Vegan Thanksgiving-What We Made 2017

We didn't host Thanksgiving this year but we still made a lot of food for the day.

 It started earlier in the week when I began making the stuffing. I've been using Pioneer Woman's Thanksgiving Dressing/Stuffing  recipe for the last few years.(this year I cut it down to about 2/3).  It combines corn bread and sourdough bread (and I added some multigrain Ezezkial to the mix).  I made this Fat Free Cornbread from Happy Herbivore.

On Thanksgiving morning I mixed up the stale bread cubes with celery, onion, apple, spices, vegetable broth and some veggie sausage.

 We got two pans from the recipe, one to take and one to leave at home. We baked it right before we left.

I also made a green salad with lots of chopped veggies and homemade Better Than Bottled Balsamic Vinaigrette from Oh She Glows.

 The salad had mixed greens, spinach, cucumbers, red bell peppers, shredded carrots, green & red onions and dried cranberries (I added them later).

We weren't sure there would be any appetizers we could eat so my oldest whipped up some hummus from Ina Garten and I cut up some more veggies for dipping.

 Mr. Click is always in charge of the mashed potatoes.  He "only" made 20 pounds this year.  He always makes a smaller batch of vegan mashed potatoes (mashed with vegan butter and almond milk) for us.

We got our potatoes at Costco and they were huge, making them easier to peel.

 I made a double batch of I Can't Believe It's Vegan Gravy.  It's such a good one!

Here's my plate from dinner.  My mother in law made a lot of roasted veggies that were so good.

 For dessert I tried something new this year, I made Vegan Peanut Butter Cup Pie from Minimalist Baker but I made the recipe into mini individual pies.  They were made ahead and frozen. Recipe coming soon.

The day after Thanksgiving we had leftovers and I added some corn, asparagus and puffed pastry garlic bread.

What did you have for Thanksgiving?
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{Recipe} Easy & Healthy Minestrone-Vegan & Oil Free

Here's the perfect soup to warm you up on a cold night, it's hearty and delicious!

Ingredients:

3 carrots, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes

1/2 cabbage, shredded

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp rosemary

1 TBS Italian seasoning

1/2-1 tsp vegetable bouillon paste

10 oz frozen corn

10 oz frozen peas

1 can chick peas

1 -1/2 cup small shell pasta (dry)

2 cups water

salt & pepper to taste

To make:

• Heat some water in a large soup pot, add carrots, celery and garlic. Sauté about 5 minutes, stirring to make sure it doesn't stick.
• Add spices (rosemary, Italian seasoning, pepper).
• Add tomatoes (diced and crushed) and water.
• Cover and bring to a boil, add bouillon paste. reduce heat and cook 20 minutes
• Add chickpeas, corn and peas. Bring to boil and add pasta & cabbage.
• Stir to combine, let cook uncovered about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 10 minutes. 
• Season to taste.

Enjoy!

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Early Christmas Decor Shopping

Can you believe it's Thanksgiving Eve already?  I have to admit as much as I love Thanksgiving, I'm ready to get into all things Christmas.  It started with some early holiday purchases and has turned into full scale Christmas decorating around the house.

 My first pre-holiday purchases were from Cost Plus World Market. I had some reward dollars that were about to expire and used them on this cozy throw, alpine cabin and some holiday blend coffee.

 I also saw this amazing giant marshmallow sheet but I didn't buy it.

 After that the floodgates kind of opened and I couldn't resist the buffalo checked accessories at the Target Dollar Spot.

 Speaking of my buffalo check obsession, I found this handsome buck at Michael's and knew we were meant to be!

It was worried that he'd be hard to put together but it was actually a fun project for me!  Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! See you back here next week!

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[Recipe} Restaurant Style Salsa in a Flash

This recipe has been a game changer for us.  I made it for Miss High School's 18th birthday party and it was such a big hit, that I've made it weekly ever since.  It comes together so quickly with things I usually have on hand.  It's very flexible and forgiving, if you don't have a fresh lime, you can use bottled lime (or lemon like I did here) juice.

I usually use the tamed sliced jalapeños in a jar for this recipe but on this particular day I had a fresh jalapeño.   I use a BIG handful of cilantro. I like extra garlic too.

 Ingredients:

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1/4 onion, chopped

2-4 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 fresh jalapeño, seeded (4-6 sliced from jar)

handful cilantro (depending on how much you like)

juice of 1 lime (can sub bottled)

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

 This is the size of the handful of cilantro that I like to use.

 Add all ingredients to a food processor.

 Pulse a few times until combined and chunky. Don't over process.

 I like to store ours in a Mason jar.

It will keep in the fridge for about 5 days (if it lasts that long!).

Delish!

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