Creamy Pasta Salad

This was lunch for Day Two of our dairy free, meat free week. It is not vegan, but can easily be made vegan by using vegannaise instead of mayonnaise. The beans add protein where the meat would be for some and the variety of colorful veggies makes this as pretty as it is tasty! Pair it with a side of fruit and you have a perfectly balanced meal with food from all the food groups.

I'm eating this right now.... it's good :) I made it last night and let it chill overnight. I sent some with Mike for his lunch at work and he enjoyed it too.

Ingredients:

16oz. pasta of your choice. I had a mix of misfit macaroni that I used. The ends of the bags of some large macaroni, small & whole wheat.
1 cup chopped baby spinach
1 cup diced carrots
2 tomatoes (seeded and diced)
1 can white beans (any beans really) drained and rinsed
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or vegannaise)
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Mix diced veggies and beans together with pasta.

In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, vinegar and other spices. Mix well and adjust as needed.

Pour dressing over salad and mix well. Refrigerate overnight.

Irish Soda Bread

This Irish Soda Bread was part of our St. Patrick's Day feast... okay it wasn't really a feast, but dinner was good :) This was my first attempt at making soda bread and although I'm sure I've had it before, it's been a very long time. I have to say I was pleased with how it turned out. Maybe not my first choice in breads, but good for what it is supposed to be. This is a very dense bread and the flavors are strong (good, but strong.) I was joking at dinner saying one piece of the bread was a meal in itself... it really is. Mike says this is what they use in an "Irish Breakfast," they pile all sorts of goodness on top of it. I will probably make this again next year.... but most likely not anytime in-between. Maybe we'll try an Irish Breakfast next year.

I found this recipe here on timesunion.com. I did a few things differently, but stuck to the recipe for the most part. Here was my final recipe: Ingredients:

• 3½ Cups flour
• 4 Teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 Cup sugar
• ½ Teaspoon baking soda
• 8 oz. Raisins, softened (soak in hot water, drain)
• ½ Teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon caraway seeds
• 2 Eggs beaten
• 1 Cup sour cream
• ½ Cup buttermilk
• 3 Tablespoons melted margarine
• Oil for brushing
  

Heat oven to 350 F.

Grease and lightly flour 9x9" pan.

Combine wet ingredients in one bowl (not oil) and dry ingredients in another.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together.

Add to greased, floured 9x9” pan and brush with a little oil.

Cut an “X” in the top.

Bake 50 minutes at 350° F **I covered the top loosely in foil for the last 15 minutes to prevent the top from browning too much.

Oatmeal & Yogurt Pancakes

This is a really great recipe because it's so easy to make different flavors and it's healthier than a box mix. Use any flavor yogurt you have on hand, blueberry would be great and you could also add extra fresh or frozen blueberries! These are very filling!

Oatmeal & Yogurt Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups oats (ground to a flour like consistency)
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 cup yogurt
1 cup applesauce
2 eggs

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and brown both sides on a heated skillet, cook through. Serve with fruit preserves or syrup.

Oatmeal Pie

How many different ways can you eat oatmeal? I don't know, but I'm determined to find out :) This recipe was adapted from the book Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert. What they call "Baked Oatmeal" we re-named "Oatmeal Pie" because when I handed Michael a bowl of this and he was expecting just oatmeal he was a little skeptical. "What kind of oatmeal is it?" he asked. "It doesn't look like oatmeal." Well it's Oatmeal..... uhhhh (come on super Mommy be brilliant here) Pie! It's Oatmeal Pie." And with that he got a huge smile on his face, hopped up in his chair and said "Yum! I Love pie!."

After my alterations here is the recipe we ended up with -

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup (or more) raisins
2 ripe bananas (mashed)
1/2 cup brown sugar (reserve about 2 Tablespoons for the top)
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 Tablespoons oil
1 egg (beaten)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F and grease a 8x8" pan.

Mix all of the ingredients together (dry in one bowl, wet in another and then all together).

Smooth into prepared pan and sprinkle with reserved brown sugar.

Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes.

Serve warm.

Banana & Chocolate Ice Cream Treats

Playing off of the Breakfast Ice Cream I just posted about I wanted some other fun ways and combinations to eat this healthy treat. Banana and chocolate? Absolutely. I was going to actually mix the chocolate and some peanut butter, but I didn't have any peanut butter so that nummy combination will have to wait for another day.


Ingredients:

4 very ripe bananas (make sure they have brown spots covering the peel, this is when they are at their sweetest!)
2-4 Tablespoons yogurt (I used honey greek yogurt, but use any yogurt of your choice)
Nutella

Directions:

Cover muffin tins with liners (about 20 small or 10 regular), it would probably work fine with no liners but I haven't tried. You could also use those cute silicone ice cube trays in fun shapes!

Mix bananas and yogurt in a blender

Pour banana mixture into each muffin cup (fill them all the way)

Cover and freeze overnight.

Unwrap frozen tarts and put on a serving plate. Top each with some Nutella. As you can see I need to work on my topping technique so it doesn't look like someone pooed on my tart....

You can put them either way on the plate, I tried both and I'm not sure which way looks better, what do you think? Muffin or upside down muffin?




Enjoy!

Some ways I will experiment with this recipe:

Add some peanut butter into the banana mixture before freezing and then top with Nutella.

Mix peanut butter in with the nutella.

Use different fruits and corresponding toppings:

Strawberry (or any berry) with a little whipped cream on top?
Apple with a caramel or peanut butter topping?
Mango and.....

Ice Cream for Breakfast

Okay, technically more like frozen yogurt, but who doesn't love the sound of ice cream for breakfast? This has more protein & fiber with less sugar than most breakfast cereals! And to save 50 calories and 3 grams of sugar eat it in a bowl instead. Or to go the other direction, throw some colorful sugar sprinkles on top and watch those little faces light up! Perfect for breakfast, as a snack or dessert.

I'll get a picture up soon....

This came about because I had a pack of sugar cones to use up. I bought them to make the Cub Scout Camping Cake. We rarely have ice cream cones at home, it's really something we go out and do. The last thing I need in the house is a carton of ice cream, it wouldn't even make it into the cone before meeting it's fate.

If I have too much fruit that is really ripe and I know we can't eat it before it turns, I chop it up and freeze it for smoothies.... or this recipe :)

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped frozen fruit of your choice
2 Tablespoons honey greek yogurt
1 sugar cone

Directions:

Put fruit and yogurt in your blender and blend until smooth. Hold on, it's rough going at the start :)

You can scoop it into your cone with a spoon or put it into a plastic bag, cut the corner and squezze it into your cone all pretty like.

The nutrition facts are using one cone with apple as the fruit, but use whatever fruit you have or love! Mango, banana, berries, pear, orange......

	Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe 1 Serving Amount Per Serving Calories 118.2 Total Fat 0.7 g Saturated Fat 0.1 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 25.7 mg Potassium 204.3 mg Total Carbohydrate 23.9 g Dietary Fiber 3.1 g Sugars 3.9 g Protein 5.5 g Vitamin A 1.2 % Vitamin B-12 3.3 % Vitamin B-6 3.4 % Vitamin C 10.5 % Vitamin D 0.0 % Vitamin E 2.1 % Calcium 7.5 % Copper 2.7 % Folate 2.6 % Iron 1.9 % Magnesium 3.0 % Manganese 3.6 % Niacin 1.3 % Pantothenic Acid 2.9 % Phosphorus 7.8 % Riboflavin 8.4 % Selenium 0.7 % Thiamin 3.2 % Zinc 0.5 % *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Quinoa Casserole With Pesto

What's the best way to use up veggies before my SPUD! order? Chop 'em up and throw them in a casserole! I got some red quinoa from Whole Foods the other day. There are three kinds; black, red and white. I decided to use some of the red in my casserole tonight, I really can't tell you if they taste any different since I really can't taste much right now (being sick.) I've been told this was good so I'll just take their word for it :)

This is a great protein packed dinner or even breakfast casserole. It's very versatile and a great way to use up leftovers. Feel free to leave a comment with what you added :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked white quinoa
1/2 cup uncooked red quinoa
3- 4 cups chopped veggies of your choice. I used leftover hashbrown potatoes from breakfast over the weekend, a red bell pepper and 2 very tiny zucchini. I chose veggies that I wouldn't have to cook first: The potatoes were already cooked, I love a slight crunch to my bell peppers and the zucchini did not need to be pre-cooked. I left onions out so that if it didn't turn out we could always give it to the dogs :) I was going to add carrots, but thought they might not cook enough so I used carrot juice instead. I was also going to add spinach and mushrooms, but I got lazy because I feel miserable today.
1/2 cup carrot juice
1/2 cup milk
2 heaping Tablespoons pesto sauce
5 eggs
1 cup shredded smoked sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease 9x13" baking dish

Soak and thoroughly rinse your quinoa, cook according to directions. (1 1/2 cups water or broth to 1 cup quinoa for about 20-30 minutes in a rice cooker)

Chop your veggies and mix all ingredients together.

Spread into the prepared casserole dish and bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with topping of your choice; pesto, tomato sauce, salsa (my choice) or ketchup (kids pick).

Serve with a side salad or fruit.

Spinach & Blueberry Muffins

If you can handle a colorful muffin you won't be disappointed. I was a little nervous about this recipe.... I use this combination in smoothies all the time and you can never taste the spinach, but cooking it is a little different. I have to say I am quite pleased with the outcome :)

Ingredients:

1 cup oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup protein powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1/3 cup yogurt of your choice
1 cup blueberries
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 banana

Directions:

mix sugar and oil together in a large bowl. Add egg and yogurt.

Puree berries, spinach and banana in food processor and add to wet ingredients.

Puree dry ingredients in your food processor and fold into the wet ingredients.

Grease muffin tins and fill to the top with batter (I know, I know, it's REALLY ugly... but it's good!)

Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.

There is no spinach taste and they are very light and moist. Top with a little butter and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe
18 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		140.2
Total Fat		6.8 g
	Saturated Fat	0.7 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	2.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	3.8 g
Cholesterol		11.8 mg
Sodium		225.6 mg
Potassium		174.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate		22.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	2.7 g
	Sugars	11.4 g
Protein		3.8 g

Vitamin A	7.7 %
Vitamin B-12	0.5 %
Vitamin B-6	3.4 %
Vitamin C	4.4 %
Vitamin D	1.5 %
Vitamin E	10.2 %
Calcium	4.3 %
Copper	6.6 %
Folate	3.9 %
Iron	6.2 %
Magnesium	8.3 %
Manganese	31.6 %
Niacin	1.7 %
Pantothenic Acid	1.9 %
Phosphorus	8.3 %
Riboflavin	4.4 %
Selenium	1.9 %
Thiamin	5.8 %
Zinc	3.7 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.