Recipes, projects & products that don’t suck.

Welcome potluck guests! Have you had to change your shirt from all the drool yet? Today I am participating in the Virtual Vegan Potluck, which is basically a string of 100+ blogs all linked together with “forward” and “back” buttons/links to guide you through an online plant-based progressive dinner, if you will. You’ll be taken through eight courses, with several bloggers participating in each course. You are currently in the first course, Appetizers, which will be followed by Beverages, Bread, Salad, Sides, Soups, Main Dishes and Dessert. You’ll find links to the previous dish/blog and the next dish/blog at the bottom of this post. Most often on 86 Lemons, I test other people’s vegan recipes and report to my readers, letting them know if it’s…

I saw this image on How Does She’s Facebook page today and it couldn’t be more accurate. As far as I’m concerned, March can start going out like a lamb any day now. I’ve had enough snow and cold weather. Bring on the sunshine, Lord. Please. My sister, who now lives in Texas, brought her six kids home (to Michigan) for a visit over Spring Break. Talk about backwards – going from Texas to Michigan! My idea of Spring Break doesn’t involve building a snowman, but that’s what they did… They stayed with my parents, who live a couple of hours from me. I was getting ready to head down for an overnight visit with the whole gang and I needed a quick dish that…

Mom! Are you out there?! Are you reading this? Cuz this one’s for you. My mom makes a mean Spicy Rice & Beans dish that my dad absolutely loves (I think he could probably live on it for the rest of his life). Today, I’ve got a new twist on an old favorite for her and for all of you, too. I discovered this recipe from an old post on Naturally Ella, a blog written by a lovely, über talented gal named Erin. I don’t know what’s better, her recipes or her photography. Both are outstanding. In fact, just browsing her site makes me both depressed (by my lack of photography skills) and motivated (by my lack of photography skills). I know my photos aren’t…

What?! FAT-MELTING chili?! Yup. According to Dr. Oz… “Eating the right foods is crucial to weight loss. This vegetarian chili is hearty, tasty and has all of the right fat-fighting ingredients to help you slim down. The protein-rich beans help build muscle, while the hot spices boost your metabolism to burn fat. Perfect for a family meal or to freeze and eat later, this recipe will help you drop those extra pounds.” Sign me up! I didn’t know hot spices could boost your metabolism. If that’s the case, Hubs should be skin and bones cuz he eats a LOT of spicy food. Once when we had company over, I asked him to refill the salsa bowl. Well, he snuck ‘a little’ hot sauce into the…

I don’t even know where to begin. I was OVERJOYED (yes – overjoyed) with how this recipe turned out. I could live on these quesadillas and my guacamole and homemade corn tortilla chips (and maybe some dark chocolate) for the rest. of. my. life. This is some serious goodness, I tell ya. Best quesadilla I ever had. Just make it for yourself – you’ll see. My husband (who I call Hubs on this blog) has started to refer to himself in the third person as “Hubs.” He thinks he’s funny. When he took a bite of the quesadilla, he said, “Hubs loves it!” Props to Kieran at Health is Happiness for coming up with this masterpiece. I adapted it ever so slightly to make it…