Angie's Green Bean Casserole

This recipe came from my friend Angie. The measurements aren't exact so you have to eye-ball it. It was really, really yummy. I'm going to try it with the homemade cream of mushroom soup I posted on here.

1-2 bags of frozen organic green beans
one box of trader joe's cream of mushroom soup
a little milk or water
salt and pepper
1/2 can of trader joes fried onions.

Mix the ingredients together and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Easy Stir Fry Sauce

*originally from food.com

This was super easy to make, and it can store in the fridge, too. I used this with frozen stir-fry veggies and served over pasta. Yummy!

In a large jar with a lid, add:

2-3 T cornstarch
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. ground ginger or a bit of fresh minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups broth (any kind)

Put on the lid and shake well. To use, stir fry the veggies and/or meat and then add sauce (I used about 1/3 - 1/2 of what the recipe made). Bring to boil, boil for 1 minute until slightly thickened.

Homemade Cream of _____ Soup Substitute - Dairy Free

I know at least one of you had asked for this recipe, and I am adding it here so I can find it again in the future. It is SO yummy and easy to make. It also uses ingredients that I usually have in my house. I used this to make a dairy-free chicken and rice casserole, and it was delicious. Just to kind of creamy comfort food that I miss on our dairy-free diet. Can be gluten free if you use a gluten-free flour.

The original recipe is for Cream of Chicken, but if you look at the end, there are notes for making Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery, too.

Originally from mywisemom.com

Ingredients (yields 4 cups, approx 2 cans)

• 2-1/2 cups organic chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cup almond milk
• 3/4 cups flour (gluten-free, if needed)
• 1 teaspoon real salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 cup cooked mushrooms (optional)
• 1/4 cup cooked celery (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the chicken broth with 1/2 cup of the almond milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a low boil.
2. Whisk the flour and seasonings into the remaining cup milk until smooth. The mixture will be thick.
3. Pour the milk/flour/seasoning mixture into the broth mixture in the saucepan and reduce heat to low. Stir/whisk continuously as it simmers to avoid lumps.
4. Continue whisking 5-10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick.

For cream of mushroom, add 1/4 cup cooked mushrooms after the mixture is taken off the stove, before it thickens.For cream of celery, add 1/4 cup diced, cooked celery pieces after the mixture is taken off the stove, before it thickens.

Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Bourbon Sauce

This is the recipe we had to celebrate P's birthday. It is originally from my recipes.com. I tripled the recipe for the birthday dinner (7 adults, 6 kids), but we ended up having about 3/4 of a pan left.

Bread pudding:5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed French bread (about 8 ounces)
1 cup evaporated fat-free milk 
3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk (I used almond milk since that's what we had)
1/3 cup granulated sugar 
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs

Sauce:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 
6 tablespoons half-and-half, divided 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray 
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare bread pudding, arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted. (I did this ahead of time)

3. Combine evaporated milk and next 7 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add bread cubes. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to soak up milk. (I did this ahead of time... but I wouldn't recommend transporting it!)

4. To prepare sauce, combine brown sugar, 3 tablespoons bourbon, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Simmer 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Stir in 5 tablespoons half-and-half; simmer 10 minutes or until reduced to about 1 cup. Remove pan from heat. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon half-and-half, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Keep warm.

5. Spoon half of bread mixture into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 3 tablespoons sauce over bread mixture. Spoon remaining half of bread mixture over sauce. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm sauce with bread pudding.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Delicious!!

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans corn, drained and rinsed
Juice of 2 limes
olive oil
tomatoes, chopped
red onion, chopped
salt
cilantro

Mix black beans and corn together in a large bowl.  Add the lime juice. Drizzle with olive oil.  Stir.  Add the tomatoes, onion, salt and cilantro to taste.  Stir it all in and serve right away or let it refrigerate ahead of time.

Brazilian Rice

1/4 c. olive oil

2 tsp fine sea salt

2-3 cloves garlic

1/2 white onion, chopped

2 c. basmati rice

3.5 c. water


Directions:

• Pour oil in a sauce pan...it should cover the bottom in a thin layer
• Add onion, garlic and salt and sautee until onions are tender
• Add rice and stir until coated with oil
• Add water
• Tilt lid on pan so it is half covered
• Bring to a boil and then turn down to medium/low 
• Cook until all water is absorbed

If you want to change the amount of rice, just keep these ratios consistent:

• cups of dry rice =  the # of tsp. of salt
• 1 c. of rice to 1 3/4 c. water

Protein Bars

Not sure where this recipe originated, but I got this from the Kasels.

2 cups almonds
1/4 cup flax seeds, chia seeds or pumpkin seeds (ground in a coffee grinder or blender)
1/2 c. dried prunes, dates or raisins (we used prunes)
1/2 c. shredded coconut (unsweetened)… but I used sweetened because it's so yummy!
1/2 c. peanut or almond butter
1/2 c. coconut oil or butter (melted)
1/2 c. honey
2-3 tsp. vanilla extract
a few squares of dark chocolate (optional)

Place almonds, flax seed meal, dried fruit, shredded coconut, and almond/peanut butter in a food processor. Pulse briefly for about 10 seconds. In a small sauce pan, melt coconut oil over very low heat. Remove from stove. Stir honey and vanilla into oil. Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients form a coarse paste.

Press mixture into an 8x8 glass baking dish. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour, until mixture hardens.

In a small saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously. Spread melted chocolate in a thin layer over the bars; return to refrigerator for 30 minutes until chocolate hardens. Remove from refrigerator, cut into bars and serve. Store in refrigerator or freeze for later.

16 bars = 310 calories per bar.