I will have some new posts shortly! My birthday was last Wednesday(the 22) and I have been having too much fun, not to mention working out more than usual to compensate for the celebrating!! Can't wait to post a pic of my new tat, so it won't be long.

A Few New Pics

So upon cleaning my memory out of my camera I came upon a photo of a wonderful vegan cupcake pic I made and forgot to post. It was the chocolate cupcake recipe from VCTOTW with a buttermilk icing on top. This was so much like a Hostess cupcake, it threw me off!!
I have been busy this week and just did not feel like a lot of cooking and a huge mess to clean up, so I found out that Campbell's has a tasty minestrone with no beef or chicken broth in it. I picked up a can, found a small sourdough loaf, and you can see the results. Sprinkled with a little Italian cheese and I had a tasty meal(though with a lot of leftovers.)

We went out exploring some of the thrift stores in Memphis and found some really nice stuff!! These were the best of the lot!! I am done with plates now!! But I hope to keep on finding cool retro stuff. I already have a lime green salt and pepper shaker set.
I LOVE, LOVE these little gems!! How can you beat blue shrooms on coffee/tea cups? Plus I love the little B-shaped handles.
I have to touch up this lovely little napkin holder slightly, but how cute is this?

Cheesy Rice Bake

This is one of the best recipes that I have made in a while. I know everybody under the3 sun has a rice casserole recipe, however I have also noticed that most of them also contain some kind of meat or meat product. They don't usually have garlic or flavorings and they have been really dull tasting to me. So I created my own. The one I made today is vegetarian but this could easily be made vegan as well.

Cheesy Rice Bake

3 cups of cooked rice

1 tsp. of extra virgin olive oil

1/2 an onion diced finely

1 1/2 tsp of celery leaf(you can use real celery, Joey cannot digest it so I left it out.)

2 tsp. of garlic(either powder or 1 minced clove)

1 can of vegetarian cream of chicken soup

3/4 cup of milk

1 1/2 cups of cheddar

Pepper to taste

This was so easy, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil till translucent, then add the soup and milk and celery leaf and let simmer. Once simmering lower the heat and add one cup of the cheddar cheese and pepper as desired. Transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes till golden around the edges. Remove, sprinkle with additional pepper and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.(Unless you want a burnt tongue like I know have.)

Pics of Pumpkin Muffins

Now my mouth is watering again! This is my usual muffin recipe that is posted in an earlier blog. With a couple of additions. I have made this both vegan and vegetarian, and both turned out really tasty and moist. The only things I added are below:

1 can of pumpkin

2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice( I like a little more!!)

1/2 to 1 tsp of Cinnamon(I like extra here too)

add that to the muffin recipe and enjoy!!

Pumpkin Muffin recipe Coming Soon

Alright, I made another batch(I made sure to only make a small batch to retry the recipe) and will be posting the recipe and pics soon!!

(Sorry B!! They were all eaten before I read your comment. Hey, yet another excuse to make some more!)

Is Anyone Else Scatterbrained?

I find myself rather scatterbrained these days, and I don't know why! Okay, maybe I am just like this all the time but I don't like to admit it. Anyhow.



One of my favorite Fall treats has always been pumpkin muffins!! To me it's just not fall without pumpkin goodies in the house. Sadly, I am the only one who enjoys pumpkin in this household. I wish I was really sad about that......lol Just means more goodies for me!


Pumpkin muffins are probably one of my favorite ways to eat pumpkin. So I made a huge batch of them, and I wrote down the recipe-lost it. AND forgot to snap a pic. Hey, wait! What a good excuse to make some more, don't you think? =)

Stir-Fry Yumminess

Upon cleaning the freezer out earlier this week, I discovered some veggies I did not even know I had and created a stir-fry. It has a ginger sauce to it, but I found it rather bland upon eating, so I think I will experiment with a better sauce. It has a nice mound of rice beneath it(yes I know, I prefer brown but Joey won't eat it like I do!! I sneak it in occasionally.) Anyone know of any really good sauces?

Vegetarian Chicken Parmesan

My husband was so happy to hear about the vegetarian diet returning to our household, that he made one of my all-time favorite dishes. While he supported me fully during my stint into veganism, he was extremely exuberant about being able to prepare his cuisine of choice: Italian. While Italian is good anyway you fix it, vegan or non, he prefers loads of unhealthy options when he's cooking. =)

He is an amazing chef any day of the week, but he is a master when it comes to Italian. I will never be able to pry the recipe from him(though I have tried in numerous ways.), so I just conceded and let him keep his secrets so long as he cooks them with some frequency.

It consists of vegetarian chicken patties, cooked to perfection, sauce which he adds all sorts of stuff too, provolone, mozzarella, Parmesan and of course pasta. He layers all of this in his own order and bakes it till we can no longer bear the smell, and a taste of heaven is within my grasp!!

P.S. The cookies below are the Snickerdoodles, and Joey snapped the pic of the chicken parm and apologizes about the picture.

Snickers.....& Doodles!!!

Thanks for the understanding peeps!!

In appreciation for how wonderful several of my neighbors are, I made a huge batch of Snicker doodles to share!! These are such a classic cookie that I have yet to meet a person who does not enjoy them.

One of my neighbors is kind enough to take our garbage to the dumpster(we call her the garbage fairy), and the other older couple who lives across the hall never cease to make us laugh about something. The couple across the hall have medical issues, so I can't bake too many goodies to take to them.


It is just the classic recipe with no new twists.....as of yet! I have pics, but the batteries died in my camera so I will post soon.

Announcement

Upon a very lengthy soul-searching journey, I have come to the conclusion that I will no longer be able to be a part of the Vegan society. My apologies to the lovely Vegans that have read my blog and the wonderful comments that you have all been leaving. I will still be making lots of Vegan recipes as well as vegetarian now. Which I will clearly label as vegan or vegetarian.



I will NEVER return to a life of meat eating. That is one thing I will never, ever encourage in anyone that crosses my path. However, the way that things are right now in my life, I am unable to to get the proper nutrients or grocery supplies needed to make a full Vegan commitment.


I am not one for making excuses, so I won't. There are very good reasons for which I have made my choice, and most people who know me will know why I cannot make a full commitment right now. I have enjoyed veganism and I enjoy challenges, but there are just some things health related(which are personnel to me) which I am unable to change. Which is what I am having to learn.