Crispy Polenta Squares with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

This is one of my family's favorite dinners. Polenta is so easy to make and it really is delicious. I usually cut the polenta into squares - but sometimes for a special treat I use cookie cutters for the kids....stars, hearts, butterflies....you can make it fun! 

The polenta recipe comes from The Vegan Bible cookbook by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  When I make this dish I do make it vegan.....but you could easily use regular milk instead of non-dairy milk and you can also use powdered Parmesan cheese instead of nutritional yeast (but let me just tell you this recipe as is is just incredible- don't let the word "vegan" scare you!!)  

If you need a fast sauce you can certainly use regular marina sauce from a jar (we always eat Rao's because it's the best). But I like to shake my sauce up a bit and add a jar of roasted red bell peppers to the jarred sauce.

I serve this with a side side. Enjoy!

Polenta Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups polenta or coarse cornmeal
1/4 cup milk or almond milk or any non-dairy milk
1 to 2 tsp salt
3 Tbl nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil <I use a jar of finely chopped sun dried tomatoes bc my children prefer smooth sun dried tomatoes over chunks>
2 Tbl fresh chopped basil
2 Tbl chopped parsley <I use dried>
1 tsp olive oil

Sauce Ingredients:
2 cups marinara sauce (I like Rao's)
1 7oz jar of roasted red bell peppers (or homemade if you like)
1/4 cup milk or non-dairy milk
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Heat water and broth to boiling in a 4 quart saucepan. When the water/broth has boiled, add polenta and stir frequently on low-medium heat using a whisk- be careful that the pot doesn't boil over. Slowly add "milk", salt, and nutritional yeast, and whisk until the liquid is absorbed and the polenta thickens, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, basil and parsley, stir for one minute more and remove from heat. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Pour the thickened polenta into a greased 9X12 pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Let the polenta set up for about an hour or two.

Heat the oven to 400F.

Cut the polenta into squares or use a large cookie cutter to punch out shapes. Grease a foil lined baking sheet with 1/2 tsp olive oil. Place polenta pieces onto foil and brush the remaining oil on top. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip polenta to the other side and bake for another 10-15 minutes until crispy on the outside and soft in the center.

To make the sauce - place all sauce ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Heat in a saucepan. Serve warm with baked polenta.

Chickpea "Meatball" Sub Sandwiches

Oooh these were so yummy! My husband loved them; the kids loved them - I will definitely be making them again!! I served these subs with a salad and a fries. It was a tasty, easy weeknight meal.

I found this recipe on the blog Karrissa's Vegan Kitchen. This blog is really fun and I'm looking forward to trying more of her recipes.  I did make a couple of changes (I'm a vegetarian, not vegan, so I used eggs instead of making flax eggs and I used real cheese).  All of my changes are in italics.

Here is Karrissa's recipe word for word! Enjoy!

Ingredients for Chickpea "Meatballs":

• 2 cups chickpeas - reserve chickpea liquid if using canned
• 2.5 tablespoons ground flax seed *<Instead of using flax and water to make a flax egg, I used one regular egg>
• 6 tablespoons water *<see note above about egg>
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions for "Meatballs":

1. If you're using dried chickpeas, soak for 4 hours. Boil them until they are splitting, about 45 minutes to an hour. Skip to Step 2 if using canned chickpeas!
2. Drain the chickpeas & pinch the skin off as many as you have the patience for. Blend chickpeas in a blender until broken down. <I used my food processor to combine all the "meatball" ingredients>
3. Make your flax seed "eggs" - mix 2.5 tablespoons of ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons of water. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. <I used one egg instead of the flax seed and water>
4. Mix together the chickpeas and flax seed eggs <I used one regular egg>. 
5. Mix in the remaining ingredients. If the mixture is too sticky, add more breadcrumbs half a tablespoon at a time. If too dry, add a little chickpea liquid or oil. You want a consistency that will be easy to roll into balls without sticking to your hands or cracking. <I ended up adding 1 Tbl of the chickpea liquid>
6. Taste it - does it need something? Add more of your favorite seasonings if you want! The perk of veggie meatballs is that you can taste test before cooking! <I didn't add anything, mine tasted perfect after following the recipe>
7. Form the chickpea mixture into "meatballs" and place onto a greased or parchment-lined baking dish.
8. In a 450 degree oven, bake the chickpea meatballs for 20-25 minutes, turning over halfway through. They will be golden and crispy on the outside when done!

 Ingredients for "Meatball" Subs:

• chickpea meatballs
• vegan Parmesan <or Parmesan or Provolone - I used Provolone>
• sub rolls
• marinara sauce <I only use Rao's sauce- it's the best!>

Instructions for "Meatball" Subs:

1. In a 400 degree oven, toast your subs on a baking sheet until desired level of "toastiness".
2. Meanwhile, warm up the marinara sauce in a sauce pot on the stove.
3. Place the chickpea meatballs in the toasted sub rolls, top with the amount of marinara you desire, and sprinkle with Parmesan.  <OR if you want to use Provolone like I did, place the cheese on top of the "meatballs" and sauce. Place in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the cheese has melted>. Devour!
   
   

   

   
   

Orange Blueberry Dream Cake

I am telling you right now that this is one of the tastiest creations I have ever made. This cake is absolutely delicious and I'm feeling quite proud! I really hope you enjoy it as much as my family does. It is quite sweet for a breakfast cake - but it would certainly do for brunch or dessert.

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 3 large eggs
• zest of one orange – about 1 tablespoon
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I use Wyman's frozen wild blueberries)

For the Icing:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 Tbl fresh orange juice 

Preheat oven to 325F

Generously grease an 8 inch loaf pan.


Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In another bowl, combine sour cream, sugar, maple syrup, eggs, orange zest, fresh orange juice, vanilla, and coconut oil. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat with a hand mixer until well combined.


Fold in blueberries and pour batter into the pan. Bake for 53-55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cake cool for 20 minutes in the loaf pan. Use a knife to loosen the cake from the edge of the pan. Turn cake over and remove from the pan (you may want to put the cake on top of a piece of parchment to make for easy clean up after drizzling the icing).

Make the icing while the cake is baking. Place powdered sugar and fresh orange juice in a small bowl. Use a small whisk or a fork to combine. I always sift my powdered sugar when making icing - it is an extra step that is always worth it - it keeps the lumps out of the icing.

Drizzle the icing over the turned out cake. Let sit for a few minutes so the icing hardens.  Slice and ENJOY!!

Sweet Potato, Roasted Tomatoes & Pesto Pizza

I was inspired to make this pizza after seeing a similar one on a favorite blog of mine- that recipe involved bacon and I won't lie, adding bacon to this would be delicious! But no surprise, I omitted the bacon and added roasted cherry tomatoes, arugula and balsamic glaze to finish it off. I have to say this pizza was AMAZING!!!! I can't wait to make it again.

I absolutely LOVE salad with my pizza - in fact, I usually put the whole salad on top of my pizza. Arugula is my favorite pizza topper and I went crazy with this one. I took a pretty picture for the blog with a tiny bit of arugula just to give you an idea.  Many times the pictures that I post do not look anything like what I actually serve. I mean, do you really think I sprinkle five shreds of Parmesan cheese on my pasta dishes? But dinner realities aren't as pretty and so I take a quick pic for my readers and then I load up my plates with all the extra goodies I want to inhale.  I thought you would get a kick out of the way my pizza really looked, LOADED with arugula, before I ate it! It was so yummy!!
Here is a beautiful piece of pizza with a bit of arugula and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

And here is what my pizza actually looked like,
loaded down with arugula and drenched in
balsamic glaze!

 Now on to the recipe.......

*One pizza was enough for my husband and myself. The kids got a boring ol' cheese pizza upon request (too bad for them).

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato, peeled and sliced into thin circles
20ish cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 Tbl dried oregano or basil
1/3 cup pecans
Pesto sauce, homemade or store bought (I used store bought)
2 cups mozzarella, shredded (you know I used the bagged stuff)
pizza dough, homemade or store bought (I used store bought)
olive oil
arugula
balsamic glaze
salt & pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F

Toss the sliced sweet potatoes in 1 or 2 Tbl olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes out on a lined baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes and then flip. Roast for another 5 to 10 minutes or until nearly done (they cook a bit more when you bake the pizza).  Set aside.

Toss the sliced cherry tomatoes in 1 Tbl olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle with oregano/basil. Toss to coat. Spread on a lined baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes. Set aside.

After the veggies have been roasted you may need to adjust the temperature on your oven. Many crusts bake on 425F or 450F. Just check the label on the dough you are using. If your dough doesn't give a temperature, go with 450F.

Roll out the pizza dough in the shape that you like and place it on a greased baking sheet or pizza tray.  I generally use store bought pizza dough because it's just easier for a weeknight dinner. I like to par-bake dough so that the bottom is cooked through by the time I'm ready to take it out of the oven. I find if I don't par-bake, the center isn't as crisp as I like it. I usually poke a few holes in the dough (if you don't poke some holes huge dough bubbles will form while par-baking) with the tip of my knife and then bake for about 5 minutes.

After your dough is par-baked spread on the pesto sauce. Spread the mozzarella cheese on top of the pesto.  Layer evenly with roasted sweet potatoes, roasted tomatoes and pecans (don't skip the pecans, they are unusual I know - but they are super yummy). 

Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes. Just keep checking to make sure the crust doesn't burn. Let sit for a couple minutes and then slice. Top each slice with arugula and drizzle with balsamic glaze. ENJOY!

Spiced Applesauce Muffins

 

Another snow day, another reason for me to try a new muffin recipe! I found these on the blog A Homemade Living. They are light and airy and super yummy! The perfect muffin for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Hope you enjoy!

Here is the recipe word for word from A Homemade Living:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) + 3 tbs unsalted butter, melted <I only used one sick of butter>
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Topping:
1 tbs granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon


Directions:

1. First, preheat your oven to 400 deg F, and line a standard sized muffin pan with 12 paper liners. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground allspice and nutmeg. Set aside.

2. In your electric mixer bowl, whisk together the eggs and the brown sugar, then slowly begin pouring in the melted butter, and mix until you have a smooth mixture. Add in the vanilla extract and applesauce, then begin adding in the dry ingredient mixture. Gently fold in the chopped nuts (you could substitute raisins for chopped nuts, those would work well too!) and then divide the batter equally between the 12 muffin cups (you want them to be about 3/4 full). Sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon sugar topping mixture (this will form a thin “crust” on top of the muffins as they bake), then bake the muffins for 18 – 20 minutes <I only baked mine for 16 minutes>, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Once baked, let the muffins cool for a couple minutes before eating.

Pesto Potato & Burrata Pizza

 

 This pizza was downright delicious! The little seed/spice/zest mix that is added to the dough is completely delicious and I wonder if I can ever make a pizza now without sprinkling lemon zest all over it!!!  The recipe comes from the blog Half Baked Harvest and the blogger instructs using thinly sliced potatoes (which look so pretty). We actually had some fried potatoes left over from our Sunday morning breakfast so I used those instead and really the whole thing was so amazingly good. Please try this recipe!!! Here it is from Half Baked Harvest word for word (and also check out her blog because her pictures are so much prettier than mine!):

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 pound homemade or store-bought pizza dough, at room temperature
• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1/3 cup basil pesto
• 1 medium potato, very thinly sliced
• 8 ounces burrata cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon micro basil or basil leaves
• crushed red pepper flakes

 Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet with olive oil.
In a small bowl, combine the oregano, sesame seeds, lemon zest, cumin, an a generous pinch of both salt and pepper.

On a lightly floured surface, push/roll the dough out until it is pretty thin (about a 10-12 inch circle). Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Rub the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with the seed mix, using as little or as much as you'd like. Dollop the dough with pesto and layer on the sliced potatoes, drizzling them lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper.

 Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the potatoes are crisp. Remove from the oven and top with burrata. Allow the burrata to sit on the pizza and warm through, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on the basil, and crushed red pepper flakes. Slice and enjoy!

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Chocolate Banana Milkshake

Smoothie or healthy milkshake!? You decide! I drank this for dessert tonight and it was just delicious!!! I absolutely LOVE cacao nibs- they are a superfood full of antioxidants. I sprinkled them on top of the milkshake (to me this is definitely a milkshake) and it was super yum.

You can also put your shake in the freezer for a few hours and let it freeze a bit. You can then eat it with a spoon and it'll be more like an ice cream-ish slushy.

This makes one smoothie:

1 ripe banana
2 dates, pitted
1 heaping Tbl of nut butter (I used almond)
1 Tbl hemp seeds
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup of milk (I used almond milk)
3 - 4 ice cubes
1 tsp raw cacao nibs, optional

Put all the ingredients, except the cacao nibs, into a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Sprinkle with cacao nibs if you like.

You can also put it in the freezer for 3 - 4 hours and turn it into a pseudo ice cream - YUM-O!! Enjoy!