Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Review of Gardein

I was totally under the effects of a head cold Friday. Rob was feeling punk, too. Saturday was better and unfortunately required a trip to a store. So I ventured out and went to Target. I wasn't planning on cooking. However, I thought I'd check to see if they had a Vegan pizza hanging around in their freezer case. As I browsed around after grabbing soy milk and toilet paper, I discovered a case full of Gardein. 

I don't have a tight relationship with Gardein. I had never actually even tasted it until I was almost a year into Veganism. What I have tried has been pretty yummy so when I saw that freezer case with a bunch of choices I knew what I was buying for dinner. Everything was pretty reasonable, too. A main course that feeds two (or more) under 5 bucks? Okay. 

My review of Chicken Sliders.

These are tasty. I was so hungry by the time I got home I just followed the stove top method and fixed up the package (4 patties and buns which worked out to 2 a piece). Cheaper than fast food. Better than fast food. Vegan. And non-GMO. With fresh toppings, these can have unlimited tastiness. And I think the texture and taste wouldn't clue any omnivore into the fact that these aren't just a cute little chicken sandwich. I'm thinking vegan ranch dressing with tempeh, eggplant or coconut "bacon".  spaghetti sauce with Daiya mozzarella melted on top. Buffalo sauce. Tapenade. Oh, the possibilities. I give these a double thumbs up and will buy them again. 

My review of Szechuan Beefless Strips


I mentioned I shopped while hungry. So I bought a few Gardein products. I thought the Sizzling Szechuan would be a quick idea for after church. 

I had some leftover pepper and onion strips. Also some cauliflower and mushrooms to use up. So I added some garlic infused grape seed oil to a pan, chopped the veggies and dumped half the package of the Szechuan Beefless into the pan. After browning everything I added half the sauce packet. Yum. The sauce is a little sweeter than I like, but I did add more soy sauce which fixed that for me. Since I used only half the package and almost always have veggies that need to be tossed into a stir fry or medley there is another meal waiting. A very good deal, 4 meals for under $5.00 and just the time it takes to chop veggies and cook em up. Another double thumbs up. 

These items were just the tip of the Gardein iceberg at Target. Thanks, Target. You've always been one of my favorite stores but this is vegan icing on the cake.