GINGERBREAD COOKIES

My husband suggested that we make gingerbread cookies to decorate for Christmas this year.  He has never decorated Christmas cookies before (WHAT?!), and he rarely comes up with fun crafty things to do.  Obviously I was going to oblige.

These cookies were absolutely phenomenal!  Instead of people, we made Christmas trees, snowmen, and stars.  We will definitely be adding this to our Christmas traditions, along with french toast casserole for breakfast.  Nothing says the holidays like sugar, sugar, sugar!

Original cookie recipe taken from dairy free cooking.  Makes 3 dozen cookies.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg

Combine flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in medium-sized bowl.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat buttery spread and brown sugar for 4 minutes.  Add molasses and beat 2 minutes.  Add egg and beat until well combined.

Slowly add in dry mixture.  Beat until dough just holds together.  Separate dough into 3 equal amounts and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill in the fridge for at least one hour.

Line baking sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper.  On a lightly floured countertop, roll out gingerbread dough to 1/4 inch thickness (slightly thicker will yield softer cookies).  Cut out shapes and place on cookie sheet.  Place cookie sheets in freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Allow cookies to cool on pans for 2 minutes before placing on cooling rack.


DECORATING ICING

2 cups powdered sugar
2 T coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla

Blend ingredients with a mixer until well combined.  Separate into small bowls and add food coloring.  Place in piping bags and decorate!

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE

Browsing through Pinterest, it seems that everyone has at one point or another pinned a breakfast casserole that "cooks overnight!  is done when you wake up!  is so easy!  blah blah blah!"  How fantastic.  Too bad every last one of them has cheese in it.

I was determined to find a breakfast casserole that did not include cheese.  Honestly, it's hard to find any kind of casserole that doesn't have cheese.  Until now...

French toast casserole.  It's amazing.  Most of the prep work happens the night before, and then there's a little bit of sprinkling this and dabbing that in the morning.  I decided to make it for our Christmas breakfast (which happened one week early for scheduling reasons).  Oh. my. gosh.  I'm totally making this again.

FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
Original recipe can be found here.


1 loaf (1 lb) French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
8 eggs
3 cups coconut milk (I used So Delicious original)
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt

Topping:
2 T Earth balance buttery spread
3 T sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
maple syrup, optional

Grease a 13x9 baking dish.  Place bread cubes into dish.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Pour mixture over bread.  Cover and refrigerate dish overnight.  Go to bed dreaming of french toast.

Remove from fridge 30 minutes prior to baking.  Dot with buttery spread.  Combine sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.  Cover with foil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.  A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Serve with maple syrup!

 

Yum!

BLACK BEAN CHILI

Since it has finally gotten cold outside, it seemed like the perfect time to make chili.  Why is it that it's cold for two days, you finally realize that you should be making warm toasty dinners, and then the temperature rises above 60 degrees as you're standing in the grocery store line with the ingredients?  Next time I run out of long sleeves, I'm not going to do laundry.  I'll make chili instead... and then change into shorts.

I got this recipe out of a magazine (Better Homes or Southern Living, not sure which), and it's fantastic.  It started out dairy and soy free, so nothing has been modified.  Leave that Earth Balance in the fridge for another day!

BLACK BEAN CHILI

3 cans black beans
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
2 cans petite diced tomatoes with jalepenos
1 extra large vegetable bouillon cube
2 cups water

Drain and rinse 2 cans of black beans.  Do not drain the 3rd can.

In a large pot, saute ground beef with onion and garlic until meat is no longer pink and onion is clear.  Drain most of the fat. 

Stir in chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.  Saute for 3 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, beans (2 drained/rinsed and 1 undrained), bouillon cube, and 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil.  Then reduce and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

OVEN S'MORES

Mmmm, s'mores.

I've made them over a fire.  I've made them over a gas stove.  Why not make them in the oven?  Here we go!

OVEN S'MORES (soy and dairy free!)

Graham crackers
Marshmallows (I used the mini ones)
Chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips)

Put graham crackers on a cookie sheet and top with marshmallows.  Broil for 2 minutes, or until marshmallows start to spread.  Top with chocolate chips and place back into oven for 1-2 minutes to melt chocolate.  Finish it off with graham crackers on top.

Make-your-teeth-hurt delicious!

 

FETTUCCINE ALFREDO

This evening, I decided that I'd go out on a limb and try to make fettuccine alfredo.  I'm wasn't sure how the "no cheese" part would factor in, but thought I might as well try.  Plus, I added bacon.  You can't lose when there is bacon involved.

It was ridiculously easy.  Throw a couple of ingredients in your blender and voila!  You have fake alfredo sauce that smells right and tastes... well... like fake alfredo sauce.  In all honesty, it wasn't too bad.  You could tell that it was a bean sauce rather than cheese sauce.  Would I make it again?  Maybe. 

 
ALFREDO SAUCE (dairy and soy free)

1 can (14.5 oz) cannellini beans
2 cups coconut milk (I used original unsweetened)
2 T garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Blend until smooth.  Heat sauce and mix with pasta!  

*I added bacon and peas along with the fettuccine.  You could really add anything you like.  If I make it again, I may try grilled chicken and broccoli. 

THE BEST SOY AND DAIRY FREE STUFFING EVER!

It's been awhile since I've posted a recipe.  I'm blaming the baby who refuses to take a nap and the game of Thanksgiving leftover tetris I've been playing for the last four days.  The pies are gone, but I still have a few more days until I have to come up with something for dinner that doesn't involve turkey.

My Thanksgiving was a success.  Other than the macaroni & cheese, the pumpkin pie, and the whipped cream, everything was completely soy and dairy free.  To be honest, I couldn't tell the difference!  My favorite dish was the stuffing.  I'm not a huge stuffing fan usually, but this was amazing.  My husband said it was probably the best he's ever had (if you take Stove Top out of the running).  I'll probably make it like this from now on...

THE BEST SOY AND DAIRY FREE STUFFING EVER!

1 - 1 1/2 pounds bread, cut into small cubes  (I used 1.5 loaves of french bread)
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
2 cups broth (I used chicken broth)
1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T dairy & soy free butter, cut into small pieces (I used Earth Balance)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil (medium heat) and add the onion, celery, and garlic.  Cook until the onion is clear; then remove from heat.

Mix the eggs, broth, and seasonings with the bread cubes in a large bowl until mixture is moist.  (Add additional broth or water if necessary, but mixture should not be mushy.)  Add the veggie mixture until evenly distributed.

Press into a lightly greased 9 x 13 casserole dish.  Dot the top of the stuffing with the small pieces of butter.  Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 30-40 minutes, or until browned. 

Yum! 

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE, TAKE 2

Back in October, I attempted a green bean casserole recipe that didn't thrill me enough to want to put it on the Thanksgiving table.  Last night's attempt was MUCH better.  I found this recipe for non-dairy cream of mushroom soup and then followed the regular ol' recipe for the casserole on the back of French's fried onions.  I used soy-free Earth Balance for the butter and substituted in coconut milk where the recipe called for soy milk.  This dish definitely made the cut!  Let's see if the in-laws will be able to tell that it's soy-free and dairy-free...

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP (soy-free dairy-free)

4 T Earth Balance soy-free buttery spread, divided
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1 T minced onion
3 T flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/4 cups coconut milk, heated

Saute mushrooms in 1 T Earth Balance.  Remove from pan.

Melt 3 T Earth Balance, and whisk in flour, salt, and pepper.  Cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently.  Slowly add in warm milk, continuously stirring to prevent lumps.  Add in sauteed mushrooms, and cook until desired thickness. 

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Once you have the soup made, all you have to do is...

Mix soup, green beans*, and 2/3 cup fried onions into a casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Top with 2/3 cup fried onions, and bake an additional 5 minutes or until onions are golden brown.

*18 oz of frozen green beans, thawed -OR- 2 cans green beans, drained
 

YEAST ROLLS

Before I had to change my diet to exclude soy and dairy, those fantastic Pillsbury crescent rolls always made an appearance at Thanksgiving.  YUM.  They remind me of both my mom (who burns the bottoms of them every year - it's a tradition now) and my sister (who love love loves them).  Too bad they don't make the dairy-free list.  What does my sister like more than crescent rolls?  Yeast rolls.

Oh, yeast rolls.  Why are you are so delicious?  

Let's see if we can make 'em just as good but without all of that illegal butter.  Here we go!

YEAST ROLLS (soy-free dairy-free)

*adapted from this recipe

1 cup warm water
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup Earth Balance dairy-free soy-free, melted
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp sea salt
4 1/4 cups flour

Combine warm water and yeast in a large bowl.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

Stir in butter, sugar, eggs, and salt.  (Original recipe suggests using a wooden spoon; I used a rubber spatula.)  Add flour 1 cup at a time; beat as much as you can.  (Use your dough hook attachments.  It gets pretty crazy with regular beaters!)

Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.  It can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Grease a 13x9 baking dish.  

Turn dough out onto floured surface.  Divide into equal pieces - I ended up making 16 rolls, but the original recipe suggests 24.  Roll each piece into a smooth round ball, and place into baking dish.

This was after about 20 minutes of rising.

After 1 hour... nice and stuck together!

Cover dish and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.  Bake at 375 degrees for 17 minutes.

Yum!

NOTES:  

• When I made 16 rolls, there were several spots that were still doughy after I took them out of the oven.  I would suggest following the original recipe that calls for 24 rolls. 
• To make sure they rose properly, I set the baking dish on top of a warm oven.  If you're making these for the holidays, it's a guaranteed hot spot.  If not, you could always whip up some tollhouse pie.  Then you're left with a warm spot for the rolls AND a delicious dessert.  :)  Another tip I've seen:  put the baking dish on the middle rack of a cold oven.  On the rack below, place a dish filled with a couple inches of boiling hot water.  Then shut the oven door.
• I baked mine for only 15 minutes rather than the suggested 17.  Check them early, and take them out when they've reached a nice golden brown.
• You're going to want at least 3 rolls.  Maybe 4.  It may sound like they'll feed a lot of people, but I wouldn't be so sure about that...

HOT CHOCOLATE

'Tis the season for wrapping presents, watching that classic Hershey kisses commercial yet one more time, and drinking yummy hot chocolate in a festive holiday mug... like these!

That's right, folks.  Dairy and soy-free hot chocolate.  While I do enjoy a little Swiss Miss (love those mini marshmallows!) from time to time, it's not exactly on the dairy-free list.

This hot chocolate turned out exceptionally yummy.  I may try to change it up a little the next time I make it to see if I can get it even closer to the real deal.  Oh, and for the record, those are pretty big mugs pictured above.  My cup always floweth over when it comes to hot chocolate.  :)

HOT CHOCOLATE (dairy and soy free!)

1 cup coconut milk 
1 T cocoa powder
1 T sugar

Mix ingredients together.  Heat in microwave for approximately 2 minutes or until desired temperature.  

I like to heat mine on the stove top - I feel like the cocoa powder gets incorporated better, and you're not left with cocoa particles at the bottom of your mug.  Also, it's easier to make a double-batch if you're feeling like sharing!


COMING SOON... dairy-free soy-free whipped cream recipe to top off your delicious hot chocolate! 

 

FOCACCIA BREAD

Since garlic bread is out of the picture (let's be honest: soy-free dairy-free butter does NOT make the best garlic bread), I decided to try my hand at focaccia bread.  I served it with spaghetti and meatballs last night for dinner, and holy smacks it was amazing.  Who needs butter when you can have your very own loaf of focaccia bread?!

I am pretty sure that this is the first bread I've ever made sans bread machine.  Don't be scared of the yeast.  This is super duper easy.  I promise.

FOCACCIA BREAD (soy & dairy-free!)

1 1/3 cups warm water
2 1/4 tsp (one package) active dry yeast
4-5 T olive oil, divided
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 T dried rosemary
1/2 tsp kosher salt

In a liquid measuring cup:  whisk water, yeast, and 3 T olive oil. 

In a medium-sized bowl:  whisk flour and salt.  Slowly stir in the water mixture with a rubber spatula until well-incorporated.  Then mix an additional 2 minutes.  Cover with cling wrap, and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place.  It should double in size.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper (or spread 1 T olive oil on your pan if you don't have any parchment paper).  Transfer the dough onto the baking sheet, and spread it out.  Cover the dough with cling wrap coated with baking spray/oil.  Let it rise 30-45 more minutes until it doubles in size again.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Using your fingers, poke holes into the surface of your dough.  Drizzle/rub the remaining 1T olive oil evenly over the top, and sprinkle with tomatoes, rosemary, and kosher salt.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until top is golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.  

Cut it into pieces and serve it up!  Delish!

HALLOWEEN CHILI PIE

While searching for something fun to make for dinner on Halloween, I stumbled upon this recipe for Jack-o'-Lantern Sloppy Joe Pie.  The recipe is completely free of dairy and soy protein as is - what could be better?  Rather than using the turkey sausage that the recipe calls for, I decided to add in Publix's GreenWise Market chicken sausage.  Delicious!

The "pumpkin pie" ended up being really tasty.  I've never had a sloppy joe before (gasp!), but this recipe reminded me of chili.  It was a perfect combination of sweet and make-your-nose-run spicy.    I definitely plan on making this again in the future.

HALLOWEEN CHILI PIE

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust
1.5 lb bulk sausage (I used chicken)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup chunky salsa (I used Publix mild thick&chunky)
1/2 cup chili sauce
2 T brown sugar
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

To make chili:
In a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium-high heat until sausage is no longer pink and onions are clear.  Stir in corn, salsa, chili sauce, brown sugar, and green chiles. ** Simmer uncovered on medium-low heat until sauce reaches desired consistency (about 10 minutes). 

To make pumpkin pie crust topper:
Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Let pie crust sit for 15 minutes unrefrigerated; then unroll crust onto a foiled cookie sheet.  Cut your pumpkin face using a sharp knife.  To add a stem to the pumpkin, secure crust piece with a small amount of water.

**Once you add all of your ingredients to the skillet, pop the crust into the oven.  Bake for 9-11 minutes until the crust is light golden brown.  Remove from the oven, and place onto chili mixture into skillet.  Serve!

 

PUMPKIN SEEDS

'Tis the season for digging goop out of gourds... and baking up some pumpkin seeds in the process!  I had never tried pumpkin seeds until about three years ago.  I finally decided to see what all the hubbub was about, and let me tell you... they are delicious!  They remind me of popcorn:  they taste like it, and even better, they leave you with that I-need-to-floss-my-teeth feeling.  

PUMPKIN SEEDS

De-goop a pumpkin, carefully removing the seeds and putting them all in a bowl.  Fill the bowl with water - this will allow any excess goop (this is so scientific-sounding) to come off of the seeds.  Lay the seeds out and dry them.  

On a foil-covered baking sheet, spread out the pumpkin seeds and coat with oil (I use canola or olive oil).  Mix the seeds and oil so that all of them are evenly coated; make sure that the oil also coats the foil, so they come up after you bake 'em!

I like to season my pumpkin seeds with season salt.  Feel free to just use salt or any other seasoning you'd like.  Bake them at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.  Delish!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here is my second attempt at a dairy-free, soy-free, must-have side dish.  My first attempt was stuffing, as shown here.  Green bean casserole is one of those dishes that I like to eat two or three times a year (plus leftovers).  I don't honestly think I'd enjoy making and eating this as a regular dinner side.  Anyhow, I found this recipe for dairy-free, soy-free green bean casserole and thought I'd give it a whirl.

First of all, let me just start by saying this:  I hate mushrooms.  Yuck.  I usually pick the little mushroom turds out of this casserole, but I thought I'd try to make it sans mushrooms.  This recipe may have turned out better if I wouldn't have chosen to omit them.  That being said, I am not going to make it again.  If you decide to make it with the mushrooms, let me know how it turns out!

Why I am not going to make it again:
1.  It is ridiculously onion-y.  As in, you're going to wake up at 2am and wish you wouldn't have eaten all of those onions at dinner.  Then you're going to wake up at 5am and think, "seriously?  still with the onions?"  Trust me on this...
2.  It is ridiculously peppery.   Perhaps 1 teaspoon of pepper is a 1/2 teaspoon too much.  Just my thoughts.

If I do decide to make it again, I'll probably cut down on the onion a little bit, cut the pepper to a 1/2 teaspoon, and add in those darn mushrooms.  It wasn't a bad recipe... just not exactly what I was looking for.

Until then, I'm going to try a different recipe that I found (thanks, Pinterest!) on how to make soy-free, dairy-free cream of mushroom soup and then go the regular route on this silly holiday casserole.

Here's a picture of my finished product:

 

 

STUFFING

Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without stuffing.  I grew up eating the Pepperidge Farm stuff - you know... buy the bread in the bag, add onions, celery, broth, and bake.  My mom always adds sausage to it, and it tastes fantastic.  I still think Stove Top is my favorite, though.  Thinking back, I'm pretty sure that I never had completely homemade stuffing... until last weekend.

My first attempt at making soy-free dairy-free stuffing turned out great!  I used this recipe and didn't really modify it at all.  My only critique would be that it turned out less "stuck together" than what I'm used to.  Think: yumtastic semi-gooey croutons.  For Thanksgiving, I will probably add just a little more broth than 1 cup to get all of the bread to stick, and I'll probably decrease the "butter" a tiny bit. 

STUFFING (soy-free dairy-free)

1 lb loaf of bread, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup "butter" (I use soy-free Earth Balance)
1 onion, chopped (I used a sweet onion)
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 tsp poultry seasoning (I used Nature's Seasons)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup chicken broth

I used a loaf of french bread that I bought from the Publix bakery.  Make sure you double-check whatever bread you choose.  This particular bread only used soy oil, but it was safe otherwise.  (Side note:  I eat soy oil and soy lecithin, since my daughter is not super allergic to these.  It's just the soy protein that I watch out for.  Make sure you choose accordingly to what you need!)
 
*The recipe called for a pound of bread.  The loaf I used was only 3/4 of a pound, and it was fine.  (Also, I dropped many, many cubes on the floor - my dog enjoyed this step - and still had enough for the stuffing.)

You will need to dry out the bread for several hours.  The recipe I used says at least two hours; mine sat out for close to 5 hours and turned out perfectly.

 
I cut mine into slices and then used scissors to cut it further down into cubes.  Scissors made it much easier!  I started off with a knife and found that I was smushing the bread like crazy.  It would have been stuffing made from all crusts.  :)

 

After your bread is dried out, cut up your veggies and add them to your pan of melty "butter."  Make sure they get nice and soft, and then add in the salt, pepper, and seasoning.

I put all of my bread chunks in a big bowl and then dumped the veggies/butter down on top.  

Stir 'em up, and then add the chicken broth (or veggie broth, should you so desire).  Then put your stuffing into a greased 13x9 pan, and pop it in the oven!

I cooked mine for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.  DELICIOUS!

SOY-FREE DAIRY-FREE THANKSGIVING

I offered to host Thanksgiving this year, because there is no way I'm going to ask one of my in-laws to think twice before they toss all that butter and milk into the mashed potatoes.  Thankfully (pun intended), a lot of things on the dinner table are already soy and dairy-free.  On my quest to figure out how to make stuffing and green bean casserole, I found this fantastic resource:

http://www.godairyfree.org/news/nutrition-headlines/dairy-free-thanksgiving-recipes

It lists tons of Thanksgiving-appropriate recipes that are all dairy-free.  I'm planning on doing a few trial runs before the big day and will share any keepers with you.  Many of these recipes still have soy in them, so I'll have to do a little modifying here and there. 

Here we go! 

----------------------------------------------

Updates!  So far, I have made the following.  Go check 'em out!

• Stuffing
• Green bean casserole

EASY SALSA

It's Saturday, and you know what that means?  Tailgate food.  I love love love eating snack food while watching football, but it seems like everything is dip this or cheese that.  Apparently dairy goes hand-in-hand with football.  That's why I make THIS every weekend:

EASY SALSA!  Yep, it's so ridiculously easy and so ridiculously tasty.  It will take you longer to stand in line at the grocery store...  

EASY SALSA

1 14oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 10oz can original Rotel
1/2 small onion, roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 jalepeno (I seed mine... otherwise, this salsa will be HOT HOT HOT!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
handful of cilantro
juice from 1 lime

Put all of the ingredients into your blender.  Blend until everything is well combined.  Eat with a side of tortilla chips and football!

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP CUPCAKES

You'd think that all I eat was dessert.  Well, I'd like to!  Since it is harder to buy cookies, etc. at the grocery store that don't have soy and dairy in them, I usually keep some sort of baked good lying around.  I have actually made these particular cupcakes twice, once for a dinner get-together and another time for my sister's birthday.  Both times, we were left without extras!  I guess that's both good and bad.  :)  

I have modified a vegan recipe for these cupcakes and added a little mint to my fake buttercream recipe.  The great thing is that there's a 99% chance that I can walk into my kitchen at any time, and the ingredients will already be there.  How fantastic is that?!  

To make these mint chocolate chip cupcakes, I sprinkle on chocolate chips at the very end.  DELICIOUS!

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

1 cup flour
1/4 cup + 3 T cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Mix the first 5 ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt) together in a bowl.  In another bowl, combine the milk, oil, maple syrup, sugar, vinegar, and vanilla.  Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.  Then add the dry ingredients, and beat for another minute to combine.

Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 full.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.  Allow to fully cool before frosting.

MINT BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

3 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup dairy-free soy-free butter (I use Earth Balance)
1 to 2 T coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp mint extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Using a mixer, beat sugar and butter together on low speed until blended; then increase speed to medium and beat for an additional 3 minutes.  Add vanilla extract, mint extract, and milk, then continue to beat on medium for 1 more minute.  (Add more or less milk to achieve desired consistency.)  

Spread it on the cupcakes and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.  I use Ghirardelli, but if you're eliminating soy lecithin as well, you can use Enjoy Life chips.  Keep the cupcakes in the fridge!

The first thing you'll say after eating one of these cupcakes is:  "I think I'll have another."  And that's a promise.  ;)

SNACKS

"Why does everything have soy in it?"  I think I utter these seven little words every time I go grocery shopping.  Coming up with dinner ideas is hard.  Figuring out what to eat as a snack is absolutely ridiculous.  Once you move my husband's soy-filled foods out of the way, here's what you can find in my pantry (or refrigerator, depending on what the case may be!):

Stacy's pita chips.  These are fantastic and come in several different flavors that I love.  For a salty fix, I get the Simply Naked or Garden Vegetable Medley ones.  The Cinnamon Sugar pita chips are unbelievably delicious if you need something sweet.

Cheerios.  In multiple flavors.  Hard to believe, but this is one of the only soy-free dairy-free cereals out there.

Pretzels.   Yep, pretzels are one of those few snacks that actually only contain three or four ingredients.  Flour, yeast, salt, done.

Sorbet.  I am a big ice cream/sherbet person and am heartbroken whenever I look into the freezer and see a big hole where the ice cream used to live.  Whole Fruit makes sorbet in sad little bitty pints that are pricey, but it's a nice treat every once in a while.  I usually go all out and put Ghirardelli chocolate chips (contain soy lecithin) on mine.  Sometimes, I'll make my own:

     RASPBERRY SORBET

• Half bag of frozen raspberries 
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Squeeze of lemon or lime juice

    Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat until sugar has dissolved.  Simmer until a thin syrup forms.  Let cool.
    Blend raspberries and lemon/lime juice in blender or food processor until it turns into a puree.  Add the cooled sugar syrup and blend.
    Pour mixture through a strainer to remove all of the seeds, and place in a shallow tray (I usually use an 8x8 pyrex dish). 
    Place in freezer.  Stir mixture every 30 minutes for the first two hours.  Then cover and let it set overnight.

Baked Lays.  Three cheers for Lays, who doesn't use soybean oil!  If you have a very strict diet, be aware that the original potato chips do have soy lecithin in them.  All of the other ones contain milk ingredients, so no barbecue chips for you...

Fruit.  This was easier to do in the summer, when there was all kinds of fruit that was in season.  Still, you can't go wrong with fruit!

Fruit snacks.  Make sure you check the label on this one.  I know that Welch's are dairy and soy-free.

Hummus.  Most of the store-bought hummus that I've seen contains soybean oil.  I make my own, and it's very easy (and tasty):

     EASY HUMMUS 

• 1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas, drained
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 tsp cumin 

     Blend all ingredients together until smooth.  Enjoy!

This is just a short list for now.  I'll try to add on to it as I remember more!  Until then, try not to get discouraged in the snack aisle.  :)

CARROT CAKE

I'm starting to get the swing of making desserts that are soy and dairy-free.  The fantastic part is that no one can tell that they're missing milk or butter until you tell them.  In an attempt to be able to indulge in birthday cake this weekend with the in-laws, I asked to make the cake to my specifications.  Seeing as the birthday boy's favorite cake is carrot, that's what I've set out to make!

Be careful with all of the soy-free dairy-free recipes for carrot cake.  I've made it in the past, and it was an absolute failure.  The recipe said that it made a one-layer cake, when in fact, I should have split the batter and used two pans.  While the cake cooled, it started to sink in and was a soggy, battery mess.  The hubs LOVED it (I've always known that he likes things gooey, but this may suggest that he will eat anything dessert-related).  This time, I used a tried-and-true recipe, changed up the oil, and I ended up with a cake that was cooked perfectly.

CARROT CAKE

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1 T vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 2 8-inch round cake pans. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  In a different bowl, whisk together pineapple, oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until moistened.  Then fold in the grated carrots.  Pour the batter evenly into the 2 cake pans, and bake for 22-25 minutes.  The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  

Let cake cool 10 minutes, and then remove cake from pans to continue cooling.  *If your cake cools completely, it may not come out of the pan.  If this happens to you like it did to me, pop those cakes back into the oven and warm them up for a couple of minutes.  The cake should [hopefully] come right out!

Make sure that they're completely cooled before you frost them.  Soy-free dairy-free frosting is not the most stable thing to work with, and it will melt if you give it the chance!

The frosting that I used was a fake vanilla buttercream.  It may not be cream cheese frosting, but it compliments this cake perfectly.

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

3 cups confectioners sugar
1 cup soy-free dairy-free "butter"  (I used Earth Balance)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 T coconut milk

Using a mixer, beat sugar and butter together on low speed until blended; then increase speed to medium and beat for an additional 3 minutes.  Add vanilla extract and milk, then continue to beat on medium for 1 more minute.  (Add more or less milk to achieve desired consistency.)  Spread it on your cake!  Keep the cake in the fridge, as this frosting needs to set for one hour and then stay refrigerated.

Enjoy!

SOY/DAIRY-FREE HALLOWEEN CANDY

It has gotten increasingly harder to walk through Publix, Target, etc. these days, as the Halloween candy is out in full force!  All that delicious dairy-filled chocolate just waiting to be passed out (or eaten while there is a pause between trick-or-treaters, which is usually the case with me).  How am I going to survive Halloween without eating a bag of Snickers, half a bag of Kit Kats, and many little single bags of M&Ms?

In an attempt to make it through what will now be known as Lame Halloween 2012, I did some research on candy that is soy- and dairy-free.  There is obviously no chocolate in the list, but there are some yummy things that won't leave me depressed when I check out the leftovers on November 1st. 

Here goes... 

• Nerds
• Twizzlers
• Skittles
• Starburst
• Welch's fruit snacks

I'm pretty sure we're going to go the Twizzler/Nerd/fruit snack route.  The fruit snacks may make this the lame house to avoid in coming years, but at least I'm not handing out small boxes of Raisin Bran like the next door neighbor!  

I am probably going to have to stay away from stores several days after Halloween to avoid the bulk bags of discount chocolate lurking around every corner.  Yikes!  Wish me luck...

CROCK POT PULLED PORK

It's Sunday, and you know what that means?  I don't have any desire to cook.  It always seems backwards to me - don't you think it'd be easier to cook on the weekends when I have an extra set of hands to help out with the baby?  Not the case here.  Looks like it's time to get out the ol' crock pot.  The hubs calls this, "dinner in a bucket."

This may be one of my greatest internet recipe finds.  When I was put in charge of feeding relatives after my brother-in-law's wedding, I was desperately searching for something that could a)satisfy a whole bunch of people, and b)require very little prep time.  It's hard to cook for 15 people when you're at a wedding, especially when they all show up to your house at the same time as you!  All I can say is, thank goodness for pulled pork.

That was two years ago, and this recipe is still in the rotation.  If you're completely soy-free, watch out if you're going to use hamburger buns.  I'm currently eating soy lecithin and soy oil (one or both is usually found in buns), so I'll definitely be eating my pulled pork sandwich-style!  Here it is, folks.  Smallest list of ingredients ever seen on a recipe:

PULLED PORK

1 pork roast (I usually use shoulder, but you can use any cut)
1 can of root beer
1 bottle of barbecue sauce

Put the pork roast in your crock pot, and pour in the entire can of root beer.  I usually buy a two liter bottle of root beer and just pour some in.  Cook on high for at least 5 hours.  

About 30 minutes before you're ready to eat, take the pork out of your crock pot and shred it with a fork.  (The longer you let it cook, the easier it will be to shred later.)  Dump the root beer out of the crock pot, put in the shredded pork, and add the barbecue sauce.  I usually won't use the entire bottle, but add as much or as little as your little heart desires!  Let it cook 30ish more minutes in the sauce, and voila!  You've got "dinner in a bucket."

For a complete dairy-free soy-free meal, I usually serve it up with broccoli salad or pasta salad and top off my glass with some sweet tea.  Now that's what I call Sunday dinner!

National Taco Day

Happy National Taco Day!

Before I cut out dairy and soy, I used to eat tacos several times a week.  We'd either make 'em at home or go out for Mexican... or sometimes both!  Tacos just aren't the same when you cut cheese out of the mix.  I had to come up with a way to jazz it up a bit, so that I could still keep them in the rotation.  Here's what I did!

Instead of using store-bought salsa, I make my own pico de gallo.  It's really easy, although all of the chopping can be a little time-consuming.  I always wait until naptime to make this pico... that way, I don't have cilantro-covered hands and a crying baby! 

PICO DE GALLO

3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
Handful of cilantro, chopped
Garlic salt
Cumin
Lime juice

Make sure to get all of the goopy seeds out of the tomatoes before you chop them up.  Then, finely chop the onion, and add it to the tomatoes.  Chop up a handful of cilantro, and mix it in.  Just eyeball it until it looks right!

 

Add a splash or two of lime juice, a little bit of cumin (about a teaspoon?), and several shakes of garlic salt until desired taste.  I don't measure any of these ingredients.  Just wing it, and I'm sure it'll turn out beautifully!  Be sure to refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.








TACOS 

1 can Rotel original
2-3 chicken breasts
1 can refried beans (black or pinto)
shredded lettuce
pico de gallo (see above recipe)
guacamole
small flour tortillas 

I like to cook the chicken in my crockpot.  It makes things quick and easy!  Put the can of Rotel in the crockpot and then add the chicken.  Cook on high for 3-4 hours (or low for 5-6 hours).  Drain.  Shred up the chicken!

If I'm lucky and the baby takes another nap, I'll make guacamole.  I usually will use one avocado, as I'm the only one who uses guacamole on my tacos.  Smash up the avocado, let the doggie bystander have a taste, and then add the following ingredients:

• 1/6 of an onion, finely chopped (chop a little extra when you're making the pico de gallo.  Voila!)
• handful of cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 of a jalepeno, seeded and finely chopped
• Garlic salt to taste
• Sometimes I'll add in a little chopped tomato, too.  Jazz it up!

Mix it up and then cover the guacamole with cling wrap to keep it from oxidizing and turning brown so quickly.  *Make sure you press it on so that no air lies between the cling wrap and the guac!

Now you're ready for tacos!  Take your tortillas, add some beans, chicken, lettuce, pico, and guac... and believe me, you won't even miss the cheese!  (Well, maybe just a little bit.  How could you not miss cheese?)  I serve mine with a side of Knorr Fiesta Sides Spanish Rice (make sure to get the Spanish rather than the taco rice - the taco rice has dairy in it!).  Ole!