Cajun White Bean and Okra Stew

I call this Cajun White Bean and Okra Stew.  It's really just a twist to my age old black eyed pea recipe and needed a much cooler name.  I was hungry for something hearty, filling, and warm to go with the cold weather.  I was out of black eyed peas so I went with white beans and it turned out great!

1 Can of white beans
1/2 white onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 stalks of celery thinly sliced
1 tomato chopped (you can add more or leave this out.  I had one tomato that needed to be used so I through it in)
Frozen Okra  I threw in a few handfuls, add to taste
approximately 2-3 tablespoons of Zatarain's bean seasoning
a few shakes of cajun seasoning (I use slap ya mama)
A dash of cayenne pepper
**optional:
A few tablespoons (to taste) of nutritinoal yeast
Add a few drops of hot sauce to each bowl (I like Louisiana Hot Sauce for this)
1 cup of brown rice

Directions:
1.  Start cooking your rice in a rice cooker
2.  Heat a little bit of oil in a pot.  Add the onions, garlic and celery and heat until the onions are translucent. 
3.  Add in the tomato, okra and can of beans.  Do not rinse the beans.  Fill the empty can with water and add that to the pot.  Depending on how "soupy" you want it you can add more or less water at this time. 
4.  Add in all seasoning.  Simmer on medium-low until the rice is done cooking.  Serve on top of rice with added hot sauce or vegan parmesan. 


This recipe is easily adaptable to what you have.  Bell pepper and/or a spicy peper is a nice addition as well.  You can use vegan butter instead of the oil.  Melt that and add in a few tablespoons of flour to make a roux.  That will make a nice thick "stew" that is more of a gumbo.  You can substitue the tomato for a can of diced tomatoes.  You might want to add less water depending on your taste.  Have fun with it! 

I hope you enjoyed! 

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

HALLLLOOOWEEENN: Vampire Bite Red Velvet Cupcakes

If you remember from last year my department at work throws a "party" for halloween.  We all make yummy halloween inspired treats for the whole office.  I work downtown and our office is a part of a trick or treat for kids.  So in the afternoon a bunch of the cutest kids around come by trick or treating for candy.  So we all dress up in our costumes and hand out candy.  We still have to work but it makes for a fun filled day. 

This year I made vampire bite red velvet cupcakes.  The idea came from my coworker.  They turned out great!!  I've made the red velvet cupcakes before (if you remember from my dinner with friends).  You can find the recipe here from Kathryn Lovett's Blog.  I follow the recipe exact, except I didn't need to use 3 T of red food coloring, more like 1 to 1 1/2 T.  I made the icing from the recipe as well and added a little more powdered sugar so it was a bit thicker.  After the cupcakes were baked, cooled and frosted I stuck a thick toothpick (the kind that looks more like a fork with two prongs) in to make two "bite" marks.  I took just a little bit of the frosting and added some red food coloring to make it red.  Then took the toothpick and frosted a little line under the bite mark to look like blood.  They were amazingly easy and soo delicious.  My coworkers didn't even realize they were vegan and my family loved them! 

I also made the roasted red pepper and artichoke dip that I usually make for the holidays.  It's one of my all time favorites and everyone always raves about it.  I should have doubled the recipe because it was almost gone before we even had lunch!  You can find the recipe here from food.com.  I follow it exactly.  Other than the chips I served with this dish (they were shaped like pumpinks, bats and ghosts) this dish wasn't really halloween inspired, but rather matched my costume.  I was a 50s housewife.  The corningware and crochet pot holder fit the bill.  Here's me in my costume.  Not the best photo, I wasn't even looking at the camera.  LOL.  You can't tell but I even have victory rolls in my hair.  I wish I could wear this look everyday! 

I know I'm a few days late, but I hope everyone enjoyed their halloween.  I'm trying to get my office to do a themed halloween next year.  Yay!  Till next time! 

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

I'M BACK!!!!  I know I'm sorry (you've heard me say a million times) for being MIA, but I honestly haven't had much mojo.  I was cooking either things I've posted before, or things not worth posting.  You know sometimes you just get in a funk and mine has lasted longer than I'd like.  But I swear I'm back in the groove!  I feel inspired and rejuvinated!  If anyone hasn't heard or it or tried it out yet I encourage you to check out http://www.pinterest.com/.  It is an AMAZING sight for you to "pin" things that you find on the web.  It's kind of hard to explain but if your someone who is constantly "favoriting" (yes I just made that a word) sites that you like or want to come back to then Pinterest is the place for you.  But let me forwarn you its 100% addicting.  Side affects are hours of countless hours in front of the computer.  By the time you look at the clock you will have lost a whole day!  Said from experience.  You can find my boards and I at http://pinterest.com/amateurvegnchef/. 

Now onto the good stuff..FOOOODD!!!  Fall weather was a little slow this year (I must have been on the good side of the Gods) but it's finally in full swing and freezing outside.  The other day I was in the mood for some down home comfort food.  I couldn't get tomato soup and grilled cheese out of my brain.  It was perfect and hit the spot. 

For the grilled cheese (one of the easiest things to make by the way) I started with a great bread.  I used two different breads for two different occasions both were amazing.  The first is sprouted whole grain wheat bread with flax seed by Alvarado St. Bakery.  It's tasty, and amazing for you and only 50 calories per slice!  Pretty amazing.  The second is Dave's Killer Bread.  OMG.  If you haven't seen it or tried it....look for it and try it!!!  It's great!  I used the Good Seed, with heavenly texture and saintly flavor.  It has 4 grams of fiber, 6 grams of protein and 610mg of omega 3's.  It's organic and only has amazing ingredients.  If you see it try his sinaroll.  It's to die for.  For the cheese I used my go to Daiya Pepperjack Shreds. As any normal grilled cheese butter the bread, heat a skillet and grill with the cheese.  I went pretty simple but there are soooo many variations to take your grilled cheese to the next level.  You can add veggies like tomato slices, roasted bell pepper, red onion...the possibilities are endless. 

I also wanted to mention a new product I've tried that I think will blow you all away.  It's Tofutti brand american cheese slices.  It's like the typical slice cheese in the little plastic wrapping.  It tastes sooo amazing.  Rich is convinced that it's real cheese in vegan wrapping (obviously not true, but a test to how amazing it is).  It's sooo perfect for sandwichs!  I love Daiya but sometimes the shreds get messy when I'm trying to put it on a sandwich.  You can even use the slices for the grilled cheese.  They melt amazing!  So check it out next time your at the store! 

Now for the tomato soup.  I went pretty simple and easy for this as well.  I based my recipe on that from Fat Free Vegan (follow the link to the recipe).  I made some adjustments.  As you can see I didn't blend the soup so it was smooth.  I wanted a more chunky soup so I just used a potato masher and mashed some of the soup.  I also didn't have a can of crushed tomatoes so I used two cans of chopped tomatoes.  I didn't use her brand of tomatoes just what I had in the cabinet.  I left out the parsley and yogurt because I didn't have any, and didn't think it needed any agave.  It was really tasty.  I loved the roasted flavor from the tomatoes.  It was the perfect soup to dip my grilled cheese in.  This soup is going in the keep file.  :) 

I hope I haven't lost all my readers and you'll come back for more recipes!  To even make up for it I'm posting another blog here in a few minutes so stay tuned!!!  Till next time!

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

LOTS of goodies!

I have a ton of meals to catch y'all up on!  So get ready for a long post.  I'll try to make it interesting.  Okay I don't really have any interesting stories but lots of photos!!!

Let's start with a review for Yves Vegan Grain Meat in a sweet chili thai sauce.  I saw this at the store and thought it sounded good enough.  I wasn't expecting much out of it as I'm pretty hard to please with this sort of thing.  It was SOOOO good.  I would eat it over and over again.  It was super easy to make and it didn't taste fake or chewy. 

The top photo is how the packaging looks.  It comes with the "meat" separate.  You heat it in some oil until it gets golden brown.  Then you add the sauce packet and cook for a few short seconds so it heats up and gets thick. 

I ate mine with quinoa, green beans and broccoli.  Perfect meal when you need something quick! 

This next recipe I bookmarked awhile ago and kind of forgot about it.  I'm glad I found it because it was delicious.  It's from vegetarian times and you can find the recipe online here.  I followed the recipe except I didn't use coconut flakes, I didn't have any lime juice and I used canned pineapple instead of fresh.  I topped this with quinoa (If you can tell I'm trying to stay away from too much pasta and rice.  I also want to make sure I'm getting enough protein and trying to make sure I have some form in every meal).  It needed some "sauce" so I topped it with sriracha and sweet chili sauce that I have in a jar (if you've never had any you need to..it's kinda of amazing).  It was the perfect spice to add with the sweetness of the pineapple.

You probably won't beleive it but I made this amazing spinach risotto in the microwave with my pasta boat!!!  Well it's not actually a pasta boat it's called pasta n more, but it comes with a recipe book and I figured what the heck let's give it a try.  It was soooo easy and it came out perfect.  Plus I didn't have to sweat over the stove forever to make this!  I made some adjustments from the original recipe, so below is what I did

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic (more if you'd like), chopped
1 cup of uncooked arborio rice
3 cups of HOT vegetable broth (so make sure to bring it to a slight boil before adding it)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
8 oz fresh spinach
2 small zucchini cut into 1inch pieces
About 1/2 lemon juice
I didn't measure but about a tablespoon of agave nectar
Dried rosemary maybe 1/2 tablespoon
Italian seasoning mabe 1/2 - 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup of vinegar (the original recipe called for 1/2 white wine, I didn't have any so I subbed this)

1.  Combine the olive oil, onion and garlic in the boat pot, place in microwave and cook on HIGH for 3 minutes
2.  Stir in the rice and broth and add salt, lemon juice, agave nectar, rosemary and italian seasoning, cover with the strainer lid and cook on HIGH For 6 minutes
3.  Uncover and stir in vinegar, zucchini, spinach and cook for about 10-15 minutes until the liquid boils off. 
4.  Serve with Parma if desired.  I also made a side of wax beans with similar seasonings as the risotto

Last but not least I had a wonderful spread a few weekends ago at my parents.  My dad BBQd a spicy chicken patty for me.  I cut it up and ate it on a roll with the fixings (lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle and BBQ sauce).  Side of corn with salt and tapatio hot sauce, potatoes with rosemary, and BBQ veggies straight from the grill.  Hopefully this isn't my last summer BBQ this year.  All the halloween decorations at the stores are making me a little depressed. I feel like I was just talking about the being excited for summer and now it's almost gone.

For now that is all...Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Tomato Cream Pasta with Zucchini Fries

Thank GOD!!!  I wrote this entire blog post and tried to post it earlier and thought I lost it.  I was about to start typing again when I remember to look in the saved posts and there it was.  That's exactly how you make Brittany's day.  =)  I present to you Tomato Cream Pasta and Zucchini fries!!  I'm not sure how I stumbled onto this recipe but I'm lucky I did because it was SOOOO good.  It was lick the bowl (and spoon, and pot) clean good!  Follow this link to the recipe.  I pretty much followed the recipe exactly except for a few minor changes:

I added 1 anaheim chili, seeded and cut in small slices.  I think adding the chili really made this recipe shine.  As you all know I like a little spice.  The chili wasn't very spicy at all, but it flavored the sauce sooo nicely. 
No chicken or faux meat was added, it didn't really need it
For the basil/thyme/oregano I just used a pre-mix italian seasoning total to all three
I used rice milk because that's what I had in the fridge
Agave nectar for the honey
and only 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast.

Like the intro said, don't be scared because of the ingredient list.  This was pretty quick and so easy to make and if I haven't said so already sooooo delicious.  Definitely a keeper.  The only change I would make next time is using fusili pasta to "hold" the sauce better.  The picture on the link looks so much better than mine.  I also like my sauce's a little chunky so I wouuld sub one can of tomato sauce for a can of chopped tomatoes. 

I had more than half of a pretty large zucchini left over from my parents garden and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.  I found a recipe for zucchini fries and they paired it with spaghetti.  Once I started making the cream sauce it was like a match made in heaven to make the "fries".  They were super easy to make and baked pretty quick.  My only complaint was the breading didn't stick to the zucchini very well.  I'm not sure if it had anything to do with it but I was out of lemon juice so I subbed half the amount for vinegar.  They were still super declious and I felt better about eating them.  I also didn't have breadcrumbs so I toasted a piece of bread and put them through the food processor until they were fine.  I also used regular paprika and garlic powder not salt.  All in all a pretty fab meal that came together soo nicely, even considering I cut my finger pretty bad trying to slice an onion.  I thought my zucchini fries were a gonner.  Husband wasn't home to get them out of the oven and I had to hold my finger with a towel to stop the bleeding.  I was able to be Mrs. Mcguiver and rig the towel to stay on my finger while I saved the "fries".  Pretty miraculous if I do say so myself.  =)

For dinner last night I made a stir fry with all kinds of yummy veggies like green beans, snap peas, carrots, red bell pepper, water chestnuts, baby corn and broccoli with my sweet and spicy sauce on top of quinoa.  Those are some of my favorite meals, the quick, easy, nothing fancy...just a bunch of veggies over quinoa.  Perfection really.  Not much else to share today.  I hope everyone has been creating awesome meals in their kitchen.  If you ever have a great recipe I'd love to hear about it. You just might be featured in a blog! 

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

BURGERS AND BIRTHDAYS



Happy Birthday to ME!  Watermelon Margarita

 Last week I celebrated my 25th birthday!  Because I have such wonderful friends and family I was able to stretch it out for the whole weekend.  That is me on my birthday, getting ready to go out for dinner and drinks with the hubby.  =)  For dinner I didn't want to cook so we went to Chevy's.  I'm a pretty big fan of Chevy's.  Their chips and salsa, margaritas and burritos are YUMMY!  I get the veggie burrito with no sour cream or cheese.  They chop up a ton of different veggies with black beans rice and this spicy red sauce.  It was nice to get out of the kitchen.  Over the weekend we went to the river with some friends and then to my parents for dinner on Sunday. 

Since my birthday fell on a weekday I was stuck in the office until 5.  My wonderful co-worker brough me home-made vegan carrot cake cupcakes!!  They were sooooo delicious!  I took some leftovers to my family and they all loved them.  She even made homemade "cream cheese" frosting.  I'm pretty sure I've eaten like 50.  LoL.  She is going to get me the recipe so I can share with y'all. 

My dad let me choose what I wanted him to cook for dinner.  I was in the mood for some grilled veggies.  We don't have a grill at my house (although I'm looking into getting one of those small ones I can fit on my porch) and my dad doesn't grill them very often either.  I chopped up some red bell peppers, fresh zucchini and cucumber from the garden, an Heirloom tomato, onions and garlic.  I should have done more garlic because it was sooooo delicous.  ALL of the veggies were perfect.  I chopped them pretty big, drizzled olive oil, salt/pepper and some cajun seasoning and my dad threw them on the grill with a veggie patty (covered in BBQ sauce).  I topped my buger with all of the veggies and a slice of lettuce and it was perfect.  We cooked some corn, a salad and chips and salsa as a side.  The perfect summer meal.  Thanks mom and dad for the wonderful food! 

As a bonus I made some delicious vegan sloppy joes last night.  I found the recipe from a blog I follow quite frequently, you can find the link here.  I pretty much followed her recipe to the T.  I added red bell peppers to the red onion and jalapeno.  I didn't have cabbage so I just used a lettuce leaf.  They were really good.  The only thing it needed was hot sauce.  I'm kind of addicted to hot sauce though, so I kind of put it on everything.  It was hilarious, I went to the grocery store the other day and had to buy Tapatio hot sauce, Crystal Louisiana Hot Sauce, and Chipotle Tabasco Hot Sauce.  We were out of each of them.  I use each one for something different, totally different flavors.  =)  For the side of veggies I cooked green beans, red bel peppers and zucchini with salt/pepper and cajun seasoning.  I drizzled some of the vinegar from the onions on top.  All was perfect! 

I hope you enjoyed! 

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Tostada and Peppered "turkey" Sandwich

A few months ago when we went to Texas my sister's boyfriend's mom made me an awesome tostada (knowing I was vegan and all).  She topped it with homemade guac and texas caviar.  It was delicious!  I've never made tostada's at home, albeit it's pretty much the same as a flat taco.  So the other day I figured that would be a perfect summer time meal!  If you haven't noticed almost everything that I'm making has none to very limited cooking time on the stove or oven.  It's been too hot to heat up the whole house with the stove. 

I used my famous refried beans recipe (Okay..Okay..It's not famous and yes it uses canned beans but...It's yummy), guacamole, fresh salsa and lettuce.  I used lime, cilantro and the works in the guacamole and salsa so I didn't feel it needed more but you can definitely top with more of your favorites.  This was sooo easy and tasty and my house was still nice and cool for me to relax in. 

Refried beans:
1 can refriend beans
Chopped onions to taste
Chopped jalapeno to taste
About a tablespoon or two of green and red taco sauce
* Mix all ingredients and microwave until hot

Guacamole (You will need to adjust amounts to taste/amount you need)
1-2 Avacado depending on how much you want to make
1 Lime, juiced
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro
Chopped tomato
Chopped Jalapeno
*Add everything in a bowl then mix together to desired consistency. 

Salsa:
2 Large vine tomatoes
Chopped cilantro
Lime juice
salt
Jalapeno
Onion
Garlic
*Roughly chop everything and put in a food processor.

Because I'm feeling fancy I'm making this blog a two-fer!!  This is more of a review/recipe.  I follow another blog for vegans (see the link here) and she has talked about tofurkey peppered turkey slices a few times.  I always strayed away from the tofurkey slices because I didn't think it would be something I would like.  I've eaten the tofurkey sausages and their good when ground up in spaghetti or something like that, but I don't like it whole.  I can't get use to the flavor.  I thought I'd give the slices a try since we all know there are plenty of things I thought I would like and now love as a vegan.  I decided to make a generic sandwich which I haven't had in forever...well since being a meat eater.  I toasted some sourdough bread, spread with vegenaise, louisiana hot sauce, a few tomato slices salted, peppered and seasoned with some cajun seasoning, chopped onion, lettuce, pickle and a slice of peppered turkey.  I was pleasantly surprised.  This will definitely become an easy staple for lunch or dinner when I'm on a bind and need something quick.  I don't like to base my recipes on processed fake meats but it's really convenient to be able to have them as an option when I'm in a bind.

My husband and I had a late dinner and we were craving potatoes so I ventured out and made some delicious potatoes.  It was worth the heat.  I chopped the potatoes, spread with olive oil, cajun seasoning and a little rosemary.  Mixed together to coat all of the potatoes and baked for about 25 minutes or so.  If you are looking to keep your house cool a nice salad or corn on the cob heated in the microwave would be a good side as well. 

I hope you enjoyed today's post.  Till next time! 

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!