What Time Is It? Cookie Time!

Peanut butter cookies are timeless. They are also very easy to make with minimal ingredients on hand. The go-to for when you want cookies but don't have a ton of ingredients or don't feel like getting too complicated. I made these cookies yesterday for my sweetie. They were fast and easy to make and he loves them. I needed time to get ready for our Valentine's date, and wanted to make him a treat for all the sweet things he sent to me throughout the day. You can make these with or without the frosting. The frosting is from my cupcake post this week and you can find the recipe here. Have fun and happy baking!

Peanut Butter Almond Cookies

What you will need:

• 1 1/2 cup flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo Bean flour)
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup chunky peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's brand)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp pure almond extract

What you will need to do:

Preheat oven 400 degrees. Mix together the dry and wet ingredients into a dough. You can roll these into balls and pat down a little on an ungreased baking sheet or you can use cookie cutters in your favorite shapes. Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Let cool completely before you remove from the pan (or they will break apart because they retain heat in the middle). Enjoy with a glass of almond milk perhaps!

Happy Valentine's Day To Me!

What a Valentine's Day I've been having today! I woke up to hear a sweet voice say to me, "Happy Valentine's Day", romantic greeting cards, received a delivery of a delicious bouquet of heart-shaped fruits, and just got a velvety box of vegan chocolates delivered to me, all from my wonderful husband! I couldn't be more excited for our date tonight! I did want to share these chocolates with you because they are from a company who makes these gourmet sweet treats in vegan and gluten-free options. How cool is that?

Sweet Pete's in Jacksonville, FL! They ship to your door!

A knock on the door. A package. I opened the cardboard box. To my surprise, a giant, velvet, heart box!

I opened the heart-shaped box. Did I mention how nice and velvety it felt? How adorable, a little caramel of sorts. I ate it. It tasted like caramel, butter toffee - chewy with a little crunch.

Oh my! This box has the most delicious marzipan candies, chocolate covered cherries, caramels, filled heart candies, and more! Absolutely delightful! I have the best husband ever!

Just wanted to share with you. This candy company will definitely be a lifesaver during all of the candy-related holidays...which are like every single holiday. Hope you have a sweet day too! Happy Valentine's Day!

Cheezy Potatoes, Yum!

Last night we were looking for sides to make with our Field Roast dinner. I winged the roasted veggies to cook along with the roast, which was simply chunks of portobello mushrooms, onions, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, flax seed oil, Bragg's liquid aminos, and spices that I sauteed and added to the roast pan. However, we still needed one more nice side to go along with this roast. I noticed some potatoes that we had and that is when I came up with this cheezy creation. I can eat these potatoes all day, every day - they are so tasty! Here is the recipe...

Cheezy Vegan Potatoes Delmonico

What you will need:

• 8 medium potatoes, cleaned and cubed
• 1/2 cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
• 1/2 cup flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo Bean Flour)
• 1 cup plain vegan milk (I used Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original flavor)
• 1 cup vegan cream (I used Silk Creamer in Original flavor)
• 1/2 cup Daiya Jack Style Wedge cheese, cut into small chunks
• 1/2 cup Daiya Mozarella style shreds
• 1/2 - 1 cup breadcrumbs (depending on how breaded you like it. I made my own fresh breadcrumbs by taking 2 slices of Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread and putting them in my Vitamix, which made about 1 cup)

What you will need to do:

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Boil potatoes for about 10 minutes. While the potatoes are boiling, make your cheese sauce. In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, melt vegan butter. Whisk flour into butter and cook for a moment or two. Whisk in the vegan milk and cream until nice and smooth, then melt in the vegan cheeses and whisk until well combined. Simmer sauce on low for a few moments whisking often, then remove from heat. Drain potatoes and place evenly in a greased casserole dish. Evenly pour cheese sauce over potatoes in the casserole dish then top with breadcrumbs. Bake uncovered for 25- 30 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are browned. Enjoy!

And by the way, Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone! Hubby and I will be celebrating and I am told that I have a few surprises in store. I will fill you in on the details via Twitter. And let me know what romantic plans you have. How about the yummy sweet treats?

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Well hello cupcakes! This is my pumpkin spicy twist on the plain old boring cupcake. In the winter, I absolutely love fall spices and pumpkin. The cream cheese frosting gives this cupcake the right amount of sweetness and sure is delicious. I had to stop myself from eating the whole bowl of frosting while the cupcakes were cooling. You will also notice that this is a great batter that cooks cake to perfection. This recipe will make 12 standard cupcakes, however I made 6 jumbo ones using a Texas muffin pan. Hope you adore these!

Be My 'Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting' Recipe

makes 12 standard cupcakes OR 6 jumbo cupcakes

What you will need:

Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup cane sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp pure maple syrup

Frosting

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread)
• 8 oz vegan cream cheese (I used Go Veggie in Classic Plain flavor)
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup

What you will need to do:

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease your cupcake pan or place cupcake liners inside. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a small bowl. Combine both dry and wet ingredients together and mix well to make a batter. Divide batter evenly in cupcake pan cups. Bake for 20- 30 minutes, or until you can insert and remove a toothpick in cupcake cleanly. Let cupcakes cool. Make frosting by combining all four ingredients with a hand mixer until frosting is fluffy. Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

As you can see, I ditched the fancy bakery tips to practice spreading frosting for when the baby gets here. Personally, it is easier to pipe mountains of frosting versus this mess I made with my spreader! Good practice for cupcake baking fun with our child. And for now, the Dirty Vegan is signing off...hope you have a sweet day!

How to Make Awesome Nachos (Pregnant Person Approved)

Nachos have become my go-to food these days. Since I'm growing a baby, I must keep them somewhat healthy. Vegan cheese and sour cream doesn't add all that much nutritional value, so you can play around with adding nutrients through your nacho chip of choice, protein option, guacamole, and salsa. You can also add extras as I often do. Here are some vegan nacho options I've tried over the months and what exactly is in this drool-worthy picture.

Choose one (or more!) of each.

First start with chips...

-Whole grain
-Blue corn
-Flavored
-Plain

Then sprinkle on some protein...

-Beans
-Hummus
-Veggie-"beef"
-Soyrizo
-Veggie-"chicken"
-Cooke quinoa
-Veggie Refried Beans

Next is your sauce...

-Salsa
-Pasta Sauce
-Pizza Sauce
-Fresh tomatoes and onions chopped

Now your cheese...

-Vegan Cheddar Shreds (like Daiya or Galaxy)
-Vegan Mozzarella Shreds (like Daiya or Galaxy)
-Shred some of Daiya's wedges in Havarti, Jack, or Cheddar flavor
-Or one of the MANY vegan cheeses out there now

Heat for a moment or so in a microwave oven OR bake in an oven in a baking pan (usually 350 degrees for 15 minutes will do the trick, but keep an eye on it, ovens vary).

Next dollop stuff on top...

-Guacamole
-Vegan sour cream (I LOVE the sour cream by Follow Your Heart brand)
-Hummus

Now Enjoy! And make your friends jealous because your vegan nachos taste a million times better than their crap nachos ever will (and a million times healthier too!).

If you are wondering what is in the sinful nachos I enjoyed last night (pictured above), here is my secret ingredient list...

-Whole grain tortilla chips
-Cooked and seasoned quinoa
-Salsa
-Daiya cheddar & mozzarella shreds
-Sour cream (Follow Your Heart brand)

Simple and so delicious! And for now, the Dirty Vegan is signing off. Hope everyone has an opportunity to get some nachos in today.

Just In Case You Were Wondering...

Hello Everyone! Just in case you were wondering why I haven't posted anything in a while, it is because me and Mr. Dirty Vegan are expecting our first baby! And we have been busy, busy, busy! Trust me, you don't want any of the recipes of some of the weird vegan concoctions I've been putting together...

However, now that my weird food aversions (who has an aversion to Tofurky "sausage"??!? This girl! Well not anymore, I can finally eat them again) are starting to subside, I can post the yummy things that I have been eating. You don't have to be pregnant to eat like me, just don't feel guilty about it afterwards and you're golden. When I post my prego recipes, I will give you a few options to cut back the calories since not all of my readers are required to eat an additional 300- 400 calories daily (or more, who's watching?).

Keep an eye out for my upcoming posts. They will include tips, tricks, and pictures (hello to the most illegal looking food out there!). I have been enjoying veggie nachos loaded with things like beans, salsa, hummus, guacamole, vegan "sour cream", and LOTS of Daiya cheese. I have also discovered new vegan food finds that are so Dirty you wouldn't believe them. So I will be sharing that stuff too. And I will throw in a few belly shots so you can scope out the adorable bump I've been sporting these days. And for now, the Dirty Vegan is signing off. Hope you have a sun-shining-like-vegan-cupcakes-and-babies-day!

Best Muffins EVER!!!

“A film is just like a muffin. You make it. You put it on the table. One person might say, ''Oh, I don't like it'.' One might say it's the best muffin ever made. One might say it's an awful muffin. It's hard for me to say. It's for me to make the muffin.” -Denzel Washington

Muffins are awesome, especially these! Using a small amount of pure maple syrup instead of sugar and the high fiber/ protein ingredients included, make these a healthier alternative that just so happen to be Naughty enough to strike my fancy. Serve these warm (or lightly toasted if having them the next day for breakfast) with a spat of vegan butter and you have a satisfying treat that was super easy to make.

Bake and Enjoy My Delicious 'High Fiber & Protein Trail Mix Muffins'

Makes 12 muffins.

1 cup flour (of your choice)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 trail mix
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 apples, grated
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven 350 degrees and grease or paper line your muffin pan. Combine wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl. Scoop even amounts into cups. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until clean when pricked. Enjoy!