Labor Day Vegan

Karalee was out of town, so I decided to challenge myself and live the vegan lifestyle for the Labor Day weekend.

Being vegan is quite a bit different than being vegetarian. Vegetarian is a diet, you eat plant-based foods and avoid meat. There’s no ethical restriction to keep you from eating butter and eggs, or even the occasional hot dog. Vegan, on the other hand, is a lifestyle.

Vegans choose to eliminate all animal-based products from their lives, including products that aren’t made of animals, but might exploit animals in their production. No meat, no leather, no gelatin-capsule medicines and no Elmer’s Glue.

It’s a strict lifestyle, stricter than I care to live, but for three day I gave it a try. Eating vegan wasn’t difficult for me, we prefer a plant-forward diet anyway, but there are certain elements of the diet that would have tasted better with butter instead of oil. The bigger problem was eliminating animal-based products from my life. I stopped carrying my wallet, but I wasn’t about to sit on the floor to avoid my leather couch. There are medicines I take in gelatin capsules, so I couldn’t avoid animal products, but I did my best.

Dry July is over! let’s have a Hot Toddy

Hot Toddy

  • 16 oz hot tea
  • 4 oz cheap whisky
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • Lemon wedge

Reserve half the tea in a separate vessel.
Stir in the honey and squeeze the lemon directly into the mug. Pour in the whisky and top with as much of the reserved tea as will fit.
Grab a good book. Drink and enjoy.

Meatloaf

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of ground meat. I usually use 1 pound of lean ground turkey and 1-pound lean ground beef.
  • 2 Tbsp (1 lid full) Onion Onion (Tastefully Simple) 
  • 2 Tbsp (1 lid full) Garlic Garlic (Tastefully Simple) 
  • ½ jar Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam (Tastefully Simple) 
  • 1 egg 
  • Heaping 1/3 cup bread crumbs 

Directions

Mix all together in a big bowl with a potato masher. Put in a greased loaf pan, Smooth flat (better cuts for sandwiches) 

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50-60 minutes, drain any fat off and enjoy. 

If you like our content and want to support the channel, stop by Karalee’s Tastefully Simple store: https://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/kjohnson

Mother’s Day Cream Puffs

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  •  1 cup boiling water
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  •  1/4 tsp salt
  • 4 eggs

Directions

Melt butter in 1 cup boiling water.

Add flour and salt all at once; stir vigorously until a stiff dough forms

Roll the ball around the inside of the pan until it becomes a smooth ball.

Remove from heat; cool.

Form a well in the dough and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough, 3 inches apart, onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees until golden brown and puffy, about 30 minutes.

Cool on a rack before splitting and filling.

Kahlua Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup Kahlua
  •  ½ cup chili sauce
  • 3 tbs pineapple juice
  •  2 tbs cornstarch

Directions

Combine first three ingredients in a sauce, mix well.

Dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of cold water to make a thin paste.

Warm ingredients in saucepan, slowly add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly.

Taco Mac & Cheese Caserole

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces elbow macaroni
  •  ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  •  4 cups 2% milk, warmed (I did room tempature)
  • 4 cups shredded four cheese Mexican blend, divided (any cheese you have on hand)
  • 1½ cups prepared Make & Freeze Taco Meat, thawed if frozen
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
  • Optional fillings such as diced onion or green onion, sliced black olives, jalapeño slices
  • 1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F. In large saucepan, prepare pasta according to package directions until just al dente; drain. Set pasta aside.

In same pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour; whisking constantly. Whisk in milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Slowly whisk in 3 cups cheese, cooking and whisking until melted and smooth. Salt and pepper as desired.

Stir pasta into cheese sauce. Transfer half to a greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Top with Make & Freeze Taco Meat, drained tomatoes and desired fillings. Top with remaining macaroni and cheese. (I mixed all together at once)

Sprinkle with crushed tortillas and remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

Grammie’s Famous French Toast

2 Eggs
½ cup milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup crushed corn flakes
6 slices (frozen) Texas toast (with cheese or garlic)
Sprinkle of salt
¼ cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 450°
In a shallow bowl whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and salt until blended
Place corn flakes in another shallow bowl.
Dip both sides of bread in egg mixture then in the corn flakes – both sides. (you may need to pat a little to cover)

Place in a sprayed oblong pan. rizzle with the melted butter (or add when it comes out)

Bake 10-12 minutes it will golden brown.

Eric’s Potatoes

We made a fancy breakfast last Sunday. Karalee made Eric’s Potatoes and Charles made an egg soufflé. The soufflé is coming soon, but in the mean time, here’s the recipe for Eric’s Potatoes.

1 package savory Cheese Ball mix
10. 75 oz can cream of celery soup
8 oz Sour Cream
1/2 cup Milk
26 oz bag Frozen shredded hash brown pototoes
2 1/2 cups shredded smoked Gouda Cheese or other cheese
2 Tbsp melted butter

Combine first 4 ingredients, set aside.
Combine shredded Cheese and hashbrowns
Combine all together, spread into a greased 9×11 baking dish
Pour melted butter over the top.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

ENJOY!! you can freeze before or after baking.

Chile Relleno Casserole


Chile Relleno Casserole

Ingredients

cooking spray
4 (7 ounce) cans whole green chile peppers, drained
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
8 ounces Longhorn or Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 large eggs
1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
½ cup milk
1 (10 ounce) can green enchilada sauce

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease an 8×8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Evenly layer 1 can chile peppers in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the Jack and Cheddar cheeses. Continue layering chiles and cheese.
Mix together eggs, evaporated milk, and tapioca flour in a bowl; add 1/2 cup milk to thin to desired consistency. Pour the mixture over the layers chiles and cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove and pour enchilada sauce over the top, bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Turn broiler on. Sprinkle top with remaining Jack and Cheddar cheeses. Place under the broiler until cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.

Karalee makes some spicy chicken wings

We’re a couple who really enjoy good food. We’ve dined at white table cloth restaurants literally all over the world. But, despite all the wonderful cuisine we’ve enjoyed, it’s the simple things that we really enjoy – grilled cheese, hot dogs and chicken wings, to name a few.
Karalee found a spice packet in the pantry that we picked up somewhere long ago and used it to make some great wings.