Garlic Red Mashed Potatoes

This is another recipe I found here, I have found a few gems at this site that I love!  These mashed potatoes are vegan and sooo good.  I will be honest when I say I prefer them over a traditional mashed potato recipe.  These are quick, simple, and so yummy and healthy.  Enjoy!

Garlic Red Mashed Potatoes

8-10 large red potatoes, quartered
1/8 cup of non-dairy milk (more or less as desired-I always use more, about 1/4 a cup.  I like mine creamier and we use coconut milk)
2 Tbsp. of Cold-Pressed Olive Oil (more or less as desired)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Handful of fresh parsley. chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

DirectionsPut quartered red potatoes in pot, cover potatoes with water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat just a bit and cook for about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender. Drain water.  Add other ingredients and mix with hand mixer.  

Carrot & Yam Lentil Soup

I feel like I have been in a dinner rut lately.  It seems like we have been having the same meals on repeat every other week and I'm kind of over it.  But when I look up new vegan recipes on the internet a lot of what I find is a roasted artichoke with some weird sauce or roasted asparagus with fake cheese...yuk.  I'm not a fan of the vegan cheese (maybe that is why I just can't seem to give up normal cheese) nor am I a fan of one roasted vegetable for a meal.  For dinner I'd like something hearty and filling yet nourishing.  So I went to my fridge looked around and pulled out some carrots, yams, an onion, and fresh parsley and decided to whip up a soup.  I was trying to decide what to add to it to make it more hearty and I settled with red lentils.  That was a good choice.  I was very pleased with how this soup turned out and with how filling it was.  I served it with vegan mashed potatoes and salad. Enjoy!

Carrot & Yam Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large carrots, diced
1 small garnet yam
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup parsley, loosely packed,
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves 
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup red lentils
7 cups vegetable broth

Directions

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Chop all your vegetables and when the oil is hot add the onion and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes.  Add garlic and stir for a minute.  Add the carrots and yams.  Add vegetable broth, lentils, bay leaves, parsley and salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer a half hour or until vegetables are tender and lentils are cooked.  If the soup gets to thick you can add more vegetable stock or water to make it less like a stew and more like a soup.   Discard the 2 bay leaves before serving.  Enjoy!

*Serving Suggestion: You can add some mashed potatoes to the soup to give it a creamier texture.

Natural Cough Remedy

Poor little Boo boo's (aka Carson) woke up this morning with a very mild cough, but none the less a cough so I wanted to try to nip this right in the bud before it turns into a full blown cough and respiratory infection or virus.  I remember my sister showing me a recipe for a cough remedy a couple of weeks ago on a blog so I looked up a few different recipes that I pulled up on google and this is what I came up with.  I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand that a lot of the other recipes called for.  Most of them, if not all of them called for beeswax, which I don't have.  But I do have unrefined shea butter at our house that I discovered can be used as a substitute for beeswax AND if you are a strict vegan you likely don't use beeswax anyways so this is a great alternative :)  I have been applying this to Carson's feet and chest religiously since compiling this concoction this morning.  Hopefully he wakes from his nap cough free :)

Natural Cough Remedy

5 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unrefined shea butter (I buy mine from mountainroseherbs.com)
10 drops rosemary essential oil
10 drops melaleuca/tea tree essential oil (melaleuca & tea tree are the same thing)
8 drops eucalyptus

Directions

Place coconut oil, olive oil, and shea butter in small sauce pan and melt on the stove over low heat.  Once the oils have melted add the essential oils and stir.  Place in a small jar and allow to come to room temperature so it will harden.  Apply liberally to bottoms of feet and chest.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles (Vegan & Gluten Free)

Uh huh you read that right, chocolate chip cookie dough truffles.  And yes it tastes every bit as good as it sounds.  And yes it doesn't have refined sugars or flours in it and oh yes it is vegan AND if you have a gluten intolerance they can be made gluten free, in fact the version I made was gluten free.  The idea for these was inspired by a wedding we went to recently where there were some amazing truffles being served.  But of course they were not vegan, nor refined sugar or flour free so you know what that means?  I had to set out to make my own version and here it is.  They are delicious and super easy!  Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

1/2 cup brown rice flour (or whole wheat, spelt, barley, or oat flour)
1/2 cup oats (gluten free if you have a gluten intolerance)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 bag or 5 oz chocolate chips, divided (I use Enjoy Life brand- refined sugar, dairy, soy, and nut free)
3 tbsp Earth Balance (melted) or grapeseed oil
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Combine the brown rice flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips in a bowl.  Mix well and set aside.

Melt the Earth Balance so it becomes liquid and combine with the maple syrup and vanilla extract.  Add this mixture to the dry ingredients.  Stir well.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and drop small little balls (about 1tsp in size or you can do 1 tbsp in size if you want them to be bigger) onto the parchment paper.  Once you have used up all of the dough place the cookie dough balls in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to firm up.

In the meantime add 1 1/2 cups water to a small sauce pan.  Place a large glass bowl over the top of the saucepan so it rests inside the saucepan.  Make sure that the water is not touching the bowl so that the chocolate won't burn.  Add the remaining chocolate chips to the glass bowl and stir with a spatula until the chocolate melts.

If your cookie dough balls are hard enough you can dip them in the chocolate without them falling apart.  However, mine were not so I just drizzled the chocolate over the top of them until they were completely covered.  Place the truffles back in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up before serving.  Keep the truffles stored in the fridge.  Enjoy!

Guacamole Sandwich

Simply put this sandwich is DIVINE.  It is a sandwich that should belong on the favorites list of a sandwich shop. It honestly is that good.  We love guacamole.  I love giving it to Carson and I love that he loves it because of all of the healthy fats that are in it.  So I thought why not turn some guacamole into a meal?  Are lives have not been the same since.  So whip yourself up one of these sandwiches and thank me for changing your life :) Enjoy!

Guacamole Sandwich

2 ripe avocados
1/3 cup red onion, diced
2 roma tomatos
1 red bell pepper
1 lime, juiced
salt to taste
Earth Balance or butter
mozzarella cheese (can omit if wanting it to be vegan)
1 loaf italian or artisan bread

Directions

Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit and place the flesh of the avocados in a food processor.  Add the juice of the lime and a little salt and blend until the mixture is creamy and smooth, free of any chunks.  Transfer this mixture to a small mixing bowl.

Dice the red onion, roma tomatos, and red bell pepper and add to the guacamole mixture.  Taste and add a little salt if needed.  

Cut the bread into thin slices and spread Earth Balance or butter on the outside of each piece of bread.  Place a little bit of mozzarella cheese on the inside of the bread and then spread some of the guacamole mixture on top of it.  Then top off with a little more mozzarella cheese and the other piece of bread.  Grill in a skillet or on a griddle over medium heat until the bottom piece of bread is golden brown and the cheese is melting.  Flip the sandwich and grill until the other side is golden brown.  Serve right away.  Enjoy!!

*This recipe makes about 12 sandwiches

Arugula Pizza

I was flipping through one of my cookbooks last week to get some dinner ideas for the upcoming week.  I came across a recipe for an arugula pizza.  I have never had an arugula pizza but they look so good and oh so fresh, so I decided that this week was the week we were going to try an arugula pizza!  The flavor of arugula is so good and so distinct.  I think it may be my favorite of all the leafy greens.  Ryan seemed a little skeptical as I kept piling mounds of arugula on top of the pizza but once his mouth hit the pizza all his skepticism melted away :)  We loved this and it will definitely be on our pizza frequenting list right along with our tomato basil and asparagus pizza recipes we love.

Arugula Pizza

Crust

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour (may need a little more to form stiff dough)

Olive Oil Sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Vinaigrette

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of one lemon
pepper to taste
4-5 oz arugula

toppings

2/3 cup mozzarella cheese (can use more or less)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved


Directions

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 450 degrees. 

For the Crust: Let yeast dissolve in warm water until it dissolves and becomes foamy (about ten minutes). 

Once yeast is dissolved in water add the oil, salt, and agave or honey. Mix until well incorporated. Then add the flour and vital wheat gluten. 

Let the dough mix on low speed for about 5 or so minutes until it no longer is sticky. Take the dough out of the bowl and kneed it a few times and then place it back in the bowl and cover with a clean dish towel and let it rise until it doubles in size.  (About thirty minutes.)

While the dough is rising prepare olive oil sauce by stirring together the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes.  Set aside.

For the vinaigrette: In a large mixing bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper.  Stir well.  Now toss the arugula into the vinaigrette mixture.  Set aside.  

When the dough is done rising punch down and roll out (I roll mine out on parchment paper and then place this on top of our pizza stone).  Brush the dough with the olive oil sauce then top with the mozzarella cheese.  Bake in the oven on a pizza stone at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.

Once the pizza is done remove from oven and place the arugula mixture over the top of the pizza and and top off with the cherry tomatoes.  Enjoy!!

  

Vegan Pot Pie

Pot pie...just the thought of one makes my mouth water.  But don't worry then my next thought is ouch my arteries clogging and developing atherosclerosis from all the bad fat found in a traditional pot pie.  So I knew there was a way to make a vegan version or almost vegan version depending on how you make the crust...Here is what I found and came up with and it rocks!!  The only problem with it was that the crust took WAAAYYYY too long to make, or maybe it just seemed like that because sweet Carson couldn't think of spending a few minutes without his mom's attention while she prepared dinner...bummer.  Anyways, we survived that melt down, we always do :) and we enjoyed a delicious dinner as payoff.  But next time I'll just buy a pre-made organic whole wheat pie crust from the health food store to save on time.  This recipe makes 2 pot pies so you can freeze one and use at a later date :)  If you don't want to make two cut the measurements for this recipe in half.

Vegan Pot Pie

Crust

4 pre-made organic whole wheat pie crusts
or
homemade pie crust. I found the recipe for the pie crust I made here.  I used an olive oil and butter combination (far less butter than olive oil) so it wasn't strictly vegan.  I'm sure you could use a vegan butter in place of the regular butter if you didn't wan't to use all olive oil either. 

Filling

2 16 oz bags ogranic frozen peas and carrots
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup cold water
4 tablespoons corn starch
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves
3 tbsp olive oil
4-5 cups vegetable broth

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large stock pot heat oil over medium heat.  Once oil is heated through add onion and saute until soft and translucent.  Add garlic and cook for a minute longer.  Add potatoes and frozen vegetables and add enough vegetable stock so vegetables are barely covered (so this may end up being a little less or more than 4-5 cups) bring to boil and then return to a simmer and simmer until potatoes are tender.  Mix cornstarch into the cold water and whisk until there are no lumps.  Slowly add cornstarch mixture to the filling and stir at a simmer until has thickened.  Add basil, oregano, salt and pepper, and adjust spices if needed.  Distribute filling between two pie crusts.  Place the top pie crust over the filling and seal the edges.  Cut a few slits in the top and bake for 30-40 minutes or until crust is golden and appears flaky (mine probably took about 45 minutes but my oven is crappy so I would start checking it at 30 minutes if you have a normal oven :) ).  And then for the frozen pie you should let it sit out for a half our to an hour before you begin cooking it and then you will need to bake it for about an hour but start checking it at 50 minutes.  Enjoy!