Quick and Easy Taco Bell Jalapeno Sauce Recipe - Great for Taco Night!

I mean who doesn't love Taco Bell at 3 AM? My favorite item... Quesadillas! I think the reason I like them so much is because of the spicy Jalapeno Sauce they put on it. I knew I had to figure out the receipe...

Jalapeno Sauce - Inspired by Taco Bell

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
4 Tsp Minced Jalapenos (Jared)
4 Tsp Jalapeno Juice (from the Jar)
1 1/2 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Cumin
1 Tsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
Dash of Salt

Mix it all together and refrigerate for at least an hour. Oh and you could also add some garlic powder to the recipe, I'd say 1/8-1/4 teaspoon, but no more because it will over power the sauce. The sauce will last up to a month, but don't worry you'll probably eat it all before then ;)

Deliciously Easy Roasted Vegetable Recipe

As I mentioned before, I love vegetables. One my favorite girlfriends gave me this amazing roasted veggie recipe. YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!

You can choose any vegetables you like. I usually eat...

1 Red Pepper

1 Yellow Pepper

1 Purple Onion

1 Large Zucchini or 2 Small Zucchinis

3 Large Potatoes or 6 Small Potatoes

(feel free to add Asparagus, Tomatoes, Mushrooms, Brussels Sprouts, or even Turkey Sausage)

Cut up veggies and put into glass pyrex. Drizzle with olive oil, a splash of vinegar, salt, pepper, a sprinkle of sugar. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes at 425 F. When you remove from the oven sprinkle with herbs of your choice. I would recommend rosemary, thyme, and red pepper flakes.

YUM

How to Make Cold Vegetable Pizza - Perfect, Easy Veggie Appetizer Recipe for Parties!

Vegetables are the best! I actually prefer them to fruit, which is probably why I love my mom's Vegetable Pizza Recipe. It tastes fresh, creamy, and cool. 

This recipe is extremely easy to make, but does take some prep time. When you make it, I would recommend placing each veggie within each square, as opposed to just throwing the vegetables all over the pizza. It just gives a nicer presentation. 

YUM!

Vegetable Pizza Recipe

What you'll need...

2 Cans (8 oz each) Crescent Dinner Roll Cans

1 Package (8 oz) Cream Cheese, Softened

1/2 Cup Sour Cream

Dried Dill

1/2 Cup Broccoli

1/2 Cup Cauliflower

1/3 Cup Cucumber  

1/2 Cup Chopped Tomatoes

1/3 Cup Green, Red, and/or Yellow Peppers

1/4 Cup of Chives

(Obviously you can switch up to the veggies, depending on what you like. You could add anything! Carrots, Olives, etc.)

Start by heating your oven to 375 F. Open the crescent rolls, unroll, and press into the bottom of an ungreased 15x10 pan. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Now get to chopping those veggies and place to the side. Next mix cream cheese and sour cream. Spread this mixture over the cooled crust. Now (in my opinion) it's important to cut your pieces. I recommend 4 rows by 8 columns. Then sprinkle generously with dill. Lastly, add your veggies. I usually start with 1 type (i.e. broccoli) and put a piece on each square, then move onto the next vegetable. This gives it a nice neat and clean look (as seen above). 

Unfortunately this doesn't store very well, because the crust gets soggy, so it's best served immediately. 

Hope you love it as much as me!!

-Xtina

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My Favorite Veggie Pickling Recipe - You Can Even Pickle Peaches!

When my girlfriend ask me if I wanted to try pickling with her I jumped at the chance. Who doesn't love pickles? So we hopped in the car, headed to Whole Foods, and wandered around the produce section asking ourselves what we should pickle. 

While discussing our pickling we met a very interesting man who told us that he pickled all the time. He suggested we try beets, brussel sprouts, and peaches... Yes peaches.

The recipe we had was very simple. The most time consuming part was cutting all the veggies. The great thing about it is that you can pickle just about anything!

This recipe takes about 40 minutes to prep and is best if you let it refrigerate over night. 

Makes about 2 quarts 

FOR THE BRINE:

10 Cloves Garlic, Peeled

2 Cups White Vinegar

6 Tsp Kosher Salt

Several Sprigs of Fresh Dill

1 Tsp Celery Seed

1 Tsp Coriander Seed

1 Tsp Mustard Seed

1/2 Tsp Black Peppercorns

1/2 Tsp Pink Peppercorns (if you have them)

FOR THE VEGGIES: 

Anything you like! Here we did...

Cauliflower

Asparagus

Pickle Cucumbers

Carrots

Beets

Brussel Sprouts (forewarning - if you use them, cook them a little bit beforehand so that they are soft)

and a separate jar of Peaches

You can also add Red Hot Chiles or Jalapenos to make it spicy!

Veggies

Spices

In a medium saucepan bring 4 cups of water to a boil, reduce heat so water simmers and add garlic. Cook for 5 minutes. Add vinegar and salt, raise the heat and bring to a boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat.

In 2 clear 1-quart jars, place a few sprigs of dill (we ended up tripling the recipe). Divide the seeds and peppercorns between the jars. Using tons, remove the garlic from the brine and place 5 cloves in each jar.

Mixing it all up

Pack the jars full of vegetables. You want each jar to be tightly stuffed.

YUM

Peaches and veggies, before we poured in the brine

Bring the brine back to a boil, pour it over the vegetables to cover completely, let cool, then cover and refrigerate. The pickles will taste good after a a couple hours, but will taste better after a couple of days. These will keep for about 3 months.

After pouring in the brine, the beets started turning the water bright PINK

Now we wait...

If you've never had pickled peaches, try it, they're surprisingly good!

I can't wait to dig in!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with a Maple Cream Cheese Filling Recipe

I love anything pumpkin. So I'm always excited to try new pumpkin recipes. When I came across this recipe I couldn't wait to cook a pumpkin and get started. Forewarning, these are HIGHLY addictive. They also take a while too cook and assemble, so be prepared. 

YUM

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIES WITH MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FILLILNG

Makes about 4 dozen assembled whoopie pies (will vary depending on size)

Ingredients For the Whoopie Pies:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Whoopie Pies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

Cut baking pumpkin in half. Fill a 13x9 glass pan with ½ inch of water and place pumpkin halves face down. Cook for 45 minutes. Once cooked, scoop out the meat of the pumpkin, should make about 3 cups.

In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, the dark brown sugar, and the oil together. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a small cookie scoop or a large spoon to drop a rounded, heaping tablespoon of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, making sure that the cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cookie comes out clean. The cookies should be firm when touched. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.

Ingredients For the Maple-Cream Cheese Filling:
3 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Filling:

To make the filling, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth with no visible lumps, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth and combined, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until smooth.

To assemble the whoopie pies: Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down. Pipe or spoon the filling (about a tablespoon) onto that half. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spread to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm before serving.

Prepping the Pumpkin

Cooked Squash

Assembled Whoopie Pies

Love trying different Pumpkin Pie Recipes!

Vegan Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters with a Spicy Cream Sage Sauce Recipe

I love trying new recipes. So when my Vegan BFF said she wanted to have a vegan food party I was excited to try something different. I decided on Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters with a Spicy Cream Sage Sauce. they were amazing and people couldn't believe they were completely vegan! The combination of sage and jalapeno in the sauce was addicting as it was cool and hot at the same time. I think next time I'm going to make them as mini-sliders.

They were the hit of the party!

Pumpkin Chickpea Fritters Source
vegan, makes 6-7 small round fritters
Takes 60-90 Minutes

1 Can Chickpeas, drained
1/2 Cup Organic Pumpkin Puree (canned)
1/4 Cup Hemp Seeds
1 Tsp Garlic Granules
2 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
a few dashes of Pepper, Cayenne and Salt to taste

optional: 1-2 Tsp Flour to assist in binding if needed
1 Cup Panko bread crumbs for coating
1/4 - 1/2 Cup Safflower Oil for frying

Substitutions Note: if you'd like you can change up the pumpkin for butternut or acorn squash. Even sweet potato will work for a slightly different flavor. You can also change up the bean. Cannellini of even nutty lentils will work nicely.

If you don't have hemp seeds - you can sub with other seeds like sunflower. But those buttery hemp seeds are lovely!

*baking note: you could also bake these little cakes instead of fry them if you'd prefer! Bake on parchment paper or a lightly greased baking sheet at about 350 degrees for about 20 minutes - or until toasty. BUT the panko bread crumbs are really made for a light fry. So if you can't fry - perhaps use a finer, moister bread crumb.

To Make:
Add the chickpeas and pumpkin to a large mixing bowl. With a large fork or potato masher, mash the beans until at least 75% of them have been mashed together with the pumpkin. Add in the spices, apple cider, hemp seeds and optional flour. Fold together until a moist mixture forms.

Preheat a few tablespoons of safflower oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, for the mixture into golf ball sized balls and roll in your panko crumbs until well covered - pat down into flatter cakes and place in the hot oil - carefully. Continue until the pan is full - leave about an inch space between each cake for easier flipping. Cook on each side only about 1-2 minutes - or until toasty brown. Try not to burn, although a bit of crisping is nice.

Transfer cooked fritters to a paper towel to cool. Serve in about 5 minutes after cooling a bit. Store in the fridge and reheat in the oven if desired. You can freeze as well. However, these fritters are best hot off the skillet!

Sage Cream Sauce of the side (super easy)

I blend up 4 Fresh Sage Leaves with 1 Cup Silken Tofu, 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice, 1 Heaping Spoonful of Vegan Mayo and a Pinch of Fresh Parsley. For a spicy sage sauce I add in either Cayenne or a Tbsp of Chopped Jalapeno.