Chicken Fingers

Our family loves chicken fingers (its a staple in a preschooler's life).  After some trial and error I have figured out a way to get my chicken finger fix being dairy and egg free!

Ingredients
~ 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast
~ 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
~ 1 clove garlic, minced
~ 3/4 cup Panko Italian Bread Crumbs
~ 3/4 cup crumbs of Food Should Taste Good - Multigran chips (regular tortilla chips work well too)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
1. Pound chicken to about an even 1/2 inch thickness.  Then cut into 1inch strips.
2. Combine oil and garlic in bowl.
3. Combine bread and chip crumbs in a second bowl.
4. Dip chicken strips in oil then coat with crumb mixture.
5. Place on cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating once half way.

Oven Baked Chocolate Chip CookieS'more

I have made some yummy dairy and egg free treats since July - but these are my FAVORITE!  I am very thankful that my SIL came to visit this week and made cookies for my husband.  After watching her bake and then the rest of my family indulge in them after dinner I couldn't take it any longer after putting my daughter to bed.  I needed something sweet for me!  We had intended on making this recipe earlier in the day, but time got away from us.  So, at 8:30 at night she began baking (while I held a non-sleepy baby in my arms.

Ingredients
4.5 full sized graham crackers
1/2 cup of shortening
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10oz vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life) - separated in half
2 cups mini marshmallows

Lightly grease a 9x9 glass baking dish and preheat oven to 350.  Lay out graham crackers in the 9x9 dish to create a bass layer.  My pan had three crackers across and one and half across the top.

Make chocolate chip cookie dough:
Combine shortening, oil, sugars, and vanilla and stir until mixed. Combine flour and baking soda in a separate bowl then add to wet mixture. Add first half (5 oz) of the chocolate chips and combine.

Spoon out completed cookie dough on a piece of wax paper or parchment paper.  Press dough out on paper to a 9x9 shape (we traced our pan onto the waxed paper as a guide).  Then transfer the dough onto the graham crackers and remove the waxed paper.  

Bake the graham crackers and cookie dough for 10 minutes.  (Your cookie dough should still be slightly gooey.)  

Remove dish from the oven, and increase the temperature to 450.  While the oven temperature is rising, sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of he cookie dough, then top the entire dish with marshmallows.  Once your oven is up to 450 degrees place back in the oven for an additional 3 to 5 minutes (until your marshmallows are slightly toasted to your liking).  

Sausage and Peppers and Onions

1 lb Italian Sausage links
1 green pepper
1 onion
3 cups rigatoni pasta
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Preheat the oven to 350F.

First cut the sausage links into 1/4 inch pieces and add to a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Then thinly slice the onion and pepper and place on top of the cut sausage.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the pasta according to package directions and drain.

Add the cooked pasta to the sausage, peppers, and onions mixture and blend in the spaghetti sauce.  Return to the oven for an additional 25 minutes.

Yummy accidental dip!

I was baking a cake today to celebrate Jesus' birthday (cheesy, I know but my big little bit was so excited to help!). The cake pan I have is shaped like a crown and I needed to use a little more than one box of cake.  Turns out, the batter was so delicious that I have saved some to use as a dip for our Christmas celebration tomorrow at the in-laws!  And since it's vegan, no one has to worry about raw eggs!

1 box of Spice cake
1 can of pumpkin

Mix and enjoy!  I have only eaten it with a spoon and with a club cracker, but I think I'll take graham crackers to the celebration. I also might throw in some diary free chocolate chips!

Kale, Sausage, and White Bean Soup!

In my last organic produce delivery I got a bunch of kale and some celery.  While I love kale, I was really looking to do something different!  So I researched and came up with this recipe.  I made a few changes and am really happy with the end result!

2T Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil

 1C diced onion
1C diced red pepper
1C diced celery
1/2C diced carrot
1/2C mushrooms
8oz diced smoked sausage
2 cloved minced garlic
1 bunch rinsed and chopped kale
4C chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can Great Northern Beans
1 can Cannelini Beans
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

In a large skillet heat grapeseed oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions, bell pepper, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and sausage.  Saute, stirring, until onion is tender.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add kale and garlic; cover and continue cooking for 2 minutes.  Add broth, tomatoes, and beans; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, until veggies are tender.  Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed.

The ingredients in bold are the additions/changes I made.  Unfortunately, this is not a meal my family would even taste so I didn't have any guinea pigs to try it out on but I really enjoyed it!  The steaming bowl was perfect to enjoy on this semi-cold, rainy day!

Oatmeal (for those who don't like it)

Okay, so I am not an oatmeal person.  I do not like the texture or the flavor, so the idea of eating it regularly to help keep up my milk supply while nursing is not too appealing to me.  Prior to this recipe, I only ate oatmeal in the form of cookies (not too good for my waistline).  In my honest opinion - this oatmeal tastes like warm oatmeal raisin cookie dough, just slightly creamer.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup Instant Oatmeal
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• cinnamon to taste (I use about 1/8 of a teaspoon)
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• raisins (I tend to put in 2 or 3 handfuls)

Directions

1. Add almond milk, water, and oatmeal to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Reduce the heat to medium - low and stir in applesauce and cinnamon.  Let simmer for 5 minutes (or until the oatmeal is at a good consistency for you). 
3. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
4. Remove oatmeal from heat and add in raisins.
5. Enjoy!

Serves 1

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Our family celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday with a delicious fried turkey, but we are now stuck with turkey leftovers.  Last night we ate a repeat of Saturday's meal, yet didn't make a dent in our turkey pile.  So I began to think of ways I could help to use up our turkey.  Typically in the past I made Turkey Pot Pie; however, the standard recipes are loaded with milk or cream and occasionally eggs.  None of which I can eat now, but these leftovers left me with quite the craving.  So this morning I was determined to figure out how to make a dairy and egg free Turkey Pot Pie, and I did it!!

Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients 

• 3 cups chicken broth

• 2 large carrots, diced finely

• 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed finely

• 1 1/2 tablespoon flour

• olive oil, as needed

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup peas

• 2 cups cooked turkey, cut into small pieces

• Pillsbury Pie Crust 

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Heat chicken broth in a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add carrots and potatoes. Add flour and stir continuously until dissolved.

2. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil and spices until soft and transparent. Add onion mix to the chicken broth mix, then fold in the peas. Simmer for 15 minute until the vegetables are soft and the broth is thick. Add turkey.

3. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour chicken broth mixture over. Cover with top crust,  and seal edges. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

5. Remove from oven, let stand for 10 minutes. Serve.