Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt

Homemade Coconut Milk Yogurt (from here)

I followed the instructions from this website almost exactly, but I wanted to copy them down in case the site ever went down. And add what I used.

3 cans Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk
2 - 3 Cultrelle Dairy Free Probiotic Pills
2 Tbsp + a little more Honey
2 Tbsp unlfavored gelatin (I used almost 2 packets, and it was perfect)

Glass Jars
Candy Thermometer
Oven with a light

I made this in the evening and let it sit in the oven over night.

1. Sterilize yogurt containers.

2. In a saucepan, bring coconut milk to 180 degrees F, then remove from heat. Do NOT boil. Watch it closely. I think I kept it on medium heat for most of the time. Remove from heat when it reaches 180.

3. While the milk is hot, add gelatin and honey. Stir to dissolve into milk.

4. Cover and cool to 95-100 degrees. - I did not cover like the directions suggested. I stirred occasionally. It took at least 20 minutes to cool.

5. Remove about 1/2 c. of the coconut milk. Add probiotic powder to the milk, and stir well.

6. Thoroughly mix the inoculated milk back in with the remainder of the coconut milk.

7. Pour cultured milk into yogurt containers. Cover and ferment at 105-110 for 7-9 hours. I did this in the oven with the light on. The longer you ferment the yogurt, the less sugar it will contain and the more sour it will taste. I think it was between 7 and 8 hours, and it was perfect.

8. After the 7-9 hours, remove from heat and stir the jars. Refrigerate for 6 hours. YOU MUST REFRIGERATE FOR THE GELATIN TO SET.

Dairy Free Chicken Casserole

Dairy Free Chicken Casserole (from here)

2 cups cooked rice
2 cups cooked chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water
3 -4 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
2 cups water
1 cup peas (frozen works well)
1/2 cup sliced frozen carrots
1/4-1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs (make sure they are dairy-free as some store-bought bread crumbs contain milk products)

Directions:

1
In large skillet bring 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp water to a light simmer.
2
Add flour slowly and blend until smooth.
3
Add thyme, onion powder, garlic powder.
4
Slowly add 2 cups of water and bouillon then continue blend until its a smooth consistency.
5
Add cooked chicken and stir.
6
Lightly grease a casserole dish and layer rice in bottom.
7
Layer peas and carrots onto rice.
8
Carefully pour chicken mixture over vegetables.
9
Dust bread crumbs over the casserole.
10
Bake in a 400°F oven for 25 to 35 minutes.
11
Enjoy with a fresh salad.

Dairy Free Hamburger Helper #2

Dairy Free Hamburger Helper #2 (from here)

2 pounds ground beef or bison

3 - 4 Tablespoons taco seasoning

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

garlic powder

minced onion

rice milk

12 oz noodles, cooked

Brown the ground beef or bison and drain.
Sprinkle with taco seasoning and up to 1 cup water.
Simmer until most of water is absorbed. 
Put beans, garlic powder, and minced onion in food processor.
Process, adding rice milk, until mixture is smooth.

Stir bean mixture into meat.
Add rice milk if needed to achieve desired consistency.  We like ours like a thick sauce (about the consistency of chili).
Add salt if needed. 

Pour Over noodles

Dairy Free Hamburger Helper #1

Dairy Free Hamburger Helper #1 (from here)

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef ($1.29) Bought when on sale for $1.29/lb.
1 onion, chopped ($.20)
2 garlic cloves, crushed ($.10)
Pepper
3 Tbsp dairy free margarine or butter ($.30)
3 Tbsp flour ($.05) Use rice flour to make this GF
3 cups milk ($.30) Use rice milk to keep dairy free
1 cup water
2 cups whole wheat elbow or shell pasta noodles ($.50) On sale this week…1 lb. for $1; Use rice pasta noodles for GF version
Salt and pepper, to taste
16 oz bag of frozen peas ($.68) Bought from Walmart back in June

*Note: I did cook the remaining shells in another pot and other 1/2 lb. of ground beef. I used it to make “spaghetti shells” for the boys’ lunch tomorrow! It seemed the most logical way to use up the other 1/2 lb. meat and pasta noodles!

Directions
1. In large skillet, brown ground beef with chopped onion and crushed garlic cloves. Season with pepper. Once fully cooked, drain and rinse ground beef. Do not return beef to the skillet. Yet.
2. In same skillet, add margarine or butter. Once melted, whisk in flour to form a paste. Quickly whisk in milk until no clumps remain. Cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat, until sauce starts to bubble and thicken. Once sauce starts to thicken, add 1 cup of water and 2 cups of pasta shells. Stir through. Add 1 lb. of meat and mix together. Cover and cook over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, or until pasta shells have cooked through. Stir often. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat.  Sauce will thicken slightly after removing from heat.
3. Prepare frozen peas as indicated on package instructions.
4. Serve “Hamburger Helper” Pasta with Peas.

Read more: http://www.5dollardinners.com/dairy-free-hamburger-helper/#ixzz2XyyoMdJN

Dairy Free Mac 'n' Cheese

Notes: Haven't tried this yet.

4 quarts water
1 tbsp sea salt
8 oz macaroni
4 slices of bread, torn into large pieces
2 tbsp plus 1/3 c. Earth Balance butter, substitute divided
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
1 cup chopped red or yellow potato
1/4 c. chopped carrot
1/3 c. chopped onion
1 cup water
1/4 c. raw cachews
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne (leave it out)
1/3 nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large pot, bring the 4 quarts water and 1 tbsp salt to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until just al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

In a food processer, make bread crumbs by pulverizing the bread and 2 tablespoons of the butter to a medium-fine texture. Set aside.

In a saucepan, place shallot, potato, carrot, onion and 1 cup water, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft.

In a blender, process the cashews, 2 teaspoons salt, garlic, remainder of the butter substitute, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne. Add the softened vegetables and their cooking water to the blender (along with the nutritional yeast if you want) and process until perfectly smooth.

In a large bowl, toss the pasta and blended cheese sauce until completely coated. Spread mixture into a casserole dish, sprinkle with prepared bread crumbs, and dust with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown.

Frozen Yogurt Pops

2 c. frozen yogurt
2 cups frozen berries - thaw in the microwave for 1 min
1/2 to 3/4 c. confectioners sugar

Combine and pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Dairy Free Chocolate Pudding

Haven't tried this but saw a variation in a cookbook so I wanted to write it down.

1/4 c. dairy free margarine (smart balance light)
1 c. avacado puree
1 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 c. cornstarch

In a medium sauce pan melt the margarine over low heat. Stir in the avacado puree, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla. Cook mashing well with a silicone spatula to smooth out any lumps of avacado until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 mins. Off the heat, gradually stir in the cornstarch. Serve warm.

Dairy Free Cream of Soup Mix

Cream Soup Mix from my Quick & Healthy Book.

2 cups almond milk (mine was even vanilla & I thought it was fine)

3 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. dried onion

dash pepper

1/8 tsp. dried basil

1/8 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 Tbsp. instant bouillon (I was out, so I mashed a bouillon cube in it)  I used beef bouillon because of what I was making, but you can use chicken too.

Variation: Add mushrooms for cream of mushroom soup

I poured the milk in a small pan and whisked in the flour.  Add the rest of the ingredients and cook & stir over medium heat until it starts to boil & thicken.  This doesn't get super thick, so if you are making something that you want a bit thicker, just add another tablespoon of flour.  Depending on your taste you might want to add some salt.

Dairy-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk

Dairy-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute

Notes: I NEED to test this out.

2 eggs
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients and use as a substitute for sweetened condensed milk in recipes for pies, bars and desserts.