Thai Lettuce Wraps

These come from one of our favorite cookbooks: Everyday Happy Herbivore

Thai Lettuce Wraps:

• Thai Peanut sauce (see below)
• 1/2 c. cooked brown rice
• 1 c. cubed tofu
• 1 cucumber, shredded
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 6 lettuce leaves
• bean sprouts (optional). we use micro-greens instead since we can't ever find bean sprouts.
• 3 green onions (optional)
• fresh cilantro (optional)
• juice of lime wedges (optional)

Spoon all the ingredients, except lime wedges, into lettuce wraps. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top if desired. Drizzle with Thai Peanut Sauce and serve.

Thai Peanut Sauce:

• 1 T. PB 
• 1 T. warm water
• 1 T. sweet chili sauce
• juice of 1 lime wedge
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 1/4 tsp. rice vinegar
• few light dashes of garlic powder (granulated)
• few light dashes of ginger
• 1 to 2 drops Sriracha (Asian hot sauce)  (we've never used this)
• 1 T. nondairy milk

In small bowl, combine PB, water, chili sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic pwdr, ground ginger and Sriracha.  Microwave for 20 seconds, whisk, then whisk in nondairy milk. Taste, adding more hot sauce as desired. 

**note: we always at least double the sauce recipe, and we never measure exactly the veggies. Just put whatever.  It's so easy to pack up and have for lunch the next day, and my kids really love it!

Yogurt

If you've ever wanted a good recipe for making yogurt, this one is supposed to be easy.  Apparently the only trick is keeping it at the right temperature. 

"Better"finger Bars

This is a recipe from chocolatecoveredkatie.com.  here is the link to the actual recipe, and I'd highly recommend her whole website. I've loved everything I've tried of hers.

I've made this more times than I can count now and it's always a big hit. It tastes crunchy and flaky like a real Butterfinger only there's nothing in there that makes me feel sick. (Eat the whole pan--and you'll want to--and that's likely a different story.) I also love that it's quick and easy to make.

Here's how you do it:

Boil on medium heat in small saucepan, stirring constantly:

• 1/4 c. agave
• 1 T. molasses
• 3 1/2 T. xylitol or sugar or evaporated cane juice

Remove from heat and add PB and salt until it makes a paste. 

• 1 c. peanut butter
• 1 /8 tsp. salt

Add cereal and stir very well to coat, partially crushing flakes as you stir. Evenly coat the flakes. 

• 1 1/2 c. bran flakes (I use the Trader Joe's brand so there's no junk in here, either)

optional topping:

• 2/3 c. chocolate chips OR 
• 1/4 c. virgin olive oil with 1/4 c. coca powder and liquid sweetener to taste (ex: liquid stevia drops)

Press into an 8x8 pan, lined or greased, and freeze until hardened. 

Grandma Hull's Thanksgiving Stuffing

This will be my first year COOKING Thanksgiving dinner. I'm actually really excited. But of course that meant Grandma's Stuffing. I looked and looked for my copy of her recipe, but it was nowhere to be found. I pestered Angie, and cousin Lisa (who got a copy when I did), and finally called Mom. As I talked with her on the phone, it occurred to me to look on my computer (embarrassingly enough, where I keep all my recipes). Sure enough, there it was! 

But in the end, I was glad, because Mom's version and my version are slightly different. So here are both, make what you will:

Here's MY version (Cousin Lisa and I followed Grandma around on that last Thanksgiving before her stroke and wrote down what she did, I think): -->

5 quarts bread (cubed) (~2 loaves)

4 cups Turkey broth

1 can chicken broth

1 cube butter

1 cup chopped onions

3 tsp rubbed sage

¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

bake at 350 (pan in oven) till it's browned

OK, that one was SO simple (too simple?)! Mom's version of Grandma's recipe varies slightly, but has more complex instructions:

Bread Stuffing
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1  large onion, chopped
1 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1-½ tsp. dried sage
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
2 loaves (24 oz. each) sliced firm bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

In skillet, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add celery and
onion, and cook 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in thyme, salt, pepper, sage, chicken broth, and water from
boiled giblets; remove skillet from heat. Place bread cubes in very
large bowl. Add broth mixture; toss to mix well. Spoon stuffing into
13-inch by 9-inch glass baking dish; cover with foil and bake in 325 F
oven for an hour or more, until heated through; or, cook in roaster
oven, stirring occasionally, until browned.

*Mom's note: I think that I use dried onions stirred in rather than sautéing.  I
think that Grandma added the raw ones chopped.

Energy bars

Here is a recipe I want someone to try and tell me if it is good.  Without chocolate, please.  Thank you very much. 

Vegan French Toast

Here's a really yummy Engine 2 recipe that we tried out this morning. Good thing Nate was already at work because the three of us ate the whole batch!  There are no eggs or milk in this and I actually greatly prefer the taste to regular french toast.

• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/2 c. milk substitute (we used vanilla soy)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 4-6 slices whole grain bread

Combine the banana, milk substitute, vanilla and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Dip the bread slices in the mixture and cook in a nonstick skillet on medium heat for 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. 

Can serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, and/or fruit. 

As you can see, we really enjoyed these!

Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

Here's another awesome pasta recipe that uses Greek yogurt.  My kids loved this stuff. It's also a nice change to have a pasta with no tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. ww linguine
• 1/2 c. non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
• 1 T. grated lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp. S+P each
• 1 T. olive oil
• 3 medium zucchini, cut into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Boil pasta according to directions. Save 1/4 c. water and drain. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, stir together yogurt, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, S+P. Set aside.

In large skillet, heat olive oil over med-hi heat. Add zucchini and cook until wilted, flipping occasionally (zucchini will be soft and somewhat see-through). Push zucchini aside and cook garlic 15-30 seconds until golden (not brown). Mix the garlic into the zucchini. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Transfer the zucchini mixture to the yogurt mixture and stir to combine. 

Add drained linguine and toss gently. Add the reserved pasta water 1 T. at a time, if necessary, to thin it. Divide among 4 bowls and serve.