Turkey Sausage Stuffing (Dressing) - Wheat, Dairy, Egg, Soy Free

  We're having a cold spell here in North Texas. With Fall just around the corner, it's like we got to start celebrating the new cooler season a little early. So today we had a mini Thanksgiving just for fun. We had grilled turkey cutlets, stuffing, and mashed potatoes and peach cobbler!
  I decided to make the stuffing on a whim and as such did not have all the ingredients, no celery or carrots and I usually would have made this with ground turkey sausage, but it was really good! I'd never thought of eating stuffing on any day other than Thanksgiving but this was easy enough that I think it could become a side dish (or even entree) we have often.

By the way, you could easily leave out the turkey to make this completely vegan and it would still be delicious, and add in sauteed celery and carrots for a more traditional stuffing.

This recipe makes 4 large servings.

Turkey Sausage Stuffing

6 slices of wheat free bread of choice (Food For Life White Rye)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
1  turkey kielbasa sausage, sliced into coins OR ground turkey sausage
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 green apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup raisins
Soy Free Earth Balance buttery spread to grease pan

Preheat oven to 400.
Cut bread into half inch cubes, spread evenly on a cookie sheet, and bake 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until transparent. Add vegetable broth to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly. Stir in salt, celery salt, and turkey sausage. Continue to simmer about 5 minutes (If using ground turkey sausage, cook until completely browned) .
In a mixing bowl, stir toasted bread cubes, apple, and raisins together. Pour broth mixture over bread cubes and stir until evenly coated. Sprinkle on poultry seasoning and toss to incorporate.
Spread a thin layer of Earth Balance around a 1.5 qt casserole dish. Pour stuffing mix into casserole dish and bake about 15-20 minutes, until the top begins to brown slightly.

Ranch Mashed Potatoes - Vegan and Soy Free

  I don't know if anyone else does this, but my husband used to eat mashed potatoes with ranch dressing stirred in. Legend has it that he and his sister would never eat potatoes (or any vegetable, for that matter) unless properly coated in ranch and so this is how he learned to eat them. His palette has refined somewhat now, he will eat most any vegetable except broccoli, but he does still like his ranch potatoes.
  Rather than make ranch dressing to stir into the potatoes tonight I thought I'd try just adding most of the ingredients that go into ranch. It was much easier and tasted wonderful, so I am passing the recipe on down to you!

 You can use any instant mashed potato flakes that suit your needs, just prepare them as per package direction using unsweetened plain non dairy milk in place of milk and soy free Earth Balance in place of butter, OR you can boil and mash your own potatoes using the same ingredients.

Ranch Mashed Potatoes

By the way, that other thing is a turkey patty with gravy on it.
Not the prettiest looking thing.

4 servings of hot prepared mashed potatoes
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried dill weed
1/8 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp dried basil
a few cracks of fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbl Soy Free Earth Balance

Stir all ingredients together. That's it!
Ideally these would be slightly thinner than normal mashed potatoes (imagine that you'd poured real ranch into regular potatoes), but if you want them to still be stiffer, leave out the extra Earth Balance.

Turkey Corn Dog Bites- Dairy, Egg, Wheat/Gluten Free

  Ian's Natural Foods has a whole line of allergy-free, kid friendly frozen foods, like fish sticks and chicken nuggets. They also have these great Jack friendly turkey corn dog bites that we love, but they are a tad on the pricey side and I tend to shy away from pre-packaged foods if possible, so I tried my hand at making them myself.
  I was able to make a reasonable facsimile. I think that if these were frozen while the batter was still raw and then baked, they may be even better, and I'd like to try that next time!

Turkey Corn Dog Bites

1 package turkey hot dogs, room temperature and cut into fourths
1/4 package of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free corn bread mix
1 Tbl sugar
Ener-G egg replacer for 2 eggs
1 Tbl Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread, melted
3/4 cup or so plain unsweetened coconut milk or other non dairy milk
olive oil to grease plate

Pre-heat your deep fryer to 375*
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together corn bread mix and sugar. Stir in egg replacer and melted earth balance. Start adding in milk 1/4 cup at a time, stirring thoroughly, until mixture is the consistency of a milkshake.
Grease a plate generously with olive oil.
Dry hot dog pieces well with a paper towel and then dunk them into the corn mixture. Set dipped pieces on greased plate until you have enough for a fryer batch (for my Presto Cool Daddy, that was about 13 pieces).
Fry for about 5 minutes, until golden and beginning to brown. Drain well on brown paper bag and serve.

*If you do not have a deep fryer, you can pan fry these on your stove top in corn oil or your other favorite kind of oil for 4-5 minutes per side.
You can also try baking these at 400 for about 20 minutes, but this is just my best guess as I have NOT tried baking these before. You will have to use your judgement whether it needs more or less time.

 

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread - Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg Free, Vegan

I don't know what I was thinking but I decided to make chili and cornbread tonight when my dad came over. I thought I'd get a little fancy with the cornbread, and good thing, because after helping my dad and husband unload said husband's 1968 Mustang from a car trailer and pushing it (with under inflated tires) uphill into the garage in 106 degree weather, chili sounded like the absolute WORST idea ever and we ended up just eating these tasty cornbread muffins.

The secret to making these so ooey-gooey and delicious is using Daiya's new wedge cheese rather than their shreds. You can still use the shreds, but it won't be nearly as fabulous.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

1 package Bob's Red Mill gluten free cornbread mix
Ener-G egg replacer for 2 eggs
1 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond (or other non-dairy) milk
1/3 cup Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread, melted
1 jalapeno, half seeded and diced, the other half sliced into 12 half circles
1/3 package Daiya Cheddar Wedge, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
Olive oil to grease muffin pan

Preheat oven to 375.
In a medium bowl, stir cornbread mix, cheese cubes and diced jalapeno together. Slowly stir in non dairy milk, egg replacer, and melted butter.
Grease muffin pan lightly with olive oil. Fill cups 1/3 of the way with cornbread batter and press one slice of jalapeno on top of each. Bake 20-25 minutes, until muffins have risen and are ever so lightly browned on top.
Allow to cool for 3 minutes and then pop them out of the muffin tin with a spoon. Serve with more Earth Balance smeared on top and enjoy!

Daiya, you had me at Havarti!

  It's no small secret that we LOVE Diaya cheese in this house. Their mozzarella is fabulous on pizzas and other italian dishes, the chedddar makes the absolute best vegan macaroni and cheese, and their pepperjack in bean and 'cheese' taquitos is to die for.
  So imagine my so-excited-I-almost-wet-myself happy dance I did in Central Market when I came across Daiya's new product, Cheese Wedges.
  Oh. My. Gosh.
  I bought a cheddar wedge and a (are you ready for it?) Havarti jalepeno and garlic wedge. What now? YEAH, you read that right!! They also make a jack style wedge but I didn't buy it. I haven't even tried the cheddar one yet but I'm sure it will be fantastic. I'm here to talk about this jalepeno garlic soft cheese.
  Right out of the fridge, it was soft but not like cream cheese or anything. In fact I tried to scrape some up with a Glutino pretzel (The absolute best wheat free vegan pretzels) and my pretzel broke. However, I put a scoop in a microwave safe dish and heated it for about 15 seconds. It was semi-solid looking but after a good stir the whole thing became smooth and creamy and it was so good it made me weak in the knees! It tasted like spicy spinach and artichoke dip, and I bet it I added some cooked spinach and artichokes and then broiled it quickly with some bread crumbs on top, this would be the most fabulous allergen free spinach/artichoke dip in the entire world. Seriously. Even my dad, who is not feeling the allergen free foods, thought this was amazing. You should definitely give these wedges a try!
  We ate the whole package over the weekend, but next time I go to Central Market I will buy another and I will make this with spinach and artichoke and see if it's as good as I think it's going to be!! :D

Actually Good Vegan Mac and Cheese- Soy/Wheat/Gluten Free

  So I've already posted a recipe for cheese sauce in the recipe for Cheeseburger Macaroni, but since Macaroni and Cheese is a more common (and much easier) dish, I thought I'd make it a seperate post.
 Most vegan 'cheese' sauce is one of those things that is so hard to get used to. A lot of people say that you'll like it more the longer it's been since you've actually had cheese... well as someone who eats real cheese when we eat out occassionally (since we are not vegans but rather avoid almost all animal products at home due to our son's severe allergies), I don't have months or years to dedicate to forgetting what real cheese tastes like! This cheese sauce is delicious and DOES taste (and feel!) like cheese sauce though. It's a milder flavor than that neon orange powdered Kraft stuff, but that stuff isn't cheese either... if you've ever had homemade mac and cheese, the flavor is very similar to that.

 Keep in mind that when making this sauce, it's really not necessary to measure exactly. I'll put measurements to give you an idea of how much you need and you can certainly use them, but you'll probably want to tweak this a little for your own tastes anyways. Enjoy!

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

12 oz corn or corn/quinoa pasta elbows, cooked according to package directions
3 Tbl Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread
3/4 cup unsweetened plain almond milk, divided (or other plain non dairy milk of your choice)
1/2 package (about a cup) of Daiya Cheddar Cheese shreds
big pinch of each garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, ground mustard and turmeric*
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup of water (if needed)

In a small saucepan, heat buttery spread and 1/2 cup of almond milk on medium heat until butter is completely melted. Add Daiya cheese shreds and stir until almost all melted. Add in the seasonings and stir to incorporate. Whisk in lemon juice and remaining milk and continue stirring until all the cheese shreds are melted. Remove from heat. If sauce is too thick, add water. The sauce will thicken slightly when it cools. Pour cheese sauce over cooked macaroni, stir well and enjoy!

*The turmeric is just for color. If you don't have it, it's not a big deal

Green Bean and Portobello Saute

The green bean and portobello saute is a Rachel Ray recipe that I did not have to adjust, a rare occurrence! I adjusted it anyways, but I didn't HAVE to, lol. This is a good vegan side dish and a great way to use up the rest of the green beans we got from the Farmer's Market the other day and the portobellos that were just calling my name at the grocery store this morning.

Green Bean and Portobello Saute

1 1/4 lbs green beans, trimmed and cut in half 
coarse salt to taste
2 cups water
2 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl Earth Balance soy free butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 portobello caps, sliced and halved
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 clove minced garlic
several cracks of freshly ground black pepper

In a deep skillet, bring salted water to a boil. Carefully add green beans and boil about 6-8 minutes. Drain and remove green beans, set aside. Completely dry pan with paper towels, then return to medium high head, add oil and butter. Once heated, add onion and garlic and saute 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook another 3-5 minutes. Stir in green beans and vegetable stock. Cook 2 more minutes to heat everything through and cook down some of the vegetable stock, serve.

Super Easy Turkey Hash Breakfast (For Dinner!)

  Yesterday was my birthday! Chris and I were planning on leaving the boys with my dad and going out to dinner and a movie, so I thought I'd make something really simple for the boys' dinner. Well I scanned the pantry shelves for awhile and came up with something I thought they would eat and could pick up with their fingers. It turned out to be SO yummy, I had to mentall scold myself to stop 'sampling' it so I'd still be hungry for dinner! This was good for dinner but it would make an excellent breakfast for sure! This recipe is sort of cheating, since I used canned new potatoes. You could make it with fresh potatoes, it would just take a little longer.

Easy Turkey Hash

2 Tbl olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can diced new potatoes, drained
1 can turkey SPAM, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup thawed frozen corn
1 tsp Emeril's Southwest Seasoning (or any seasoning you choose)
S & P to taste

In a learge skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add Southwest Seasoning, onions and bell peppers and saute until soft and onion is transparent. Add diced potatoes and corn and mix well, then spread the potatoes in the pan so they are mostly in a single layer. Turn heat down to medium and allow them to sit without stirring for 5 minutes, then stir and spread them flat again, cooking for another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium heat, fry SPAM cubes, stirring occasionally, until edges are crispy. Mix them into the potato mixture, season with salt and pepper, and enjoy :)

Roasted Cajun Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

This is a very simple side dish, tasty and dare I say, a tad healthy. We bought a bunch of sweet potatoes from the farmer's market and then found really nice looking organic ones at a local health food store, so we're stocked to the gills in sweet potatoes! I sorta shot from the hip with this recipe and I'm glad I did, it was great and both the kids loved it too!

Also, as a side note, I am afraid Jack may have a corn allergy. I can't be sure just yet, but I'm going to try to avoid corn and corn products in my recipes for awhile.

Roasted Cajun Sweet Potatoes and Carrots

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 medium carrots, sliced into coins
2 Tbl olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
a few cracks of fresh ground pepper
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp dried rosemary

Heat oven to 400.
Place carrot and sweet potatoes pieces on a large cookie sheet with a rim. Drizzle on olive oil and stir pieces around with a spatula to evenly coat. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, and rosemary and stir again. Spread pieces out into a single layer on the cookie sheet. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until all pieces are fork tender and bottoms are slightly brown and crisp. Stir once halfway through for even browning if desired.

5 Minute Kale Saute

  This recipe is modified from cookitallergyfree.com. This was so super yummy, quick and healthy, and something I could easily make as a side dish or for myself for lunch during the week. I really enjoyed this! Chris didn't, but he's not the biggest fan of vegetables or vinegar-y stuff. Too bad for him!
  Also, according to an article I just read in Reader's Digest, research has shown that vinegar consumed with a meal lessens the glycemic affect, meaning that it keeps your blood sugar from spiking dramatically which can cause hunger shortly after you've eaten and long term weight problems. So that makes this an even BETTER side dish!

5 Minute Kale Saute

4 cups kale, de-stemmed and torn into bite size strips
3 Tbl olive oil
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup raisins
1 Tbl raw sesame seeds

optional: you could use sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, or pine nuts in place of the sesame seeds, and use golden raisins to mix it up.

Heat oil in medium/large skillet. Once heated, add kale and saute about 2 minutes. Once leaves BEGIN to shrink up and wilt (don't wait until they are already wilty!), add vinegar and salt. Cook another 2 minutes, stirring contantly. Stir in raisins and seeds/nuts. Serve warm.

Vegan and Wheat Free Fried Green Beans

  Our Farmer's Market didn't have a very big selection on Saturday, but they had some of the prettiest looking green beans I've seen in a long time. So I bought 3 lbs, which in hindsight might have been a tad excessive. Haha, anyway, so I wanted to find something to do with them other than roast them in olive oil and garlic, which is how we normally eat them. I remembered having fried green beans at Friday's waaay back when I got to eat whatever I wanted and they were so good. I found this recipe on FoodNetwork.com and the only thing I did to make it work for us was use Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour. The only beer we had around was Sam Adam's Winter Lager, but it worked perfectly, the flavor was wonderful! I made another bowl of vegan ranch dip to dunk these in and Chris said it literally tasted like it came from a restaurant! Score!

Fried Green Beans 

1 lb fresh green beans with ends trimmed
1 cup beer
1 cup gluten free all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
peanut oil for frying

Preheat oil to 375. Whisk beer, flour, salt, and pepper together until smooth. Dip green beans in batter, allow excess to drain off and fry in batches until crispy and golden. Place on a paper towel lined cookie sheet to drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.