Happy Thanksgiving! Vegan Gobble Gobble Cupcakes

"Vegan Gobble Gobble Cupcakes"

Ingredients:

Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix. Bake as directed for cupcakes. You will substitute the three eggs with 1/3 cup apple sauce. 

Betty Crocker Chocolate Cupcake Icing

Betty Crocker White Cupcake Icing

Chocolate Sprinkles (otherwise known as jimmies)

Candy Corn *(I used the candy corn only for decoration. Candy Corn is not a vegan food. It was removed for vegan consumption.

I used silver foil baking cups in my cupcake pans. 

Directions:

Bake as directed. Cool cupcakes before decorating. My son the vegan came up with the great idea of using one chocolate sprinkle for the center of each turkey cupcake eyeball. 

Enjoy and Have FUN!!!!!!

BOO! Happy Halloween!!

ENJOY!!!!!

For Halloween this year,  I made my Son the Vegan Candy Corn Cupcakes! I simply used a box of Duncan Hines (Moist Deluxe, Devil's Food Cake Mix, 18.25oz). Substitute the three eggs with 1/3 cup apple sauce. I followed the directions on the box by using cupcake liners. After the cupcakes cooled, I decorated them with Betty Crocker Icing  in yellow, orange and white. They came out moist and scary good!!

Say Yes To Spiced Oatmeal Cookies YUM!!!!

I finally baked the best spiced oatmeal cookie in the world! Golden and crispy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside. These vegan cookies were a huge hit with my son. My hubby (not a vegan) even loved them. I cranked out 53 of these beauties two days ago and they are almost gone. Let's start with the ingredients. 

1 Cup Raisins

1Cup Water

1/2 Cup Softened Non-Dairy Butter

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

1-1/2 Cup Sugar

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/3 Cup Apple Sauce (This is the replacement for 2 eggs)

1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

2-1/2 Cups Flour

1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp. Sea Salt

2 Tsp. Cinnamon ( I have a heavy hand with the cinnamon)

1/4 Tsp. Nutmeg or Allspice

2 Cups Quick Cooking Oats

Parchment Paper to Line the Cookie Sheet

OK, Let's Start!

Preheat oven to 350F. Simmer the raisins and water in a saucepan on low until raisins look plump, around 20 minutes.

Drain liquid into a measuring cup to make 1/2 cup liquid. Add a little water if needed.

OK, Let's Mix!

Mix butter, oil & sugars in the electric mixer.

Add apple sauce and vanilla.

Stir in raisin liquid. 

Mix in the flour & spices to the sugar mixture.
Add the oats & raisins.

OK, Let's Bake!

Line cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

Drop spoonfuls onto the paper. ( I LOVE using my cookie scoop for this)

Bake until slightly golden brown.

Use a spatula to remove hot cookies and cool on rack.

Load up the cookie sheet again, bake, and cool.

OK, Let's Eat!

 

I ended up with 53 cookies!

What's For Lunch?

It's only September, and I am already running out of ideas for my son's school lunch! I started off strong, I really did. However, I find that I am resorting back to the same old peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I do realize how important and nutritious it is for a vegan to include nuts in the daily diet, so including peanut butter in your daily diet is very important as it packs a powerful protein punch! I would LOVE to receive comments and any ideas on this topic.

OK, so along with the old pb&j sandwich I have come up with these salads for school lunch as it is a portable option. Yummy and good for you too.

This salad is very quick to prepare at 6:30am on a school day morning. Simply microwave one Boca original chik'n meatless patty for 1 minute. While it cools, fill a portable container with baby spinach leaves, romaine lettuce, tomato and the chik'n patty cut up in bite size pieces. 

In this salad, I expanded and added some black beans. And don't forget the salad dressing! I make my own Russion salad dressing by simply mixing some ketchup and vegenaise. (Great mayo alternative)

ENJOY!!

My Watermelon Basket

Juicy, sweet watermelon. Who can resist? We love it, especially in the hot, hot, hot summers here in South Florida. My favorite way to enjoy eating this wonder melon is to serve it up in high style by carving and cutting the melon into a basket! Surprisingly, it is easy to do and makes a beautiful presentation. The best part is that it is delightful and delish! Everyone loves it. 


Choose your watermelon. The melon here is a smaller size, just right for my family. When I entertain, I carve out a much larger watermelon for a bigger crowd. 

Then, shave a slice off the underneath so the watermelon will stand without rolling. This makes for a solid base.

Cut two slices into the melon about half way down to form a handle.

Cut horizontally around the middle of the melon.

Hollow out the melon by using a melon ball scoop. Also carve around the handle with a knife.

 Then using a sharp knife, cut v's all around the melon.

Scoop out the rest of the melon.

 All done!

 

Enjoy!!!

Did you know that watermelon has a high water content which makes the melon one of the most refreshing fruits. For a more colorful melon basket, include honeydew and cantaloupe.

Quote

"Children come through you. Your child belongs to you and then they belong to the   world."    Oprah Winfrey

                                                                 

Back To School !

As usual, the summer flew by. Yesterday was  my son's first day back to school. The most exciting part is that my son is a senior in high school. That's right. He just turned 17 this past July. He also passed his annual physical with flying colors! Every year I have the doctor order a complete lab work up to make super sure his body is receiving and not lacking in vitamins, nutrients, proteins, and that all levels are within normal range. 

Happy and healthy is what this mom strives for around here. My child's physical and emotional well-being is my first priority. Always has been and always will be. We have a VERY busy school year ahead of us. My son has a "full plate" so to say coming up that includes school work, preparing for college auditions, college applications and having lots of fun being a senior. 

Then I realized how easy is was all summer preparing great food while he was around. Now we have to prepare great food to go! Lunches and snacks have to make it through the school day and beyond. And lets not forget to stock the fridge with healthy after school food for when late afternoon munchies hit! Great ideas in the next post.