Nachos With Cheesy Sauce & Veg

Colds tend to hit me pretty hard. Much to my hubby's chagrin, who does not enjoy listening to sniffles, coughing, sneezing, all that stuff.

Mom's just aren't allowed to get sick. Come to think of it, I can only squeeze one childhood memory from my brain when my Mom was sick. She didn't get sick. Or so I thought.

So a little bit of the feminist comes out in me when I see this going on. What happens when Dad gets sick? He can take time off of work, take a nap, watch movies. Kids? Just skip school, sleep in, watch movies, and then when magically feeling better in the afternoon, go jump on the trampoline.

When MOM is sick? Change dirty diapers, do the dishes, call in and take the day off...wait, what? Oh, yeah. This is a job that does not accept sick days, vacation days, or paid holiday.

By the way, what's for dinner?

I have learned to ask for help. I know, novel concept. In the past, I have expected others to just see what is bothering me, feel my pain, give me a break and take over. That's not always how the male mind ticks. Or any mind, for that matter.

I have this thing in my head where, if I have to ask for it, it means he loves me less.

Paul is available. He is willing. You may remember this post and how he completely took over my responsibilities, taking the kids on hikes and more. Sometimes he is not able to do that. Conferences at work, collaborations with people from Germany. Company dinners.

But female pride rears it's ugly head and claims that if he loved me he would read my mind and know exactly what I want, so I would never have to talk. Not one word. Now I don't know WHO to feel sorry for. Me, or him?

Here's another problem. Paul used to cook for me all the time when we were GF/BF. Granted, usually it consisted of opening a few bags, boxes, or cans, but I must say that it was genuinely good food. I loved it. Both the fact that he cooked for me, and the food he made.

When I was pregnant with any three of our kids I would tend to get emo. BAD emo. While I was crying and completely beside myself he would frantically make some food, put it in front of me, and say, "Eat it." And I would respond, between sobs and tears, "But I'm not hungry!"

After consuming everything he had given me, and more, I would then be smiley and cheerful and say, "Oh, I guess I was hungry." Ha! Crazy me.

NOW. But now. We are plant-based. In this marriage, we have decided to take on the mantra, "Divide, and conquer." I am a psycho-control-freak-perfectionist when it comes to MY kitchen, MY food and what my family eats. I take pride in being able to cook for my family, sometimes a little too much pride, and am guilty of not allowing others to help me. I have gotten better at letting Paul do dishes for me...which happens just about every day now.

So when I get sick, he's at a loss. Because of me and my pride, he doesn't know where to start when it comes to plant-based meals. How to make cheese sauce. One of his pre-vegan meals was a cheese melt. Bread, a slice of deli meat, with slice of cheese, heated for 30 seconds in the microwave until cheese melts. Pretty yummy back in the day.

Back to the novel concept of asking for help. I wrestle my pride. Eventually find a way to beat it down long enough to say, "Paul, I need you to help me make dinner." And to my surprise, he responds, "Okay, tell me what to do."

Wow, that was not as hard as it should have been. I was gearing up for an angry fest. Well, switch gears, and just tell the man what to do, Ash.

Chop veggies, using the mini-food processor (my new toy, $30 from Costco).

Heat up a can of refried beans. Set the table.

Little hands can't wait to eat.

Find some juice, and the corn tortilla chips.

And let me make cheese sauce, uninterrupted.

Mom, you don't need to wait to get sick to make an easy dinner. And when you are sick, ask your dear, sweet hubby for a little bitty help. Because he's so willing. Loves you, even if he doesn't read minds. And if I remember correctly, I went and watched a movie right after eating dinner, while he cleaned the kitchen. A little gratitude may be in order; some kindness.

Paul proclaimed, "Mm, this is delicious, I think this is my new favorite meal!"

Because this, is some DELISH VEGAN FAST FOOD!

Kids LOVE it. Have them build their own nachos, so it's exactly the way they want it, and they can take some pride in their work.

PROJECT VEGAN KIDS.



Basic Nachos, You will Need:

Tortilla chips (ours are gluten free, Costco Kirkland Brand)
Cans of refried beans, heated
Optionally, this would also taste great with some Tofu Sour Cream
Chopped veggies, we like:
Olives
Tomatoes
Corn
Avocados sprinkled with pepper
Romaine lettuce
Red onions
Green chile
Bell Peppers


Simple Cheddar Cheese Sauce
From Neva Brackett's, "Seven Secrets Cookbook."

Note From Ashlee: I've had quite a few taste testers try this cheese sauce. Family and friends have all stated that it tastes exactly like the dairy nacho cheese sauce. Or better. It's ALWAYS been gobbled up. Sometimes I have to go back and make a second batch. Amber has incorporated it into her home, and met with great success. Her kids STILL don't know it's dairy free.

If you follow the directions EXACTLY, you will find yourself with a really good cheese sauce. Best for Mexican types of dishes, but also good on kids' pizza.

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashew nuts
2 cups water
1/2 large or 1 small red bell pepper, or 1/4 cup canned pimentos or roasted red peppers (I ALWAYS use the jarred, roasted red bell peppers, also called pimentos.)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 tablespoons food yeast flakes (nutritional yeast)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Blend smooth (about 2 minutes) and then bring to a boil, stirring until thick. Use for pizza, lasagna, burritos, etc.

Lite Cheese Option: Use only 1/2 cup cashew nuts plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch.

*Makes 3 Cups*



I also use this cheese sauce for:

Cheesy Mexican Casserole
Tamale Pie Casserole

Coconut Corn Chowder For Your Picky Eaters

Dinner has always been a stressful time for me. People have very high expectations of me. I have very high expectations of myself.

Probably because I can't handle rejection from what Dreena Burton calls, "picky-poos." There couldn't be a better name for it.

We've been experiencing a lot of that lately. Yes, even in myself. I am really good at making things complicated; harder than they have to be. My dinners have been pretty complicated lately, and I have had comments from picky-poos that go something like this:

"This has too many flavors in it." (What?)

"I don't like this."

And other various and sundry complaints.

When I am feeling sorry for myself (being picky!) that my eating choices might be a little limited (this does happen to me every once in a while) I brainstorm about all the food I love and make, my favorite dishes, and I write them down.

This list went on for another couple of pages.

I also do this with my kids. I make them sit down with me and talk about all of their favorite foods as we write them down. We both learn something; we are always surprised at the variety of foods we eat and love. Most of these meals are plant-based spins off of the exact meals I was eating two years ago and yet there are also some of them that are new and fun.

Except the whole foods version makes my hair grow, skin glow, and the weigh scale shows happy numbers.

While brainstorming, I was looking through one of my favorite cookbooks, "Seven Secrets." Found a recipe, and decided to make it.

Looking at the ingredients list and the instructions I could tell it was gonna be "easy-peasy."

So I went outside with Samuel and Megan and jumped on the trampoline as high and as long as I possibly could. It's turning fall here, so the smell of fresh rain dripping from the pine trees was intoxicating. I love fall.

I felt like a little kid again. I couldn't get enough of being outside. So we also decided to go for a walk/run/bike ride. This was at 5:15 p.m. -- when I am normally supposed to be panicking and working hard to get dinner on the table.

After an exhilarating and energizing walk/run, I came back and threw some potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery in the pressure cooker. When they were cooked I blended the cream portion of the soup and added corn.

Dinner was ready in less than 30 minutes...VEGAN FAST FOOD!

It was so simple, and anymore I am realizing that kids love simple.

The chowder went well with some "buttered" toast.

No whining. Only happy noises filled the air. Soup spoons clanging against soup bowls. And...

"Mmmmmm, I LOVE this, Mommy!" (Samuel)

"I'm goin' back for thirds!" (Paul)

One happy mamma.

Coconut Corn Chowder
By Neva Brackett, from "Seven Secrets Cookbook."
Modifications by Ashlee Crozier

Note from Neva:

[My daughter] Kimberly likes to make her cream soups by blending a can of coconut milk with 2 cups cooked potatoes. Simmer vegetables with seasonings and add the blended sauce. This corn chowder is an example.

Ingredients:

5 cups diced potatoes
1 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon chicken-like seasoning (vegan chicken-flavored bouillon)
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
3 cups water
4 cups frozen corn
1 can coconut milk

And because I am a major vegetable fan(atic!) I added:
1 cup thinly sliced celery
3/4 - 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
I did need to add additional salt and pepper to taste, once the soup was done.

Directions:

1.) Place potatoes, onions, and seasonings in 3 cups water and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. (I used my pressure cooker on high for 8 minutes).

2.) Remove 2 cups of the cooked potatoes with a slotted spoon (you may get some of the onions, too, but that's all right), and place in the blender. Stir the frozen corn into the pot of soup.

3.) Add coconut milk to the blender with the cooked potatoes. Blend for about 30 seconds OR LESS -- just until smooth, if you blend it for too long the potatoes will become starchy.

4.) Add blended mixture to the soup. May add more water or salt as needed to taste. Heat to serving temperature.

Variation: If you don't want to use coconut milk but like the idea of thickening your soup with potato, there are other options. Replace the coconut milk (1 can is a scant 2 cups) with soy milk, or blend 3/4 cup cashew nuts with 2 cups of water, or use 1/2 can (1 cup) coconut milk for lower fat soup. (I recommend trying the blended cashews to make cashew cream).

Cauliflower Bechamel

Essie just started second grade at Desert Willow Family School, a half-day program where parents are heavily involved and are expected to do 1-2 hours of homework a day for the homeschooling portion of the program.

Essie (on the left) with her best friend, Kira, on their first day of 2nd grade.

Megan is still nursing (she is 22 months old!) and she wakes me every night still because she can't seem to sleep by herself.

And Samuel is, well, he's Samuel. Like me, he can be so, so good. But also like me, he has days where he's just a pill.

Today Samuel is the angel, and I am the pill. Megan had me up last night, and this morning I woke feeling like I had been hit by a train. While I have been sitting around and writing this post, Samuel has been entertaining Megan, and even fed her an apple. He is cheerful, kind, quiet, and obedient. My morning angel.

Paul and I are in the process of purchasing an additional 7 acres around our home so that our children have more space to play and we could possibly have some "farming" land and attempt growing our own veg.

Our house has to appraise very high in value in order to get the loan. So we have fix-it men coming in and out of the house; finishing our fireplace, and re-doing the stucco.

Needless to say, there is a lot going on, and I get stressed a little too easily.

I don't know how to act as I normally do when I am not feeling so great and there are a bunch of strange fix-it men in my house. I think I have some anxiety when it comes to being around people beyond those in my family.

And after watching this absolutely adorable French movie, "Romantics Anonymous," about two very socially anxious people, I recognize some of their character traits in myself.

I love people. I really do. Whenever I get out and interact, I find so many good people who are enjoyable to be with. Even now our fix-it men are in the next room singing love songs in Spanish and it makes me smile.

But I am a little nervous in social situations. As a teacher, I have had to push this away and pretend that this side of me does not exist. As a result, few people know that if given the chance, I would probably turn into a hermit in order to avoid ever struggling to overcome this shy side of myself. Thank heaven I am not allowed to do that as a Mom. I don't think it would be good for me at all.

Paul on the other hand, is a socialite. He has no sign, inward or outward, of being shy, nervous, or hesitant in any social setting. I have learned a lot from him. A lot of this perceived confidence can easily be pretended away until it becomes a part of you. And then one day you realize that you have real social confidence. As a result of watching him, and practicing, my social confidence is much better and I feel pretty good in most situations. But I still have times where I wish I could just go home and hide out. It is especially hard for me when the place I run and hide to, cannot hide me. The strangers are within!

I made this meal a few days ago as the fix-it men were working on our fireplace next to the kitchen. They speak Spanish so I could just pretend I didn't know any Spanish and just go to my "happy place" and zone into my cooking.

Normally, like today, I avoid strangers, even at the cost of avoiding my kitchen and starving. However, Paul was home the day I made this, and in my mind when he is around, there is no need for stranger anxiety.

Today, however, is different. Paul is not here. As crazy as it is, I send Samuel to the kitchen to get Megan food. The kid is unabashed. No holds barred. No stranger shyness, stranger anxiety, no hesitancy. I have even found him telling random people not to smoke cigarettes or drink coffee because if they do they are following Satan. Yikes. But then they look at him with his big blue eyes and just smile and say, "He is SO cute!" People are so forgiving!

So, back to fix-it men. They like food. Paul came in the kitchen and saw that I was fixing him food for lunch and asked if he could offer some to our fix-it guys. I freaked.

When I feed people food it has to be really good. Crazy good. Otherwise I panic and just want to shut myself into a closet.

Cauliflower as a base for a cream sauce??? What? How can it possibly turn out good? I was only experimenting (Paul is always my guinea pig!) and this food could very well turn out to be disgusting.

It turns out that cauliflower is a great cream sauce. Think about how neat that is! You can find cauliflower at almost any grocery store around the world. At $0.88 a head, it's cheap and affordable. Not only is it a fat free option, but it is also full of flavor, adapts well to whatever seasonings you add to it, and adds another serving of vegetables to the dish.

In order for dairy free cream sauce to be good it has to have cashews or tofu or some kind of high fat veg food to be creamy and delicious, right?

Or so we all have thought.

With just the addition of a few spices and seasonings, and some non-dairy milk, steamed and blended cauliflower is the most amazing cream sauce. Think Parmesan cheese + heavy cream. Without the heavy.

Better than Bouillon no chicken base tastes fantastic as a base for any savory recipe. I would not use vegetable broth: the outcome will not be as good. The sun dried tomatoes are NOT packed in oil so that I can keep to my efforts of trying to avoid oil.

Vegan & Practically fat free = guilt free.

Of course I had to taste test it before I could tell Paul, "Yes, you can offer some of this to our workers." And of course I also had to have Paul and my kids taste test it first, too.

When the fix-it men tried it, they licked there bowls clean and happily told Paul, "Gracias! Ella es una buena cocinera!" (Thank you! Your wife is a great chef!)

Score. Sweet success. And this recipe is so easy, I can be a good Mommy any day; even if I am tired and cranky.

Paul and I agree that we like this sauce even better than my mac n' cheese...

Fresh Basil is a must.

I like to buy the plants because they stay fresh for so long, are very pretty in my kitchen, and don't take up room in my crowded fridge.

And fresh thyme is becoming a great idea.

Make sure you remove the leaves from the stalks and only chop up the leaves, discarding the woody portion of the thyme (just like you would remove from kale leaves here on my site, only start at the top of the thyme and go down, whereas with kale you start at the bottom and move your pinched fingers to the top of the leaf)

I am just now realizing that a lot of my main dishes are made with pasta. Well, I don't eat pasta very often. I prefer greens and unrefined whole grains as a base instead. Or potatoes. I need to post more of those recipes...

Part of PROJECT VEGAN KIDS &
GO DAIRY FREE series

Cauliflower Bechamel
Modified from "Forks Over Knives, The Cookbook," by Chef Del Sroufe

Serves 4 to 6

I served this tossed with penne pasta, but keep in mind that it will probably taste great tossed with cooked quinoa or millet. After trying this recipe once, you may decide to add other vegetables that you like, or change the seasonings around a bit to give some variety. It is a great base as a cream sauce for any of your creamy recipes.

Ingredients:

For The sauce:

1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
3-4 tbsp coconut milk or almond milk, (you may need more or less)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast, optional, but recommended
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, or more to taste
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base, or other concentrated no chicken base
Freshly ground Black Pepper to taste

For the vegetable saute base:

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced small
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, depending on how much heat you want to add
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons minced thyme leaves
1/4 cup finely chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, not packed in oil
4 cups spinach, chopped and cooked until wilted
1 pound penne, or whole grain, cooked according to package directions, drained, and kept warm

Directions:

1.) Add the cauliflower to a large pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the cauliflower is very tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the excess water from the pan and puree the cauliflower using an immersion blender or in a blender with a tight fitting lid, covered with a towel, in batches if necessary. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed, to achieve a cream consistency. Add the nutritional yeast, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and 1 tsp no chicken base. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Set the puree aside

2.) Place the onion in a large saucepan and saute over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep onions from sticking to the pan. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, sun dried tomatoes, thyme, and basil and cook for another minute. Add the spinach and cooked pasta and toss, cooking for an additional 5 minutes to let the flavors meld a bit.

3.) To serve, either toss the sauce with the pasta or grain (my preferred method for pasta) until combined. Or, divide the pasta or grain between four plates and top with the cauliflower puree (my preferred method for grains).


It's like a vegan tour of Italy!

Thai Noodles

I wish I could come to your house and cook this for you.

I wish I could serve it up on pretty plates with vegan egg rolls and dipping sauce, with an Asian salad. I wish I could give you the night off so you could sit with your feet up and read to your kids, or just watch a movie after a long day at work.

I love to feed people, especially the people I love. And I wish I could make this for you and watch you be happy.

Alas. Distance keeps me far away from most of you. *Sigh.* And time is always ticking.

I am a human, when I wish I could be super-woman.

So I am trying, with pictures, to show you how to make it. As if I were in your kitchen with you. As if we were making this together. And it is so yummy.

Here are some crazy vegan, health-obsessed, carb-lover thoughts:

Dr. Joel Furhman says something like this, "A low-carb diet may help you lose weight but then so does cigarette smoking." (FROM HIS BOOK, SUPER IMMUNITY).

Yeah for high-carb diet!

Read, "The China Study," you won't regret it.

It even goes into detail about healing and balancing women's hormones. The healthy, life-long way. I know a lot of women, including myself, who need help with balancing hormones.

Okay, onto the recipe!

This Thai recipe really helps out with going dairy free. It is flavorful, and delicious.

This is Essie's most favorite pasta dish. Samuel likes it, and I should mention that Samuel rarely loves anything that doesn't contain loads of sugar and other refined stuff. Well, I guess he does love salad and fruit...and Megan will pretty much eat anything.

So this recipe, along with being a part of our GO DAIRY FREE series, is also a part of our PROJECT VEGAN KIDS.

There are 5 basic steps:

1.) Cut up the veggies and pre-baked tofu
2.) Saute veggies, ginger and garlic
3.) Make a sauce
4.) Cook and drain pasta
5.) Throw it all together

All the veg you will need:
(From left to right: green cabbage, Bok Choy, carrots, green onions, zucchini, bean sprouts, and then ginger and garlic.)

"Process" your carrots, zucchini, and green cabbage and then set aside. I have a food processor so this step takes very little time for me. If you don't have a food processor, I highly recommend buying your carrots and green cabbage pre-cut. Trader Joe's sells the cabbage pre-shredded, and pre-cut matchstick carrots.

"Process" your Bok Choy by removing the greens and the base (like celery) and wash the stalks. The Bok Choy greens (the top) can be saved and put into green smoothies, or you can also wash, and chop them up and add to this pasta dish toward the end if you are super-green.

Cut it into slices as if it were celery, and set it aside with your mung bean sprouts (I buy mine at Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's doesn't carry sprouts).

Prepare your green onions, ginger, and garlic.

I use my kitchen scissors to cut my green onions.

Use it all, even down to the white parts.

And now I want to show you a trick I learned on how to remove the skins from garlic.

Place a single garlic clove on your cutting board, or other flat surface. Put your large chef's knife on it, broadside. Hold the knife steady with one hand, while bringing your other hand down with force as if your are punching the flat side of the knife.

Don't worry about hitting it too hard. Your goal is to actually smash the garlic. The skins should slip off pretty easily after doing this.

Then you can chop the garlic very fine with your chef's knife, or you can push it through a garlic press. I love my $14 garlic press; a great investment for me because I am not the world's most patient or skilled veg chopper!

Peel and shred the ginger (peel all the brown skin off as if it were a peach, with a paring knife).

I shred my ginger with the fine holes on the side of my box grater. I now own a zester, and that is an option, too, although I do find it easier to use my box grater.

Put your green onions, pressed garlic, and grated ginger in a non-stick fry pan (I use my cast iron skillet) and water-saute until garlic and onions are fragrant and reduced (water has been cooked out).

Now to make the sauce.

(From Left to Right: Soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, natural peanut butter, chili garlic sauce, organic blue agave nectar, and rice vinegar.)

Measure out all the ingredients and stir them together in a bowl using a kitchen fork.

Add the shredded carrots, zucchini, and green cabbage to the fry pan and stir (Do NOT add the sprouts! They are tender and should be added almost right before you serve the dish). Then add the sauce. Stir the sauce as you pour it so that the agave nectar or peanut butter doesn't settle to the bottom. Stir all the veg and sauce together and continue to saute.

Stir and saute the veg until it has been reduced, and the zucchini is see-through. At this point the brown rice fettuccine or spaghetti noodles need to be cooking, according to their package directions.

Add the cut bok choy, and the bean sprouts, stir, and saute.

While the remainder of your veg and noodles are cooking, cut up your tofu. I use pre-baked and marinated, teriyaki flavor tofu. It is organic, and yummy!

Slice it width-wise first, and then stack the slices on top of each other. I like to slice them diagonally for a more authentic look, but you may choose to slice them into cubes or whatever shape you like your protein to be in.

And then throw it all together! Your pasta, veg, and tofu.

Serve warm with egg rolls, or garden rolls. (I hope to have a post soon on rice paper garden rolls with raw veggies, and a Passion Peanut sauce.)


Thai Noodles
From Mary McDougall's Recipe Index, or from The Starch Solution by John McDougall.

Note from Ashlee: Sometimes I will use an entire 16 ounce bag of pasta (I use brown rice pasta). Because I added more veggies than Mary originally calls for, you may need to double the sauce. I recommend you add the original amount called for in the recipe, and then after you have put your entire dish together, add more sauce to suit your individual tastes. Keep in mind that the longer you simmer the added sauce, the more flavors will blend with the veggies. AND the spices (chili sauce) will also get hotter and have more kick. Saute everything with these thoughts in mind.

Note from Mary: This is a wonderful meal for hot summer nights because it requires minimal cooking and it may be made completely ahead of time and served cold or at room temperature. It also keeps well in a cooler so it is a great picnic food.


Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

12-16 ounces linguini or spaghetti noodles, I use brown rice noodles (broken in half)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup natural peanut butter, creamy
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1-2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce (see hints)(Mary McDougall usually uses sambal oelek)
¼ teaspoon sesame oil (optional-see hints)
3 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 ½ cups mung bean sprouts
1 ½ cups shredded carrots
And I add these additional veggies:
1 1/2 cups cut and coined zucchini
1 whole bok choy, washed, cut, and greens removed
1 cup shredded green cabbage
7-14 ounces baked seasoned tofu, thinly sliced
chopped cilantro
chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions:

Prepare noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, combine the agave nectar, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili-garlic sauce and the sesame oil in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside. Place the broth in a non-stick frying pan with the onions, garlic and ginger. Cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes. Add the sauce, mix well and heat through. Add carrots, zucchini, and shredded cabbage, mix well to incorporate, and saute until tender-crisp. Add the bean sprouts, bok choy and tofu and toss again to mix. Serve warm or at room temperature. Let each person add chopped cilantro and/or chopped peanuts, if desired.

Hints: Rice vinegar and chili garlic sauce may be found in most supermarkets in the oriental section. One brand of chili-garlic sauce is made by Huy Fong Foods. It is quite spicy, so you may need to adjust the amount used according to your tastes. I use a small amount of sesame oil in this recipe for the unique taste it adds to foods. It may be omitted, if desired. This dish keeps well in the refrigerator and may also be served cold. This is great to fix on those busy evenings when everyone is eating at different times because it tastes best at room temperature.



I hope you try it, and I hope you love!!



Question:

What is your favorite dairy-free pasta dish?

Baked Rice Pudding

One of the sweetest things is when my kids have requests that I make them certain foods.

First of all, they ask me so nicely! And second, it lets me know for sure that they really like that particular food.

Rice pudding is on their top ten favorites list of breakfast foods (yes, they love it for BREAKFAST!). And for the last couple of days, it's what they've been requesting.

It is a great way to get your kids familiar with brown rice, and also helps use up rice leftovers from a previous meal. I have a rice maker and make rice in batches of about 4 cups at a time. Rice (cooked) is easily frozen and then thawed for more use later.

I modified this recipe from Mary McDougall after a few trial runs. I only add 1/2 cup of dried fruit, where she adds 1 whole cup; it just seemed like their were more raisins than rice! In the above picture I used craisins and dates, but only because I didn't have any raisins. Raisins are definitely our favorite dried fruit to add. But get creative and add whatever dried fruit is your fave. And if it's just for the adults in the house, you may want to add a few chopped walnuts for crunch.

Don't forget, or decide to skip, bringing the mixture to boil on the stove-top before baking it. I have done this and it makes the rice less plump, more runny (in the above pic the pudding is quite thick, I added the extra milk after baking), and increases the baking time by 2-3X. It's totally worth bringing it to a boil! I actually just stuck my 13X9 glass baking pan right on top of the stove and brought it to a boil, then transferred it to the oven.

I hope you enjoy it, it's dairy free, gluten free, very low in fat, is a whole grain, and depending on what milk you use, it can be nut or soy free. Here are some of the milks I had in my fridge yesterday.

Part of our GO DAIRY FREE series, and PROJECT VEGAN KIDS.

BAKED RICE PUDDING
Modified from Mary McDougall's online Recipe Index

Note from Mary: We have been enjoying rice pudding in assorted variations for many years. We made this one a few nights ago and really enjoyed it. Check out the “hints” for different serving ideas. We would consider this a healthy dessert, the less sugar used, the healthier it is.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes (cooked rice needed)
Cooking Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4-6

3 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups soy or rice milk
1/2 cup dried fruit
3 teaspoons brown sugar (you may need to add a little more for your kids)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in an oven-proof pot. Heat to just boiling. Remove from heat, stir and place uncovered in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Hints: Serve in individual bowls with extra soy or rice milk to pour over the pudding and/or brown sugar to sprinkle on top. This may also be baked in individual bowls. Baking time will be reduced by about half. Different kinds of fruit may be used such as raisins, currents, dried cranberries, or chopped apricots or dates. This may also be served cold or at room temperature.