Baked Vegan Acorn Donuts

My baked donuts were again for another potluck, I used the same mini cupcake tin. I used a veganyumyum recipe that I found here. They pretty much turned out like little cupcakes, but I decorated them like acorns for the fall and in memory of my sorority sisters. One batch didn't make many, though they were easy, so I made another. Only problem was that I ran out of Earth Balance. I am trying to avoid it now anyway so I just used oil instead. I think the oil ones turned out even better to be honest. I did reduce the amount of oil I used though. For reference, sugar is considered a wet ingredient. I had to google that since neither site elaborated. I guess I still am a super n00b.

I decorated them with PB and chopped pretzels, the pretzels were so hard to chop though! I went through two plastic bags, then started grinding them with the top of an old juice cap in a bowl! Talk about a lot of work. Baking them was really easy, so I think I might just skip the decorating part. I don't think I have the patience or creativity for that.

RECIPE:

Lolo's Baked Vegan Donuts
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used Whole Wheat Pastry Flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 shake of cinnamon 
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Egg replacer for 1 egg (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer.)
4 tablespoons Earth Balance or other vegan margarine (I used 3 tablespoons oil)


Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350º F.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients with a whisk to mix thoroughly.

In a small saucepan, combine wet ingredients (including sugar) over medium low heat & mix until margarine (I just threw the oil in here and let it go till the sugar dissolved, who knows if this was right!) is melted. You should be able to stick your finger in the mixture without burning yourself. Don't make this too hot for the dough!

Add wet to dry & mix until just combined, forming a soft spongy dough.

Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out dough into an ungreased nonstick mini cupcake pan & smooth out the tops of them. If using a regular sized donut pan, fill them until just below the rim. Make sure not to overfill them or they'll have uneven muffin tops. If you under fill them, they'll be skimpy, but still edible.

Bake them for 12 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Invert the hot pan over a cooling rack to release the donuts & allow them to cool completely before decorating.

This will yield 20 mini donuts or 6 to 8 large donuts. (Mine only gave me one and a half mini-cupcake tins)
If you don't have a donut pan, you can bake them as donut holes in the bottom of a mini muffin pan (like I did!) or make fun shapes in those molded silicone pans!

My First Potluck

I went to my first potluck a couple of weeks ago. I decided I would bring mini cupcakes because that is what I would have wanted to eaten, and mini because they are easy to grab and go quick. I made a vanilla batter from Vegan Cupcakes Takeover the World. I separated it into three and put lemon extract in one, chocolate chips in the other, and (mini) oreo crumbles in the other. I poured them into a mini batter pan. The only difference is that I split the mini oreos and put them in the bottom of the cookies and cream liners. 

Then for the buttercream. Great news!!! I FINALLLY GOT MY BUTTERCREAM TO WORK!

I again split it up and added oreo crumbles for the cookies and cream, left it plain for the chocolate chip ones, and added lemon and yellow food coloring for the lemon ones. I think they turned out really great!

Pie Town

I just found out there is a pie contest this fall that one of my dad's running friends family hosts. So from now until thanksgiving I will be baking one pie a week. This week I chose this pie. It is still cooling but it smells and looks soooo good. The filling tasted delicious!

For the subs:
We used pecans instead of walnuts
Ener-g egg replacer for butter
Agave instead of honey
We used dark and semi-sweet chocolate

I also used this pie crust recipe

It only made one pie instead of the two... but it was pretty easy to make.

So... I made the rest of the cupcakes... I realized, the thinner the batter, the longer the cooking time. Interesting. So I think I am taking a break from sweets for a while. I need to lower my glycemic index. I'm not actually sure if that is how it works, but it sounded good.

I am currently making some rice, beans, onions, hummus, flax, hemp oil... and God knows what else I find. On the topic of God. People think I say "Oh my God" too much... Really I only say it because I want to include God in on that moment. Like today, I was driving and a bird was low swooping, I was scared I was going to hit it. I said "Oh my God" I didn't have time for a prayer or to even think, but God was looking out. It is like a mini-prayer and inviting God into every situation.
Anyway, it feels so freeing not having my facebook. I almost feel like I am back in olden times... lol riiiiight. But seriously... without facebook, texting, and phones... how else do you get a hold of people in a reasonable time frame? I don't know how....

I also worked out today, it feels very freeing working out too. I dance. I love it, I get tired but I am having so much fun I don't care... you don't hear people saying that about running or weight lifting... they hate it... they just enjoy it because it is all they know... it is theirs. I love sweating... I love dancing. So I am getting a smidge (I wish) closer to deciding what I want to be) I am settling on business. I need to limit my choices, and business is still a VERY broad area. The three main things I am thinking now: some general form of business, law, opening my own shop. More than likely I will go into law or some general form of business. It is the "safe" choice. But I haven't always been that "safe" girl. Sure, I don't take risks... like ever... no seriously I'm wary of the stock market... I drive like I'm 80... I don't break laws or even guidelines... I'm extremely straight-edge. Too bad my mom thinks I'm some drug dealing hooker... I always think it is funny that the good kids get reprimanded and the bad ones parents don't give a damn. I guess that is why they are the bad kids.

I got my audio recorder from my sister. I want to start documenting my life. I used to love my dad's old recorder, it was the size of a walkman, remember those? My aunt had one... I had this great idea for one that connected to the internet where you could listen to all sorts of music... meet the iphone... anyway, being a lawyer my dad uses his for recording trial stuff I guess... it always made me feel so professional hearing my voice next to my dads. I was always so shocked at the way my voice sounded. It sounded the way it has always sounded, I always feel like my voice has been the same, a personal narrative of sorts. I still disagree with my voice, but it's better. Anyway, my dinner is finally ready, nummmmnumnum!!! yes I am eating at 8:30 lol It has raw onions in it, I love their burn. I remember one night I was so desperate to binge I ate a whole raw baby onion...simply because it was in front of me lol Anyway, here is a pic of dinner tonight:

sorry... phone pic : /

Choco Chip Cookies

Ok, so I totally aced this one! I decided I was sick of making health food cookies and splurged. I used the full amount of oil called for. EW I know.... but soooo yummy! I was inspired after noshing on SweetArt's Main Event (a vegan choco chip) I 1/4thed the recipe and only made 4 cookies. They were soooo amazing! I got the recipe from the Cookie Connoisseur by Kelly Peloza.

Here is the Main Event

Here is my cookie (sorry my camera is out of battery so my phone will have to do!) 

I used semi-sweet and dark choco-chips. They spread out a LOT and were very thin and delicious, this next batch, which I plan to make tonight, I will do half oil/half applesauce

Here is a picture of me red-riding-hood-ing it to my grandmothers!! 

I am on the search to make the best choco-chip cookie ever, I will make updates and progress. I plan on trying all the different recipes I find, perfecting them one by one, then choosing my favorite!

Avacado bean tacos

I made dinner tonight for the first time in a while. I wanted tacos, and would have used some fake meat but did not for two reasons. 1) I am trying to be more healthy, natural and holistic (psh good luck!) 2) My mom's boyfriend is an omni and didn't want fake meat. So I made these with bean. I would like to point out that a lot of my cooking recipes (unless otherwise specified) I make up on my own based on my taste preferences at the moment and what I think would taste and feel good in my mouth! (ok that might have taken it too far, know I debated deleting it...) So you will need! (and because I make these up feel free to add anything {cruelty free} that you would like to them!)

This made about 7 tacos (I used the boxed ones that are pretty tiny, so it really didn't make much)

Onion (however much you think you'd like, cooking is all about trusting your taste buds!)
Garlic (I used one clove)
Black beans (I used nearly a whole can)
I used a Hemp vinaigrette as an oil (adds omega-3's)
I also added two splashes of lime juice to give it a more cajun feel
I added dashes of ground cumin and ground red pepper
Then I soft and hard shells
I added garlic hummus to the actual tortilla on the soft shells and on top like sour cream in the hard shells.
Then topped with avocado wedges and lettuce shreds!!

Photos to come!

Mother's Day

So I have been home a couple days now, my family is finally back together, mother and sister. I made my mother pancakes (chocolate chip peanut butter with maple syrup, powdered sugar, and fresh berries along with freshly pressed carrot juice) I gave her a juicer for mother's day (secretly hoping I can use it!) a card, and ordered some flowers. Well, when the flowers arrived it was the adorable little neighbor girl. See, I never grew up in a neighborhood, I never had that sense of community... it was just my family and the kids I went to school with, and I wasn't friends with anyone really. I didn't like it, but family was all I had. Today that has become so much more apparent. Sure, I don't always get along with them, but being all I had for so long, it is nearly impossible not having their constant support. Anyway, the little neighbor girl came over right as I was adding the wet ingredients to the dry in my favorite irish brown bread recipe. I invited her to help me finish. I had just put on my brand new apron and we were ready for some magic. She added the wet to the dry, stirred and helped knead. While it was baking we played with my kitties and talked to my mom (who loved the flowers!) Once it was done baking, I cut it into fourths and then sliced us two pieces. She chose cherry jam and I used the apple jelly my best friends family made. It was amazing, so warm and sweet with the jelly. After we ate it I sent her home with the rest of the fourth we had cut into and the rest of the cherry jelly. I felt like an aunt back in the day who had her neice over and sent her home with goodies. Sort of like little red riding hood, or hansel and gretal. Except this one had a happy ending... no kids in ovens or grandmas in wolves. I finished decorating my carrot cake that I had made for my mother and boy did it turn out beautiful!

This is Hector the Alphasaur, my best friend Taryn bestowed him upon me since I am transferring.
He will be in a lot of pictures as we will be adventuring together.
He is my companion, look for him in pictures from now on!

Carrot cake, cream cheese icing, walnuts. Recipe from: The Joy of Vegan Baking

Thick and Creamy Hearty Bean Stew

Last night I decided to up my college cooking and make a stew. One of my friends has a rice cooker so we made the rice in there then sauteed the veggies and un-drained beans with seasoning and added the veggie broth. It was kind of an all night adventure because we didn't know what we were doing and the rice took forever to cook.

Ingredients:
Veggie Broth
Celery- 1 stick washed and chopped
Red Onions Chopped- 1/4 a cup
6 mini red potatoes cubed and washed
1 can of great northern beans
Garlic herb seasoning
Rice cooker

I used about 2 cubs of broth, but I would use more depending on how you like it. I was originally going to make a soup then decided for a stew. Well I'd never made a stew before and didn't realize it would congeal so much. It is about the consistency I like my oatmeal, which is good but its not really a stew by any means. Adding more broth will fix this. Anyway this is a fun dish to make with friends in a dorm room if you have an open night.

Scrumpbeanylicious Salsarito

Ok, so I was hungry and didn't know what to make... so I splurged a bit and made a giant burrito!
This thing was the most delicious burrito I've ever had!!!

Ingredients:

Light Flat-out (or burrito roll, but these are healthier)
Hummus
Black beans
Chopped onions
Black olives
Parma Raw
Daiya
Salsa






Spread hummus on the flat-out, then pour drained blackbeans over it with chopped onions and black olives (and anything else you want) sprinkle on some parma raw and daiya then pour a line of salsa, microwave for 45 seconds-1 minute, wrap up ends then sides, flip and microwave for 20-30 seconds. pour some more salsa if you wish, and enjoy!!!

The last scrumptious bite!

Cheesy Spagheasy

Ok, so if you have been wondering where these awesome names are coming from, that is all thanks to my wonderful mother! My whole family is kind of a health buff family and my mom is always on the perma-diet! Anyway, despite her not wanting to transition, she and my father have both been very supportive of my choices. She alwayyyys used to make me pasta when I lived at home so besides her naming it, this is sort of a dedication to her! She used to just make noodles and parmesan but since I haven't found an accurate replacement for that just yet, I use spaghetti sauce. This recipe is sooo creamy and a delicacy (even though it is suuuper easy and is basically spaghetti!!) Hence the cheesy, spagh(etti) and easy parts to its name!

You will need:
Whole wheat noodles
Spaghetti sauce (I use prego veggie smart smooth and simple, since I HATE tomatoes this is a super smooth recipe that is full of flavor! and has two servings of veggies!)
daiya mozza shreds (btw I'm almost out of these and as you may have noticed I put it in EVERYTHING! sooo I'm running out of ideas since I LOVE cheese!)
Parma raw
A microwavable pasta maker (I use pasta 'n more, but other brands are pasta boat which can be found at walgreens, or you could make it on the stove top but I don't have one of those lol)

Make your pasta how you like it (al dente provides the most flavor) add your spaghetti sauce and stir in daiya and put a little on top, microwave for about 30 seconds or until daiya starts getting gooey. Add your parma raw on top for looks, texture, and taste!

Notice how the sauce almost becomes like a creamy red sauce, it gets
thicker and creamier and much richer and is so delicious!

Melted Galaxy

So I made what I like to call a "melted galaxy" because it is not a grilled cheese, it is melted galaxy cheese on arnold's bread with hummus and parma raw cheese. I forgot to snap a pic until I was almost done, but it was super melty and delicious. Normally I would say, "use whatever cheese you like" but the way the galaxy melts is so thick and creamy its delicious! I put it in the microwave for more than 30 seconds I think.

Frijoles Fiesta Nachos

HELLOOOO... i'm sick : ( so I don't feel like writing much, but I felt I should because it is my two month of being vegetarian. (the thirtieth will be my two month vegan) sooo, I am pretty much lying in my warm and cozy bed pretending the world doesn't exist and am about to watch a movie on my laptop!

Yesturday I made the most amazing nachos that you HAVE to try! The reviews were astounding, omnis everywhere said "I love this cheese" "that's not real cheese?!?!?" "Vegan is what's up!!"


You will need:

black beans
corn chips
daiya mozza shreds
salsa- I used hot!

put a thin layer of chips down so they are just covering the bottom of the plate, then add a layer of daiya, repeat, microwave for 45 secondsish, add beans in a circle on top, microwave for the 15 secondsish, then add salsa in a ring of fire around beans.

Daiyadilla

For lunch I made a Daiyadilla, as I like to call it. It was super super easy! All you need is a tortilla, meltable vegan cheese, and if you'd like, salsa vegan sour cream black olives, shredded match meat or anything else you'd like or have that you want to throw in! Results: unbelievably quick and tasty cruelty free quesadillas!
My tortillas were almost frozen so I popped it in the nuker for 10 seconds, then tore it in half. Poured on my daiya mozza shreds and nuked for 50 seconds. Took it out, poured some hot salsa and whamo!!

DELICOUSNESS, feast your eyes on that!

can you resist the undeniable gooyeness that is daiya? 

College Cooking

So, I am back at school! It's exciting and I am really enjoying it. However, there are things I miss. Here is my top things I miss

5. My single room
4. My car
3. My family
2. My cats
1. A stove

However, I can show you tons of great stuff using only a microwave (and sometimes a toaster)

I made a mini-pizza using the following ingredients:
Arnold's sandwich thins
pasta sauce (I used ragu veggie one or something)
daiya cheese

I toasted half of the sandwich thin and then put on sauce and cheese to my liking then NUKED IT for 30 seconds! it turned out a little soggy but the "cheese" melted perfectly and it smelled devine (even my omni roomie thought so!) I was too hungry to wait for it to cool and potentially congeal so I ate it with a fork and knife. In the past I used to make this in the toaster oven and it was much crispier but the cheese didn't melt as well, but I probably didn't put it in long enough. Either way, the microwave version was ooye gooey and delicious!

Taco Night Revisited!

So, this time I made taco's with great northern beans that were leftover from the chili recipe! I added red pepper, onion powder, soy sauce, white rice vinegar, taco seasoning, and brown rice! So delicious! We topped with daiya mozza shreds and lettuce, would have used olives but we were out : (
I also finished off most of the leftover desserts, only two buckeye balls left! I made like 50 so that's pretty impressive, although I did give most away and the ones I didn't my sister sneaked. My mom gave the last one to her boyfriend without me knowing it was the last one.... o well! Kinda sad though because we have a ton of non-vegan buckeye balls... I guess it's a compliment!

Couldn't take any photos though because I ran out of battery while taking pics of the desserts and everything and left my charger at school : (

After Christmas blues

Christmas is over, and I am glad... and sad... I did sooo much baking I don't even believe it! During the break I was having some second thoughts about school but now I am more energized than ever! I just hope I am not going to overwork myself. I find myself as one of those people who puts myself 100% into everything I do and burn myself out.

Anyway, I have also seen a lot of new movies lately. I have seen: The Other Guys, Black Swan, and Julie and Julia.

I LOVED Julie and Julia. Probably because I blog and cook/bake even though I am just getting into it. However, the movie was so well done how the two plots parallel each other! Fantastic!

The Other Guys was a great movie, very funny albeit a little crude, but still great!

Black Swan, I feel this movie would have been better had I knew what it was about or had read the book. She becomes psychotic by the end and my mother (as always, she teaches psych nursing) began diagnosing her with numerous psychological fallacies. I believe the mother sexually abused her, as she was clearly very sexually repressed and the mother was a very controlling, overbearing sign of anxiety for the lead. Wonderful acting, could have used a little more explanation though.


So over this break, I have baked: (click on the purple items for links to their recipe)

Peppermint crisps

Gingerbread cake 
2 of them! The recipe makes WAYY too much icing- I only made one batch of icing

Buckeye balls
I used less powdered sugar than the recipe called for and instead of doing all of them covered in chocolate, I covered some in gingerbread icing. They made about 50!

Icing covered cashews and pretzels
using leftover gingerbread icing

Marshmallow bars
I did not add any icing, and I used only about 1/4 a cup of margarine because I ran out, I used smart balance light with flax- it's vegan! I also used semi-sweet chocolate chunks instead of butterscotch, Baker's brand is vegan. I would suggest using smaller marshmallows like she has because it is difficult to cut with bigger ones and leaves the baker eating too many scraps! Not that that's a bad thing, but I have a big event coming up and can't afford the calories. However, this is by far my favorite dessert EVER!

Goddess bars
The recipe doesn't tell you this, but make sure to break up your shredded wheat! I added some coconut to the top!

Gingerbread cake cutouts, buckeye balls and coconut covered goddess bars!

Chocolate chunk oatmeal peanut butter cookies

Cashew Butter cookies

Peppermint Cheesecake
I used a little less than 16oz of toffuti, and I skipped the lemon juice and added at least a half a teaspoon of peppermint. Peppermint is very potent so add to it in little portions, I used 1/8th a teaspoon at a time until I found a taste I liked. I also added two drops of red food dye to make it pinkish

Over this break I have cooked:

Bean tacos

Cheezy Rice and Bean Cass

White Bean Chili- This is actually my aunt's recipe and originally included chicken and chicken stock.

• 3cans Great Northern Beans drained
• 32oz Vegetable Stock
• 1 chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• cumin, cayenne, and cloves were also included but cannot remember the exact amounts, start with 1/8th or 1/4th teaspoon and adjust to taste
• I bag daiya cheese (possibly more for topping)
• 1tablespoon olive oil

1. Add olive oil to a sauté pan, then add onion until translucent. Then add in garlic and the rest of the seasonings. 
2. Pour beans and vegetable stock into a big pot (it makes about a gallon) add seasoning and cheese. Heat until cheese is melted. 
3. Pour into a slow cooker (4quart or more) and cook on light for a while or until ready to serve. If you do not have a slow cooker just keep in the pot until ready to serve on a light setting. This has a bit of a kick to it but is super good with cornbread!

Cornbread
I made this for thanksgiving so this was the third time I made it. It fills an 8x8 pan nicely. It is soooo good!

Mac 'n Cheez

and others!

Impulse Baking

I decided at 8pm tonight that I was going to do some major baking for friends. I have 5 things on the menu, but could not find vegan marshmallows or graham crackers at my local store so one of them will have to wait. O well!

I am almost done with my first recipe, peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies. They look soooo good so far I cannot wait to sample! I got this recipe from vegweb.com but it was an adaption to an original recipe found in Vegan with a Vengeance.









The dough was yummy as I have found from my samplings (strictly for informative purposes only, I assure you)










Ok, so they turned out GREAT! A different texture than I thought, but still amazing! YUMM!







Now I am working on the peppermint crisps! I got this recipe somewhere non-vegan, but just make sure you use vegan chocolate and you're good! You will need a food processor for this one though. I am a little nervous because I don't have one and I'm going to attempt to break up the caramelized sugar with peppermint extract and get it down to the consistency of sugar again... with a rolling pin! Wish me luck!

Ok, so the first time I made the serum I messed up the proportions and only cut one of the ingredients in half! DUMB! So, I am re-trying it... I hope it works better this time...

Ok, so the syrup worked... but when it cooled it stuck to my wax paper....its a huge mess... and the saucepan I put it in got all stained. GROSS! Ug... I do NOT recommend this recipe unless you are highly skilled in cooking/baking.

I've got to admit, had it not been such a pain
in the rear it would have been pretty cool!

I will upload pics later... I'm too exhausted from that peppermint mess to even think.



Ok, so I finallllly finished those damn peppermint crisps! Word to the wise: if you are new to cooking/baking do NOT make the peppermint yourself!

All you have to do is melt your chocolate (1 cup dark, 1 cup semi-sweet: or any combo you like that's vegan)









then pour in about 1/8th a cup of sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons of peppermint and your coconut and spread it into your pan! sooo much easier and only takes about five minutes!









Now, on to the buckeye balls! Another vegweb recipe. This will have to wait till tomorrow though because it is 4:11 am and I decided to start baking at 8pm! Of course, I had to go shopping, etc. Anyway, goodnight!

Vegan Wine and Cheese Meet-Up

So, I haven't really had many updates on recipes because I have been eating leftovers and my mom and I went out to lunch today. One of my favorite restaurants! I got my favorite veggie burger of all time and a tempeh wrap. Ya, I've been eating a lot lately! Anyway, last night I went to a vegan wine and cheese meetup in my area. It was really great to meet so many awesome new people. I was definitely the youngest one there, luckily I dragged my mom along with me though! It was awesome, they had amazing desserts and I met so many ARA's who were willing to help me out. They gave me so many new ideas and I am excited to try them out in my college town. They had sugar and gingerbread cookies, chocolate mouse cake from The Chicago Diner, chocolate coffee truffles, "cheese" cubes, cashew basil and herb "cheese" spread (follow the link for recipe), crackers and tofurky and toffutti roll-ups!! SOO GOOD! Now I want to do AR with my life. I do not know what I want to do exactly with my life though, so it's difficult. I just know I need to help animals. It makes me nervous because the clock is ticking. Anyway, I have been able to get in touch with a couple vegans from my town so I am actually really excited. I think we are going to start leafletting!!! Cannot wait!

Cheezy bean and rice cass

Tonight my dad is having a party for his running friends. They are running around a park that is decorated with extreme Christmas lights. Then they are coming back for dinner, they are all running in monogrammed santa hats! So, I decided I would make a casserole. I created this recipe myself and I made it last night for my mother and myself so I would know what to adjust, and believe me there was a fair amount!

Serves: about 6-8 depending on portion size

Prep time: 1 Hour (seems like a lot but most of it is waiting for rice to cook and I haven't gotten the hang of multi-tasking in the kitchen yet, so it may be quicker for you)

Cooking time: 20 minutes (10 covered, 10 uncovered)

Preheat to 350

Ingredients: 

Olive oil (for greasing pan, just in case)

1 cup semi/mostly drained black beans

1 cup semi/mostly drained kidney beans

4 tablespoons of black olives (diced or sliced, add more or less depending on your taste)

~3 tablespoons Taco Seasoning

~4 tablespoons Onion Powder

~3 tablespoons White Rice Vinegar

~1.5 tablespoons Soy Sauce (some are prepared using isinglass, which is not vegan, be careful)

~3 tablespoons White Cooking Wine

(for all of the above approximates, I used the taco seasoning and onion powder in between each time I used liquids, they are approximates because I did it on looks and taste, make sure to taste yours as well)

1 Tortilla (sliced in half)

3/4 Cup of Water (for rice)

1/2 Cup of Brown Rice (I would use a little more but definitely not 2/3 I poured a smidge less than 2/3 and I had some leftover)

Pinch of salt

1.5-2 cups of Daiya Mozza Shreds (I only had 1 cup, I used 1/2 in the mixture and the other 1/2 between layers and as toppings, I would have liked more)

Tortilla Chips

Rice Directions:

Boil 3/4 cup of water with 1/2 cup brown rice and a pinch of salt, turn down heat, cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, I would check in at 15 minutes. The first night (also my first time making rice, I overcooked it and it was a mess!) I wanted my rice a littler crunchier but not too much, the first night it was too crunchy, tonight I think it's better.

Filling Directions:

It is okay for it to be liquidy, this will allow it to soak
into the chips and will leave it moist while baking

Mix beans and black olives. Sprinkle taco seasoning and onion powder over mix, stir. Add two or three splashes of white rice vinegar and two splashes of soy sauce. Dust your mixture with taco seasoning and onion powder again (I like doing it this way because it allows you to adjust after each addition) Add about two splashes of white cooking wine. (again, do this to taste) Do one final dusting of taco seasoning and onion powder if you'd like. Now, add in 3/4-1 cup of Daiya mozza shreds. This will help your casserole stay together better (the first night I didn't add it into the mixture and it kinda all fell apart, which is fine it still tasted yummy!) Add rice and stir!

Prepping the pan: 

Grease with olive oil, just to be on the safe side. Take your tortilla halves and place them in the pan so the the straight sides are against the edge.

The first night I kept the beans separate
to make sure they both tasted good

Pour your filling over the tortillas, use a little less then half (it's shocking how it doesn't look even later)















Cover this layer with Daiya, disregard my earlier comment in an earlier post about being sparse with Daiya, using plenty helps with congealing.

Crunch tortilla chips over this layer and then pour your final layer on top, spread evenly and cover with Daiya and more black olives (I didn't think of this, but would have been a nice aesthetically pleasing touch) 

If you let it sit for a bit before putting it into the oven, it will allow the chips to get a little soggy and won't be as crunchy. I like it this way.

Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven at 350 for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 5-10 minutes, or till you think it looks good. 

Let sit for a bit so it can cool and congeal and also let the chips get a little more moist.

Update: Sitting seems to be the best option to keep it together, the cheese didn't really do much to it as far as keeping it together. However, you could try using the same cheese sauce used to make the mac n cheese, that could help.