SAUSAGE APRICOT STUFFING

Still trying to finalize your Holiday menu? Looking to add an additional item? Well, I believe this stuffing is what you are missing! We used to make this way back, when I ate my animal friends, and after I chose to live a compassionate life, I was the most disappointed to not have this yummy stuffing at the dinner table. After one Thanksliving without it, I was like NO! I WILL VEGANIZE IT!! And so I did! My family loves it just as much as the meaty version, and the tradition lives on!

SAUSAGE APRICOT STUFFING
(Serves 6-8)

*1 package of Vegan stuffing (I use the Whole Foods brand)
*1 package of Vegan breakfast sausage (I recommend Gimme Lean brand)
* 25-30 dried apricots, diced
*1 3/4 C of Veg stock; I use homemade, and I would highly recommend doing the same!
* 1/3 C melted Earth Balance butter
*1 lb of cremini mushrooms, washed and chopped
*1 large, sweet onion, diced
* 4 cloves of garlic, minced
* Olive oil, for cooking
* 6-8 fresh sage leaves, finely diced
* Himalayan salt, to taste
* Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.

-Begin by heating oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat.
-Once hot, add your diced onion and mushroom, and a pinch of salt. Cook until vegetables begin to sweat and onions become translucent. Add your garlic and cook for 2-3 mins, stirring often, and being sure not to burn the garlic. You're not looking to fully cook the veg, as it will soften up a bit more in the oven. Remove from pan and place in a small bowl to cool down.
-Using the same pan, crumble and cook the vegan sausage. You may or may not need to add oil. I usually add a bit of water to the pan with the sausage, to deglaze it, and get all the yummy bits off of the pan. Cook sausage until heated through. Remove from pan and add to the veg mixture.
-Now, take your dry stuffing and add your diced apricots and veg/sausage mixture. Give it a toss to mix. At this point, I add my diced sage, salt and pepper.

-A little bit at a time, add your stock and butter, stirring and incorporating between each addition. Repeat this process until all the stuffing is moist.
-Transfer into a 9 x 13 baking dish. 
-This entire recipe, up to this point, can be made a day ahead of time. Simply wrap with foil and store in fridge until you are ready to pop it in the oven.
-Once you are ready to cook, put into a 350-375 oven, covered for about 25-30 mins. Then, remove the foil and bake an additional 10-15 mins, or until the top begins to get brown and crispy.
-Remove from oven, and enjoy!!

MY FAMOUS CHILI AND FIREY CORNBREAD!!

I've been dying for it to cool down so I could make my chili, so I was super stoked to see the temp drop a few weeks ago! And by drop, I mean like 68. Hey, that's chilly for us out here is LaLaLand. Don't judge. Anyway, I saw the forecast and took my butt to Sprouts to grab all the yummy ingredients to make my chili. As usual, it was BOMB! I really never thought I'd share my Chili recipe, it was one that I thought I'd save for that cookbook I have aspirations to publish one day, but then I was like.....why NOT share it? Your carnivore friends won't even know it's vegan. I've had big meat-eaters tell me that it was the best chili they ever had! SO, here it is. You can thank me later :)
*DISCLAIMER- I like my chili HOT. And when I say hot, I mean like I'm sweating and my nose runs when I eat it. I love heat. Gimme all the heat. If you don't like heat, just adjust the peppers and spices to your taste.

MY FAMOUS CHILI:
(Serves about 8)

* 1 green pepper, diced
* 1 sweet onion, diced
* 1 red onion, diced
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 red jalapenos, with seeds, diced
* 2 green jalapenos, with seeds, diced
* 2-3 serranos, with seeds, diced
* 2 cans Organic red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 can Organic black beans, drained ans rinsed
* 1 can Organic cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 can (28 oz) Organic crushed tomatoes
* 1 box (32 oz) Imagine Organic Creamy Tomato soup
*  1 pkg soy crumble (I used Lightlife)
* 1 TBS chili powder
* Generous amount of freshly ground black pepper
* Himalayan salt, to taste
* 2 tsp cayenne pepper
* 1 TBS agave nectar
* 1/4 C water (more or less, depending on how you like your chili)
* 1 C fresh, assorted cherry tomatoes

-With Crock Pot heated (I start mine on High), add peppers, onions and garlic to bottom of Crock Pot and stir to combine.
-Next, add the soy crumble and stir to combine, being sure there are no clumps of "meat".
-Add all the beans, stirring to combine.
-Now it's time to add your liquids. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, tomato soup and water. Give everything a good stir to incorporate the liquid with the solids. It won't look very soupy, but as it cooks down, it will become more liquidy, so I would go easy on the water, and add any extra later on in the cooking process.
-Next, add the chili powder, black pepper, salt, cayenne and agave. Be sure to really stir it up well.
-Lastly, add the whole cherry tomatoes. During the cook, they will break down and give the chili a super, fresh tomato flavor!

-Cover and allow to cook on high for a good hour. After that, I usually lower it to med-low and cook for an additional few hours, then turn it back up to high for and hour or so. Honestly, as long as it cooks for 4-5 hours, you can cook it on whatever temp you'd like. It's best when it's cooked down slowly, allowing the flavors to develop and deepen. Stir occasionally, and be sure to continue to taste it to see if any of the seasoning needs to be adjusted.
-At some point during the cooking process you can begin to make your cornbread.

FIREY JALAPENO CORNBREAD:
 Recipe adapted from a PPK recipe

* 2 C Organic, Non-GMO cornmeal (I use Bob's Redmill)
* 1 C unbleached All-Purpose flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1/3 C melted coconut oil
* 2 TBS agave nectar
* 2 C unsweetened almond milk
* 2 tsp Bragg's apple cider vinegar
* 1 tps Himilayan salt
* 1 jalapeno, seeds included, finely diced
* 1-2 serranos, seeds included, finely diced

-Preheat oven to 350 (for glass) or 375 (for non-stick) and spray a 8 X 8 baking dish with cooking spray
-Combine almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl, whisk together and set aside.
-Put all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix to combine.
-Add coconut oil and agave to almond milk mixture and whisk until foamy.
-Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold in until combined. It will be pretty thick.
-Drop in your peppers and fold into the cronbread mixture.
-Transfer to your "greased" baking dish and pop in the oven.
-Bake for 30-35 mins, or until edges begin to brown and a knife put into the center comes out clean.
-Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 5-10 mins before slicing.

Both the chili and the cornbread taste amazing for days after; I always like mine the best on Day 2! I hope you enjoy my chili as much as I do!

"CHEEZY" SNACK MIX

I don't know about you, but I LOVE a good salty, crunchy snack!!! I used to love to eat Chex Mix, but that went out the window after changing to a Plant-based Diet. The other day, I was desperately craving that Chex Mix taste, so I decided to make a similar, V-friendly version of it, and it turned out AWESOME!! Luckily, I made an enormous batch of it, so I can munch on it whenever I want! It's pretty darn easy to make, and you can really throw whatever you want in it. I microwaved mine, due to lack of time, but if you are off of the microwave, it can be made in the oven.

"CHEEZY" SNACK MIX:

* 4 C Rice Chex style cereal
* 4 C Wheat Chex style cereal
* 3 C small twist pretzels
* 2 C mixed, raw nuts
* 3/4 box Earth Balance Cheeze Crackers
* 6 TBS Earth Balance
* 5 drops Liquid Smoke
* 1 tsp garlic powder
* 1 tsp onion powder
* 1 tsp Spike Seasoning
* 2 1/2 TBS Vegan Worcestershire (I use Annie's brand)
* 1/3-1/2 C Nutritional yeast

-In large, microwavable bowl, combine cereal, pretzels and nuts.
-In a smaller, microwavable bowl, put Earth Balance in and microwave 30-35 seconds, or until melted. To melted butter, add liquid smoke, garlic powder, onion powder, Spike and vegan worcestershire. Stir to combine.
-Pour butter mixture over dry ingredients, and working quickly, stir to coat all ingredients evenly.
-Place in microwave for 2 minutes. Remove. Add 1/3 of the Nutritional yeast, stir well, and place back in microwave. Cook another 2 minutes, then repeat same process. Do one more round in the microwave, for 1 1/2 -2 minutes. Remove and stir in the last of the Nutritional yeast and the Earth Balance Cheeze Crackers.
-Spread the snack mix onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and allow to cool completely.
-Transfer to an airtight container, for storage.

* If you want to make in the oven, place on baking sheet after stirring in butter mixture, sprinkle with the Nutritional yeast, and bake at 250 for about 1- 1 hour and 15 mins, stirring every 15-20 minutes.

RAW ZOODLES WITH HEIRLOOM TOMATO & RED PEPPER MARINARA

RAW: 1 : not cooked. 2 : being in or nearly in the natural state.

I LOVE eating Raw!!! I often wish I ate Raw more, and have toyed around with the idea of being Raw Till 4, but have never made the leap. Mostly it's due to lack to lack of time (to eat more times daily), and finacial reasons. Eating Raw can be costly. You definitely consume a higher quantity of food in a day than you would on a Vegan diet. I ate Raw for a few days once, to see how I felt, and I was floored how much produce I went through. I felt phenominal though......Raw Till 4 would definitely be a good compromise. Maybe I'll give it a go in the new year, once I get my finacials back on track!
In the meantime, I will continue to incorporate Raw meals into my diet a few times a week. This recipe is one of my favorite, and easiest, Raw meals to make. I've made it several times, tweaking it a bit each time, and I'm very pleased with the outcome, so I think it's time to share!!
To make the Zoodles, you will need some form of Spiralizer. I have this model (http://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World-Cuisine-A4982799-Tri-Blade/dp/B0007Y9WHQ/ref=sr_1_1/185-6815642-4095123?ie=UTF8&qid=1413427440&sr=8-1&keywords=spiralizer), which I'm in love with!! I use it to spiralize carrots, cucumbers, beets, apples and it makes great curly fries!! Pretty much any veg/fruit that fits in it, has been spiralized!! I'm a dork, and I like to spiralize!!
The best thing, in my opinion, about eating Raw, is the amount of food you can eat. I actually ate ALL of the zoodles (3 zucchinis worth) for dinner!! There was plenty of Marinara leftover, which I may heat up and eat as a soup tomorrow for lunch.

RAW ZOODLES WITH HEIRLOOM & RED PEPPER MARINARA:
Makes 1 large serving, or 2 small

FOR ZOODLES:
* 3 medium zucchinis
FOR MARINARA:
* Olive oil
* 1 lb Mini Heirloom tomaotes (TJ's has them)
* 1/2 red bell pepper
* 1/4 large, or 1/2 medium, sweet onion
* 2 big garlic cloves
* Himalayan Salt, to taste
* Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* Generous pinch red pepper flakes
FOR PARM:
* 1/3 C raw walnuts
* 1/4 C nutritional yeast
* Himalayan salt, to taste

-Spiralize your zucchini, and place in a paper towel lined strainer, to extract some of the moisture.

-In the meantime, prepare your marinara. Place heirlooms, bell pepper, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil into your blender or food processor. Processor until melded, but still a bit chunky.

-Once zoodles have released most of their moisture, pat dry and add to a bowl. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and olive oil and toss. Set aside to soften a bit (about 10 mins).

-While waiting, make your Raw Parm. In a mortar & pestel, or food processor, combine all ingredients. Hand grind or process until it looks like parm. Season with salt, to taste.

-To plate, top zoodles with the marinara and sprinkle with generous amount of parm.

-DIG IN, and ENJOY!!!

BUFFALO CHICK(PEA) WRAP

It's pretty hard to believe it's Fall, especially since it's been 90 + degrees here for the past few weeks! The only thing that has semi-put my mind into Fall mode is the fact that my favorite thing, FOOTBALL, is back!!! Nothing makes me more happy than watching my Steeler's play while tossing back a few beers and eating some game day noms. Some of my favorite things to munch on during a game are chips with salsa and guacamole, veggies and hummus, potato chips, and of course, grilling out!!
I have pretty much gone through and veganized all of my old favorite go-to game day foods, but there was one that I used to LOVE eating, that I still crave, and was dying to recreate, but a guilt-free, healthy version. I used to go to Buffalo Wild Wings a lot, when I lived in Vegas, to watch the games that didn't air on T.V., and my go-to meal was the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Wrap, with extra hot sauce. It was spicy, crispy and yummy! It was also a gut-bomb of animal fat, grease and dairy. I wanted to try to capture that taste, all while taking care of my body. Now, my wrap is not exactly the same, but I assure you, it's damn good!  I could have made an almost excat replica with vegan breaded chick'n, vegan cheese, vegan ranch, etc...., but I am doing my best to eat clean, unprocessed foods right now, so this is my (clean) take on the wrap. Instead of using a vegan ranch, I added Veganaise, and some of the herbs that are found in ranch dressing to give it a bit of the creamy taste I crave. Feel free to add celery if you'd like, I personally am not a big fan, so I left it out. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

BUFFALO CHICK(PEA) WRAP
Makes 2-3 wraps

* 1 can organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
* 1/4 C Frank's Red Hot (or, hot sauce of choice)
* 1/4 C Veganaise
* 2 green onions, green and white parts, roughly sliced
* 3 TBS raw hemp hearts
* Handful fresh dill
* Handful of fresh parsley
* 2 tsp cayenne (optional, I like mine VERY spicy)
* 1 tsp Himalayan salt
* freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* Wraps of choice- I used Whole Wheat Lavash, which are my favorite!
* Romaine lettuce
* Tomato

-Add garbanzo's, Frank's, Veganaise, green onions, hemp hearts, dill, parsley, cayenne, salt and pepper to food processor.
-Process until blended, yet still a bit chunky. You may have to belnd a few seconds, then stop and scrape down sides, then blend again.
-Scoop into wrap, add lettuce and tomato, roll up, and cut in half.

THAT'S IT!!!
Super easy, fast, and not many ingredients.
You can also use lettuce wraps if you are watching your carbs, or spread on crackers.

As always, I love to hear your feedback, or the different ways you used my creations.
Oh, and one more thing.......

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!

ASIAN SWEET & SPICY SLAW

Well, it's no secret that I have majorly neglected my blog lately. That is about to change! I have some exciting things in the works;
lots of new recipes, product and restaurant reviews and a new feature where I will spotlight a different Vegan that inspires me every month!! Its been a very busy time for me, especially this whole summer, and sadly, it left me little time for me. I've still been working feverishly in the kitchen to develop many new recipes, and I am so excited to share them all with you!
Many of my best creations are made when I feel I have "nothing in the house", or a bunch of random ingredients that need used asap. This delicious slaw is one of those creations, and most of the ingredients are things you most likely always have on hand. You can eat this slaw as a side, or as a topping to your veggie burger or "fish" taco. I ate the entire bowl as is (not in one sitting!!!), although, I'm not gonna lie, I kinda wanted to....
Now, on to the important part, THE RECIPE!!!

ASIAN SWEET & SPICY SLAW

FOR SLAW:
*1/2 bag shredded carrots
*1/2 bag shredded gren cabbage
*1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons
*3 green onions, green and white parts, thinly sliced
*1 jalapeno, diced small (I LOVE heat, so I didnt remove seeds or ribs)
*Handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
*2 TBS of a mixture of black and white sesame seeds
FOR DRESSING:
*2 1/2 TBS sesame oil
*1/3 C Veganaise (or vegan mayo of your choice)
*1 TBS agave nectar
*1 tsp cayenne
*3 TBS rice wine vinegar
*1 TBS mirin
*Himalayan salt, to taste
*Freshly ground cracked pepper, to taste

~In medium bowl, add all of the slaw ingredients EXCEPT the sesame seeds. Stir together and set aside.

~In smaller bowl, combine rice vinegar, agave and mirin. Whisk to combine. Then add in remaining ingredients. Whisk again until completely combined, and there are no lumps of the Veganaise left. If the dressing seems too thin, you can add a little more Veganaise. Taste and adjust any flavors if needed.

~Pour the dressing into the slaw ingredients and gently stir, being sure to coat evenly.

~Stir in the sesame seeds. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed.

Easy peasy!
Be sure to stay tuned to see all the exciting, and yummy, things I have in store for you! Thanks for stopping by.

HAPPY EATING!!!

MOCK TUNA SALAD

Alright, I've taken an unplanned hiatus from my blog, but I'm back!! Between the holiday's and getting my students ready for Dance Competition season, time got away from me! I've still been experimenting and cooking up a storm though, don't you worry! I have a bunch of yummy recipes lined up, and ready to share with all of you!
I don't really make "resolutions", but I do make a list of things/goals that I want to achieve, and lifestyle changes that I want to make to better myself and grow as a person. One of the things I chose this year is to significantly pay off a lot of my debt. To aid in doing that, I have chosen not to eat any meals out, or pick-up and food for a quick lunch/dinner. Every weekday I go to yoga, then head straight to the studio, where I quickly eat before I start teaching my classes for the night. Usually, I would pack lunch half of the time, and the other half, I would run into Whole Foods or Trader Joe's and pick up something lite. That was starting to add up, and although it would take up a bit more of my time, I made the decision to make, and pack, a healthy lunch for myself daily. Well, it's been a month and a half, and I haven't eaten out once, and have packed ALL of my lunches! Once you get into the groove of doing something, it becomes part of your lifestyle, and doing anything else seems wrong. I'm excited to continue on this journey, and to see the ripple effect down the line, financially.
All of that being said, I have had to be very creative in the kitchen finding things that were satisfying, filling, yummy, nutritious and protein packed. The recipe I am sharing with you now has risen to be one of my favorites, and is super easy to make! There are plenty of "tun-no" "mock tuna" recipes out there, but I tweaked some of the more classic versions and found one that I'm in love with, and pretty sure that you will be too!

MOCK TUNA SALAD
(Makes about 3-4 Sandwiches)

*1 can Organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
*1/4 C roughly chopped yellow onion
*2 TBS sweet relish
*1 TBS Dijon mustard
*1/4 C Vegan Mayo (I use Veganaise, to me nothing compares)
*2 TBS raw hemp hearts
*1 TBS nutritional yeast
*1-2 TBS EACH of fresh dill and parsley
*Cayenne pepper, to taste
*1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
*Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Step 1:
Throw everything into your food processor

Step 2:
Process until smooth-ish, stopping to scrape down the sides every 5-10 seconds. I like mine pretty processed, but you can keep it chunkier if you please.

Step 3:
EAT!!
There are so many ways to enjoy your mock tuna salad. My top two are scooped into butter or romaine lettuce leaves, and eaten with avocado (duh!) and cherry tomatoes, or on toasted sourdough with lettuce and tomato! I've also eaten it with crackers and crudites......and maybe just by the spoonful....SHHHHH!

Give it a try, and let me know what YOUR favorite way to eat my Mock Tuna Salad is!
Enjoy!