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!
Ingredients:
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp. fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, diced
Directions:
Wash and clean tomatoes. Cut them in half, lengthwise then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle olive oil on top and season with rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic. Mix well so all the tomatoes are coated. Roast them cut side up, on 400′ for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned and caramelized.
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.
Ingredients:
1 container of extra firm tofu
1 egg
1 cup of panko crumbs (or bread crumbs)
Directions:
Remove tofu from container and drain water. Wrap tofu in paper towel and leave on counter to drain for 20 minutes. Pat tofu dry with a paper towel. Slice tofu in half, across the middle to make two thinner pieces. Then cut tofu into french fry sticks. Coat the tofu sticks in egg then dip into crumbs. Place on a lightly greased baking pan (I use cooking oil spray) and bake in oven on 400′ for 20-25 minutes until crispy. Serve with hot dipping sauce.
Hot Dipping Sauce:
1 cup of mayo
1 tsp. sriracha sauce sauce
Blend together. Add more sriracha sauce if desired.
*Tips&Tricks:You can make this dairy by adding grated parmesan to the crumbs and freshly chopped herbs like basil, parsley or cilantro. You can also season the crumbs with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, chile powder or your favorite seasonings.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
6 mushrooms, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 cups of cooked quinoa
Directions:
Heat up a frying pan with olive oil. Saute onions until tender. Add the mushrooms and pepper and cook until soft. Combine cooked quinoa and vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
This is a great recipe for Meatless Monday! I also included it in the Passover section since many people eat Quinoa on the holiday. Please note, that not everyone eats Quinoa on Passover and you should consult your Rabbi before deciding what your customs will be for the holiday.
Ingredients for Meatballs:
1 small onion diced
3 cloves of garlc diced
1 8ox package of mushrooms diced
Salt and pepper for seasoning
2 cups of cooked quinoa
2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water mixed together. If you want to keep this recipe vegan, you can use PAM or egg substitute instead)
