Vegan Recipe: Southwestern Stuffed Butternut Squash

Since we are a vegan company, I thought I'd share with you a new recipe I tried recently!

First, let me explain to you how I fell in love with butternut squash. I went 23 years of my life without tasting a butternut squash.

I could eat you up right now.

I know. How on earth did I do that?

Well, my mom had never been much of a cook.{Sorry if you are reading this mom...you are good at other stuff though lol}. And most of my family in rural Indiana were traditional "steak & potatoes" kind of people. So I've not had much opportunity to encounter this weird yellow vegetable.

That being said, my mother actually is the one I now have to thank for my new favorite food's discovery.

She recently gave me some yellow squash that her neighbor gave her from their garden. She's not one to experiment in the kitchen, which is how I ended up with them. She knew she wouldn't use them, so she passed them on to the daughter who's husband is a chef. Plan seems legit to me. 

But I'm so thankful she shared them with me! Because now I can share this recipe with you!

Here's where I found the recipe I based MY RECIPE on...Click Here For Original Recipe.

Southwestern Stuffed Butternut Squash 

{Serves 4}

Ingredients

2 Butter Nut Squashes

1 can of black beans (drained & rinsed)

1/2 cup diced onion **Quick Tip: Use frozen diced onion! Super convenient for recipes like this!

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 can of corn (drained)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Vegan Cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Halve and seed butternut squash. Hollow out your squash just a bit to make room for your stuffing. 

Happy little squash boat!

3. Lightly brush with olive oil.
4. Place on a baking sheet and cook for about 30-40 minutes with the skin side down. To check if it's ready, pierce it with a fork. It should be soft.

Getting all hot and awesome in there. 

5. While those are baking, saute your onions and minced garlic in a pan for 3 minutes.

6. Next, add your bell peppers, corn, and spices and saute for 5 more minutes.
7. Finally add the beans and sir, sauteing for a 3 more minutes.

You can totally eat just this stuffing with some rice. Legit. It's the best.

8. When squash is finished, fill with stuffing mix and then sprinkle vegan cheese on top before returning to the oven for 5-10 minutes.

When it's all done, I found putting it in a bowl was the easiest route. That's it! Eat up!

I devoured this stuff. 

Have you tried this recipe? 

Let us know what you think!

The Glorious July Update.

Alrighty, so I'm a bit late to the party on a July Update Post. BUT I didn't want to go through all of July without an update of some sort. So here it is.

The Glorious July Update.

First of all, in case you haven't already taken advantage of this sale, we are currently offering BUY 2 GET 2 FREE on our already discounted clearance shades. Use the code "SUMMERTIME" at check out for this one!

Second, while we're on the topic of our clearance shades, there will be some new additions to our clearance section in the next month. Be on the lookout for the announcement via out Facebook page! The first shade to be added to the clearance is Doomsday Clock! Grab it while you can!

Finally, the most exciting part of this post, is the new Sample Sets we will begin offering this fall!

This has been one of the #1 requests we get from customers. So I took your feedback and worked on figuring out the best way for samples to happen.

There will be a total of 5 different sample sets to choose from, each being released a week or two apart. {That gives me a bit of a break from endless samples lol.}

First will be the Working Girl Sample Set! This set is perfect for someone who's looking for neutral shades, perhaps for work or everyday looks! Colors in this set:

1. Brit's First Time
2. Grandfather Clock
3. High Noon
4. Late Night Burger Gnomes
5. Dusk Til Dawn
6. Metronome
7. Super Bowl Sunday XLVI
8. It's Only Forever

Second to be released will be the Rainbow Rocker Sample Set. This set is great for someone who's all about rocking a rainbow of shades! Lots of variety for this one!

1. Midlife Crisis
2. Two-Timing
3. Atomic Clock
4. Mayan Calendar
5. Happy Hour
6. Stop...Zombie Time!
7. Once in a Blue Moon
8. The Night Bus

Third will be the Woman In Grey Sample Set--The name pays tribute somewhat to my theatre background, referencing the Woman in Black. :-) This set will feature shades perfect for anyone wanting to do a smokey eye look!

1. Time Square
2. I <3 U 4EVA!
3. Age of the Dragon
4. Judgement Day
5. Starry Night
6. Honeymoon
7. Night Owl
8. Digital

Forth to join the samples sets will be Pastel Princess Sample Set. This set will feature a variety of our pastel and lighter shades. 

1. Alarm Clock
2. Hourglass
3. Pocket Watch
4 Spring Forward
5. Cuckoo
6 Frozen in Time
7. Once Upon a Time
8. Deadly Nightshade

Finally, the last set will be the Dark Queen Sample Set. This set will have all of our deep dark colors. I like to also think of them as jewel tones as well, hence the Queen part of it. :-)

1. Darkest Before the Dawn
2. Tick, Tick, Tick, BOOM!
3. Back to the Future
4. Clepsydra
5. Midsummer Night
6. Uroboros
7. Sexy Time
8. Salvador Dali

All sets cost $10 and will come packaged in a cute little organza bag in a color matching their theme. :-)

Current release date for the first samples set will be Mid-August, but will likely be sooner. Just keep an eye out on the Facebook page for updates!!!

Which sample set are you most excited for? 

Upcoming Sales: Month of June

Hello Tick:Tock Fans!!

I'm going to try to do a monthly thing like this from now on to announce upcoming sales for the month!

This month, we've still got out Buy-2-Get-1 Free Clearance Sale going on. Use the code SUMMERTIME at checkout to receive the sale price!

There will also be a Free Shipping Weekend running Jun 14th-June 16th. This will be good on all orders of $15 or more, but will not include the Clearance colors. No coupon code is needed for this sale!

Also know that Storenvy doesn't allow two sales to be applied to one order (I wish they'd fix that, but they haven't yet). So if you are interested in some of our non-clearance shades, you'd benefit more from the Free Shipping Weekend!

We'd love to know what sales you'd like to see next month! Leave us a suggestion in the comments! :-)

P.S. Don't forget to check our Facebook page and Twitter for more updates!

Memorial Day Weekend, David Bowie, & TATs

Hello Tick:Tock Fans!

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day Weekend! I got to enjoy the weekend in my hometown with my dad and sister! And I also dyed my hair and got it trimmed a bit. Nothing crazy. I also spoil my sister a bit...I got her this sweet t-shirt. :-)

My little sister was in a happiness overload when I surprised her with this shirt from Hot Topic. She's 10 years old and her favorite celebrity is David Bowie. I feel like I've done something right as an older sister. :-)

So, exiting news: turn-around-times are still pretty great this week! This weekend was a bit off on actual days due to the holiday, as the post office was closed Monday and I went out of town on Friday evening. We had one order placed over the long weekend, so I had excess time to pack it up to be shipped out today. There was also one order placed on Friday, just in time for me to pack and ship it that same day! 

If you had ordered from us in the past and experienced an excessively long TAT, rest assured that your future order will not take nearly as much time. Our TATs have been improved immensely thanks to the new Tick:Tock Room! It used to take us at least a couple hours to fill an order. Now, it takes about 10-15 minutes to fill an order!

What are some improvements you would like to see us make? 

Comment below to share your thoughts!

SUMMERTIME Clearance Sale!

Hola Ladies,

So, life is pretty much excatly as awesome as I had anticipated with school being over, being moved into the new place, and the shop being back up for business! It's been so exciting to have everything all nice and organized so that our turn around times are super quick!

In regards to turn around times, I'm happy to say that we are currently operating with a TAT of just pretty much one day. If the orders are placed before 4-5pm from Monday-Friday, I can get them packed and shipped that very day. Weekends vary, but I tend to keep those days "off" so that I have time to spend with my family who live an hour and a half away. 

I do also keep TAT info updated on the Facebook page. I'll usually say something like "get your order in by 4pm Indiana time today to have it shipped today!"

Our current sale going on in the store is on our Clearance colors! All of our Clearance eye shadows are Buy-2-Get-1-Free when you use the code "SUMMERTIME" from now until August 15 at 12am.

What Tick:Tock Clearance Eye Shadows are you hoping to snatch up before they're gone? 

Leave us a comment!

Moving x2, Graduation, and Tick:Tock.

Dearest Darlings,

As the title suggests, a great deal of changes are going on at Tick:Tock Cosmetics. For starters, let's talk about moving.

First, in case you didn't know, we moved our production from Elizabeth's home to my home. This was a big change, and we did our best to make the transition as smooth as possible. Getting caught up on the orders during that time was tricky, but eventually we got it.

Now, in case you noticed, I wrote a "x2" by the word "Moving." That's because we are now going through an even BIGGER move. Instead of moving just a few blocks away, my husband and I are moving to a new city, which is about an hour and 30-45 minutes from where we currently live. What does that have to do with Tick:Tock? Well, currently, Tick:Tock is completely created in special corner of our tiny bedroom. Where we are moving to, I am going to have an entire ROOM just for Tick:Tock production! This alone would be great news...

I haven't told you the other awesome thing! I'M GRADUATING IN 3 WEEKS!!! This means that I will no longer have classes, which have been a huge set back with consistent production. Without classes, that means that I will have more free time. That means that turn-around times will be more like what they should be; meaning a day or two for processing, and shipped out every couple days. Instead of this packing when I can, or shipping when I have a chance after class.

So for Tick:Tock, the changes happening in the next month are only the beginning for the awesome that is about to be unveiled. I've got big plans for the summer, and for the rest of the year for that matter.

The plan as of right now is for the store to reopen by Mid-May. That gives me a couple weeks after graduation to get things in order in our new home, as well as organize everything in the new Tick:Tock production center. <3 I love the sound of that. Tick:Tock Production Center.

And this is just the beginning of the NEW Tick:Tock Cosmetics. <3 Get excited. <3

2000 Likes Giveaway!

That's right!! It's time to announce some info about out 2000 likes giveaway! Here are the details!

When is it? Starting on February 16th and ending on March 31st

Who can enter? Everyone (including internationals) can enter this contest!

What do you win? One lucky grand prize winner will receive a Full Size Infinity Eye Shadow Base in Milky Way, a Full Size of Prime of the Times 3-in-1 Primer, a full size jar of each of the top selling colors; Sexy Time, Grandfather Clock, High Noon, and Age of Dragons, and finally, a coupon for 20% off your next order!

How do you enter? You MUST like our Facebook Page, follow us on Twitter, and Answer the question! You can also send the tweet multiple times for more entries into the contest!

Simple follow the instructions below to enter! Thanks for entering!

a Rafflecopter giveaway