I love chocolate pudding. Here is a good recipe for some home made chocolate pudding…
Ingredients:
Steps to make chocolate pudding:
Another cookie video, this time oatmeal cookies. I used to like oatmeal cookies a lot when I was younger. Anyway, check out this vegetarian oatmeal cookie recipe, because it sounds delicious. Let me know what you think about it…
This recipe sounds delicious… I love pudding!
Ingredients:
Steps to make banana pudding:
Now this recipe sounds quite tasty (I love pumpkin!)...
Ingredients:
Steps to make vegetarian pumpkin tart:
Ok, just typing this recipe in is making hungry 
Hi,
I am one of the new writers for this blog and I will be posting vegetarian cooking videos and vegetarian recipes for all of you out there interested in vegetarian cooking.
In my first post, I wanted to share this cool video I found on youtube that teaches you how to make vegan homestyle chocolate chip cookies. Mmmmm… sounds delicious to me!
Only have a few minutes to prepare something sweet for your Super Bowl party? This recipe from Food Network’s Paula Deen just takes five minutes and is delicious.
Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes
Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Show: Paula’s Home Cooking
Episode: Picnic in the Park
1 (18 1/2-ounce) package chewy fudge brownie mix (recommended: Duncan Hines)
1 (12-ounce) package peanut butter chips or 24 miniature peanut butter cups
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 regular muffin cups with paper cupcake liners.
Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. Fill the cups half full with brownie batter. Place about 1 tablespoon peanut butter chips in the center of the batter, or press 1 peanut butter cup into the batter in each muffin cup until the batter meets the top edge of the peanut butter cup.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cupcakes are set. When they can be handled safely, remove them from the muffin tins and let cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.
** If you have a few extra minutes, you could always make your own brownies, rather than using a mix.
Fondue may make you think of the 70s, but it’s made a real comeback. It’s cheese dip with class. So whether you are looking for something delicious and a bit different for a vegetarian New Year’s Eve, something to eat while you’re watching the Bowl Games or something to add to a New Year’s brunch buffet, here are three fondue recipes that will fit the bill. These recipes are adapted from recipes found on The Food Network.
Easy Fondue with Vegetables
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup half-and-half
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh chives, snipped or chopped
Your choice of vegetables, raw or lightly steamed
Some suggestions: broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, grilled tofu
You can also choose to use various breads, if you like
To a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and the chopped shallots. Saute shallots for 2 or 3 minutes. Add half-and-half to the pan and reduce heat to low. Cut cream cheese into 1-inch slices and add it to the pot. Allow the cream cheese to slowly melt into the half-and-half, 5 minutes. Add Parmesan and shredded Gruyere or Swiss to the sauce and stir until cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Stir in lemon juice. Season sauce with, nutmeg and black pepper. Place a candle underneath a wire rack or warm a fondue pot. Transfer cheese sauce to fondue pot or place saucepan over wire rack and burning candle. Garnish with chives. Serve with dipping forks or bamboo spears.
Feta Cheese With Walnuts and Parsley
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
6 ounces feta cheese
2 scallions minced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup walnuts toasted and finely chopped
In a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, melt butter the stir in the flour. Stir the 2 together into a paste. Whisk in the milk to create what the French call a bechamel sauce. Drop the temperature a little and simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes so it thickens and the flour taste cooks out. After that it’s easy, just fold in the crumbled feta, scallions, and parsley. Season it with salt and a little cracked pepper. Finish with the walnuts tossed on top. Serve with bread, broccoli, melons, black olives— whatever suits your fancy.
Chocolate Fondue
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon cabernet sauvignon, optional
Items for dipping
Suggestions: pound cake, biscotti pieces, strawberries, grapes, oranges
In a microwave-safe bowl, mix the sugar, heavy cream, chocolate, and butter together and microwave for 2 minutes. Take out of microwave and give it a quick whisk. Add wine (if using) and whisk again. Transfer to a fondue pot with a flame underneath.
The usual cranberry salads often contain jello or marshmallows. While you can find vegetarian alternatives to these, I find that a hassle. They are not found at stores conveniently located to me. So, when I found this recipe that includes neither, I was thrilled. And it’s really tasty, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Whipped Cream Cranberry Salad
2 (12 ounce) packages fresh cranberries
1 cup white sugar
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped pecans
1 pint heavy whipping cream (or one carton non-dairy whipped topping—decrease sugar to 1/2 c. if using this)
Coarsely chop the cranberries in a food processor; put in a large, non-metal bowl and mix in the sugar. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
Whip the cream until stiff (skip this step if using non-dairy topping). Add the pineapple and nuts to the cranberries, mix well. Fold in whipped cream; refrigerate until ready to serve.
*** If you like, you can stir in marshmallows with the whipped cream. Vegan marshmallows are available. Also, kosher marshmallows are made with fish gelatin, which may be acceptable to some.
I love this recipe. It always gets rave reviews. You can use it as a side, or in place of your trusty pumpkin pie. Either way, it’s delicious! Use canned or fresh sweet potatoes. If you’re using canned sweet potatoes with syrup, either leave out the sugar, altogether, or cut it to 1/4 cup.
Praline Sweet Potatoes
4 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/3-1/2 cup sugar (depending on your desire for sweetness— I use turbinado)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 pint heavy cream
1/4 pound butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
Butter one 2 quart casserole dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a mixing bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs and cream. Blend well, and spread evenly in casserole dish.
Prepare the topping by combining the butter, brown sugar, flour and pecans. Mix until crumbly, and sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
Even if you’re vegetarian or have vegetarian guests, you’re still going to want dessert, right? In theory, I love pecan pie. But I’ve never found a recipe made without corn syrup, which I don’t eat. These Pecan bars should really make a good stand in. The recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa. Because this is a bar recipe, it should also work in the warmer months as a picnic food.
Pecan Bars
Crust:
1 1/4 pounds unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping:
1 pound unsalted butter
1 cup good honey
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 pounds pecans, coarsely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the crust, beat the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, until light, approximately 3 minutes. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Press the dough evenly into an ungreased 18 by 12 by 1-inch baking sheet, making an edge around the outside. It will be very sticky; sprinkle the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is set but not browned. Allow to cool.
For the topping, combine the butter, honey, brown sugar, and zests in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat until the butter is melted, using a wooden spoon to stir. Raise the heat and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the heavy cream and pecans. Pour over the crust, trying not to get the filling between the crust and the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Cut into bars and serve.
These were so delicious. Like a sugar cookie, but with a hint of maple. If you have any, you could use maple sugar to dust the top of these, instead of regular sugar. Also, we had maple leaf cookie cutters, which made a cute cookie. My kids loved them.
Maple Syrup Cookies
3/4 cup sugar + extra for dusting
1 cup (8oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg yolk
3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (I used a light whole wheat— Prairie Gold)
1/4 teaspoon salt
The day before you plan to make the cookies, make the dough:
Beat together the sugar and butter with an electric beater on high speed for about 3 minutes. Add the maple syrup, vanilla and egg yolk and mix for 1 minute. Sift the flour and salt directly into the butter/sugar mixture. Beat at medium speed until combined – about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate overnight.
I did find that these were incredibly hard when they came out of the refrigerator and that it really needed to sit out for probably an hour or more before it was a good consistency for rolling out.
Preheat oven to 350°F. To make the cookies:
Butter two baking sheets. Divide the dough into two equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter and place on prepared cookie sheets, about 1 inch apart. Gather scraps, reroll and cut out as many additional cookies as possible. Repeat with second dough portion. Dust the cookies with granulated sugar. Bake for 9-12 minutes, until they are lightly golden. Remove and cool on racks. If you let these sit too long, they will become cemented to the cookie sheet. If that happens, pop them back in the oven for about a minute, just long enough to remelt the butter, and they’ll slide right off.
Storage:
May be stored at room temperature in an airtight container up to 4 days. May be frozen up to 1 month.
I’m sure there are plenty of great ways to eat watermelon. Chilled in a lake comes immediately to mind. But I read lots of recipes for watermelon that are, well, let’s just say interesting (watermelon with parmesan anyone?— eww). But I have a dear friend who doesn’t like watermelon. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, she doesn’t like the official summer fruit. So, what’s she supposed to do on Fourth of July? How can you have Fourth of July without watermelon? Well, now even watermelon haters can include a little watermelon in their Fourth of July vegetarian celebration with these Faux Watermelon Cookies (they’re really just sugar cookies decorated to look like watermelon slices, but they sure are cute). I got the recipe from Fantastic Foods, and you can see pictures there, as well. Now, onto the recipe:
Faux Watermelon Cookies
Sugar Cookie Dough
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened (not melted!)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 drops red food coloring
1 cup miniature semi sweet chocolate morsels
Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons water
15-20 drops green food coloring
Cookies
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. Beat butter or margarine, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and red food coloring in a large bowl with electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture and stir with wooden spoon until thoroughly mixed. Cover dough with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for two hours.
Preheat oven to 400° F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or other round object, such as a glass or round plastic container. Place circles on ungreased cookie sheet. With a butter knife, carefully slice circle in half and separate by at least 1/2 inch to allow for expansion during baking. Gently press miniature semi sweet morsels into each semicircle. Bake for 6-8 minutes, checking after 6 minutes. Cookies will be done when edges are lightly browned. Do not allow cookies to get too brown.
Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes. Remove from cookies sheets to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Glaze
In a small bowl mix together all ingredients to form a glaze. You may add drops of water to thin glaze if it is too thick. To decorate the cookies, roll the round end of the cookie in the glaze, allow excess to drip off into bowl. Place cookies back on rack until glaze dries.
Every picnic needs a good dessert, and these brownie bars are a great option. They’re somewhere between brownies and cookie bars— hence, the name. They will pack really well, either precut of in the pan if you’re travelling to a picnic.
Chocolate Chip Brownie Bars
1 1/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×9 x 1-3/4 inch pan.
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in the flour mixture, the nuts, and chocolate chips until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool slightly. While still warm, cut into bars with a sharp knife.
** A couple of notes. I melted the butter and just mixed this all by hand, rather than messing with a mixer, and it worked out just fine. Altogether it took about 10 minutes to prepare. Also, feel free to use other stir-ins (the recipe is very forgiving). You could use chopped up candy bars or white or peanut butter chips— whatever is appealing to you.
Unlike the easy recipes I’ve been running, this one is not for the faint of heart. But, believe me, Mom will love you for the extra effort. If you’d like to take Mom to Cheesecake Factory for Mother’s Day but don’t want to wait in line or pay the high prices, consider this copycat recipe as an alternative. I’ll be running a few more copycats over the last remaining days until Mother’s Day.
The Cheesecake Factory German Chocolate Cheesecake
Cheesecake
24 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into chunks
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate Cake
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons whipping cream
German Chocolate Topping
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Garnish
Whipping cream
For Cheesecake: In bowl of electric mixer or in food processor fitted with metal blade, blend cream cheese, sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
For Chocolate Cake: In large microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 2 to 3 minutes, or until just melted. Cool slightly. With fork, beat in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Add flour and mix until blended. Spoon into well-greased 9 1/2-inch springform pan, spreading evenly. Carefully, spread cheese mixture evenly over top of chocolate batter.
Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking 55 to 60 minutes. Turn oven off, open oven door and let cake cool completely to room temperature in oven. Refrigerate until well chilled.
Remove sides from springform. Invert cake onto serving plate, so cheesecake is on bottom and chocolate cake is on top. Spread sides with Chocolate Glaze. Spread top evenly with German Chocolate Topping. Refrigerate until serving time. Garnish with whipped cream if desired.
For Chocolate Glaze: In small microwave-safe bowl combine chocolate chips with whipping cream. Microwave on HIGH power for 45 to 60 seconds. Beat until smooth. Spread on sides of cheesecake.
For German Chocolate Topping: In small microwave-safe bowl, beat egg yolks. Stir in sugar, butter and whipping cream. Microwave on HIGH power 4 minutes, stirring every minute. Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla extract. Stir in coconut and pecans until well blended. Refrigerate until mixture is of spreading consistency. Spread on top of the cheesecake.
This recipe for Cheesecake Factory`s German Chocolate Cheesecake serves/makes 12.
I’m continuing yesterday’s theme of easy recipes for Dads and kids to whip up for Mother’s Day. This one could pretty easily be made by kids all by themselves, as it is a non-cooking recipe. Even the youngest kids could easily be in charge of tearing up the angel food cake. However, Dads should probably supervise so that Mom doesn’t have to clean up a huge mess.
Chocolate Pudding Cake
1 (10 inch) angel food cake
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I prefer whipped cream to topping)
1 (5 ounce) package non-instant chocolate pudding mix
12 oz mini chocolate chips
Tear Angel food cake into bite size pieces into a 9×13 inch cake pan (preferably glass).
Prepare chocolate pudding as directed on package. Gently spread over the top of cake pieces, spreading to edges of pan.
Carefully spread whipped topping over chocolate pudding, spreading to edges of pan and taking care not to mix with pudding.
Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.
Chill until ready to serve, at least one hour.
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