Work Lunches

I'm going to try quinoa with edamame, Bragg's, and Wow Butter for lunch this week.  Plenty of protein. Low cal. Low glycemic.

And, the best part of all, my rice cooker does all the work!

I cook the quinoa and edamame together in the rice cooker then stir in the rest when it's ready.  Portioned them all out to grab and go.

I made 1-1/2 cups uncooked quinoa.  1/4 cup is considered one serving so, technically, I'm slightly over for the week (5 days).  I'm hoping this will satisfy me until dinner time.  Normally, I'm ready to eat my arm by 4:00!

Easter Brinner

Brinner for "normal" people:

Florentine Egg Beaters, baked over assorted wild mushrooms.  Thomas' Bagel Thins.  Ham.

Brinner for allergic:

Cinnamon yeast pancakes. Accordion potatoes.  Bananas.

Yom!

I put sliced, cleaned mushrooms in a greased Pyrex. Poured the egg beaters over them and baked at 325 for 40 minutes. Big D and Gmaw were lovin it!

Ricotta Cake

This is such an easy cake.  My memory also tells me it is super yummy.  This recipe is from The Italian Community Center Cookbook based out of Milwaukee WI.  I got it as a wedding gift 20 long years ago.

Len wanted to make cheesecake to take home to people at Stony tomorrow.  It really is a holiday cake and serves a lot since it is very dense.

Not vegan.  Not gluten free.  BUT this COULD be gluten free if you use the Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix.  It is vegetarian but not vegan.

1 yellow box mix cake, with pudding in the mix if you can
2 lbs ricotta cheese
4 eggs well beaten
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 cake pan.

Mix cake mix according to directions.  Pour in the prepared pan.

Mix the remainder of the ingredients until creamy.  Pour over the still unbaked cake batter.  DO NOT STIR.  Bake for one hour.

Frosting

16 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix above ingredients.  Pour over hot cake and spread to cover evenly.  Bake additional 10-15 minutes until frosting sets.

Cool, cover, and refrigerate.  Serve cold.

I'll add a photo of the cake after it's cut tomorrow so you can see the magic of it. The cheese sinks to the bottom of the cake and it is so moist. The sour cream on top cannot be better!

For You Aunt Kappy! Love, Leonard

Not only are pie crusts made with oil not as picky about being over worked, they are good for vegans too!

Jennie is still riding the woop woop for cherries train all the way to pie town today.  This is all her talent and I am so glad to be posting it!

Preheat oven to 425.

Crust

1-1/2 cup GF baking mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3-4 tablespoons Very Vanilla Soymilk

Whisk together the baking mix, salt, sugar, and baking powder.  Combine the oil and Soymilk and add to dry ingredients.  Stir with a fork until moistened.  It can be crumbly, a lot, as long as it presses together when you squeeze it.  Jennie made mini pies in muffin tins.  No need to grease the muffin cups.  Press the dough to cover all around the muffin cup.  This recipe made 6 mini pies.

Cherry Filling

2 cups frozen pitted cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon tapioca starch

In medium saucepan, cook the cherries and water on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.  Whisk the sugar and tapioca starch together making sure there are no lumps.  Add to the cherries, stirring constantly until mixture boils.  Continue to cook until thickened, about one minute.

Fill the crusts you have pressed into the muffin tins with the cherry filling.  Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until cherry filling is bubbly.

Cool in the pan.  Remove from muffin cups with a spoon.