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.

Faith Oatmeal Dinner Rolls

Oatmeal Dinner Rolls from Faith

1 1/6 cups warm water (warm to the touch, it should not feel either hot or cold)

¾ tsp salt

½ Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed)

½ cup quick cooking oats

3 cups bread flour

1 ½ Tbsp  margarine (I use olive oil.)

1  1/8 tsp yeast

Add all ingredients to bread machine according to manufacturer’s directions.  Set on dough cycle.  When cycle completes, separate into 12 equal pieces.  Knead and roll into balls.  Coat cake pan with Crisco, and set rolls in pan.  Let rise 1 hour.  Back at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Hummus

Both are from Julia Deery

Black Bean Hummus

1/3 c. pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
2 med/large whole garlic cloves
1 15oz can black beans
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
juice of 1/2 a lemon or more
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cilantro chopped (use the stemps, they have lots of flavor)
1/4 tsp chili powder and a few sprinkles of hot red pepper flakes

1. Place the pumpkin seeds in a dry saute pan and toast over low heat for 5 mins, stirring halfway through or until the seeds start to turn golden.

2. Place the pepeitas and garlic clove in a food processor and pulse for 1 min.

3. add remaining ingredients and puree until smoothe.

Traditional Hummus

4 garlic cloves
2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/3 c. tahini
6 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp water or liquid from chickpeas
8 dashes hot sauce

Pulse garlic in the food processor until minced. Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and process untilt he hummus is coarsely pureed. Tase, for seasoning, and serve chilled or at room temp.

Coconut Chicken Chili

Coconut Chicken Chili (from here)

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 14oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 15-19oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 medium carrots, shredded
1 stalk celery, sliced (I didn't have this.)
1 medium green onion, sliced (I didn't have this either.)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I didn't use fresh.)

In a large sauce pan, cook chicken onion, chili powder, ginger, and  1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and the cayenne pepper in hot oil over medium heat for 6 to 8 mins until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute more. Stir in coconut milk, peanut butter, and 1 cup water. Bring to boiling, stirring occasionally.

Stir in beans, carrots, celery, green onion, garlic, and chopped basil. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Serve with rice.

Recipe suggest to top with fresh basil and sliced jalapenos (but I'm a spice wimp, so we didn't).

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken + Coconut Milk Rice (or Crock Pot)

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken (Inspired by this recipe.)

Notes: The original recipe calls for marinating and grilling, but I opted to do everything in the crock pot. I also halved the recipe when I made it. It's the full one below. It was delicious!

3 lbs. boneliness skinless chicken thighs
2 c. soy sauce (use low sodium soy sauce)
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 bunch of green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish) (I didn't actually have these so I left them off.)
1/4 c. white onion, chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sesame oil (I left this out -- mostly because I forgot.)
1 can coconut milk (You'll need more for the rice.)

Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, oil and 1 can of coconut milk in a crock pot. Add chicken and cook on high for 6 hours.

To make coconut rice, replace half of the water with coconut milk. I do 1 c. white rice, 1 c. water, 1 c. coconut milk and cook as directed.

To grill, you marinade in the sauce for 8 hours and then grill for 5-7 mins on each side.

Light Wheat Pizza Dough

Makes 8 crusts

3 1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 tbsp granulated yeast
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp sugar or honey
1/8 c. olive oil
7 cups white whole wheat flour (or traditional whole wheat flour)

Option: for a lighter dough, use half whole wheat flour and half all-purposed unbleached and decrease the water to 3 1/4 c.

1. Mix the yeast, salt, sweetner, and olive oil.

2. Mix in remaining dry ingredients.

3. Cover and allow to rest at room temp until it rises and collapses or flattens on top -- about 2 hours

4. The dough can be used immediately after it's initial rise. Refrigerate remaining dough in a lidded not airtight container and use for pizza or flatbread over next 10 days or up to 3 weeks in the freezer in 1/2 lb. portions. When using frozen dough, thaw in fridge overnight before use.

5. On pizza day, roll out or stretch the dough into a thin round on parchment paper & top with toppings. Preheat oven to 450 with stone inside. Transfer the parchment paper to the stone. Bake for 8 to 10 mins.