Potato-Less Potato Salad

One of my major food weaknesses is pasta salad.  I love all types of pasta salads and during the warmer months we have one with just about every meal.    My two favorites are potato salad and pasta salad.  This recipe takes the two of them and  puts them together.   It is a pasta salad made the same way you make potato salad, but with noodles instead of potatoes.  You get the same flavor, it just takes less time and less work ( no peeling and slicing of potatoes involved).  It has quickly become a staple salad in our house and one I have to share with you.

 Potato-Less Potato Salad

 Ingredients:

1 box pasta noodles of your choice. I like to use shells or elbows.

6 hard boiled eggs

3 stalks celery, diced

dill pickles, diced (optional)

mayonnaise

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

paprika

seasoned salt

 

Directions:

1. Boil  your pasta noodles according to package directions.  While pasta is cooking, hard boil your eggs as well.  

2. When the pasta is cooked to al dente, drain it, rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking process, and let cool.  

3.Once your pasta and eggs are cooled off add the pasta to a large bowl.  Chop your eggs into the size pieces you desire and add them and the celery and pickles.to the noodles. 

4. I add roughly 1/4 cup of mayo, or enough to make the salad creamy.  Add as much or as a little as you want-the same as making potato salad.

5. Add your mustard (you can omit the mustard if you like).  I add about 1-2 teaspoons.  Mix well and sprinkle with paprika,  seasoned salt, and fresh ground pepper.  

 

You can either serve immediately or chill for about an hour before serving.  It also makes great leftovers.  

*You can make this Gluten Free by using Gluten Free noodles.

 

Fresh Idea- Oven Roasted Green Beans

All summer long we have been getting fresh green beans from our CSA. While we were at the beach my mother in law roasted some of our fresh green beans. I had never done them this way, usually I boil them or saute them. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover this new (to me at least) method of cooking fresh green beans.
I actually had no plans for tonight's dinner, as my husband was at a business dinner in DC, so it was just myself and my 3 girls. I decided on sauteed tofu with pea shoots and bok choy over rice, and the oven roasted green beans. I did boil a small amount of the beans for the Littlest Girl, I don't think she's quite ready for garlic yet:-)

This is so simple, yet so very good.

All you need is:
1 lb Fresh green beans, rinsed and the ends snapped off
2 cloves of garlic, minced
olive oil- I eyeballed it, but it was about a tablespoon or so
salt and pepper


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil spray to prevent sticking.

Toss green beans with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Make sure they are coated well.



Spread on the baking pan. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until they start to wrinkle slightly.



These were absolutely perfect for tonight's dinner- quick, easy, and kid friendly. And yes, my kids eat tofu- all three of them. The husband, however, is a different story:-)

From Scratch Creamed Corn

It is definitely corn season here in the Southeastern USA! We have gotten corn with our farm share a few times now, and we were given some by my husband's parents as well. You can only eat so much corn on the cob before it starts getting boring, but it's so good! So I am trying to come up with different ways to prepare all this fresh, delicious corn so none of it goes to waste. So far we have boiled it and just eaten it off the cob, we brought some to a gathering with friends and grilled it, and I used some in corn bread. Tonight we made pizzas (more on that in another post).When I was a kid in public school they always served corn on pizza day. So to me, the two go together.

Now you're probably thinking "If I can get it in a can, and it's already dairy free, why would I make my own?" The answer is because home made is always better- at least in my opinion! And creamed corn from scratch is so good!

The hardest part to this recipe is cutting all the corn off the cobs. Our next corn delivery I will boil all the corn at once, then cut it and freeze it to make this easier at meal time.

Ingredients:
6-8 ears of fresh corn
1 cup unsweetened soy milk (I find Trader Joes is the best for cooking)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp dairy free margarine
2 tsp flour

(Not pictured is the flour- my husband was using it for the pizza dough)

Directions:
If using fresh corn the first thing you have to do is shuck it, of course! That is my least favorite part. I am always afraid I am going to find a little critter in there- and last night I did. That ear went on the front porch, worm and all, for my husband to deal with. Worms freak me out.



1. Cut the kernels off the cob using a sharp knife. I placed mine on a plate and made a mess- next time I'll use a bowl.

Yup- I made a mess!

2.Take half of the kernels and put them in a food processor. Pulse until just smooth.

3.Put all the corn in a saucepan with 1 cup soy milk. Bring to a boil, and let simmer on medium low heat for about 10 minutes. Stir in the salt and sugar.



4.Make a roux in another small saucepan using the butter and flour. Melt the butter on very low heat, and add the flour. Be careful not to burn it. Add this to the corn mixture. Stir until slightly thickened.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired, and serve hot.

For dinner last night we had pizza, watermelon salad, and the creamed corn. It was a great summer evening meal!

Yes, this is my plate- the pizza was made with veggie shreds mozzarella cheese and turkey pepperoni.





Oh and here's this week's CSA delivery: Tomatoes, green beans, 2 watermelon, 2cantaloupe, and of course, the corn.

(Almost) Homemade Baked Beans

Today is officially the First Day of Summer. Summer is all about backyard BBQs, burgers, and gatherings with friends. A must have side dish to one of our BBQs is baked beans. Now I know not everyone likes baked beans, but in my family we love them. My husband especially! For years I had been searching for a real bean pot- the kind you put in the oven. My mom uses one for her beans, and somehow it makes them so much better. She gave me my own pot for Christmas this past year, and I have already gotten a lot of use out of it. However, she won't give me her recipe. So I had to make up my own. That's more fun anyway;-)

My husband has been asking me to share this one with you all so here you go. Oh, and you don't have to use a bean pot, you could use an oven safe covered casserole dish, or a cast iron pot.

Did I mention my beans are vegetarian? No fatback, no bacon. We like to have these with my pulled pork BBQ, or with burgers, so I don't see the need for extra added fat in the meal. So if you're watching your meat intake, or are a vegetarian you can still make these!


Ingredients:
1 large can Bush's vegetarian baked beans.(Yes I use canned beans- it's quick and easy. That's why they are almost homemade)
1 medium white onion ( or Vidalia) chopped
1 large green pepper chopped
1/2 cup Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
pinch cayenne pepper
1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1-2 teaspoons chipotle chili pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin seed
*All spices are to taste so please adjust them as you like.



Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F.
1.Saute the green pepper and onion until they are softened and the onion is translucent.


2.Pour the beans into the pot. Add the cooked veggies to the beans, along with your bbq sauce and spices.

As you can see I didn't measure. I normally just eyeball my spices when I am cooking like this.
3. Stir well and place in the oven.


4. Let cook for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally.

As you can tell by this picture I seriously need to clean my oven! But it's been far too hot to turn on the self clean setting. I think I will wait until a cooler day in the Fall.

If you want to let these cook a long time- cook at 250F.
If you want them done quickly- after 45 minutes or so- cook at 350F.
I let mine go for about an hour and a half this time.
These are a tad spicy but not too bad since my 7 year old loves them. You can omit the cayenne pepper if you don't like spicy.

Happy Cooking!

Sauteed Cauliflower & Grape Tomatoes

I did not mean to go so long without a blog post but sometimes life gets in the way of things we want to do. That is especially true when you are the Mommy of 3 little girls! This past week my husband has been on travel for work, which made my week even more busy that it normally is. So while I had good intentions of posting a few new recipes, I did not have a chance to. Blogging is a fun hobby for me, and I love sharing my recipes for Dairy Free meals, but being a Mom always comes first in my life, so there will definitely be days with no posts. But I do promise to make up for it!

I tried a new recipe this week, one my oldest daughter actually picked out. It was from one of my Eating Well magazines-one of my favorite cooking magazines and websites.

Sauteed Cauliflower & Grape Tomatoes is a really versatile dish that can be made either as a side dish or a main dish. It does call for Pancetta, but that can easily be omitted to make it a vegetarian/vegan dish. We served it with egg noodles from Trader Joes and it was a perfect, filling meal after a busy day!



Ingredients:
2 tablespoons chopped pancetta (optional if you want to make this vegetarian)
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil- divided
4 cups chopped cauliflower florets- I just used a whole head of cauliflower.
2 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup grape tomatoes- although I added more because I love tomatoes!
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 anchovy fillets, minced (optional- I did not use them since I don't like anchovies)
**I also added fresh peas from our CSA to it for some extra veggies.


Directions:
1. (If not using meat omit this step)Cook the pancetta in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until it begins to brown- 3-5 minutes. ** They didn't have pancetta at Trader Joes the day I went, so I got prosciutto and used that instead.You could also use bacon- I think that would work very well with this dish.**. Transfer the cooked meat to a paper towel lined plate.



2.Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the cauliflower, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes. Add water and vinegar, cover and cook stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender. The liquid should also evaporate- if it does so too quickly you can add a bit more water.



3. Add the other tablespoon of oil, tomatoes, parsley, garlic, anchovies (if using them), salt and pepper.


Cook until the garlic is soft- about 2 minutes. If using the meat, you can serve it on top of the cauliflower.


Served with the egg noodles it was a filling meal that even my kids loved!


Recipe from: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/italian_cauliflower_tomatoes.html