Mediterranean Quesadilla

Level of Difficulty: SO SIMPLE
Pots/Pans Used: one

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Tortillas
Daiya Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup Fresh Spinach Leaves
1/4 Roasted Red Pepper, Chopped
Balsamic Vinegar
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sprinkle of:
Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, and Ground Oregano

I literally JUST finished eating this for lunch and had to post it right away simply because it was so yummy. This is one of those "I desperately need to go grocery shopping... let's see what I can make out of the few ingredients left in my fridge" recipes. Honestly, i want another one!



In a skillet, heat a little olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Let it saute for a couple minutes. Next, add the spinach. Once the spinach has reduced significantly in size, sprinkle a pinch of the pepper, red pepper flakes, and ground oregano on top. Saute 30 more seconds. Set aside the Spinach. In the same pan, place one tortilla. Top it with a generous portion of Daiya cheese, the sauteed spinach, the roasted red pepper, and drizzle some balsamic vinegar over top. Then sandwich the other tortilla on top. Flip the tortillas. You'll know that it's done once the cheese is completely melted and the quesadilla is browned on both sides. For presentation purposes, you can drizzle some balsamic vinegar on top and garnish with a small spinach salad!

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Breakfast of (Indecisive) Champions!

Level of Difficulty: easy
Pots/Pans Used: two!

Ingredients

Pancake mix (I used Aunt Jemima's Original Mix. However, you can always make yours from scratch)
Egg Replacement
Gimme Lean Sausage
Maple Syrup
1 pkg Extra Firm Tofu, drained
1/2 Onion, chopped
8 oz Mushrooms, sliced
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp Curry Powder
Turmeric
1 TBL Earth Balance
1 tsp Soy Sauce
Cheddar Daiya Cheese (optional)
s&p to taste

This little gem came to be while watching an episode of Man V. Food. We've all been there.... do you want pancakes for breakfast or eggs with sausage/bacon? Sweet or savory? Well, a restaurant came up with a dish to satisfy everyone's taste buds. That's right, the sausage is cooked INTO the pancakes and then topped with scramble. It's a fun way to jazz up a classic meal. Now, the non-vegan version is basically a heart attack waiting to happen. The vegan version is just as filling but relatively guilt-free. Hope you guys have fun with this one...



I started out by making the tofu scramble (This makes an entire package of scramble so you can keep some for leftovers). In a skillet, melt Earth Balance over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions. Once they're translucent and fragrant, add the mushrooms and let them get nicely seared on either side. Add soy sauce and mix well. Crumble the Tofu into the pan and mix it all up. If you want to, add some Daiya cheese at this point and let it melt into the scramble. If you feel the scramble is too dry, feel free to add a TBL of water. Add the curry powder, sprinkle some turmeric for color, nutritional yeast and s&p. Meanwhile, brown a few sausage patties. When you're making the pancakes, just let it cook for a few seconds and bubble. Next, place the sausages into the batter and after a few more seconds, flip the pancake like you normally would. To assemble, top the sausage pancake with some maple syrup and a generous serving of tofu scramble. Feel free to sprinkle with some Daiya. Ta Da!

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Biscuits in Sausage Gravy

oh yes, I went there...


Level of Difficulty: Easiest of easy
Pots/Pans Used: ONE


Ingredients

2 1/2 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
1 package Publix buttermilk biscuits (totally vegan! I think the kind I bought was "hearty layers" or something. Just double check the ingredients to make sure you're getting the right one!)
1 package Gimme Lean Sausage (you don't have to use the whole package if you don't want to)
1/4 cup flour
Earth Balance
s&p to taste

Finally! At long last, my cooking mojo is back in full swing. I'm back in Tampa now, and pretty much obligated to start cooking for myself again. Regardless, I've missed it quite a bit. I am spending tomorrow planning recipes and grocery shopping so be prepared for regular postings again!



This specific recipe is so incredibly easy. In fact, I don't think I've showcased a recipe on here that was more deserving of the "Quick N' Easy" tag. However, I can't take much credit for it. It came from this neat little cookbook my friend got as a gift, Hot Damn & Hell Yeah/ The Dirty South Cookbook. This is the only recipe I've tried from it so far, but the cookbook seems to be jam packed with cute illustrations and yummy down home meals. I decided to make it because on the last day of my holiday break, I had a very small "Goodbye Brunch" with a few friends. We had mimosas, fruit salad, curry tofu scramble, and hash browns. However, these were definitely the star of the show. Seriously, MAKE THESE! THEY'RE SO GOOD! You'll actually want to expand your stomach capacity just to make room for more. They're THAT good.



All you do is heat some Earth Balance in a skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, you can follow the biscuit instructions and bake them in the oven. In the end, everything should be ready at about the same time. Break up the sausage into little pieces and brown it in the pan. Then add the flour. Let it coat the sausage and then add a little more butter to help it stick to the sausage and brown more. Then gradually add in the soy milk a little at a time while stirring constantly. I had serious doubts when I read the recipe that it would thicken up enough, but it TOTALLY does. I was kind of amazed. Keep adding milk until it's the perfect gravy texture. For me, this ended up being about 2 1/2 cups of milk. You may need more or less. Finally, season with salt & pepper and pour over the biscuits. Serve immediatley!

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