Vegetarian Pizza

1 package trader joes plain white pizza dough
1 large tomato-thinly sliced
1.5 cups fresh basil- torn/ripped to medium size pcs
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can black olives ( I buy the large whole olives because I figure its cheaper than buying the cans of pre sliced olives and who can’t slice them on their own?)
1/2 zuchini- thinly sliced
1 jar of pasta sauce (marinara or whatever kind/brand you like)
1 bag mozz cheese shredded (daiya cheese- mozz style shredded if you want to make it totally vegan)

flour a flat surface for rolling out your pizza dough and proceed to roll out to your desired size/thickness. Once the dough is rolled out, place on a pizza stone or a baking sheet and adjust the parts of the dough with your fingers in the areas that need to be filled out. Then lightly brush with olive oil. Spread the pasta sauce over the dough surface until you are satisfied, layer with the cheese, and add the rest of your toppings. I put the tomatoes and basil on last and finish with another drizzle of olive oil. Place in preheated oven on 450 and cook for approx 15 minutes, be careful not to cook it too long, the trader joes crust will turn rock hard and be like a breadstick if you cook too long.

Vegan Butternut Squash Pizza

I love to invent my own pizzas, I used to go to the store buy a few of those boboli ready made crusts and whatever toppings I wanted to use and viola home made pizza. Its fun for the kids as well because they get to help put the toppings on and be a part of “making” dinner. So I got even more stoked when I first learned of the ready made pizza dough that you can get at Trader Joe’s. Its way better than the other stuff and really easy to work with. Over time I’ve gotten more creative with the different kinds of pizzas I’ve made but it all starts with what kind of toppings sound good to me and then you can start to vary the sauces you use and really get creative. That’s where this recipe came from. Well, it really started with the unused butternut squash sitting on my counter that needed to be used before it went to waste. I guess I have to be honest, and admit that a lot of my inspiration spawns from items that are in the fridge or cupboards that will waste if not used when we happen to have nothing on the slate for the evening for dinner, or afternoon for lunch. This one was really good, especially for an entirely vegan pizza. I usually make one vegan style for me and Ashley and one with regular mozzarella for the kids, and I will usually eat a piece or two of the kids’ pizza (as long as I haven’t used any meat for it) because there is still nothing quite like REAL cheese. But this one was good enough to quell the craving for the real stuff.

1 package trader joes garlic herb pizza dough
1 butternut squash
1 onion- diced
2 cloves garlic- chopped
2 packages diaya cheese mozz style shredded
small handful of brussel sprouts (about 2 cups worth)
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
2 cups fresh kale- torn
3/4 cup almond milk
1.5 tbsp olive oil
coarse sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Half the squash and then cut the halves in half again, place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste then place in oven on 400 degrees and let roast for about 45min-1hr. Its done when you can poke it with a fork and the fork slides in like you are forking a piece of butter. after about 30 minutes of roasting check it, if its still really firm you can boost the heat to 450 and just check every 15min or so to see if its reached the desired tenderness.

While you wait for the squash you can prep the sprouts. Coat the bottom of a frying skillet with olive oil and about a 1/2tsp of salt, set the burner to med-high heat and then quarter the brussel sprouts and place in the skillet, let sprouts fry for about 4 minutes then add 1/2 the diced onion and a few more pinches of salt and some fresh ground pepper and continue frying for another 6 min or just check to see when they are browned, once they’ve been browned to your hearts content then stir/toss them and fry for an additional minute or two then remove from heat.

Once the squash and the sprouts are done, remove the skin from the squash and chop into bite size pieces. Take all of the squash, except the pieces you want to reserve for your pizza topping, and place in a blender or medium-large size food processor. Add the garlic, olive oil (1.5tbsp), almond milk, 1/2 cup of daiya, the rest of the diced onion and salt and pepper to taste and puree until smooth and creamy.

flour a flat surface for rolling out your pizza dough and proceed to roll out to your desired size/thickness, I rolled mine out to fit a baking sheet since I wanted it to be a thinner crust and my pizza stone is kind of small. Once the dough is rolled out, place on a pizza stone or a baking sheet and adjust the parts of the dough with your fingers in the areas that need to be filled out. Then lightly brush with olive oil. Use the squash puree as your pizza sauce, I just spread it out until there was a nice thin layer that covered almost every inch possible on the crust, leaving maybe a 1/4-1/2 inch of sauce/puree free crust edge. Layer the pizza with the daiya cheese until you’ve got good coverage or are satisfied, add the rest of the squash, your brussel sprouts, the kale and then sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Then place in the preheated oven on 450 and cook for about 15 minutes be careful not to cook it too long, the trader joes crust will turn rock hard and be like a breadstick if you cook too long.

Braised Artichoke Salad

Braised Artichoke Salad

1/2 onion- diced
1 clove garlic- minced
1/2 cup mushrooms shitake- chopped
1 can artichokes in water- chopped
1tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp whole wheat bread crumbs
1-2 tbsp grated daiya (parmesan style)

Brown the onions and garlic with mushrooms in the olive oil on med-high heat for about 10 minutes (or however long until they look brown/carmelized), once the saute is finished reduce heat slightly and add the artichokes. Stir somewhat frequently. After the artichokes have been braised (about 8 minutes) add the bread crumbs and daiya, toss/mix well into the saute.

I used a mix of arugula, red romaine and regular romaine for the salad (approx one head of regular romaine chopped, 1/4-1/2 a head of red romaine chopped, and 3 cups of arugula. I didn’t really measure, just kind of eyed it out and added what I wanted for each). Once all the greens have been washed and prepped, I dumped the cooled saute onto the greens, added fresh ground black pepper, 1 cup left over quinoa, some more grated daiya and if not going vegan 6-8 anchovies (from jar soaked in oil).

Dressing for salad

1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1tbsp olive oil
1.5tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
1/2 lemon juice

whisked together

Other ingredients in recipe not listed above
1 cup quinoa

Serves 3-5 (or just me if you are eating this for your dinner and had nothing else the ENTIRE day)

Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Mushroom Medley with Brown Rice Pasta

Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Mushroom Medley with Brown Rice Pasta

2 cups broccoli florets
1 onion- diced
4 cups brussel sprouts- halved
3 cups mushroom medley- chopped coarsely
2 cloves garlic- minced
1 lemon
2tbsp earth balance
3tbsp olive oil
crushed red pepper- to taste, only for adding fire
fresh ground black pepper- to taste
coarse sea salt- to taste
3 dashes dried thyme
3 dashes driver savory
1 box brown rice pasta penne style

Sprouts

heat 1tbsp of the olive oil on medium heat in a deep skillet. Salt the bottom of the skillet. While the oil is warming, rinse and slice the brussel sprouts. Put the sprouts face down in the oil as soon as you’ve finished slicing them.
Dice the onion, when finished dicing, add 1/4 cup to the sprouts. Let sprouts brown for 10-12 minutes (just check them after 8 to see if desired browning is present). When the sprouts are finished browning, turn the heat down to simmer/low, add 1/4 cup of white wine, 1/2 tbsp earth balance, dust with a layer of fresh ground black pepper and lightly dust with salt. Add zest of half a lemon and all of a single lemon’s juice. Leave on simmer.

Mushroom Medley

heat the rest of the olive oil (2tbsp) in a large chef skillet on medium-high heat. Add minced garlic and spices, add rest of diced oninon. Saute for 5 minutes, add mushrooms and earth balance (1.5tbsp). Saute for another 5 minutes, combine sprout mixture with mushroom medley. Add broccoli last so it doesn’t get mushy. Toss with a splash more of white wine, olive oil and about 1.5tbsp vegetable stock, and 2 small handfuls of daiya cheese, then cover and simmer on low for about 7 minutes.

When the pasta is done, toss it in the sprout and mushroom medley mixture on high heat for about a minute and a half, then serve. I like to crack some black pepper, 2 pinches of crushed rep pepper flakes and shave some parmesan cheese on top of the pasta after it is plated.

Serves 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are, I polished a batch off with Ashley’s help on my own)

Strawberry Biscuits and Vegan Carmel Sauce

Strawberry Biscuits and Vegan Carmel Sauce

Okay got this Biscuit recipe from the Babycakes cookbook, but it calls for spelt flour and we didn’t have any so I substituted Bob’s gluten free all purpose flour instead. They were pretty good but depending on how many biscuits you want, it might be a good idea to double the recipe, especially if you make them as thick as the recipe calls for, I definitely didn’t as you can tell from the pictures. Warning, they were not good the following day, they didn’t last, got soggy. Maybe I should’ve kept them in the fridge but the book said store in plastic wrap at room temp and that didn’t work.

Biscuits-
2 cups Bob’s gluten free all purpose flour- plus extra for dusting
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp coarse sea salt- plus more for sprinkling
1/3 cup coconut oil melted- plus more for brushing
3/4 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 375 (the book says to line a baking sheet with parchment paper, I didn’t and they were fine.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly Pour the hot water into the dry ingredients and stir as you pour, then repeat the process with the melted coconut oil until fully combined and a dough is formed. If the dough is too dry add more water.

Dust the counter with the extra flour, place the dough on the surface and drag it through the flour. Then pat the dough gently until it is 1 inch thick. Using a 3 inch round cookie cutter, cut out the biscuits and arrange them on the baking sheet. Brush the biscuits with the extra oil, sprinkle with salt and sugar. Bake the biscuits on the center rack for 8 minutes, rotating the sheet 180 degrees after 4 minutes. Let them stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Carmel Sauce-
1/2 stick earth balance
1 cup sugar (natural cane)
1 dash fresh vanilla
2tbsp almond milk

Melt the earth balance in a mid size sauce pan on medium high heat, slowly stir in the sugar, add vanilla, then bring to boil. It will be bubbly all over and start to rise, stir it constantly, once it boils for 1-2 minutes, reduce to simmer, add almond milk and stir, then remove from heat and serve.

Other ingredients used not mentioned above
Strawberries

Serves 4-5