Samantha K Schmidt

Every now and then I get a serious carnivore craving. Today I was craving buffalo chicken, so I thought I'd try my hand at a vegetarian version. Ingredients: 1/4 cup of Barbecue Sauce 1/2 tablespoon of Hot Sauce 1 tablespoon grape jelly (optional) Chicken Substitute (I used Veggie Patch Nuggets) Directions: ~ Cook chicken substitute according to package directions ~ Meanwhile mix your sauces together in a shallow bowl ~ Toss the "chicken" in the sauce ~ Enjoy! This recipe is great because you can mix it up for different flavor. I prefer my buffalo sauce a little sweeter so I added jelly, you can leave it out for more spice. You can also water down the sauce to make a thinner coat. The choice is up to you.

My favorite veggie burger of all time is the Vegefi from Burgerfi. If you haven't tried it, do yourself a favor and devour one. It has a very similar texture to meat and toppings make you nostalgic for backyard barbecues. Even my non-vegetarian friends love this burger and often prefer it to the real thing. I've been trying to find a copycat recipe for the Vegefi for a long time. After much searching I came across one, but the recipe was ridiculous. I'm really not much of a cook (you can tell from my directions below), so I managed to minimize the list of ingredients without minimizing the taste. Here are my Simple Homemade Veggie Burgers Ingredients: 1 box of Nature's Earthly Choice - Garden Vegetable Quinoa (This brand is my favorite, because all the vegetables are included) 2 eggs 1 cup of breadcrumbs 1/4 cup of shredded gouda Canola Oil Directions: ~ Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the box ~ In a medium sized bowl beat eggs ~ Add the quin...

One of my favorite things about summer is the delicious fruits that come into season. Berries are my favorite fruit, and I wait patiently every year for those delicious ripe edibles to find their way into my local grocery. Summer is also my favorite time to cook because all of my favorite recipes have strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. I've already stocked my refrigerator in preparation for the upcoming week and I thought I would share two of my favorite summer meals. Bonus: These recipes are totally vegetarian! Berry Couscous ~ Bring two cups of apple cranberry juice to a boil ~ Pour over one cup of plain couscous ~ Cover and let sit for 5 minutes ~ Separate into four bowls. ~ Add your favorite berries, a dollop of yogurt, and a drizzle of honey. Strawberry Spinach Salad ~ Whisk 3 parts oil and one part balsamic vinegar in a bowl ~ Toss spinach, sliced strawberries, sliced almonds, and chunks of gouda in another bowl ~ Drizzle salad with the oi...

This weekend I had a crazy craving for cornbread. Since I'm still on a vegan diet I realized I was going to have to make some changes. So I did some research, made some substitutions, and made this delicious vegan version. It tastes exactly like its non-vegan counterpart, and it's mostly guilt free. Give it a try and tell me what you think! Servings: 9 Ingredients:  1 cup flour 1 cup corn meal 1/4 cup sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup soy milk  1/4 cup canola oil Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees 2) Spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray 3) Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl 4) Add wet ingredients and beat until smooth (do not over mix) 5) Place mixture in muffin pan filling each cup 3/4 of the way 6) Cook for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean In hindsight I wouldn't have used the baking cups. The bottoms stuck. This earth balance butter i...