Snickerdoodles

Yes, they are vegan. See?

Ingredients:
1-3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz vegan margarine, softened (Like Earth Balance)
3/4 c sugar + 2 T
1/4 c soymilk
1 tsp vanilla
 2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
To make Cookie Dough:
2. Mix together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in bowl. Beat margarine in separate bowl with electric mixer until soft. Add sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in soymilk and vanilla extract 30 seconds or until smooth. Add flour mixture, and beat 30 seconds or until smooth.
To make Cinnamon Sugar:
3. Combine sugar and cinnamon on large plate.
4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar*, and place 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies look dry on tops and are lightly browned on bottoms. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Store in airtight container.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

*The original recipe calls for 1/2c sugar and 3T cinnamon. This is WAY TOO MUCH. I mixed all of that and barely used any. The 2T/2t is an estimate. If someone else makes this, let me know how accurate I was! :)

Nutritional Information:
(per cookie)
Calories: 68
Fat: 2.5g
Saturated: 1g
Carbs: 10.5g
Protein: 0.5g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4
Dave: 4

Grilled Chicken Sausage Sub

Ingredients:
1 Italian-style chicken sausage link (I used Al Fresco brand)
1 hot dog bun or hoagie roll(I used Aunt Millie's Old World French Rolls)
1/2 slice onion, cut into rings
1 T Heinz 57 sauce
1 T French's honey dijon mustard
1 slice Kraft extra thin swiss cheese

Directions:
Warm bread in the microwave. Grill sausage and onion. Place cheese slice (in two halves) on the warm bread, and top with sausage, onions, sauce and mustard.
Makes 1 serving.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 477
Fat: 13g
Saturated: 5g
Carbs: 56g
Fiber: 2.5g
Protein: 27g

Rating:
Dave: 4

*The original recipe called for just bread, chicken sausage, and pizza sauce. Dave did not like it with the pizza sauce- he gave it a 2 (earlier this week). He made another one today and topped it this way. He liked it much better!!

Carrot and Red Pepper Soup

Here is half of this recipe. I forgot to take a picture. Sorry. It looks like orange soup. :)

Ingredients:
1/2 c diced onion
3 carrots, sliced
1 c vegetable broth
1 red bell pepper
1 c soymilk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Place onions and carrots into a pot with broth and simmer, covered, over medium heat until the carrots can be easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.

Roast bell peppers by placing them over an open gas flame or directly under the broiler until the skin is completely blackened. Place in a bowl, cover, and let stand about 15 minutes. Slip the charred skin off with your fingers, then cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds.

Blend the carrot mixture along with the bell peppers in a blender or food processor in several small batches. Add some of the soymilk to each batch to facilitate blending. Return to the pot and add lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Heat until steamy.

Makes two 1-1/2 c servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 110
Fat: 2g
Saturated: 0g
Carbs: 17g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 5g

Ratings:
Kristen: 1.5
Dave: 2
We spiced the heck out of this because it's really bland. I put too much hot sauce in mine and then I couldn't eat it. LOL Oh well!

Veggie Kabobs with Roasted Fennel

I got the recipe for the roasted fennel here. I got the idea to make kabobs on a different website, and also read that it goes well with pork, so I put pork on Dave's kabobs too.

Ingredients:
1 small fennel bulb
1 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
Assorted veggies cut into 1" chunks
I used:
6.5 oz zucchini
3 oz sweet bell peppers
2 oz white mushrooms

Directions:
Remove stalks from fennel bulb and discard. Slice the fennel bulb or cut it into chunks. Toss with the olive oil and vinegar. Lay out on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until fennel becomes to caramelize.
Meanwhile, grill the remaining vegetables. (I used the George Foreman- gotta love it!)
Thread all veggies onto skewers.
Makes 4 skewers. (2 servings)
Serve over rice if desired.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 122
Fat: 7g
Saturated: 1g
Carbs: 15g
Fiber: 6g
Protein: 3g

Ratings:
Kristen: 3.5
Dave: 3.5

Italian Tomato & Cucumber Salad

The original recipe is here.

Ingredients:
3/4 c chopped tomato (143g)
3/4 c chopped cucumber (149g)
2 T Italian dressing (Meijer Organics)
2 T pine nuts, toasted in microwave
2 tsp dried basil

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve. Makes 1 serving.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 346
Fat: 21.5g
Saturated: 3g
Carbs: 13g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 4g

Ratings:
Dave: 2 (He said it was bland. He likes it with vinegar.)

Veggie Pizza

A twist on the classic! I took this to New Year's Eve at my aunt's house. I cooked the crust, mixed the cream cheese "sauce", and chopped the veggies ahead of time. I assembled it just a little bit before serving so that the crust wouldn't get soggy. I don't know exactly how much of each veggie I used (I know it was 2 c total), and I can't remember how many pieces I cut it into, but this should be pretty close. :) And I have no picture... sorry... it got eaten up!

Ingredients:
1 package Pillsbury seamless crescent rolls
8 oz tofutti better than cream cheese
1 tsp dill weed
2 c assorted chopped vegetables
---broccoli
---cauliflower
---black olives
---zucchini
---carrots
---artichoke hearts
---green pepper

Directions:
Bake dough according to package directions. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
Soften cream cheese in the microwave. Mix in dill weed using a food processor.
Spread cream cheese over the cooled crust. Layer veggies on top.
Refrigerate before serving.
Makes 20 servings.

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 75
Fat: 5g
Saturated: 1.5g
Carbs: 6g
Fiber: 0.5g
Protein: 1.5g

Ratings:
Kristen: 4
My mom and sister also loved it!

Autumn Harvest Soup

The original recipe says it makes 5 servings. I made half of the recipe, as follows. This half recipe made between 7-8 cups of soup! I'm going to have to disagree and say this made much more than 2.5 servings!!

Ingredients:
1/2 T olive oil
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, sliced (56g)
1 celery stalk, sliced (58g)
8 oz diced tomatoes (I used Hunt's No Salt Added Basil, Garlic, and Oregano)
2 c vegetable broth
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced (5.2 oz)
2 small white potatoes, diced (5 oz)
2 c water
4 oz kale, stemmed and torn
4 oz green beans
15-oz can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:
In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion powder, basil, thyme, garlic, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth and sweet and white potatoes and the 2 cups of water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the kale, green beans and white beans and simmer another 15 minutes.
Makes 5 servings (1.5 c each).

 Nutritional Information:
Per 1.5 cup:
Calories: 166
Fat: 1.5g
Saturated: 0g
Carbs: 30.5g
Fiber: 8g
Protein: 7.5g

Ratings:
Kristen: 3
Dave: 3