7 Layer Taco Dip

It's FOOTBALL SEASON!!!

You know what that means...  Tons of opportunities to make a dish to your tailgate or living room party, to share with everyone there.  Well lets get real for a sec... How many vegans eat something more than chips and salsa at a football game party?  Well when my college team kicked off this year, I was determined to bring a bunch of vegan friendly snacks so that I could be satisfied during a game for once... The trick was, making everything soo tasty that the omnivores wouldn't notice it was vegan.  Mission ACCOMPLISHED!  I made this VEGAN 7 layer "taco" dip and people loved it!  It's so easy to put together and the taco "meat" and my not so cheesey "Queso" made this dip an MVP!

1 can Amy's Vegetarian Refried Beans

1 pkg gardein meatless grounds

1 pkg your fav taco seasoning

1 pkg Daiya Cheddar style wedge

1 pkg Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti style wedge

Guacamole (homemade or store bought)

Shredded lettuce

Chopped tomatoes

Sliced black olives

Prepare the meatless grounds with the taco seasoning as instructed.

Warm the refried beans through

In a double-boiler (or in the microwave at small time increments) melt together the 2 types of daiya wedges.  Keep warm until ready to use

In a glass baking dish first spread the refried beans, top with taco "meat" and queso.  Stop here if you're making this ahead of time.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  (Just warm it up in a 350 degree oven when you're getting ready to serve.)

Top with guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, and olives and serve with your favorite kind of tortilla chips!

 

Cat's outta the bag Matt... you and your guests had a vegan football party :-) 

Cinnamon Roll Scones

This recipe is the lovechild of my two favorite breakfast treats.  Labor intensive sweetness meets quick flaky, crumbly pastry.  With this recipe you get all of the flavor of a cinnamon roll without having to be up super early to let the dough rise (and without eating the kind from the tube... you know what I'm talking about).  I think that this recipe, start to finish, took me an hour... And that's because I was creating the recipe as I went along, taking notes, using social media to document what I was using/doing, etc.  If I had to time this recipe with out all of the added busy work, my guess is this is a breakfast meal that could be featured on RR's 30 Minute Meals!

This recipe makes 8 scones... But be warned, they are super yummy... both my parents each had two. 

SCONE:
1 egg replacer (I use Ener-G so 11/2 tsp powder mixed with 2 TBS warm water until frothy)
2 1/2 c AP flour
1/3 c sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup non-dairy butter (Super Cold! leave in refrigerator until ready to use)
1/2 cup non dairy milk

FILLING:
2-3 TBS Dark Brown Sugar
1 TBS Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 shakes Ground Cloves
2 shakes Ground Ginger
2 TBS non dairy butter, melted


GLAZE:
1 c confectioner's Sugar
2 TBS non dairy milk
2 TBS non dairy butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a cookie sheet.

Combine the scone's dry ingredients.  

Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives, until the butter is no bigger than the size of a pea.  

Add in milk and egg replacer and mix until just moistened.  

Gather the dough into a ball and divide in half.  Wrap lightly and put dough in the fridge while you prep the filling*.  This chills the butter again after it's been exposed to your hands heat.  Chunks of butter in your pastry are what helps to create a flaky texture.

Evenly spread one half of your dough into the bottom of an 8-in round cake pan.  Top with Filling and the rest of the dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface and check around the edge to make sure top and bottom layers of dough are connected.  

Cut into 8 triangles place on cookie sheet and bake for 13 minutes.  Top with glaze** to serve and enjoy!

*Filling, combine the sugars and spices until thoroughly mixed.  Add in butter and mix until filling looks like wet, crumbly sand.

**For the Glaze, whisk all of the ingredients together until smooth.