Getting Swole: SIMPLE Protein-Packed Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

• 1 pint raw oyster mushrooms, cleaned (or whatever mushrooms you have)

For the marinade:

• 1/3C olive oil
• 1/3C water
• 1T balsamic vinegar
• 1t dried basil
• 1t dried oregano
• salt and pepper, probably 1t each
• juice from half a lemon

1. Clean the mushrooms. Everyone says you aren’t supposed to wash mushrooms but instead clean them with a towel. I’ve never followed this advice, but far be it from me to stop you
2. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a flat dish
3. Marinate the mushrooms for 30 minutes
4. Then, transfer mushrooms and some marinade to a saute pan and cook over medium-to-low heat for 3-4 minutes. They should lose a lot of water. Once they have sweated, cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium heat.

• 1C dried couscous
• 1 1/2C water
• 1 onion, diced small
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2t paprika
• 1/2t smoked paprika
• 1/2t ground cumin
• 1/2t ground coriander
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2C diced carrots
• 1/2C diced yellow squash
• 1/4C slivered almonds
• 1/4C chopped black olives
• 2T vegan butter
• handful parsley

1. Saute the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium high heat
2. Add the dried spices and bay leaf
3. Add the couscous and water, and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until couscous is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes
4. Meanwhile: in a small saucepan, saute the carrots and squash in a drop of olive oil until slightly browned. Add the almonds and olives about halfway through. I like to burn the almonds a little. 
5. Add the vegan butter and the contents of the small saucepan to the couscous
6. Top the couscous with parsley, and remove the bay leaf
7. Ta daaa!

• 8 oz. vegan cream cheese
• 8 oz. vegan butter (I know)
• 2C flour
• 1/2t salt
• 1/2C sugar
• 1t vanilla extract

For the FILLING: 

• 10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/4C vegan butter
• 2t cinnamon 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix your dry dough ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
2. Drop dollops of the cream cheese and butter into the dry mixture.
3. Cut the mix together with a pastry cutter. (You can also pulse it all in a food processor, but yikes more shite to clean up.)
4. While you are using the pastry cutter, drip your vanilla across the bowl.
5. The mixture will look somewhat pebbly, but much more moist (sorry) than when making pie crust. When you are done cutting in the fat, the dough should easily come into a moist (sorry!) ball with your hands. 
6. Knead several times. 
7. Break the dough into 2 balls, flatten into disks, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

While the dough is in the fridge: 
For the filling: 

1. Melt the chocolate and butter together over low heat.
2. Once it is nearly all melted, turn off heat, stir in the cinnamon, and continue stirring slowly until all the chocolate is melted.
3. Cover a big baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
4. Pour the chocolate over the paper and spread into as thin a layer as possible. 
5. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

1. Take the dough disks out of the fridge and let thaw for about 45 minutes. 
2. Preheat the oven to 350°.
3. Roll out each disk to about 1/4 inch thickness, rolling it not into a square but into a rectangle, about 2x as long as it is wide.  
4. Break the sheet of chocolate in half and place directly on top of the rolled-out dough. Break it into whatever pieces and shapes necessary to cover the dough. 
5. Roll it up from the long side over, so you are making an extra long log (not a super-thick one, as you’d make if you roll the wrong way). 
6. Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust looks golden. 
7. Remove from the oven, and let cool for about 30 minutes before cutting.
8. Cut into pieces about an inch thick. 
9. Enjoy !