Café Con Monica

High Five on Friday: Cooking

Linking up for High Five on Friday and I thought I would 5 of my favorite foods we have cooked recently!

Panang Curry & Jasmine Rice

I love a good curry and if you leave it up to me we would eat some variations of asian food every night but AJS is not as big a fan as me. They are so easy because I pick up the curry base at Hmart and a can of coconut milk, add veggies and chicken and just let it cook!

Cauliflower Rice Stuffed Avocados

The night before I made cauliflower rice stir fry and we had leftovers. AJS mixed the leftovers with ground chicken and stuffed avocados. He put some pineapple salsa on the side w/ground chicken and that was our meal!

Stuffed Burgers

This was one of those weeks we were trying to cut carbs so we had burgers stuffed with vegan cheese and a tomato & cucumber salad with chipotle mayo on it.

Tomato Basil Chicken & Veggies w/Quinoa

I loosely followed a tomato basil recipe I found online sautéing chicken, veggies, basil and cherry tomatoes and serving it over quinoa. It was quick and delicious!

Southwestern Vegan Mac & Cheese

Sorry for the not so great photo but I think I was super hungry that day. I’m lactose intolerant and I miss mac & cheese so much. I mixed up a box of Daiya mac & cheese with some green & red pepper and some andouille sausage and put a whole bunch of spices into it. Another quick and delicious meal!

So there you have it! 5 meals we have had lately that were delicious and not incredibly time consuming! I’m happy to share more detailed recipes if anyone wants them!

Don’t forget to check out my new Instagram! Or you can follow me on Twitter,  Pinterest or Bloglovin

Holiday Cookies: Andes Mint Cookies

As we come up on Christmas and all the parties, gift exchanges and cookie sharing that will take place this week I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes. 
These cookies are a HUGE hit in my family! I keep them special by only making them for Christmas no matter how many times I am asked to make them the rest of the year. They have also become part of my own personal Xmas tradition. 

If you love Chocolate and Mint then these cookies are great! You can make the dough the night before and they are also great to make with help since it is always good to have someone mixing the mint while you bake more! 

Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Ingredients:   (makes 3 dozen cookies)

  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 1/2 Cups packed brown sugar 
  • 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
  • 2 Tbs Water
  • 1 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Tsp Salt 
  • 1 Package Andes Mints (2 if you use the whole mint)

1. In a large saucepan melt butter, sugar and water. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. (If you have melted chocolate before you know you have to pay close attention).

2. Remove from the heat and keep stirring until chocolate completely melts. Pour into a big bowl and let it cool off slightly. 

3. Using a mixer(med/high speed) beat in eggs one at a time into chocolate mixture. Using a lower speed add the dry ingredients until completely blended. 

4. Chill dough at least 1 hour. (This dough keeps well in the fridge for a few days if you want to make it ahead of time. If longer than about 2-3 days just freeze) 

5. When you’re ready to bake preheat oven to 350…Roll dough into balls(I use about a small spoonful) but you can use like a melon baller or small ice cream scoop.

6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. 

7. While the cookies are baking or even while the dough is chilling you can unwrap the mints. You can decide here if you want to use a whole mint or half(depends on the size of your cookies). 

8. Right after you bring cookies out of the oven put 1/2 a mint on top(or whole), give it about 30 seconds and use either the back of a spoon or knife and spread the mint around. I think they look best if you can see the green a bit so try not too mix too much. *be sure to let them completely cool and the mint topping harden before you package them or it will be a mess. 

I love love Chocolate & mint together so these are top of the list for me.

Do you have any Christmas cookies you like to make? 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Don’t forget to check out my new Instagram! Or you can follow me on Twitter or Pinterest

Cooking Adventures: Vegan Brownies!

I told you back in February about these amazing vegan brownies that Thenewguy made for my sister when she was just starting out with her vegan adventure. I recently decided to make them myself for a meetup sweets exchage so I wanted to share with you guys!!

Ingredients: 
2 C. Flour (He used Whole Wheat I used regular, doesn’t matter) 
2 C. Granulated Sugar (white or unrefined) 
3/4 C. Unsweetend Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
1 C. Mashed Banana (make sure they are ripe) 
1/4 C. Milk (We used Chocolate Ripple Milk, but almond would be fine) 
1/4 C. Canola Oil
1 Tsp. Vanilla 
1 C. Dairy Free Chocolate Chips(optional) 
1/2 C. Nuts(optional) 
 
Preheat oven to 350°, lightly oil a 9×13 dish 
 
1. In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. 
2. In a smaller bowl mix banana, milk, canola oil and vanilla
3. Add wet ingredients to dry, mix until combined. (THIS IS HARD. It does not mix like a normal brownie batter so don’t be deterred)
4. Fold in Chocolate chips & nuts if you want to add them 
5. Pour into pan and bake 25-35 minutes (usually takes 28-30 for me) 
 
ENJOY! 
 
Nevermind that they are vegan they taste great and everyone who has had them loves them before I tell them they have no milk or eggs! 
 
Again..I am terrible at remembering to take photos so this is all I have! 
 
 

FOLLOW

@cafeconmonica

[instagram-feed]