Granola

One of our favorite breakfast cereals is granola.  But finding inexpensive dairy free granola can be a challenge.  I have found that if I want granola with no dairy I have to buy the expensive organic brands in the tiny boxes.  It seems to be a bit of a waste of money to me when I can easily make my own.  I have made it several times, but I tried this recipe recently and wanted to share it with you all.


                                    Easy Granola*

• 2 teaspooons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups whole oats ( I like the Trader Joes Brand)
• 1/2 cup Rice Twice cereal ( or other crisped rice)
• 1/4 cup flax seeds or flax seed meal
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 1 cup dried cranberries ( I used the orange flavored ones from Trader Joes)

If you look real close at the TV you will see the severe weather alert crawling across the screen.  We had some wild storms roll in while I was putting this together. 

First things first, preheat your oven to 300F.  While the oven is heating, mix together your spices.  In a medium bowl whisk together the cinnamon, ginger, salt, honey, oil, maple syrup, water, and vanilla.

Add in all your dry ingredients and coat evenly.  Spread on a baking sheet.  You can line the baking sheet with parchment paper, but I didn't have any on hand.  We are trying to lower our waste so I stopped buying things like that and am finding alternatives.  I used just a small amount of cooking spray on my pan and spread it evenly with my (clean) fingers to lightly grease the entire sheet. 

Bake until the granola is dry and crisp, but do not let it  brown.  It took about 35-40 minutes for mine to finish up.  You can stir it a couple times as well. 

Once cooled completely, store in an airtight container.  I use Ball Jars- they work perfectly!  This amount filled 1 large jar and 1 small jar.  You could easily double it.  

I adapted the recipe from the original to suit our tastes.  I omitted the pecans and added almonds, used flax seed meal instead of whole flax seed, and added in some dried cranberries. 

*Adapted from Melissa d'Arabian and Ten Dollar Dinners

Gazpacho

As a family we try to do at least one meatless meal each week.  We actually have a few nights of the week themed to make meal planning easier: Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, Fun Friday, and the one night my oldest daughter gets to cook.   Last week's meatless meal was Gazpacho with homemade croutons and lemon basil aglio olio.  The Gazpacho recipe was from Ina Garten ( one of my favorites) and it was so simple. I love her recipe because there is no cooking involved at all!  No blanching, no peeling, very little chopping.  The food processor does all the work! I couldn't ask for an easier meal. I did change a few ingredients to match what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 6 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped*
• 1 English cucumber, chopped
• 1 white onion (or purple) roughly chopped**
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 23 oz tomato juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar*
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• dash cayenne pepper*
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• Handful fresh basil for garnish

*Changed from original recipe.

**I  used half of an onion because a whole onion seemed overpowering.  

Roughly chop each vegetable. Put each veggie into the food processor separately and pulse it until it is coarsely chopped.  Do not over process. I did the tomatoes first, then the pepper, cucumber, and the onion last.

Combine them in a mixing bowl.  Add your garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.  Mix well, and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour.  The longer the soup chills the better the flavor gets.  

Not the best idea to use a red bowl for this- oops.

 While the gazpacho was chilling, I made some homemade croutons to go with it.  I cut up a loaf of Italian bread, tossed the cubed pieces with garlic infused olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then I baked them at 400F until they were toasted and slightly browned.

Be sure to spray your pan with a little cooking spray to prevent sticking.

 We served the gazpacho with the croutons and some fresh basil from our garden.  Paired with my Lemon Basil Aglio Olio (recipe to come soon), this was the perfect meatless summer meal.

You can also serve this as an appetizer.  I made gazpacho "shooters". for dinner with my parents and served them in small ball jars while the rest of the meal was cooking.  They were just the perfect appetizer size (and healthier than chips!)

You can kick the spice up in this by adding more cayenne, or some Tabasco.  I kept it pretty mild since the girls were eating it too.

To keep this completely gluten free, you can omit the croutons, or make them out of gluten free bread.  Or you could toast and spice some nuts- walnuts or almond slivers would work great- and use those as a garnish.

What is one of your favorite easy summer time meals?

Recipe Adapted from: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook Copyright 1999

(Vegan) Fried Green Tomatoes

The first time I ever made Fried Green Tomatoes was years ago after watching the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes".  I had seen the movie several times and each time I ended up with a  serious craving for this dish.  So one afternoon I found green tomatoes at a farm stand, and my husband and I tried our hand at them.  They turned out really good!  For some reason we haven't made them in years so when I saw some green tomatoes at the store the other day, I had to get some and make this dish for my girls.

Since I can't have dairy anymore, I had to adapt the recipe a bit. I am also running low on eggs since I've been  baking a lot this week, so I didn't use those either.  That makes this a totally vegan recipe!  I didn't really follow a recipe for these, I just used a few methods I've used for breading other foods.  They turned out so good and definitely took care of that craving. 

(Vegan) Fried Green Tomatoes 

Serves 4 as a side or appetizer

Ingredients:

• 2 green tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• smoked paprika
• garlic powder
• Canola oil ( for frying)

Directions:

1.Slice your tomatoes into medium size slices- if they are too thin they will fall apart, too thick and they won't cook right.

                              

2. Put your breading mixture together: the breadcrumbs, corn meal, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  All of these are to taste. I added roughly a teaspoon of the smoked paprika and garlic.  You could add more or less.

I used my hands to mix up the breadcrumbs. 

 3.Whisk together your 1/2 cup almond milk and 1 tablespoon olive oil.  I much prefer this to using egg as a coating for frying veggies.  It's cleaner, not sticky at all, and the breadcrumbs stick better and stay on during cooking.  Plus, you don't have to worry about dealing with raw egg and cross contamination.

 4 Add enough oil to the pan to a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet for it to come about halfway up the slices of the tomatoes. Heat the oil over medium heat, but don't let it boil.

5 .Dip your tomato slices in the liquid mixture, and then coat with the breadcrumbs. 

6. Add your coated tomatoes to the hot oil- you'll know the oil is hot enough when it bubbles as you are adding the tomatoes.  Be careful- hot oil spatters!

7. Cook on one side until gold brown.  Flip and continue to cook until the other side is browned.  Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels.  

Keep an eye on your oil and make sure it doesn't start to get too hot, otherwise it will burn the tomatoes.  Add more oil if needed.

We had these with my Italian Chicken.  You can dip them in tomato or spaghetti sauce, or just sprinkle with salt and pepper and eat plain.  I don't like to add too much to them, I want to taste the tomato and the coating, not the garnish.

My girls really liked them!  The love all veggies, but especially if the have been fried!  Next time we make these I may add more spice to the bread crumbs since we loved spicy food. 

*Special thanks to my husband for taking all the pictures for this post!

Black Beans and Roasted Potato Bowl

My husband's job requires him to have dinner meetings from time to time.   On nights when he is at one of these dinners, I am the only one here to deal with dinner time, or what my friend and I call "the witching hour".  If you have young children, or have had a toddler you will completely understand what I mean.  If not, here is what the witching hour is: Somewhere between 4 and 6pm babies/ toddlers/ kids seems to get louder, crankier, more hyper, more demanding than at any other time of the day.  This is the time of day the toddler is getting into EVERYTHING- climbing on things, emptying my cabinets, stealing crayons and attempting to write on stuff  ( like walls).  When Daddy is here he  keeps the little one entertained while I make dinner.  When he's not here, I need quick easy meals that require very little attention.  We still have to eat a healthy dinner after all!
A few weeks ago I came up with this easy dish on the fly.  I had black beans in my cabinet, fresh potatoes from the farmers market in my fridge, and a spice cabinet full of spices to play with.  So I put it all together and made a really tasty, filling, easy dinner for myself and my oldest daughter. The middle one and little one had chicken tenders (don't judge), some of the potatoes, and veggies.  I didn't know it would turn out so good so I didn't take pictures.  When I made this again a few nights ago I made sure I had my camera on hand.  With the help of my 8 year old we recreated this delicious meal (with a few changes and a lot more spice).

Black Beans and Roasted Potato Bowl

Ingredients:

• 4-6 medium white potatoes- diced
• 1 can black beans
• Olive Oil
• 1 can Rotel Tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 jalapeno diced (remove seeds for less heat)
• 1/2 red onion- diced
• juice of 1half of a  lime
• 1 teaspoon Hot Mexican Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• Trader Joes South African Smoke Seasoning (optional)

Preheat your oven to 430F. Spray your cooking sheet with your favorite cooking spray.  Dice your potatoes, toss with olive oil and seasonings of you choice.  Roast in the oven until done. (I usually broil mine for the last few minutes to help crisp them.)

This is the best seasoning blend ever!  If you haven't tried it ( and you live near a Trader Joes) you really must try this!  It's awesome on just about anything.

While the potatoes are roasting: Saute your onions until they are slightly softened.  Add your jalapeno and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add your drained and rinsed black beans, tomatoes, lime juice and your seasonings. Let simmer until the liquid is mostly gone.

If you don't have canned tomatoes, you can use fresh diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, or even some salsa.  

Serve the black beans over the roasted potatoes. 

This recipe was really pretty spicy.  The first time I made this I did not use the jalapeno so it was a lot milder ( and I ended up adding sirarcha ).  It's totally your preference as to how hot you want it. I love it with the potatoes instead of  rice because it makes it so much heartier and more filling.  Plus if you season your potatoes you get even more flavor.

After I made it I realized this was a totally gluten free, vegan meal. It's actually free of most allergens. While this version is vegan, I think I may try it with a fried egg on top one of these days.  

Easy Weeknight Casserole- Just Like Mom Used to Make

Casseroles are definitely a Mom's best friend- they are easy to make, most can be made ahead of time, and kids seem to love them. The challenge is finding dairy free casserole recipes.  I used to make several- but they all contained some form of cheese, creamed soup or sauce, or milk.  Then one night my Mom had us over for dinner and made this dish that she used to make at least once a week when I was a kid.  Of course back then she used cheese, but for me she has omitted the cheese.  It has since become my 3 daughters' favorite meal, both at Mom's house and at mine.  We call it American Chop Suey and I have absolutely no idea why (Maybe you can answer that one for me, Mom?)
My oldest daughter has been asking me to share this recipe on the blog for about a year now, but I haven't had the chance.   Usually I make it on nights when we are running around and I don't have time to take pictures while I cook.  The other night I started it early enough and remembered to take pictures as I went along.  So here you go, my girls' absolute favorite meal:

American Chop Suey

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef

1 pepper (of any color) chopped

1 medium white onion chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1-2 cans tomato sauce

dried oregano (you can use fresh if you have some)

1-2 teaspoons dried basil

1-2 teaspoons dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

noodles of choice- Penne or Rotini work best


Directions:

1. Chop all your veggies and mince your garlic and set aside

2. Preheat a large skillet, drizzle in about a tablespoon of olive oil, and add your ground beef.

3. Once your meat is mostly browned, add your onion, peppers, and garlic.  If you use a high fat content beef, drain the fat off first.  We use extra lean, organic beef so I don't have to drain mine.

4. Once the beef is cooked through and the veggies have softened a bit, add your canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and your spices.   Let simmer for as long as you want on low ( I will let this go for an hour or more on very low heat). Or if you want it sooner, simmer on medium heat until the sauce thickens slightly.  

5. While your sauce is simmering, cook up your noodles according to the package.  Preheat your oven to 350F.

6. Drain your pasta and combine with the sauce in a large casserole dish. Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes.

If you want to make it ahead of time you can put the casserole in the fridge and cook it later. 

This is such an easy and kid friendly dinner. This time around we paired it with a green salad and my homemade Strawberry Merlot Vinaigrette .  And it makes so much we always have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Do you have a favorite meal from your childhood that you still make as an adult?

Strawberry Merlot Vinaigrette

I shared our recent Strawberry Picking trip yesterday.  We brought home about a gallon of fresh berries and lots of ideas of what to do with them all.  Since I had just gotten a new Merlot Vinegar at the Farmer's Market on Thursday, I thought that the vinegar mixed with the berries would make a great summer salad dressing.

Ingredients:

6-8 Strawberries hulled

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons Merlot Red Wine Vinegar (Or a red wine vinegar of your choice)

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon dried basil

pinch of sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Put the strawberries, honey, vinegar, oil, basil, salt, and pepper in a food processor or blender.  Pulse until it is liquefied.  It's really that easy.  Add more honey if you want it sweeter.  You could use fresh basil too, I just didn't have any on hand. 

Pour over your favorite salad and enjoy!  

Those are carrots, not cheese;-)

Even my kids loved this dressing, and usually the only kind they will eat is ranch. This is definitely one that we will be making a lot this summer!

Flatbread Pizza

In case you have not noticed from other posts I love pizza.  It was probably one of the hardest things to give up when I went dairy free. But now that I have found two great dairy free cheese options- Daiya and Veggie Shreds- we make pizza, and variations of pizza,  quite often.  Last night was one of those cool, rainy nights and the kids wanted something fun for dinner. What's more fun for kids than getting to make their own pizzas?  On my recent trip to the grocery store I picked up a pack of flat bread that I thought would make a good pizza crust.

I love veggies on my pizza and so I loaded it up with spinach, yellow peppers, tomatoes, and onion:

My oldest daughter even added some spinach and peppers to hers.  

First things first: Get the bread a little crispy before adding the toppings. I put it in a 350F oven for about 5 minutes. 1 flat bread will feed one adult.

Then I added all my toppings and used Veggie Shreds*

I made the Little One's pizza with Daiya cheese. She LOVES Daiya!

 The Dairy Free Little One's dinner- dairy free pizza with mixed veggies.  She cleaned her plate!

Mine before it was cooked:

Fresh out of the oven:

I have found that Veggie Shreds melt better when they are covered, so I tented a piece of aluminum foil over my pizza.  Daiya melts great without being covered.

This was much quicker than making my own crust, and took half the time.  I think next time we will do these on the grill!  

If you don't like cheese alternatives, try it with hummus.  When heated, hummus gets creamy and has a cheese like consistency.

Other Pizza Posts:

Pizza and a Movie Night

Cooking with the Kids: Bagel Pizzas 

Stromboli

Pepperoni Rolls

*remember Veggie Shreds contain Casein.  They are great for Lactose Intolerant people, but not if you have a milk protein allergy.

What is your favorite kind of pizza?

Egg Salad ~ with a Kick

I love eggs- scrambled, over easy, hard boiled, poached, baked, you get the idea.  I also happen to love egg salad but it can get a little boring unless you change things up a bit.  I recently came across a delicious avocado and egg salad recipe by Sarah at The Pajama Chef.  If you like avocados and you like egg salad, you are guaranteed to love her recipe!  I had a craving for her egg salad earlier this week but I didn't have any avocados on hand.  I did have a a few other ingredients that I had not yet tried in egg salad, so I decided to wing it and make up something new. 

Egg Salad ~  with a Kick

Ingredients:

2-3 hard boiled eggs ( depends on how hungry you are)

1 stalk celery- diced

1 tablespoon white onion very finely diced ( you can add more if you like)

A couple tablespoons mayonnaise

Sriracha- How much you add depends on how much spice you want.  

I know what you're thinking: Sriracha in egg salad? Really?? Yes!  It's delicious- trust me!  But remember-a tiny bit goes a long way!

Directions:

Mix up your egg salad the way you normally would.  Mash your eggs, add the celery and onion, add the mayo- enough to make it creamy.  Mix well to get it to the consistency you like.  Add the sriracha last; a few small drops will probably do.  I probably added about a 1/2 teaspoon to mine.  Mix well, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  

To cut down on carbs and to add some extra veggies into my day, I served mine on a bed of  organic mixed salad greens instead of on bread.  

I layered the greens in a large bowl, added the egg salad on top, then sprinkled with shredded carrots.  It was a very filling lunch.

Of course, it is also good in a crusty hoagie roll with romaine lettuce and pickles.  

This was so quick and easy to make.  You can do the eggs ahead of time and just keep in the fridge- I had cooked mine up the night before.  Since it was so filling I didn't find myself searching for a snack later in the afternoon.  This kept me going all the way to dinner, and that was with an intense workout earlier in the morning.  

What are some of your favorite egg salad add-ins?

Easy Weeknight Dinner~Chicken Sausage Subs

During this time of year our girls have activities 5 nights a week.  Three nights a week we have a normal family dinner but the other two nights a week my oldest daughter and  husband have Lacrosse practice for an hour and a half- right at dinner time.  I need something that is easy and quick for those nights rather than ordering takeout for dinner.   During our last trip to the grocery store we came across these chicken sausages. Since they are precooked they make for a quick, easy, and very tasty dinner.

We tried a flavor totally new to us -a sweet chicken sausage made with apples and maple syrup.  

(I never thought sausage in a package looked very appetizing)

     We decided to pan fry them with peppers and onions.  Super quick, super simple.  

The only preparation required with this meal was slicing my veggies. And I did slice each sausage in half long ways so they would brown a bit easier.    

We threw some fries in the oven and baked those while the sausage and veggies were cooking.   I also toasted a couple of crusty hoagie rolls in the oven for a few minutes.

Somewhere under all those veggies is a piece of the sausage.  What can I say- I love my veggies!

I filled mine with sauteed veggies and some lettuce. It was filling, but not overly so.  I wasn't sure what to expect from the sweet sausage, but I really did like it.  It had such a mild flavor and  was not greasy at all. If you eat meat, these are a great thing to keep on hand for a quick weeknight dinner. 

We had leftovers since I cooked up the whole package so my husband used them in scrambled eggs they next morning.  They made a very tasty breakfast!  

**I was not paid for this blog post.  I just wanted to share a new dairy free find**

What is something you keep on hand for a quick dinner?