Bacon Tomato Avocado Pizza

Bacon Tomato Avocado Pizza

1 pizza crust - we normally make our own but this week we just used a premade one

6 slices bacon

1 tomato

1 avocado

1 onion

lime juice

diaya cheese (dairy free cheese)

Directions:

* cook bacon until crisp

* slice tomato into thin slices or chop, depending on how you like it

* make avocado mixture: mash 1 avocado, add 1 small finely chopped onion, 1 tsp lemon juice

* spread avocado mixture onto pizza crust, top with bacon, tomato and cheese

* bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes

Mushroom Soup

Another recipe adapted from the wonderful Elana!

Here is hers - Gluten Free Mushroom Soup (click to view).

Here is my version...

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 large onion, chopped
8 oz shitake mushrooms, chopped
2 quarts chicken stock (8 cups)
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Heat the oil in a 6-quart stock pot over medium heat
2. Add the onion and mushrooms and salt - saute for 20 to 30 minutes until caramelized
3. Let cool a couple mins and then put mixture into food processor. When it is smooth and looks like a brown paste it is ready!
4. Pour chicken stock into pot, bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes, add the mushrooms onion mixture (aka brown paste!)
5. Serve

My Notes:

a. I used an extra TBS of grapeseed oil because my mixture needed it. Do as you need and trust it will turn out right!

b. Mushrooms can be expensive, specially shitake ones so I only bought 1/2 the amount of what she used (she used 16 oz and I only used 8 oz). It turned out great and we felt like it had plenty of mushroom taste!

c. Elana put her mushroom onion mixture with the broth heated and then used a Vitamix. We don't own one but I love my food processor. Word to the Wise... I tired it her way with our food processor and WOW, messy and annoying! I am sure if I had a Vitamix it would have turned out awesome but I have to work with what I have :) So feel free to experiment with this one a little bit to see what works with your kitchen appliances!

Overall ... YUM!!! and freezes great too! WIN!

Bacon Crusted Pork Chops and Collard Greens

My favorite Friday Date Nights are when we just stay at home and cook dinner together. This past Friday we did just that!

Menu:

Bacon Crusted Pork Chops

Collard Greens

Garlic Bread

The Recipes:

Bacon Crusted Pork Chops -

Adapted from Meals for Every Occasion

• 4 slices bacon, cooked till crisp
• 1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs (I used croutons that I made the previous week)
• 3 Tbs chives
• 2 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbs honey (I used agave)
• 2 boneless pork chops

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray. Chop bacon in food processor. add breadcrumbs and pulse a few times, until the texture is similar to stuffing. Mix in chives.

Combine mustard and honey to form a glaze. Brush onto pork chops. Press into breadcrumb mixture, coating all sides well. Using your hands, press bread into pork to secure it. Bake about 30 minutes, or until fully cooked. Allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Collard Greens -

1 bundle Collard Greens - 1 onion - 2 cloves garlic - salt and pepper

Cut stems from Collard Greens and wash throughly. Chop onion and garlic and saute in frying pan until caramelized. (you could do this with olive oil but I used the leftover bacon drippings instead) Add the greens with a little bit of salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and let cook until greens are a sharp color. (about 10 mins).

Garlic Bread -

loaf of favorite bread (we love anything that that bakery at Whole Foods makes!) - earth balance vegan butter - italian garlic seasoning (our favorite: Tastefully Simple's Garlic Garlic)

Brush bread with butter and season. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes.

THEN.... we of course had leftovers! For brunch saturday morning we enjoyed the leftover collard greens in our scrambled eggs. AMAZING!

Bruschetta Bread

This recipe is a SUMMER favorite... and since today it was 70 degrees it was a must for our dinner.

Ingredients:

loaf of bread (i use french or something fun, not plain sandwich bread)

butter (dairy free = earth balance)

tomatoes

garlic

onion

salt and pepper

olive oil (extra virgin)

red wine vinegar

Directions:

Finely chop tomato, garlic and onion mix in salt, pepper, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Let sit for 30 mins (or overnight if need to) to let the flavors blend.

Butter both sides of a piece of bread, place in a hot frying pan (or you could broil, but in the summer we avoid the oven). Heat bread until both sides are nicely browned.

When your bread is browned spoon the Bruschetta mixture on top and enjoy!

No Bake Cookies

I faithfully make my grocery list and know what I need in detail for each recipe I am making for the week. However, I have a bad habit of not checking to make sure I have all the ingredients before I start baking. I just pull out a recipe and start mixing and often get lucky that we have everything on hand. Last night was NOT one of those lucky moments.

I decided to make No Bake Cookies for Kevin to help cheer him up from a stressful day at work. Here is the recipe with my panic mode modifications...

2 cups sugar

1 stick butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup milk (I use lactaid, but coconut, almond, or soy would also make great subs)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

mix together and bring to a boil, boil for 2 minutes

add the follow and remove from heat:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups oats

So I pull the oats out of our cupboard and realize I only have about 1 1/2 cups!!! So I dump those in and start my search for something else to fill it. After about 10 mins I decide on granola (honey, almond granola). I dump that in until it looks like I have enough. Drop cookie size drops onto a pan and put them in the fridge.

I was really skeptical but they turned out amazing. They have a good crunch to them from the granola but we actually really liked it! I might actually make this my go to recipe next time we want some no bakes. :)

Thai Peanut Sauce

I have always loved Chinese Food but since cutting Dairy out of my diet I have learned to love it even more! The Chinese cook with minimal to no dairy because a high percentage of the population in China is Lactose Intolerant.

You can read more about this in a book called THE CHINA STUDY by Dr. Campbell. It changed my life: the way I look at, prepare, and consume food.

Anyways on to this amazing recipe that my husband and I could eat several times a month.

Thai Peanut Sauce:

2 TBS low sodium soy sauce
1 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 red pepper flakes (or more depending on spice)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup hot water

In small bowl, whisk together all ingredients and bring to a simmer over medium heat until mixture thickens.

We pour this over rice, veggies, chicken, etc. Often we double it because it is just that good! :)

Garlic Onion Croutons

I crave salad. Most people crave chocolate and sweets but I just want salad. Romaine lettuce or Spinach is a staple on our grocery list. I love experimenting with making my own dressing, since most store bought contain dairy. Over the years I have also enjoyed making croutons. It is so easy and a great way to use the last of a loaf of bread or leftover buns.

In our house Kevin wants brats, hotdogs, hamburgers, etc with a bun. I don't want the bun so we we always end up with leftover buns that just go bad in the fridge or get freezer burnt. I can't stand to throw them away, not that bread is super expensive but I hate to waste food of any kind.

Today I am making Garlic Onion Croutons. So easy... check it out!

4 leftover (half stale!) onion hamburger buns (but you can use whatever you have on hand)

1/2 cup EVOO

2 TBS chopped dried garlic (or as much as you like)

pinch of course salt

Slice bread and put in a ziplock or plastic container, pour EVOO, garlic, and salt over bread and shake. Dump onto baking pan and bake at 250 for about 30 minutes or until they are crisp like croutons. Store in airtight container or bag.

Also on the "kitchen to do list" today is Garlic Hummus and Apricot Salad Dressing. You can find both of these on the blog!

Now time to go enjoy an awesome salad!

Flourless Chocolate Banana Cake (Gluten Free)

I for one am not a huge chocolate fan. I could go months without chocolate; but my husband loves chocolate! Lately he has been wanting chocolate cake with ice cream every evening. He has devoured the Vegan Chocolate Cake that I posted last week so here is another new one for him to try.

The cake is Gluten Free but not Vegan (contains eggs) but is Dairy-Free!!!

This recipe is from an awesome lady, Elana Amsterdam. She lives in Boulder and is the author of The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. Check out her blog: Elana's Pantry.

Serves 4-6

Elana suggests topping this cake with whipped cream or sliced bananas.

I suggest topping it with a Vegan Chocolate or Vanilla frosting!

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup agave nectar

1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

In a blender, whip the egg yolks, agave nectar, and salt on medium for one to two minutes. Add the grapeseed oil and banana, and blend for another minute or two. Blend in the cocoa powder. In a bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold the contents of the blender into the egg whites. Pour the batter into a greased, 9 -inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Vegan Tofu Lasagna

I am making this for dinner tonight so I will let you know how it turns out. I have been craving lasagna but with all the cheeses it takes to make it I needed a good alternative. Whole Foods posted this in their recipes and it got great reviews. Check out some of their other recipes: Whole Foods Market

Ingredients

Natural cooking spray
1 (14-ounce) package firm tofu, drained
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon garlic granules
Salt and pepper to taste
2 (25-ounce) jars vegan marinara sauce
3 bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped
12 no-boil dried lasagna noodles

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a (9- x 13-inch) baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Wrap tofu in 3 or 4 layers of paper towels and gently press out as much water as possible, changing the paper towels once or twice as needed. Transfer tofu to a large bowl and add yeast, garlic, salt and pepper and mash with a fork. Set tofu mixture aside. Put marinara sauce into a medium pot and bring to a simmer. Add peppers and continue simmering until tender, about 10 minutes.

Spoon enough marinara sauce into prepared dish to cover the bottom and then arrange 4 noodles on top. Spread one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles and then spoon more sauce over the tofu. Repeat the process 2 more times, ending with sauce. Cover with foil and bake until noodles are tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes and then serve.

*** Side Note: if you just wanted to go dairy free but not all vegan you could add ground turkey, beef, buffalo, etc to this!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

This is posted on our family blog but I wanted it here for reference as well. I made this again tonight and didn't feel like making the frosting so we just ate it plain and of course it was amazing! Best thing is because my husband really likes cookie dough and cake batter he can eat this without the risk of salmonella (even though they say it is a 1 in 20000 chance!), why risk it!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 3/4 cup sugar or other sweetener
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Baking soda
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 cup cold water
• 
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a bowl and stir with a fork until mixed. Make a well in the center and add the vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water. Stir with a fork until well mixed. Pour into a 9x9-inch baking dish (or cupcake pan), and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely, then frost with Chocolate Cream Frosting (optional!)

Chocolate Cream Frosting

Makes enough for one 9-inch cake or 8 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoon softened margarine (Earth Balance)
• 1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-4 tablespoons water
• 
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cream the margarine in a small bowl then add the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and enough water to make a thick but spreadable frosting.

Salmon Loaf

My mom made this growing up and when I made it for Kevin during our first year of marriage he loved it! Salmon can be pricey but when you find a good deal this recipe is worth making!

• 1 (14.75 ounce) can salmon, undrained
• 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the salmon, cracker crumbs, milk, egg, salt, pepper, and melted butter. Mix thoroughly.
3. Press the salmon mixture into a lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
4. Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes or until done.