7 Layer Supreme Burrito Pie

Simply Beautiful 7-layer Supreme Burrito Pie

4-6 Servings

    2 (15-oz) cans of Vegetarian refried beans

    2 (15-oz) of your favorite salsa (or Homemade)

    1-2 tomatoes, diced

    2 Avocados, piled, pitted and diced

    2 cups slice romaine heart lettuce (or your favorite lettuce)

    2 oz of black olives

    Tofutti Sour cream 

    4 tortillas (flour or wheat)

Place one tortilla on the bottom of a 7 to 9 inch round casserole dish.  This will help keep all the ingredients together when serving.  Use about 3/8 of the refried beans on this bottom layer.

Place another tortilla on top of that. Mix the rest of your refried beans with an equal or larger amount of salsa, depending on the size of your pan and how thick you want it.  Spread just enough to cover the tortilla.  Continue process to the fourth tortilla(which also has the beans/salsa on it).

Now slice the romaine hearts into thin slices by pulling the knife back over them horizontally.  Garnish the top layer with the lettuce first in a circle around the edge. (You may want to wait for this until after you bake, as the lettuce may burn)

Spread Tofutti sour cream on the top follow with dice tomatoes, dice avocado's and finally in the very center, add a large amount of black olives.  Bake in the oven at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Easy Vegan Substitutes

Before your begin your new journey on finding vegan substitutes, it's important to manage your expectations. Just as you would not expect a banana to taste like a lentil, you should not expect vegan foods, like soy milk, for example, to taste like cow's milk. All foods are their own separate entities with their own special tastes. It's important to learn to appreciate them for what they are. Have a open mind as you sample new tastes, textures and flavors. Before you know it your vegan substitutes become your favorite!


To substitute milk, simply replace cow's milk with soy milk, rice milk or almond milk. Try several different brands until you find one you like. Vanilla soy and rice milk tend to taste more like cow's milk than the plain varieties. Soy milk now comes in an variety of flavors including eggnog, chai and chocolate. Many egg substitutes exist. The easiest, when baking, is to substitute 1 heaping tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of water for each egg. Soy flour infuses baked goods with a moist, dense texture. Other substitutes for 1 egg include 1/2 banana; 1/4 cup soy yogurt or soy sour cream; 1/4 cup of silken tofu, blended well; and 1 tablespoon of flax seeds plus 3 tablespoons of water. You can also purchase a ready-made egg replacer called Ener-G is in most health food stores.


Here is a list of  basic " Vegan Substitutes" and a few of my favorite things I can't live without!

• Earth Balance- Non Diary, Vegan margarine 
• Tofutti makes a great cream cheese, sour cream and ice cream in variety of flavors
• So Delicious ice creams and ice cream cookies
• Silk Yogurt in a variety of flavors
• Veganese "follow your heart" mayo and dressing replacement
• Rice Milk- Original and vanilla flavor.  Chocolate Hemp and Almond is amazing too
• Agar Nectar- honey and sweetener replacement
• Meat replacements- Tofu, Seitan, Tempeh, or Textured soy protein (T.V.P)
• Yves meatless beef grounds and burgers
• Boca Burgers- Vegan original , roasted garlic or roasted onion
• Boca Chik'n Patties- original, spicy or nuggets
• Amy's Kitchen- All American burger, Bistro burger, California veggie burger, Quarter-pond veggie burger and Texas burger

Got a sweet tooth, not to worry you can have the following treats:

• Any Dark Chocolate
• Dots, Jujubees, smarties, gummy bears, skittles, Big League Chew Gum and Blow pops just to name a few.

Great & Easy "Dips" for your New Years Party!

Spinach Dip

Servings 4

Box Frozen Chopped Spinach (Thawed)

1 Tub Tofutti Sour Cream

1 Pkg Vegan Vegetable Soup Mix*

1/4 Cup Veganoaise

Combine all ingredients and mix well. To serve, cut off the top of pumpernickel bread, and hollow out the bottom, leaving about an inch thick pumpernickel bowl. Pour dip into bread bowl and chill for a few hours before serving. Use the hollowed out bread to dip into the mixture. 

Onion Dip 

Servings 4

1 Box Soft Silken Style Tofu

1 Pkg Vegan Onion Soup Mix*

*Note: Some soup mixes contain beef or other animal fat. Keep this in mind when shopping.

  

Blend tofu into a sour cream consistency. Add onion soup mix and stir well. Cover and chill for an hour or two before serving. Serve with chips or vegetables.

Basic Guacamole 

Servings 4

4 Avocados 

1 Lime, juice squeezed

1 Tablespoon sea salt

2 Tomatoes, diced

Slice the Avocado in half, remove the pit.  Spoon out the avocado into a bowl and mash the Avocado in a bowl until smooth.  Add the lime juice, salt stirring to a creamy texture.  Add the tomatoes, stir and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Excellent to add & stir in some fresh Salsa too!!

Fresh Salsa
4-6 Servings

3 tomatoes, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded & diced

1 yellow onion

3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 Jalapeno, seeded and diced

2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 Lemon or lime

1 TSP cumin

1 TSP oregano

1/2 TSP salt & pepper

1/4 TSP ground cayenne

1 can diced tomatoes


In a large mixing bowl, combine the fresh diced tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, lemon juice, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and canned diced tomatoes, mix well.


Place 3 quarters of the mixture in a food processor or blinder (5 seconds).  Pour back with the chunky mixture and stir well.


Chill the salsa for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.  Great with Tortilla Chips or topping on your favorite mexican dish.

Traditional Hummus
4-6 Servings

1 1/4 cup chick peas, soaked in water over night (or 1- 15 oz can) drained & rinsed

3-4 Tablespoons of Tahini

2 lemons, juiced

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon of salt

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Soak you chicks peas over night.  Drain and put into a pan with plenty of fresh water. Bring to a boil, remove scum and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, until they are very soft.  Drain reserving the cooking water.

Using can chick peas, rinse throughly, put into a pan with fresh water.  Bring to a boil and drain reserving the cooked water.

Blend the cooked chick peas to a puree in a food processor or blender add the remaining ingredients, except for the oil and a little of the cooking water- (just enough to blend it to a soft, creamy paste).  Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking.

Pour hummus into a shallow dish and drizzle over the olive oil.

Serve with vegetables of choice (carrots, celery, broccoli), pita chips or pita bread.

Great Egg Replacer

Flax seeds can make awesome binders!

To replace 3 eggs: bring one cup of water and 2 to 3 tablespoons whole flax seeds to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for about five minutes, stirring occassionally, until the mixture thickens into goo (similar in texture to egg whites). Strain and cool the goo, and use like eggs.

For cakes, I add the flax goo last, after everything else is mixed togther because it really can firm up a batter. And I usually don't bother to strain the flax seeds out (because it's a pain) unless I'm baking something really fancy.

Ground flax seed recipe (for 1 "egg"): Take 2 tbsp ground flax seed and combine with 3 tbsp water.

You can also use half a banana for 1 "egg".

3 tbsp applesauce = 1 "egg".

Fudgy Brownies

This makes yummy Holiday treats for all your friends & family!!!

Fudgy Brownies

2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
10 ounce of blueberry or strawberry spreadable fruit
1/4 cup soy milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 TSP almond extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 TSP baking powder
1/2 TSP baking soda
1/4 TSP salt


Preheat oven to 325.  Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.  Melt 2/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips in microwave for 1 minute.  Stir and microwave for one additional minute.  Set aside

In a large mixing bowl combine; spreadable fruit, soy milk, sugar, oil and extract.  Mix on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until no clumps are visible.

Sift in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir until well mixed.  Use a fork to mix, the batter will get very thick.

Mix in the melted chocolate and fold in the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.  Nuts are also excellent to fold in!!!

Bake for 50 minutes, remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.  Don't use a toothpick with this recipe, the chocolate will always stick.

ENJOY!!!

Avocado & Bean Salad

Avocado & Bean Salad
(4 servings)

1 can (15oz) Black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15oz) Red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
2 ripe Avocado's, peeled, pitted & diced
2 large Tomatoes, diced
2 whole Scallions, chopped
1 Red & Green Bell pepper, seeded & diced
3-4 Garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 2 limes
2 TBSP fresh Cilantro, chopped
2 TSP dried Oregano
1 TSP Cumin
1/2 TSP Salt & Pepper

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients together and chill for 30 minutes.  Serve over a bed of lettuce and enjoy!

Benefits of using Coconut oil

Coconut oil is by far my favorite oil to cook with, excellent for Med-high heat cooking and you can use this oil for everything!!  Not only is it great for cooking, weight lose and digestion issues you can basically use this great natural resource from "Head to Toe" total body care health inside and out!!!  Take a look at what I found out about Coconut oil.....

• Hair Care: Coconut oil is one of the best natural nutrition for hair. It helps in healthy growth of hair providing them a shinny complexion. Regular massage of the head with coconut oil ensures that your scalp is free of dandruff, lice, and lice eggs, even if your scalp is dry. Coconut oil is extensively used in the Indian sub-continent for hair care. It is an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair. It also provides the essential proteins required for nourishing damaged hair. It is therefore used as hair care oil and used in manufacturing various conditioners, and dandruff relief creams. Coconut oil is normally applied topically for hair care.
• Stress Relief: Coconut oil is very soothing and hence it helps in removing stress. Applying coconut oil to the head followed with a gentle massage helps in removing mental fatigue.
• Skin Care: Coconut oil is excellent massage oil for the skin as well. It acts as an effective moisturizer on all types of skins including dry skin. The benefit of coconut oil on the skin is comparable to that of mineral oil. Further, unlike mineral oil, there is no chance of having any adverse side effects on the skin with the application of coconut oil. Coconut oil therefore is a safe solution for preventing dryness and flaking of skin. It also delays wrinkles, and sagging of skin which normally become prominent with age. Coconut oil also helps in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections. Therefore coconut oil forms the basic ingredient of various body care products such as soaps, lotions, creams, etc., used for skin care.
• Premature Aging: Coconut oil helps in preventing premature aging and degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant properties.
• Heart Diseases: There is a misconception spread among many people that coconut oil is not good for the heart. This is because it contains a large quantity of saturated fats. However, coconut oil is beneficial for the heart. It contains about 50% lauric acid, which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful as it happens in case of other vegetables oils. It does not lead to increase in LDL levels. It also reduces the incidence of injury in arteries and therefore helps in preventing atherosclerosis.
  
• Weight Loss: Coconut oil is very useful in reducing weight. It contains short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. Hence, people living in tropical coastal areas, who eat coconut oil daily as their primary cooking oil, are normally not fat, obese or overweight.
• Pancreatitis: Coconut oil is also believed to be useful in treating pancreatitis.
• Digestion: Internal use of coconut oil occurs primarily as cooking oil. Coconut oil helps in improving the digestive system and thus prevents various stomach and digestion related problems including irritable bowel syndrome. The saturated fats present in coconut oil have anti microbial properties and help in dealing with various bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc., that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in absorption of other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
• Immunity: Coconut oil is also good for the immune system. It strengthens the immune system as it contains antimicrobial lipids, lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid which have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties. The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV. It helps in fighting harmful bacteria such as listeria monocytogenes and heliobacter pylori, and harmful protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
• Healing: When applied on infections, it forms a chemical layer which protects the infected body part from external dust, air, fungi, bacteria and virus. Coconut oil is most effective on bruises as it speeds up the healing process by repairing damaged tissues.
• Infections: Coconut oil is very effective against a variety of infections due to its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. According to the Coconut Research Center, coconut oil kills viruses that cause influenza, measles, hepatitis, herpes, SARS, etc. It also kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, etc. Coconut oil is also effective on fungi and yeast that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, etc.
• Liver: The presence of medium chain triglycerides and fatty acids helps in preventing liver diseases as they substances are easily converted into energy when they reach the liver, thus reducing work load on the liver and also preventing accumulation of fat.
• Kidney: Coconut oil helps in preventing kidney and gall bladder diseases. It also helps in dissolving kidney stones.
• Diabetes: Coconut oil helps in controlling blood sugar, and improves the secretion of insulin. It also helps in effective utilization of blood glucose, thereby preventing and treating diabetes.
• Bones: As mentioned earlier, coconut oil improves the ability of our body to absorb important minerals. These include calcium and magnesium which are necessary for development of bones. Thus coconut oil is very useful to women who are prone to osteoporosis after middle age.
• Dental Care: Calcium is an important element present in teeth. Since coconut oil facilitates absorption of calcium by the body, it helps in getting strong teeth. Coconut oil also stops tooth decay.
• HIV and Cancer: It is believed that coconut oil plays an instrumental role in reducing viral susceptibility of HIV and cancer patients.