Tonight we had an amazing dinner. I am really starting to love eating clean. I never could of imagined I would ever eat the way I do now. It is crazy to think I look forward to vegetables now. Tonight we had sundried tomato burgers from the forks over knives cookbook. We put a cashew cheese sauce on it which is also from forks. We also whipped up a batch of avocado dip to put on the burger. We served it with a side salad topped with super hero dressing which was from my Plant Powered Families book.
My daughters birthday is coming up next week. She is a leap year baby, so she actually does not have a birthday! 😊 since becoming vegan I have not made a birthday cake. I decided to tryout a recipe as cupcakes, just to make sure it tastes good and the icing keeps its form so it is not a disaster at the last minute. This cake and icing is totally vegan and actually turned out very good. All my kids as well as one of my sons friends loved them. Looks like I will be making a cake out of this recipe! I will post a picture when I am done the cake!
Overall, it was a great success. This meal was very filling and I am still currently full as I write this post. One staple in this meal my family has had multiple times is the cashew cheese sauce. We use it on everything from nachos to pizza. I thought it was perfect to share for the #vegancheesechallenge put on by 
RECIPES
AVOCADO DIP
(home made by me)
• Recipe found here
SUNDRIED TOMATO BURGERS
(from Plant Powered Families cookbook)
• Recipe found here
CHEESE SAUCE
(from Fork over knives cookbook)
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup cashews, soaked in warm water for 30 min and rinsed
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 1 red pepper roasted
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup salsa
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
SUPER HERO DRESSING
(from Plant powered families cookbook)
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup packed spinach
• 1/2 cup ripe avocado
• 1/2 tbsp miso
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• pinch sea salt
• 1/3-1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp pure maple syrup
• pinch of pepper
Directions:
- Add all ingredients in a blender starting with only 1/3 cup of water. Blend until smooth. If too thick add rest of water and blend til smooth.
CUPCAKES
(original found here)
Ingredients:
• 1 cup non-dairy milk + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup vegan butter softened
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a standard muffin holder with 12 paper liners.
In a liquid measuring cup, measure out non-dairy milk and add vinegar or lemon juice. Let set to curdle/activate.
Add softened butter to a large mixing bowl and cream with a mixer. Then add sugar and vanilla and beat until combined and fluffy - about 2 minutes.
Add dry ingredients to a sifter in this order: 1 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and then remaining 1/2 cup flour sift over butter/sugar mixture alternating with the almond milk mixture. Blend until until well incorporated and no large lumps remain.
Divide evenly among cupcake holders making sure NOT to overfill. These do best at 3/4 of the way up. Bake on a center rack for 20-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. They will only have a very, very slight golden brown color.
ICING
(original recipe found here)
Ingredients:
• 5 Tablespoons vegan butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons non-dairy milk
Directions:
Place butter in bowl and beat til smooth. Add vanilla and mix.
Alternate adding milk and powdered sugar mix until smooth.
Pipe onto cupcakes
