Reviews & Recipes (February 25th)

One of my resolutions this year was to cook more, specifically learn to cook vegan dishes. So I've been busy doing a lot of that lately. I also have some Lightlife products to review as well. So let's get started!

I started off by making the quiche that we had at the Lightlife event a few weeks ago, using the recipe they gave us at the event and Lightlife's Gimme Lean Sausage (which they sent me to try).

My mom and I followed the recipe exactly, but it came out a little too mushy and not solid enough, so we'll have to revise it next time. The sausage was really good however and gave the quiche a nice, flavorful taste.

The other Lightlife product I tried was their original Smart Ground crumbles (which they also sent, thanks Lightlife!).

I used this to make tacos...

In the past I had used the frozen crumbles that other brands make, but I thought this was a nice change. The Smart Ground seemed fresher than the frozen kind and tasted better. I just mixed it in with regular taco seasoning and I swear there was NO difference (this is the perfect product to "trick" your husband or boyfriend with! lol They'll never know it's not meat).

Peanut has some "product reviews" too! :) He apparently loves Newman's Own pineapple salsa! (Which is probably not good for cats, but as you can see, I let him have a taste!)

There are very few "people foods" that Peanut likes. But anything with spices or peaches he goes crazy for! Speaking of peaches, for old time sake, he still loves his Mott's peach medley apple sauce too!

(Note how I even let him eat things on my bed! I am a bad mother-- clearly. lol)

Now on to the recipes... I printed out some vegetarian recipes from EatingWell. And here's how they came out...

The first thing I tried was the Portobello "Philly Cheese Steak" Sandwich (you can see the recipe here).

This was really good and I can't wait to make it again! Although next time I won't be adding red pepper just because I'm not really a fan. And the recipe is vegan if you use vegetable broth or stock (which I did). I did use organic provolone cheese (just a bit) to melt on top like the recipe said though, but it's easy to omit if you want.

The next EatingWell recipe I tried was their Bean "Bolognese" (you can see the recipe here).

This recipe is also completely vegan if you don't put parmesan cheese on top (which I did, again an organic and rennet-less kind). This was SOOOO good. And this is an INCREDIBLY healthy dinner because you get your protein with the beans, not to mention all the veggies! Can't wait to make this one again too!

And the last recipe I tried is courtesy of Mama Pea, and that is her Italian Wedding Soup. I modified the version a bit like my fellow blogger, Gabriela did (and you can see her version here).

Basically the only difference was, Gabriela and I used Trader Joe's meatless meatballs (a favorite of mine!) instead of making our own like Mama Pea. This came out great, and I was really impressed! (The picture didn't come out that great though, but you can see how it looks and all the cooking instructions on their blogs.)

I have not given up dairy completely yet (as evidenced by the cheese I throw on top of things!) and I couldn't help but get a frozen yogurt on one of our few warmer days we had a week or two ago at Red Mango (I went to the one here in Astoria on Steinway St.).

I got my usual, a medium original with granola and strawberries.

All this food is finger lickin' good...

Or maybe Peanut just decided to clean himself instead!

If Peanut could talk he'd say, "Mom, stop embarrassing me!!!" So that's all for now!

Also, thank you for the birthday wishes on the last post! I appreciate them!