athomevegan-blog

[athomevegan-blog]

Buffalo Cauliflower in Air Fryer

Many months ago, my friend Gene and I went to Aeronaut outside and he got buffalo cauliflower bites. They were awesome. In true me fashion, I immediately thought how I could make a better and healthier version of it =)

Modified from: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2019/06/27/buffalo-cauliflower-wings-recipe/

Ingredients

16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower florets (you can also use fresh but frozen is so much cheaper and less work!)

oil spray or oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3 tbsp milk of choice

1/2 cup buffalo sauce or hot sauce

1-4 tsp oil or butter spread

Instructions

Coat cauliflower in buffalo sauce. 

Spray aluminum foil with nonstick spray and place cauliflower on it. 

Place in air fryer. Cook at 360 until browned (10-15 minutes). (Frozen will take longer than fresh!)

NOTE: My recipe didn’t turn out great. Some were burned and some weren’t crispy. I think if I coated them in flour and butter first I would have gotten a better result but that also would have added calories which I didn’t want. 

[athomevegan-blog]

Homemade Queso

We love queso and most recipes for it are annoying- requiring evaporated milk and lots of steps. Therefore, we just took our beer cheese, heated it back up til it melted, then added a jar of salsa. Voila!

[athomevegan-blog]

Homemade Beer Cheese Dip

My brother’s family and I wanted to make something random and creative for our quarantine Easter. Therefore, what better food than beer cheese dip and pretzels! NOTE: this is NOT vegan but it’s delicious!

It’s super simple to make and delicious. We stored the leftovers in the fridge for 2 days then added salsa to it to make homemade queso!

Modified from: https://cookthestory.com/easy-hot-beer-cheese-dip-recipe/

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour (any type of flour will do)

3/4 cup milk, divided

1/2 cup beer (a lager or an ale – your preference)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. smoked paprika 

3 cups cheddar cheese

Optional add ins-

1 tsp dijon mustard

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat melt the better. Whisk in the flour. until dissolved. 

Take the pan off of the heat and whisk in 2 tablespoons of the milk until smooth. (this is important so you don’t curdle the milk!) Then whisk in 2 more tablespoons. Add 1/4 cup of the milk and whisk that until smooth followed by the final 1/4 cup of milk.

Stir in the beer, garlic powder, salt and smoked paprika.. Return the pan to medium heat and stir until thick and bubbling, about 2-3 minutes. 

Add the cheese one big handful at a time, whisking after each addition to melt it in. Taste and add more garlic, salt if desired.

Serve with frozen soft pretzels!

[athomevegan-blog]

Blueberry Lemon Scones

I always try to keep 2-3 types of frozen muffins/scones/healthy desserts in my freezer for mid-day snacks. These scones are definitely a bit tart and WAY less heavy than regular scones but I love them.

Modified from https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2018/06/05/healthy-lemon-blueberry-scones/

1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour 

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp (5g) lemon zest (about 1 medium)

1/2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed-- feel free to sub coconut oil for vegan. it adds a great coconut taste. i just didn’t have any on hand!

½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt- great swap to make them dense but healthy!

1 tbsp (45mL) honey

3 tbsp (45mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (see Notes!)

3 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup (70g) frozen blueberries that have been boiled and drained (you don’t want all that extra liquid in there!)

2 tsp soy or other vegan milk-- i add to add at least double this to make them stick together!

Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the lemon zest. Cut in the butter with the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and milk. Stir until just incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries with a spatula. Dough should be wet but not as wet as muffins. 

Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Using a spatula, shape the dough into a ¾” tall circle or whatever height you want. it really doesn’t matter as long as its relatively even. Slice the dough into pieces- they don’t need to be even. Feel free to make them different shapes. Bake at 425°F for 19-22 minutes, or until the tops and sides are lightly golden. 

Store in plastic bag and eat within 1 day or freeze individually in aluminum foil for up to 2 months. 

[athomevegan-blog]

Build Your Own Quinoa Granola

I LOVE homemade granola. So many ways to change up flavor combos with very little risk of failure (you can taste the granola BEFORE you bake it and modify flavor as needed, unlike with baking!)

I’ve made this granola once before-- its based on america’s test kitchen granola, but of course, i modified a lot =).

Modified from: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/12194-quinoa-granola-with-sunflower-seeds-and-almonds

Yield: 1 32 oz mason jar-ish

Ingredients

1/8 cup honey-- I always decrease the sugar from any recipe AT LEAST in half. 

1 mashed banana (for more sweetness)- the riper the better!

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil (any oil will do. coconut oil is also fun. olive oil adds a savory flavor)-- I always decrease the oil amount at least in half from other recipes

1/2 cup cashew pieces (or any nut of choice!)

2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut

3/4 cup oats (optional if you just wanna do quinoa)

3/4 cup quinoa (any type is fine!)

1/2 cups unsweetened raisins

1-3 tsp cinnamon

Optional Add In:

unsweetened coconut- amazing

sunflower seeds

any other type of nut

other types of dried fruit

orange or lemon zest or juice 

basically anything works here. be creative!

How to Make It

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. (or aluminum foil sprayed with nonstick spray works too!)

Mash the banana until as liquidy and broken down as possible- we want to use it to COAT the granola instead of extra oil or honey.

Mix honey, vanilla, and salt together in large bowl. Mix in oil. Mix in nuts, oats, quinoa, and until thoroughly coated. Mix in mashed banana and raisin.

Taste it and modify it as needed- maybe you need more flavoring or its too wet so add more oats or quinoa.

Transfer mixture to prepared baking sheet and spread into thin, even layer. Using plastic spatula press on quinoa mixture until very compact- this is really important so it makes chunky pieces.

Bake until deep golden, 45 to 55 minutes. The cook time is flexible- just make sure it doesn’t burn. Begin checking it after 30 minutes. DO NOT STIR, as this will ruin the possibility of making yummy clusters. 4 

Remove granola from oven and let cool in the pan for 1 hour. Break cooled granola into pieces of desired size  Serve. (Granola can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.) I’ve also heard you can freeze granola but I’ve never tried it =).