Chicken and Caprese open faced sammy

Hello everyone! Today I want to show you a typical lunch in the Simple. Easy. Vegetarian! household.  Two things that we always keep stocked on the fridge are tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.  I love adding them both to all kinds of foods like pastas and soups, and also slicing them to make sandwiches.  Whether hot and melted, or cold with the classic flavors, tomato and mozzarella.

For today's lunch I decided on hot and melty, I love melted cheese!  It has been a long time since I have ordered a sandwich with meat at a restaurant or deli, but I have seen some and I try to gain cooking inspiration from that.



I started with my tomato and mozzarella staple, and then I got creative from there.  After broiling the cheese on top of a slice of oatmeal bread, I added a layer of sliced tomatoes, and then a piece of my favorite veggie chicken, Boca Original Chik'n, which looks and tastes just like a chicken cutlet, without any of that pesky chicken, of course. I finished off with my absolute favorite hot mustard from the Jewish deli by my house.





I love the mix of hot, melty cheese, spicy mustard, and the classic chicken flavor!  This meal was a little messy, but a lot of delicious!  Now go ahead and tell me that vegetarians can't enjoy a hot open faced chicken sandwich! 

What is your favorite sandwich to make? Do you like experimenting with veggie meats too?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Hello everyone!  Today I bring you one awesome meal that you wont believe is vegetarian!  It all started a few years ago, with a conversation between me and my boyfriend, Ben.  Ben eats meat, a lot of meat, and many kinds of meat and meat related things.  But one food we loved to share was pizza.  Ben opened my eyes to the most amazing sauce to dip my pizza crusts into, ranch dressing mixed with hot sauce.  Then during one pizza dinner Ben says "I with you could try Buffalo chicken pizza, they pour the ranch dressing right on the pizza!"

One of my goals as a vegetarian is to be able to eat any meat food, vegetarian style.  I have had my share of veggie burgers, soydogs, and even vegetarian sausages. Just because I am a vegetarian doesn't mean I wont be able to eat Buffalo chicken pizza!  I felt the need to show Ben that it was possible.  Just a quick trip to the super market and a call to my favorite New York pizza place and the vegetarian Buffalo chicken pizza was born!

I started with my favorite brand of soy meat, Morning Star Farms. They make all kinds of veggie meat from ribs, to sausage, to chicken, including Buffalo wings.





These chicken nuggets are shaped like mini drumsticks and covered in bread crumbs. And of course, a layer of spicy Buffalo sauce flavor.  This is where I started on my quest for Buffalo chicken pizza.

I popped a few of these in the microwave, and cut them up into bite sized pieces. I then grabbed a couple of slices of pizza that I ordered in for a local pizza place and put the chicken pieces on top.  Of course I had to finish this pizza off in the way all of this stared, with ranch dressing.  Now I have never had "real" Buffalo chicken pizza, but I like to think what I made was pretty damn close!








In the end what I had created was delicious.  The spicy Buffalo flavoring and the ranch work together perfectly, and nothing is better than pizza!  And proving Ben wrong.  So for those of you that have given up Buffalo chicken pizza when you became a vegetarian, or those that never had it and want to try something new and meaty (without any meat) you need to try this pizza.

Will you be making your own veggie version of the Buffalo chicken pizza?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Morning Star Chik'n Nuggets

Good morning!  Today I am going to show you something from one of my favorite veggie meat brands.   I gave up meat at 10 years old, but until then chicken nuggets were my absolute favorite food.  Actually they were pretty much the only food I ate.  My love for animals is what propelled myself into vegetarianism, and for me it was pretty easy.  But I have spoken to a lot of people that say they want to be a vegetarian but don't have the will power to give up their favorite foods.   I have found that one of the easiest ways to stay committed to vegetarianism is to find those replacements.  Love chicken nuggets like I do?  It is easy to find vegetarian ones to fill that hole in your heart and your stomach.

My favorite are Morning Star brand Chik'n Nuggets.  Morning Star makes a verity of veggie meats from buffalo chicken, to rips, to corn dogs!  One question I get about veggie meat is about taste accuracy. Does it really taste like chicken?  Well since I haven't had chicken in 11 years, I honestly don't remember.  All I know is that these Chik'n Nuggets taste amazing!  And honestly, that's all that really matters.  One more food that I like is more variation in my diet, and having options makes vegetarianism easy.

Ok. ok. So I know that's a long list of ingredients.  But these Chik'n Nuggets are full of flavor and protein and have less fat that real chicken, which is something everyone can agree on is a good thing, vegetarians and meat eaters a-like.  I even have a friend that is not a vegetarian and she absolutely loves these.

Just like a kid, I enjoy my Chik'n Nuggets piled on a plate and dipped in ketchup and mustard.  But you can get creative! Put them in pasta or add them to a wrap to get some extra protein in your meal!  Imagine what your friends will say what they see their vegetarian friend eating chicken nuggets just like they do!  

Will you be trying Morning Star Chik'n Nuggets?

Bye from the Veggie Side!