Strawberry Banana Smoothie

This smoothie is super healthy and simple to make. I will be using Splenda instead of the sugar..

Strawberry Smoothie
1 frozen banana
5-6 large or 10-12 small frozen strawberries
sweetener of choice
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1/2-1 cup milk (I use skim milk, use your favorite milk here or OJ)

Blend until very smooth, serve immediately.

Chai Popsicles

I love Chai and wanted to make a Chai Popsicle and I really didn't see that many recipes online for this one. So I thought about it and came up with this recipe.

Chai Popsicles
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup milk
4 Chai tea bags
1/4 cup sugar or Splenda (taste before adding if using vanilla yogurt)

Bring the tea bags and milk to boiling, let simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Cool. Add milk to tea mixture to bring the measurement back to 3/4 cup if needed. Discard tea bags. Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Fill molds and freeze for about 6 hours. I got 4 small popsicles out of this recipe.

Buffalo Wings and Sauteed Kale

Wow, these are really, really good. Chris and I love these. This includes a few different recipes. Here is the recipe for the Buffalo Wings themselves. Here is the recipe for the Tofu Chicken and a bonus recipe for vegan chicken nuggets. Here is the recipe for the Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing. I am going to use bottled blue cheese dressing. I have, however made the bleu cheez dressing with the jarred  fermented tofu from the Asian Grocer and it is really frickin' awesome. If you don't have an Asian Grocer near you and you want to make the vegan bleu cheez dressing and you don't have miso as called for in Deb's recipe, try this this recipe. Remember that you need to freeze the tofu the night before to make it more "meat-like". I usually use firm tofu for this. I use egg and milk in this recipe instead of the Ener-g and soy milk. I usually cut my tofu into 8 vertical slabs, cut your tofu in half, then stack and cut into 4 vertical sticks. I have never tried this with seitan, but that will be my next endeavor. To make your own "Chick'n Broth Powder" use this recipe, I use this instead of buying the pre-made stuff and Nutritional Yeast is pretty cheap.

This is not my photo ^  http://www.sptsb.com/max.htm owns this photo. This is what you are looking for if you want to make your own bleu cheez dressing.

I made sauteed kale with red kale from my garden, which weirdly enough came up with dormant seeds. This is the recipe I used and it was very delicious although cleaning the greens was labor intensive. I skipped the onion in this recipe because I am out.

Chocolate Yogurt PB Pops

Hi kids, yet another Popsicle recipe here, From Bemused, I made these with Splenda and Splenda sweetened chocolate syrup and if I had some natural peanut butter they would be even healthier. I used fat free milk and fat free yogurt, thinking the fat from the peanut butter would make them creamy. The mix tastes delicious. Review and more pictures to come.......This recipe makes 5 small pops. Creamy, smooth, peanut buttery and delicious. Try these!!!!! Next I am going to make these without the chocolate sauce, and layer with sugar free either grape or strawberry jelly.

Strawberry Swirl Pops

You may have noticed that I have been making a lot of strawberry recipes and this is because I have stocked up on them from the Dollar Tree :O) I was searching online for a strawberry yogurt pop and this recipe kept coming up. The presentation is beautiful. I don't have pop molds like these shown in the picture but I do have bathroom cups (I got a box of 200 for $2.99 at Kroger) and Popsicle sticks (which are also available at Dollar Tree in the craft aisle) and that works just as well and it is inexpensive. Strawberries are my favorite berries, I have loved them since my grandma first took me to a strawberry u-pick patch. They are juicy and the seeds don't bother me like other berries (blackberries, but I still eat them). I <3 strawberry everything, you will see lots more strawberry recipes from me. I used Splenda in place of the sugar and I got 6 pops for half of the recipe. Here is a recipe for homemade push-pops, sounds like a good recipe for kids of all ages.

This is not my photo ^

These are sweet tart and a little icy. Lemony and very strawberry. I really like them and I will make them again.

Vegan Chicken in Garlic Sauce and Homemade Chili Garlic Sauce

This is one of Chris's favorite recipes. I will attempt to make this with some Morningstar Chick'n Strips. I have decided to try out this recipe which is from Tigers & Strawberries. Chris says that the way his mom gets the restaurant to make it is with water chestnuts only. I hope that this tastes somewhat close to what he is remembering.

He loved it, it is now one of his favorites! Slightly hot and slightly sour from the chili garlic sauce and vinegar, this dish has lots of flavor. He keeps telling me how much he liked it, and we are even making this recipe for his mom's birthday.

I made some Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce today and since I almost used all of mine up and I had some Thai Chilies to use up. I used this recipe except I cooked mine for about 30 minutes.

Chai Pancakes & a better Iced Chai Tea recipe

I made these a long time ago with a recipe that I threw together and they were OK, but not spicy like I imagined. Chris mentioned making Chai Pancakes and I found this recipe, which looks and sounds delicious. I both <3 Chai Tea and pancakes so it is a good combination. It has added spices and I didn't think to do this to my recipe. I brewed my Chai Tea the night before with the milk (I cut the recipe in half as it is just Chris and I eating these). I will be serving these with Real Maple Syrup.

BTW, I figured out the best way to make Iced Chai, and that is with 4 tea bags per 4 cups milk and 2 tbsp. Splenda or sugar, bring to boil and turn heat down to low. Simmer for about 5 minutes, cool. Add about 1-1&1/2 tsp. vanilla, optional. Stir. Serve over ice. I now use only the Chai Masala that I got from Laxmi Palace.

So how were they? The verdict is they are the best pancakes I have ever tasted. EVER. Chris agrees, especially since he loves spicy things.

Veggie Fajitas and Chocolate Banana Bread

Hi kids, today's recipe is Veggie Fajitas....I know, I know....I don't even need a recipe for this recipe, LOL. This does however give me the chance to break out the cast iron skillet and saute` up some veggies, like tomatoes, onions and peppers. I was going to use some squash/zucchini, but they are out of season and too d*mn expensive and I don't live in Richmond anymore so I can't go to Tan-A and get it GRRR. I can't wait for summer! But I digress.......I may go out to the store and get some cactus, I am undecided. Chris says that he likes cactus so I might go out. A lot of these recipes that I did look at call for Monterey Jack cheese, but I like them without the cheese. You can serve the fajitas with some sour cream and salsa...fresh or bought. I ended up getting zucchini since the store I went to had them on sale and they also had artichokes on sale so I may go back and get some of those for another meal later in the week ;O) Feel free to use whatever veggies you have on hand, for 2 people I used 1&1/2 quartered smallish tomatoes, 1 medium onion (sliced), 1/2 medium sized zucchini (sliced), and 1/2 green bell pepper (sliced). Cook all veggies (except tomatoes) with a bit of oil over medium-medium high heat until veggies soften and during the last bit of cooking add your tomatoes. These were delicious and I will make them again.

I also decided to make some chocolate banana bread since I have two very ripe bananas sitting on the table that neither Chris or I will eat. Our bunnies would love them though, they love really ripe bananas. That is my male Netherland Dwarf, Stitch, above. Isn't he a cutie? This recipe is from Good Food, Good Wine and A Bad Girl's Isabelle Boucher. You should check out her blog, nicely written and lots of beautiful photos and delicious recipes. This recipe is pretty much foolproof, want to make it with less fat or maybe you only have 1/2 stick butter? Use applesauce in place of the remaining butter that you are missing. Making this but you are a vegan? Use margarine instead of the butter and for the eggs use applesauce (1/2 cup). She calls for high quality cocoa, but if you only have regular cocoa it still tastes awesome. I actually use the store brand. Here is the recipe, but don't miss out on her Chai Banana Bread, which is also very delicious. I would be making that but I am saving the rest of the Chai tea bags I have for Dee's (my MIL) birthday cake. I will post that recipe again next month.

                            Banana Bread Batter.....

                         Cooked Banana Bread.........

Crispy Orange Tofu, Broccoli Stir Fry and Iced Chai Tea

Chris said that he would like some Orange Tofu and I thought that we would need a side dish so I decided on some stir fried broccoli because we usually have broccoli on hand. I decided on this recipe because I liked the finished product photo and the recipe looks simple. I also liked that it is baked. Amazingly enough I have never tried Orange Tofu so this will be a new taste experience for me O.o........ It was delicious! Try this recipe! Just the right amount of heat. The only thing I recommend is to use a tbsp. of cornstarch mixed with a bit of water added to the sauce to thicken it instead of the flour called for.

 The broccoli recipe that I decided on was actually a broccoli and tofu stir fry and I am just nixing the tofu. Here is the recipe that I used....If you like thick sauce, I would use 2 tbsp. of cornstarch instead of the 1 tbsp. called for in the sauce recipe.

I also decided to make some Chilled/Iced Chai Tea today and I used this recipe....I added some bottled vanilla to mine and I used 4 cups skim milk and 6 tea bags and added about 1-2 tsp. of vanilla to the cooled tea mixture....I usually use Celestial Seasonings Chai Tea or Bengal Spice but Kroger did not have them so I used Stash. It sure smells good. I even went to the store and I came back and my entire house smelled like Chai Tea. Feel free to use whatever milk floats your boat, soy, rice, almond, etc. I love soy and almond and I am sure it would be fabulous with any of the listed milks. Chris and I loved this!!!!! Very spicy!

Chili and Cornbread

BRR! 12" of snow fell on the ground here, and the temperatures are under freezing.  With all of this cold weather, I decided to make a pot of chili, based loosely on this recipe as I will be making it with what we have on hand. I love this recipe for cornbread. It is sweet and delicious. It is unlike any cornbread I have ever had and it is the only recipe I use now. Again, I love to use shortening in this cornbread recipe and cookie recipes but if you like to use butter or margarine, feel free to substitute. I usually use applesauce as the egg replacer in the cornbread but alas I am out  of applesauce so I am using homemade Ener-G egg replacer, which worked awesome in this recipe. I even used some whole wheat flour in the cornbread recipe and it was still tender and so yummy. If you want to make your own Ener-G, click here for that, and a list of other egg replacers from Chef Deb and applications for them. Here is the recipe that I made for the chili, with cheap-o stuff I happened to have and the measurements on the herbs/spices are approximates. This chili is delicious, cheap and filling. I will definitely be making it again and again.

Black Bean and Kidney Bean Chili

1 tbsp. oil 

2 large garlic cloves, pressed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (14 ounce) can of dark red kidney beans, undrained

1 (14 ounce) can of black beans, undrained

1/2-1 tsp. cumin

1/2-1 tsp. onion powder

1/2-1 tsp. oregano

1/2-1 tsp. paprika

1/2-1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. sage

1 (14 ounce) chopped tomatoes with chilies, undrained

Place the oil in a large stock pot, cook garlic over medium for about 1 minute, add the onions and cook until translucent. Maybe about 3-5 minutes.  Add all other ingredients, along with 2 cans water. Cook about 30-45 minutes over a low simmer. Enjoy.

Chocolate Mint Crackle Cookies

I originally made these cookies around Christmas, and I made some tonight. I like that it makes a small batch of cookies. I love how soft they are, almost cake-like and how easy they are to make.Your whole kitchen will smell like chocolate-minty goodness. I didn't chill my dough either time I made these cookies, although I should have, the dough is very sticky and I bake mine at 350 degrees F.  I made mine with regular cocoa and they are still heavenly. And by the way, check out the rest of Isabelle's posts. Wonderful recipes, beautiful photographs.

Chocolate-Mint Crinkle Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, pref Dutch-process
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1 tsp peppermint extract
1/4 cup icing sugar

In a large metal mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Using fingers, rub in the butter until evenly distributed throughout. Add eggs and peppermint extract, and stir until a thick dough comes together. Chill dough in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Using a spoon or a melon baller, scoop out teaspoon-sized balls of dough. Pour the icing sugar into a small mixing bowl and add the dough balls, 2-3 at a time, rolling around to coat evenly with sugar.
Arrange the icing-sugar coated balls 2" apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are just set and have evenly crackled tops.