Fake Baked Beans and Smokey Maple Hickory Fake Bacon (both vegan friendly)

I found two really tasty recipes while browsing online for holiday meal ideas. Both the Fake Baked Beans and the Fake Bacon are vegan, yet they still have that rich smokey flavor that you get with regular bacon.

The Fake Baked Beans are cooked on the stove top so bypass the hours of baking in a hot oven. I, of course, left out the bacon (so it's vegan!) and instead substituted a few drops of liquid smoke. Yum, total comfort in a bowl. These were so good that we had them for dinner with just some potatoes on the side. They also make a great filling for tortillas--a tasty lunch.

Smokey Hickory Fake Bacon is a really clever recipe that uses pretty basic ingredients. If you're a vegan and you miss bacon, this is the perfect substitute. The recipe calls for thinly sliced tofu fried until it's crispy. I'm not a huge fan of crispy tofu, so I cut the tofu a little thicker, baked it, and made sandwiches. The marinade gives the tofu such awesome flavor--totally delicious.