Italian Roasted Mushrooms and Vegetables

This scrumptious recipe comes from the blog Jo Cooks.  It was extremely easy to put together. I served it alongside some brown rice and with a side salad. It made a delicious vegetarian meal. These roasted veggies would also make a terrific side dish and would be super served at a Thanksgiving feast!

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb cremini mushrooms, cleaned
• 2 cups cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 2 cups cocktail tomatoes
• 12 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
2. In a bowl add all the mushrooms, veggies and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil then add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and toss until well combined.
3. Dump the veggies to a baking sheet and place in the preheat oven. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until mushrooms are golden brown and cauliflower is fork tender.
4. Garnish with fresh parsley before serving. <I served with a side of rice and a side salad>

Weeknight Crock Pot Sausage & Spinach Stew

My friend, Amne, shared this easy crock pot recipe with me. It's one of her family's favorite recipes and it's a snap to make. She serves it over cooked rice or pasta. Add a simple side salad and a piece of good crusty bread and dinner is served! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 links of pork or chicken Italian sausage, sliced  (you can leave on the casing)
1 tsp olive oil
28 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
8 oz block of cream cheese, cut into chunks
Quart of chicken or vegetable broth
10 oz bag loose leaf frozen spinach

Parmesan cheese for serving
Cooked pasta or rice for serving

Directions:

Heat a large non-stick skillet to medium-high heat.  Add olive oil to skillet.  Add sliced sausage pieces to the hot skillet and brown on both sides.

Power on a large crock pot. You can either cook this dish on low for 8 hours or high for four hours, your choice. Add cooked sausage slices, fire roasted tomatoes, cream cheese chunks, and enough broth to cover the ingredients in the crock pot (you may not use the whole quart). Add the bag of loose leaf frozen spinach and give everything a good stir.

Once your crock pot has completed its cooking cycle serve stew over cooked rice or pasta. Season with salt & pepper. Add shredded Parmesan if you like. Enjoy!

Hallelujah Sweet Potato Slaw

I found this delicious, raw, vegan recipe in a fabulous book called The Hallelujah Diet by George Malkmus.  I wanted to make it right away because I absolutely LOVE shredded RAW sweet potatoes. Yes, I said raw, and yes, you need to just trust me on this one and try it for yourself.

This salad was so refreshing and sweet. It would be a beautiful thing to bring to a summer potluck. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 cups RAW sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded <I only used two sweet potatoes>
• 1 medium sweet apple, peeled and chopped fine  <Use a crunchy apple, like a Honeycrisp or Pink Lady>
• 1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped <I used more because I love the crunch>
• 1/4 cup organic raisins or chopped dates <I used dates>
• Holiday Slaw Dressing (recipe below)
  

Directions:

Salad:
In a large bowl, combine sweet potatoes, apple, pineapple, raisins or dates and pecans. Prepare the Holiday Slaw Dressing. Combine with salad, mix well and place in refrigerator. Let salad chill in the fridge and serve cold. 


Holiday Slaw Dressing:

• 1/2 cup vegenaise <I used mayonnaise; but if you use mayonnaise, the salad will not be vegan anymore>
• 1-2 Tbl raw, unfiltered honey
• 2 Tbl lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Combine ingredients into a shaker cup and shake thoroughly, or place in a bowl and whip with a wire whisk until well blended.

 

Raw Brownie Energy Bars

The name of these bars do them zero justice - they should be called "Oh-My-Gosh-Are-You-Kidding-Me-I-Cannot-Believe-These-Are-Raw-And-Healthy-Because-They-Taste-Like-Heaven Bars". Yeah, that does them a little more justice. The recipe comes from Yummy Mummy Kitchen and my socks were actually blown off at how tasty and sweetly satisfying these healthy little "brownies" are. Click on her blog link to see some beautiful pictures she took of these bars. Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy!!!

Here is the recipe STRAIGHT from the Yummy Mummy Kitchen blog:

• 2 cups nuts (use a combination of almonds, peanuts, and walnuts)
• 1 1/4 cups pitted Medjool dates
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (room temperature)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt or Himalayan salt
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 1 tablespoon hemp hearts (optional)
• 1/4 cup crisp puffed quinoa or rice cereal <I used Rice Krispies>
• 2 tablespoons walnut pieces
• 2 tablespoons chocolate chips (vegan/gf if needed) 

Instructions

1. Place nuts, dates, oil, cocoa, salt, and hemp hearts into a food processor. Blend until coarsely  ground. Add the syrup and continue to blend until the mixture holds together when pressed. Pulse in the cereal just to combine.
2. Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Transfer the bar mixture from the food processor to the pan and press firmly and evenly in. Press walnuts and chocolate chips into the top. 
3. Refrigerate until completely chilled and firm, about an hour. Cut into bars or small bite-sized squares. Store in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Bites with Nuts & Fruit

 
These little chocolatey bites were super easy to throw together! All you need are some chocolate chips and your favorite nuts & dried fruits (and a microwave and some parchment paper). I used about 3/4 cup of Enjoy Life semi sweet chocolate chunks and it made 12 circles. So, just eyeball everything and make as many or as few as you'd like! Enjoy!

~ 3/4 to 1 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips
The following are suggestions:
raw almonds
raw cashews
raw hazelnuts
raw walnuts
dried cherries
dried cranberries
dried apricots
dried figs
raisins
hemp seeds

Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe dish in the microwave on high for 1 minutes. Remove dish and stir. Put dish back in the microwave for another 20 to 30 seconds and stir until completely smooth.

Using a teaspoon size spoon, spoon melted chocolate onto parchment paper that is on a cutting board. Just let the chocolate drop into a nice circle shape.

 

Add the nuts and fruits to each circle any way you like. 

                           

Place the chocolate bites in the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm them up. Once firm, remove from parchment and place in a tupperware container. Keep bites in the fridge or freezer because they melt easily. Enjoy!!

Flourless Peanut Butter Mini Muffins

My friend, Meredith, texted me this recipe last night and asked if I had made these yet......well, approximately 30 minutes later I had! I was so intrigued by the ingredients and the method of making it all in the blender, I just had to right away! They were beyond easy and my kids literally gobbled them up for breakfast this morning. One of my sons said he ate 7 of them by the time I walked downstairs! Yay! A hit! I will be making these again and again. I'm sure you will be too!!!

On a side note, these mini-muffins are gluten-free, dairy-free and refined-sugar free! They are so moist and flavorful - you would never know!

The recipe comes from the blog Averie Cooks. Here is Averie's recipe word for word:

Ingredients:

1 medium ripe banana, peeled
1 large egg
heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter** (I recommend using classic storebought peanut butter, and not natural or homemade)
3 tablespoons honey (pure maple syrup may be substituted)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt, optional and to taste
heaping 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

**<I only had natural peanut butter, so I added an extra Tbl of pure maple syrup to the recipe>

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare mini muffin pans by spraying very well with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pans; set aside. If keeping gluten-free for health reasons, simply use cooking spray or grease the pan. <I used mini-muffin paper liners - so glad I had these because they made the whole thing a breeze>
2. To the canister of a blender, add first 7 ingredients, through optional salt, and blend on high speed until smoothy and creamy, about 1 minute.
3. Add chocolate chips and stir in by hand; don't use the blender because it will pulverize them.
4. Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop that's been sprayed with cooking spray (helps batter slide off spoon or scoop easily), form rounded 1 tablespoon mounds and place mounds into prepared pans. Each cavity should be filled to a solid 3/4 full.
5. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until the tops are set, domed, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.  Due to their small size and oven variance, make sure to watch your muffins closely, and bake until done. Allow muffins to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, or until they've firmed up and are cool enough to handle. Muffins are best fresh, but will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Garlic Chili Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower & Pine Nuts

Here's another scrumptious recipe from my FAVORITE blog, Minimalist Baker (and she's coming out with a cookbook soon- so exciting!!). I'm a huge cauliflower-lover....it's one of my favorite veggies. This meal was easy to put together and had some awesome flavor combos. Serve with a side salad and some good bread. Enjoy!

 

PS I made my husband's meal with regular pasta and mine with gluten-free pasta.

 

Here is the recipe verbatim from Minimalist Baker:

 

CAULIFLOWER

• 1 small head cauliflower (580 g), large stems removed, florets separated
• 2-3 Tbsp (30-45 ml) olive or grape seed oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (9 g or 1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
• Heaping 1/4 tsp sea salt

PASTA

• optional: 2 cups (480 ml) vegetable broth (for adding more flavor to pasta)
• 12 oz (340 g) linguini or fettuccini (ensure vegan friendly | sub gluten free pasta to keep GF)
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil (use extra virgin here if you have it for more flavor)
• 3 cloves garlic, skin removed + smashed NOT minced (9 g or 1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (reduce for less heat)
• 2 Tbsp (8 g) fresh chopped parsley, plus more for serving
• 2 Tbsp (17 g) toasted pine nuts, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup (20 g) vegan parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
• Salt + Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (232 C).
2. Add cauliflower to a mixing bowl with olive oil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, and sea salt. Toss to coat, then spread on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, flipping/stirring once at the 15-minute mark to ensure even cooking. Sample and adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside.
3. Once your cauliflower has reached the 10-minute mark, add 2 cups vegetable broth (for added flavor | optional) and about 4-5 cups water (or however much to generously cover your pasta) to a large pot and bring to a boil.
4. Once boiling, season well with sea salt and add pasta. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and cook according to package instructions for ‘al dente’ - 7-10 minutes - then drain and set aside. Cover with a towel to keep warm.
5. Heat the same large pot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add 1/4 cup olive oil and 3 cloves smashed NOT minced garlic. Sauté 1-2 minutes on both sides, or until garlic is fragrant and slightly golden brown. Remove garlic from pan and let cool slightly, then mince. Set aside for serving.
6. Next add red pepper flakes to infuse the olive oil for 1-2 minutes.
7. Add cooked pasta, parsley, pine nuts, minced garlic, vegan parmesan cheese, cauliflower, and toss to coat.
8. Remove from heat and sample pasta. Adjust seasonings as desired, adding salt or pepper if necessary. Serve hot with additional parsley, red pepper flakes, pine nuts and vegan parmesan cheese. Best when fresh, though leftovers keep for a few days covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave, or on the stovetop in a large saucepan in a bit of olive oil.