A Vegan Review: Outback Steakhouse

A vegan walks into a steakhouse….

That is not a joke ladies and gentleman. Tonight I joined my parents for dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

Tonight, with every purchase you could get a Bloomin Onion in honor of the LSU victory in the Outback Bowl.

Unfortunately, Outback uses beef grease in their fryers. This means that nothing cooked in a fryer, rather it be the Bloomin Onion or plain ol’ french fries, is vegetarian let alone vegan.

Here is my order: 

A house salad, hold the cheese and the croutons. I asked for a side of slivered almonds as well. I choose oil and vinegar as my dressing this evening, but the Tangy Tomato dressing is also vegan (it's the Outback version of french dressing). 

A plain baked potato, with nothing on it. 

I bring a small little container of my vegan butter with me, so that I have more options as to what I can order. I've never had anyone say anything to me and I never feel weird about bringing outside food in, because it is a condiment and like I said it only gives me more options. 

So there you have it, my delicious & vegan meal from Outback Steakhouse. 

Enjoy! 

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Thanksgiving 2013: Mashed Potatoes

Today’s post is going to be one of my favorite dishes, not only for Thanksgiving, but also for just general southern comfort food.

I’m talking about mashed potatoes.

There are, of course, vegan mashed potatoes that come out of a box. In fact, the Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes are a great example and you just have to substitute the milk and butter for soy milk and margarine. 

If I have the time though, I always prefer homemade mashed potatoes, made from actual potatoes. 

They are really simple to make, just follow these few steps below! (:

1. Peel your potatoes and slice them into small chunks. 

2. Simmer these chunks until they are soft enough to stab with a fork, this should take approximately 30 minutes, depending on the number of potatoes. 

3. Strain your potatoes and place them in a bowl with a liberal amount of butter. 

4. Using a potato masher, mush the potatoes until they reach the desired consistency. I personally like my potatoes to have some chunks in them.

5. Add some soy milk and stir together until they are a creamy consistency. 

 Who doesn't love mashed potatoes and peas?!? 

Enjoy! 

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Chili Baked Potato with Facon Bits.

Today's post is going to show you a great and quick meal idea, using the facon bits I talked about yesterday! 

One of my favorite ways to eat these yummy vegan bacon bits is on a baked potato with chili. 

This delicious meal is really simple and quick. 

Underneath all that delicious chili is a baked potato with butter. I've topped mine with facon bits, which complement the Boca crumbles. 

Try out this recipe today! 

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Vegan Muffins

Following yesterday's egg substitute review, I thought that I would share an easy and simple muffin recipe with y'all. 

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Simple & Basic Muffins 

Ingredients: 

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbs baking powder

1 cup soy milk

1/2 stick vegan margarine 

Egg substitute for one egg (I'm using Ener-G) 

Directions: 

1. Measure out the Ener-G Egg Substitute, whisk it together, and set it aside. 

2. Mix together the dry ingredients in one large bowl, and set those aside as well. 

3. Melt your butter in the microwave and mix into the dry ingredients. 

4. Next mix in the milk, and stir until the batter is one consistency. 

5. Fold in your egg substitute. 

6. Dish into muffin pans and bake at 400* F for 20 minutes.  

They came out of the oven, warm & delicious. I added a little butter to mine and it was absolutely scrumptious. 

If you try this recapie, let me know what you think!

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Crescent Rolls

The best part of November 1^st is getting to eat all the Halloween candy from last night, whether it be from your own trick-o-treating adventure or candy that never got handed out.

So, in honor of that, I’m going to break my routine once again tonight. Instead of posting about something sweet, I’m going to assume that everyone else has their fill of sweets at home to eat and talk about a meal staple in my house.

I’m a big fan of breads, whether it is for a sandwich or with pasta or even with a little butter as a snack.

One of the staple breads that I keep in my fridge at all times, is the Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls. 

Pop them out of the can, roll them up, and throw them on a cookie sheet. 

In 11-13 minutes they come out of the over warm and golden brown! They are quick and delicious and work great as a side to pasta, soups, and stews in the winter when a nice warm bread complements your meal perfectly. 

Add a little butter and just look how delicious this looks! So flakey and wonderful, plus they are only 100 calories a roll! (:

Have you ever tried these crescent rolls? What did you think about them?!

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Enjoy!

Ooey-Gooey Halloween Cookie.

Ingredients:

2 tsp of Blue Bonnet Light

¼ cup flour

¼ tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp of baking powder

6 packs (or 2 tbs) of raw sugar

Chocolate Chips

Brachs Candy Corn

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in you measuring cup.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, vanilla, and sugar into the measuring cup and stir.

3. Chop the candy corn up until it’s in medium sized pieces.

4. Add the desired amount of chocolate chips and you chopped candy corn and stir.

5. Press dough evenly in your bowl and bake in the microwave for 1 minute or until done.

Enjoy!

 

The Perfect Baked Potato

Yesterday, I shared with you two vegan butter substations that I love. Today's recipe is going to use one of those butters and tomorrow's recipe will use the other. Today's "recipe" is really more of a meal idea, but none the less it is delicious. 

As I told you yesterday, if I am eating my butter on something (as opposed to in something) I prefer Smart Balance Light with Flaxseed Oil. 

Today was a very busy day for me, after working 9 hours and then volunteering for another hour, I hadn't really thought about dinner and I didn't haven't anything planned. 

Luck for me, my wonderful parents had a plate waiting for me. :) 

I'm a big fan of sweet potatoes, especially cooked in the oven.

For the perfect baked potato (whether sweet or not) I cook 'em in my toaster oven for an hour. 

With this meal, I had grilled green beans and onions. 

This is a great example of a simple meal that is vegan and made complete by having a vegan butter substitute in the fridge. 

This is a great meal for someone transiting, because there are no mock products and it's simple; both of which are great! 

Well, Butter My Biscuit!

 One of the most important things in a southern women’s (or man’s) kitchen is butter. There are a ton of options for vegan butter, but many of them are frankly gross. I’ve tried several, and here are the two that I suggest:

1. When I bake, I prefer to use Blue Bonnet Light Sticks. They are cheap, they come pre-measured, and easy to use in recipes.

2. When I am eating butter on bagels, baked potatoes, biscuits, etc… I prefer Smart Balance Light with Flaxseed Oil. It is thicker and has a more full butter taste. It is dairy free, vegan, lactose free, gluten free, and gelatin free. It has 50 calories a serving, 5 grams of fat, and no cholesterol.

I’d recommend picking up either of these great butter substitutes the next time you are at the grocery store and try substituting  them for the butter you are using!