BACON!

I know that when I was an omnivore one of the meals I enjoyed was pancakes (topped with maple syrup) and bacon.

Since assuming a plant based diet, meals like that are a thing of the past...or are they????

I thought they were gone and dead until I found Wayfare's "Pig Out"

These taste just like I remember bacon tasting.  

They are crunchy bits which are good on salads and by the handful for snack...but put them IN my pancakes and it is just like having one of my favorite meals back.

They are hard to see but the confetti you see in the pancakes are the "bacon" bits.

The batter was just a simple pancake batter:

1 C all purpose unbleached flour (I prefer King Arthur)

1 C almond milk (regular or vanilla will work in this)

2 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp oil (I use grapeseed or olive)

1 ener-G egg 

1-2 Tbsp Wayfare bacony bits

Cook them up in a skillet and enjoy!

I highly recommend these for a nice leisurely weekend breakfast so you can sit back and enjoy the delicious flavors.

Do you have any combinations that you really enjoy pairing?

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A Little Excited

I had a recipe be selected as the "Recipe of the Day."

Over at Circle of Moms they selected my Vegan Blueberry Biscuits.

I was pretty shocked to have it selected, I mean the recipe is very tasty, but it was neat to have someone else select it.

If you get a chance drop by Circle of Moms and check out the recipe.

Oh and a little side note.  Did you know today is National Pistachio day?  Pistachios are full of nutritional goodness, not just for your heart but they also help fight free radicals in your cells (check it out here).

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Veganized Bo-Berry Biscuits

Here in the South there is a fast food restaurant called Bojangles.

They are known for fried chicken and biscuits.

Nothing on their menu is for me for many reasons :)

However one thing they have is a Bo-Berry biscuit.

The put blueberries in a buttermilk biscuit and top it with a glaze.

Ok they might be onto something here...but I think my way is a wee bit better than their calorie heavy animal product laden biscuits.

Start out with my vegan buttermilk biscuit (originally posted here):

2 C flour (I used white wheat from Trader Joe's)

6 Tbsp Earth Balance (cubed)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C blueberries (I used frozen)
cinnamon and sugar to roll dough in

To make buttermilk, if you don't have any on hand, just take a cup of milk (I used regular almond milk, NOT the vanilla) and added 1 Tbsp of white vinegar.  Let the two sit in a bowl for about 5 minutes before adding to recipe.

In a food processor add your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Pulse for about 10 seconds to get everything incorporated.

Next add in your Earth Balance and pulse until a crumb mix is formed.

Add in your buttermilk and allow to process until a dough ball forms (takes about 30-45 seconds).

Gently fold in blueberries.

So take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it in your cinnamon and sugar mix and place each ball in a pan (I choose a spring form pan, but any cake or bundt pan will do).

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes (depending on the closeness of the biscuits you may need to cook a little longer...you don't want a doughy middle).

All baked and ready for the finishing touches!

Once the biscuits have cooled for a few minutes put a dollop of glaze  on each biscuit.

Glaze:

1 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
almond milk

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix (you only need enough almond milk to make the desired consistency...in this case thicker is better).

When you are finished this what you end up with:

Oooey sticky goodness!

Do you have any restaurant foods that you would like to see made over?  Or have you made over some foods you found in a restaurant?

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Ultimate Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits

This weekend, Saturday specifically, I got on a wild tear and everything we ate was made from scratch.

By the end of the day I was a little tired from the cycle of cooking and cleaning, but in the end it was totally worth it...

Especially when the day started out with these:

Vegan buttermilk biscuits topped with baked apples and a caramel sauce.

Buttermilk Biscuits:

2 C flour (I used white wheat from Trader Joe's)
6 Tbsp Earth Balance (cubed)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 C buttermilk
cinnamon and sugar to roll dough in

To make buttermilk, if you don't have any on hand, just take a cup of milk (I used regular almond milk, NOT the vanilla) and added 1 Tbsp of white vinegar.  Let the two sit in a bowl for about 5 minutes before adding to recipe.

In a food processor add your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Pulse for about 10 seconds to get everything incorporated.

Next add in your Earth Balance and pulse until a crumb mix is formed.

Add in your buttermilk and allow to process until a dough ball forms (takes about 30-45 seconds).

I found that this way was WAY easier than using a fork or pastry cutter to incorporate the butter.  Plus there was just one bowl to clean up afterwards.

At this point you could flour a surface and roll your biscuits out if you wanted to have a cut biscuit but I wanted to make drop biscuits which were rolled in cinnamon and sugar.

So take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it in your cinnamon and sugar mix and place each ball in a pan (I choose a spring form pan, but any cake or bundt pan will do).

This is what I ended up with:

I still have a bunch of apples from my mother-in-laws house so I decided to add them to the mix.

In a skillet I added about 8 cut apples (I left the peels on but you are welcome to remove them).

To that I added 2 Tbsp Earth Balance and sprinkled about 1/4 c of brown sugar (homemade).

As the butter and sugar melted together a caramel was formed.

Pour the mixture on top of your biscuits and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees.

It didn't photograph all that well, but I did have three very happy (albeit sleepy) children who were very willing to eat it despite the not so pretty appearance.

The biscuits were so soft and fluffy...they really did turn out perfectly, if I do say so.

Here I left the last bite for you (with the crunchy caramel goodness on the bottom):

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Blueberry Muffins Mom's Crazy Cooking Challenge

Hello my friends!

I realize that it is Saturday and that typically I would not be posting, but I have to.

See today is the reveal day for Mom's Crazy Cooking Challenge hosted by the fantastic Tina.

This month we were tasked with scouring the blog world in search of a blueberry muffin recipe.

Easy you say?

HA!

Blueberry muffin recipes are pretty bountiful.

However I think I located the perfect one.

I went to Bundles of Hugs written by Heidi and found this gem:

I made only a few alterations to the recipe and that was to make them vegan.

Substitutions:

Instead of milk I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk
Instead of an egg I used a flax egg (1 Tbsp flax meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water)
I topped the muffins with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar for a little pizzaz

My children declared these to be the best blueberry muffins they have ever had. 

High praise from a 9, 4, and 2 year old (plus they all agreed and that is a pretty rare thing).

Heidi calls these her "go to" muffins and I can see why.

They are just absolutely delectable.

Be sure to stop by Heidi's blog and check out her other recipes and of course adorable pictures of her young son :)

Also check out my fellow participants in this months challenge and see what other blueberry muffins people have been making.

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Passing Daisies Mango Coconut Pancakes

Happy Monday my wonderful readers.

I am so excited to share a guest post with you all from Rachael (I'll let her have formal introductions below).

I just want to say though that I thoroughly enjoy reading Rachael's blog as she has some wonderful recipes, honest reviews of products, and a fantastic sense of humor.  She is a vegetarian with a carnivorous boyfriend.  They are a cute pair.

I will stop gabbing and give this over to Rachael...

Hey there, My Naturally Frugal Family readers! My name is Rachael, and I blog over at Passing Daisies! I’m really excited to be guest posting for you guys – I mean, Rachel and I even share the same name (clearly our name is amazing). Mine just has an extra letter J Anyways, Rachel’s blog is great and I appreciate her sharing her blog with me!

Passing Daisies is my personal health and baking blog, which I started a little over a year ago. I do my best to feature vegetarian cooking, baking, and healthy living tips for people of all ages – and I love every moment of it. Food and blogging are two of my biggest passions in life! I love reading meeting new people and interacting with my readers, so please stop by sometime and say hello!

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite breakfast recipes: Mango Coconut Pancakes. Holy crap, are these amazing! The mango topping is just divine – so sticky and sweet. I know the picture doesn’t do them much justice, but I seriously recommend trying this recipe for yourself. They are based off of my Cinnamon Coconut Pancakes, which you can find the recipe for on Passing Daisies.

Mango Coconut Pancakes
Makes 8 pancakes

1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t. Stevia
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 c. almond milk
1 t. vanilla
2 T. Earth Balance Coconut Spread, melted
3 T. unsweetened coconut flakes
Very SMALL amount of oil for frying
Mango Topping
2 mangos, diced
4 T. agave nectar

1. In a medium bowl, combine flours, Stevia, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut flakes, and cinnamon.
2. In a smaller bowl, combine milk, vanilla, and melted EB coconut spread.
3. Combine the two mixtures and whisk until batter is smooth.
4. Heat a SMALL amount of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. To do this, you can just lightly wet a napkin with oil and rub on the bottom of the skillet.
5. Using a 1/4 c. measure or a large ice cream scoop, pour batter into heated skillet, making only one pancake at a time.
6. Cook until you see bubbles forming on the top of the batter, then carefully flip pancake and cook until the other side is golden brown.


For the Mango Topping:
1. Place mango and agave in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Let cook until agave has evaporated, leaving the mango sticky and sweet and golden brown. 
3. For added flavor, allow the mango to cook until caramelization starts to occur. 


Assembly:
Take a pancake, drizzle with agave, place a spoonful of mango on top, and sprinkle with more coconut flakes. Yum!

Thank you Rachael for the fantastic post.  I know my kids are going to love these as they are pancake-aholics.

What kind of pancakes do you like?  Syrup or fresh fruit on top?  Or do you go wild and use a whipped topping?

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My Blog Spark Giveaway - Frosted Toast Crunch

I was given the opportunity through My Blog Spark to try Frosted Toast Crunch from General Mills.

This is a new cereal from the same people that bring you Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

I was given a cool little prize pack along with a box of cereal:

Spilt milk bowl

Lickety spoon (which has a rubber handle...pretty cool)

Frosted pitcher

Frosted Toast Crunch cereal

My kids thought this prize pack was just the coolest.

Now the cereal is artificially sweetened, and I don't typically eat food that is, but I tasted this and it reminded me of toasted marshmallows (which I happen to enjoy).

Now how would you like to win your own prize pack with the above items in it?

I will keep the contest open until this Friday (the 13th) at Midnight and will contact the winner to get your shipping and phone number.

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