Banana Buckwheat Pancakes

Mouth-watering good!! Yummiest pancakes I've ever had. :) You can serve them with the traditional butter and syrup, but I like them best with apple sauce on top! I tried peanut butter and almond butter too, and both were good, but the apple sauce is definitely the best! Also, I didn't have baking powder, so I used a 1/2 tsp baking soda and left the powder out, and it worked great!

2 cups plain soy milk
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 c buckwheat flour
1 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp egg replacer powder
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup (pure is best!)
2 bananas, thinly sliced

Mix 1 3/4 c soy milk with lemon juice in small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.

Combine flours, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl.

Whisk egg replacer and remaining 1/4 c soy milk in small bowl. Add to soy milk mixture. Whisk in oil and syrup. (For those of you who don't know what egg replacer powder is, see the picture below.)

Stir flour mixture into soy milk mixture. Fold in bananas.

Lightly oil griddle, and cook the pancakes just like any other pancake. Yummy!

Hazelnut Quinoa Salad

For those of you who have never tried quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), you need to!! It's a whole grain that is absolutely delicious and super good for you! With no further ado:

1/2 c quinoa
1/2 c bottled Italian salad dressing
1/2 c hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1 c petite peas, frozen, thawed and drained
1/2 c yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 tsp black pepper


Place quinoa in 1 c water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15-20 min. or until water is absorbed. Fluff with fork. Cool completely.

Process salad dressing and 1/4 c hazelnuts in food processor or blender until smooth; set aside.

Place cooked, cooled quinoa in large bowl. Add cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, and bell pepper. Pour dressing over salad and toss until blended. Sprinkle with black pepper and remaining hazelnuts. Serve immediately.

Egyptian Edamame Stew

This recipe was super easy and oh my goodness so delicious! It comes highly recommended. :)

3 cups edamame-I used the frozen variety still in their shells. It takes a little more prep time, but shelling edamame is therapeutic for me. :)
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped (or mint)
3 Tbsp lemon juice

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften-about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook, covered, until the onions are starting to brown-about 3 more minutes. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant-about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the edamame and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro (or mint) and lemon juice.

I'm not kidding-this recipe is 5 stars!!! Next time, though, I think I might try a little more cayenne and mint instead of cilantro.

Chicken Stock

Ps. With my leftover chicken carcass (ha ha), drippings, and etc I made a chicken stock.

I boiled all the leftovers in a stockpot for about 3-4 hours, drained it, and put all the extra chicken back in for a yummy chicken noodle soup. Season accordingly!

How's that for directions?

Roasted Lemon Pepper Chicken

I have FINALLY started feeling good enough to actually cook again! Yeah! For the last 2 months all I really make is quick stuff for the kids like pancakes, grilled cheese, soup, frozen chicken nuggets, mac n' cheese, etc. So crap essentially. ha ha.

Last night we celebrated my husband's birthday and I wanted to actually MAKE a good meal so I roasted a whole chicken with mashed potatoes. Sooo yummy. This is the second best way to make chicken, the first being in the dutch oven of course. :)

So after thawing out my whole chicken, I cleaned out the stuff out of the inside and patted it dry. I put it in a casserole dish lined with tin foil and cooking spray. I then chopped up these:

4 lemons
2 onions
4 T butter
I put half of them inside the little birdie and the other half around the pan. I then put a couple pats of butter in between the skin and meat. I then sprinkled liberally with kosher salt and lemon pepper seasoning. Then finally I drizzled it with olive oil.I put it in a 375 degree oven, uncovered for about an hour and a half. I had my internal thermometer set at 170, so when it went off I took it out and made sure it was done and then my wonderful husband cut it up. I totally forget to take a final picture so I hope this does.I LOVE roasted chicken I had thank you's all around, ever one went to bed so stuffed. Especially after we topped it off with birthday cake! Being pregnant is fun when I don't feel like crap all the time.

PS. I love sharing recipes with my sisters and the rest of you should too. I command it. The end. :)

Kung Pao Tofu

I love Chinese food! It's probably my #1 comfort food, and something I am pretty sure I can't live without. So, I obviously had to find recipes to make vegetarian Chinese food. This one is really yummy!

Ingredients:

1 14-oz package extra-firm water-packed tofu, rinsed
1/2 tsp five-spice or all-spice powder
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 c water
3 Tbsp oyster-flavored or oyster sauce
1/2 tsp cornstarch
4 cups broccoli crowns in bite-size pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, diced into 1/2 inch strips
1 red bell pepper, diced into 1/2 inch strips
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp unsalted roasted peanuts
2 tsp hot sesame oil--I used straight sesame oil and it added a lot of flavor-do it!

Directions:

1. Pat tofu dry and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Combine with 1/4 tsp all-spice in med bowl.

Now, I know that some of you are scared of tofu, so here are some tips! The texture can be really nasty, but if you hate tofu I'm betting you've never had it made the right way! I have to attribute the following tip to my Mom who learned it from her fishetarian friend. :) First, rinse the tofu! Then squish it between two napkins until the napkins are dry. This reduces the slimy texture and makes the whole experience a lot better.



Also, the type of tofu you buy really matters! Extra-firm is the way to go for most recipes.



2. Heat canola oil in large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook, stirring every 1-2 minutes, until golden brown, 7-9 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

3. Meanwhile, whisk water, oyster sauce, cornstarch and remaining 1/4 tsp all-spice in small bowl.

4. Add 1-2 Tbsp oyster mix to bowl and then add broccoli and peppers to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 min. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to low, add the oyster sauce mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 30 seconds. Return the tofu to the pan along with peanuts and stir to coat with sauce; stir in hot sesame oil.

And enjoy!! I really liked this recipe. I made some brown rice and bulgur to go with it, but it can definitely stand alone too.

Fruit Pizza

Crust:
1/4 C shortening
1/4 C sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Blend well. Add flour, vaking powder, and salt. Cover and chill in freezer 10-15 minutes. Press onto greased pizza pan. Roll or cul up the edges of the crust like a pizza to prevent edges from burning. Bake at 375 F for 10 minutes. Watch carefully so it doesn't burn!


Cream Cheese Topping:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 C sugar
Blend well

Lemon Sauce Topping:
1 TB cornstarch
1/2 C sugar
pinch of salt
2 TB lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 drop yellow food coloring

Thoroughly mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Stir in 1 C boiling water. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring constantly, then simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, rind, and food coloring. Makes about 1 cup.

Fruit Pizza:
Spread cream cheese on cooled crust, then spread lemon sauce over the cream cheese. Then add your favorite fruit to make it beautiful and delicious. Apples, mango, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, mandarin oranges, etc. Be creative!

Easy Vegetable Quiche

1 C chopped fresh broccoli
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped green pepper
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 C grated cheese
3/4 C milk
1/4 C and 2 TB Bisquick
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt

Cook broccoli in glass measuring cup with 1/2" of water, covered with plastic wrap, for 2 minutes in the microwave. Drain thoroughly. Spray 9" pie plate with non-stick cooking spray. Mix broccoli, onion, green pepper, and cheese in pie plate. Beat remaining ingredients until smooth. Beat remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour into pie plate. Bake at 350 F until golden, about 35-45 minutes (knife comes out clean). Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

Minestrone Soup

1 large onion                                          6 C water                    
2 TB butter/margarine                            2- 16oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 C chopped celery                               1- 15oz. can kidney beans
3 C chopped carrots                              1- 15oz. can navy beans
1/4 C minced fresh parsley                    1 tsp. dried basil
1 C shredded cabbage                           1 tsp. oregano
Pinch of garlic salt                                 1/2 tsp. dried sage
3/4 C pasta shells                                   8 oz. tomato sauce

In stockpot, saute onion and butter. Add 1 cup water, celery, parsley, carrots, and cabbage and simmer for 10 minutes. Add remaining 5 cups of water and the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

So Excited!

Well hello there! So my sister, Tiffany, created a recipe blog and my other sister, Taunalee, recently posted recipes to her blog and it got me thinking. Why not do a sister recipe blog?! We're always sharing recipes with each other anyway, so why not create a blog to do it! I'm excited and hope my sisters are excited too! We all do the kitchen thing a little differently, and I think this will be a fun way to share ideas and insight.

I recently have been making some huge dietary changes in my life. I found out I was mildly allergic to dairy, and have since cut dairy out of my diet. I stopped eating meat at the same time to see if I felt better. My energy levels have been off the charts! Not only do I have more energy, but I sleep better, no longer have food cravings, my skin has cleared up, my digestion is better, and I've lost some weight (an added bonus). :) I think everyone's body digests and functions differently and by no means think everyone should embrace a vegetarian diet or stop eating dairy, but making those changes has revolutionized my life and my relationship with food. I feel amazing-like I have a new lease on life, and I'm excited about cooking again! So sharing recipes sounds fun. :)

Here's one I made a few weeks ago. I got this recipe from eatingwell.com, though I did make some alterations from their original recipe. This recipe makes about 4 servings of 1 1/2 cups each, though I found that 1 1/2 cups was way too much, and I got about 6-8 servings out of it. It took me about an hour to make, and was worth it! We grew up eating red curry, and this was a little different-more mild-but I loved it!

Red Curry with Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
• 1 14-ounce package extra-firm tofu, rinsed, patted dry and cut into 1-inch cubes (Make sure this is really dry or it's nasty! I squish mine between paper towels multiple times to get it as dry as I can before I cut it. Oh, and I rinse it off first too.)
  
• 1 pound sweet potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 14-ounce can lite coconut milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth (or reduced-sodium chicken broth)
• 1-2 teaspoons red Thai curry paste (I couldn't find the stuff Dad gets, so I used curry paste out of a bottle, which was still yummy, but a little different. I want to try this recipe with Dad's curry paste to see if it's any better.)
  
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, quartered (I did this, but it's just garnish-it doesn't really add anything to the taste, but it's nice for presentation.)
  

Preparation:

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook, stirring every 2 or 3 minutes, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.
2. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. (At this point I transferred everything to a soup pot because my pan was too small. If you have a wok, it would probably work better.) Add coconut milk, broth and curry paste to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato is just tender, about 4 minutes. Add the tofu, green beans and brown sugar; return to a simmer and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the green beans are tender-crisp, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in lime juice and salt. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

   

YUMMY!!!

Wow . . . I haven't posted in a while.
I have a good excuse though . . . I am pregnant! I have been so sick that I have just been putting together quick things like sandwiches and freezer dinners. There are a couple of good recipes I plan on putting up soon though that Bryan has made like honey mustard chicken and super YUMMY pork. Stay tuned . . .