I imagine you coming here week after week, anxiously awaiting to see what the next delicious recipe is that I am going to share with you, hoping against hope that THIS TIME will be the time I do something Vegan. There you sit, hand on your mouse, you click on the link from the email you got from us (because you are on our mailing list right? We give you special free stuff, who doesn't like that?). Your heart starts to pound, beads of sweat forming on your forehead. Can this be the week? She asked us not to give up on her... Well my dear readers, let me not dash your hopes another week. This weeks recipe is a tasty taco salad, and the best part? It's VEGAN! The meat in it is Vegan, meaning no cows were harmed in the making of this recipe. The cheese is vegan, meaning no animals were milked in the making of this recipe. The chips are vegan, and to be quite honest I don't really know what that means since I've never heard of a non vegan chip, but Madalynn informed me that Vegan chips are a thing, and, my friends, when I say I am going to make you a vegan recipe, I mean it! Probably the most fun part of this recipe is where it was made, and whom I made it with. As you know, PH and I are mid move. We had to be out of our old house last weekend, but we can't move into our new house until this coming weekend. So, during this week we are living out of a box on the side of the road, but my mom did say I could use her kitchen if it were for the blog. Kidding! Luckily my brother and sister in law had already planned a vacation for this week, so we're staying in their house (you saw some of their home in this post here). Of course, my mom welcomes us into her home any time, but she was excited to take part in my recipe, and to use her new blender to make some tasty salsa to go along with it. I learned while I was in Vermont, did I ever tell you I lived in Vermont? I went to law school there. Anyway, while I was there, I found out that Taco Salad is a southwest thing. It is such a quick and easy recipe, and it's tasty, filling, and very healthy! When you make it with a plant based protein such as this vegan meat from Beyond Meat, it's even better! Normally I buy Beyond Meat from Fry's, our local grocery store. However, my mom did the shopping for the recipe and couldn't find it, so she got this brand instead. It still tasted great! The cheese we used was Daiya brand cheddar cheese. We bought a lot of different chip options to show you examples of good Vegan chips. We used the Blue Corn Tortilla chips, and they were delicious. My mom also made more salsa in her new blender. She didn't have red peppers this time, so the salsa turned out a little more green in color. My mom called it salsa verde, I just called it tasty! So, now you have a new recipe, a vegan recipe, an easy to make recipe, a delicious recipe, AND, if you're not from the Southwest, a new type of recipe! Bon appetit!
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Today, I had a serious problem. I really wanted chocolate. And cookie dough. And cheesecake. And something a little salty. (I also wanted pie- but that problem will have to wait another day for a solution.) I know I'm not the only one who feels this way sometimes. Or all the time. And the solution seemed simple enough. Cookie Dough Cheesecake! Yum! Except, then I found out I had one more problem.
If you've ever made vegan cheesecake before, you know that most recipes require soaked cashews. I didn't have any of those because I eat a whole bag in three days. So, I messed around with the recipe so that there are no nuts required! Yay! The recipe is pretty much just like making regular cheesecake. I just made them cupcake sized because I wanted to eat them sooner. The recipe will work just the same if you decide to make it full size, it just may need to chill longer. Another option is to use canning lids like mini spring form pans like we did in this post. So the first step is to make your crust and fill the cupcake liners with it. Be sure to press the crust down evenly the whole way around.
Next, you will stick that in the freezer. While it's chilling, you can mix together the filling. You can find lots of vegan friendly chocolate chips. For a non dairy alternative to cream cheese, I used Daiya brand plain cream cheese spread. For non dairy milk, I used flax milk. (Flax milk is my new obsession. I think it's sooo good!) But, these are just my preferences and you can use whichever brands and products you prefer!
Once the filling is finished, it will be a little bit sticky and look almost whipped. I scooped it into each liner on top of the crust using a cookie scoop. There was about 1 tablespoon in each cup. Then I added some more chocolate on top. Stick that in the freezer for another couple hours.
After that is done firming up, they're ready to eat! I think these came out tasting so good, and they look so cute. They would be fun to have for a party or just if you want to control your portion sizes! (Just kidding, I ate like three of them.) This one batch made twelve mini cheesecakes. Try them out and let me know what you think in the comments!
Wouldn't these be cute to use to display your Hot Cocoa Bombs or these delicious cheesecakes? You can order them from Beau-coup!
I hope you all got your shopping lists ready to make Renny's Healthy Zucchini Lasagna, if you haven't, click the link and get ready because it is time for this week's... 5 Friday Faves! This is our weekly event when I ask, "What's your favorite_______?" and then we give you our answers! We have a lot of fun with it and hope you will, too as you consider what your answer would be. When you think of your answer, please share it with us in the comments! We would love to hear it. So, here is this week's question: "What is your favorite comfort food on a cold, rainy or snowy day?" The weather all over the country has been pretty unpredictable and even in Phoenix we have had some chilly days. All of the answers given this week really work for me! Alicia got to cheat last week, so this week we will start with her favorite. Alicia actually lives where it is pretty cool and rainy year round. When I asked her the question, she immediately gave this answer: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Alicia's grilled cheese has come a long way since I was a kid! We used to butter bread and stick it in a pan to toast it as the cheese melted on the inside. Alicia uses her panini maker to get those nice toasty grill lines on her bread. (I gave my kids panini makers for Christmas last year, but failed to get one for myself. I may need to rectify that situation.) And that isn't any old slice of cheese either. You could use Provolone, Havarti or Gruyere, like Alicia used here. Just looking at this picture makes me want to take that sandwich and dip it in the soup and bite it. The cheese would stretch out of it and it would be so warm and delicious! Yum! Good choice Alicia! The second Fave comes from Lindsey. On a cold day, she likes to snuggle up and enjoy a big bowl of Chili and a slice of Cornbread! You know Lindsey tries to be the super healthy eater, so her chili is usually made with turkey. She makes it in a crock pot. One of her specialties is Pumpkin Chili, which I am sure we can get her to give us the recipe for one of these days on Renny's Recipes. Also for the amazing Cornbread that she invented herself! This makes me feel warm just thinking about eating it! Madalynn is eating pretty healthy lately as well. She is limiting her meat intake and going for a lot of vegan options.. Remember these amazing chocolate cookies? She still has a sweet tooth, but is finding healthier ways to satisfy it. When I asked her for her favorite cold weather comfort food, she said, "Cinnamon Rolls!". Then she proceeded to make these vegan, yeast free ones! She has even given you the recipe! Now for my choice! When I was a little girl, we lived out in the country. We had a long driveway to walk down when the weather was cold after we got off of the school bus. Many times, my mom would have warm butterscotch pudding waiting for us to have as a snack when we got in from the cold. The pudding was still a little warm but soft set. It was delicious and it also warmed my heart, so whenever I think of comfort food, I think of Butterscotch Pudding. Now, if you make Butterscotch Pudding from a box, that is okay, but make sure it is the cook and serve kind, not instant! Yuck! The cooked kind is so much better. This time, I used my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook recipe for Butterscotch Pudding from scratch. That link goes to the edition I have. Here is a newer edition. This cookbook has been a go to for me throughout my married life. We received it as a wedding gift. When you make pudding from scratch, you use the egg yolks and not the whites. So, I made a little meringue with the egg whites, and browned them with my creme brulee torch. Then, I drizzled a little caramel sauce over the top. They were delicious, if I say so myself. The bonus was that I got to use the torch, it is so much fun to use. This set comes with little ramekins for your creme brulee! That was 4! Are you ready for #5? This week our special guest is Jessica Reynolds, my DIL and genealogy buff extraordinaire! She has a blog called "Do As I'm Doing" where she teaches some fabulous things about finding your ancestors and making a book like this one that she gave to my husband for Christmas. She spells out so clearly how to do it and includes things in the book that you may have never thought of including or even how to do it. So, I asked Jessica what her favorite cold weather comfort food is and she said that when it rains her mom would always say it was time to make cookies! So, that is when she bakes cookies! Chocolate Chip Cookies and she uses the recipe on the back of the bag. So, that is our Five Friday Faves! I hope we have warmed you up a little just reading our selections and maybe you can find some comfort from all of the cold weather out there! Let us know if you have a fave that we should know about!
Come back tomorrow and read about Alicia's Non Valentine's Day Party and Date ideas! She always has fun plans to share. You won't want to miss them! Hey guys. It's Madalynn. I haven't contributed to the blog in forms of a post yet, but you may recognize me from my work on our Instagram, or our owl logo I drew with the first three Sharpies I saw while my mom was creating the blog. (Spoiler Alert: We may be updating that soon, so stay tuned.) Anyway, my mom went out of town this weekend, so I figured I would finally make myself useful around here and make some cookies. But not just any cookies. Vegan cookies. Now, I'm not really a vegan, but I like to try and eat a lot of vegan meals because 1) I'm pretty sure I'm lactose intolerant, 2) I like meat, but not for every meal, and 3) I don't really like to support factory farming, so depending on what brand the meat is or which meat supplier a restaurant uses, I will avoid it. So, this is a recipe I found by a vegan vlogger on Youtube called Liv's Healthy Life. I did things just slightly differently than the way she does them in that video, but oh my heck they are so good and so easy and so fast. Usually I dread making cookies because it can take a while, but these were done in like twenty minutes, if not less. Here are the ingredients you will need:
So I mean, most of that stuff will already be in your home. The only thing I had to pick up was some more almond milk and some chocolate chips. Once you have all of your ingredients, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then you can start mixing things. Now, I greased a baking sheet before putting these in the oven, but you don't necessarily have to since they have the oil inside them. I didn't with the second batch I put in and they came out perfectly fine. If you do want to grease the sheet, I just used a little bit of coconut oil and wiped it around with a paper towel. So yeah, they came out looking awesome and they also tasted really good. I know there is this stigma surrounding vegan food that it's super gross, but I can assure you it is not. You might think this is biased, but I didn't tell people the cookies were vegan until after they tried them and they said they would have never known. I went out with my friend Charly (who also thought they were delicious) and when I came home later that night, they were practically all eaten. So I mean, the evidence speaks for itself. Let me know if you try this recipe and whether or not you'd like to see more vegan recipes! I have a ton that I would love to share. If you want to download this recipe, I have prepared that for you as well. Enjoy! |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
May 2024
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