almost vegan pizza

What could be better than starting off Vegetarian Awareness month with a meat-free pizza party?! Pizza is one of those wonderful, easy, versatile meals that I can never get sick of. Seriously, you could put anything on a pizza and it would be delicious.

Last week, me and the roommate opened opened some wine, watched Project Runway, and made ourselves some fantastic homemade pizzas!

Stuff you need: 1. Pre-made pizza crusts- we like the ones from Whole Foods- you get 2 per pack 2. Any toppings your heart desires!

Once again, anything on a pizza will taste amazing. Here were our concoctions:

Molly's Pizza!

Side 1: Brie, chopped garlic, carmelized onions, & arugula

Side 2: Tomato sauce, broccoli, zucchini, green bell pepper, & mozzarella cheese

My pizza!

Side 1: Tomato Sauce, zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, & onion

Side 2: Tomato sauce, tomato slices, fresh basil, & almond cheese

While Molly's pizza was very cheesy, I decided to go with an almost vegan version. My favorite non-cheese cheese is the almond or rice cheese made by Lisanatti Foods. I completely fell in love with it a few years ago, while looking for vegan options to my favorite foods. The texture is impeccable- melts alright, and can be shredded- it's not slimy like a lot of soy cheeses, and best of all the flavor is great. UNFORTUNATELY, it's made with casein, so after all my searching, my favorite vegan cheese isn't vegan at all *sad trombone* If you're looking for a healthy alternative to cheese, I highly recommend this stuff. However, if you're morally opposed to any and all dairy products, this one isn't for you :(

Anyway, it was a delicious pizza party. Both versions were super tasty, and made plenty of food for our lunches the next few days. For next time, Molly recommends getting good quality brie (instead of the cheap-o stuff) so it melts better, and I recommend sautéing the veggies before applying them to the crust, for more flavor, and delicious pizza cohesion. Great night. Great food.

ALSO! Don't forget to check out VeganMoFo when you get the chance! I was too nervous to join in this year, but they're only 3 days in, and there's already TONS of amazing looking dishes! Maybe next year I'll grow a pair and join in the fun :)

a better breakfast burrito

If I have not properly expressed this previously, let me tell you that I am not a morning person. I'm the girl rolling into work at the crack of 9 am, still putting on makeup, and eating oatmeal out of a coffee mug. For these reasons and many more, I rely heavily on late night planning, and frozen, homemade breakfast burritos. A while ago, I made my first batch of breakfast burritos, and since then, I think they've just gotten better. In fact, this last round has been the best yet!

Stuff you need: 1. Whole wheat tortillas 2. 1 block firm tofu 3. Morningstar sausage patties 4. Roasted green chiles 5. Your favorite salsa

Begin by squeezing your tofu like you would for any other recipe- I like to wrap mine in a paper towel, and set something heavy on top of it while I prepare everything else. Meanwhile, you can chop your chiles and defrost your faux-sausage.

When the tofu is ready, crumble it into a skillet with a little olive oil, the Morngingstar sausage, green chiles, and some spices until everything is warmed through. In my tofu/faux-meat mixture, I like to add hot sauce, garlic salt, and cumin. Yumm.

When your burrito stuffing is tasting the way you'd like it to, grab a tortilla, spoon a healthy helping of the tofu mixture into the middle, add a bit of salsa, and then wrap the whole thing up in a square of foil.

Keep wrapping burritos until you're out of filling and tortillas, and then pop them into the freezer for future use. For me, 1 block of firm tofu made about 6 burritos.

When you're ready to devour your breakfast burrito, wrap it in a paper towel, and microwave it on high for 1 minute on each side. The tofu is difficult to heat all the way through, so it may need a little extra time as well. This not-so-fabulous picture is taken inside the microwave at my office. While not super aesthetically appealing, it was absolutely scrumptious, and the perfect way to start off a long day at work.

The combination of the fake sausage, chiles, and salsa, are the perfect mix of texture, heat, and flavor. They're fast and easy to make, they're absolutely delicious, and they're a total life saver first thing in the morning. You better believe I'll be making more of these very soon :)

roasted green chiles 2 ways

You know what I love? Summer produce. Everything is beautiful, in season, and delicious. When I went to the grocery store last night, I was excited to see that green chiles were cheap, so I scooped up a handful of Anaheims, and began to hunt for tasty recipes. After browsing all the great ideas on Central Market, I decided to make my own version of the black bean stuffed bell pepper, and then add a chili cheddar biscuit on the side.

First and foremost. Stop everything you're doing, and roast your peppers! I didn't know this was necessary, but a chat with my mom confirmed that roasting your chiles is the best way to go. Simply plop your peppers onto a baking sheet and let them cook under the broiler approximately 5-10 minutes or until they're brown and blistering. Make sure you flip the chiles half way through to get both sides cooked, and when they're looking browned to perfection, take them out, peel off the skin, and use them up!

You can immediately use them in your recipes, or seal them in a plastic bag for future use. Tonight I did a little bit of both-I used 2 for my dinner, and stored the rest for stew, or burritos, or something else amazing.

For the quick-fix chili cheddar biscuits you need: 1. Bisquick Heart Smart mix 2. Milk- I used rice milk 3. Cheddar cheese 4. Roasted green chiles

I know using Bisquick is like, half cheating, but when you work all day, and want something delicious and fast, then shortcuts are often the answer. Besides. The Box said Heart Smart, so it can't be all bad, can it? :)

Follow the directions on the back of the Bisquick box stirring together the dry mix with your milk product. Add a healthy 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, 1 diced, roasted green chili, and pop those babies in the oven. 9 minutes later you will have yourself 5 soft, moist, cheesy biscuits, with just a slight hint of heat. They were absolutely to die for, but note for next time: more cheese & more chiles. Yummm

For the stuffed bell pepper you need: 1. 1 Bell pepper- I used red 2. Cous cous 3. 1/2 cup black beans 4. Cheddar cheese 5. Your favorite salsa 6. 1/4 diced onion 7. 1 roasted green chili diced

Start off by preparing your cous cous. You can also use rice, or any other grain, but I used cous cous since I had it on hand, and it cooks very quickly. While your grain is cooking, cut off the top of your bell pepper and scoop out anything that's inside. Now chop up your onion and green chili, measure out your cheese, black beans, and salsa, and when the cous cous is ready, mix everything together in a bowl and stuff it inside of your hollowed out bell pepper. You will definitely have lots of extra filling, but you can serve it as a side, or snack on it while your pepper is cooking.

Place the stuffed bell pepper into a baking dish with about 1/4 inch of water in the bottom, and put it into a 450 degree oven for about 30 minutes. The recipe I based mine off of said 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven, but just check on it occasionally, and when the pepper is soft and the stuffing is heated through, you're good to dig in!

Biscuits and stuffed peppers? A slightly strange combination, but both fantastic uses for my roasted green chili peppers. The slight hint of spicy heat in both recipes was perfection. I think my first time roasting peppers was incredibly successful, and now I can't wait to try my roasted green chiles in all sorts of new recipes! Yayy!

almost instant faux pho

The first time I had pho, it totally knocked my socks off. The flavors are so rich and fresh, it's seriously healthy, and I love adding sauces to make the dish taste just how you like. Unfortunately after becoming vegetarian, I quickly found out that the flavorful pho broth is made with a crap ton of animal parts. Boo. I hear that there are a few places that do veggie pho, but I have yet to hunt those locations down. So craving pho, and being short on time, I threw together my first attempt at homemade faux pho.

Stuff you need: 1. Veggie broth 2. Rice noodles of some kind- I used stick noodles 3. Various sauces- hoisin, soy, and chili garlic were perfect for this dish 4. Veggies- I used bean sprouts, bell pepper, cucumber & green onion 5. 1/2 lime

Start by bringing your vegetable broth to boil in a pot- just enough to cook the noodles in- kind of like pasta. When the broth is boiling, remove the pot from the heat, and throw your noodles in for 8-10 minutes, or until al dente.

While you're waiting for your noodles to get tender, chop up all the rest of your ingredients. I cut the bell pepper into julienne strips, the cucumber into sliced quarters, and the green onion into little chunks- just bite sized pieces that you can easily slurp up.

When the noodles are ready and the veggies are prepped, take a bowl and fill it with noodles and a big ladle full of the broth. On top of this, toss all your chopped vegetables and bean sprouts, and then season with the sauces of your choice- hoisin is especially great, and the chili garlic gives it a nice kick. Finally, squeeze the lime half on top of everything, and devour. Really, that's it!

For being such an impromptu meal, I was really surprised that the flavors were so great. If you don't like how it's tasting, it's so easy to add a little more of this and that until it's just right. The only thing I think my faux pho lacked was basil- which it's traditionally served with. Next time, I will make sure to use basil as well, but honestly, I think it was pretty damn delicious as is. Quick, filling, healthy, and spectacular. I will definitely be making this one more often :)

stir fry & simply asia sauce

Stir fry is one of those go-to , meals that I know I can always fall back on for a quick, healthy, and always delicious dinner. Tonight was that night, however, instead of throwing a little of this and that into the wok, I decided to try one of the stir fry sauces from Simply Asia, and I must say, it turned out pretty good.

Stuff you need: 1. Vegetables 2. Simply Asia stir fry sauce- or your own homemade sauce 3.Rice or noodles- totally optional 4. A splash of canola oil 5. Anything else you'd like to throw in- garlic, ginger, spices, etc.

Start by chopping up all your vegetables. After a quick trip to the store, I found myself with onion, carrots, broccoli, red cabbage, red bell pepper, and some left over mushrooms from the other night. Stir fry tip #1: chop all the ingredients to around the same size so everything cooks evenly. Aren't the colors beautiful?

When all your veggies are prepped, throw a splash of canola oil into your wok and heat it up on high (you can also use a skillet with some olive oil, if you'd rather). If you're adding garlic, ginger, or hot peppers, I would start by throwing those in the wok. If not, then just start cooking up your vegetables! Stir fry tip #2: put the ingredients into the wok from hardest to softest, once again, to help everything cook evenly. I started out with the carrots and worked my way up to the cabbage. When everything is cooked to your preferred tenderness, squeeze in that sauce packet, or start adding various sauces and spices until it tastes just the way you like it.

I used Simply Asia's General Tsao's sauce, and it was pretty good. It had nice flavor, and it made this speedy meal even faster to prepare. Unfortunately, the sodium content is pretty high, so I think that next time I'll stick to making my own concotion. If you're tight on time, these stir fry sauces are a great option, but I definitely wouldn't make a habit out of it.

I heated up a little rice from the weekend, spooned my colorful mixture on top, and dug in! Seriously, I love stir fry. It always makes me feel healthy, and it's a great kitchen sink recipe cause you can throw pretty much anything in it- fresh vegetables, tofu, nuts, pineapple, mango, seitan, frozen vegetables, rice, noodles, you name it. Not only was this a delicious dinner, but the leftovers will be just as good tomorrow for lunch :)

pita bread pizza

After a long weekend in Utah (and let's be honest, a long, rowdy holiday season), I'm ready to get back to eating right and being healthy. This super easy recipe was inspired by something I saw in the newest Vegetarian Times. Of course, their recipe was way classier with roasted red peppers, and fresh herbs, but this week I'm just looking for quick, healthy and easy, so this is my pauper version.

Stuff you need: 1. Whole wheat pita rounds 2. Olive oil 3. Pizza sauce 4. Cheese (or vegan cheese) 5. Spices & toppings (I used onions and red bell pepper)

Start by preheating your oven to 400. While the oven is warming up, place the pita round on a baking sheet and assemble your pizza to your liking. On top of the crust, brush olive oil, and then put sauce, cheese, and your veggies, meat substitute and/or spices (I really like herbs de provence, salt, and pepper).

When the oven is hot and the pizza is ready, pop the pita in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and the pita is golden.

That's it. A seriously delicious meal assembled and cooked in less than 20 minutes! What's also nice, is that the combination possibilities are endless- any veggie, fruit, or fake meat toppings, vegan or regular cheeses, white, red, or pesto sauces, any spice you got in your cabinet- man I love pizza! This is DEFINITELY a meal that I'll add to the dinner staples.