Dairy-free Mac and Cheese

I know, it sounds crazy but when you have a little one who can't eat dairy or soy, you have to get creative. I came up with this recipe after having a butternut squash pasta with goat cheese a few weeks ago. It sounds weird but it's delicious. I wondered how it would taste if I used Daiya, a dairy-free cheese in place of the goat cheese and it was better than I expected. If you have the time, roast the veggies.  For those of you who can eat dairy, regular mozzarella or goat cheese would work well. This recipe takes 15 minutes tops to make if you use a frozen puree. It's also a great way to sneak in veggies with the kiddos.

1/2 box of elbow macaroni
1 box of frozen butternut squash puree OR 1 box of cubed squash
1/2-1 cup of Daiya dairy-free cheese
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

If roasting the veggies, preheat the oven to 400. Thaw the squash in the microwave for 5 min. Put the cubed squash on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 30 min. If using a frozen puree, cook in the microwave for 5 min or until cooked through. Then add a teaspoon of olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook pasta and drain. In a large bowl, add the pasta, cheese and squash. Mix together and add additional cheese, salt and pepper if desired.

As you can see, this was a hit with my little girl:)

Beer Bread

I've always used Tastefully Simple's Beer Bread Mix so I had no idea how easy it was to make beer bread from scratch. I would recommend using an amber beer or darker when making this. Last night I used a Corona and it was good but the dark beer gives the bread a richer flavor. This is a great bread to cut into small pieces and serve with a dip. It would also be delicious with soup. Hmmm maybe a beer cheese soup will be my next recipe.

3 cups of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 beer
3 Tbsp of butter

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. In a bowl mix the flour, sugar and beer. The dough will be very sticky. Pour mixture into the greased loaf pan and top with 1Tbsp of the butter diced into small cubes. Bake for 50 min. Melt the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and pour on the bread. Put bread back in the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Peach Cobbler

My favorite peach cobbler is served at Smoque  in Chicago. The cobbler is served in individual dishes so each serving has the perfect amount of crunchy topping and warm peach deliciousness. This is my take on peach cobbler. I have only made this using an 8x8 dish but ramekin dishes would also work.

2 cans of sliced peaches, drained
1/2 cup of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp of  brown sugar
1/2 cup of granola or 1 granola bar, crumbled
1/2 cup of pecans
1 Tbsp of flour
1/4 cup of butter, cubed
1 tsp of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. In an 8x8 in square dish, add the drained peaches, 1 Tbsp of brown sugar, 1 Tbsp of flour, cinnamon and mix together. In a small bowl combine the oats, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, granola and 1 Tbsp of flour. Cut in the cubed butter until crumbly. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the peaches. Scatter the pecans on top of the crumble mixture and bake for 20-25 min or until golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Tuscan Bean Soup with Bacon

Tuscan Bean Soup is delicious, simple and inexpensive to make. Let it cook for 30 min and serve with fresh bread such as Parmesan Rosemary Bread, Tomato Basil Rosemary Bread or Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits.

3 cups of low sodium chicken broth
8 slices of bacon, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 cup of diced carrots
1 cup of broccoli, chopped
2 cans of cannellini beans or white beans, undrained
salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon for 5 minutes in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic, carrots and broccoli and cook for an additional 5 minutes. In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and add cooked bacon, veggies and cannellini beans. Cook on low simmer for 30 min and add additional salt and pepper as needed before serving.

Parmesan Rosemary Bread

This is a great bread to serve with soup and makes a killer grilled cheese sandwich. I made the grilled cheese sandwiches for my girls and ended up making myself one because it was sooo good!

1 loaf of Rhodes frozen dough
2 Tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary- about 2 sprigs
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Place a loaf of Rhodes frozen dough in a loaf pan and let it rise for about 7 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Brush the top of the loaf with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped fresh rosemary. Sprinkle salt, pepper and 2 Tbsp of shredded Parmesan cheese on top of the bread. Bake for 25 min.

Calzones

Calzones are delicious and very easy to make. In this recipe, I fill them with salami and pepperoni but feel free to use your favorite Italian meats. You can also use 1lb of cooked Italian Sausage instead of the sliced meat.

8 slices of salami

24 slices of pepperoni

6 slices of Provolone cheese

1 container of Pillsbury pizza dough- use the regular thicker crust if it's available

1 jar of pizza sauce

1 Tbsp of olive oil

A sprinkle of herbs- you can use an Italian seasoning blend or a combination of rosemary, oregano, garlic powder and red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Spread the pizza dough on the cookie sheet and cut into fourths. Layer each piece of dough with 2 slices of salami, 1 slice of provolone, 6 slices of pepperoni and a 1/2 slice of provolone. Roll up calzones and place on baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix olive oil with a sprinkle Italian seasonings. Brush mixture on the calzones and bake for 15 min or until golden brown. Serve with pizza sauce.

Banana Cake-Dairy/Soy Free

I usually make banana bread or muffins with ripe bananas but yesterday I wanted to try something different. This recipe uses a boxed cake mix. It probably took me 10 minutes to mix everything together and get it in the oven. The cake is incredibly moist. If you don't have a bundt pan, use a 9x13 pan and reduce the cooking time. If you put a toothpick in the cake and it comes out with a bit of crumb on the toothpick, then the cake is ready!

1 box of vanilla or yellow cake mix

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp baking soda

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of butter, softened-Earth Balance Soy Free if doing dairy/soy free

2/3 cup of rice milk or milk

2 Tbsp lemon juice

Glaze

1/4 cup of powdered sugar

3-4 Tbsp of rice milk or milk

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Spray pan with cooking spray. Put 2/3 cup of milk in a small bowl, add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and set aside. In a large bowl, mix cake mix and baking soda. Mash bananas in a small bowl. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, mashed bananas and butter to cake mixture. Mix by hand or with a mixer for 2 min. Pour into greased pan and bake for 38-40 min if using a bundt pan, less for a 9x13 pan. Allow cake to cool on a cooling rack. To make the glaze, mix powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. Use a whisk and start by adding a few Tbsp of milk at a time. The glaze should be thinner than a frosting. Drizzle over cake and enjoy!