Cassie DeNisco

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My Go To WeekNight Dinner!

There’s nothing I love more than an easy dinner! This recipe is sure to become a staple in your house because of how easy it is! I love the flavor combo and honestly stumbled upon it after trying to just use what I had! This has seriously become my go to weeknight dinner

A major theme in my recipes these days is using what I have on hand. I’ve found that I really feel better when I eat at home so I’ve been raiding my fridge and pantry each week to make sure I’m using what I have!

go to weeknight dinner

Ingredients- feeds 4

16 oz package of Brussel Sprouts

16oz package of Ground Turkey

2 1/3 Cups cooked white rice (I use a rice cooker but make it however you like)

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tsp sriracha

garlic powder

onion powder

paprika

salt & pepper

olive oil

sesame seeds to garnish

Directions

  1. Start by preheating your oven to 425 for the brussel sprouts. Quarter then by slicing them down the middle and then down each middle again.
  2. Add them to a parchment lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil & salt/pepper to your liking. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crisp and brown.
  3. Cook your ground turkey in a sauté pan over medium heat and add in soy sauce, sriracha, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Cook until browned!
  4. Once everything is finished cooking assemble your plate by putting the cooked white rice, ground turkey, and then Brussel sprouts. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy!

My other recipe this month also had Brussel sprouts in it so as you can see that what I have as a leftover. It saves you money using what you have but it’s also much healthier than ordering out!

This recipe literally takes like 20 minutes tops and is a really good weeknight meal. You can make it even healthier by doing brown rice or a grain but I just prefer white rice! If you liked this go to weeknight dinner, you can read more here! You can also follow me on pinterest where I get all my recipe inspo!

My Sweet Potato Quesadilla Recipe!

This new year we are prioritizing eating our veggies! I love this recipe because it sneaks in veggies in a really yummy and delicious way! I’ve now been plant based for over a year and a half and I love recipes like this sweet potato quesadilla!

Quesadillas used to be one of my go to recipes to make a quick lunch or order out but it’s hard to do when you’re dairy free! I found this recipe actual from a Hello Fresh Box but have made it my own as the years have gone on. If Hello Fresh is reading this, offer dairy free alternatives so I can still enjoy your stuff!!

This recipe is so quick and easy, as well as perfect to rotate into your New Year’s meals!

Ingredients

Your favorite Tortillas (I love almond flour but my grocery store didn’t have so I did whole wheat)

Cheese (Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese is the best to melt with)

1 poblano pepper

Grape tomatoes

1 yellow onion

Salt

Pepper

1 tsp cayenne

1 jalapeño pepper

Avocados

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 425 then peel and dice your sweet potatoes. Spray them with a little oil and bake for 25 minutes or until soft.
  2. Dice your poblano and yellow onion. Sauté your poblano and half of the yellow onion in a pan with cayenne, salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. Create a little salsa with your diced jalapeño, other half of the yellow onion, and tomatoes!
  4. Once everything is cooked, assemble your quesadillas without the salsa and bake in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is crisp.
  5. Serve with salsa on top and sliced avocado & enjoy!!

I love this recipe because it’s truly a twist on a classic. This helps you sneak in your veggies while having something good. If I’m looking for something more nutrient dense, I’ll even throw in some black beans! Let me know if you have tried this sweet potato quesadilla recipe or if you have a non-traditional quesadilla recipe!

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My Vegan Lasagna Recipe!!

As mentioned in my previous post, this November is dedicated to holiday meals! I wanted to share my vegan lasagna recipe because you absolutely still can enjoy lasagna even if you’re dairy free! This is the easiest recipe to make and tastes exactly like the real thing!

One thing I will say is it helps to find the pre made Vegan Ricotta because that seriously makes life easier! I love the Kite Hill brand because they have such a wide variety of vegan products. They’re tricky to find but oh so worth the hunt!

vegan lasagna recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 box of lasagna noodles

3 cups red sauce

2 cups vegan shredded mozzarella

1 cup vegan ricotta

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Cook lasagna noodles according to package. Drain water once cooked and set aside.
  3. In medium baking dish, pour a little sauce on the bottom and coat evenly. Begin layering lasagna noodles, v ricotta, and finish off layer with v mozzarella & sauce.
  4. Repeat the process until you have about 3 layers done. On the top layer, pour a little red sauce then top with mozzarella shreds.
  5. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until cheese is melted and it looks delicious!!

If you can’t find the vegan ricotta, there are lots of recipes on how to make it yourself with cashews! I was so excited to find it in my local Greens Market so it saved me some time. This was such a nostalgic vegan lasagna recipe that I haven’t had since I’ve gone dairy free.

I’m so excited to be sharing with you these recipes this month! I think with the holidays dairy free and vegan people think they can’t enjoy the same meals but there are ways you absolutely can! If you want to check out more recipes, click here and be sure to follow me on Pinterest here for more video content!!

Plant Based Alternatives I Love

I have been dairy free for almost a year now and seriously have never felt better. People always ask me how I do it, so I thought I’d share my top plant based alternatives that keep me going. I developed severe lactose intolerance over the past few years so I’ve become a pro at yummy dairy free things.

A lot of times people ask if I’m vegan but to be honest I don’t like to label myself. I am 100% dairy free due to medical reasons but I’ll eat meat here or there. This is my favorite list of milks, cheeses, and other plant based products & brands!

Follow Your Heart

plant based alternatives

This is my go to brand for any kind of vegan cheese. I love their Parmasean, Feta, and even recently discovered their sliced cheese. This brand makes me not even miss real cheese. I highly recommend checking out Follow Your Heart if you can. I usually find mine in Target and I’m telling you, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Simply

plant based alternatives

The simply brand is my go to for milks. I love that the ingredients are super minimal and the taste is pretty good. The only issue I have with it is that it is so hard to find. Honestly, I think it’s because it is so good! I usually will buy an extra almond or oat milk if I see it because often dairy alternative milks have so many unnecessary ingredients. This brand is so minimal and has a great taste.

Planet Oat

plant based alternatives

When I can’t get simple, Planet Oat is my next best thing. Ingredients are a little iffy however, the taste and consistency is spot on to dairy milk. I also am obsessed with the Planet Oat ice creams. I found when I went dairy free it was so hard to have ice cream but after discovering this brand, I can have whatever Ice cream I want by them because it’s so good.

Violife

If you’re looking for a good chunk cheese to maybe have a cheese board or shred yourself, check out Violife. I love their white cheddar chunk and love it in mac n cheese or scalloped potatoes. I don’t really like anything else by this brand but the chunk cheeses make me continue to come back for more.

Made Good

My final holly grail is the Made Good granola bars. Let me tell you, typical granola bar brands sneak so much stuff in them. I love these because not only are they dairy free, but their nut and allergy free too so if I’m on the go I won’t upset someones allergy. Again this are so hard to find but I stock up when I find them!

These are my tried and true products and brands that are plant based alternatives. It took me a while to get to the point where I could even recommend anything because you really have to try it for awhile. One thing to note is that I am huge on the ingredients in products but some of these don’t have the best. In situations like this, I choose flavor over ingredients because sometimes you just want as close to the real thing as possible!

If you love this plant based alternatives list, check out some recipes here! Subscribe here to my blog!

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