Dairy and Soy Free Nacho Cheese and Sour Cream

  So these two things are obviously great for making nachos, like the ones we had tonight with taco-seasoned ground turkey, black beans, salsa, and corn tortilla chips. But they also have other applications; the cheese sauce goes great over broccoli and other vegetables and the sour cream makes a fabulous base for dressings, especially ranch (use in place of Vegenaise Mayo). Also if you follow the same sour cream recipe but use less water, it makes a great substitute for ricotta in lasagnas!

I know, I know. It needs olives.

Dairy Free Nacho Cheese 

2 Tbl Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread
1 cup Daiya pepperjack shreds
1/4 cup unsweetened plain almond or other non-dairy milk (more if necessary)
pinch each of ground mustard, turmeric, and onion powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste
dash of cayenne (optional)

In a medium saucepan, heat Earth Balance until completely melted. Add Daiya cheese shreds and 1/4 cup almond milk. Stir occasionally until cheese is melted and smooth. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. If cheese sauce is too thick, add milk 1 Tbl at a time.

Dairy Free Sour Cream

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw cashews (can use all sunflower seeds if avoiding nuts, or all cashews for a more traditional flavor)
about 1 cup of water *see directions
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt

*Place sunflower seeds and cashews into a measuring cup. Add water to just cover the seeds/nuts by about 1/4 of an inch.
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and thick. (If using a Blendtec, use the sauces/dips button).

Brownies- Vegan, Wheat/Gluten and Soy Free

  I have made brownies with our new diet restrictions a few times, and while some have been edible, none of them had any real resemblance to the texture of brownies. Most were very dense and in order for the whole middle of the brownie pan to not be completely gooey, the sides had to be burnt beyond tolerable limits. *Sigh*
 A dear friend of mine sent me this recipe from where, I am not sure, but we tried it today for a Father's Day dessert and they came out wonderfully! They are fluffy like cake (in fact you could probably nix the chocolate chips and use this as cake!) and all cooked evenly. Though it was not off-putting to us, you can definitely taste the banana. I wonder if I make these with only one banana and more applesauce if that would make them even better...

Perfect Brownies

2 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose baking flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ripe bananas
1 large apple, cored and sliced (or 1 cup unsweetened applesauce)
*1/2 Tbl water
Seeds of one vanilla bean OR 2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups vegan chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life Mini Chips
Olive oil to grease pan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a blender, blend apple slices and water until pureed (Skip this step if using applesauce, also I left the peel on mine and it did not make a difference but you can remove yours before blending if you like). Add banana and vanilla and blend for 10-15 seconds, until pureed and well blended.
In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder until well blended. Stir in apple/banana mixture, making sure there are no lumps. Stir in chocolate chips.
Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with olive oil. Pour in mixture and spread evenly.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool about 10 minutes before cutting.
Enjoy!

* If using pre-made applesauce, do not add water!

Allergy Free Homemade "Cheese-Its"

I would like to start by thanking Fork and Beans for this amazing recipe! A close friend of our family found this recipe and forwarded it to me and to be honest I thought it wouldn't be worth the effort but I was wonderfully mistaken! These are FABULOUS!!

Just a side note, if you have young children with food allergies, use discretion when replicating popular allergen-containing snack foods (especially those that look and taste an awful lot like the real things, as these do!) because it may make it difficult for them to determine if a food is safe or not when they are away from you, like at school or on a play date.

Allergy Free "Cheese-Nots"

3/4 cup wheat free all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Daiya Cheddar Shreds (this might be good with Pepper Jack too!)
3 Tbs Soy Free Earth balance buttery spread
1 Tbsp cold water
About 1 Tbsp ourse salt for sprinkling

Pre heat oven to 375.
In a small bowl, stir flour, xanthan gum, and salt together until well blended. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, beat Earth Balance and Daiya together with a hand mixer until well blended. (You can also just use a fork and good ol' fashioned arm muscles!) Pour half of the flour mixture into the cheese/butter bowl and stir until nicely blended, then add the remaining flour mixture and stir until incorporated.
Add cold water and mix. You want the dough to be ever so slightly crumbly, not sticky at all, but wet enough that you can form it into a ball. If it's too dry, add water 1/2 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.
On parchment lined surface, knead the dough into a smooth ball. Divide the dough in half and place one part in a bowl in the fridge. Roll the remaining half between two sheets of parchment to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza wheel (or pastry cutter if you want to get fancy!) cut the dough into 1 inch squares. Using very gentle fingers or a metal spatula, move each square onto a large parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch of space in between each square. Once all squares are on your sheet, use a narrow straw to poke a hole in the center of each square. This isn't necessary but it gives it the authentic Cheese-It look! Sprinkle very lightly with coarse salt. Place sheet in the freezer for at least 10 minutes while you roll and cut the other half of the dough ball.
Bake for 17-20 minutes.