Father's Day Dinner - He Wants MEAT - Part 1

Last week, we ate many, many vegetables!  In fact, our meals Monday through Thursday were either vegan or vegetarian and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had green smoothies or whole grain toast with organic peanut butter and Chia seeds for breakfast; mini portions of dinner leftovers for lunch; plenty of green tea and water and then I whipped up freshly made plant based meals for dinner --> veggie stir fry, brown rice and cashews, tomato cream on pasta with diced zucchini and bell peppers, and my sloppy Joe sauce with diced bell peppers and vegan sour cream on brown rice just to list a few. Yes sir-ee, all these veggie based meals ROCKED... OK, so maybe it was only me who was totally excited about this!  As it turns out, by Thursday, it was looking like I would be facing a family mutiny if some form of meat did not show up on the dinner plates, so for Friday's dinner, I thawed some organic chicken thighs to accompany the leftover mains that would now do double duty as sides (**BUDGET TIP** use up those leftovers!). For myself, I opted to remain plant based and had another vegan sloppy Joe with a side of leftover veggie stir fry... YUM!

So meal planning for the upcoming week brings me to Father's Day and providing the man of the hour with a favourite meal that of course MUST have meat for fear of the aforementioned family mutiny! Ribs are a family favourite and even better yet, back ribs were on sale.

On Saturday, I went to our Farmers Market and left with a fabulous stash of chemical free veggies. Those baby potatoes and green onions will rock a potato salad, and those carrots will be a lovely addition to my supercharged cabbage and apple salad.  Both of these salads will be splendid with the honey garlic ribs on the Father's Day Menu!

 

 

A few weeks ago I picked up some local, raw honey.  I am only now trying this golden elixir because I couldn't get the ^&*@! lid off... ACK!  OMG, I have never had such incredible tasting honey before. This poor girl has never had local honey, never mind, raw honey EVER!  I will NEVER buy store bought again. Yes, this magnificent honey will star in my honey garlic sauce.

 

Traditionally, my recipe calls for soy sauce but since I was out of it and had some Tamari in the fridge, I decided to try it instead.  Although Tamari is made from fermented soy beans, it is similar but not the quite the same in taste as soy sauce and it is a little less salty. Just to jump ahead, it was just as nice as the soy sauce, and I would recommend either. Just remember to start the soy sauce at ONE tablespoon to ensure your sauce isn't too salty.

Essentially, my honey garlic sauce is a simmered reduction of all of these ingredients plus water resulting in a thick sauce to brush on during the last 10-15 minutes of low and slow barbecuing.  I will have to fine tune this recipe for you since I lost my original recipe years ago and have been eye balling it ever since. If you would like to experiment on your own, feel free. To get you started, my measurements for the Father's Day Ribs were:

 

Honey Garlic Sauce (WIP)

 

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup ketchup

2 cloves of garlic minced (but I should have added a third)

2 tbsp. Tamari (I think I needed a little more)

3/4 cup water (this allows the sauce to simmer without burning to develop the flavours)

 

METHOD

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan.

Whisk regularly and simmer over medium/low heat till the sauce is thick. 

Careful not to burn.

 

Once I get my measurements down, I will let you know!

 

 

I begin the process by cutting the rack of ribs into serving sized pieces - usually 3 ribs per serving. I put place the ribs in a covered roasting pan with about 2 inches of water and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours at 325°F. The ribs do NOT have to be in a single layer. Once the ribs are done slow cooking, let them stand for about 20 minutes so that they can be easily handled. Let these ribs cool sufficiently to put into the fridge or freezer for a later meal; or continue on with the oven roasting or barbecuing.

 

Since it wasn't super hot on Sunday and my barbecue is not so great, I opted to oven roast.  I par cooked the ribs on Saturday; cooled them and put them in the fridge till Sunday. Set the oven to 350° F (if you have a convection oven, turn on the fan).  Put the ribs on an uncovered roasting pan, meat side up, and roast for 10 minutes. (If you have just slow cooked the ribs, you might only need to roast for about 5 minutes since they are still warm.) After 10 minutes, brush the ribs with the sauce and return to the oven. Roast for 5 minutes. Turn the ribs, and brush bottoms with the sauce.  Return to the oven and roast for 5 minutes. Turn the ribs one last time and brush with the remaining sauce - they should be meat side up now.  Pop them back into the oven for another 5-7 minutes.  Turn off the oven and let the ribs stand in the oven while you are finalizing your sides.

Budget & Time Saving Tips

I mentioned before that you can slow cook these ribs and freeze them. As long as they are sealed well, they will keep nicely for a month or 2. In fact, if you want to save time and money, buy the ribs when they are on sale and slow cook several meals ahead of time and then freeze them individually on a large cooking sheet. After all, it takes the about the same amount of hydro to cook one meal in the oven as it does 2 or 3. Once frozen, freeze them in a tightly sealed container or freezer bag. These ribs will now be individually frozen and you can grab as many or few servings as you require.  Thaw them in the fridge, over night and continue with the oven roasting or barbecuing. You can have slow cooked ribs, even for those busy weekday meals.

These ribs are tasty, tender and just a little sweet whether you oven roast or barbecue.  Just keep in mind, when barbecuing, use a low fire because the sauce burns easily and burned sauce is just plain nasty. Stay tuned for Part 2 and my salad sides!

Lasagna Roll Ups 2 Ways

In my last post, I shared my favourite lasagna recipe. It was from a Better Homes & Garden recipe book circa 1950's-ish. I mentioned that this was my go to recipe. While poking around on Pinterest, I came across the idea of deconstructing the traditional lasagna and rolling it up. Some recipe authors suggested that it takes less time, but in the end, I discovered there is very little time saved, except for 15 minutes of standing time. That being said, it is a lovely presentation and a refreshing change from the typical squares of lasagna, plus these rolls make portion control easier!

I knew last week that I wanted to do a post on the vegetarian lasagna rolls that I made, but because I made my lasagna rolls were made from some odd and ends in my freezer, I wanted my readers to have both a meat option and a vegetarian option. Hence the reason for posting my Mom's Lasagna recipe first!

I had almost 2 cups of my vegan Bolegnese sauce in the freezer, of course in a 500 ml mason jar. (BTW, this sauce freezes beautifully too.) This was the "meat" filling in my lasagna rolls. Unfortunately, I did not have enough Bolognese sauce to ladle under and over the lasagna rolls before baking, so I needed on additional sauce. Fortunately, I also had about 3 cups of my marinara sauce in the freezer.  Since my marinara sauce is also flavoured with similar herbs as the Bolognese sauce, it would pair nicely.

I thawed both sauces (over night in the refrigerator) and brought them to a simmer in order to make sure that there was no excess liquids in the sauces, about 20 minutes or so did the trick. Since I wanted the marinara sauce to be fairly thick, I added 4 teaspoons of chia seeds so soak up an extra liquids - shhhhh "hidden healthy"!

Cook 8 lasagna noodles as per package directions – I used whole wheat.

I then mixed together

2 1/2 cups cottage cheese (about 3/4 of a standard container)

1 egg

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 

2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped (fresh if you have it, but dried works just fine)

Several grinds of pepper

I grated a 3 inch piece of Mozzarella cheese (from an 460 gram bar)

Take 9x13" baking pan and ladle enough marinara sauce onto the bottom. My pictures show and 8x8", which only fit 6 rolls. I had to use an small one for the extra 2 rolls. Oops! Learning curve alert... 

ASSEMBLY:  

Following my tried and true rhyme, with the crazy beat and a dance if you like --> Noodles, Cheese, Mozzarella, Meat ...

and then roll up and place the roll in the baking dish, seam side down.

Continue until all 8 rolls are done.  

Pour the remaining marinara sauce over the rolls so they don't dry out while baking.  

I covered with foil and baked at 375° F for 25-30 minutes. If you make ahead and take out of the refrigerator, I would probably bake it for an additional 15 minutes to make sure everything is cooked through. You should see the sauce bubbling.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes or so, while you get any side dishes finished off.

As you can see my first run through with lasagna rolls was essentially made with leftovers from my freezer.  If you don't have these leftovers available, I would recommend using my favourite meatless Bolognese recipe from the Veggieful.com blog for the filling and the topping if you want a vegetarian version. I would add 1 more heaped teaspoon of dried basil to the sauce though if you don't have any fresh. If you want a meat filling (all meat or lightened up with the green lentils and mushrooms) I highly recommend the meat filling from my Mom's Lasagna. For either recipe, I would be happy to answer any questions about measurements or techniques.

Feel free to freeze any extra sauce in a mason jar or two. Don't forget to leave at least 1 inch of headspace. Save the extra sauce for lasagna rolls for 2 or add to your favourite pasta for a quick meal. I have a sneaky suspicion that the full recipes for either sauce will end up leaving you with quite a bit of leftovers. Waste not want not!   

 

PS. If you use the Bolognese recipe, you will see that it calls for 120 grams of the extra firm tofu, which is about half a brick for the brands that I buy in my grocery store (these are 350 gram bars). As this is the case, I always double the recipe, freeze the extras so that I can have almost ready meals when I'm pressed for time.  Who needs takeout?

Mom's Lasagna

This is Part 1 of 2 for lasagna!

I LOVE lasagna! It was a comfort food from my childhood, and although it was not my mom's favourite, it certainly ranked high in tastiness for us kids, so she made it frequently despite the fact that lasagna is not a ready in 30 minutes kind of meal, primarily due to the preparation of the various components. Now that I think about it, despite the rather time consuming preparation process, lasagna really was a convenient make ahead meal for a busy family of 6 because it could be made several days in advance or or it could be frozen, thawed and then cooked when required! More importantly, junior cooks, like myself when I was 10, could get dinner ready by popping it in the oven and making a side salad.  It is also a great potluck dish... Easy to take to a gathering and it is always a welcomed dish on a buffet table! What more could you want in a casserole type meal?

I adored mom's recipe and still do. It was from a Better Homes & Garden recipe book circa 1950's-ish. To this day, this is my go to lasagna recipe. Of course, I have tinkered a little with it with great success! The nice thing about this recipe is that I don't find it especially rich or heavy, primarily because I tend to use less mozzarella than called for and the wonderful tomato and basil flavour shines through too. Yes sir-we, this is a satisfying and tasty recipe!

Mom's Lasagna

1 lb lean ground beef

1 clove garlic, minced (I use 2 or 3 depending on the size)

1 tbsp. basil

1 tsp salt

1 large can plum tomatoes

2 cans (6 oz.ea.) tomato paste (I use 1 large 13 oz can)

8 lasagna noodles (I use whole wheat)

2 eggs (I use happy chicken eggs)

3 cups cream-style cottage cheese (I use organic 2%)

1/2 cup grated parmesan

2 tbsp. parsley flakes.(fresh is nice but not mandatory, dried or frozen work)

1 tsp salt (I use sea salt or Kosher)

1/2 tsp pepper

1 lb mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly ( I use my cheese slicer, on thinnest setting and slice enough cheese to neatly cover the surface of the lasagna 6-8 slices depending on the width, maybe 1/2 lb?)

In a large skillet, brown the meat slowly; spoon off excess fat. Add next 5 ingredients. Simmer uncovered 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Cook the noodles according to package instructions in large amount boiling salted water till tender; drain and rinse. Set aside.

Beat eggs. Add parsley, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to eggs. Set aside. 

ASSEMBLY:  Layer half the noodles in a 13x9x2 in. baking dish; spread with half the Ricotta filling; add half the mozzarella cheese and half the meat sauce. 

Repeat layers --> My little rhyme to remember ... cha - cha - cha and said with a funky little beat... Noodles, Cheese, Mozzarella, Meat!

Bake in a 375° F oven for about 30 minutes (or assemble early and refrigerate ahead of time; bake 45 minutes). Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a green salad and pass me a slice of garlic bread!

This lasagna can be double wrapped in foil and frozen for a month or 2. Thaw in the fridge over night and bake as directed.

RECIPE TWEAKS
Things I have done to tweak this recipe to add a little more healthy and to make this dish a little more budget friendly includes combining 1/2 pound of ground beef, 1 cup cooked green lentils and 8 ounces of finely diced mushrooms, white or cremini when making the sauce. This is a good way to increase the plant-based content AND make the the "meat sauce" a little more budget friendly.  I also use organic cottage cheese and eggs; but sadly, I have yet to find organic blocks of cheese in my local stores.  One of these days, I am going to try 2 flax eggs in the cottage cheese mixture; a little more omega 3 would be a plus since the lasagna is already loaded with protein.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Yes, lasagna is a little heavy in the saturated fat from the meat and the cheese, but that doesn't mean you can't have it. Take a smaller piece and load up 2/3 of your plate with a mixed green salad with some amazing toppings like red and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower florets and a few pumpkin seeds. YUM! If you aren't in the mood for salad, a medley of your favourite steamed veggies would be lovely too - broccoli and cauliflower together or a big stack of asparagus or green beans!

KITCHEN TIP

Whenever I cook a tomato based sauce that needs to simmer for any length of time, it drives me crazy to be wiping up little splatters of red sauce from EVERYWHERE ! I used to use a metal mesh splatter guard which worked quite well.  Eventually, that gave up the ghost and my hubby bought me the silicon version. It did the job admirably as well, but it has started to tear near the rim. Apparently, this splatter guard's days are numbered too.  

As they say, "necessity is the mother of invention", and I believe I came up with the perfect solution. It requires spending no money (YAY for me) because the solution to containing the tomato sauce splatter is already in my kitchen!  See below, my pot of bubbling tomato sauce. If unprotected, my beautiful backsplash (that my handy husband installed) will soon be covered and splashes of red! Fear not, help is on the way! 

Tada! Another use for my metal sieve.  

I wouldn't be inclined to try this with a plastic one because it would probably melt, but this stainless steel one does an excellent job. I might not be replacing my splatter guard after all! WOW... save money, don't buy what you don't need, and make do with what you have on hand... wallet friendly AND eco-friendly, what more could a budget conscious, eco-holic girl want?

Watch for Part 2 of this post which will feature Lasagna Roll Ups!

Petit Pan Squash or Zucchini & Potato Latkes

 

The promise of summer comes and goes.  One day we are melting, the next we are making a dash for the warm clothes we finally put into storage.  Yikes!  What is a girl to do? On those warm weather days, I love the lighter foods, but when the mercury plummets for this time of year, I crave warm comfort food, like these sumptuous squash and potato latkes.  Crisp on the outside with a soft and delectable inside. How can you go wrong? In addition to how satisfying these tasty bites are is the fact that they are SO budget friendly and made from basic pantry and freezer items - for me, a match made in heaven... Tasty, affordable AND made from around the house ingredients!

My recipe is my adaption of a Canadian Living recipe for Mini Zucchini & Potato Latkes for appetizers.

 

INGREDIENTS
2 cups grated zucchinis, about 3 or 4 small (I used frozen petit pan squash that was grated and in my freezer from last fall)
1 tsp. salt
Several grinds of black pepper (to taste)
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled (about 1 lb)
3 green onions; green parts too, white parts finely diced, and green parts thinly sliced
1 egg from happy chickens, lightly beaten (next time I will try a Flax egg)
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour or oat flour for gluten free
Keep 1/4" vegetable/olive oil combination in pan for frying (add more as required)

INSTRUCTIONS
With a box grater, coarsely grate zucchini. Transfer to fine meshed sieve and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. of the salt and toss; let stand for 30 minutes. Using tea towel squeeze out liquid.

 

Because I used 2 cups of grated petit pan squash I had in the freezer, I thawed it over night in fine mesh sieve to drain the excess water. Then I put it into the tea towel to squeeze out the moisture.  

 

Transfer to large bowl.

 

Coarsely grate potatoes. Using tea towel, thoroughly squeeze out liquid; add to zucchini.

 

With fork, stir in onion, egg, flour, pepper and remaining salt to combine. (Since I used frozen squash, I added the full amount of salt to the mix.)

 

 

 

In large skillet (I LOVE my cast iron fry pan!), heat enough vegetable oil to cover bottom of pan over medium-high heat.

 

Add a scant 1/4 cup measure of the  potato mixture per latke, leaving at least 1 inch  between each; flatten slightly.

 

Cook latkes, in batches, adding more oil as needed and turning halfway through, until golden and edges are crisp, about 5 minutes.

 

Drain latkes on paper towel-lined racks.

 

To Make-ahead: Remove paper. Let stand for up to 4 hours or cover and refrigerate on rack for up to 24 hours. You can also freeze which will allow you to make ahead longer.  Just remember to thaw before reheating.

 

Reheat on a baking sheet in 400°F oven (375°F for convection), 6 to 8 minutes.

 

 

 

I made these ahead as an experiment.  I froze them in a single layer on a baking sheet and then popped them into a storage container and returned them to the freezer. When I was ready to use them, I set them out on a baking sheet to thaw.  Once they were thawed, I was ready to reheat them.  Leave yourself about 1 to 1 1/2 hours for counter top thawing. 

 

To Reheat:

I preheated the oven to 375° F. While the oven was preheating, I placed my baking sheet in to preheat as well.  Once the oven came to temperature, I let the baking pan continue heating for a few more minutes. I wanted the pan to be super hot. 

 

I, then, quickly took the pan out of the oven, placed the thawed latkes on the baking pan in a single layer. I let the latkes reheat for 4 minute, then carefully turned them, and continued re-heating for another 4 minutes or so. I watched to make sure they didn't start to darken too much.

 

I was very pleased at this reheating method. I would have to say, they were as good as freshly cooked.

 

My favourite way to eat latkes is to serve them with my homemade applesauce and a dollop of sour cream.  Tonight, I used a non-dairy sour cream substitute made from cashews, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. I got my recipe from Oh She Glows, one of my go-to vegan recipe sites.  This stuff is guilt free, has good fat, and is really tasty!  I highly recommend this condiment substitute. You could even flavour it up with herbs, or garlic and a little Dijon and use it as a creamy dressing or when I am eating my occasional "chippies for the hippies", a dip.

Zucchini and Potato Latkes

 

INGREDIENTS
2 cups grated zucchinis, about 3 or 4 small (I used frozen petit pan squash that was grated and in my freezer from last fall)
1 tsp. salt
Several grinds of black pepper (to taste)
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled (about 1 lb)
3 green onions; green parts too, white parts finely diced, and green parts thinly sliced
1 egg from happy chickens, lightly beaten (Next time I want to try a Flax Egg!)
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour or oat flour for gluten free
Keep 1/4" vegetable/olive oil combination in pan for frying (add more as required)

INSTRUCTIONS
With a box grater, coarsely grate zucchini. Transfer to colander and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp (1 mL) of the salt and toss; let stand for 30 minutes. Using tea towel squeeze out liquid.

 

Because I used grated petit pan squash that I had in the freezer, I thawed it over night in colander to drain the excess water.  Then I put it into the tea towel to squeeze out the moisture.  

 

Transfer to large bowl.

 

Coarsely grate potatoes. Using tea towel, thoroughly squeeze out liquid; add to zucchini. 

 

With fork, stir in onion, egg, flour pepper and remaining salt to combine. (Since I used frozen squash, I added the full amount of salt to the mix).

 

In large skillet, heat enough vegetable oil to cover bottom of pan over medium-high heat. Add a scant 1/4 cup measure of the  potato mixture per latke, leaving at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) between each; flatten slightly.

 

Cook latkes, in batches, adding more oil as needed and turning halfway through, until golden and edges are crisp, about 5 minutes.

 

Drain latkes on paper towel-lined racks. (Make-ahead: Remove paper. Let stand for up to 4 hours or cover and refrigerate on rack for up to 24 hours or freeze.

 

To Make-ahead: Remove paper. Let stand for up to 4 hours or cover and refrigerate on rack for up to 24 hours. You can also freeze which will allow you to make ahead longer.  Just remember to thaw before reheating.

 

Reheat on a baking sheet in 400°F oven (375°F for convection), 6 to 8 minutes as described above!

 

 

Non-Dairy Sour Cream

by Oh She Glows

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 4 hours, or overnight

1/2 - 3/4 cup water, add as required
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4-1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS
Place cashews in a bowl and cover with water.  Soak for a minimum of 2 hours preferably over night or 8 hours if you have time.

Drain and rinse the cashews and place in the blender

Add the lemon, vinegar, salt, and about half the water. Blend on HIGH until smooth.  You may need to scrape down the sides. 

Continue adding the water a little at a time until it is thick and smooth.

Transfer to a small container and store in the refrigerator until read to you use.  It will thicken a little more as it sits.

No Breakfast Skipping For Me (Anymore)

Lately I have opted for liquid breakfasts.  I like to start my day with a big glass of not so cold filtered water; a good way to get the insides working followed by a cup of green tea to get my mini caffeine fix.  Since starting my food journey, I try really hard to start my day with breakfast. Lately, I have become quite taken with  my homemade juices, orange and green and of course my green smoothies.  My new Breville juicer gets plenty of work and as I mentioned in my last blog post, my blender has seen more mileage in the past few months that it has seen in the last 20 years.

Despite the fact that I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I have never been big on it as I find it hard to face food until around 10 or 11 in the morning. Subsequently, I have forever been a breakfast skipper, traditionally opting for a large double double to give me that get up and go! I have found that my juices and smoothies are the perfect start to the day for this kid. These liquid breakfasts provide quick access nutrients for my body.  I feel better, think better and am better prepared for the day. 

 

Often, if I have opted to start my day with a juice, I am a little peckish around 10 so I have found that a whole grain pita bread is a welcomed mid morning snack. Other snack options might also be a homemade sweet potatoe muffin or a breakfast cookie (recipe below).  I have recently discovered that a natural organic peanut butter sprinkled with chia seeds is really good and certainly gets me to lunch! The other day, I also had a little leftover dairy free chocolate pudding kicking around, so I thought I would try it on my pita toast sprinkled with some almond slices. YUM YUM YUM!   A bite of one and then a bite of the other. A match made in heaven!  Next time, I will make it easier to eat by actually spreading the peanut butter first, then spreading the chocolate pudding on top of that and finishing off with a sprinkle the almonds and chia seeds. 

 

If I have started my day with a green smoothie, I am usually good till lunch.  Smoothies tend to be more filling and long lasting. My favourite green smoothie contains a frozen, ripe banana, kale, spinach, almond butter, a little honey or maple syrup for some sweetness and some almond milk to blend. YUM! Green smoothies are an excellent way to get more raw greens into me quickly and easily! 

I have also discovered Banana Oat Breakfast Cookie are amazing and even though they do contain added sugar, they are certainly a MUCH better choice to those crappy made for you oatmeal bars. They even freeze well so you can make sure you have plenty on hand!These kid friendly cookies are tasty AND healthy.  Shhhh don't tell the kids!  They work as a quick sit down breakfast or because of their portability, these little morsels can be taken for breakfast on the go!   Who wouldn't say "Yes please" to a cookie or two for beakfast?  They also make a nice addition to a boxed lunch for a healthy dessert or snack.

The recipe I use does contain butter and eggs plus some added sugar. In the spirit of my food journey, I have started making some tweeks to the recipe to take this recipe from good to great. In the meantime, until I have tested my tweeks, the recipe as I have posted is lovely.  As a note,  I would definitely drop the sugar down a bit more, especially if your bananas are super ripe.  Please enjoy and let me know what you think.

Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies (W.I.P.)

 

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter (I used 1/4 cup coconut oil; 1/4 cup butter this time)

3 ripe bananas, mashed (mine were medium in size)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I added 1/2 a cup]

2 whole eggs (next time I will try flax eggs; 2 tbsp ground flax seeds + 6 tbsp water)

3 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 tbsp flour (I made 2 tablespoons of oat flour by processing large flake oats in my food processor)

1/4 cup almond milk

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup dried cranberries, nuts or a combination (I used 1/2 cup pecans, 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, topped up to 1 cup with cranberries)

 

As a special treat, I tossed in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, but you can omit this if you prefer!

DIRECTIONS

Mix first 3 ingredients together in a bowl.

Add eggs and mix.

Add remaining ingredients except nuts and/or dried cranberries

After dough is mixed add nuts and or cranberries.

Batter will seem too wet, but don't worry  

Drop by heaped and packed tablespoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet.  

Flatten with fork to about 1/2" thick, patting edges to keep the cookie together and rounded.

Bake at 350° F. for 12 to 15 minutes.

Let the cookies cool for one or two minutes on the baking tray, then transfer to cooling rack.

Cool completely. 

 

Yes sir-ee.  No more skipping breakfast for this kid!  My next goal is to try out some home made granola.  I have a few recipes I want to try.  I will keep you posted. 

Sweet Potato Oatmeal Muffins & A Non-Productive Day!

Welocome to Monday... Well perhaps I should say Monday evening!  It was a ridiculous day.  Alarm goes off at 5:45 AM and it was SO hard to get up... ACK! Lunches for my husband Randy for his work week; Erika's lunch for school ready for and on the table... check and check!  Erika says we are almost out of muffins so I pin a mental note to my brain that I need to make some today.  Husband out the door, NOT on time, yes; daughter out the door, ON time... YES!

Now I am ready for my productive day.  Green tea to start; bed made, check on the jobs listings... sadly nothing of interest is posted.  Boot the computer, take my jar of leftover cooked squash out of the freezer and put it into the microwave to thaw for the muffins, and I plan on doing a blog post to be completed by 10 AM.  When the blog is updated, I can make the muffins and paint the basement ceiling!  It was SUPPOSED to be a productive day... but it went to hell and a hand basket! 

I sent a quick email to the brother-in-law about my limited ability for web design and then log into Blogger; and before I knew it, my morning was shot.  A little playing around here, and a little playing around there.  Can I do this?  Can I do that.  I want a custom header... how do I do that?  Well, as you well know... it was 11:30 and nothing was blogged, and I only managed a draft of today's recipe posting which of course reminded me of my muffin making task that was on my TO DO List for today.  STOP the computer time, blog is on hold... and off to the kitchen to make the muffins.  At least something got done today!  

I managed to grab a quick bite for lunch and take care of a few small chores and then before I knew it, there was no time to paint.  Perhaps tomorrow <sigh>!

Before we get to my muffin recipe, I want to point out that I substituted 1 cup of cooked squash for the sweet potatoes called for in the recipe.  Up to now, I have been using up my frozen leftover sweet potato mash from dinners gone by.  I had no more sweet potato so I used the the lonely jar of squash from my freezer.  This would be another of my frugal tips.  Save your little bits of mashed squash or sweet potato, half cup or more, and freeze for another day!  

Just so you know, the squash substitution worked beautifully!   And so, without adieu...

Sweet Potato Muffins

YIELD: 12-14 muffins
CATEGORY: Quick bread

INGREDIENTS
1 cup large flake oatmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 cup fresh sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1/2 to 3/4 cup light brown sugar, depending on your taste
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup skim milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. In another bowl, mix sweet potatoes, brown sugar, oil, milk, egg, vanilla and dries fruit till well combined.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet one and mix, just until well moistened. Fill prepared muffin tins 3/4 full or use muffin papers.
5. Bake 15-20 minutes.   

 

Veggie Stirfry With a Garlic/Orange Sauce and Cashews

I love stir fries! It is an easy way to throw together a quick and nutritious dinner.  A dinner that is packed with flavour and kid friendly too - perfect fare for my current food journey AND on track to help me achieve my goal to serve plant based meals 75% of the time!  The wonderful sauce that comes with this stir fry makes brown rice tasty to even a 14 year olds palate looking for that refined white rice.

Like most stir fries, this recipe is an easy way to get your feet wet with plant based meals for a number of reasons.  First, it is easy, quick and uncomplicated to prepare.  Second, the meal is so pretty and colourful, it allows even the meat-a-tarian in you life to marvel at the beauty of the plate you put before him/her.  Thirdly, the brown rice and the cashews help to make the veggies more filling and satisfying.

• 2 red bell peppers, organic please, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1/2 head of broccoli, cut into smallish florets, and the stalks julienned and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 oz. package of white button or cremini mushrooms, diced (to hide them from the mushroom hating 14 year old), but you can cut them any way you like!
• 2 stalks of celery, organic please, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
• 1 to 2 tbsp. canola or olive oil
• 1 cup to 1 1/4 cups of water
• 1 cup roasted cashews, unsalted

Sauce

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 tsp of grated ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp. Tamari or soy sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• a few grinds of fresh cracked pepper

In a mason jar, combine all of the sauce ingredients.  Put the lid on and shake to combine.  Set aside.

Prepare the veggies and organize into piles on a cutting board.
Heat a wok, large Dutch oven pot or large pot over medium high heat.  Add 1 tbsp. of the oil. 
Add the mushrooms, celery and carrots.  Stir for a few minutes until the mushrooms have cooked down slightly and have started to brown.  If the pan is dry, add the second tablespoon of oil.
Add the julienned broccoli stalks and continue stirring and cooking for 2 more minutes. 
Add the broccoli florets and red peppers, stir fry for 2 more minutes, mixing thoroughly. 
Add about 1/4 cup of water and cover pot.  Steam veggies for 2 minutes, until broccoli and red peppers are tender crisp (a Canadian Living Test Kitchen method).

Stir in the prepared sauce and stir constantly.  Thin the sauce with the water, about 1/2 cup stirring constantly.  When the sauce comes to a boil, add more water a 1/4 cup at a time until the sauce is thinned to your liking and clings to the veggies.  Add the cashews and stir to mix thoroughly.

Serve over prepared brown rice.

A lovey tasty dinner for sure.  The nice thing about stir fries too, is you can make the sauce and cut the veggies ahead of time.  When you come home from a busy day of work, all you need to do is cook the rice and the stir fry.  When you can prepare much of your dinner ahead of time, it truly is a time saver!  Yep, MUCH faster than takeout and way better than Hamburger Helper (no matter how many veggies you throw into that crap!)

We even had a little left over so I put them in my favourite eco-friendly storage container.  Perhaps a lunch for my husband this week!  A 500 ml mason jar for the rice and 750 ml mason jar for the stir fry.  I love these things for all kinds of storage - for dry goods, for the fridge and the freezer.  The only thing you need to remember though is make sure you leave a good amount of space at the top when freezing sauces and liquids as these EXPAND and will break the glass if there is not adequate "head space".