Roasted pepper Greek Fusilli Pasta

Delicious Roasted Pepper Greek Fusilli Pasta with Kalamata Olives and Fresh Vegetables

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A very simple yet elegant dish that will tantalize your taste buds.  Your family will think you've slaved away in the kitchen preparing this delicious Greek dish with roasted peppers, fresh vegetables and whole grain pasta.  This dish combines very simple ingredients with a homemade parmesan cheese that really adds to the flavor of the roasted peppers and simple whole grain pasta.

I have been so busy lately I haven't had much time to think, let alone sit down and post another recipe.  Today I am short on time but I wanted to post a quick recipe to add to your delicious recipe collection this week.

Hubby and I are celebrating our 15 year wedding anniversary so I will be gone for the next couple of days.  I will be eating out and enjoying being pampered in a hotel. 

Okay, so back to the recipe.  Hubby got home late Monday night and wanted a bowl of cereal, he poured his FAVORITE cereal and then I pulled out leftovers just wanting him to try it to see if he thought this simple recipe was blog worthy and he LOVED IT!  He ate quite a bit of the leftovers and then stuffed himself with the cereal since he had already poured on the soymilk.

This delicious vegan Greek pasta recipe can be made very quickly, tossed together on a whim so save this one for when you are short on time.  You can prepare all the ingredients at the same time, roast the peppers while boiling pasta and sauteeing veggies so really it should only take about 20 minutes to get this delicious pasta dish on the table.

Vegan Gluten Free Black Bean & Cheese Ravioli in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

The Ultimate in Gourmet Vegan & Gluten Free Cuisine......

Vegan, Gluten Free Black Bean & Cheese Ravioli in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce!

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I hope to see you there!

Gourmet handmade gluten free ravioli filled with a delicious black bean and cheese mixture, topped with a delicious roasted red bell pepper sauce with the perfect blend of spices and fresh basil.  This dish does take a little bit more time to prepare but it is absolutely AMAZING!  It is a definite crowd pleaser.  If you are hosting a dinner party and want to impress your guests, this is the perfect dish!

You'll have to forgive the photo, I made this at my mom's house and I forgot to bring along my nice camera.......This is a cell phone camera picture but I think you can still get the idea of how amazing this dish was!

My kids like to eat the ravioli plain, without any sauce.  Yes, it is actually that good.

I was really worried that the gluten free ravioli would not hold together.  You just drop it in boiling water so you can imagine how worried I was that I'd have a HUGE mess on my hands if the ravioli came apart and released a whole slew of black bean and cheese filling all over in the pan.  Much to my surprise the ravioli came out perfectly, and it floats to the top when done just like regular ravioli.

You can fill this ravioli with ANYTHING you want.  You could use ground tempeh sausage, cheese sauce, ground bean burgers, spinach and tofu ricotta, whatever sounds good to you!

I know haven't posted in awhile but we took an amazing vacation down south away from all the cold, snow and ice!  It was AMAZING to enjoy the warm sun for a change.  We went swimming and hiking through Zion National Park and had a wonderful time.  I had a short break from blogging but I am back and creating more delicious recipes!

Yesterday I was practically in tears as I got a jump start in the kitchen again......

Yes, even those of us who know our way around the kitchen can still make some real blunders!

I wanted to make some amazing, delicious gluten free cinnamon rolls.  This is definitely on my to do list.  Well, I rinsed out the bowl I had made mashed potatoes in and began making my cinnamon roll dough when much to my shock and horror I smelled GARLIC!!!!!! 

My amazing cinnamon roll dough wreaked of my garlic mashed potatoes!  Yes, they were completely RUINED!

Well, I had to have Sunday dessert so I started on a new venture.....Gluten free Blondie Brownies.

Well, unfortunately I did not check the oven temp and of course it was set to 400 degrees which dried out the blondies!  Seriously!  Well, my son ended up eating the whole pan saying they made delicious gluten free graham crackers..... That is NOT what I was going for!  Oh well, after a few minutes of sheer frustration I made some banana ice cream, crumbled up the crispy over baked blondies and that was dessert!

Gluten free cinnamon rolls are still on my to do list and I promise, some day soon I will be posting the most amazing, moist cinnamon rolls you've ever had.  But until then......Enjoy the ravioli.

Gluten free Homemade Black Bean Ravioli and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Serves 6

Fluffy Gluten Free Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits

The Biggest, Fluffiest Gluten Free, Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits.......EVER!

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These are the most delectable, light, fluffy gluten free & vegan buttermilk biscuits you will ever try!  They have a very light, melt in your mouth texture and make an amazing companion for your favorite dinner!  If you are sick and tired of crumbly gluten free breads you will LOVE these biscuits!  They hold together perfectly and are extremely soft in texture!

The dough holds together well and is very easy to work with!   This gluten free, vegan buttermilk biscuit recipe is the easiest gluten free quick bread recipe I have ever made.    My family LOVED these biscuits!  My husband who is not gluten free really enjoyed these as well and he is an absolute bread LOVER, he is extremely picky about the texture of his bread. 

I have to admit these are not low fat and do contain Earth Balance however, in baking gluten free breads you absolutely MUST use a fat or the bread will be hard and crumbly.  I tried to minimize the amount of oil in this recipe to obtain the desired soft texture without using too much.

If you are tired of rubbery bread you can certainly use these biscuits for sandwiches or for your veggie burgers.  The gluten free vegan biscuits are very versatile, enjoy!

I have been so busy lately I have not had a lot of time to get the newsletter out or to create recipes in the kitchen.  I am hoping that life will settle down a bit and allow me to get back into the kitchen.   I still have a couple recipes waiting for the blog. 

Gluten free, vegan black bean ravioli I really want to get a better picture of the plain ravioli so you can see how absolutely beautiful it is!

I really want to dedicate some time to emphasizing the imporance of fermented foods.  I know that has been a very popular subject in the natural health world lately, however, most fermented recipes are NOT vegan!  I personally believe that dairy based fermented foods may be better than their regular counterpart, however, I do not believe that any milk whether human or cow is good for weaned children or adults!  There are natural growth hormones in milk, including human milk, that are designed to promote the rapid growth of the infant and these hormones are NOT good for us!

With that in mind, I plan to continue expanding my fermented food recipes so you can include them in your daily diet.   Hopefully I will be able to put together an entire fermented food class very soon so you can learn everything you need to know about making dairy free kefir, water kefir, dairy free yogurt, sauerkraut, kim chee, rejuvelac, cheeses and much more!  Okay on to today's recipe........

Please let me know if you have any questions you'd like answered, recipes you would like created or anything else, I'd love to hear from you!

Gluten Free, Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes 12 biscuits

**DO NOT ROLL WITH ROLLING PIN!

Press dough into a circle with hands until 1/2" thick and cut with glass cup or biscuit cutter. Place in a round cake pan or baking pan. Bake 400 for 12 minutes.

Don't miss out on these amazing, fluffy vegan and gluten free biscuits!

Please let me know how you enjoy these biscuits in the comments!

Vegan Tempeh sausage Gumbo in honor of Mardi Gras

Delicious Vegan Spicy Tempeh Sausage Gumbo

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I hope to see you there!

Savory, spicy tempeh sausage graces this rich and delicious vegan version of gumbo.  This vegan gumbo is flavored with a delicious mix of spices, lots of veggies as well as a homemade spicy vegan sausage and my famous sunburgers.

The spiciness of this dish can easily be adjusted according to your personal taste.  My family cannot even handle the spiciness of a garlic clove so I made this dish without the hot sauce, chili flakes and cayenne for them and then I added the spice for me.  You can give it just a little kick or you can pour on the hot sauce, however you like your gumbo!  This gumbo has a lovely flavor without the spice if you have a sensitive mouth like my family.

I must admit, I have NEVER tasted gumbo before in my life!

So you'll have to forgive me if it does not have the authentic flavor you are used to.  I researched a lot of gumbo recipes and I must admit there is a WIDE variation in ingredients.  Some used canned tomatoes and tomato paste, some didn't use any tomatoes!  It was hard to create a genuine recipe with such a wide variation among recipes so I tried to come up with the best of all recipes in my version.

My husband had quite a few cankers when I made this recipe and that is the reason I did not use any tomatoes because they sting his mouth when he has cankers.  If you want to add a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies to this recipe I think it would add an excellent flavor!  Play with the recipe and see what you like.

My family LOVED this recipe!  Even my kids really enjoyed this recipe.  It has a delicious, subtle flavor and then you add the amount of kick you like, it is so easy to make.

 

Up coming Recipes you DON'T want to miss.....

 

HUGE fluffy vegan & gluten free buttermilk biscuits

 

HUGE vegan & gluten free cinnamon rolls

 

Vegan & gluten free black bean ravioli in a roasted red bell pepper cream sauce

 

and much more.......

Delicious Vegan Valentine Dinner Menu

Delicious Vegan Sausage Stuffed Gluten Free Seitan Valentine Dinner Menu

If you would like to continue following my work please visit my new site:  http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there!

The most amazing vegan valentine dinner featured delicious, hickory smoked vegan sausage smothered in homemade mozzarella cheese sauce rolled up in gluten free seitan sitting in a bed of fettucinni topped with a delicious garlic rosemary cream sauce.

My husband kept eating this until he said he was so full he felt sick!  He ended up over-eating on the delicious gluten free brownies and chocolate mint ice cream I made as well, it was certainly a button popping valentines dinner!

My kids LOVED this meal and have been eating the leftovers the past couple of days.  I was really trying to think of something special to make for my husband for valentines day and I was having a hard time.  I asked the kids what they thought would be good and of course I got responses like, "noodles and sweet and sour sauce"  or "pasta" 

I hate to admit that I was frustrated with their answers, but I really needed some inspiration.  I looked through some food websites and saw a lot of 'stuffed' style recipes and knowing my husband LOVES Italian flavors this recipe idea came to mind.  I had NO idea how this was going to turn out but much to my surprise it turned out delicious!   I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.








Gluten Free Seitan

2/3 c. water

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans

1/2 c. nutritional yeast

1/4 c. potato starch

1/2 c. orgran gluten substitute

1 1/2 Tb. egg replacer

3 Tb. cornstarch

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sage

2 Tb. parsley

2 1/2 Tb. tamari

1 tsp. rosemary

2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 c. minced dried onion

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. liquid smoke

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. marjoram

dash black pepper

Blend water and garbanzo beans until liquified. Transfer garbanzo paste into a bowl and add spices and nutritional yeast first, then add the flours, gluten substitute and other thickeners. Stir until thick dough forms.   Roll out entire recipe on wax paper into a large oval shape.
 
Spread the white cheddar sauce down the center 1/3rd of the seitan, then spread the tempeh sausage on top of the cheese sauce and top with the chopped spinach.   Roll each side of the seitan over the filling with the wax paper and then put in a steamer basket or use a large stock pot filled with 1-2 inches of water with a large metal sieve/strainer inside place the seitan roll inside the metal strainer [not in the water] cover the pot and steam on high for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Peel off the wax paper and place the seitan roll on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Slice the seitan roll into 1 inch slices.
 
Garlic Rosemary Cream Sauce
 
2 c. water
1/2 c. cashews
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. nutritional yeast
 
Blend until creamy.  Pour in a saucepan and warm over medium heat until sauce thickens.
 
Serve:  Place a serving of fetuccini on a plate, put a slice of stuffed seitan on the fetuccini and then top with the garlic rosemary cream sauce and more of the white cheddar cheese if desired.

Delicious Dairy Free Seven Layer Dip

Dairy-free Vegan Seven Layer Dip

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I hope to see you there!

This hearty seven layer dip was the hit of the party on superbowl Sunday.  My dad was a little skeptical about a dairy free seven layer dip.  However, when he dipped his first chip in for a taste he said, this doesn't have cheese?  Nope.

This delicious dairy free seven layer dip does feature a delicious vegan cheese sauce that compliments the flavors of the dip perfectly. 

As you can see the dip didn't even last for a photo before people started digging in!

We had an amazing superbowl Sunday menu, unfortunately I did not get photos of the entire spread.  Here is a teaser preview of what we had.  I will post the recipes for everything we ate in the coming weeks:

• Fruit tray with a delicious poppy seed dip
• Vegetable platter
• Gluten free seitan buffalo wings
• Seitan buffalo wings
• Healthy Hostess style gluten free cupcakes
• Potato chips with creamy dip

If you want a gluten free seitan recipe let me know in the comments!

I have created a delicious gluten free seitan recipe that will work prefectly for any recipe you would normally use seitan in.  I want to see how much interest there is in a gluten free seitan substitute.  I have seen a few on the internet but they seem complicated, time consuming and the review do not indicate that these seitan substitutes taste as well as people would like.

Okay, so on to the feature recipe.......dairy free, vegan seven layer dip

Dairy Free Brownie Mint Ice Cream

Dairy Free Brownie Mint Ice Cream

If you would like to continue following my work please visit my new site:  http://www.plantbasednutritionista.com

I hope to see you there!

 Rich, creamy, decadent brownie mint ice cream recipe that does NOT need an ice cream maker!   My kids were frantically scooping this minty treat into their cups and fighting over who was getting more.  The best secret about this delicious ice cream......it contains spinach.  Shhhhh don't tell the kiddos, they'll never know.

I have been participating in a 30 day boot camp that requires me to consume two green smoothies a day and I thought I'd make it into a delicious dessert and get some greens into my kids at the same time.  The idea for this delicious ice cream was born and it is a delicious green smoothie/dessert all in one!

**Don't let the spinach in this recipe scare you off....   

The only thing the spinach gives to this recipe is the amazing green color which goes perfect with its mint flavor.  Kids expect mint ice cream to be green, use that to your advantage and get some greens in those kiddos.

Unfortunately I think I ate a little too much of this ice cream, this ice cream could easily grace any dessert table and yet it is healthy and can be easily made without any refined sweeteners at all.

I have been striving to reduce the amount of refined sugar we eat in this house.  

Just as a clarification my definition of refined sugar includes:

• agave nectar
• maple syrup
• turbinado sugar
• succanut
• brown rice syrup
• coconut or palm sugar
• honey
•  

Any sweetener that is a concentrated source of sugars that is NOT the original WHOLE plant!  Yes, this recipe does contain some maple syrup but you can certainly leave it out and use more dates.  

Of course I would never use white sugar in any form, however, I do not use concentrated sweeteners and consider them whole foods, because the reality is, they are NOT!


They contain very little or no fiber, no protein, no fat, very minimal vitamins or minerals and do NOT grow on trees, plants or in the ground therefore they are NOT whole foods.  Dates and other dried fruits are the only whole food sweeteners available.  Eventually I would like to reserve all concentrated sweeteners for special occasions only and right now we are quickly moving in that direction.


I hope you enjoy this delicious Green Smoothie/Dessert Recipe!

Nutrition Profile for 1 serving of this Dairy Free Brownie Mint Ice Cream Recipe

Calories.............167

Protein.......... 3.1g

Omega 3's........10%

Vit. A...........43%

Folate............11%

B 6................28%

Vit. C.........14%

Vit. D........11%

Vit. K........49%

Calcium........10%

Iron.........5%

Magnesium.....16%

Manganese.....37%

Zinc.....8%

***The above ice cream has an excellent nutritional profile and even contains nearly the same amount of calcium and protein as cows milk ice cream!

Surprised?

Traditional Chocolate Ice Cream Nutrient Profile in 1/2 c. serving

 

Calories.............188

Protein.......... 3.5g

Omega 3's........10%

Vit. A...........23%

Folate............1%

B 6................2%

Vit. C.........0%

Vit. D........4%

Vit. K........1%

Calcium........11%

Iron.........4%

Magnesium.....7%

Manganese.....7%

Zinc.....6%