Broccoli Mushroom Cheesy Pie

This is totally from scratch.

Ingredients:
1 10oz package of frozen chopped broccoli florets.
5 large mushrooms, chopped
2 packages of Pillsbury crescent rolls
2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups of shredded mozzarella

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Thaw out the broccoli and dice up the mushrooms. Make sure to drain broccoli of excess water.
Line the bottom of the pie pan with 1 package of crescent roll dough.
Combine broccoli, garlic, mushrooms a big bowl of the shredded mozzarella.
Stir in the beaten egg.
Place mix inside the pan and cover with other package of crescent rolls dough.
Cook for about 25 minutes or until the crust is lightly brown.






Verdict:
Delicious!! Although too cheesy, even for me! Next time I think I'll cut the cheese down to 2 cups and add 1 cup of ricotta instead.

I've Been Away

But I did get to enjoy some yummy food in North Carolina, like these awesome home-made scrambled eggs with baby portabella mushrooms, onions, and American cheese.



I'm enjoying my new camera. :)

Portabellas Stuffed With Pesto-Mashed Potatoes

It's been a while since I've updated my blog with any uber yumminess but that's all about to change! I got a new camera that I am in in love with and thus can take even better food pictures for everyone to drool over!

I kinda stole this recipe from Fat-Free Vegan.com and I didn't make much modifications but since it was so delicious and such a perfect side dish, I couldn't help but copy it here to spread the yumminess. This is perfect as a side dish to protein or even by itself! Two of those were my dinner last night.




Ingredients
10 ounces potatoes (I used two white potatoes)
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts (or walnuts)
1 cup basil, packed
1 tbsp. parmesan (or nutritional yeast for vegans)
2-3 tbsp. plain soymilk
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
6 medium-sized portabella mushrooms
sprinkling of parmesan (optional)

Directions:
Boil the potatoes until they are completely tender.
While they are cooking, make the pesto:
In a food processor, puree the garlic, 1/4 cup nuts, and basil, using a tablespoon or two of water to make the blades run smoothly.
Mixture should be coarsely chopped, not completely smooth.
When the potatoes are done, remove them to a mixing bowl and mash them thoroughly (I left the skin on them but if that sorta thing isn't your bag, feel free to peel them beforehand).
Add 2-3 tablespoons of soymilk, until they achieve a creamy yet still stiff consistency.
Add the pesto mixture, 1 tablespoon of parmesan or nutritional yeast, and salt and pepper to taste; blend thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Clean the portabellas and remove the stem and any fluffy flesh that surrounds it.
Brush a baking dish with a few drops of olive oil, and use the same brush to brush the bottoms of the mushrooms.
Fill the mushrooms with the potato mixture, heaping it in the middle, and set them in the baking dish.
Sprinkle the tops with the parmesan, if desired.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until mushrooms are tender and potatoes are beginning to brown. Serve hot.

Oh Dear!

It's been entirely too long since I've updated this blog with any deliciousness. Now, that doesn't mean that I am no longer a veggie-eating-newb. Rather, my desire to cook recently has been waning. I blame the summer heat and a lack of A.C. in my house. On top of that, my trusty camera is broken. I mean...it takes pictures well enough but the batteries die after every use. I'm not sure what the issue is but I currently have my sights set on an amazing camera. I hope to obtain it in the near future and then the delicious pictures shall continue. It's a shame too, because I have made yummy treats sporadically.

It's been three months since I went vegetarian and I still feel amazing. What I love most is days like today when I stop over at Whole Foods to get some lunch, and my vegan lunch is so deliciously amazing, I wonder how anyone could miss eating meat.

I hope to update more soon, along with some new recipes for low-calorie veggie food.

Grocery Fun

I bought a couple of items at Westerly today that I am would like to mention.

1) GT's Organic Raw Kombucha - I spoke with one of my super awesome veggie friends today and she recommended this drink, but warned me about the weird taste. I am drinking it as I type and well...I love it! The first sip was very weird, the second better and now...yum! I can only describe the flavor as tea with liquefied sour candy. I just wish I saw this around more and that it was a bit cheaper.

2) Lisanatti Almond Garlic and Herb Cheese - Yes, almond cheese. I am still looking for a good alternative to fatty, dairy cheese. I tried this one and, while very mild out of the package, it tasted pretty amazing melted. I got excited until I turned the package around and saw that the product was not vegan. It contains casein. Well, I guess my gradual transition is still just that- gradual.

3) SweetLeaf Stevia - I decided to finally break down and buy a bottle of stevia - which runs like $13 a pop. Stevia is a natural zero-calorie sweetener that is completely plant-based. It is also like 100x sweeter than sugar. The bottle that I bought comes equipped with a dropper. I placed one drop onto my finger and tried it. Wow! It was indeed super sweet. I am going to love playing around with this ingredient. I look forward to using it in smoothies, drinks, and baked goods (once I learn how to control the flavor). If you would like to read up more on stevia, check out this article on WebMD.

Other than that, I picked up a lot of essentials, including Vital Wheat Gluten flour for when I attempt to make seitan later this week. Now, THAT should be an adventure.

LifeThyme Natural Market

Yesterday, I decided to take a walk down to the Lifethyme Natural Market on 6th ave. and 9th street. I heard it was pretty small but I was curious, especially because I saw that they stocked Sheese (vegan cheese), which I have been looking for forevah!

Lifethyme was your typical small, health store with some yummy essentials and an insane stock of Yogi tea. What really stood out about the market was their delicious selection of buffet foods and pre-made goodies. Their bakery treats also looks irresistible and they have a juice bar! I would have loved to dig into one of the above mentioned treats but since I'm watching my calories, I did not.

As far as Sheese goes, they only had the creamy product in stock and while I would have loved to try it, it was around $11 a package (since it's imported from Scotland and all). Also, I don't mind Tofutti cream cheese so I'm really looking for a hard/melty cheese substitute.

Overall, I think I will visit the juice bar at Lifethyme as a weekly treat to myself (after walking down), but for a major healthy grocery shopping adventure, I'll stick with Westerly.

Fat-Free Vegan Strawberry Banana Muffins

I've been updating this blog like a mad woman!

Today I decided to make fat-free vegan muffins that sounded super delicious. The recipe was actually posted by another chikkie in the vegan cooking community on Livejournal. I decided to give it a go since the recipe was super simple and well...yum! I'm SO glad I did!



Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. soymilk
1 tsp. vanilla
15 or so strawberries, chopped.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. "Cream" together bananas and sugar. Mix together dry ingredients and add, then blend in soy milk and vanilla. Make sure it's well mixed, then quickly stir in the strawberries (the more you stir once they're in, the more squished-up they get). Grease muffin tins, and spoon in. This made 12 large muffins for me. Bake 25-20 minutes.

These muffins are about 170 calories a pop and super delicious! Even my vegan-food hating boyfriend liked them!