Jalapeno Cornbread Muffings (WFPBNO)

These mini muffins make a great side to soup, stew or even a salad. I also used some vegan hotdogs, cut them into 1/4 inch or so slices and pushed them into the center of a few muffins to make mini corndogs for the games this afternoon. These come together in about 10-15 minutes and only cook for 20 minutes. So fast and easy. You could make these in large muffin tins and probably cook about 25-30 minutes. Check them with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. If you aren't into heat you can use a different pepper for color or totally leave the peppers out. 

 

• 1 cup almond milk, unsweet
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 cup corn meal, I used yellow
• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 2/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 cup agave
• 1/3 cup applesauce, unsweet
• 3 tablespoons aquafaba
• 2 jalapeños, separated
• 2 vegan hotdog, sliced into 1/4-inch long pieces (optional)

mini silicon muffin pan placed on top of a cookie sheet for stability

Pour milk and vinegar into a measuring cup and stir to combine. Add flax meal and water to a small bowl and combine. Let these sit for about 5 minutes to thicken.

Preheat oven to 350F. Add cornmeal, flour, baking soda, coconut sugar and salt to a medium bowl. Stir to combine well.

Add agave, applesauce, aquafaba, flax meal mixture and milk mixture to bowl. Stir to combine.

Diced one jalapeno and add to the batter. Fold in.

I used a small cookie dough scoop to add batter to the muffin pan. Top each muffin with optional vegan hotdog and/or a sliced of the other jalapeno.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm with a cup of soup or as an appetizer.

Enjoy!!!!

Buffalo Broccoli (WFPBNO)

I made this to serve with mac and cheese for dinner the other night. It would also be a delicious appetizer. Fresh broccoli dipped in a batter and then panko and baked until crispy, then coated with Frank's Buffalo sauce. Oh my goodness, so yummy! You could also do this with cauliflower for a wonder meal. Just look at that deliciousness. 

• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 cup non-dairy milk, unsweetened, I used almond milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups Panko bread crumbs, vegan
• Frank's Buffalo Sauce

Chop the broccoli into bite sized florets. Preheat oven to 425F.

Measure milk and add vinegar and give it a stir. Let sit to thicken for a minute.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir in flour, cornstarch and salt. 

Add the milk/vinegar mixture to the bowl and whisk to create a wet batter.

In a separate medium bowl add the panko.

Now dip each floret in the batter, let excess drip off and then roll in panko. Add to a parchment lined baking dish. Give each piece a little space

Bake for 15-20 minutes until nice and crispy. You may want to flip them half way through cooking.

Transfer to a serving bowl.

Add the buffalo sauce and give it a toss. Serve immediately as the sauce will get soaked up by the breading and it will become a little soggy. But still delicious.

I served these with homemade mac and cheese for dinner.

Enjoy!

Nachos

These would be whole food plant based if I had made my own tortilla chips. But, I bought these at a local grocery and they were amazing. They were made with organic blue corn and were so light and crispy. These nachos were a nice change from soups and/or an entrée with sides for lunch. Obviously, use the ingredients you have on hand and enjoy. 

• tortilla chips, I used enough for a nice layer on my serving platter
• Queso cheese sauce, use however much you want
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado (guac, steps below)
• Salsa 
• pickled jalapenos, to taste
• 3 tablespoons red onion, diced small

Make the queso if you haven't already. Heat the black beans in a small saucepan with garlic powder, cumin and chili powder. I used about 1 teaspoon of each. I also had a small amount of tempeh taco 'meat' in the frig that I added so I could get rid of it. But it's not necessary. Stir frequently and turn heat to low to keep the beans warm.

Mash your avocado in a small bowl and add the juice from 1/2 a lime, a tablespoon of diced tomato, a tablespoon diced red onion, a sprinkle of salt. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Set aside.

Arrange your chips on a serving platter and cover with bean mixture.

Drizzle with the warm queso.

Top with salsa; if your salsa is thin use a fork to get the salsa and leave the juice behind.

 

Add the amount of guac you would like.

Garnish with pickled jalapenos and diced red onion. I place all the topping by the platter so we could add more if we wanted to. I actually used a large spatula and served the nachos on individual saucers.

This was so good and there will be lots of leftover cheese sauce. You can use that sauce to pour over a baked potato, to make mac 'n cheese, to pour over broccoli and/or cauliflower, etc.

Texas Caviar (WFPBNO)

I wanted a snack to take house setting over the weekend. I had one can of black-eyed peas in the pantry and some beautiful store bought cherry tomatoes. This is what happened. Be sure to taste the dressing before adding it to the caviar so that you can tweak it if you believe it needs ore spice or mustard, etc.

I only used one jalapeno since we grew these and they are HOT!~  However, if you love the heat feel free to add more. Always feel free to customize according to your taste.

• 1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered (if small just halve them)
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup dressing (recipe is below)
• 1 jalapeno pepper, small dice
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Add all caviar ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.

• 1 individual serving of unsweet applesauce
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 teaspoons stone ground Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Add all dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Add 1/2 cup of dressing to the caviar and stir well. 

Let chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Enjoy!

Nacho Cheese Sauce

This simple cheesy sauce comes together so fast in your blender. No high calorie cashews, this one uses beans. Serve this sauce on a baked potato, with nachos, as a dip with chips or on a messy sandwich. Makes about 3 cups and will keep well for a week. You can reheat on the stovetop or microwave.

• 1 can (15-ounce) cannellini beans (do not drain)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup plain unsweetened milk (I used almond)
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 3-5 pickled, sliced jalapeno peppers (start low, you can add more but you can't take 'em out)
• 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno brine
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend on high until smooth and thick.

Pour into mason jar for keeping.

Enjoy!!

Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower (WFPBNO)

 I love cauliflower nuggets dressed up like chicken nuggets. These were super crunchy and easy to make.  You start with 3 bowls of ingredients, dip the cauliflower florets in each bowl, place on parchment paper and bake. Then serve with buffalo sauce. So easy as an appetizer or fix some veggies on the side and serve these as your main entrée. Let's get cooking.

Bowl 1:

• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Bowl 2:

• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 3/4 cup warm water

Bowl 3:

• 4 cups wheat bran flakes
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Process these 4 ingredients in a food processor until the flakes are pretty broken down.

Other Ingredients:

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1/2 cup Frank's buffalo sauce or red hot sauce

Get your 3 bowls of ingredients ready.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the cauliflower into the appropriate sized florets.

Rinse the cauliflower so that it's wet. Coat the florets in bowl 1, 2 and then 3 and place on baking sheet. Be sure they aren't touching. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Pour the Frank's sauce over them and toss. (I did this on my plate so the leftovers wouldn't loose their crunch. Serve as an appetizer, or as I did with a side of roasted potatoes, fresh sliced tomatoes and some vegan ranch.

Enjoy!

Leftovers heat well in a toaster oven.

Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl (WFPBNO)

I've been inspired by the bowls I've seen in the Forks Over Knives magazine and some I've come across online. I decided to use up some of the produce we had in the house and created this bowl. You can substitute with the things  you have in your frig and pantry. Choose a different bean for protein, kale or spinach instead of romaine, etc. This was so good and simple to prepare. The peanut balsamic dressing was delicious and will be part of our salad dressings from now on. This made 2 bowls with leftover rice and chickpeas.

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (find one that is just peanuts)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

Mix all the ingredients in a pint sized mason jar and shake, shake, shake it.

Per Bowl:

• 2 lettuce leaves, torn
• 1 cup brown rice, cooked
• 1/2 baked sweet potato
• 1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained 
• 1/4 cup Pampered Chef Pineapple Rum Sauce
• 1/4 cup Spicy BBQ Sauce
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 avocado, sliced or cubed

Scrub your sweet potatoes and dry it. Slice in half and sprinkle with garlic seasoning (or whatever  you like). Place cut side down and cook in a preheated toaster oven at 350 until done. Mine took about 40 minutes.

Add rinsed and drained chickpeas to a small pan. I added equal parts of Pampered Chef Pineapple Rum Sauce and Spicy BBQ Sauce. Cook until heat and sauce thickens on chickpeas.

Cook rice according to package directions. You may need to start this first depending on how long it needs to cook.

To build your bowl add a cup of rice to the center of your bowl.

Place remaining ingredients around the edges. Garnish with dressing (not shown).

Enjoy!!!