Friday, September 30, 2011

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Recipe

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

Enjoy this delicious heart breakfast recipe that enhances your breakfast oatmeal with delicious pumpkin and spices.  My daughter usually turns up her nose at oatmeal for breakfast, however add some pumpkin and cinnamon and low and behold she licks the bowl clean.

If you are looking for an amazing hearty breakfast on a cold fall morning this is definitely one that will keep you warm and satisfied all morning long.

Fall is one of my favorite times of year, I love the cooler weather after the hot summer, I love the beautiful fall leaves the decorate the mountains and of course I LOVE traditional fall flavors.    Pumpkin pie, fresh apple pie, carmel apples, warm hearty breakfasts and soup and breadsticks.

My kids generally enjoy basic foods like veggie burgers and fries, chocolate chip cookies and pasta but I am hoping I will be able to branch out a bit and create some fall desserts that they will enjoy without chocolate chips.  Last night I improvised and added chopped pear to their usual chocolate chip cookies and they turned out delicious!  Hopefully the successes will keep on coming.

My dad has commissioned me, or rather asked me, to create a dessert for him tommorrow.  I will be making a cheesecake with fresh peach and blueberries baked in with a traditional pie crust.  Stay tuned, I think this recipe will blow you away!

Well, enough rambling and on to the delicious pumpkin pie spiced oatmeal.......Enjoy!

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Monday, September 26, 2011

Gluten Free Tempeh Sausage Vegetable Lasagna Recipe

Tempeh Sausage Vegetable Lasagna Recipe


Delicious, gluten free vegetable lasagna with a rich cheesy topping.  This recipe features the seasons most abundant vegetable....zucchini.    The zucchini is thinly sliced into delicious noodles in this simple, yet tasty dish.  I was a little hesitant when serving this to my kids because they are die hard pasta fans. 

My husbands favorite meal is lasagna so this was definitely a brave feat to serve my family a lasagna, sans pasta.  I was pleasantly surprised that they all really enjoyed the lasagna without the noodles.  You can certainly use whole wheat or gluten free lasagna noodles in this recipe if you are less adventurous :-D

This is an easy way to get rid of the HUGE bounty of zucchini that most gardners have in the fall.  Enjoy!








Layer the lasagna in an 8X8 baking dish. Start with a small amount of marinara on the bottom, then 1/2 the zucchini noodles, top with 1/2 ricotta, tempeh and spinach. Then pour on more marinara and layer again, top with cheese sauce. Bake 375 for 30-40 minutes. It is done when the cheese on top is hardened and lightly brown around the edges.

**The cream sauce will thicken up during cooking.



Monday, September 19, 2011

Tofu and Vegetable Curry recipe with an Orange twist

Tofu Orange Vegetable Curry Recipe

Delicious mild curry spices flavor this delicious tofu, lentil and vegetable dish with a little orange surprise.  This curry contains a delicious array of spices and has a delicious mild flavor for those who don't like spicy dishes but it features a full flavor the whole family will enjoy.

Okay, so you are probably wondering what in the world orange wedges are doing in curry.  Well....honestly I have no idea but I can tell you that they are DELICIOUS!  You can eat the whole orange, rind and all and the curry flavor on the orange is definitely a must try experience!  The slight, sweet flavor of the orange in the curry creates a divine flavor in this dish.  I really wanted to create a meal that was different and yet somewhat familiar. 

Will kids eat it?  I was worried because my daughter is quite picky but she LOVED this curry!  Both of my kids devoured this and asked for more.  Even my traditional pasta and veggie burger loving husband really loved this meal.  I asked him if this was a blog worthy recipe and he said, absolutely!  So here it is, I am sharing this amazing, yet, different curry dish for you to try.

Do not judge by its odd ingredients, it is a definite keeper recipe and I'm sure you will make it often.  Another perk of this curry recipe, it is easy to prepare.  It is a one-pot meal, easy clean up! 

Tofu Vegetable Orange Curry




**If you would like to cut the cooking time in half you can use pre-cooked brown rice or instant brown rice and cook for 20 minutes. If you use pre-cooked or instant rice cut the water down to 1 1/2 cups.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Low sugar, low fat Tropical Berry Granola Bar Recipe

Oil-Free Tropical Berry Granola Bar Recipe or
Granola Cereal Recipe

This Tropical Berry granola recipe features a delicious combination of pineapple and dried blueberries with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla.  They come out of the oven warm and chewy and make an excellent afternoon snack.

This recipe can be made into delicious bars, or you can crumble them and make it into a delicious morning granola cereal.  This granola recipe is low in fat and does not contain any added oil.  These were very popular in my house, in fact when I came into the kitchen I caught my son with an entire plate full of these granola bars.  I had to make him put about 6 of them back and only eat one.  Yes, they are that good!

My kids are always complaining that we do not have snacks around the house and it is true, I do not buy any boxed or packaged junk food snacks and so they are usually snacking on apples, pears, peaches, bananas, grapes and whole grain toast.  Their friends think we are crazy because there are no goldfish crackers or doritos in our house.  So I decided to create a delicious, easy to prepare snack that the kids would love and this granola recipe more than delivered!  Unfortunately they don't last long around here so I end up in the kitchen making snacks more often.

We do not buy packaged granola bars or granola cereal because they are made with refined oils and a HIGH amount of sugar!  Granola is often thought of as a healthy snack when in reality it is extremely high in fat and sugar.  When creating this recipe I really wanted a healthy snack low in sugar and fat.  The applesauce, pineapple and liquid stevia really make this a delicious sweet treat.

This granola recipe does not contain any refined sugar!

**NOTE:  If you do not have or do not want to purchase the sweetleaf stevia, which I HIGHLY recommed you do but if  you do not want to you can substitute a couple teaspoons of powdered stevia or a few Tb. of coconut sugar.

Sweetleaf stevia is about $11 per bottle but it will last probably 3-5 years because you only use a few drops per recipe.  You can just purchase the vanilla or the cinnamon and use only one flavor instead of both if you would like.

Enjoy!

Tropical Berry Granola Recipe




**To make granola cereal, crumble on a non-stick baking sheet and reduce the length of baking by 2-3 minutes.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Summer Tomato Basil Vegetable Soup

Summer Harvest Tomato Basil Vegetable Soup Recipe



Recipe Entered in the Wellness Weekend at Diet Dessert n Dogs
Click Here to Check it Out
Fall Harvest Begins with a beautiful tomato basil soup full of garden fresh vegetables in a rich tomato sauce infused with italian seasoning and basil.  Last week we had a beautiful crisp cool evening that inspired me to create a delicious, warm fall soup utilizing the beautiful harvest from the summer garden.

This soup is so easy to make and it is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!  It is a very warming fall soup and yet it is still light enough for warmer evenings as well.  I think it makes the perfect soup for the changing weather.  This is the type of recipe I turn to when I do not have time or I do not feel like spending hours in the kitchen slaving over a hot stove to make dinner.  If you are one who wants to throw it all in pot, stir it up and serve it.....this is YOUR recipe!



Friday, September 2, 2011

Vegan Enchilada Recipe

Amazing Vegan Enchilada Recipe






Delicious vegan enchiladas filled with lentil and rice crumbles flavored with enchilada seasonings and tofu sour cream.  Rolled up in soft sprouted wheat or brown rice tortillas topped with homemade enchilada sauce, rich homemade cheese, sour cream and guacamole.

This delicious recipe can easily be made gluten free by using ezekiel brown rice tortillas or homemade gluten free tortillas.    I created this enchilada recipe to serve my parents and family when they came to visit.  Everyone raved over the enchiladas!  They are very simple to make but have a delicious restaraunt quality flavor.

As I was making this recipe I noticed I did not have one drop of lemon juice in the house!  Lemon juice is a key ingredient in tofu or cashew sour cream.  The filling was made, the tortillas were purchased and laying out so there was no turning back.  I stood there staring into the fridge thinking what can I do to fix this.  I saw the lime juice and thought well it's the next best thing so I'll give it a try.  The sour cream turned out AMAZING!

*** Note: If you don't have lemon juice, lime juice works amazing in the sour cream too!

The things you learn when you are forced to find a different way.