Vegan Cauliflower Bake
I love cauliflower and have been cooking with it quite a bit lately. With it’s mild flavor, it’s a great dish that goes with just about anything and a great way to get my family to eat more veggies. In order to cut back a bit on the dairy we eat, I tried my hand at making a vegan cauliflower bake that still has that yummy “cheesy” taste. I love how this turned out and it got two thumbs up from my husband and daughter as well.
- 1 head cauliflower
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper
- Preheat your oven to 350 F.
- Cut the cauliflower into pieces and place it in a large bowl. Add the olive oil and nutritional yeast and toss, so the cauliflower is fully coated.
- Put the mixture in a non-stick or greased baking dish and add salt and pepper to taste. Bake uncovered for about 40-45 minutes until the cauliflower is soft and nicely browned. Flip half through.
How To Grill Portabello Mushrooms
In 2014 we’re doing our best to eat healthier. I’ve been cooking more veggies, more “real food” (unprocessed) and we’ve cut back on red meat quite a bit. One replacement that’s been working pretty well is mushrooms. They are filling, have that “meaty” flavor and texture, but they’re a lot better for you. Take these grilled portabellos for example. They are an excellent alternative to steak. I serve them with a side salad and some potatoes.
- 4 portabello mushroom caps
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 chopped cloves garlic
- Salt and pepper
- Remove the stems from the mushrooms and place them gill side up on a plate.
- Mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a small dish. Pour most of this marinade over the mushrooms. Brush the mushroom tops (which are touching your plate) with the remaining marinade. Let the mushrooms marinate for about an hour.
- Fire up your grill and grill, top side down for about 15 minutes. You can also bake in the oven for about 15 minutes at 400 F.
Easy Baba Ganouj Dip
Baba Ganouj is a yummy and healthy middle eastern dip you’ve got to try. I’ve stayed away from this in the past because I’m a) not a huge fan of eggplant and b) it seemed a little too involved having to roast a whole eggplant first. I’ve enjoyed making the much easier version below and I hope you will as well. If you don’t have tahini or are looking for a slightly more frugal way to make this, try using some unsweetened peanut butter instead. I prefer the baba ganouj with tahini, but the pb will do in a pinch. I serve this with pita, crackers or some cut up raw veggies.
- 1 eggplant
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Preheat your oven to 400 F.
- Cut the eggplant into 2 inch chunks, wrap them in foil and bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the flesh is soft. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Remove the skin from the cooled eggplant and place it in a blender. Add the garlic, parsley, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
- The dip tastes great right away, but letting the flavors blend in the refrigerator for a couple hours will be even better.
Spinach Cheese Bake
I don’t have to tell you that dark leafy greens like spinach are good for you. The hard part is getting used to eating them, especially if you have small children. My solution is to add a little cheese to the mix. This recipe calls for quite a bit of cheese. If your solution (like mine) is to eat a little healthier this year, start reducing the cheese a bit every time you make it until there’s just a bit of Swiss cheese covering the yummy spinach.
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 chopped onion
- 2-3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 bunch spinach
- 1½ cups shredded Swiss cheese
- Preheat your oven the oven to 350 F
- Over medium heat, heat the butter. Once it’s melted, add the onion and garlic, sautéing until tender.
- Add the spinach and mix with a wooden spoon to coat the spinach. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover your pan with a lid. Let it cook for about 3 minutes.
- Now you’re ready to get your casserole dish ready. Put half the shredded cheese on the bottom of the casserole. On top, place all the spinach mixture. Then top with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake uncovered, for about 20 minutes or so, or until the cheese begins to bubble.
Steamed Asparagus With Pine Nuts
One of my resolutions for this year is to cook more healthy food and to get a little more adventurous when it comes to cooking my veggies. I usually just boil asparagus or roast it with a little olive oil and salt. This version is steamed and the pine nuts add a nice bit of crunch. If you’re not a big fan of pine nuts, try some chopped almonds or even walnuts instead. I love the addition of vinegar. It adds a nice bit of tang to the dish, making it much more satisfying without adding calories.
All in all this is a winner and will make an appearance on our dinner table much more regularly, especially in the spring when there is plenty of fresh asparagus to be found at the grocery stores and the farmers market.
- 1 bunch of asparagus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper
- Chopped pine nuts
- Cut the ends of the asparagus stems and steam the spears for about 3 minutes.
- Once the asparagus has steamed, over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the red wine vinegar and asparagus and saute for about 2 minutes. When the asparagus starts to brown slightly it’s ready. Season it with salt and pepper and topped with chopped nuts.
Slow Cooker Collard Greens
Down here we traditionally eat ham, collard greens and back-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. This year I’m going to make my collard greens in the slow cooker and thought I’d share the recipe with you. Just get them started around lunch time and by dinner they will be delicious and tender. Flavor and texture is the main reason I started cooking my greens in the slow cooker. Because of the large volume of the raw greens, I saute them in my largest pot first to give them a chance to shrink down a bit before adding them to the crockpot.
- leftover ham / ham bone
- 5 lb collard greens
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- dash of black pepper
- dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
- Start by prepping your collard greens. Pull the leaves from the stems. Discard the stems. I like to add them along with any other raw veggie pieces to a freezer bag and use them down the road to make broth. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- Wash and dry the collard greens.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion has softened. I find it helps to add a dash of salt to the onion mixture.
- Increase the heat and add the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to the boil, then start adding your greens. Add as many as will comfortably fit, allow them to wilt down, then add more.
- Add the ham bone or leftover ham pieces to the bottom of the slowcooker. Pour the collard mixture on top. Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
Broccoli Salad with Bacon
I remember the first time I had this salad. It was at a family cookout and I loved it. It took me a few different tries to come up with a version just like it. It’s since become a favorite. I’ll make it when I know we’ll cook something on the grill for dinner. I can have this ready and waiting in the fridge while we hang out in the backyard.
This recipe is also very flexible. You can leave out the bacon if you’re serving vegetarians. Add some sliced almonds or chopped pecans or use cranberries instead of raisins. I’ve even had a version that had pineapple, bacon and cheese that was delicious.
- 4 cups broccoli
- 6 bacon strips
- ½ red onion
- 1 cup raisins
- ¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Start by frying up the bacon. Allow it to cool on some paper towels (to catch the grease) and crumble it up. Set it aside.
- Peel and chop the red onion finely, and then set it aside as well.
- Boil some water in a large pot and add a good dash of salt. It will help season the broccoli and keep it nice and green. Cut the broccoli into small florets and boil them in the water for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain them and run cool water over them to help cool them down.
- Put the cooked broccoli, bacon, cheese and raisins into a bowl. In a small bowl or a mason jar, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Add salt and pepper and pour the dressing over the veggies.
- Cover the salad bowl and let it sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.
Crockpot Spaghetti Squash
I love spaghetti squash. It’s healthy, filling and a great pasta substitute. The only problem with it is cooking it. It cooks faster when you cut it in half, but it’s pretty hard to do. After trying to do it myself and almost losing a finger, I now have my husband do the cutting if I’m roasting the squash. Of course that requires him to be around when it’s time to get the squash started in the oven, which doesn’t always happen.
Instead I started cooking the whole squash in the crockpot. It’s quick and easy and the slow cooker won’t heat up your house the way the oven can. Here’s what I do…
Get out your large crockpot and place the squash in it. Add a cup of water, close the lid and cook it on low for 8 to 10 hours. Carefully remove the squash using oven mitts and put it on a large plate or cutting board. Using a large, serrated knife, cut the cooked squash in half. Remove the seeds and set them aside. They can be roasted later just like pumpkin seeds. Use a fork to rake out the “noodle-like” strands of cooked squash.
Top your fake pasta with your favorite pasta sauce and serve. It’s also a great side dish with a little butter and pepper.
Baked Irish Apple Cabbage
I remember my mother adding an apple when she was cooking red cabbage. The sweetness added some nice balance to the meal. When I first came across this traditional Irish recipe, I was reminded of my mom’s German cooking. This baked cabbage was an instant hit at our house. It makes for a great side dish during the colder months.
- 1 head of cabbage, chopped
- 2 C apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1/3 C sugar
- 1 C bread crumbs
- 6 T butter, melted
Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Boil your chopped cabbage in water for about 4 minutes. Drain it and set it aside.
Spray a 2 qt. casserole dish with a non stick cooking spray.
Layer half of the cabbage into the prepared casserole dish. Layer half of the apple slices over the top of the cabbage. Sprinkle half the sugar over the top of those 2 layers. Spread half of the bread crumbs over that.
Repeat the layers again ending with the last of the bread crumbs. Pour the melted butter over the top of the entire casserole. Cover tightly and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover and continue baking an additional 15 minutes or until heated through.
On St. Patrick’s Day Everyone Can Be Irish
St. Patrick’s Day gives us all an excuse to have some fun and eat delicious comfort foods.
Just thinking about corned beef, cabbage & soda bread give me goose bumps. Those classic Irish dishes are among some of my favorite but it’s fun when you can find new recipes that make your tummy happy.
Since St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner I thought it would be nice to put together some recipes and crafts and create a kindle ebook to celebrate.
You’ll find delicious Irish food along with a bunch of crafts that your family will enjoy creating together.
And remember, with all Kindle ebooks, you don’t need a Kindle to download them. Amazon makes it easy to put right on your computer, laptop, or other e-reader or device. And the price is right, too!
http://www.amazon.com/St-Patricks-Everyone-Irish-ebook/dp/B00BS9LGJG
Salt and Vinegar Kale Chips – Video Recipe
So you’ve bought a big bag of Kale and now what? You’ve added it to your favorite smoothie and enjoyed it as a yummy avocado and kale salad, but there’s still half a bag or more leftover. Whatcha gonna do? Make kale chips of course. I shared my favorite recipe with you a few days ago. It was a simple version seasoned with just a little salt.
I’m about to bake up another batch of these yummy chips and did a little research into different seasonings. I came across this video on making salt and vinegar kale chips. I love this particular flavor combination in my regular chips so I had to give it a try. My kale bites are sitting on the counter right now. They’ve been drizzled in vinegar and I’m waiting for it to dry (as per the recipe below) before I move on to the next step in the recipe. Yes, it takes a little more time, but I’m sure it will be well worth it.
What’s your favorite seasoning or flavor combination for kale chips?
Kale and Avocado Salad With Cucumber
One of my favorite new vegetables is Kale. It’s awesome in soups and stews, sauteed like any other green and I’ve even added it to my smoothies in the morning. You can also make some great healthy Kale chips.
Kale is often found either sold by the bunch or in a large bag (washed and cut into bite-sized pieces). I have bought both types and usually go with whichever kind ends up being cheaper.
Kale is considered a superfood. It is low in calories and full of fiber, iron, calcium and Vitamins K, A and C. In other words, it’s just smart to eat … especially since it’s very affordable. One of my favorite side dishes is a simple Kale salad made with Avocado and lemon juice as the dressing. It’s healthy and fills you up. From here, you can add any other veggies you like. I almost always add chopped cucumber, but bell peppers, tomatoes etc are great additions as well.
- 2 cups of kale
- 1 ripe avocado
- ½ lemon
- Salt
- ½ cucumber
- 1 yellow bell pepper (optional)
- Wash your kale and cut it into bite-sized chunks. You can also used the pre-prepped kind that comes in a large bag at the grocery store. Put the Kale into a medium-sized bowl.
- Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and cut it into small chunks. Put them into the bowl on top of kale.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the bowl as well. Add some salt to taste.
- Use your hands to mash the avocado up and mash it into the kale leaves. Kale leaves are sturdy, so don’t be afraid to mash it up like meatloaf.
- Cut the cucumber and bell pepper (along with any other raw veggies you like) into small chunks and stir them into your kale salad. Serve immediately.
Kale Chips – Healthy Delicious And Frugal Snack
I never thought I would want to try making Kale Chips. It just seemed like such an odd recipe. But, not only did I try them, I liked them, and now I am hooked on them!
A while back, I started seeing recipes start popping up all over the place for Kale Chips. Since I cook kale quite often in soups, stews, or even just sauteed in a skillet as a side dish, I finally thought, “Why not?” So, I gave Kale Chips a try and now they are one of our favorite snacks; and not just me, but my husband and daughter have grown quite fond of them, as well.
The nutritional value is tremendous, which makes this recipe appealing right from the start. But, add in how cheap kale is and I just can’t see a reason NOT to make this snack.
And the best news is they taste great! With just a bit of natural tartness, they don’t need much more flavoring. I just sprinkle on a bit of kosher salt after they come out of the oven. Of course, a light sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese is nice, too.
I hope you’ll give this recipe a try. It took me a while to convince myself that the recipe would work and that it would taste good. Now I make Kale Chips several times a week and they never last long enough even to cool off! Enjoy!
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- kosher salt
- optional: other seasonings such as grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, or herbs
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees* and get out a large baking sheet. (*Oven temperatures vary. Be sure to watch your first batch carefully, and then adjust temperature according to your oven.)
- Wash the kale.
- Cut the leafy part of the kale off of the stems; discard the stems.
- Cut the kale into pieces about the size of a quarter. Try to keep all the pieces as close to the same size as possible.
- This part is very important – thoroughly dry the kale. Use a salad spinner if you have one. If not, dry with paper towels or with the ‘swinging towel’ method where you bundle the kale inside a clean towel and swing the towel around in big circles.
- Place the dry kale in a big bowl, drizzle on the olive oil, and mix with your hands until the kale is coated. Don’t use too much olive oil or the kale will get soggy instead of crispy.
- Dump the kale onto the baking sheet and spread out into as much of a single layer as possible.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Then, using tongs, pick the kale up and flip it around and over as much as possible.
- Slide back into oven and cook an additional 10 minutes, or until the kale starts to get dark in color and begins to crisp.
- Again using tongs, toss the kale around once more. They should be crispy enough to remove from the oven, but if not, you can let them bake for another 5 minutes, more or less.
- Remove the baking pan and toss them around again. The kale chips will actually get crispier once they are removed from the oven and you toss them around.
- Salt lightly, taste, and add more seasoning if desired.
- Serve as snacks or toppings for soups, stews, or casseroles. You can also mix in with quinoa, rice, or pasta dishes.
Once you get the process down, you’ll be making Kale Chips more and more often, and finding lots of ways to use them. But, like I said, they rarely last long enough to make it to another dish in our house. Truth be told, they rarely make it off the baking sheet!
Give these nutritious snacks a try and be sure to come back and comment below with your thoughts.
How To Peel Tomatoes
This post was shared with us from Living So Abundantly. I thought I would post it in the Articles section as well as the Frugal Tips section and the Recipe section so it would be easy to find.
Having been blessed with buckets and buckets of tomatoes this year, I embarked on a mission myself to find ways to use up tomatoes in assorted ways. What resulted was a little cookbook available on Kindle. You can click on and take a look right here: The Tomato Cookbook – Tomato Recipes From Soup To Grilled
On with the instructions for peeling tomatoes from LivingSoAbundantly.com.
Thank you,
Susanne
First, remove the top of the tomato with a paring knife.
Slice an “x” on the bottom of the tomato.
Immerse the tomato into boiling water with a slotted spoon for 3-5 seconds; remove.
Using the slotted spoon, immediately immerse the tomato into an ice bath; remove in 3-5 seconds.
Easily peel off the skin, and this is what you get. So easy!
Why would I want peeled tomatoes? Salsa, of course! You can also make homemade spaghetti sauce, too.
There are so many uses for peeled tomatoes.
What’s your favorite use?
Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
For pictures of the process, be sure to click on the link for the Living So Abundantly website.
Tomato Dumpling Stew
One of our readers was looking for a recipe for stewed tomatoes with dumplings. The following is the recipe a commenter suggested, but I tweaked it a little (major difference is reducing the sugar quite a bit.) You can also use fresh tomatoes, diced up with liquid from the tomatoes reserved. If you do, you may have to add a little water (or broth) to the stew to make up for the liquid that you would have from the canned tomatoes. If you have basil or oregano handy that would also be tasty.
Comment in the space below if you try this recipe and let us know what you think.
- 1 (14 oz size) can diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar, more or less to taste
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 Tbsp butter
- ½ cup biscuit baking mix*
- 3 Tbsp milk
- In a soup pot, put the diced tomatoes (along with all liquid in can), add the sugar, salt, black pepper, and butter, stir.
- Put on medium-high heat and bring mixture to a gentle boil, then turn down, cover, and simmer slowly for 15 minutes or until creamy and bubbling hot, stirring often.
- Prepare the dumplings in a separate bowl by mixing together the dry biscuit mix with milk until just combined – don’t over mix – the dough should be slightly lumpy.
- Uncover pot and divide the biscuit dough into 4 sections and drop onto the tomatoes. Cover pot and continue simmering slowly for 10 minutes – do not peek! Uncover and test dumplings for doneness by inserting a toothpick into a dumpling; it should come out clean.
- Spoon into 2 bowls, each bowl getting 2 dumplings.
*Can use prepackaged biscuit baking mix or you may want to make your own homemade biscuit mix.
Use Zucchini To Make Mock Apple Butter And Crisp
I wanted to share an email I got from a reader that has an amazing way to use up zucchini. Please read – I can’t wait to try it. Thank you, Roxanne, for sharing this great tip!
Hello there. Just had to tell you how much I enjoy your books, your tips, and your newsletters. This one is devoted to tomatoes, but I wanted to share something with you that I’ve done several times now. Its not the tomato, rather it is the zucchini! Those big honking, large as a baseball bat zukes that got that way because they were hidden by the large leaves actually provide a cheap ingredient that you would never suspect was made with the zucchini.
Apple butter. Yes – apple butter. I clean them the same as you would cantelope; i.e. skin and seeds removed. I cut into halves or quarters and then slice about 3/4″ thick into crescents. Follow your favorite apple butter recipe and enjoy. I’ve also done “mock apple crisp” using the same methods. The zukes take on all of the seasonings and the texture is pretty much identical.
Enjoy!
Roxanne Loehrig – Aurora CO
Thanks again, Roxanne. Now I’m hoping I get one of those buckets of zucchini mysteriously show up on my doorstep soon.
