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Herbed Nut Cheese Log is a perfect appetizer. Watch this amazing video and learn how to make it for your next party. Lauren Toyota outdoes herself with this next party fave: Pulled BBQ Spaghetti Squash Sliders! Again, perfect for any event... or just make it for yourself and chillax with a great meal! She even throws in a bonus SLAW recipe. Then, for dessert, it's Apple Pie Shooters. Wow! And, all of these dishes are SO healthy, you could even bill this as a superfood celebration. Thanks to Lauren for her meticulous recipes, all listed below. And, check out her website: https://www.hotforfoodblog.com

MAKES 8 to 12 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Refrigerate: 6 hours
minutes
2 C raw cashews, soaked for 20 minutes in hot water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon coconut oil (solid at room temperature)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
¾ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tsp dried or fresh chopped basil
1 tsp dried or fresh chopped oregano
1 tsp dried or fresh chopped parsley
½ C dried cranberries, roughly chopped

Drain and rinse cashews from the soaking water and add to a high-powered blender along with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, nutritional yeast, sea salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder. If using dried herbs you can add them to the blender. If using fresh chopped herbs, stir them in after the mixture is blended smooth so it doesn’t turn the mixture green.

Blend the nut cheese mixture until very smooth. It will take some working with the blenders baton to push the mixture into the blade while the blender is running, or by stopping the blender to push the excess mixture down the sides and mix it around before running the blender again. If you do this it will get smooth eventually!

Scoop out the cheese mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap in a lengthwise fashion as you will be shaping a log in the plastic wrap. The log is approximately 7-inches long x 2-inches wide. Wrap the sides of the plastic around the cheese mixture and gently roll a log, also tightly twist up the ends of the plastic and flatten the front and back ends of the log at the same time. Once you generally have a log shape place this in the fridge for at least 6 hours or longer until you’re ready to serve the cheese.

When you’re ready to serve, remove the cheese from the plastic wrap and it should be solid enough to handle and reshape gently with your hands if there are any misshapen parts. Place it on your serving platter and gently press roughly chopped dried cranberries around the outside of the cheese log. Sprinkle with a little more basil and serve immediately!

Pulled BBQ Spaghetti Squash Sliders

MAKES 12 sliders
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour

Pulled BBQ Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
sea salt & ground black pepper, to taste
½ C white or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
2 tablespoons low-sodium vegetable stock
¼ C BBQ sauce of your choice

Coleslaw
4 C store bought bagged coleslaw mix
⅓ C vegan mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
ground black pepper, to taste

Sandwiches
small slider-style buns, lightly toasted
dill pickles, sliced

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Prepare the spaghetti squash by cutting it in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the inside seeds and pulp. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil per side, and sea salt, and ground black pepper. Use your hands to spread the oil, salt, and pepper evenly around the inside flesh of the squash.

Place the squash inside down onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or in a wide baking dish. Bake for approximately 45 minutes (this depends on the size of the squash) until tender and you can easily poke the outside skin with a fork.

While the squash is baking, prepare the coleslaw by combining vegan mayonnaise and dijon mustard with the coleslaw mix. Add ground black pepper to taste and refrigerate this until ready to assemble the sliders.

Just before the squash is finished baking, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes until softened.
Add garlic powder, cumin, paprika, and chili flakes and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes. Then add low-sodium vegetable stock to deglaze the pan.

Remove the squash from the oven and scrape the inside flesh of the squash out with a fork. Add all of this to the pan. Allow most of the stock to be absorbed before adding the BBQ sauce. Once you’ve added the sauce, stir to coat all the squash and heat through for 3 to 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Toast the slider buns in the oven, if desired, and thinly slice pickles.Assemble the sliders by placing a bit of coleslaw on the bottom bun, then add pickle slices and top with a good portion of pulled BBQ spaghetti squash. Serve immediately!

NOTE: You could bake the squash ahead of time and then prepare it in the pan the day of, before assembling and serving the sliders.

Apple Pie Shooters

Makes 10 to 12 shot glass size apple pies
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Crisp Layer
1 ½ C rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ C brown sugar or coconut sugar
¼ C chopped pecans
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ C coconut oil (solid at room temperature)

Apple Layer
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cubed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
⅓ C brown sugar or coconut sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Whipped Topping
2 cans full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
3 tablespoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a bowl, combine the crisp layer ingredients. Using your hands pinch together the mixture with the coconut oil until everything is well combined.

In another bowl combine the apple layer ingredients until the apples are well coated. Lay out the apples and the crisp on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or use 2 separate baking sheets for each. Bake for 25 minutes, tossing once or twice in between.

Meanwhile, prepare the whopped topping by scooping out the thick cream from the top of the cans of coconut milk and adding it to a blender along with the maple syrup and cinnamon. Blend until very smooth and fluffy. This whipped topping works best making it right before serving. If you refrigerate it for too long it will become quite solid liked whipped butter.

Once the apples and crisp are done baking, assemble your apple pie shooters by adding an apple layer to the bottom of all your small jars or shot glasses, then add the crisp layer.
If you want to pipe the whipped topping on top of the apple pie shooters, add it to a piping bag with a wide tip or use a zipper bag, seal it with no air, and then snip a small corner of the bag. Top the shooters with the whipped topping and sprinkle with a little bit more of the crisp layer on top and serve immediately.