Coconut-Peant Thai Chicken with Rice Noodles

6-8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
oil to coat the pan
1 can coconut milk
3 oz water
2 T curry paste
2-4 T peanut butter
2-4 T fish sauce
1 red pepper
1/2 medium yellow onion
1/2 lb frozen french green beans
1 package of rice noodles, boiled for 2 minutes and then left to soak for 10+ minutes

brown chicken in oil
add all remaining ingredients except rice noodles and simmer, stirring often until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender
serve over cooked rice noodles
serve with Sriracha rooster sauce for the braver diners 


5 STAR rating from the whole family

Rice with Cilantro Sauce

Adapted from Epicurious (link below)

Mexican Rice
1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 large red onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

scant 1 tablespoon minced jalapeño 

2.5 cups long-grain white rice

4.5 cups low-salt chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeño; sauté until onion is translucent, about 9 minutes. Mix in rice; stir 2 minutes. Mix in broth and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is just tender and broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Transfer rice to bowl; cool to barely lukewarm, stirring occasionally, about 1 1/2 hours. Top with Cilantro Sauce. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Note: served warm - very good. Might be nice to try as a room temp or chilled salad with extra fresh veggies and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. 

Cilantro-Lime Sauce
1 1/4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

Juice of 2 small limes

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon minced seeded jalapeño 

Mix all together in a blender. 

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mexican-Rice-109800#ixzz0uvkoOILw

Late Night Protein Shake

1 cup chocolate Rice Dream
1 cup plain soymilk
3 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter
1 tablespoon unsweetened chocolate powder
2 teensie tiny scoops of TJ's stevia powder
2 big handfuls of ice

Blend until smooth. Makes for a GIGANTOR shake.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

My 7 year old and my husband are at Cub Scout evening camp tonight. Which left me at home with a heartbroken 5 year old. We measured, mixed and munched away the blues with these cookies. Modified from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies-II/Detail.aspx#.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup softened Earth Balance (or your favorite dairy free margarine)

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 bag Trader Joe's semisweet chocolate chips (dairy free)

DIRECTIONS:

1.         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda.

2.         Beat the Earth Balance, white sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs until completely incorporated. Add the vanilla. Mix in the flour mixture a little at a time. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Use an awesome cookie scoop to place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

3.         Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are firm, 9 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dairy Free Waffles

These waffles were made by my husband while I slept (may have made them taste even better).  He adapted the recipe from this blog. The waffles are crisp on the outside and tender and fluffy inside. So delicious with a little Earth Balance and freshly canned plum jam. 


3 1/2 cup of high fiber white flour
2 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
4 Eggs
3 1/2 cups premium quality Soy or Almond milk
1 cup cooking oil, ideally canola oil


Whisk all ingredients together. Cook on waffle iron. This recipe made 27 waffles in our waffle maker. 

Dairy-Free Crustless Mini Quiches

Ingredients:

half a pound of bulk sausage (browned and drained) (or bacon or canadian bacon, or ham)

half a cup of frozen spinach (defrosted and drained) (or kale, red pepper, tomato, etc)

one and a half cups of frozen shredded potatoes (defrosted - 2 mins. in microwave)

quarter cup of mayonnaise and a quarter cup of water - whisked together

10 eggs 

quarter teaspoon of dry mustard

fresh ground sea salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 325F.

Liberally grease two sheets of mini muffin pans (48 mini muffins total). 

Whisk, together mayo/water, eggs, dry mustard, salt & pepper. Mix in sausage, spinach and potatoes. Scoop mix in to muffin tins. Bake until golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean (approximately 15 minutes - check often). 

These were so good for our homeschool group's Pancake Potluck in the Park that I made more for dinner tonight!

Ingredients:

half a pound of bulk sausage (browned and drained) 

half a bag (1lb?) of frozen spinach (defrosted and drained)

one tomato, seeded and chopped fine

3-4 cups frozen shredded potatoes (defrosted - 2 mins. in microwave)

1/3 cup of mayonnaise and 1/3 cup of water - whisked together

14 eggs 

heaping half teaspoon of dry mustard

fresh ground sea salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 325F.

Liberally grease 10x15 baking dish. 

Press potatoes in to bottom of baking dish. Whisk, together mayo/water, eggs, dry mustard, salt & pepper. Mix in sausage, spinach, tomatoes. Pour over potatoes. Bake until golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean (approximately 30 minutes).

Serving for dinner with sautéed kale and fresh cantaloupe and pineapple.

Christmas 2011 version
1 lb bacon
1 lb sausage
1 bag hash browns, defrosted overnight in fridge
16 eggs
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup water
1 t mustard powder
salt & pepper

Cheeze Sauce

Dairy-free cheeze sauce for Mac & Cheese


Modified from Gluten Free Goddess. All measurements wildly approximate.


4 tablespoons Earth Balance
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups plain soymilk (add a little at a time until proper consistancy)
2 rounded tablespoons good tasting nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or more, to taste
A good dash or two of garlic powder, to taste
A good dash or two of onion powder, to taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard, or to taste
1/2 - 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon paprika (for orange) or turmeric (for yellow) color- may omit
1/4 cup white wine, to taste (I may omit this next time)

In a saucepan, heat the Earths Balance over medium heat until melted, and whisk in the  flour until it creates a thick paste - add more flour if necessary. Cook and stir the flour for about 30 seconds. 

Slowly add in the soymilk, whisking to blend the flour paste and soymilk.

Bring the mixture to a bubble (it will thicken as it heats) then reduce the heat to low. Add the nutritional yeast, sea salt, garlic and onion powder, mustard, vinegar, nutmeg, paprika or turmeric, wine (and sesame tahini, if using), and whisk to blend.

Continue heating and stirring the sauce over gentle heat for about five to ten minutes. Taste test. Does it need a hint more salt? Wine?

Stir and gently heat through.

Remove from heat and use on pasta, rice, potatoes, vegetables or casserole fillings. Makes about three cups sauce.

Note: Try adding a tablespoon of tahini next time.


I used for macaroni & cheese - mixed with about 2/3 a pound of dried macaroni cooked until al dente. Topped with crusty sourdough bread torn to bite size pieces and drizzled with melted Earths Balance. Bake for approximately 20 minutes at 350 or until the bread is golden brown.