Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

Original Poster: Sarah Bakes Gluten Free

So this weekend here in Pennsylvania we got snowed in! We got about two feet of snow and while we were stuck indoors, I figured why not bake?! I was randomly very hungry for donuts. I usually don't crave them at all. Maybe once or twice a year I'll whip up a batch of some sort but that's it. Even before I went vegan - donuts were a rare thing for me to eat. Anyway, I also wanted them to be quick and easy. I wasn't feeling the greatest the day I made them so I didn't want something that took a lot of time or a lot of clean up. I did a quick search on Pinterest and this was one of the first recipes that came up.

A quick disclaimer, I didn't make these gluten free because as far as I know, my body has no problem with gluten. However, if you need it to be gluten free, just follow along with the original recipe and make the gluten free substitutions! Also, in the original recipe they were cinnamon sugar donuts. I was out of cinnamon so I just used pumpkin spice instead! Tasted amazing.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 almond milk
2 Tbsp. shortening, melted (I use Crisco since it's vegan friendly)
oil for frying

For the donut coating:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin spice

Directions:
1. In a pan (or saucepan if you're like me and are a little afraid of frying things), heat up approximately two inches of oil.
2. Mix together your sugar and pumpkin spice in a paper bag and set aside.
3. While your oil is heating up, prepare your donut mixture! In a bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add in your almond milk and melted shortening. Stir until all ingredients are well blended.
4. Using a spoon, make balls of dough and gently drop them into the oil. I'd recommend doing 3 or 4 at a time. Cook on each side for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove donut holes from pan/pot and place on a towel lined plate to soak up some of the excess oil.
6. After about 10 seconds, pop the donut holes in your paper bag with the sugar and pumpkin spice. Fold over the top of the bag and give it a good (but gentle) shake.
7. Repeat the frying, drying and paper bag steps until all your dough is gone.

They have a nice, fluffy consistency to them. I had a small glass of almond milk with mine!

Burrito Bowl & Enchilada Mix

Original Poster: Veggie Inspired

I saw this pin on Pinterest quite awhile ago and honestly forgot that I already had all the stuff on hand that I needed to make it! I was looking for a new - somewhat simple idea for a blog post. If you hadn't noticed - I was a week behind on my 'once a week' posting schedule due to not feeling well lately. I've been dealing with some pretty bad dizziness..but hey, that IS where the 'spinnin'' comes into play with this blog - so it's to be expected! However, in keeping with my goal, I was determined to catch up. Therefore, I am posting TWO recipes this week! Like I said, I wanted it to be something quick yet healthy and filling. So here it is, a burrito bowl that I decided at the last second to turn into an enchilada!

Ingredients:
2 cups of brown rice
1 can of black beans
1 cup of sweet corn (I used canned corn)
1 small onion diced
1/2 red pepper diced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
10 oz. Old El Paso enchilada sauce
Old El Paso enchilada seasoning packet
Old El Paso enchilada shells (if making enchilada)

Directions:
1. Place a small skillet on medium heat. Add in olive oil along with the diced onion and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes. While the veggies are cooking, begin to cook your rice as well.
2. While you're waiting for the rice to cook - rinse and drain the beans. Set aside.
3. Once your veggies and rice are ready, start to combine all your ingredients into a medium sized pot on medium heat. Stir everything together.
4. Add in enchilada sauce and seasoning packet. Stir well until everything is warm.

At this point, if you are just making the enchilada bowl, you'll have what looks like the picture above. Ready to eat just as is! However, if you want to use the Old El Paso enchilada kit - I think this is a GREAT mixture of rice, beans and vegetables to fill it with. I followed the directions on the package, added my own vegan Mexican cheese blend on top, drizzled a little bit of enchilada sauce over it all and let me tell you, it was absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making it again!

Tofu Scramble

Original Poster: Minimalist Baker

So this has got to be one of my favorite breakfast foods. Tofu scramble! When I first went vegan, I found a frozen tofu scramble from Amy's, but they were a bit expensive (in my opinion) to get too often - and now I can't even find them in our local stores anymore. I tried this recipe oh, probably a year ago now - and was very please with how it turned out! I tweaked the original recipe a bit to my own liking. Here is what I use:

Scramble:
1 14 oz. package of extra firm tofu

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 onion, diced
1/2 red pepper diced
2 cups baby spinach

Sauce:
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric

Directions:
1. Press your tofu for approximately 15 minutes.
2. While tofu is draining, prepare the sauce. Add all the seasonings together in a small bowl. Once combined, add small amounts of water (I eyeball it, but I would suggest going teaspoon by teaspoon until you have a sauce-like consistency). Set aside.
3. Once tofu is drained, pat dry and with a fork - crumble the tofu into smaller pieces.
4. Prep the veggies. Place a medium sized skillet on low heat. Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Once hot, add your diced onion and peppers. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add your spinach. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Move your vegetables to one side of the pan and add in your tofu. Saute for 2 minutes then add your sauce. Pour it mostly over the tofu first, then mix it all together to evenly distribute. Cook for 7 minutes until tofu is slightly browned.

Sometimes I will make this with potatoes or like today - just have it with a piece of toast. You can even use two pieces of toast and turn it into a sandwich. Melt some vegan cheese on top - mm mm!

Creamy Garlic Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes

Original Poster: Minimalist Baker

When I found this post on Pinterest, I got a little excited. Before I went vegan, I used to be a huge fan of Domino's Alfredo pasta bowls. It was a weekly tradition for my now husband (then boyfriend) and I to get Domino's and I would get the same Alfredo pasta bowl almost every week. However, I eventually learned that they're not even vegetarian friendly! There is chicken fat in their recipe. Shocker, right? So throughout the years I've occasionally tried to replicate the taste of that bowl. I haven't found anything that tastes super close to it yet, unfortunately - including this recipe. However, it IS a good pasta dish. If you're looking for something more like the Domino's bowl I was talking about - try this recipe from my old cooking blog here. It's the closest thing I've created so far. But believe me, I will keep trying to perfect it!

Moving on to the pin of the week:

Now, I cut the recipe in half so this is the perfect amount for two people. My husband is not a vegan - so I made a smaller amount to just have one night of leftovers for myself. Here are the amounts I used, you can tweak it to however much you need.

1 1/2 cup grape tomatoes

5 oz. penne pasta
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic

1 medium shallot

salt and pepper

vegan Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
*

Directions:

1. Line a baking tray with foil. Cut your cherry tomatoes in half. Lay them out cut side up on the tray. Toss some olive oil and salt on top. Bake for 20 minutes. Set aside.
2. Cook your pasta as directed on package. Once done, drain and set aside.

3. Prepare sauce. In a large skillet, on medium-low heat add 1 Tbsp. of oil. Allow it to heat up, then add in your chopped garlic and shallot. Cook for 3-4 minutes until softened and fragrant.
4. Stir in 2 Tbsp. flour.

5. Slowly add in your almond milk. Just a little bit at a time. Add in a few shakes of salt, pepper and vegan Parmesan. Continue stirring for approximately 5 minutes, until sauce starts to thicken.

6. Transfer sauce into a blender until creamy and smooth. Once done, place back in pan on low heat until desired thickness is reached.
7. Add pasta and roasted tomatoes. Stir. Add desired seasonings.

* I would suggest adding more garlic - I had to add garlic powder at the end of the recipe because I didn't feel like there was enough taste to the cream. I also added oregano and basil for more flavor as well. I would say I used 3 Tbsp. of the vegan parmesan too. As you might guess, I like a lot of flavor to my food.. However, it WAS very creamy!

Again, it wasn't quite the recipe I was looking for, but still not a bad pasta dish. 

Until next week!

Introduction!

Hello! My name is Nikki and this year I have decided to try and make a fun little goal for myself to once a week, attempt to recreate at least one thing that I have pinned on Pinterest. I have already made a lot of things that I found on Pinterest over the past couple years, but I thought it would be fun to document the experience. Plus, whenever I find something I really, really like I always try to share it with as many people as I can and I thought this would be a great way to do that!

Here I will be sharing a variety of pins, but I have to admit - I see myself making a lot of food posts. I've been a vegan for almost 5 years now and I'm always looking to try a new vegan dish or sweet! I also plan on sharing crafts, beauty items, home decor - etc. Anything that I think someone else will like - I'll be sure to share it on here. All vegan-friendly and cruelty free, of course!

So a little about me - I'm 27 years old. From Pennsylvania. Right now, due to health reasons I am currently a housewife. I have two (fairly unheard of) medical conditions that effect my day-to-day life. One of them is a form of Dysautonomia called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and the other is a genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). For me, I think these conditions go hand in hand and to make a long story short - both my blood pressure and heart rate fluctuate a ton and I am left feeling dizzy, short of breath and exhausted a good bit of the time. I thought I would explain that aspect of my life a little bit because that is actually where the name of this blog was inspired from. My sweet hubby actually thought of it and I think it describes me perfectly. In my attempt to cook, bake or anything I put my time and energy into - more often than not, I'm left feeling dizzy and 'spinny'. So Spinnin' N' Pinnin' was the perfect name for what I am about to try and do with this blog! (Just a side note: If you would like to learn more about the health conditions I listed above, feel free to check out my other blog, Chronically Hopeful, listed on one of the tabs at the top of this page).

Well, I think I have rambled enough for my first post! I hope you enjoy this blog!