Lemon Picatta

Modified from - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/03/monday-night-dinner-my-chicken-piccata/

More details to come.

Swiss Chard w/ Bacon

1 huge bunch of rainbow swiss chard
4 slices of bacon, chopped in to 1/2 inch pieces (kitchen shears over the pan work great)
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced

wash chard - separate stems and leaves, chop both
in a large wok cook bacon until crisp
remove bacon and dispose of all but 1-2 tablespoons of bacon fat
add chard stems and garlic and cook for 5 minutes
add greens and broth and cook until the chard is wilted and soft
sprinkle with sugar and vinegar, stir
serve topped with reserved bacon pieces

Try To: Smoky Chipotle Orange Dip

Smoky Chipotle Orange Dip

Ingredients
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup low-fat or fat-free mayonaise
1/2 cup Smucker's sugar free Orange Marmalade
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 to 3 tablespoons adobo sauce... or to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl
Cover and refrigerate several hours to blend flavors
Serve with assorted fresh veggies or corn/tortilla chips

Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup

A big hit with everyone in my house. The boys ate it with some frozen spinach stirred in to cool it off and add a little more green. Everyone had two big bowls full.

Ingredients:
3 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 large leeks, whites & greens, sliced and rinsed until no grit remains
4 slices bacon, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup Tofutti cream cheese
fresh ground sea salt & black pepper

In a heavy bottom pot cook the chopped bacon until crisp. Reserve the bacon. Cook the sliced and cleaned leeks in the bacon grease until wilted and soft (approx. 20 minutes). Season with a bit of fresh ground sea salt and black pepper. In a large crockpot mix leeks, diced potatoes and chicken broth. Cook on high for 6 hours. Mix in Tofutti cream cheese and blend some of the soup with an immersion blender leaving some chunks behind. Serve topped with reserved bacon.

Notes to myself:
Next time cook more bacon and remove some of the bacon grease before cooking the leeks but have extra bacon for topping.

Dairy-Free Copycat Rubio's Fish Tacos

Dairy-Free Copycat Rubio's Fish Tacos

Less greasy, cheaper, quick and dairy-free - these are a great alternative to Rubio's Fish Tacos.

Ingredients:
Trader Joe's low-fat fish sticks
corn tortillas
finely shredded green cabbage
white sauce**

Cook fish sticks, heat tortillas, assemble.


(awful picture)

**White Sauce
1/2 cup Trader Joe's mayonnaise
1/2 cup Tofutti sour cream
juice of 1 lemon

Mix together. Serve on fish tacos, chicken tacos, etc.

Bean & Avocado Salad

Bean & Avocado Salad
1 can low sodium kidney beans, rinsed
3/4 of a small, firm avocado, finely diced
2 tablespoons fresh salsa
large handful fresh cilantro, chopped
squirt fresh lemon juice
fresh ground sea salt & black pepper

Mix all together and add lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste

Almond Butter Bread

Almond Butter Bread
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Ingredients:
High fiber all purpose flour – 4 cups
Baking powder – 2 tablespoons
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Sugar – 2/3 cup
Milk – 3 cups rice milk
Almond Butter – 12oz, crunchy type




Procedure:
In the bowl of the KA whisk together dry ingredients. Add the rice milk and mix on 'stir' until smooth. Add the almond butter, mix well. Pour in to 2 greased loaf pans and bake for approximately 50 minutes. Cool for 2-3 hours or more.

Notes: I swirled semi-sweet chocolate chips in to one of the loaves.


Modified from - [url]http://www.egglesscooking.com/2008/05/20/eggless-almond-butter-bread/[/url]

Dairy Free Monkey Bread

Cooling.



Consumed.

I started with my Divine Dinner Rolls recipe - I used about 3/5 for the Monkey Bread and baked up a dozen rolls as well. Dinner roll recipe below.

Dairy Free Monkey Bread

Liberally grease a bundt pan with Earth Balance or your favorite butter substitute.

Mix together in a bowl or large ziploc bag:
1 cup brown sugar
1.5 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
pinch ground allspice
a few grinds of fresh nutmeg

Cut off small chucks of your favorite dairy free roll dough and roll in to balls(2 inch or so balls)
Roll or shake dough balls in sugar mix. Arrange dough balls in bundt pan close together but not squished together. Repeat with all dough balls or until bundt pan is about half full.

Cover well and refrigerate overnight.

Remove bundt pan from oven.
In a small saucepan over med-high heat melt 1/2 cup Earth Balance with 1 cup of brown sugar. Boil for 1 minute and then pour evenly over dough balls. Place bundt pan in cold oven and turn oven on to 350. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cool for 10 minutes then invert on to a plate. Do not cut with a knife - pull pieces off monkey-style.




Divine Dairy Free Dinner Rolls



2 1/2 cups warm plain Silk soymilk
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened
2 teaspoons salt
7 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted

Directions:
1. Pour milk into a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle yeast over the surface. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Beat in the sugar, eggs, 1/2 cup butter, and salt; blend thoroughly. Gradually stir in the flour to make a soft dough. Cover bowl, and set in a warm place until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
2. Punch down the dough, cover the bowl, and allow to rise again. Repeat this step two more times.
3. Break off 2 to 3 inch size pieces of dough, roll lightly into round shape, and place in prepared baking dish, edges touching. Repeat to make 36 dough balls. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. Bake rolls in preheated oven until tops turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. When rolls are finished baking, drizzle melted butter over the top, and serve warm.


Notes: This makes TONS of rolls. I filled my 10x15 baking dish to the brim. We will have lots of leftovers for mini Thanksgiving leftovers sandwiches. My 4 year old loved helping me make the dough balls but it is a very, very stick dough so we kept spraying our hands with cooking spray to keep from sticking to the dough. Remove the rolls from the oven when they are golden - they will continue to cook for a bit after you remove them from the oven. Carefully pull rolls apart with metal tongs. You do not need the full 1/2 cup of melted butter for the tops - maybe 1/4 at the most. These rolls were really fabulous!

Vegan Dill Dip

Vegan Dill Dip
1 cup vegan mayonnaise (Veganaise)
1 cup vegan sour cream (Tofutti Sour Cream)
1 heaping tablespoon dehydrated green onion
1 heaping tablespoon dehydrated parsley flakes
1 heaping teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon Beau Monde seasoning by Spice Island

Mix all together and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Great with veggies and chips.