Date Night Dinner

Last night we tried a new restaurant, Sub-Zero Vodka Bar (http://subzerovodkabar.com/). It was fantastic! They have a lot of options for Vegans, including a build your own burger. We started with deep fried green beans and a veggie sushi roll, which was amazing!! Then for dinner we both built a veggie burger.

By the way, try the Sweet Carolina Peach Sweet Tea Vodka, taste like Peach Ice Tea!!!! That could get you into trouble, haha!!

Best Recipe Ever!

I made the BEST dish I have made since going Vegan!! Yes, that is a bold statement but I have found a recipe that I LOVE!! What else can I say about this, try it and let me know what you think.

Pasta Bake

8 oz Rotini (or Penne, Rigatoni)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes (with basil if possible)
1 TBSP Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sliced black olives
3 Italian-style soy sausages, cut into 1/4" slices
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 1/2 c shredded vegan Cheddar Cheese (I like Daiya)

Cook pasta, set aside. Preheat oven to 350.
In a large skillet, heat oil over med heat. Add garlic and cook for 2 min. Stir in tomatoes, olives, soy sausages, tomato paste, basil, oregano, parsley, black pepper and hot pepper flakes. Reduce heat to med-low, cover, and cook for 10 mins.
Add pasta to sauce and half of cheese, stir until coated. Pour into a 9x13 greased casserole dish, sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Cover with foil and bake for 15 mins. Remove foil and bake for 10 mins.

Another great plus, it reheats great!

Back with a BANG!

Yes!! I am still here and still Vegan! August was a crazy month and we spent a lot of time eating out, traveling, and making old recipes. My goal this week was to eat at home every night and make 2 new recipes, goal accomplished. My first recipe was not blog worthy, but tonight's was delicious!!!


I made BBQ Tofu Nuggets with Garlic Lemon Broccoli and Cauliflower. The nuggets were fantastic and everyone was a fan! So simple and easy, but a bit of time involved. These would also make a great appetizer.

Smoked Tofu, cubed
BBQ Sauce
Plain or BBQ Potato Chips, crushed

Brush each piece of tofu with BBQ sauce and roll in crushed chips. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes.

So simple, so delicious!

Tonight we ordered out Pei Wei, my daughter loves Chinese! As I was deciding what to order I realized I didn't not want to order my "usual", Pad Thai-no egg. As I looked over the menu I remembered that I used to LOVE the Dan Dan Noodles dish Pre-Vegan, but could not order it because they use egg noodles. Then I had a thought, why not just ask them to use rice noodles instead? I am in LOVE!!!! It was delicious and a much needed change. I always tell everyone you can find something vegan to eat just about anywhere. I forget that just because they have some options if something else sounds good see if you can tweak it. Don't just look at what is offered, but what sounds good. Most places are more than happy to change a few ingredients so you can enjoy the meal you want.

Almond Milk vs Regular Milk

As I was sitting at my kitchen table this morning, ready to eat my breakfast, I looked down at my bowl of cereal and thought how pretty the fresh fruit had made it look. How often do you take the time to "dress up" your food so that it looks more appealing and taste more delicious? My plain bowl of cereal with just a little bit of fruit added made me stop and think about what I was eating, and stop to enjoy it.

Interesting comparison between Almond Milk(Vegan) vs 2% Milk. Almond Milk has 60 calories, milk has 100. Almond milk has 2.5 g of fat and so does milk, but Almond Milk has 0 Trans Fat whereas milk has 1.5 g. Almond Milk has 0 cholesterol, milk has 10 mg. Almond milk has less carbs and sugars. This is what is probably most surprising to any non-Vegans, Almond milk and milk have the same amount of Calcium and Vitamins A & D. You should try it some time and see what you think, we like Almond Breeze unsweetened.

Sometime we get so caught up on how difficult something is suppose to be that we make it harder than it is. I think a lot of people have this attitude with eating vegan. It should be so difficult to find things to eat, when in reality it is so simple. My husband is out of town so dinner tonight had to be quick, easy, and no prep time. I decide to make pasta marinara with garlic bread and a big side salad. I often forget to not worry about finding a recipe and just make something I love.

Easy and Delicious

Tonight's dinner was so easy to make that I recommend if you have been wanting to try something, make this. It was easy to put together and took no cooking skills, only down side is you have to give yourself enough time. We had Roasted Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Garlic over Brown Rice, delicious! So simple, here you go:

12 cloves of garlic (you don't even have to mince these, just peeled!!!)
3-4 red, yellow, or green bell peppers (any combo will do) cut into 3/4" strips
2 onions, quartered and cut into 3/4" strips
2 TBSP Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 vegan Italian Sausages (I used Smart Sausages by LightLife)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine garlic, bell peppers, onions, oil, salt, and pepper, tossing to coat. Place on baking sheet and cook for 20 mins. Stir in the sausages and cook 15-20 mins, until sausages start to brown.

I served this over brown rice made with vegetable broth instead of water, it was great!