Chocolate Avocado Pudding

 This recipe is so super simple.  It's a great way to use up your avocados before they go bad.  I'm so tired of throwing avocados when no one eats them.  This recipe is perfect because you can use them right when they get a little too soft to eat them and I always have all of these ingredients on hand in my pantry.  It's also awesome because you throw everything into a blender or food processor and it literally takes less than 5 minutes to make.  It's a super smooth and dark chocolatey dessert!

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 Almond milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

pinch of ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Preparation:

Add all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.  Spoon into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to set up.  Enjoy!

Quinoa Spaghetti, Edamame and Peas in Cashew Cream Sauce

This was my first attempt at a totally vegan meal. I have to say, it was really delicious. It was fun to make something different and creative. Who knew that cashews could make an amazing cream sauce for pasta? Add sauteed onions, edamame and peas and it was a great, totally filling meal. Only tip that I learned making this is to add the cream sauce to the sauteed onions at the last minute and then immediately toss the pasta with the sauce. I had to let the onion cashew mixture sit for about 10 minutes while I left to pick up Jack from Hebrew school and the sauce thickened, very fast.  Still amazingly delish though. 

This came from Lisa Dawn's blog Lisa's Project: Vegan. Thanks Lisa Dawn for a great new dinner idea!!

Ingredients:

Cashew Cream Sauce
1 cup raw cashews
1 extra virgin olive oil
1 water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 small onion
1/2 bag frozen peas
1/2 bag frozen edamame
4 cups (cooked) quinoa spaghetti

Preparation:

Boil pasta in well salted water. When it is almost done, add the frozen peas and edamame so they can thaw in the boiling water. While this is happening, put the cashews into the blender and process them until fine. Then add oil, water, salt, nutmeg and lemon juice and process.

In the meantime, saute an onion in a other pan until translucent. It only takes a few minutes. Pour the cashew cream sauce over the onions. Drain the pasta, peas and edamame and add into the pan and toss around so all of the pasta is coated with sauce.

Orecchiette with roasted butternut squash, cauliflower and almonds

I recreated a meal that Ellen had when she went out for dinner with her husband to a new restaurant last week. The combination sounded great and since I love roasted veggies (especially butternut squash and cauliflower) I couldn't wait to try this out. My kids loved it. I made a ton of veggies....way more than I needed for the pasta so the amounts in the recipe can vary. You certainly don't need to use as much as is stated in the ingredients. I liked having extra for snacking on while I was in the kitchen cooking. This can easily become a vegan meal by substituting the pasta with any vegan pasta like brown rice or quinoa varieties


Ingredients:

20 oz of butternut squash peeled and cut into chunks
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
12 oz orecchiette (can use brown rice or quinoa pasta too)
1 cup of prepared pesto
1/2 cup sliced almonds
a few tablespoons of olive oil
salt, pepper

Preparation:

Toss squash and cauliflower with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on two separate baking sheets and put in a 400 degree oven for approximately 35-45 minutes or until brown and caramelized. Toast sliced almonds in dry pan on the stove top just until light brown and fragrant (do not walk away from the pan, almonds brown quickly) Boil pasta according to package directions and toss with prepared pesto. Place caulifower and squash over pasta and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Guest Blogger Mondays....Vegan Recipes by Lisa Dawn

GUEST BLOGGER of the Week

 Lisa Dawn
check out Lisa's Project. Vegan

About Lisa Dawn:  I am a vegan mom and wife and I love to cook. I became vegan over four years ago for several reasons - the health and welfare of the animals, myself, and that of the world. My husband has been vegan since he was a teenager and together we are raising our son vegan. It is a challenge to do so in this world but it makes it that much more fun to be creative and to cook delicious meals that people really enjoy. Everyone who joins us for a meal leaves fully satisfied and with a handful of recipes!

Vegan Stuffed Shells

My cashew ricotta cheese is outstanding and I use it in a lot of dishes. But nothing beats stuffed shells! You can vary the filling (e.g., you can use butternut squash or just plain cashew ricotta). My family loves it! It is not as hard as you think to make this and it is very satisfying!

Ingredients:

Cashew Ricotta
1 lb cashews (soaked overnight)
water
salt
nutmeg
fresh lemon juice

Stuffed Shells
1 box shells (to make it gluten free, use rice pasta shells)
1 small bag frozen spinach
garlic powder
1 jar of tomato sauce (or make your own)


Preparation:

Cashew Ricotta
Soak cashews overnight. In the morning, drain them and then place 1 cup at a time into the in the food processor. Process the nuts until fine and then add 3/4 cup of water, a pinch of salt, a pinch of nutmeg, and a dash of lemon juice. Process and then place in strainer (with very small mesh) over a bowl to drain excess water. Repeat until you finish all of the cashews. Let this strain for a few hours. The top might get slightly hard but don't worry, just mix it back in. When it seems like all the excess water has drained out, place in a container and use it when ready.

Stuffed Shells
Preheat oven to 350. Boil up shells according to package directions. Use lots of salt in the water to season the pasta. While they are boiling, place frozen spinach in small pot with a little water and set on a high flame to defrost quickly or do this ahead of time. Either way, make sure you drain all of the water out. Mix the spinach with the cashew ricotta. Add some garlic powder and mix. Taste it and decide if you want any more seasoning, e.g., salt and pepper.

Coat the bottom of a baking dish with tomato sauce. When the shells are done, carefully strain them. Assemble your shells by stuffing them with the mixture and placing them into the baking dish. Pour tomato sauce in between and around the shells. Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes so they are thoroughly heated through.

(Winter Pasta)

Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach

over Quinoa Spaghetti

Technically, it is already spring but today was coooold! So tonight I made my Winter Pasta one more time. If you can find a good butternut squash, make it this week!

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced
olive oil
s and p
3 small shallots
walnuts
white wine
earth balance
fresh spinach
quinoa spaghetti

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450. Peel and dice up a butternut squash. Drizzle with olive oil, s and p, toss it around and coat the squash evenly. Place on a cookie sheet and roast for about 20 to 25 minutes until you see it browning. Check on it at the 15 minute are toss it around a little.

Chop up the walnuts and put them on another baking sheet and roast them for about 10 minutes or so (you can do this toward the end of the time the squash is in the oven.)

Slice up the shallots and put in a sauce pan (with sides) and cover with white wine. Let it come to a boil and simmer it until it reduces a little but still have liquid. Put in a chunk of earth balance and let it melt in. Then add the spinach and let it cook down.

In the meantime, boil up the pasta. When it is all ready, toss the pasta into the sauce and top with butternut squash and walnuts.