mix.

10oz Chocolate chips (or chocolate of your choice)
12oz silken tofu drained
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup almond or other non dairy milk
1 tsp agave nectar (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 9-inch graham cracker crust

1. Melt chocolate chips in bowl in the microwave half power for 30 sec, stir, repeat until all the chocolate is melted smooth.
2.Combine all the rest of your ingredients (not the crust of course) into the blender or food processor and process until smooth, stirring occasionally. Pour mixture into crust. Refrigerate at least 2hrs before devouring.

Mexican Quinoa Bake

 

 This is fast, easy, and filling! Protein packed too! As a vegan/vegetarian people are so concerned about the all important PROTEIN. That is probably the question I get asked most, "where do you get your protein from?" I want to say to the person scarfing down the 15oz steak "where do you get your vegetables from?" Silly I know... But this recipe will make the hearty meat eating person say "YUM!" and "This is protein filled?"  Enjoy!

Special Equipment:  Food processor or grater
Level of difficulty: Easy, one pan, one bowl, one saute pan. Baby on the hip or at your feet is a ok.
Serves: 8-10 | Time to prepare: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 medium-large sweet potatoes, shredded
• 2 cans organic black beans rinsed and drained
• 1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
• 3/4 cup fresh corn
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4-6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups salsa
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 cups vegan cheese (any kind will work)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt

Directions

1)	Preheat oven to 350 F.
2)	Cook quinoa according to directions. While that’s going, shred or chop your sweet potatoes, and sauté your garlic and onions until onions are translucent (about 5-7 minutes). Set cooked quinoa aside.
3)	Put your sweet potatoes, corn, onion, garlic, cilantro, beans, a cup of cheese, and quinoa in a large bowl. Add in spices and salt. Stir to mix.
4)	Spray a 9x13 glass dish with cooking spray. Add in quinoa/bean/sweet potato mixture and pat down with your hands. Spread with a layer of salsa and sprinkle a bit more cheese, if desired. Bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through.
5)	Serve with more salsa and top with fresh cilantro.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas with Avocado Cream sauce

These were tasty, filling and relatively easy. I have made another kind of sweet potato enchiladas but these require less time on your feet and more time enjoying them with your family. It calls for 5 tortillas but I was able to make 8 so choose how filling you want each to be and you may make more! 

Special Equipment: Blender, food processor or magic bullet

Level of difficulty: I made this with out the kids around but the only part that is not kid friendly is the veggie chopping part.

For the enchiladas: 
 2 cups of sweet potato, peeled and chopped small
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 red onion chopped
2 large cloves of garlic minced
sea salt and black pepper
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
2 large handfuls of spinach roughly chopped
2.5 cups of enchilada sauce
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 - 10 tortilla wraps

For the Avocado Cilantro  Cream Sauce:
 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 med avocado
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a large 3 quart rectangular baking dish.
2. Make the enchiladas.  Place the sweet potato in a medium sauce pan and add enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and simmer for 5 - 7 minutes or until fork tender.  Drain and set aside.

3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and saute' for about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.  Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Add the bell pepper, cooked sweet potato, black beans, and spinach.  Raise the heat to medium high and cook for a few minutes more or until the spinach is wilted.

5. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in a quarter of a cup of the enchilada sauce.  The lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and salt. 

6. Spread one cup of the enchilada sauce evenly over the prepared baking dish.  Scoop 3/4 cup of the sweet potato filling onto each tortilla. Roll up the tortillas and put them seam side down on the baking dish. Spread the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas.

7. Bake the enchiladas - uncovered for 20 - 25 minutes until the sauce is a deep red color. 

8. Meanwhile, make the avocado cilantro cream sauce. In a food processor or something like it - process the cilantro until minced.  Add the avocado, lime juice, salt, garlic powder and 3 tablespoons of water - processing until creamy. Scrape down as needed. 

9. Serve with the avocado cream sauce on top and enjoy!!

Mommy Lunch

As a mom sometimes things get pushed to the side, hair, make-up, food etc.... Lunch is the worst for me! I have minus 2 seconds to feed the starving children in the house before World War 3 breaks out. Go, Go, Go!!!!  Oh and I have a baby attached to its feeding source too (me) all while this happens. So my getting to eat lunch sometimes is sketchy. 

So what does a mom eat?
Leftovers? If there are any. Peanut butter sandwich? Ugh again!? Veggie Burger? Eh yeah I could but I don't feel like it.  So what do you do?
I was asked recently by another dear mommy friend "What do you eat for lunch?" I had to really think about this one....
One of my favorite quick meals for lunch is Loaded Nachos, they look something like this. 

 

 

Beautiful right??? :) (Thanks Momma Mia)

Instructions:

1. Find nachos

2. Throw on beans, quinoa, rice, avocado, salsa, Diaya vegan cheese, etc... anything you want on there!

3. Eat! 

That is pretty much it :) Its doable right? Try it out and let me know what you think.

 

Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

I was asked recently about good lunch ideas as a busy mom and this was my most recent find :)

This is easy and fast! A great lunch to make and then throw in the fridge for later. I loved it on bread but I'm sure it would be great on pita, crackers or a bed of lettuce.

(Picture from Oh She Glows)

Special Equipment: potato masher

Level of Difficulty: Veggies get chopped up so put the baby on your back or wait till they are occupied for a few minutes.


Ingredients:

• 1 (15-oz) can chickpeas (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas)
• 2 stalks chopped celery
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped dill pickle or dill relish
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 3 TBSP Vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp minced fresh dill (optional)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

What do I do?

1. In a large bowl, mash the chickpeas with the potato masher until you get a flaky texture.

2. Stir in all of the rest of the ingredients till combined. Adjust the salt and peper to your tastes. 

3. EAT!!

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Sea Salt Oatmeal Cookies

Ok wipe the drool off your face and get ready to bake! The name is a mouthful I know, but the taste is so so good! The large sea salt chunks make all the difference in the world. Its a marriage of sweet, salty, chewy and crunchy.

Recipe adjusted and tweaked from here.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 2 Tablespoons canola/vegetable oil
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/3 cup of nondairy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup or so of vegan chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix the peanut butter, oil, sugar, nondairy milk and vanilla together.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and combine. Add oats and chocolate chips.
5. Place spoonfuls of cookie dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet. 
6. Bake for 8 -10 minutes and let cool on baking sheet before transferring.

Tater Tot Casserole aka: Vegan Comfort Food

Special Equipment: 9x13 pan
Level of Difficulty: Baby in the sling is ok! The bigger kids can help too!

No matter how healthy we are, we all want comfort food sometimes right? If you answered no then you must not be human.....
This is my go to for a quick comfort food dinner for the family. Its easy, cheesy and delicious! And of course VEGAN! Ready?

Preparation Time:

15 minutes, Cooking time: 45-60 minutes

  

Ingredients

• 1 32oz bag Tater Tots (the sweet potato ones add a special sweet hint)
• 2-3 black bean veggie burgers (or any veggie burger you have)
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

• 3/4 cup unsweetened, unflavored almond milk (or more as needed to thin out)
• 6 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance or other non-dairy buttery spread
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour (or other flour)
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a skillet or pot, melt the vegan butter over medium heat.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour and milk until all clumps are gone.
4. Add milk & flour mixture and nutritional yeast to pot and whisk well. Reduce heat to low-medium.
5. Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste and whisk frequently until the sauce thickens up, for about 5 minutes. If it’s still too thin you can add more flour to achieve the thickness you desire. (This is your cheese sauce)
6. Take your veggie burger and crumble it up and lay it on the bottom of your 9x13 pan. That is your first layer, then add the frozen veggies (2nd layer), then pour your prepared cheese sauce on top. Then lastly your tater tots. 
7. Bake uncovered for 45-60min.