Chipotle Sweet Potato Salad

When asked to bring an "alternative salad" to a party, I quickly scanned the contents of my kitchen and googled: sweet potato & salad.  I was inspired by this recipe and came up with the following. Basically that disclaimer is to say that there are multiple ways to make a salad. Have fun, look through your kitchen and create something new!  :)

-3 large sweet potatoes (cubed) seasoned with Smoked Paprika, oven roasted and cooled
*oven roasting:  oil a pan, cube sweet potatoes, toss in the oil, sprinkle generously with smoked paprika and cook at 400* for about 30 minutes, turn and continue to cook till edges are crispy but not burned
-2 c. Corn
-2 cans Black Beans, rinsed and drained
-1 green pepper, diced
- multi colored sweet peppers (Red, Yellow, Orange mini peppers) about 10, diced
-1 bunch Cilantro, chopped
-1/4 Red Onion, minced
- Kale, a couple leaves, minced (very optional, but will make the salad go further)
-2 Avocados, diced

Dressing:
** This is an approximation!! I have never measured this part!!  Make to taste, and please taste before you pour over the salad!
-1/2 c. Mayo
- 1 T. Chipotle Tabasco

Before serving pour the juice of 1 lime over the salad and toss.

Note: The sweet potatoes could be made a day in advance and keep well in the fridge.

Flax Muffins

Going gluten-light has been interesting, to say the least. There are times that I just want to sink my teeth into something soft, moist, sweet and chewy (ok, so sometimes I do :)).  But, these muffins are the best, and I mean BEST bread-like gluten free alternative we have found!  And they are simple and quick, did I fail to mention that?  1 minute in the microwave and you can have "bread" in a bowl. Amazing! I hope you give it a try, because I'm certain you will enjoy it!

Combine all ingredients in a cereal bowl. (you can use a smaller bowl like a custard cup, you will just get a smaller muffin)

1/4 c. Ground Flax
1/4 t. Baking Powder
1 Egg
Dash of:
Vanilla (1/2 t)
Cinnamon (1/4 t.)
Oil (coconut, olive, etc) (1 t. - 1 1/2 t.)
Honey/Agave (1/2t. - 1t.)

Stir all ingredients till well combined and microwave for about 1 minute. My microwave is a smaller/lighter type, so I need to cook for 1 min and 30 seconds. Adjust the time for your power/speed of microwave.

We love our topped with Peanut Butter, Yogurt, Apple Sauce, Jam....the sky's the limit!
Additions are also fun. We have added mashed banana, coco powder, blueberries...experiment and enjoy!

I have not tried this, but my mom has 6x the recipe and cooked it in a 8x8 pan at 375* for about 30 minutes (check at 20 minutes). 

Wild Rice Cashew Salad

Delicious. Colorful. Easy. Light. Good anytime of year (not just a summer salad). My Husband loves it!

1 1/2 C. Wild Rice, cooked per package directions (add a little chicken bullion for extra flavor)
-Let wild rice cook before assembling the rest of the salad

Half of each color of pepper, diced
Green Pepper
Yellow Pepper
Red Pepper

3/4 c. Cashews, chopped (I think I use more, I just eyeball it)
3 Green Onions, chopped

Dressing:  (I double)
3 T. Rice Vinegar
2 T. Olive Oil
1 T. Sesame Oil
1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/4 t. salt
Dash of Red Pepper (I use a squirt of Sriracha or black pepper)

Combine dressing in a small jar with lid. Shake well to combine. Pour over salad just before serving.

The Marriage of Two Soups

Vegetable Taco & Southwest Corn & Potato Chowder  Aka: Vegetable Taco Corn Chowder

A friend and I had each made one of the soups and they were sitting next to each other at a party. Neither was bad, but both had some room for improvement - the blending of the two!

Warning: because this soup is the combination of two recipes, it makes a TON of soup (which really is a good thing!)

Combined Recipe:
Oil - for pan
2 Onions, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
2 stalks Celery, minced
1 Green Pepper
*saute above ingredients till soft, then add the following
2 cans of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 large Sweet Potato (or 2 normal sized/smaller ones), cubed  [can use butternut squash instead]
1 can Rotel
1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 can Chicken Broth (add up to 3 more cans to thin to your preferred stew/soup likeness)
1 Red Pepper, diced (I used fire-roasted from a jar, otherwise you can saute with green pepper)
2 small/normal Potatoes, diced
3 c. Corn
1/2 can Black Olives, sliced
1/4 C. Cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 Lime
1 T. Cumin
1 1/2 t. Oregano
2 t. Chili Powder
Salt & Pepper to taste (I only used pepper)



Let it all cook till it blends and becomes soft and soup-like.
Prior to serving, add 1 can Coconut Milk
Serve with additional Cilantro

Peanut Butter Cake (flourless and dairy free!)

I don't think that this cake needs much for an introduction or selling speech - it pretty much sells itself being dairy and gluten free (naturally). It takes only about 5-10 minutes to whip up and then only 20-30 to cook! So, pretty much it's a cinch :)

Try making it and see for yourself!

1 c. Peanut Butter (I used creamy, but I'm sure any type will work)
1/2 c. Honey
1 Egg
1 Banana (mashed)
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Vanilla
1/4-1/2 t. Almond Extract (or use more vanilla and omit the almond) 

Blend together thoroughly (I use my immersion blender). Pour into a greased 7x7 pan. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy! It's delightful!

Variations:
Dash of cinnamon (1/2 t.)
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top or into the batter

I can not take credit for this recipe, it was passed to me from one of my sisters - to her we are ever grateful!

Squash Crisp or Pumpkin Custard Crisp

It's that time of year again: orange vegetables, cinnamon, ginger and steamy mugs all calling out to us. Whether you pair this dessert with ice cream, Greek yogurt; coffee or tea, it's bound to be a winner. It is similar to pumpkin pie, but easier (as there is no crust or rolling) and it has a richer more custard like flavor and consistency. I hope you try it and enjoy it!

3-3 1/2 c. Squash/Pumpkin/Sweet Potato/Yam, cooked till soft 
  *you can use only of the above listed vegetables, but my favorite is to combine many for a more interesting well rounded flavor, ie: squash and yams
3/4 c. Milk (dairy or almond milk)
4 Eggs
2 t. Vanilla
1/3 c.  Butter or coconut oil, melted

1/2 c. Brown sugar

3 T. Flour (wheat or a gluten free option)

1 t. Baking powder

1/4 t. Salt

1 T. Cinnamon

1/4 t. Cloves

1/8 t. Nutmeg

1/2 t. Ginger

Combine all ingredients and blend (with immersion blender) until smooth and velvety (similar to the consistency of a pumpkin pie before baking)

Pour into a greased 9x9 - 9x13 (3 quart) pan. Top with your favorite crisp topping or crushed gingersnaps (1/2 c.) and butter (2 T. melted).
Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until knife comes out of center clean.

My favorite crisp topping:

2 c. Old Fashioned Oats

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. butter or coconut oil

1 shy T. cinnamon

1/2 t. ginger

1/4 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped

pinch of salt

Cashew Red Pepper Cream

This is the delicious cream sauce that tops the Quinoa Cakes

Here again is the original recipe & following is how we made it.

• 3/4 c. cashews
• 1 (sm) roasted red bell pepper, from a jar
• 1/3 cup water (or less)
• 1/2 small clove of garlic
• 1/8 (very small amount) cup red onion
• 1/2 T lemon juice
• pinch of salt, add more to taste

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend on High for about 30 seconds, or until everything is well blended and smooth. Make sure to have the cover on tightly as this splatters when blending (don't ask me how I know).
 
You should have a smooth creamy-pink cream sauce when you are done. We found a half batch perfect for the two of us (that's what I have listed above). We then made a second half batch for our leftovers and we (accidentally) left out the onion, which was a nice omission.  So, I would recommend making a full batch with half the onion (or less).

Leftovers would make a great chip or veggie dip.

Banana Pancakes

These couldn't be simpler!

1 banana
2 eggs
Optional additions: cinnamon & vanilla  (a dash of each)

Place everything in the blender at the same time. An immersion blender works well also.

Blend in the blender until smooth and frothy (the eggs get bubbly)

Pour onto a greased hot griddle. Flip and cook both sides until brown. (They are bubbly when you first pour them onto the griddle- so the trick of watching for bubbles with normal pancakes does not work with these.)

I pour straight from my blender

If the pancakes fall apart when you flip them, just move the broken part close to the rest of the pancake and nudge it together. Eggs have an uncanny ability to re-connect with themselves.

Serve with peanut butter or normal pancaking toppings. This morning we topped them with peanut butter, ground flax and pecans. Normally I would also add coconut, but we were out.

I have had success with doubling the recipe, but not tripling.
Enjoy!

Cliantro-Lime Rice

Do you ever crave Chipotle?....but live hours away from one!!

Quite by accident I recently made a version of cilantro-lime rice that tasted satisfyingly like Chipotle's. One of the reasons, Denver & I assumed, was that the meal was nothing like Chipotle and I wasn't even trying to replicate the flavors. I have found that a "faint likeness" to something can satisfy a mental flavor/craving easier than when flavors are actually close and in the runnings to be like the real thing...but still off.

We were having a meal of fajitas and I didn't want to use tortillas, so instead, I planned on serving the meal over brown rice. Denver heard about the rice and asked for cilantro-lime rice. I prepared one cup of Trader Joe's Basmati Brown Rice according to package directions. After cooking (but careful to not overcook) I added fresh squeezed lime juice from 1 & 1/2 -2 limes and a good clump of cilantro finely chopped (probably about 1/8 c. when chopped, or about 20 stems  - very loose estimation!). This was the most flavorful rice and the most like Chipotle's we have had.

We loved the rice and fajita meal. The next day we used the leftover rice with black beans (instead of the fajita mixture) for a "nacho" (cheesy chip) topping. It was delicious! Layer chips and cheese (pepper jack) then rice and beans and top with a little more cheese! Microwave for a minute and enjoy the deliciousness!  The beans tasted amazingly (and surprisingly) like chicken. Even Denver with his non-pregnant taste buds said so. It was seriously SO Good!