Recipe - Orange Peach Mango Dressing

I've been experimenting with salad dressings lately.  This recipe is a winner!  It tastes similar to the mango dressing at my favorite fast food restaurant, Costa Vida.  Super easy and super fast.  Oh, baby!

Make sure to use the real fruit.  If it isn't in season, use frozen fruit, not canned.  It makes about 3 cups of dressing.

Orange Peach Mango Dressing

INGREDIENTS

1	cup sliced peaches, peeled
1	cup sliced mangos, peeled
1	cup orange juice
1/2	cup red wine vinegar
1	Tbls grated fresh ginger

INSTRUCTIONS

1.	Blend until smooth. If needed, add water for a desirable consistency. Refrigerate unused portion.

Recipe - Vegan Fajitas

Don't let the name of this recipe scare you off.  A vegan dish does not imply any kind of declaration.  And if you want, sour cream and/or cheese can be added.

This dish was so good!  I didn't eat it with a tortilla, but rather with corn chips.  My husband ate one tortilla and for his second helping, switched to the chips.  He liked it both ways.  The red wine vinegar really gives it the right kind of zing.

Vegan Fajitas

INGREDIENTS

1/2	cup vegetable broth
1/4	cup red wine vinegar
1	teaspoon dried oregano
1	teaspoon chili powder
	garlic salt to taste
	salt and pepper to taste
1	teaspoon white sugar
2	small zucchini, julienned
2	medium small yellow squash, julienned
1	large onion, sliced
1	green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1	red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2	tablespoons olive oil
1	(8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1	(15 ounce) can black beans, drained Tortillas or chips

INSTRUCTIONS

1.	In a large bowl combine broth, vinegar, oregano, chili powder, garlic salt, salt, pepper and sugar. To the marinade add the zucchini, yellow squash, onion, green pepper and red pepper. Marinate vegetables in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but not more than 24 hours.
2.	Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the vegetables and saute until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the corn and beans; increase the heat to high for 5 minutes, to brown vegetables.

Recipe - Gluten Free Wheat Thins

Here is a yummy cracker to make with the leftover almond pulp from making almond milk.  I've always hated throwing that away, and now there is a great way to use it.  The first time I made it, I hadn't made almond milk but had some almond pulp from a previous time that I had dried.  I moistened it and it worked really well.  I don't think finely ground almond flour would work, but almonds ground in a food processor would.

Wheat Thins

INGREDIENTS

1	cup firmly packed almond pulp
2	tablespoons golden flaxmeal
1	tablespoon grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
1/2	teaspoon celtic sea salt
1	tablespoon honey

INSTRUCTIONS

1.	Combine all ingredients in a large bowl
2.	Roll dough into a ball, press between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll to 1/4-inch thickness
3.	Remove top piece of parchment paper
4.	Transfer the bottom piece with rolled out dough onto baking sheet
5.	Cut dough into 2-inch squares with a knife or pizza cutter
6.	Bake (or dry in dehydrator) at 135° for at least 20 hours (yes, 20 hours), or until crunchy
7.	Let crackers come to room temperature on baking sheet, then serve.

Recipe - Homemade Nutella

This recipe comes from Po Papa Joe's blog.

The hardest part about making this recipe is "skinning" the hazelnuts.  It isn't really hard, but takes a little time.  The product is a little different from commercial Nutella.  It is less sweet, but the taste of the hazelnut is more pronounced. I made two batches for my son-in-law for his birthday, and in his opinion, it tastes better because of it.

Nutella

INGREDIENTS

To skin hazelnuts
2	cups boiling water
3	tablespoons baking soda
1.5	cup hazelnuts
To make Nutella
1 1/2	cups Hazelnuts - peeled and toasted
1/2	raw cashews
1/2	cup Coconut Oil
1	cup Powdered Sugar
1/2	cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1 1/2	teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2	teaspoon kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

To skin hazelnuts
1.	Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit Mix together the water and baking soda and bring to a boil in a medium saucepan (the water will foam up). Add the nuts and boil for 3 minutes. It's normal for the water to turn black. While the hazelnuts are boiling, prepare a medium bowl of ice cold water. After three minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove one test nut, placing the nut into the prepared bowl of ice water. Use your fingers to remove the skin, if the skin doesn’t come off easily, boil the nuts 1-2 minutes longer and try another test nut. When a test skin rubs off easily rinse the rest of the nuts in cold water and peel them by rubbing them together between your hands. Dry the hazelnuts and then spread them on a cookie sheet along with 1/2 cup of raw cashews and toast them for about 15 minutes.
To make Nutella
1.	Using a blender or a food processor blend the hazelnuts and cashews until they form a paste then add the remaining ingredients and continue blending, scraping down the sides as necessary, until it is as smooth as possible.
2.	Transfer your amazing homemade deliciousness into a sealable jar and store it in your pantry for up to 2 weeks (if you can possibly make it last that long).

Recipe - PB&J Bites

Sometimes a sweet snack is just the thing to hit the spot.  This week I discovered The Chef and the Dietitian.  Two ladies who are vegan and cook without oil, salt, or sugar.  This was one of their recipes.  It is quick, easy, and has 4 ingredients. If you want to see them making these little treats, go here.

PB&J Bites

INGREDIENTS

1	cup unsalted peanuts
1	cup pitted dates
1	cup unsweetened dried cherries
1	Tbls vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1.	In food processor with S blade, process peanuts into powder. Add dates and cherries and process until it can be easily formed into a ball. Add vanilla and process briefly. Roll into balls or place in a silicone brownie mold pan.

Recipe - Tin Foil Dinner

There is nothing new in a tin foil dinner.  (Okay, technically an aluminum foil dinner.)  Campers have been eating them for a very long time, cooked in the coals of the fire.

A few nights ago we had this dinner.  No meat.  Potatoes, carrots, red onion, zucchini, Mrs. Dash spice blend, a few little slivers of butter on top.  Wrapped it in 3-4 layers of foil and grilled it on the top rack of the grill for about 40 minutes.

It was so delicious!  I wish I had put a bit of garlic on it.  Next time maybe a few more vegetables.  The biggest problem was wrapping it, because of the amount of food.  So I alternated which direction the foil went and got it all covered with 4 layers.  Maybe a bigger sized foil next time?

It would be a delicious dish to go with Black Bean Burgers, but it was all we had and was enough.

Recipe - Black Bean Veggie Burger

Have you ever tried the black bean burgers at Costco?  They taste very nummy.  One of our quick meals recently was one of these burger patties and some baked potato wedges.  Very satisfying.

Well, this recipe tastes like those black bean burgers.  So fast and easy.  I baked one in the oven, and it was perfect.  The others I tried grilling, but forgot to oil the aluminum foil.  BIG mistake.  They still tasted good, but stuck mightily to the foil.  We scraped them off and ate them anyway.  One nephew ate 2 burgers using 3 patties.

This is going in a regular rotation at my house!

4/2/13 Additional information: I just read of a family who eats bean burgers on a regular basis - with a twist.  Instead of cooking them like regular burger patties and putting them on buns, they spread some of the "burger dough" on a tortilla, throw it in the oven (or toaster oven or on the grill) set at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  When it is finished cooking, just add the other ingredients - tomatoes, onions, ketchup, lettuce, etc.  It sounds delicious and less messy.  This is the way we are going to eat these next.

Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers

INGREDIENTS

1	(16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2	green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2	onion, cut into wedges
3	cloves garlic, peeled
3	eggs
1	tablespoon chili powder
1	tablespoon cumin
1	teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
1/2	cup bread crumbs (or use cracker crumbs)

INSTRUCTIONS

1.	If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2.	In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3.	In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4.	In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5.	Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6.	If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.