New Creations, an Etsy Purchase & Vegan Enchilada Dinner

Here are a few of the projects I've been working on lately...

Not Your Mother's Pearls (Vegan of course!)

Olive Quartz Earrings

Sunstone, Andalusite, & Smoky Quartz Necklace

Last night I cooked vegan enchiladas, Mexican rice, and hominy and my mom and step-dad came over to celebrate my mom's (belated) birthday. I gave my mom her birthday gift so now I can finally post a picture of the adorable purse I bought for her on Etsy.


Isn't it cute? It's from Beelicious. Perfect for summer.



I can't really post a recipe for the enchiladas because I always just kind of throw them together so I don't know the measurements, but they were filled with mashed potatoes (I used instant, I am lazy), refried black beans, chopped spinach, sliced olives, and vegan cheese. I used whole wheat tortillas and enchilada sauce from a can and they were yummy!

The hominy was also just from a can, sauteed in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

And the rice... aah, the rice. This is a great recipe that I've had for a long time, originally discovered on Allrecipes.com.

Mexican Rice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup diced onion
1-1/2 cups uncooked white rice
1 cup diced green bell pepper
3 cups water
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
12 ounces tomato sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon saffron (powdered)

In a large saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Place the onions in the pan and saute until golden. Add rice to pan and stir to coat with oil. Mix in green bell pepper, water, cumin, chili powder, tomato sauce, salt, garlic, saffron, and water. Cover, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until rice is tender. Stir occasionally.

And here's some random spice trivia from the saffron jar:

"The world's most expensive spice, saffron is painstakingly hand-picked - over 210,000 stigmas from 70,000 crocus flowers yield just one pound."

For some reason I felt compelled to share that with you.