Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Oat Muffins *phew*

Ever go grocery shopping, exceed your budget by $17, realize that you didn't purchase enough school lunch/work snacks for two very metabolically inclined individuals, and then decide *blank* it I'm going to search the pantry and make an awesome, yet healthy, dessert snack from scratch! No? Well that was me Saturday - palm to face frustration at being forgetful, on an ever-revolving budget, and just overall wanting to enjoy the weekend without having to worry about the upcoming school/work week.

Now that I got that whining out of the way, on to the recipe!!

The ingredients are simple, you know, like how things used to be made prior to Big Box Companies swooping in with their food engineers and chemists.

If you bake, even rarely, you most likely have most of these ingredients on hand (minus the vegan choco chips, of course), which makes this recipe super budget friendly!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

1 1/2 cups Organic Flour
1 cup Rolled Oats
2 Bananas (mashed)

1/2 cup Sugar (I used xylitol, which is a plant-based sweetener) 1 tsp Baking powder 1 tsp Vanilla extract dash of Cinnamon 1/2 cup Organic Peanut Butter 2/3 cup Soy/Almond Milk 1/2 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips

Combine all dry ingredients in one bowl, then all wet in another bowl (minus the milk).

Mix it all together! Then, add milk and chocolate chips.

Place in 12 cup muffin tin and (i sprinkled some raw sugar on top for a bit of crisp), bake for 20-23 mins

Voila! easy peasy

Easy, Affordable Vegetarian Meals for the Weekend

This past weekend consisted of the husband and I making our way from our small, shore town community to the larger, bustling City of Philadelphia. While this would usually equal some major money being dropped, we opted for an evening visit to my twin sister and her boyfriend's (also named Rick, like my spouse) new apartment. Instead of going out to eat, the twin and I decided to do a mini-potluck. Why mini? Well, she and I were the only ones who contributed, while the boys sat and talked about aliens and the over-abundance of salt, sugar, and fat in foods. Truth.

Now onto the recipes! First up,

Vegan Tofu Dumplings

6 oz Somen Noodles (Japanese noodle) cooked as directed and drained
1 package of extra firm tofu pressed and finely chopped
Scallions sliced thin (to taste)
Ginger powder (to taste)
Garlic minced (to taste)
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1 tbsp Low sodium soy sauce
1 package of wonton rounds (from Asian market, because they have about 3 ingredients)

- Mix all ingredients in a bowl, there shouldn't be excess water because the noodles will bind everything well
- Dab a tsp or two in the wonton rounds (this recipe makes a lot, so make as many as you need)

- Wet the edges of the wonton wrappers and fold/pinch
- Heat up a frying pan with some spray oil
- Brown the bottoms of the dumplings, then pour 1/4 cup water over them, cover, and steam for 5 minutes

Voila! Yum!

Vegan Shiitake Cold Noodle Salad

Disclaimer: this is my sister's recipe, and I'm going off of memory here...either way, it's something you can definitely make your own!

2 packages of shiitake noodles (rinse rinse rinse)
1 package of extra firm tofu (super pressed!)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Red Cabbage chopped thin (to taste)
Scallions (to taste)
Cilantro (to taste)
2 apples chopped into bite size pieces
Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp of light soy sauce

- Cut tofu into bite size pieces, sautee, and let cool
- Combine all other ingredients
- Once tofu is cool, and it to the other ingredients and shove it in the 'fridge until you're ready for some amazing food-in-mouth fun!

All in all, a super filling dinner with some enjoyable people! Both of these recipes involve ingredients that cost under $2 a piece (save for the soy sauce, oil, and vinegar), plus it makes large portions meaning...lunch the next day!

Until the next mini-potluck!

Vegetarian Dinner ~ light yet filling

Din-time is very important to me for numerous reasons: (1) I'm practically starving from the last time I had a snack, ohhhh, 2 hours prior...maybe, (2) I want to consume something that isn't carb heavy, but also has all the elements needed for the growth of my swiftly developing little one, and (3) I tend to like to graze the pantry closet, so creating a meal that's filling AND light is key!

This recipe makes a fair amount, so that means dinner for two and leftovers for the next few days (lunch anyone??)

1 English cucumber cut into bite sized pieces
2 large red peppers in bite sized pieces
1 pint of cherry tomatoes halved
1 cup of cooked corn
chopped fresh parsley to taste
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon of olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 fried eggs (for a serving of two)

Combine all ingredients (minus the eggs) and cool for approximately 20-30 minutes. Once chilled, fry your eggs and serve! Voila! Easy peasy dinner for two :>

Baby-Making Budget ~ autumn decor on the cheap!

With Halloween on the way, I'm beginning to see all sorts of Autumnal decor sprouting up all over the internets and in craft stores like Michaels, AC Moore, and JoAnn Fabrics. Last year I would've thought, "well I don't mind if I do!" and grabbed a piece-o-something here and there to decorate the house. But this year, with the step-child in 10th grade and a small human brewing in my belly, I thought more logically about the matter - "heck, I'll make something myself!"

yes, that is a carrot.

First, I thought about what I had already: an apothecary glass from being wed to the spouse, some LED battery lights, and nifty smelling pinecones leftover from the previous year's Christmas projects. With those pieces in mind, and a bit of inspiration from Pinterest, I took my 40% off coupon and darted to Michaels. The place always has all kinds of sales, so I grabbed 4 mini-bundles of autumn-esque faux-flowers and one bag of tiny-pumpkins, then I was on my way with having spent under ten buck-a-roos for the lot!

The entire process was a bit tedious, but with a little bit of patience (and I truly mean a little bit, for anyone who knows me) and an eye for aesthetics, I finished the centerpiece in about 20 minutes. It turned out quite well, and is super simple for anyone who wants to give it a go. So simple, I bringing leftover "ingredients" to my sister's abode next weekend so that she may have a pretty centerpiece too!