Renny's Double Dutch Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (vegan)

If you're in the mood for something sweet and delicious, try my cookies! So good it makes you feel like you're doing something bad!

Ingredients:

(dry)

-3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
-1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-1 package of dark chocolate chips (vegan)

(wet)

-1 cup vegetable shortening
-1 cup dark brown sugar (lightly packed)
-1/2 cup coconut sugar
-1/2 cup natural peanut butter
-2 tbspns ground flax seed mixed with 6 tbspns water (mix together and set aside)
-1 tspn vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips.  Set aside.

In another smaller bowl, cream the shortening with all the sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Get your hands in the and use your hands! Kneed the dough until its smooth.  Kneed in the chocolate chips.

Line cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper.  Grab chunks of dough and form into a generous cookie shape.  6 cookies per tray.  Bake for 13 mins. Let cool for 10 mins and then enjoy with your favorite plant milk.  ❤

Ren-bucks Blended "Coffee" Energy Drink

If you miss those blended coffee drinks from that one coffee place ;) Then you will enjoy this!

This is a fat free, raw vegan, high carb drink. It is excellent for an energy boost!

Ingredients:

-10 Medjool Dates
-1 tsp Coffee Extract
-1 tsp Carmel Syrup, or caramel flavored stevia drops
-Raw Cacao Powder
-cold water

Instructions:

Remove any pits from the dates and place in a blender with all ingredients except for water. Full the blender pitch only 1/4 with cold water and blend for a minute or two. Add more cold water all the way to the top line of the blender and blend for another minute. Pour this mixture over ice or to make it blended, pour this mixture into a pitcher. Add ice to your blender, pour the drink mixture 3/4 of the way up the ice. Blend for until smooth. Enjoy!

Tofu Fettuccine Alfredo

Tofu Fettuccine Alfredo with Homemade Garlic Bread.

Ok folks!  Here's the thing.  I love Fettuccine Alfredo!  Since becoming a vegan almost a year ago, I thought I would never experience this guilty comfort food ever again.  Boy was I wrong.  One day I was eating my delicious and creamy Sweet Potato Soup when I had an epiphany!  And thus the following recipe was born.  Please enjoy!





Ingredients:

1 block firm tofu, drained and cut into small squares
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cans coconut milk
1 cup vegetable broth
1 carton mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 cup Earth Balance Vegan Butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached

2 lbs any dried vegan fettuccine noodles
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oil
1 lime

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Make sure it is well salted and add some olive oil to the water.  While you are bringing the water to a boil, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet.   In a bag or container with a lid, place the cornstarch and tofu in and mix it up until all the pieces are evenly coated.  Start cooking the tofu in the skillet until golden brown.  Set the aside the cooked tofu into a separate bowl.  Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until al dente or to your liking.  Meanwhile, bring the other tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat and sautee the onions.  Once they are glassy and soft, put them in the bowl with the tofu and cook the mushrooms.  In another large and deep skillet, place the butter to melt over medium heat.  Once melted, whisk in the flour.  It will clump together and start a roux.  Pour in both cans of coconut milk, the vegetable stock and whisk until smooth.  Next add in the garlic salt, nutritional yeast, onion powder and vegetable bullion whisk it all together.  Once the Alfredo sauce starts to come to a boil, turn the heat down to low.  Squeeze the juice of the lime into the sauce and whisk.  Next add in all the onion, tofu and mushrooms.  Drain the noodles once they are finished.  To plate, gather a bed on noodles on the plate and spoon some of the alfredo sauce over the top.  Serve right away with some crusty bread!  This reheated very well and makes a lot of leftovers which is perfect for my family of four.  <3  Love and Light my hungry friends!

Vegan Jalapeno Zucchini Bread

I made this recipe for my husband.  He loves spicy food and he loves my bread so I married the two together!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/2 cup liquid from the jalapeno jar
1/2 cup your favorite oil.  I like coconut oil. 
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
4-5 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
2-4 tablespoons jarred jalapenos, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease and flour 2 bread loaf pans.  (this may look like you could make one large loaf, but it won't cook all the way through if you don't make the two smaller loaves.)  In one smaller bowl, mix your wet ingredients together.  In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together.  Pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix well.  Pour into the pans.  Bake for 50-55 minutes.  Insert a toothpick in the center of each loaf.  If it's done, the toothpick will come out clean.  Allow the loaves to cool for at least 15 minutes before digging in.  I highly recommend smearing some vegan cream cheese on a warm slice of this bread!  Enjoy!

Vegan Sweet Potato Soup

Spinkle a little more parsley on top.

I wasn't always vegan.  Once upon a time, I used to love clam chowder and the comforting feeling I got from the creamy soup when it was chilly outside.  Here is a cruelty-free version of a chowder that is a great comfort food!  Perfect for chilly fall weather. ~ Renny

Ingredients:

6 cups of vegetable broth/stock
2 cans coconut milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 medium bell peppers, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold water


Directions:

Pour the 1 cup of cold water into a small bowl with the cornstarch and whisk it together.  Throw everything into a large crockpot or Soup pot and allow to simmer, on low, until potatoes and carrots are fork tender.  A crockpot on low would take 2 hours - on high 1 hour.  On the stove 45 mins to 1 hour of simmering.  Stir occasionally and make sure it is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. 

Serve in a vegan bread bowl for an extra special treat.  This makes at least 15+ servings which is great for left overs.  You can freeze this in containers and it reheats well on the stove.

Vegan Tamale Pie with Pico de Gallo

Hi again!  I've been vegan now since the beginning of January and I feel better both mental and physically, not to mention emotionally.  Eating fresh food is simply better for you.  If you are looking to replace some of your weekly dinners with a healthy alternative, consider this dish.  You won't believe it doesn't have meat in it!

First off, this is cooked in a crockpot.  I'm sure you could modify this recipe for the oven. Set Crockpot to HIGH.

Pico de Gallo

-1 small onion
-1 large tomato
-2 jalapenos, remove seeds
-1/2 red onion
-1 green onion
-cilantro roughly chopped
-1/2 lemon
-1/4 tspn Garlic Salt
Finely chop everything.  Remove the tomato goo and seeds and discard or use for something else.  Mix it all in a bowl. Squirt the lemon juice and add the garlic salt and mix again.  Serve chilled or room temp.  its goo either way!  Easily double this recipe and eat on tortilla chips.

Vegan Tamale Pie

First to make the masa:

-2 Cups Instant Masa Harina
-1 tspn Baking Powder
-1/4 tspn Salt
-2 Cups Vegetable Stock
-1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Slowly mix all of these ingredients together until it has a peanut butter like consistency. Cover with plastic wrap and set it aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

-2 Tbspn Olive Oil
- 2 lbs equivalent of vegan ground meat substitute aka "smeat"
-1 Cup Vegetable Stock
-1 Onion, finely chopped
-3 cloves Garlic, minced
-1 can diced tomatoes, texmex style or mexican style
-1 can corn, drained
-1 can black beans, drained
-1 tspn Taco Seasoning
-2 tbspn cornstarch
-1 small can green chilis
- a generous pinch of crushed red pepper flakes if you want it spicier

1. Sautee the onions and garlic until softened.
2. Add the smeat and spices.  Heat through for a few minutes. 
3. Add the corn, beans, diced tomatoes and green chilis.
4. Pour the filling into the crockpot.  Whisk together the cornstarch and stock, pour it into the crockpot and give it a little stir.
5.  Take spoonfuls of masa and drop them on top of the filling. 
6. Let cook for 3 hours.
7. Serve with a couple spoons of pico de gallo over it.

Vegan Mexican Casserole

Ooey gooey hot from the oven!

Here's an easy and delicious casserole to make!  It makes a lot of food and is pretty economical too!

Ingredients:

- a bag of organic tortilla chips, crushed
-2 cans vegetarian refried beans (warmed in the microwave for easy spreading)
-1 can of chopped green chiles
- 1 small can of sliced black olives
-1 lb. ground meat substitute
-1 packet of taco seasoning
-1 container of vegan sour cream
-homemade salsa (see my Dragon breath salsa recipe!) or your favorite store bought salsa
-homemade guacamole
-1 package of shredded Daiya cheese (cheddar)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350F degrees.  In a 13x 9 inch dish, spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place crushed tortilla chips in a layer on the bottom.  Mix in the taco seasoning with your cooked ground meat substitute according to package directions.  Spread vegetarian refried beans in a layer over the chips.  Spread the taco meat mixture over the beans.  Spread some green chile over the meat substitute.  Spread a layer of salsa over the chiles.  Dallop some vegan sour cream and guacamole in the next layer.  Sprinkle the sliced olives over the vegan sour cream and guacamole.  Last but not least, spread the Daiya cheese over the top.  Bake for 30 mins at 350F degrees.  After you remove it from the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes so the layers can set.  Serve with more salsa, guacamole and vegan sour cream on the side. 

This recipe does make a lot, as I warned, but you could easily freeze single serving portions for later!  I hope you enjoy this one!  I know I did!