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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
