Deviled Potatoes

Whether you don’t eat eggs, don’t like them or want to try something new this Easter, this recipe is a yummy alternative. I used the same ingredients my mother uses for deviled eggs, added a couple extras and voila, delicious deviled potatoes. My husband said he didn’t want to try them because he doesn’t like deviled eggs but after some coercing he tried one and ended up eating ten of them! I think this will be a new Easter favorite!

Ingredients:

7 baby yukon gold potatoes cleaned and cut in half
1 1/2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp brown or dijon mustard
1 tbs mayonnaise or vegonnaise
1 tsp sweet pickle juice
1 tbs sour cream
1 tbs finely chopped chives

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut and clean your potatoes and cover them in 1 tbs of olive oil and 1 tsp of sea salt leaving the remaining olive oil and sea salt for the potato mixture. Place all of your potatoes cut side down on a baking sheet and cover with foil. Put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Once your potatoes have cooked use a melon baller or tiny spoon to scoop out the inside and put them into the bowl. Leave about 1/8 of inch of potato and peel in your potato cup to hold the potato mixture.

After you have have scooped out all of your potatoes start adding your ingredients to the bowl. Start with the reaming 1/2 tbs of olive oil and mix well till the potatoes start to smooth. (I just used a fork for this.) Then add salt, pepper, paprika, mustard, mayonnaise, pickle juice and sour cream. Mix all the ingredients together well. Finally add the chives leaving a little to the side for garnish.

Once the potatoes have been mixed well together place it into a baggy and squish it down to one corner. Snip the corner and squeeze a little potatoes mixture into each potato cup. Top with remaining chive garnish and it is ready to serve.

Serve at room temp or slightly chilled.

Yield 14 cups

Springtime Salad with White Wine and Fresh Orange Juice Reduction Dressing

Spring is here and with it comes some of my favorite produce. Fennel, Radishes and Oranges are great to pick up at the local markets right now. They taste perfect together in this light and easy salad. The dressing is made of white wine reduced down with fresh squeezed orange juice and no other ingredients. The combinations is crisp and tasty.

Ingredients:

Salad:
1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
3/4 cups fennel sliced thin
2 radishes chopped in half and sliced thin
1/8 cup red onion sliced thin
1/2 of an orange peeled and sliced
1 handful of parsley chopped

Dressing
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

In a saucer combine white wine and fresh squeezed orange juice. Bring to a simmer on medium and let it reduce down on medium low for about 20-30 minutes, You should be left with a a little less than half a cup of dressing once it is finished.

Meanwhile chop and slice all your veggies and arrange them on a plate. Once the dressing is done pour half of it over your salad to absorb into the the veggies. Serve the remaining dressing along side the salad for those who would like more.

Yields: 1-2 servings

Flat Bread Burritos with Mexican Quinoa and Homemade Refried Beans

Flat Bread Burritos with Mexican Quinoa and Homemade Refried Beans

This recipe includes two previous recipes. In August 2011 I posted a recipe for homemade refried beans that are yummy and lard free. I make these refried beans once a month a freeze the remainder for mexican food nights. In my last post you will find the recipe for mexican quinoa that is vegan and crazy flavorful. These two recipes make the flat bread burritos to die for. It may take some time but remember both the refried beans and quinoa can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. Once you have those made, these burritos can be done in a flash! (For your convenience I reposted the recipes for homemade refried beans and mexican quinoa below)

Ingredients for Flat Bread Burritos:
1 flat bread per person
1/4 avocado per person sliced
1/2 tomato per person chopped
1 tbs green onion per person chopped
1/4 cup mexican quinoa per person (previous post or below)
1/4 cup homemade refried beans per person (see below)

Lay your flat bread out on a plate and pour on your beans. Top that with the quinoa and the avocado slices. Sprinkle over the tomato and onion. Fold over the the top and bottom of the burrito and roll the side in. Then it is ready to serve.
Yields one serving


Mexican Quinoa Ingredients and directions:

2 cups cooked quinoa (follow the instructions on the box I used vegetable broth instead of water)
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 of a jalapeno finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1-2 tsp of salt to taste
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 cup beer or vegetable stock
1 tomato chopped

Start cooking your quinoa so it can be simmering while you make the mexican mixture.

In a large pan heat olive oil over medium low and add onion, jalapeno and garlic. Saute together and add in your aromatics; salt, chili powder, paprika, dried oregano, onion powder and cumin powder. Saute together on medium low for about 8 minutes or until the onion have softened. Once the onion starts to soften add the beer and saute together. Then add the tomato and let everything cook down until the beer has absorbed into the vegetables. Finally add 2 cups of cooked quinoa and saute together on low for a minute or two until quinoa has absorbed some of the ingredients and have been fully coated. Then it is ready to serve.
yields 3-4 cups


Homemade Refried Beans Ingredients and Directions:
1 lb. bag of dried pinto beans
1 large white or yellow onion pealed and chopped in half
4-5 cloves of garlic pealed and left whole
4 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Beans themselves do not cause gas, it is the dirt on the beans that cause gas. For this reason I recommend boiling the beans in water for roughly 30 minutes, strain and clean the pot and then start the recipe.

In a large stock pot pour in the clean beans. Add halved onion, whole garlic cloves and salt. Fill pot with water so that the water comes to a half an inch above the ingredients. Bring to boil and cover. Let simmer on medium low for two hours.

Once beans are cooked, use a measuring cup to take about a cup of the water from pot and keep aside for blending beans. In batches blend the cooked beans, onion and garlic till entire batch is smooth and creamy. If beans get too thick use the water taken from the pot to loosen the beans. Return all the beans back to the pot add cumin and cayenne pepper or taco seasoning and let all ingredients cook together on low for ten more minutes. Then serve.
Yield about 12 servings

Beans can be frozen for up to three months and refrigerated for up to a week.
Quinoa can be refrigerated for about 5 days

Mexican Quinoa

I love mexican rice but there are two things I don’t always want in it; white rice and chicken stock. So I came up with a vegan mexican style quinoa. This has all the flavor of your usual restaurant style mexican rice but it is guilt free. It tastes great alone, in burritos or you can use it to stuff bell peppers.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa (follow the instructions on the box I used vegetable broth instead of water)
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 of a jalapeno finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1-2 tsp of salt to taste
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 cup beer or vegetable stock
1 tomato chopped

Start cooking your quinoa so it can be simmering while you make the mexican mixture.

In a large pan heat olive oil over medium low and add onion, jalapeno and garlic. Saute together and add in your aromatics; salt, chili powder, paprika, dried oregano, onion powder and cumin powder. Saute together on medium low for about 8 minutes or until the onion have softened. Once the onion start to soften add the beer and saute together. Then add the tomato and let everything cook down until the beer has absorbed into the vegetables. Finally add 2 cups of cooked quinoa and saute together on low for a minute or two until quinoa has absorbed some of the ingredients and been fully coated. Then it is ready to serve.

yields 3-4 cups

Baked Green Bean Fries with Wasabi Dipping Sauce

Recently I have discovered that tahini (sesame) paste is a great binding substitute for eggs. I feel like a whole new world of cooking and baking has opened up to me. I try to avoid eggs as often as I can and I can’t wait to see what else I can make using this substitution. These “fries” are healthy, tasty and kid friendly. To make the wasabi dipping sauce I used white beans pureed with a few other ingredients to make it protein packed but not lacking in flavor. This is also a vegan dish. Enjoy!

Green Bean Fries ingredients and directions:

about 35-40 green beans tips cut off and blanched (see below for instructions)
1 cup flour
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt
3/4 cup tahini paste mixed well with 1 cup of water
2 cups of panko bread crumbs

Heat oven to 475 degrees

Rinse green beans and cut the ends off. Put in them in a pot of water and bring to boil for about 2-3 minutes, then drain. Once they are drained immediately put them into a bowl of water and ice (this is called blanching). Leave the beans in the ice bath until you start your breading.

Use 3 separate bowls: In the first bowl mix flour, paprika and salt. In the second bowl mix tahini paste with water. Mix these well so that the tahini paste is thinned out and runny. In the third bowl pour in your panko bread crumbs. (You should set these bowls in order.) Dip the cool wet green beans into the flour and then into the tahini paste and finally into the bread crumbs. Then set them on a greased baking sheet. Repeat this until you have covered all of your green beans. Place them into an oven at 475 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until they have browned.

Wasabi Dipping Sauce ingredients and directions:

1 15 oz can of white beans drained and rinsed
2 tbs water
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs tahini paste
1/2 lemon freshly squeezed
1/3 cup vegonnaise or mayonnaise substitute
3-4 tsp of wasabi powder (to taste)

Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor except the wasabi powder. Blend together very well. Slowly add in wasabi powder, tasting as you go to see if you like it spicier or not. Then pour into a bowl and plate your green beans and it is ready to serve.

Yields 35-40 green bean fries

Spinach Kale Artichoke Dip

Once in a while you’ve got to splurge on delicious cheesy, creamy artichoke dip. I added kale for extra green and left the mayo and butter out of this recipe but it is not lacking in other cheeses. This is a great and super easy recipe for any party or get together.

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped
2 cups fresh kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
2 cups of frozen artichoke hearts thawed and roughly chopped
1 8 oz. box cream cheese, divided into fours
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp of your favorite hot sauce (I used tapitio)
1 tsp olive oil
cooking spray

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

In a large pot add the artichoke hearts, kale and spinach and cover with water. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Then drain your vegetables and add the cream cheese immediately so it will melt with the hot veggies. Then add sour cream, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, garlic, lemon, salt and hot sauce. Mix together well and taste to see if you need more salt or hot sauce. Spray cooking spray over your baking dish and pour in your mixture. Top liberally with the remaining mozzarella cheese and drizzle over with olive oil. Put into the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Then it is ready to serve.

Yields 6-8 servings

Chili Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans, Avocados and Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

If you are looking for some extra plant proteins for your diet this salad is a great place to start. Black beans and avocados are full of healthy fats, fibers and proteins. The sweet potatoes are of vitamins making this a very healthy meal. The flavors of the chili powder sweet potatoes and the cilantro lime vinaigrette are a prefect pair that make this filling, vegan salad tasty and fancy.

Ingredients:

For the roasted sweet potatoes and salad:
2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped to 1 inch cubes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbs olive oil
1 avocado chopped
2 roma tomatoes chopped
1/8 cup green onion chopped
1 can black beans drained and rinsed

For the cilantro lime dressing:
1 cup cilantro
1 large lime juice freshly squeezed
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp honey
1 tbs white wine vinegar

Cooking/baking instructions for the sweet potatoes and salad:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place your chopped sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle over 1 tbs of olive oil. Then sprinkle over 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp chili powder. Mix all the ingredients together well so that each potato chunk is cover. Put into the oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Meanwhile chop you tomato, avocado and green onion. Drain and rinse your black beans. When sweet potatoes are done take them out and let them cool on a paper towel for a few minutes while you make your dressing.

Cilantro lime vinaigrette instructions.

Using a blender or a food processor add your cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper, honey and white white vinegar. Start to blend and slowly add in your olive oil. when the cilantro is minced and dressing and blended well it is finished.

Add you roasted sweet potatoes, tomatoes, green onion, black beans and avocado to a bowl and drizzle half of the dressing on top leaving the rest for people to add individually. then it is ready to serve.

Yields: 4 servings

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash is a winter squash found year round in California but its peek seasons are fall and winter. Right now you can find butternut squash for pretty cheap and it is ripe and ready to eat. Today I really wanted a creamy soup but I wanted to keep it healthy and vegan if I could, so I concocted this easy recipe for a creamy butternut squash soup that only takes a few ingredients. If you would like to add parmesan cheese to this soup it would de delicious.

Ingredients

1 butternut squash peeled, seeded and chopped into 1 inch cubes
1 yellow onion chopped to about 1 inch
2 tbs olive oil
1-2 tsp of salt to taste
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbs brown sugar
1/4-1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
a drizzle of honey or coconut syrup for garnish

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

Place your chopped butternut squash and yellow onion on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper and brown sugar over your vegetables. Mix together well with your hands to make sure everything is evenly coated. Put into the oven at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Once your vegetables have roasted put them into a blender or food processor and blend well. Add your water or vegetable stock slowly until the soup is the texture you desire. Taste to see if you need more salt or pepper. If your soup has cooled down during this process place into a pot and heat up on low for about 5 minutes. Once it is ready drizzle coconut syrup or honey on top, and then it is ready to serve.

Yields 2-4 servings

Eggplant, Tomato and Basil Parmesan Bites

Let me start by saying I made 15 of these little bites and my husband, son and I ate every single one in seconds flat. They were delicious. I love eggplant parmesan but I hate the breading and frying because it is time consuming and not heart healthy. So here is my healthy shortcut. These are great appetizers or you can serve it on top of your favorite pasta and marinara sauce.

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant peeled and cut to 1/8 inch thick slices
basil leaves (you will need one for each eggplant slice
roma tomato (you will need one slice for each eggplant slice)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp salt to taste
2 tsp pepper to taste
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Arrange eggplant slices on a baking sheet and drizzle 1 tbs olive oil and 1 tsp each of salt and pepper. Place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until they turn golden brown. Then take them out and flip each eggplant slice over. Drizzle the other side with the remaining tbs olive oil and tsp of salt and pepper. Sprinkle dried oregano over each slice. Place one tomato on top followed by one basil leaf. Evenly sprinkle over mozzarella cheese and finally parmesan cheese. Put back into the oven for another 15 minutes. Then they are ready to serve.

Yields 12-15 bites