Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Pizza Rolls Go Vegan!

I keep seeing this commercial for Totinos Pizza Rolls and every time I start craving pizza.

Since know one has yet to create a vegan pizza pocket that is readily available, I decided to create my own!

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Vegan Pizza Pockets

You will need: 
1 packet of crescent rolls 
1/4 cup of pasta sauce
1/2 cup of vegan cheese shreds


This is the cheese that I am using. I bought this cheese to try on a burrito, but it wasn't very good. I'm hoping it will taste better melted! 

Directions: 
1. In a small bowl, mix the cheese and tomato sauce. 



2. In an unrolled crescent roll, put a spoon full of the sauce and cheese mixture. 

3. Fold over and into a triangle and close the sides with fork. 


 Bake in the over at 350* for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

Plus I'm happy to report that this cheese is delicious in his melted form!! 
I can't wait to show you guys all the new things I'm going to try with this new 'cheese'.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A Vegan Review: Olive Garden Soups


I’ve written about a Olive Garden in the past, but I recently went back for lunch. They have their unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks promotion for $6.99.

As I’ve mentioned before; the salad is vegan as long as you leave the dressing off, it has cheese and the bread sticks can be made vegan if they are made with out the butter.

To go along with this, I added the Minestrone Soup. It’s listed right on the menu as being vegetarian, but with further questioning and an inspection of the ingredients, it is in fact vegan! 


This soup is the perfect combination of noodles and veggies! If the weather is going to keep being cold, at least I'll have this to warm up with!!

Unfortunately this is the only soup on the menu that is vegan, but if you want to see any of the other soups get a vegan makeover, comment below & tell me which one is your favorite! 

Monday, March 17, 2014

Meatless Monday: St. Patrick's Vegan Shepard's Pie!


Saint Patrick’s Day some how losses part of it’s magic when the Leprechaun stops coming in the middle of the night and tearing apart your class room. At least until you turn 21, then it’s all about green beer and some kind of blue-ish concoction called an Irish Trashcan. In between, there is Irish food but corn beef and cabbage always steals all the thunder.

There is so much more to traditional Irish food, like beer bread, colcannon, and even potato & leek soup. With a few quick substitutions, all of these things can be made vegan.

Tonight I’m going to share with you my recipe for vegan Sheppard’s Pie. It’s delicious & I think that if you were to find a rainbow, a big bowl of this amazing dish would be at the end of it!

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Vegan Sheppard’s Pie!

You will need:
5 or 6 potatoes
4 carrots
1 can of peas
½ of a small onion, chopped finely
1 bag BOCCA crumbles
1 stick of butter
1/4 cup of soy milk
½ cup vegetable broth
¼ cup red wine
2 T of olive oil
salt, pepper, and parsley to taste

Directions:
1. Peel and boil the potatoes. When they are boiled, mash them with 3/4 stick of butter and soy milk.

2. In a frying pan, cook the onions and the crumbles together in the olive oil. 



3. Peel and slice the carrots. Put them in a bowl with water that fully covers the carrots and cook them in the microwave for two minutes or until soft. 

4. Mix together the onion and crumble mixture with the peas and carrots. 


5. Put the mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish and cover with mashed potatoes. 

6. Brush the top of the casserole with the remaining butter and sprinkle with parsley (it's green!). 


Bake for 30 minutes at 350*, serve, and enjoy! 


Just look how delicious this turned out!! 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Vegan Ricemellow Cream!!


Tonight’s product review is a little bit out of the ordinary; in fact it is definitely more of a treat! I’m talking about delicious and vegan marsh mellow cream!

Most marsh mellow cream contains gelatin, which isn’t vegan as it is made from boiling the skins, tendons, ligaments, and bones of various animals. YUK!

This delicious alternative is made from rice sweeteners and all natural vegetable gums. In addition to being vegan, this cream is also free of GMOs, artificial colors, refined sugar, preservatives, fat, and corn syrup.



I have had the most luck finding it at my local Food Lion, but you can check out Suzanne's Specialties website to find a retailer near you!


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A Vegan Review: Red Robin

One of all of the places I like to go out to eat, I would have to say that by far Red Robin tops my list. They make the list primarily because vegan options are listed right on the menu and, of course, because they have delicious food. 

They offer the Vegan BOCCA Patty, which can be substituted in for the meat patty on any of the burgers. This means that almost all of the sandwiches can be made vegan with few moderations. 

Here's my order: A 'Keep It Simple' burger, which comes on a sesame seed bun and with lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles on the side. 

It doesn't come with cheese or mayonnaise, so you don't even have to worry about asking for those things to be left off. 

For the sides, the bottomless fries are vegan but you can also opt to get a side of fresh seasonal fruit as well! 


Doesn't this look delicious!?! 


Click here to find the Red Robin location closest to you! 

What's your favorite thing to order at Red Robin?!?! I'd love to hear what burger you love!

Join the conversation on facebook!

Monday, March 3, 2014

White-Gravy Smothered Biscuits


I have been so ready for summer since basically January 1st and yet the East Coast is once again getting snow. I am so over the cold weather, so much in fact that I avoided going out; especially to the grocery store where everyone is buying milk and bread like it is going out of style.

So, I felt like getting a little bit creative for tonight’s Meatless Monday recipe. So join me on this adventure and let’s have breakfast for dinner!
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White-Gravy Smothered Biscuits

You will need:
Warm biscuits, I’m using Crescent Rolls
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup flour
1 T of vegan butter
Salt and peper to taste

Directions: 
1. Cook the biscuits  like the directions on the package. 



2. In a large cup or bowl, mix together the flower and milk until it becomes one consistency. 

3. Melt the butter in the pan and then pour in the flour/milk mixture. 

4. Add in salt and peper to taste.

5. Stir until a gravy like consistency is reached.


Scoop over the biscuits and serve! 


It is a delicious southern meal, perfect for any time of day. 

Try it out & let me know what you think! 
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Thursday, February 27, 2014

Mardi Gras King Cake goes Vegan!


This year Mardi Gras begins on March 4th, which happens to falls next Tuesday. To help you prepare, I’m gong to share with you this awesome recipe for a King Cake!


For those of you who don’t know the story, the King Cake, or Three Kings Cake, is said to take its name from the Bible. Fat Tuesday, which is another name for Mardi Gras, falls on the day before Lent.

These cakes are made differently around the world, based on the traditions of the country of origin. In the United States, these cakes are most popular in the Gulf States as they are closest to New Orleans.

Often times there is a plastic baby, said to represent baby Jesus hidden in the cakes filling. It is believed that who ever gets the slice containing the baby must host the next party or bake the next King Cake.

I had a hard time finding a little baby for my cake, though I did find them here in bulk. I have to admit, I was a little leery of  baking a small plastic baby in my oven. 

So, instead I used a dry bean. This wasn't a totally random choice, as beans are used in lieu of babies throughout Europe and in Mexico! 

If you are planning on celebrating, I couldn't think of a better way, then with this delicious cake!
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Vegan King Cake!

You Will Need: 
2 packages of Crescent Rolls (12 individual rolls)
1 cup packed brown sugar 
1 T cinnamon 
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup Chocolate Chips
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar 
1 T vanilla
3 T soy milk
Food coloring or sprinkles 

Directions: 
1. Mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and chocolate chips. 

2. Pour in the melted butter, and stir until crumbly texture is formed. 

3. Set this mixture aside. 

4. Un-wrap the crescent rolls and lay them out to form a circle. Be sure to press the seems really good! 



5. Place the filling in the middle and roll the dough around it. 



 6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

7. Mix the vanilla, soy milk, and powdered sugar together, this will be your icing.  

If using sprinkles, drizzle icing over whole cake and top with sprinkles. 

If using food coloring, split icing into 3 bowls. Color them green, yellow, and purple (by combing red and blue), then drizzle over the cake. 


Serve and enjoy! 
Don't forget who ever finds the baby (or the bean) is on the hook for the next cake!

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