Pippi's Recipe Review: Quiche A Week Lasagna Bites

     Each week my Sister in Law- Heidi, my mom, my cousin -Jasmine and I choose recipes to experiment with. We have been picking 2 main courses and a sweet treat. But there are no rules that it has to be this way. Click -> to read More about our weekly recipe project. To participate, leave a comment with your own review and recipe suggestions.

Vegan Lasagna Bites a la Crustless Quiche A Week & Everything Inbetween
Recipe Link: http://quicheaweek.wordpress.com/2012/08/26/vegan-lasagna-bites/

I changed this recipe up all over the place, all the while, sticking to it's basic concept. Does anyone want to guess what I put inside? (Tob, Heidi, Mom, you know you know!)

• First, the ricotta. I cannot afford pine nuts. And if I could, the hospital would come and take them away in lieu of payment towards our outstanding balance. Instead, I used tried and trusted cashews. I think walnuts would have been good too. I did add basil to my batch. Easy peasy!
• My filling consisted of sauteed kale (I shredded it into tiny morsels), grated zucchini (ding ding ding!), diced onions and garlic.
• I used jar pasta sauce.  
• Unlike Heidi, who uses no oil (Engine2 diet), I did spray my sheet pan before I assembled/baked. Although, I suspect that may not even be necessary. Even with out a silicon baking sheet.
• Assembly was pretty straight forward. Deceivingly simple. I did use a touch of water at the corners to help them stick together. I did not brush the tops with olive oil, nor did I spray them with oil. They browned up just fine. 
• Verdict: This recipe was really good, really pretty simple, versatile; You could pretty much put anything in these bad boys.  I would like them with some Italian sausage (Tofurkey or Field Roast). Two thumbs up, we will make this again. I may just stick them in a cupcake pan and fill them and bake them instead of folding them, for an even speedier version!

Pippi's Recipe Review: The Vegan Stoner Chocolate Mousse

     Each week my Sister in Law- Heidi, my mom, my cousin -Jasmine and I choose recipes to experiment with. We have been picking 2 main courses and a sweet treat. But there are no rules that it has to be this way. Click -> to read More about our weekly recipe project. To participate, you can join our group on facebook {www.facebook.com/groups/recipeteam/} or leave a comment with your own review and recipe suggestions. We recently created this facebook group so that we could share with friends outside of our family group.

     This week's sweet treat was Chocolate Mousse. Use your own recipe. I have made vegan chocolate mousse in the past, but while I was making Falafel Pie a al The Vegan Stoner, I noticed that The Vegan Stoner also has a recipe for Chocolate Mousse. I figured I would just make this The Vegan Stoner week! 

Chocolate Mousse a al The Vegan Stoner
Recipe Link: http://theveganstoner.blogspot.com/2012/02/chocolate-mousse.html

Gonna get right in to this...

• For some reason, I can't keep a bag of chocolate chips in the house without someone busting into them almost immediately and without me being in the room to bust them.  I made up the difference with some super dark chocolate that I had in the cupboard. (Why couldn't the thief just eat that?) I don't own a microwave, so I use the double boil method. Slow and low. 
• Meanwhile, I blended the tofu with milk. The recipe calls for soy cream, but I used Blue Diamond Almond Coconut milk. The recipe also calls for coco powder, and even though I have that, I opted for the Dark Hot Chocolate mix that I have. 
• The last change that I made was this: When blending the mousse, I added 1/2 of the melted chocolate to the mixture. 
• After layering the vanilla graham cookies on the bottom, then the sliced strawberries, and drizzled the agave (just a touch), I added the mousse, then the melted chocolate on the top. 

Verdict: Oh my goooooooooey goodness! This was so incredibly rich and delish! One change that I would make is that I would maybe not layer in the strawberries, as they leak and the next day the cookies are a soggy mess. That isn't entirely bad, I know, but not too appetizing. I would also make these in smaller portion sizes b/c it is so rich! All in all, a BIG hit and two thumbs up from chef mom.

Pippi's Recipe Review: Oh She Glows 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta

Each week my Sister in Law- Heidi, my mom, my cousin -Jasmine and I choose recipes to experiment with. We have been picking 2 main courses and a sweet treat. But there are no rules that it has to be this way. Click -> to read More about our weekly recipe project. To participate, you can join our group on facebook {www.facebook.com/groups/recipeteam/} or leave a comment with your own review and recipe suggestions. We recently created this facebook group so that we could share with friends outside of our family group. Please join us!

15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta a la Oh She Glows

recipe link: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/31/15-minute-creamy-avocado-pasta/

I started this weeks kitchen adventure with the 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta. I admit, this one left me skeptical. I mean, I like me some avocado. But that is usually as guacamole, or chopped in salad with a zingy dressing. But as a pasta sause base? I wasn't too sure I would like it. However, I went forth as a brave young (ha!) soldier.  

     I followed the recipe with no changes. I used regular {wheat} shell pasta.

• Blending the lemon, garlic and basil, touch of sea salt and the olive oil. I'm with Heidi on this one. With the richness of the avocado, the olive oil could easily be replaced with water. 

This review is as quick as it was to make this recipe. It was a breeze to make. Only took as long as the pasta took to cook. Everything was tossed together and served right away.

The verdict: DEEEEELISH! This pasta was outta-sight tight! Before I got a chance to try it, the hubby was exclaiming it's awesomeness. He had a huge serving and wanted me to make it again the next night. Even the littles ate their generous portions. The avocado disappeared into the lemon, garlic and basil and just became the creamy in the creamy goodness of this dish. This recipe is quick, simple and can easily become one of the redundant meals that we add to our rotation. If I had more than 2 thumbs, they would all be up!