Vegan Lettuce Wraps

I was really craving lettuce wraps. I decided to use tempeh because I wanted them to resemble red meat as much as possible. I love the meaty texture tempeh offers! The marinate ended up making the tempeh so moist providing lots of flavor with each bite! So delicious! This is something I would totally serve as an appetizer at a party. But we enjoyed them as dinner. The girls did not give me a hard time about eating them which is a huge plus. I'm always beaming with happiness whenever I see them eating a meal with ginger because ginger is such an immune booster. We served this with broccoli.

Vegan Lettuce Wraps

1/2 Cup Shoyu (or whatever soy sauce you got) 

2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoon Minced Ginger

4 Tablespoon Water

1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

1/2 Orange

1 Package of Tempeh (8 ounces)

1 Diced Red Bell Pepper

2 Peeled and Diced Carrots

2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil 

Lettuce

Sesame Seeds

Diced Green Onion

1. Whisk shoyu, ginger, water, maple syrup, and juice from the orange in an 8x8 inch dish. Finely dice the tempeh and add it to your sauce. Toss to coat, cover and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

2. At medium high heat add sesame oil, tempeh with the sauce, carrots and bell peppers. Cover and let simmer for ten minutes. Flip over and let it simmer for ten more minutes. Remove lid and allow it to brown stirring occasionally. 

3. Let it cool a bit. Fill one leaf of lettuce with about 1/2 cup of tempeh (or less! Depending on the size of your lettuce leaf). Top with sesame seeds and green onion. 

These were so juicy! Totally didn't taste like tempeh. I went a little overboard with the sesame seeds here, but they are actually really good for you, so eat up! 

Alright guys, here is a picture of my 6 week old. She always looks slightly terrified. This is because she has two sisters that are constantly talking baby talk to her, kissing her, starring at her right up against her face and sticking stickers on her. 

Back in the day, I used to make my posts in the evening after the girls went to bed, but our new baby doesn't believe in going to bed before 11:30. Our bed time is 10:00. Way to make us feel old by wanting to stay up later than us. 

Cheesy Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip

This Cheesey, Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip

is from the Kind Life and

is one of my favorite things to make

when Daniel and I are going to have a date night in,

or if we want a yummy snack food around the house.

It's pretty basic to make.

If I have left-over beans in the fridge 

I'll use those. If not, I grab a can of beans,

my least favorite way to go. But still yummy!

Cheesy Oozy Guacamole Bean Dip

Spread beans on the bottom of an 8x8 in baking dish.

Monique can't wait to cook with us!

When that day comes, 

we are going to be crowded on my small counter! 

Mash avocados and mix with lime juice.

Spread evenly over the beans.

My cutie pie, climbing my leg 

and trying to get the camera. 

Mix taco seasonings with sour cream.

Spread over the avocados. 

Sprinkle sliced olives and diced tomatoes.

One of the main reasons Thérèse helps

me in the kitchen is so she can snack as she cooks!

Popping in a tomato. 

Sprinkle cheese on top. 

We used Daiya of course.

Bake and serve with tortilla chips!

Yum!

My hubby and I love munching on this!

My toddler doesn't so much because of all the spices. 

Fine by me! More for us!

Dips: When I dip you dip we dip

Dips, they are basically my favorite thing about a party. When I was in middle school I used to make a dip mixing sour cream, hot sauce and grated cheese. Yum. But that avenue of my life is over, and now I'm looking for a different brand of dips. 

These are all dips I'll mix up for home use 

so I can have a quick creamy and crunchy snack at my finger tips.
They are all loaded with protein and are good for you!  

The Pioneer Woman's Baba Ghanoush

Oh boy, this dip is gooood. Very creamy with a nice nutty taste to it. The flavors in here are delicious!

Spinach and White Bean Dip

I got this recipe from Real Simple Magazine and thought it was, well, bland. Sorry Real Simple. So I added 1 tablespoon more lemon and about 1/4 cup more dill. I would have added more dill if I had had some. Feel free to play with the ingredients as well. The reslut is a delicious way to eat your spinach!

White Bean Dip

I made this when we were at a family vacation in Sedona last fall. It was so good, my husband's friend cleaned out the bowl. Looking at this recipe, I'm realizing I totally didn't follow it. 

Here is what I made:

1 can rinsed cannelloni beans

1-2 tablespoons minced parsley

1 tablespoon lemon

salt to taste

Mash beans with a fork and mix in ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips. 

Emeril's Vegetarian Chili

I know chili isn't a dip, but I'm including it anyway because I serve it on top of a big bowl of tortilla chips. 

I've tried lots of different chili's and this is the best! So good, I never get tired of it. Daniel made it for his linguistics class last night and his Professor called him the "Vegetarian Chili King". Because this chili is loaded with so many chunky veggies, it's hard to notice it's missing meat. 

When I make this I eliminate the serrano peppers and go easy on the spices since our toddler feigns death anytime she eats anything remotely spicy. It's a great way to get kids to eat colorful veggies!

Daniel's friend from high school mentioned us in her blog! Check out her cute blog about newly married life. She posted some reef flip flops I told Daniel I'm getting this week. I'm trying to avoid leather, but recycled leather? Well, I can't pass that up.

Have a great weekend you all!