I made these. They were awesome.
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And look!:
Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
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Can you believe it’s been a year already? WOW!
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Have a wonderful week! 
Tag Archives: Snacks
Rosemary and Cheese Bagel
23 Dec
Like I said, quick and easy this time of year.
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Rosemary and Cheese Bagel
Utensils:
A pair of scissors
An oven
A cake pan
Cooking spray
Aluminum foil
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Ingredients:
Dried rosemary leaves, to taste
4 slices American cheese
Nutritional Yeast to taste, not too much
Gouda to taste
Pecorino Romano to taste, not too much
(Did I add Italian Seasoning? Let’s just say I did.)
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Directions:
1. Preheat oven to Broil/HI if electric. If not, hopefully you can figure it out. Regular broilers are tricky. This would take far less time under one of those, and could easily burn, so be careful. You should also find another way to set these up instead of using a cake pan.
2. Line your cake pan with foil and spray it. Slice your bagel carefully, and place in pan. Then, place one slice of American cheese over each half.
3. Dice your Gouda. Set little piles on top of each bagel.
4. Sprinkle nutritional yeast, Pecorino Romano, and cut up rosemary leaves on Gouda.
5. Place one slice of American cheese over each bagel. Add Italian seasoning to top, sparingly.
6. Place in oven for about 5 minutes or less. Switch to LOW when needed. This only took about 5 minutes to cook when I did it.
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Enjoy!
Celebration Roast
23 Dec
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently was lucky enough to catch this nifty product on sale. I’m sure my readers also know by now that my wee little blog does not receive sponsorship of any kind, and if this ever changes, I’ll be forthright about it. Funny thing about Field Roast, though, I’m not sure they actually *would* request my opinion on their own.
I recently read an interview where they claimed they’re not actually positioning their products for vegetarians, but rather, for those omnivores who just like to switch it up. (At least, that’s what I got from reading it). In this interview, they also said they’d never make faux bacon, which broke my little seitan-loving heart, since I’m allergic to the soy based crap, er, products, that Morningstar produces. The justification for the omnivorous approach is their correct assumption that most vegetarians are interested in the health aspects of what they eat. They state with a refreshing honesty that their products are not particularly healthy, but taste good.
As someone who was formerly teased for being the most unhealthy vegetarian on the planet, I can say while that while many vegetarians go for the healthy approach, not all do, and not all the time. Some vegetarians have trouble figuring out the ins and outs of the diet at first. In my opinion, better to offer them seitan than have them eating cheese fries every night.
This time of year, I don’t always have the time to linger in the kitchen, or even to prep food ahead of time like I usually do. Having a little seitan around keeps me from reverting to the frozen pizza option, and actually offers some protein my body can use. I discovered Field Roast right before my camping trip this summer, and so we ended up taking the faux hot dogs, the faux Italian sausage, and the faux lunchmeat slices (the reddish ones, I forget the flavor). All three were the perfect compliment to my partner’s meat-based selections, and we were easily able to share the rest of the sandwich components like bread, lettuce, and the like. It was also fantastic to have this protein in my system for a very active vacation. I was kayaking, walking, swimming, and I even tried a short zipline! Knowing that I get easily tuckered out without a proper diet, we consciously made an effort to ensure I had enough protein in my system to enjoy myself. When I returned home, I tried the mushroom slices, and then, the Celebration Roast pictured above. Everything I’ve tried, I’ve liked so far.
I first microwaved the Celebration Roast. It’s fine microwaved, because, as they state, it’s already cooked, you are essentially reheating it. Once I got mid-loaf (about midweek), I tried frying it, and obviously, I enjoyed that even more. It’s also fine right out of the fridge. The closer it got to Xmas, the more I needed quick but good, and this fit the bill. And now that the Celebration Roast is finished, it’s time to celebrate!
Happy Holidays!
When life gives you tomatoes, stuff them!
29 Jun
Through the generosity of Mother Nature and her minions, I had way too many tomatoes this week, which admittedly, is not actually a problem. I love tomatoes with a firey passion unmatched by any other vegetable, and everyone in my life knows this, which is how I ended up with a bowl full of them.
I love tomatoes. I love cheese. I love bread crumbs. So, there you have it.
I’d forgotten where I first saw the recipe, so I used my google-fu and found this one. I’m not a regular reader there, and dislike the ads on the source site. But the layout was easy to navigate, the recipe more or less matched what I had available, and I really appreciated how easy these were to make.
The only problem was the guilt I felt gutting my beautiful tomatoes. It was Linus on Halloween all over again…
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Stuffed Tomatoes
Ingredient Modifications:
4 medium tomatoes to 3 medium tomatoes and one large tomato.
My bread crumbs are Italian style.
Butter to faux light butter.
Fresh basil to about an inch of dried basil I was trying to use up.
Monterey Jack to I had mozzarella already shredded, what would you do?
1/2 teaspoon of salt to I don’t like that much salt, so three grinds should be plenty.
Added about 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast, some Italian seasoning, some Romano, & 1 teaspoon minced garlic to the filling. I think 1/2 teaspoon of garlic next time will be enough. I like garlic & don’t mind garlic breath, but this was a bit much.
I did not use the pulp and didn’t miss it.
No pretty garnish because I didn’t have it and yes, this bothers me.
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Preparation Modifications:
I sprayed the inside and outside with olive oil because I really like olive oil and was also a little worried these might burn.
10 minutes to 20 minutes because mine were still cold after 10 minutes.
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Enjoy!
Ugly Leaf Caprese
10 May
Have you ever bought a bushel of basil, only to find that about half the leaves aren’t so visually appealing? Here’s something quick & easy to do with them! Caprese.
I. Love. Caprese. I know I just said that about eggplant parm a few posts back, but oh, caprese… caprese is my summer love. It’s close enough to summer, isn’t it? Easy, quick, tasty- really, what’s not to love?
Ugly Leaf Caprese:
Tools:
Bowl
Food chopper
Spoon
Cutting board & knife
Storage container
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Ingredients:
Basil
Mozzarella
Garlic Powder
Ground Black Pepper
Plum Tomatoes
Dried Oregano
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
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Directions:
1. Line the bottom of your bowl with garlic powder and dried oregano to taste.
2. Remove basil from stem & wash. Chop in processor. Place in bowl. Stir.
3. Dice mozzarella. Place in bowl. Stir.
4. Dice tomatoes, taking out the tomato guts & doing with them as you will. Place tomatoes in bowl. Stir.
5. Add some olive oil. Stir.
6. Add a dash of ground black pepper. Stir.
7. Add garlic powder again (to taste). Stir.
8. Place in storage container & refrigerate. The garlic, etc. will soak in. However, the oil will become partially solid. Take out & let warm to room temp & stir before serving. Enjoy!
No Picture Nachos
15 AprUsually, when something turns out well, I take a picture. I also take notes. I did neither this time, but these are fast, easy, & good. Great if you’re short on time, but still want a yummy snack.
Tools:
Cheese grater
Cake pan
Oven Broiler
Mini processor
Ingredients:
Corn chips
Monterey Jack cheese square with Jalapeno Pepper flakes in it
Four Campari tomatoes
A pinch of smoked gouda to sprinkle on top
Olive Oil spray
4 scallions
Spices:
Mrs. Dash
Nutritional Yeast
1. First, set the oven to broil on HI. Don’t ask me to explain this for gas because I can’t.
2. Put the scallions and tomatoes in the processor. (Slice tomatoes first so they fit without jamming). Make tomato mush.
3. Spray the cake pan. I’m sure there is something better and more professional to use. This is just what I did, and it worked out fine.
4. Put some chips in the pan. Spray them.
5. Put the tomato and scallion mush on the chips.
6. Grate your cheese. Put the cheese on the chips. Sprinkle with the spices.
7. 10 minutes in the broiler at most. Watch them. When the cheese is melted, they’re done.
