Real Food Tostadas

Hi friends. Sorry it's been so long. I have no excuses. I made some yummy tostadas last week with James, and we're making them again tonight because it's Lent and it's Friday (gotta get down on Friday) and they're super easy to make completely vegan! Before I give you the recipe, let me first gush about how healthy they are while being "restaurant quality delicious" (the highest compliment my husband can give). There is no ingredient in this meal that bums me out. You know what I mean, butter or margarine, flour, sugar, anything that adds unnecessary calories without adding any nutrition. We do use corn tortillas, but they're way better, in my opinion, than flour tortillas, so I feel fine about that. Ok, let's cook!

Here's the stuff you'll need:

2-3 tomatoes

1/2 onion

2 Jalepenos

2-3 avocados

Cilantro (lots)

Lime juice

Salt

Cumin

Cayenne pepper

2 cans black beans

Garlic

Corn tortillas

Greek plain yogurt/ vegan soy yogurt

James had fish (seasoned like you would for fish tacos) and cheese on his as well, but he said he thought they weren't necessary. Basically, he thinks it's better without.

Here's the four things you need to make to put on your tortilla. Let's start with the top left.

Dice tomatoes and the half onion. Cut the seeds out of the Jalepenos and cut into small pieces...or leave them in if you like really spicy foods. We're not so ambitious. Add a sprinkle of salt and a little lime juice. That's it.

Ok, the top right is just avocados pitted, peeled, and sliced.

Bottom left is black beans. Strain one can in a colander, and blend the other can in a blender, turning it into a kind of pastey substance. Mix the two together with garlic, cayenne, and cumin (no idea how much I used...so just wing it)

The bottom left is the last piece of the puzzle and it really pulls the whole experience together. Put a lot of cilantro leaves in the blender. No idea how to say how much, I basically buy one bunch at the grocery store, take ALL the leaves and stick them all in the blender. Add some garlic (minced if you can) and then add the yogurt. I think I used about a cup, plus I added a little water because my blender is old and needed a little help. Blend until no leaves are left. I actually like the texture with a little water because it's easier to pour and it mixes better with the other textures.

Now we layer. Turn your oven on to 350 Fahrenheit and grab a cookie sheet. I didn't spray them and they didn't stick. First lay down the tortillas, then spread the black bean mixture, then the tomato mixture. James' are the two top ones with the fish and the cheese. Bake until the edges of the tortilla get brownish, about 20 minutes. If the edges are getting brown too fast, throw a piece of tinfoil over top.

Once they're nice and cooked, take them out and add the avocados, and then the cilantro-yogurt dressing. Now put them on a plate and eat them. Om nom nom.

Vegan Tomato Veggie Quinoa Soup

Hi friends. So James came home sick from work yesterday and stayed home sick today. He's got a nasty cold, so I thought I'd try my hand at making a yummy soup that soothes and nourishes. What I came up with was pretty tasty. Here's what I did. 

Chop an onion, a couple stalks of celery and a handful or two of baby carrots into smaller than a dime size pieces. Put in the bottom of your soup pot with a little olive or coconut oil. Cook on medium-high until softened. Add basil and oregano.

Add two can of diced tomatoes that you've already blended in the blender, plus a can that you've left un-blended. That's three cans total. Turn the temp down to medium-low.

Now, in a seperate pot, take 2/3 cups dried quinoa with 1 1/3 cups water. Follow directions on quinoa package for cooking. Once properly cooked, add it to the soup mix. 

After about 45 minutes of simmering, add frozen corn kernels (use your judgement on what looks about right. Then chop up some kale and stir that in, too. Serve once the kale has softened.

Don't forget to salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Smoothie Is A Funny Word

Hi friends. Well, I've been vegan for around 2 1/2 weeks, and I've found that smoothies truly make everything easier. I have one pretty much everyday. 

I make fairly simple smoothies. Here's what I do. Buy both fresh and frozen fruits, a juice that's actual fruit juices and not sugar/concentrate. V8 fusion isn't perfect, but I really like it, so I use it. Don't use V8 splash, that's just sugar. Ok, anyway, I also add spinach because it's amazing for you. Bananas are a good fruit to get fresh, and I usually use frozen strawberries, because it's usually cheaper to buy berries frozen. The blackberries are fresh because I got them on sale at Costco.

Here's another I did. Fresh and frozen mangos with a banana, strawberries, and spinach. So basically just pick fruits you like and go to town. Some people use almond milk instead of juice, but it don't like the almond milk flavor, I feel like it takes away from the fruit flavor, but if that's your game, by all means, go right ahead. Also, if you eat animal bi-products, might I suggest chobani yogurt in your smoothie? Good source of protein and a good fruit flavor.

Other exciting news: I recently joined Pottermore and found out I'm a Hufflepuff. At first I was kind of bummed, but after reading what J.K. Rowling feels about Hufflepuff, I'm pretty excited. Go team.

Ok, that's about it for me. Have a great day!

3 Vegan-Friendly Meat-Alternatives

Hi friends. So, I've been vegan for almost a week, and I've tried out some meat alternatives that I'd like to share with you, along with my reviews and recipes. Enjoy!

 Tofu: made with home-made red sauce and served over noodles

First I cubed the tofu and dipped it in egg substitute. If you're just a straight up vegetarian, use egg. then I sprinkled a small amount of corn starch on the tofu to fry it, because that's what the internet told me to do. I bet you could use flour or corn flour if you wanted to.

The recipe for how to make this red sauce is here. (click on the word "here").

I made tri-color noodles because they look prettier than your average noodle. We got that strainer for free when we moved into our apartment.

This is an attempt at being artsy. It's just the noodles inside the box.

Here's the final product. Sorry that it looks disgusting, the lighting in our kitchen is terrible.

I mixed the tofu into the red sauce and let it simmer for about 2 minutes to help the tofu soak up the flavor, which it did very well. My overall review for tofu is as follows. I think it's pretty good. It has a slightly beany taste, but it absorbs flavor well, and it's a decent source of protein. Be aware that up to 50% of the calories can be fat, and that there are different levels of firmness, so you should check your recipe before buying. I didn't know that, and so James just bought medium firmness, mainly because it seemed like the safest choice. If you're going to use it as a chicken replacer, get firm or extra firm, and to get the right texture, leave it in the freezer for a bit after cutting it into the desired shape.

Veggie-Burger: with Mango Salsa!

Here's all the ingredients (plus jalapeno, but that was an ugly pic) for mango salsa. Chop cilantro, a little onion, a little jalapeno and a full mango up into small bits. mix and let settle. Yum.

My veggie-burger is on the left, James' turkey burger is on the right. Mine has a bunch of veggies and sunflower seeds, his is ground turkey, which is healthier than beef, and it's more cost-effective.

Here's my mango salsa over the veggie burger. My review: the salsa was delicious, the veggie burger was good, but together, it was weird. The burger was too savory for a fresh mango salsa, it needed other veggies, tomato, lettuce, typical burger veggies. Maybe the salsa would work with a Boca Burger. I got these veggie-burgers at Cosco. Decent price, and good tasting with the right toppings.

This is the chickpea-spinach patty. It's amazing. With a little curry to make it savory and a little spicy, these vegan treats are an absolute delight. I had them with broccoli, which is a good source of protein, and with the chickpeas, so are these patties. I also got these at Cosco. Super yum. Love love love.

It's negative temps here in sunny Minnesota, and our dogs have settled in to a long winter's nap. Hope you're all safe and warm wherever you are.

New Vegetarian, New Year

Hi friends. So, this New Years I decided to make a bit of a change. I've decided to go vegetarian, at least for awhile. I'm going all vegan for the month of January, and then after that I'll be a vegetarian for a whole longer, that part is open-ended, and could go on forever, or maybe just a clear or two. Who knows. I've been inching closer and closer to vegetarian for some time now, and New Years seemed like a good time to make the change.

The reason I'm starting the year off by going full vegan is because of these two ladies, Mariana and Amelia Dal Pra. Amelia has been a vegetarian for most of her life, and is now a full vegan, and Mariana has been a full time vegan for almost a year, maybe more, I'm pretty sure it started as a Lent thing and then she just kept it going. Mariana told me all about her research into why it's healthier to be a vegetarian, more specifically a vegan, so I've decided to convert. 

So Happy New Year everyone! I will still be blogging both vegan/vegetarian and meat-related meals, as James is still an omnivore, so you'll still get a variety of recipe ideas here, I just won't be eating some of them. 

A lot of my vegan recipes will come to me through a book Mariana gave me, called "Part-Time Vegan". It's all very exciting. Ok, we'll stay tuned!

Crockpot Sweet & Sour Chicken

Hi friends. Yesterday I decided to make up a crockpot/slow cooker version of sweet and sour chicken, and it turned out really well, so I'm sharing it with you.

Get excited. Ok, here it goes.

Roughly chop a small onion and get some minced garlic and stick it in the bottom of your crockpot.

Add your chicken. Mine was still partially frozen, so it came out like this. Add garlic to the top of said chicken, and add two teaspoons of soy sauce around the outside of the chicken. 

Add two cans of pineapple chunks. Fill in around the chicken, and then on top when the sides are all full. Cook on high for four hours.

Make some rice, and enjoy. You can add bell peppers if you're into that kind of thing, but I'm not, so I didn't. Super yummy, super quick, super easy. 

Christmas Decor at the McShanes

Hi friends. So I have a million things to do before Christmas, so this is going to be a blog with more pics than words. I just want to share with you our home at Christmas time. Here we go.

Above the couch

Ornament in honor of Aunt Bobbie

Our tree. Those are colored lights, I know it's hard to tell.

More tree

The star is made out of tin foil and cardboard, just like my grandpa used to make for family Christmas that we had in October before they went to Florida. The d.i.y. How-to is at the end of this blog.

Wooden ornament from target last year. I added paint and glitter.

Here's what the back says.

I've covered up the plug for the air conditioner with a bow. Mostly because it makes me laugh.

Up on top of the desk. The M is a cardboard M you can get at Joann's or Hobby Lobby, and I sprayed it gold.

I'm using a lot of the lanterns from my wedding. No suprise. This is next to the TV.

On top of the microwave. My little tree from childhood.

The shelves are full of family and Christmas pictures.

A view from the other side. 

The deer head

This is an old decoration that my mom or maybe my grandma made, but at some point in my childhood, my mom wasn't going to decorate with it anymore, so I inherited it. I find it oddly charming.

These are the little birds that sit on our internet box. They tweet. Get it? Because twitter? There's always a bird of some kind sitting on that box because I think it's so funny.

Deer bookends. I love antlers.

Our couch. White faux fur throw we got for our wedding, fleece tie blanket I made with a classic Christmas scene, and of course, the pillows. Potpourri in a bowl that's shaped like a bird, probably a dove. Festive, but weird. I like birds. 

Now here's how to make the star. One thing to note is that you could make it with tin foil, but then spray or paint a design on it, hot glue jingle bells or buttons to it, or whatever you like. I left mine plain because that's how it was when I was a kid. All you need is cardboard, five strips of paper cut into equal lengths, a pen, a scissors, duct tape and some tin foil. Alright, let's party.

 Step one: Arrange

Step two: trace

Step three: connect all points.

Steps four & five: cover with tin foil and turn over. This is the back.

This is the front.

Step six & seven: duct tape it all in place and tape a string on. This is the string that will help you tie your star onto your Christmas tree.

Done.

Ok, Merry Christmas everyone! I'll start updating the blog better and more frequently in a couple days.