Taco Soup Bites...

The other day I saw a recipe for stuffed eggless wonton wrappers and thought if I could find them it would be fun to stuff them with my taco soup recipe.

We went to Uwagimaya and they carry four different eggless wonton wrappers.  The ingredients were in English so I was able to see which were vegan and which were not.  

Here is a photo of the one I bought.

The next morning I made my Taco Soup.  

That evening I strained some and put it into a small bowl to use as the insides of my Taco Soup Bites.  Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil cooking spray.

 Spoon a small amount into the center of the eggless wonton.

Fold two sides together, just slightly overlapping.  I filled a small bowl with water and placed it next to my taco soup bowl to dip my finger in.  I found that if I dipped my finger into water and dripped one drop of water on top of the overlapped wonton it held together perfectly without making it too wet.

 I then folded up the bottom corner of the eggless wonton and dropped a drop of water on that corner.

And finally did the same process to the last corner.

 Once your eggless wonton looks like a little package you spray it with olive oil cooking spray.

Once you have a tray full, pop it into a preheated oven of 425 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the edges start to brown up nicely (we prefer ours on the crisper side).

I served mine with salsa and Tofutti sour cream.

Sooooo yummy and fun too.

There are so many fillings you could do so expect to see this again with different fillings.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner I am already thinking of Holiday Bite ideas.

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich...

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

I received an email from a blog I subscribe to called the

Chef In You.  It is not a vegan blog but they have some vegan recipes.  I really liked the sounds of the her grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich for breakfast.  I did not use butter on the bread and I cooked mine in my panini machine.  The bread had lovely grill marks without the butter so don't use it, it is not necessary.  The key is go light on the peanut butter but make sure you use it on both pieces of bread and slice your banana as thin as possible.  It is a great breakfast and was fun to make.  If you don't have a panini machine you can grill it in a pan just as you would a grilled cheese sandwich 

(but this was yummier and more fun).

Chinese Chickpea Salad...

Chinese Chickpea Salad

Before I became vegan I used to make a Chinese Chicken Salad that my family loved.  I have had a few requests for the salad so I "veganized" it and used baked chickpeas instead of chicken.  It was very good.  I would recommend marinating the chickpeas for a full 30 minutes before baking them so they have more flavor. Below is the recipe.  Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Chinese Chickpea Salad

Salad Ingredients:

1 medium green cabbage, chopped

3 Tbsp. onion powder

1 small-medium pkg. slivered almonds

4 Tbsp. sesame seeds

4 pkg. Top Ramon noodles teriyaki flavor, crushed

4 carrots, chopped

6 stalks of celery, chopped

5 stalks of broccoli, cut into bit size pieces

1 cup of sugar snap peas, chopped

Chickpeas:

1 15oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

¼ cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil

1 Tbsp. peanut oil

Dressing:

4 flavor packets from Top Ramen

2 Tbsp. sugar

½ cup cornola oil

½ cup toasted sesame oil

½ cup rice vinegar

1 tsp. pepper

½ cup soy sauce

Mix chickpeas with soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and peanut oil; place in gallon size Ziploc bag and seal with all air removed.  Lay flat so you have a single layer of chickpeas so they all marinate evenly for a full 30 minutes.  Heat oven to 400 F.  Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking oil.  Place chickpeas on tray, discard extra marinade, bake for 20-25 minutes, until outside is crunchy.

While the chickpeas cook; mix all the salad ingredients and toss well. 

Blend dressing ingredients; mix well.  Keep separate. 

Top salad with warm chickpeas and serve with dressing on the side. 

Store salad and dressing in refrigerator.

Serves 10-12 as a meal.

Recipe by The Vegan Paige