#45 Galentine's Day Salad

I'm always making my version of salads I've had in restaurants. This one came from PizzaSalad in Thousand Oaks. It's called the Lithari: Fresh spring mix, sweet bell peppers (roasted and fresh), fresh mushrooms, hearts of palm, tossed in Goddess dressing, topped with walnuts.

Life has been busy lately and hearts of palm were as festive as I could manage. <3

#44 Chili Dogs

The main ingredients

My simple dog

Sean's fancy dog

This is the perfect lunch for a cold, cloudy day! I used Field Roast Frankfurters, Hormel Vegetarian Chili, Daiya Cheddar and a bunch of veggies from our fridge and garden.

I think I love these frankfurters for all the wrong reasons. I love that they are strung together, wrapped in a casing. It makes me think of Lady and the Tramp. The hot dogs themselves are a bit too salty for my liking. The saltiness of the dogs and the saltiness of the chili were a little overwhelming. In the future, I won't use these for chili dogs. They do have a great flavor but I think they'd pair better in another dish.

Sean smeared his bun with vegenaise and mustard then topped his with a tiny bit of chili and piled on onions, avocado, two kinds of chili peppers, sour cream and paprika. His definitely looks prettier than mine with all those toppings but I like mine plain :)

#43 Raw tomato bread & Hemp hummus

I picked up an amazing 4# bag of organic tomatoes from my local farmer's market. They tasted homegrown and were a steal compared to buying them at the grocery store. I used half of them to make raw tomato bread in my dehydrator. I made hemp hummus to go with the bread. The recipes are from one of my favorite blogs, Choosing Raw. I made open face sandwiches out of the bread with the hummus, cucumbers, more tomatoes, and some spinach. I usually use sprouts and avocado but I didn't have any on hand.

#41 Chinese Food

This meal is what happens when you shop while hungry. I'm embarrassed to say that every thing you see came from the freezer section of Trader Joe's (except for the yummy l gyoza dipping sauce I made). We had: brown rice, Gardein mandarin orange chicken, vegetable gyozas & egg rolls (no egg ;) and the Asian vegetables that Lynz shared previously. It was quick and satisfying! I loved having a little bit of everything :)

#42 Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

This is the only meatloaf I've ever liked.

I really love this recipe. It comes together nicely and it tastes so good. I got this recipe from another blog, ChowVegan. I love the ketchup on top and it's chewy texture. Click here for the recipe and a far better picture!

I made some mashed potatoes with 3 russets boiled in vegetable broth. I mashed them with Earth Balance and a little soy milk. I added salt and pepper to taste.

Sean made the salad. He used all the the veggies we had in the fridge! Carrots, tomato, sprouts, onion...

#40 Simple Sandwich

It's not fancy but oh so good!

Sometimes the best things are simplest. This bagel sandwich is filling and delicious.
Smear one side of a toasted bagel with vegan cream cheese (My favorite is Follow Your Heart) and the other side with mashed avocado. Layer lettuce or sprouts, tomato, a slice of deli meat and onion if you like it. I'm not a fan of raw onion so I left it out.

Yum! Prep time is 10 min or less! EASY!!!

#39 Amazing Mac & Cheese

So delicious!

This is the best mac and cheese, ever.

The recipe is from VegNews, one of my favorite magazines.  This is another recipe that I double but I also make extra of the cheese sauce. This time I did a triple batch.  Everybody loves it and wants to eat it on everything!  I used gluten free brown rice noodles from Trader Joe's and sourdough bread for the breadcrumbs.  I serve it with steamed broccoli and extra cheese sauce drizzled on top.

Ready to blend!

Potatoes, carrots, shallots, onion, and water

Ryan makes me call him over to watch when I blend the veggies into cheese.  He seriously thinks its magic.

Viola!

Here's the link to the recipe, go make it!
The Best Mac and Cheese Recipe