Monday, May 21, 2012

Meatless Monday!

Happy Meatless Monday!!
Today I am going to share with you my vegan version of *Hamburger Helper*!
One day I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner, and his repsonse was, "Can you veganize Hamburger Helper?"
I thought, "Why not?"
So began my research!
I hadn't eaten this dish in Y.E.A.R.S.!!!!  So I went to the food store to try and get a feel for what was in it.  Well, reading the ingredients on the package made me glad I didn't eat this boxed meal anymore.  Basically it was noodles, cheese, a sauce, and ground beef.
Then I starting search online to see if anyone had a homemade version of the dish, and there were many!

Well, here is the veganized version that I created from all the data I collected!!  It has a bit of a Tex-Mex flair.
Look at that cheese-y goodness, without a drop of cheese!




2 Vegan Sausages, pulsed in the food processor until the crumbles form.
1 pound elbow macaroni, or pasta of your choice, cooked according to package directions and drained.
2T Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Sweet Pepper, chopped
1 1/2C Mushrooms, chopped
1 cup corn (frozen or canned)
2 cups cashew cream (to make this I blended 1 1/4C vegetable broth with 1 C of raw cashews until it was smooth.)
1 - 14oz can Tomato Sauce
1 1/2C Daiya Cheddar or MontereyJack Style shreds
1/2C Tofutti Cream Cheese
1t dried basil
1t dried oregano
1t chili powder
1t garlic powder
1t salt
1/2t black pepper




Heat oil in a large saute pan.  Add onion, sweet pepper and mushrooms.  Saute until onions are translucent.
Add the herbs and spices.
Saute for 2-3 mins.
Add the tomato sauce and corn, heat thru.
Stir in the sausage crumbles and the tofutti cream cheese.
Then add in the noodles.
Turn the heat down low, stir in the cashew cream and Daiya shreds.
Keep stirring until all the cheese is melted and the ingredients are evenly mixed together.
Serve with a salad & ENJOY!!


Just a few notes:
* if you do not want to make cashew cream, you can use any non-dairy milk, but I would suggest adding 3T of flour to it and adding it to the recipe when the tomato sauce is added, so it can thicken a bit.
*i make my own vegan sausages.  they are easy-peasy, so if you want to make them google a recipe, make a batch and keep them in the freezer.  you can also use veggie patties ground up, or veggie crumbles.



Sunday, May 13, 2012

Come check out the Button Swap!

Happy Mother's Day!
Today is the reveal for a Button Swap, that I joined.  Thank you, Cindy Wimmer, for putting this great swap together!
I had so many ideas for this swap that I had a hard time deciding what to do and what buttons to use.
I finally decided on a journal cover, since I am still having a blast making them.
I have been making journal pages and mixed media canvases with She Art girls on them, and today I finally recreated one into a quilted piece.

Then I came across this verse from Proverbs 31:13, "She works with her hands in delight", and thought it would be the perfect addition to this piece.  At first when I read this verse it made me think of how happy I am when I am creating with my hands, and how grateful I am to be able to do that.  Then i realized that I need to work in delight even when I am doing things like the dishes (UGH) or mopping the floor or cooking dinner when I don't feel like it!
The buttons I used were all vintage buttons from my collection, and I glued them on since some of them didn't have a shank on the back anymore.
I love her burlap boot socks with those funky floral boots, and ruffled skirt.
The birds were added by drawing on the fabric with the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II pencils, then adding water.  I have used these pencils many times before on fabric and this is the first time it ran, but it turned into one of those happy mistakes.  I also used those pencils for a bit of color in the sky and on the ground.
Be sure the check out all the blogs below to see what other artists have created with their buttons!  The complete list is below:
 Kim Roberts and Partner unable to participate at this time.
Pam Ferarri and Stefanie Teufel (will share their reveal on a later date)
Stefanie Teufel and Pam Ferarri (will share their reveal on a later date)

Saturday, May 5, 2012

The Art of Wild Abandonment Blog Hop

A few months ago I signed up for an online course called, "The Art of Wild Abandonment".
I think it has been one of my favorite online course yet!  It is taught by Junelle Jacobsen, from the Yes & Amen blog, and Christie Tomlinson.
Today the students of this e-course are doing a blog hop.  So come along and see what wonderful creations, so many awesome artists have made.
You can start the blog hop on Claire's blog.  Claire organized this whole blog hop.  Thank you Claire!
Or you can go to Gina's blog, who is ahead of me on the list.
Or you can go to Rebekah's blog, who is after me on the list.
I have loved every minute of this class.  Junelle is so much fun and I have learned some new techniques.
Here is one of my favorite art journal pages from the course.....
This is probably one of my favorite pages because of the dogs.  Dog rescue is one of my passions.
A close up of the dress......

I love mixing many different textures and mediums.
Thanks for stopping by!!  Be sure and check out the rest of the blogs on the hop!
Have and fun and creative weekend!

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