Carrot Pasta Asian Style

Len and I are co-op cooking our dinner!   We are both trying to limit our grain intake this week.  I'm pretty much off of starchy side dishes anyway.  They just cause me grief.

2 lbs carrots, peeled

The larger the carrots, the easier they will be to Julianne.

1 cup water
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Julianne the carrots and simmer them in water in a skillet with a lid.  Cook until they are to your desired tenderness.  Mine need to be pretty tender.  They will cook further when sugaring them too.

Drain well.  Add the margarine, sugar, and Bragg's.  Cook until sugar caramelizes.

You can serve a variety of ways.  Top with a peanut sauce.  Serve with rice or rice noodles.  Cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds all sound super yummy to me too!

Welcome Home Muffins

I cannot believe we pack up and pickup Len on Saturday!  How did this school year go so fast?  I am way too young to have a 20 year old and my other baby a senior in high school.  It is just too much.  Too damn much.

I needed some muffins for the freezer and figured I would bring some along on Saturday since all of Len's food will be gone and the things to cook them in packed away.  She chose cinnamon!

2 cups GF baking mix
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 rounded teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vanilla Soymilk, warmed
1/3 cup melted margarine
1 teaspoon maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400 and grease muffin tin.  I made mini muffins...  again.

In large bowl combine all the dry ingredients.  Add the wet and mix until all is moist.  Spoon into prepared pan. Bake for 13-14 minutes.

While the muffins are baking, melt 2 tablespoons of margarine and set aside.  Prepare some cinnamon sugar in a separate bowl.

After removing muffins from the tin, brush with melted margarine and dip in cinnamon sugar.

Taco Pie Duo

Meatless Mondays has fallen off my radar lately.  I'm meatless 7 days a week but the men I live with are not.

I suppose this could have been meatless if I used black beans or lentils instead of ground beef... I'll catch you next time Monday!

1 lb ground beef
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Chili powder
Garlic
Cayenne
Oregano
Turmeric
1/2 cup water with 1 tablespoon tapioca starch mixed in
1/2 bag frozen corn
1 can sliced carrots
Shredded cheese of your liking (dairy for hubby and Daiya vegan for son)
5 cups prepared mashed potatoes
Paprika

Put the meat and all the spices except the paprika in a pot or skillet.  Brown until meat is cooked.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the water and starch mixture.  Stir until combined.  It should thicken a bit.

Get two similar sized casserole dishes.  In the bottom of one but the corn and in the other the carrots. Divide the meat evenly between the two dishes and blend.  Sprinkle the tops with cheese.

My son is allergic to corn and to milk so the corn dish here will be dairy cheese for Big D and the carrot with Daiya vegan shreds will be for Bub.

Divide the mashed potatoes evenly and spread over the top of the pies.  Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake at 350 until heated through.  Enjoy with tortilla chips for a little crunch!  Big D has some tostado shells and there are black bean chips for Bub.

No Pineapple Pork

Allergic to pineapple?  Bub is!  But he can have pears.  I decided to make him some pork chops with a little faux Hawaiian flavor.

I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos, a lunch sized pear cup and its juice, ginger, black pepper, garlic, and some red pepper flakes.

4 bone in pork chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons margarine
Water or chicken broth
1 pear cup
2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Black pepper
Garlic
Red pepper flakes
Ginger
Bell peppers of choice

Brown the pork chops in a Dutch oven in the olive oil and margarine.  Remove them from the pan.  Add 3 cups of water (or broth), the Bragg's, the juice only from the pear cup, and your spices.  Stir while scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits.  Reduce heat to low and put the chops back in.  Cover and simme, turning the pork chops periodically, for about 1-1/2 hours.

Add the bell peppers and the pears.  Cover and cook until warm and peppers are tender.  Add a little more olive oil to finish.  Serve over rice,