It has been quite some time since I was last able to put up an entry. I've been a bit busy and the computer is the last thing I was spending time with. But I've actually kind of missed blogging and talking about delicious foods so I decided to get back on it and share, share, share!
I've made tons of great dishes over the last few months and have taken some beautiful photos. All of which I plan on posting up for you. But first, some news!
Recently my hubby and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary in Las Vegas. On this wonderful (but killer hot) trip we were lucky enough to catch The Bodies Exhibition at the Luxor. You may have heard of this and you may think it's somewhat disturbing, but it was incredible! It’s a display of the muscles, bones, tissues, ligaments, etc of the human body. Along with healthy human bodies and parts, there is an assortment of unhealthy parts as well. Healthy lung vs. smoker’s lung, etc, etc. Anyways, there were organs shown that were part of people that ate unhealthily and did not exercise.…. This grossed me out. I told my husband that all of this made me want to eat better and exercise and made me want HIM to eat better as well. All the sudden he says, “Well how about this: I’ll go vegetarian for 30 days if you exercise for 30 days”. Whaaaaaat?! This coming from the man that loves meat. Yes, he eats quite a bit of vegan food since that’s a majority of how we eat in our home, but once he’s out or at work you bet your booty he’s getting his carnivore on.
So of course I agree! Even though I absolutely despise working out. Seriously. I do no sort of physical exercise ever, aside from walking to some bus stops or the store. We decided that as soon as we got back we’d start this little “30 day challenge”. It has been one week and so far my body has been sore every day and the husband has been taking veggie sandwiches to work and getting creative. It’s great! Minus being sore every day, of course. But we’re doing this for each other and I think that’s wonderful.
To add onto this, our friend that’s staying with us has decided to go vegan until his birthday in February! It’ll be so nice to have a vegan partner in crime. I’m almost positive that my husband will start sucking down meat as soon as the 30 days is up. But that’s okay, he’ll get to eat vegan at home.
So I wanted to share that. But onto some recipes!
My latest love:
Vegan Baked Potatoes au Gratin
Now, I've never been a big fan of fake cheese or cheese sauce. But the sauce for this recipe has blown my mind. And it's super simple! Enjoy!
Baked Potatoes au Gratin
5-7 red potatoes (depending on size), sliced
Vegan butter to taste ( I like Earth Balance)
french fried onions
Nutrional Yeast Sauce:
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp dried yellow mustard (If you don't have this, I've definitely left it out before)
2 cups plain soymilk or plain coconut milk
3 Tblspn vegan butter
A heavy shake of onion powder
A couple heavy shakes of italian seasoning
Very lightly grease a 9x9 baking dish and preheat oven to 375.
Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients for the cheese sauce in a small bowl and whisk in non-dairy milk until all clumps are gone.
Pour into a medium size pot with the butter and heat on medium until thick. Keep an eye on this and whisk occasionally. This is a thick sauce, but it shouldn't get as thick as mashed potatoes. Add some water or non-dairy milk to thin it a little, if needed. Take off burner.
Begin layering sliced potatoes in the baking dish. After about half of the potatoes are down, put a couple dobs of butter on top.
Pour about half of the sauce over the potatoes and sprinkle with a handful or french fried onions. Continue to place the rest of the potatoes on top. Drizzle the rest of the sauce over the potatoes and add more french fried onions on top.
Cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Take off the foil and return to the oven for another 20-25 minutes until fried onions are golden brown and potatoes are cooked through.
Serve while hot!
This makes four decent size servings and tastes great the next day. I usually serve this alongside a large helping of greens. Whether it's a salad, baked asparagus, sauteed zucchini or squash. Whatever your heart desires!
I've made tons of great dishes over the last few months and have taken some beautiful photos. All of which I plan on posting up for you. But first, some news!
Recently my hubby and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary in Las Vegas. On this wonderful (but killer hot) trip we were lucky enough to catch The Bodies Exhibition at the Luxor. You may have heard of this and you may think it's somewhat disturbing, but it was incredible! It’s a display of the muscles, bones, tissues, ligaments, etc of the human body. Along with healthy human bodies and parts, there is an assortment of unhealthy parts as well. Healthy lung vs. smoker’s lung, etc, etc. Anyways, there were organs shown that were part of people that ate unhealthily and did not exercise.…. This grossed me out. I told my husband that all of this made me want to eat better and exercise and made me want HIM to eat better as well. All the sudden he says, “Well how about this: I’ll go vegetarian for 30 days if you exercise for 30 days”. Whaaaaaat?! This coming from the man that loves meat. Yes, he eats quite a bit of vegan food since that’s a majority of how we eat in our home, but once he’s out or at work you bet your booty he’s getting his carnivore on.
So of course I agree! Even though I absolutely despise working out. Seriously. I do no sort of physical exercise ever, aside from walking to some bus stops or the store. We decided that as soon as we got back we’d start this little “30 day challenge”. It has been one week and so far my body has been sore every day and the husband has been taking veggie sandwiches to work and getting creative. It’s great! Minus being sore every day, of course. But we’re doing this for each other and I think that’s wonderful.
To add onto this, our friend that’s staying with us has decided to go vegan until his birthday in February! It’ll be so nice to have a vegan partner in crime. I’m almost positive that my husband will start sucking down meat as soon as the 30 days is up. But that’s okay, he’ll get to eat vegan at home.
So I wanted to share that. But onto some recipes!
My latest love:
Vegan Baked Potatoes au Gratin
Now, I've never been a big fan of fake cheese or cheese sauce. But the sauce for this recipe has blown my mind. And it's super simple! Enjoy!
Baked Potatoes au Gratin
5-7 red potatoes (depending on size), sliced
Vegan butter to taste ( I like Earth Balance)
french fried onions
Nutrional Yeast Sauce:
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp dried yellow mustard (If you don't have this, I've definitely left it out before)
2 cups plain soymilk or plain coconut milk
3 Tblspn vegan butter
A heavy shake of onion powder
A couple heavy shakes of italian seasoning
Very lightly grease a 9x9 baking dish and preheat oven to 375.
Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients for the cheese sauce in a small bowl and whisk in non-dairy milk until all clumps are gone.
Pour into a medium size pot with the butter and heat on medium until thick. Keep an eye on this and whisk occasionally. This is a thick sauce, but it shouldn't get as thick as mashed potatoes. Add some water or non-dairy milk to thin it a little, if needed. Take off burner.
Begin layering sliced potatoes in the baking dish. After about half of the potatoes are down, put a couple dobs of butter on top.
Pour about half of the sauce over the potatoes and sprinkle with a handful or french fried onions. Continue to place the rest of the potatoes on top. Drizzle the rest of the sauce over the potatoes and add more french fried onions on top.
Cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Take off the foil and return to the oven for another 20-25 minutes until fried onions are golden brown and potatoes are cooked through.
Serve while hot!
This makes four decent size servings and tastes great the next day. I usually serve this alongside a large helping of greens. Whether it's a salad, baked asparagus, sauteed zucchini or squash. Whatever your heart desires!
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