I’m all about the broccoli cheddar combo, as you may remember from my Broccoli Cheddar Latkes found HERE. I adore all things mini and love nothing more than a great tasting perfectly sized appetizer.
Ingredients:
2 heads of broccoli
2 eggs
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of cream cheese
1 1/4 cups of bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Directions:
Steam broccoli. Once soft, place in large mixing bowl and mash together. Add eggs, cream cheese, 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper. Mix well until combined. Wet your hands and shape the broccoli mixture into balls, about the size of falafel balls/walnuts. (about 1 tablespoon of broccoli mixture) Dip the balls into the remaining bread crumbs, then place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Spray cooking oil on top of balls then bake on 375′ for about 20 to 25 minutes until slightly crispy. Serve several balls on skewers or individually on a platter with a combo of mayo and ketchup on the side.
*Tips&Tricks: You can also use the broccoli mixture to make a quiche. Simply put the mixture in a prepared pie crust and bake for about 45 minutes. Or make mini pies with it! Top pies with bread crumbs and extra shredded cheddar cheese.For those of you cheese lovers, wrap the broccoli mixture around cheddar cubes for a super cheesy filling!
Ingredients:
12. oz tortellini pasta (I used frozen sun-dried tomato tortellini)
2 tablespoons earth balance buttery spread (non dairy)
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups soy milk
2 tablespoons pesto sauce (I use the Dorot frozen cubes. 1 cube = 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
12 oz. artichoke hearts
Directions:
Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Once cooked, remove from water and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of water and set aside. Heat up earth balance in a large pot until melted. Add the flour and whisk together until smooth and combined. Add the milk and whisk together until smooth and combined. Continue to whisk together until thickened. Add the pesto and season with salt, pepper and garlic. Drain the artichokes and add to the sauce and whisk together with sauce. Once nice and thick, turn off heat and add the pasta into the sauce. Mix together and serve with freshly chopped basil and red pepper flakes. (optional, for those that like it spicy!)
*Tips&Tricks: If you do not like artichokes, you can replace them with wilted spinach, sauteed mushrooms and onions, or simply stick with pasta. You can also swap the tortellini for your favorite pasta! If you want to make this dairy, simple use butter instead of the earth balance and use milk or heavy cream instead of soy milk. If serving this dairy, be sure to add some parmesan on top after it’s cooked. There is nothing like yummy fresh grated parmesan!
I love anything breaded and fried that can be eaten with your fingers and dipped into ketchup, or garlic mayo or honey mustard dipping sauce. Or ketchup. Since I don’t like to fry things up in my kitch, I’m forever on a quest to find out whether or not {insert fried food here} tastes good baked. Baked potato fries are totally delish. Same goes for baked schnitzel. Baked Cauliflower? Yum. Next up on the baked taste test were onion rings. I baked them in an herb crusted coating of bread crumbs and fresh lemon basil (which smells amazing! I’m obsessed with it. I throw it in pasta dishes, salsa, and bread crumbs for a great fresh kick of flavor)
The verdict? Crispy and delicious! The outside is crunchy but the onion is still tender which makes for a great combo! It was hard to save enough for the photo. I kept stealing some from the plate. You know, just to make sure they were good. These would make a great appetizer to a dairy meal, just add parmesan to the bread crumbs mixture. (Yes, I totally whipped up two batches just to test it out and yes, it was totally delish!) Since what you eat is only as good as what you dip it into, I served them up with a honey mustard dipping sauce with some crunchy baked onion rings mixed in.
Ingredients:
1 onion
2 eggs plus 1 teaspoon water
1 cup of bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (I used lemon basil)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Directions:
Whisk the eggs and water together in a shallow dish. Combine herbs, salt and pepper and bread crumbs in a separate shallow dish. Peel onion. Cut into rings. Dip the onion rings into egg mixture, then into bread crumbs herb mixture. Place on lightly greased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (You can spray the rings with cooking oil for an extra crunch!) Bake on 400′ for 25 minutes or until crispy.
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup of mayo
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of djon mustard
3 onion rings chopped
Combine the mayo, honey and mustard until smooth. Top with chopped onion rings for a tasty crunch!
*Tips&Tricks: Add shredded or grated parmesan to the bread crumbs mixture for a deliciously dairy and cheesy taste!
My hub and I celebrated our anniversary this week and my gift to him was this super creamy and tasty pasta dish that is, wait for it…not dairy! (if you are amazed that this counts as a wedding anniversary gift, we hit #6 so a favorite dinner and day off of diaper duty is pretty much where we’re at. If it’s the creamy non dairy factor that has got you wowed, read on to find out how this non dairy pasta dish tastes so good you would think there is heavy cream or cream cheese in it somewhere. But nope. Not even a little bit! It’s all about the Roux. (Pronounced rue.) A Roux is basically a combo of flour and fat, butter, that is the thickening base to a great cheesy sauce. I decided to swap the butter for earth balance natural buttery spread (which is non dairy) and then once that was bubbly, I added almond milk to create the thick sauce. Turns out you don’t need dairy to make a good sauce! Which is nice since my husband is lactose intolerant and his fav dish is fettucini alfredo. (which is why this makes the perfect gift! ok I know I’m a foodie and all but come on, pretty nice gift right?) I threw some spinach in there too since it’s another one of his favs (yes I like to score points as wifey when I can) and then some roasted tomatoes just cuz I was feeling fancy and bam. You got Creamy Spinach & Roasted Tomato Pasta that’s not dairy.
Ingredients:
1 pint of roasted grape tomatoes (get recipe HERE)
1 bag of spinach (about 4 cups)
3 cloves of garlic, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons earth balance natural buttery spread
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups of almond milk (or soy)
8 oz. pasta (I used Trader Joes Garlic Basil Linguine but any long pasta will do such as fettucini or spaghetti)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon basil, chopped
Directions:
Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. While the pasta cooks and you roast the tomatoes (recipe HERE) saute olive oil and garlic in a large pot. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Once wet and wilted, it will reduce in size. Remove from heat and set aside. Using the same large pot, melt the earth balance buttery spread and add the flour. Whisk until combined and slightly thick. Add the milk and whisk until combined and continue to whisk over medium heat until smooth and thick. If you want it to be thicker, you can add an additional tablespoon of flour. Once sauce is thickened, add the spinach and tomatoes and combine well. Add pasta to pot of sauce and whisk together. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and stir several minutes over heat then turn off fire. Add fresh lemon basil and mix together before serving.
*Tips&Tricks: You can easily make this recipe dairy by using butter instead of the earth balance, and using heavy cream or cows milk instead of almond milk. If you make this dairy, serve with parmesan cheese shredded or grated on top.
Caramelized onions, tomato, basil and goat cheese make these the perfect appetizer to serve this holiday. I had to resist eating all of them long enough to take the photo!
Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry
2 tomatoes diced
1/2 onion diced
1/2 cup of crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup of fresh basil diced
Directions:
Cut out circles of puff pastry using a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass cup. Saute the onions until tender. Add the tomatoes and cook for several minutes. Wet the circles of dough with an egg wash, which is 1 egg + 1 tablespoon of water. Then, place 1 tsp of tomato onion filling in center of each circle. Top with some goat cheese and basil. Pinch the sides together, forming a triangle. You might need to wet it with some of the egg wash to get it to stick. I had to sort of fold the edges over slightly, to keep it from opening up. Bake in oven on 375′ for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and slightly crispy.
Whip up this light and tasty dish for brunch! It’s super easy, and won’t leave you feeling greasy. (like all of those latkes did!)
Ingredients:
PAM or 1 tablespoon of olive oil
2-3 eggs
1 teaspoon of fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup of crumbled feta
3 baby peppers, sliced
Directions:
Lightly grease a frying pan with PAM or some olive oil. Crack the eggs into the pan. Sprinkle the dill on top, the peppers and feta. Allow to cook until eggs are firm.
