Tag: easy

Bunnies in Snuggies

Recipes

One of my favorite girls’ night snacks was pigs in a blanket. It is so easy, and oh so comforting. If you are looking for that familiar comfort, but in a vegan/vegetarian option-LOOK NO FURTHER. I have a recipe for you all, that is sure to satisfy on every level. Since they are not pigs in a blanket, we will call them Bunnies in Snuggies.

Bunnies in Snuggies (1)

For this recipe, I used regular, full sized carrots, and cut them into smaller pieces. To save time, you can just use baby carrots if you want. Use what you have, this week, we had regular carrots for a different recipe. You can definitely make your own vegan puff pastry, or, you can use pre-made. For this recipe, I used pre-made.

Before going in the oven

Ingredients

  • 1 bag baby carrots (or about 7 carrots cut into 2 inch pieces)
  • Vegan puff pastry
  • Olive oil

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp vegan mayo (my favorite brand is earth balance)
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp stone ground mustard
  • 1/2 tsp agave nectar or maple syrup
  • salt and pepper
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Cut carrots (skip if you are using baby carrots)
  3. Coat carrots in oil (about 2 tsp), salt and pepper, place on a baking sheet, and roast for 10 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and cool.
  5. Lower oven to 350 degrees.
  6. Cut puff pastry into 1 inch by 2 inch strips. Eyeball it- it does not need to be perfect.
  7. Wrap carrots in puff pastry, place back on the baking sheet (put the overlap of the pastry side down)
  8. Brush with olive oil.
  9. Put in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove when they turn golden brown.
  10. Make your dipping sauce (you could just use mustard, but the dipping sauce is definitely worth making)
  11. ENJOY!

Serves 1.

Just Kidding! It serves about 5-6. I hope you use this recipe for your next girls’ night, or just a late night snack.

 

Love, Liv

Roasted Carrot Hummus

Recipes

I am not going to lie, I did not plan on posting this recipe. There was a recent potluck I needed to bring a finger food to pass. So, I just threw a bunch of ingredients into a food processor, prayed over it, and it turned out amazing!  Long story short, I knew I wanted to share the recipe with all of you. You probably have everything you need in your pantry right now.

CAITLIN BLAKE

Disclaimer. I used canned carrots. I NEVER BUY CANNED CARROTS. One day, I was cleaning deep in the back of my cabinet where we have our cans, and back in Narnia, I found a can of carrots. I had no idea how to eat them. Basically, they are mush anyways; so, I decided to make them into hummus. It is super easy, next time I will probably roast fresh carrots. But hey, go with what you have.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1/2 cup chickpea liquid
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 1/2 cup sliced carrots (or 1 can)
  • Turmeric (2 drops essential oil or 1 tsp)
  • Lemon (5 drops essential oil or you can use the juice from 1 lemon)
  • Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper
  • Salt and Pepper

 

  1. Roast carrots and garlic at 400 degrees until they are fork tender. (15-20 minutes) Watch and make sure the garlic does not burn
  2. Strain chickpeas, keep the liquid
  3. Put roasted carrots, garlic, chickpeas, turmeric, lemon, 1/2 cup of chickpea liquid, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper into a food processor
  4. Blend until creamy. You may need some extra liquid if you need it
  5. Garnish with red pepper flakes

Serves 6-8

Try not to eat it all in one sitting, but I totally understand if you do.

Love, Liv

Hearty Sweet Potato Soup

Recipes

People. It is cold out. I am over this polar vortex. It has been colder in Wisconsin over the past few days than it has been in Antarctica. You read that right. Colder than the place that has snow year round. I think people live here because they are frozen to the ground, and cannot leave. I need a warm an sunny beach vacation, because I am not about this cold life.

Since, we are all frozen, and cannot leave our houses; I have been making lots and lots and lots of soup to keep warm. This is one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink creations, and is sure to warm you up. Plus, it is super easy to dump everything in, let it simmer, and in 30-45 minutes you have dinner. YAY!

taxietiquettetips

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1 small butternut squash
  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 8 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 can black beans
  • kale
  • 1 1/2 tbsp herbs de province
  • 2 tsp each: rosemary, basil, tumeric, marjoram (or 1 drop of essential oil if you have them)
  • salt and pepper
  • Optional: 1 cup quinoa

Directions:

  1. Place a large soup pot over medium heat
  2. Add sweet potato, squash, onion, garlic, quinoa, salt, pepper, and vegetable stock
  3. Let simmer until the sweet potatoes and squash are fork tender
  4. Add herbs, black beans, and kale. Simmer for 10-15 more minutes
  5. EAT!

It is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner, or a make ahead meal to eat throughout the week. This soup is hearty, and keeps you full. Plus it tastes delicious.

Stay warm, and send me warm thoughts!

Love, Liv

 

 

 

Overnight Oats

Recipes

I love easy meals. I also rarely have time to make, let alone, eat breakfast. If you are like me, and love to hit that snooze button 16 more times before getting up-over night oats are the miracle breakfast food you have been waiting for.

overnight oats

Let’s talk oats. There are several varieties of oats, but I found that rolled oats are the best option for overnight soaking. Instant or Quick oats disintegrate into nothingness, and were not a pleasing texture to eat. Steel cut oats are too thick. They did not absorb the liquid, and were just weird. Rolled oats are perfect for absorbing liquid overnight. Plus, they hold their shape and texture, and do not dissolve into nothingness.

Next, we need to talk about the creaminess of the oats. I have made so. many. batches. of overnight oats. SO. MANY. If you use equal parts oats to liquid, the oats are not as silky and creamy. If you use one part oats and two parts liquid, not all of the liquid gets absorbed. For the best: oat texture,  liquid absorption, flavor consistency, it is best to use  1/4 cup of rolled oats to 1/3 cup of liquid.

Base Ingredients

  • 1/4 c. rolled oats
  • 1/3 c. plant based milk
  • 1/2 tbsp. pure maple syrup/agave
  • 1/2 tbsp. chia seeds
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. It is just that easy. We love adding things to our oats to give us variety of breakfasts.

Here are some of our favorites:

  • 1/2 tsp of cinnamon-add this before putting them in the fridge
  • 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder-add this before putting them in the fridge
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter-add in the morning before eating
  • bananas-add in the morning before eating
  • fresh chopped berries-add in the morning before eating

I hope you love these oats, and it saves you time in the morning! Hit that snooze button a 17th time.

Love, Liv

 

 

 

Banana Bread

Recipes

One of my favorite childhood memories is baking banana bread with my mom. The recipe was out of an old tattered cookbook from a church picnic from when she was a little girl. It was one of those recipes that you can taste the love baked into the bread. Ever since I became vegan, I knew I needed to veganize this recipe. Who doesn’t love a warm piece of banana bread? The nostalgia of the smell coming from the oven alone is worth trying this recipe.

Banana Bread

There is no processed sugar in this recipe! Just maple sugar. My husband has the world’s BIGGEST sweet tooth; I am not kidding, about 3/4 of his diet is sugar. He thought the bread was perfectly sweet without anything extra added. If you need the extra sweetness, you can always add 1/3 cup of homemade apple sauce-also add an extra 1/4 cup of flour.

Ingredients

  • 4 Bananas (about 2 cups)
  • 2 c. flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda (1 1/2 tsp if using gluten free flour)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. chia seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • pinch of clove
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/3 c. maple syrup
  • 2 tsp. vanilla

Those are the base ingredients. You can add flavors how ever you want. Here are some of my favorite to mix and match as you choose:

  • 1/2 c. peanut butter (you can make your own! Click here for the recipe)
  • 3/4 c. chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 c. chocolate chips
  • 1/2 c. cocoa powder

20190123_132746-e1548281535335.jpg

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Mash bananas
  3. Grind chia seeds (I used a coffee grinder. You want them to become a fine powder)
  4. Mix in maple syrup and vanilla.
  5. Add flour, baking soda, ground chia seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and salt
  6. Place in bread tin
  7. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan
  8. Remove from oven, and place on a cooling rack

I hope this recipe give you as much nostalgia as it did for me. It is delicious, and will make your tummy very happy.

Love, Liv