Sweet Potato & Bean Burritos

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Coconut oil
1 onion (chop it)
4 garlic cloves (crush & mince them)
1 bag kidney beans, soaked and cooked -or-3 16 ounce cans of kidney beans
2 tsp cumin

Boys like 'em

3 tbsp chili powder
4 tsp mustard
1 pinch cayenne
3 tbsp soy sauce
2.5 to 3 lbs sweet potatoes
8-12 tortillas, large burrito size
8 oz. shredded cheese or daiya

Preheat oven to 400.  Wash and poke sweet potatoes.  Put them in the oven, until they are soft and oozing sticky sweet stuff.  It takes about an hour.  While still warm, but not too hot, peel potatoes and scoop out the insides into a bowl.  Mash them with a masher.  Throw away the peels or give them to your dogs.

Heat oil in cast iron wok or skillet (whatever you own to saute large amounts of food) over medium heat.  Saute onion until soft.  Add garlic and cook for a minute or two.   Stir in beans and cook them, until heated through.  Add chili powder, cumin, mustard cayenne pepper and soy sauce.  Mix it up.  Add 1-2 tbsp of water.  Mix it up.  Remove from heat.

Divide bean mixture, mashed potatoes, and cheese evenly between the tortillas.  Fold up the tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees and serve with salsa.

*This recipe makes so many burritos, that it is better to bake them as needed, and freeze or refrigerate the rest until you want to enjoy them.

Yep, we eat cookie bars for breakfast!  








Here is the recipe:

3 1/2 cups wheat flour (or any flour of your preference)
1 1/2 cup raw sugar (Sugar in the Raw or Florida Naturals)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix together, then add:

1 cup vanilla soy milk (or any non-dairy milk of your preference)
1 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegan (Ghirardelli semi-sweet) chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Pour into 9x13 pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Cool for a couple minutes before digging in, and then eat them (again) the next morning for breakfast.

Lasagna with Roasted Cauliflower & Spinach

We are going to eat this tonight! I'll let you know. So far, toddler approves the tofu/cauliflower ricotta filling.

OK, well, I opted for Newman's Own Marinara for the sauce. Because, as you can see, my daughter became a bit bored with all the cooking. I used whole wheat noodles, so they had to be boiled ahead of time. The mixture of cauliflower and tofu was pretty good. I didn't use exact measurements, but it still worked out. I would love to add roasted garlic, along with the cauliflower (maybe I'll try that next time.) All in all, it was a success. The cooking time was near perfect, which is a challenge with lasagna. I didn't have any olives, so I couldn't add them. Daiya might be good as a topper to this dish.

Toddler Approved Vegan Pumpkin Oat Bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Bars (changed from original recipe on VegNews by Kim Lutz)

Makes 20 bars

What You Need:

3 cups gluten-free oat flour (make your own by grinding rolled oats in a blender)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup canned organic pumpkin pie mix
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for pan
1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon gluten-free vanilla
1 cup milk-free chocolate chips

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin with baking powder. Add oil, sugar, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, one half at a time, and stir to combine. Mix in chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into pan. With damp hands, press batter to evenly fill pan. Bake 18 minutes, and cool completely before cutting into bars.

So, I had some left over pumpkin pie mix, who doesn't after Thanksgiving, and I am always on the alert for things my toddler will eat. These pumpkin bars are delicious, and pretty easy to make. I changed the recipe to suit my cabinet. The original just calls for pumpkin, instead of the pie mix, and about a cup more sugar and a cup more chocolate chips. The first time I made these I put in the full 2 cups of chocolate chips, and that was even too much chocolate for me. (Is there such a thing? Yes, apparently.)

On another note, I am hoping to keep up with this blog more, now that I have a laptop. Woo Hoo!

Taco Cabana Vegan Items

I just received this e-mail back from Taco Cabana:


TACO CABANA® Vegan Diet Items 


Items which do not contain animal protein or fat 
 (According to ingredient suppliers and food sources) 
 
Black Beans 
Burrito & Quesadilla Flour Tortillas only 
Corn Tortillas – includes Shells and Chips* 
Crispy Cabana Shell* 
Fresh Produce 
Guacamole 
Rice 
Salsa Bar (except Salsa Ranch) 
 
 
Menu Suggestions: 
 
Black Bean Burrito 
Black Bean Taco on Corn Tortilla(instead of flour tortilla) 
Cabana Bowl with Crispy Cabana Shell, Black Beans, Salad Blend, Pico de Gallo 
Chips and Salsa 
 
The flour tortilla products in our restaurants are produced with 100%
vegetable shortening, and all products are fried in 100% vegetable 
oil.  All salsas are made fresh daily in each restaurant using fresh 
produce and no preservatives. 
 
* Taco Cabana uses a common fryer. 


05/2011 ks

Spinach Artichoke Dip on a Soap Box

Since my four month old is allergic (maybe) to milk, I'm back to being vegan. But I will say, even if I was still vegetarian from the pregnancy, I would make this spinach artichoke dip, instead of one with real cheese...5 more pounds of baby weight to go, and no guilt! Plus, something about breast feeding makes me feel sorry for cows, who have their youngins snatched away, and are pumped dry every day for entities that are not even their babies. Plus, if you have ever used a breast pump...OK, this is not turning out the way I intended it. Let me post the recipe. :)

This is from Vegan Celebrations by Alicia C. Simpson

12 ounces silken tofu
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup nooch (nutritional yeast)
1 tsp sea salt
2 garlic cloves
Fresh ground blk pepper
1/4 cup vegan Parmesan (walnuts, nooch and Spike)
10 ounce, frozen, chopped spinach-thawed and with water pressed out
14 ounce jarred artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

tortilla chips or whatever for dippin'

Preheat to 375
Lightly grease 2 quart casserole dish
Puree tofu, garlic, onion powder, nooch, salt and oil
Transfer tofu mix to medium bowl and stir in pepper, Parm, spinach and artichokes. Transfer all this to prepared, oiled, casserole dish and bake for 20 min. or till it's bubbling. Scarf down dip.

Crushed red pepper might also be good in this recipe, but it was great w/o it.

*This book also has great recipe for Classic White Cake, but my kiddo is frustrated with my one-handed typing and needs some attention.

Magic Pie (Chocolate Tofu Pie)

Just made this...I think it's gonna be good!


Prep time: 15 min | cooking time: n/a | makes 8-10 servings

Equipment:
Blender
Saucepan/stovetop
Spoon


Ingredients
16 oz. Silken tofu
1 Vegan Graham Cracker Crust (Keebler is vegan)
1 pkg (12 oz) Vegan Chocolate Chips (I used Ghirardelli)
1 tsp. Vanilla (I always put in just a little extra vanilla)

Directions
Mix the tofu and vanilla in the blender. Put most of the chocolate chips (save some, about 1/4 cup) into the saucepan and cook over medium heat until melted. Add melted chocolate to the blender and mix until smooth. Stir in remaining chocolate chips, then pour entire mixture into pie crust and refrigerate for about 3 hours. Enjoy!

It came from this website.

*Being pregnant has given me intense dessert cravings!