A Trio of Fast and Easy Appetizers

Soyrizo Lettuce Leaves

About a week or so ago, we had company coming for an evening of appetizers...and of course, they're not vegan. At least not here in Ohio, where I think the number of vegans could be counted on one hand. And my guess is they don't go out much. So these appetizers were a little on the "meaty" side. They're also super quick, really easy and can be prepared ahead of time. We rounded out the menu with some hummus, chips, spinach dip and olives, followed by chocolate cupcakes for dessert.

These lettuce leaves are just sauteed onions, red peppers, crumbled soyrizo (browned first), a little tomato sauce and a little sour cream to help them hold together. We lucked out and got butter lettuce to serve them.

Winter Brushetta

It's struggling to be spring here and I think we turned the corner this last week. We're bound to get more snow, but this time of year it just can't last long. Still, our tomatoes won't have much flavor for months. The answer to not-so-good tomatoes? Using cherry or grape tomatoes and roasting them in the oven (325 for 45 minutes to an hour) with salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic. When they come out, add a little balsamic vinegar and a good handful of chopped fresh basil.

Korean Barbequed Meatballs

This recipe is from Veg Cooking. It's especially nice because you can make the sauce early and shape the meatballs ahead of time. I cooked them about an hour before company came then combined them with the sauce and just reheated them in the oven. I think I might like this recipe a little better, but this one was a nice change of pace.

This was a really stress-less way to entertain and nobody missed the meat at all. Using the soyrizo and the gimme lean really kept my effort minimal. If anyone did miss the meat, they must have been consoled by the cupcakes.

"Fast and easy"....now that I think about it, that's how certain women used to be described. I like it applied to food better.