Shepherd's Pie (Vegetarian Version)

This dish is so good, you won’t even miss the meat!  It’s hearty, full of flavor and lots of veggies!  And I love that it’s a one dish meal making it easy to clean up!

Recipe:

Wash, peal and boil 4-5 baking potatoes. Drain and place back into pan. Add 1/2 t. dried thyme. Add 1/4 – 1/3c milk or sour cream, a little butter if you want, salt and pepper to taste and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.
While the potatoes are boiling place 1 c. lentils, 3 clove of garlic, chopped, 2 c. vegetable broth and 3/4 c. water in a large skillet and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Add 1 medium red onion, chopped and 4 medium carrots, chopped. Simmer for 10-15 minutes longer until vegetables and lentils are tender. Add 1 (14 oz.) can of Italian style diced tomatoes, 2 T. tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste.
Top the lentil mixture with mashed potatoes and 1 c. shredded cheese. Bake in the oven at 350` until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

From Emily Saddler at OrganicEmily.com.  She has lots of great recipes there.  :)

Chili

This recipe makes a big pot.  If I we don't eat it all, I will usually just put it into a ziplock bag and freeze it for another meal.

 

Good Olive Oil

1 package (1.5lbs.) ground turkey or beef

2 large onions, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons cumin powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

Red pepper flakes (optional and whatever you prefer)

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 (32 oz.) bottles or cans diced tomatoes ( I like to use the fire roasted if I can get it on sale at Sprout's)

2 (15 oz.) cans rinsed and drained pinto beans

2 (15 oz.) cans rinsed and drained black beans

 

Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil over med-high heat and add the meat.  Chop onions, add.  Chop garlic, add.  Add the seasonings and the tomatoes and beans.  Add about 1-2 cups water depending on how thick you want it.  Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes or all day on low in the crockpot.  Serve with any of the following:

 

sour cream

chopped green onions

shredded sharp cheddar cheese

sliced avocado

corn bread

green salad

 

Recipe from Emily Saddler

Best Dessert EVER!

Fresh Peach Dessert

2/3 cup powdered sugar

3/4-1 cup butter
2 pkg. graham crackers; crushed
12-14 medium peaches; peeled & sliced
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 pt. whipping cream

Mix cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, & butter. Press into the bottom of a glass 9 x 13 pan. Reserve some of the crust to sprinkle on top. Whip cream and add a little vanilla and powdered sugar until set. Mix the sweetened condensed milk with lemon juice. Then place the peaches on the crust and pour the milk/lemon mixture on top. Spread the fresh cream on top and sprinkle with remaining crust.

*This is so light and fresh, but you have to share it or half it because it is best if enjoyed in the first 24 hours!

Stolen from Lisa Evans who stole it from another blog.  :)

 

Teriyaki Chicken Pasta

Teriyaki SauceOur Best Bites

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. cold water
½ c. white sugar
½ c. soy sauce
¼ c. cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. black pepper
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. We’ve talked about ginger before and you can use either ground ginger as directed or about 1 1/4 tsp. of fresh ginger. Believe it or not, in this recipe, I actually prefer ground ginger; it has a slightly different flavor that I think infuses better in the sauce than fresh ginger. That being said, I used fresh here because I had a bunch of minced ginger in my freezer and I didn’t want it to go to waste. And the sauce came out great. So whatever works for you.
ANYWAY. I’m rambling. Combine your ingredients in the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. While sauce is heating, combine cornstarch and cold water. When sauce comes to a full boil, add cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and use any way you darn well please. You can store it in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.

2 chicken breasts
Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze or 1 recipe of Teriyaki Sauce
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/3 C sliced green onions, chopped
1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1 mango, cut into small cubes (or 1 small can of Mandarin oranges, drained)
1 small can pineapple tidbits OR roughly-chopped chunks
1/3-1/2 c. light mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Some Grapes cut in half
Box of corkscrew pasta.

Mix it all up and put it in fridge to cool

Corn and Tomato Soup

Roasted Sweet Corn and Tomato Soup
Recipe by Our Best Bites, inspired by the Sussman Brothers
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 cobs)
10 ounces cherry tomatoes (abt 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, any color, diced
8 ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
32 ounces chicken broth (4 cups)VEGETABLE BROTH
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
optional: chopped herbs for garnish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place corn, tomatoes, and garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Gently toss with hands and then arrange in an even, flat layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tomatoes are crinkled and burst.
While vegetables are roasting, heat a stock pot to medium high heat on stove top. Add remaining one teaspoon olive oil and diced onion. Saute about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add roasted bell peppers, chicken broth, smoked paprika and chipotle chili powder. Add a light sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper (I add about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few cracks of pepper at this point and then season to taste at the very end.)
When corn and tomatoes are done roasting, add them to the pot*, making sure to scrape off all of the bits on the pan. (*If desired, reserve a couple spoonfuls of roasted corn for garnish.) Bring soup to a low simmer and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender, or transfer soup to stand blender and puree until smooth. Taste, and add additional salt and pepper (and chipotle chili powder if you want a little more heat) to taste. Divide into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of smoked paprika, a few corn kernels, and some chopped herbs if desired.
Yields about 6 cups of soup.
Nutritional info for 4, 1 1/2 cup servings:
Calories: 168
Carbs: 24 g
Protein: 8 g
Fat: 7 g
I LOVED it.  Peter and the kids; not so much.  :)

Mint Brownies

Chocolate Mint Brownies
Koke McMurdie
Brownies
1cup butter 4 eggs
¾ cup cocoa 1 ¾ cup sugar
1 ¼ cups flour ¼ t salt
nuts (if desired)

Mint Frosting
½ cup butter 1 ¼ t mint extract
¼ cup cream 2-3 drops green food coloring
3 cups powdered sugar

Chocolate frosting
½ cup butter 1 t vanilla
½ cup cocoa 2 ¾ cup powdered sugar
1 egg 3-4 T hot water
Preheat oven to 350° and grease 9x13 pan.

Preheat oven to 350° and grease 9x13 pan.
Brownies: In saucepan, melt butter and add cocoa. Transfer to mixing bowl and beat in eggs, sugar and salt. Add flour and nuts. Spread in pan. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool.
Mint Frosting: Beat all ingredients until smooth and fluffy. Spread on cooled brownies. Let set about 15 minutes before adding chocolate frosting.
Chocolate Frosting: In saucepan, melt butter and add cocoa. Transfer to mixing bowl and add powdered sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add hot water, 1 Tablespoon at a time until creamy. Spread over mint frosting. Cut and enjoy!

Pesto Pasta

16 oz. Pasta
2 bunches Basil, chopped (one bunch is about .75 oz.)
1/3 C Olive Oil
1 head (16 cloves) garlic
1/2 C Pine nuts
Sat and Pepper
Cook Pasta
Place basil, olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts and process until smooth.  Add salt to taste.
Combine pesot sause with hot cooked pasta

Tomato Garam Masala with Garbanzo Beans

4 C Cooked Rice
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 Onion Diced
3 Tbs Olive Oil
1 tsp. Garam Masala
1 tsp. Curry Powder
1 tsp. Sugar
1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 15-oz. Can Garbanzo Beans Drained and rinsed
Salt

Saute Pepper and onion in oil.
On reduced heat, add garam masala, curry powder, and sugar.  Saute for 2 minutes
Add tomatoes and garbanzo beans.  Turn up heat and cook sauce until hot.
Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Add salt to taste.
Serve over rice.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

1 c Uncooked Brown Rice
2 C Vegetable Broth
4 Green Bell Peppers
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1/2 Onion, diced
1 4 oz Can Diced Green Chilies
1/2 C Salsa
1/2 C Frozen Corn
1/2 vegan Cheddar Ch.
1 tsp. Salt
1 can drained black beans

Preaheat oven to 425
Cook rice in Vegetable Broth.
Cut peppers in half and remove stems and seeds.
Place in baking dish and cook uncovereed for 25 minutes.
Saute onion in oil.
Add green chilies, salsa, corn, cheese, salt, black beans, and rice
Stuff mixture in peppers and bake for 10 minutes more

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

8 oz. sliced almonds
1/4 C nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 C Basil
2 Tbs. Onion Powder
1 Tbs Garlic
1 Tbs Oregano
1 Tbs Dried Lemon Peel
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
Place ingreedients in food processor and process well
Store in sealed container in fridge.
Put on pasta, salad, soup.

Roasted Sweet Corn and Tomato Soup

Recipe by Our Best Bites, inspired by the Sussman Brothers
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 cobs)
10 ounces cherry tomatoes (abt 2 cups)
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, any color, diced
8 ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
32 ounces chicken broth (4 cups)
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
optional: chopped herbs for garnish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place corn, tomatoes, and garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Gently toss with hands and then arrange in an even, flat layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tomatoes are crinkled and burst.
While vegetables are roasting, heat a stock pot to medium high heat on stove top. Add remaining one teaspoon olive oil and diced onion. Saute about 5 minutes, or until tender. Add roasted bell peppers, chicken broth, smoked paprika and chipotle chili powder. Add a light sprinkling of kosher salt and black pepper (I add about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few cracks of pepper at this point and then season to taste at the very end.)
When corn and tomatoes are done roasting, add them to the pot*, making sure to scrape off all of the bits on the pan. (*If desired, reserve a couple spoonfuls of roasted corn for garnish.) Bring soup to a low simmer and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender, or transfer soup to stand blender and puree until smooth. Taste, and add additional salt and pepper (and chipotle chili powder if you want a little more heat) to taste. Divide into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of smoked paprika, a few corn kernels, and some chopped herbs if desired.
Yields about 6 cups of soup.
Nutritional info for 4, 1 1/2 cup servings:
Calories: 168
Carbs: 24 g
Protein: 8 g
Fat: 7 g

Substitute vegetable broth for chicken. 

Lemon cookies

Ingredients:½ cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoons baking soda
1-½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease light colored baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whip in vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in all dry ingredients slowly until just combined, excluding the powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again briefly. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies look matte {not melty or shiny}. Remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

*If using a non-stick darker baking tray, reduce baking time by about 2 minutes. Makes 2-3 dozen (closer to 2) recipe from Lauren Brennan via Lisa Evans

White Rolls

From Lisa Evans
I have used Soy milk and subbed one of the eggs with ground flax seed.  They still turned out great.

Easy, Fast, and Yummy Dinner Rolls

Makes 48
1 cup sugar
1 cup real margarine or butter
3 cups milk
1 cup hot water
4 eggs
11 cups flour
4 Tablespoons Saf Instant Yeast
4 teaspoons salt

Combine milk, sugar, margarine, and water. Heat in microwave until warm, about 3-4 minutes. Using a mixer with bread hooks, start mixing. Add eggs and half of flour. Mix well. Add yeast and salt, continue mixing. Add remaining flour. When mixed in, turn to high speed and let kneed for 11 minutes. When finished mixing, turn out on floured cloth and divide into 4 balls (for recipe for 48) Using rolling pin, roll first ball into a circle the size of a pizza. Using pizza cutter, cut circle into twelve wedges. To form a roll, take wedge of dough, fold in corners so they meet. Then roll up like a croissant. Place in greased pan (2 cookie sheets for 48 recipe. 9x13 size for 12). Let raise about 15 minutes, until puffy. Bake at 375 10-12 minutes or until dark golden brown. Optional: rub tops of rolls with a square of margarine.

This recipe is also great for sweet rolls. After mixing, roll dough into a rectangle. Spread two cubes (for 48 recipe) of softened butter on dough. And sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon or brown sugar and coconut. Roll and cut with string or dental floss about 1” thick. Place on greased pan close to each other so they will raise tall and not spread out too flat. Bake until dark golden brown. Frost when cool with cream cheese frosting—8 oz cream cheese softened,½ cup butter softened, and about 2 lbs powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and enough milk to make a fluffy consistency

Cauliflower Soup

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk**
1 1/2 cups water**
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

**Can substitute 1 can {12 oz} evaporated milk and 2 cups water for the 2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups water.

In a large saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and water.

Add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. {Don't let this step deter you from making the soup! Blending it is really easy and so worth the extra 3 minutes. The most annoying part are the added dishes!}Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Serve soup with remaining cheese as a garnish.

 

From some website called cullinary queen bee

Eggless Banana Bread

Eggless Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 c. Xylosweet
1c. oats grund in food processor
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Mash bananas (overripe make the best bread). Add oil, vanilla and sugar. Mix well. Sift flour, salt and soda together and add to banana mixture with walnuts if using. Mix until flour is blended in but do not over mix.

Put into loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove to rack to cool completely before cutting.

Energy Balls

Energy Balls-- so good! 1 cup (dry) oatmeal 1 cup toasted coconut flakes 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup ground flax seed 1/3 cup honey 1 tsp. vanilla Yummy and my kids liked 'em 100 calories each if you make 30.