Back to school and on a budget!

Wow, it's been a while since I've been here!! It seems I always take photos of my favorite recipes but never get around to posting them. My camera feed is full of pictures of past meals, it's really quite pathetic. The kids have gone back to school today (yay and boo!!) and I've decided to commit to getting some of these recipes on here, if nothing else at least I can come back to them later when I need some dinner ideas, especially since I won't post anything that didn't turn out amazing and of course, kid approved. My kids are funny, I have decided not to force my kids into being vegan. We eat vegan at home but I wouldn't say no if they wanted to order a burger or chicken nuggets (cringe) on the rare occasion we go out. The way I see it, they eat healthy all the time at home. We eat only plant based, try to avoid processed foods and unnatural ingredients as much as possible and they don't complain at all, in fact they love it! I mean today they all wanted chickpea "tuna" sandwiches in their school lunches (recipe to come)! I feel it's my job as a mother to educate them about what they put into their bodies be it food or other, but I won't hold back on allowing them to partake in pizza day for school lunch every so often either. As they get older I am finding that they choose vegan or vegetarian menu options (when available) more often than not!

So as I said, back to school today. I am happy because the kids were starting to go stir crazy, there's are just some days when I have to much to do to entertain them and they get bored. It's also a little saddening not having them around throughout the day, plus the quiet tends to be unnerving. Back to school this year was a little rough on our budget. School clothes, supplies, new shoes, class fees. All of these things have put a hole in our finances so yesterday we went through closets and found some items to sell online and this morning I rummaged through the pantry and freezer and made a list of staple items on hand to minimize our grocery bill. With those I made a whole weeks menu and all I have to buy are a few fresh produce items, bread and almond milk. Not bad!! I'm guessing my grocery bill this week will be around $25. That's pretty amazing for a family of 5. It helps that I stock up on staple items when they're on sale. We always have plenty of various types of rice, canned and dry beans, lentils, quinoa, pasta, biscuit mix, canned tomatoes, frozen veggies and potatoes, peanut butter, oats, cereal and spices. So... this weeks menu is:

Chinese sour noodle soup with sesame ginger salad
Lentil loaf and steamed broccoli
Vegan "hamburger helper" with rolls and side salad
Cabbage rolls with German potato cakes (this one I plan on making 2 batches so I can freeze one for  later)
Black eyes pea patty sandwiches with tomato soup
Tofu veggie scramble with biscuits and gravy

I'm pretty excited about how frugal I'm being this week!! We'll see if I can keep this up! I'll be sure to post recipes for all my dinner plus my chickpea (garbanzo bean) "tuna" salad later this week. Trust me on the chickpeas,  I've made this a few times and the kids just devour it. I even made it when my sisters 3 young boys visited and had them asking for seconds. Chickpeas are high in protein and fiber and low in saturated fat and cholesterol plus they taste great!!

3 ingredient cookies

Lets face it... sometimes you've just gotta have something sweet!! I've found something that's not only sweet but also delicious, healthy and super simple (and cheap!!)!! I almost always have these ingredients on hand so these have become a staple cookie in our house, and we don't fill too guilty when we gobble up a whole batch in just a couple days! :)

Makes about 15-18 cookies

2 ripe bananas

2 cups dry quick oats

Handful chocolate chips (ghiradelli semi sweet chips are vegan) , raisins, coconut    or any other cookie mix-ins

Preheat oven to 350

Mash bananas in a medium bowl, add oats and mix-ins

Place small scoops of mixture on lightly greased cookie sheet

Bake for 15 minutes, allow to cool before removing from baking sheet

These smell and taste so good!!!

Deviled potatoes

I have to admit I miss a good deviled egg now and then... but that's not what inspired this idea. I was actually making a vegan potato salad a couple weeks ago and I pointed out to my co-chef (and 12 year old daughter) that the mixture resembled the one I used to use in deviled eggs. She then said "you should use tiny potatoes and scoop out the centers so they look like eggs". Brilliant (she gets that from me)!! My whole family is now hooked on these... they're simple and make a great side dish or snack. Also, since they contain no egg or real mayo they can safely be taken to a picnic, BBQ or potluck without the need to refrigerate... I bet even your non-vegan friends will love this little bite sized burst of flavor!!

12-14 fingerling or petite potatoes (small red potatoes will work too)

3/4 cup vegan mayo

1/3 cup mustard

2-3 tbs Dijon mustard (optional)

1 dill pickle, diced

2 tbs dill pickle juice

1 tbsp red onion, diced

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/3 tsp dry dill

Paprika to too

Was and bake whole potatoes on a cookie sheet at 350 for about 30 minutes or until soft, turning once.

Combine all other ingredients in a medium bowl 

After potatoes have cooled slightly, slice them in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon or Mellon baller, scoop a circular section of each potato out and add to filling mixture. Once all potatoes have been scooped, set them aside and mix the filling until smooth. Using your teaspoon or a pastry bag, scoop a spoonful of the mixture back into each potato. Sprinkle paprika on top. Serve warm or refrigerate overnight. These are excellent warm or cold!! 

Taco toast

Some days you just want to be lazy!! Laziness and hunger tend to inspire creativeness... the search for a (very) simply and tasty way to fill your belly. Well, today I was lazy... and hungry... thus inspiring "taco toast". Trust me, this actually tastes great!!

1 can vegetarian refried beans

1 2 tbsp taco seasoning

1-2 tbs non dairy milk

Toast

Topping suggestions: sliced avocado, tomato, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, cilantro, salsa

Heat beans in small saucepan over medium heat. Mix in seasoning and milk to thin out.

Toast bread (1-2 per person should be plenty)

Add optional toppings

Enjoy!!

Jackfruit BBQ

I recently came across a vegan recipe that used canned jackfruit as a meat replacement. Seeing that I had never cooked with (or even heard of) jackfruit... I was a bit leery about trying this. After overcoming the obstacle of actually obtaining canned jackfruit, (which I did find at a local asian market for just over $1 a can) I set out to use this interesting new ingredient for the first time.... and boy was I pleasantly surprised!! I decided to start out simple... a little jackfruit BBQ! This recipe will make about 6-8 BBQ sandwiches, which my family gobbled up in no time!

2 cans jackfruit in brine, drained and slightly broken up with fingers

1/2 onion diced

1/2 bell pepper diced

1 cup any favorite BBQ sauce

Garlic powder to taste

Combine all ingredients into pan or Dutch over and cook over low-medium heat for 2 hours stirring occasionally. The jackfruit will shred apart and become the consistency of shredded chicken or pork. 

I served this on buns with a little cabbage slaw and a homemade pickle. I also made some "deviled potatoes" to serve on the side (will post recipe soon)... so yummy!! 

Canning beans

Ok... I'm a bit if a canning junky. Jams, jellies, salsa, marinara... yes, yes and yes!! There's nothing better than opening up a jar of your own product and knowing every ingredient that went into it... plus jars of jam and jelly make awesome gifts!! Last Christmas my mother in law got me a pressure canner, opening up a whole new world of canning possibilities. First order of business... beans!! I honestly had no idea how simple and inexpensive canning my own beans would be. After a little research I attempted my first batch... success!! If you have a pressure canner you can whip up a dozen jars of any of your favorite beans for just a few dollars and a couple hours of time!! I went to a local whole foods store and bought a few varieties... I used pinto beans, black beans and chickpeas but this would work with any dry beans.

1-2 pounds any variety dry beans

Canning salt

Water

Canning jars (pint size) with lids and rings 

Soak beans for a couple hours in warm water, drain and rinse 

Sterilize jars and lids in dishwasher or boiling water

To each sterilized jar add 1/2 cup beans and 1/2 tsp canning salt. Fill remainder of the jars with water to the neck. 

Place lids and rings on the filled jars.

Follow manufactures instructions on your pressure canner and cook beans at 10 pounds pressure for 40 minutes. The dry beans cook right in the jars and will come out perfectly cooked and ready to use!! Voila, that's it!!

Next time I'm going to play around with adding some other seasonings to the jars prior to canning to make my own chili beans, baked beans... etc. 

I've already used a jar of the black beans for some vegan enchiladas and they were perfect!! You can do as many or as few jars as you prefer... I ended up with about 20 jars of beans. Enjoy!!

Baked falafel

One of our favorite places to eat is a  Mediterranean restaurant with a great vegan menu selection. On the menu they have a felafel, which I admit I had never heard of prior to having theirs. Somehow chickpea croquettes don't sound like the most amazing of dishes but boy is it ever good!! Now I know falafel is traditionally fried but I absolutely hate frying food... not necessarily because of the added fat but because to me frying is a huge, wasteful mess. I looked up a few recipes and tweaked them just a bit to come up with my own version. I fork mashed the chickpeas but next time I'll definitely use the food processor just to break up the pieces a bit more... these were great!!

Preheat oven to 350

In a food processor combine:

2 15 oz cans garbanzo beans                                          

   (chickpeas) drained and rinsed 

1 onion

5 or 6 cloves of garlic peeled 

3 tbs fresh cilantro

3 tbs fresh parsley

3 tbs lemon juice

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp cumin

3 tbsp flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Pitas or flatbread

Toppings such as hummus (I made a cilantro jalapeño hummus... I'll post the recipe for that eventually), cucumber, tomato, pickle, tzatziki, avocado or any others you desire.

Pulse until coarsely chopped (leave some texture). Form into 1-2 inch patties. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, flipping half way through. Serve on warm pitas with desired toppings... delicious!