The NorthWesternBelle

What's a girl to do on a lazy laundry Saturday when the bff shows up with a giant zucchini straight from her garden? I meant it when I said "giant" Make zucchini banana bread of course! Spoon for scale because the bananas I used were not camera friendly. They were 100% perfect for bread making, though. I still have over half of the zucchini left, too. As it turns out, I cut a piece that turned into exactly three cups shredded. Nailed it! Reviewing the recipe I usually use for zucchini bread (out of the trusty red Betty Crocker Cookbook) I noticed that the only non vegan ingredient is eggs. Well, bananas are as good as eggs, right, so let's do this without the animal product! Also, the sugar content can come down, since, you know, a ripe banana is a sweet banana. I used a full cup, but you could scale it back to 3/4 or even 1/2 if you wanted to. Vegan banana zucchini bread 3 c shredded zucchini 1 c sugar 3 medium ripe bananas 2 tbs vegetable oil 2 ts...

My husband might have been classically trained to be a chef, but I was trained in a household of seven to be a mother, so I know a thing or two about feeding a crowd. This last weekend we had a Kindergarten Graduation party for my two kids at the park, and nearly 50 people RSVP-ed. Being that the event would be held outside, I decided to go vegan with the menu. It worked out great for the sake of cost and avoiding spoilage. Honestly, the only thing I really had to do to make it all vegan was swap out mayo for vegan mayo, use soda in the Duncan Hines cake mixes instead of eggs and oil, and make the frosting out of Crisco and almond milk. So easy, and everyone raved about the food. Since I was cooking for 50, I made in bulk, so feel free to adjust the proportions to suit your needs! Without further ado: Jessa's Vegan Potato Salad Ingredients: 5 lb bag red potatoes 4-6 large carrots, peeled 5-6 celery stalks 1 red pepper 1 c frozen peas 1 small jar veganaise Mustard to ta...

Another pasta salad recipe! I know, you're excited. I'm excited, too! This one is not vegan, but it is can be easily made into a vegan recipe by skipping the Parmesan cheese. Artichoke Pasta Salad Ingredients: 1 lb pasta, cooked according to instruction, cooled completely 4 Roma tomatoes, diced 1 can artichoke hearts, chopped 1 jar green olives with pimentos, sliced 1 can White Northern Beans Shredded parmesan, to taste (optional - leave this out to make it vegan) Handful of Almonds, ground Handful of scallions, sliced Artichoke Salad Dressing, to taste Salt & Pepper, to taste Parsley flakes (or fresh, optional) Preparation: Combine ingredients in large bowl and blend well. Serve or store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days Enjoy!

Those of you who know me have probably heard me rave about how well we eat at my house. It shouldn't be surprising, seeing as I married a man who was professionally trained to cook delicious food. Instead of just bragging about it, though, I'm going to start writing down his on-the-fly recipes to the best of my abilities. He doesn't like me shoving the camera in his face while he's cooking, though, so I'm going to have to figure out a photography situation. I'll get on that. In the mean time, we made three different types of pasta salad for easy lunches and snacking this week. Today, I'm having Asian Pasta Salad, and it is delicious! Not to mention it is totally easy to make, store and eat, as well as inexpensive. Also (don't tell him this), it's totally vegan. Enjoy! Asian Pasta Salad Ingredients: 1 lb pasta, cooked al-dente & chilled (we used Kroger Penne) 3-4 medium sized carrots, peeled & julienne-chopped ...

I know, I know. I don't usually post recipes, but this particular one totally warrants it. You may have heard of Slutty Brownies already; chocolate chip cookie dough topped with oreos topped with brownies, baked together for ridiculous amounts of sugar energy. They are delicious! My Sticky Slutty Brownies take it a step further, though, by including caramel sauce between the oreos and the brownies. Go big or go home, that's how we do. So, I guess you could probably go the extra mile and make your own chocolate chip cookie dough and brownies. My family's chocolate chip cookie recipe can't be beat, but in this case I find it more convenient to use the pre-made, refrigerated variety from the store. Same goes for the brownie mix. I went with a Family size Betty Crocker boxed brownie mix. Betty never lets me down. I lucked out this go-round and ended up with cookie dough and brownie mix that called for the same baking temperature, 350 degrees. I'd love to tell you that...