Growing up in the South for the most part, and being very close to my grandfather who was born in Louisiana, I have a fondness for Southern cooking. Here is a great non-dairy recipe for Red Beans and Rice.
2 cups water
1 cup uncooked rice (try using brown rice for added nutrients - just cook according to package directions)
1 package beef kielbasa or smoked sausage sliced diagonally in 1/4 inch slices (check your packages for milk derivitives - they can be sneaky)
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove chopped garlic
2-15 ounce cans kidney beans, drained
1-16 ounce can petite diced tomatoes (or you can sub tomato puree if you're not a fan of the texture of cooked tomatoes, like me!)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper
In a saucepan, bring water to boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
In a large skillet over low heat, cook sausage for 5 minutes. Stir in onion, green pepper and garlic. saute until tender. Add beans and tomatoes. Season with oregano, salt, and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve over rice.
I pair this with a nice green salad and some dinner rolls (see my recipe for dairy-free bread). If you're looking for a little kick to your meal, substitute Ro-Tel tomatoes with chiles instead of the regular tomatoes.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Homemade Bread
There is nothing as comforting as coming home to some fresh-baked bread! And this one is in the bread machine!
Dairy-free, Soy-free bread
1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 package fast-acting yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons fast-acting yeast)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
Add sugar and yeast to warm water in the bread machine pan, let yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes. Add oil, flour, and salt. Select your bread setting - I usually just select "dough" so that I can turn it out and bake it in a traditional loaf pan. I love that the machine does all the kneading for you! If you do decide to turn it out and bake it yourself, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and let cool for about 10 minutes before you remove it from the pan.
This is the base recipe for a lot of the bread recipes that I use, and also the only bread that Graham eats. I'll include variations of the recipe for things like rolls, etc.
Dairy-free, Soy-free bread
1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 package fast-acting yeast (or 2 1/4 teaspoons fast-acting yeast)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
Add sugar and yeast to warm water in the bread machine pan, let yeast dissolve and foam for 10 minutes. Add oil, flour, and salt. Select your bread setting - I usually just select "dough" so that I can turn it out and bake it in a traditional loaf pan. I love that the machine does all the kneading for you! If you do decide to turn it out and bake it yourself, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and let cool for about 10 minutes before you remove it from the pan.
This is the base recipe for a lot of the bread recipes that I use, and also the only bread that Graham eats. I'll include variations of the recipe for things like rolls, etc.
Dairy-Free Peach Pie
This is a great recipe that is actually the combination of a recipe from my mother-in-law and one from my aunt. I modified it of course, to be dairy-free.
Dairy-Free Peach Pie
1 cup soy milk (or almond, rice, whatever you use)
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
2-29 oz cans of sliced peaches*
cinnamon to taste, if desired
1/2 cup dairy-free butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 13x9" pan. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, and milk. Pour over melted butter. Sprinkle peaches with cinnamon, and pour peaches in the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 1 hour.
We serve this with dairy-free vanilla ice cream.
*when peaches are in season and at a good price, I will use fresh peaches. Usually it takes about 8, but you're just looking for enough to equal 4 cups. This is great 'mindless' work for the kitchen: slicing, pitting, and peeling the peaches.
Dairy-Free Peach Pie
1 cup soy milk (or almond, rice, whatever you use)
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
2-29 oz cans of sliced peaches*
cinnamon to taste, if desired
1/2 cup dairy-free butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 13x9" pan. In a bowl, combine sugar, flour, and milk. Pour over melted butter. Sprinkle peaches with cinnamon, and pour peaches in the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Bake for 1 hour.
We serve this with dairy-free vanilla ice cream.
*when peaches are in season and at a good price, I will use fresh peaches. Usually it takes about 8, but you're just looking for enough to equal 4 cups. This is great 'mindless' work for the kitchen: slicing, pitting, and peeling the peaches.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Beginning of Something Great
I am so excited to start this blog. What began as a desire to simply compile my recipes and tips online has already changed into something bigger than that. Now I feel inspired to share my experiences, tips, funny stories, inspiring thoughts, and more with other mothers. Being a mom is a challenge - a wonderful challenge - but a challenge nonetheless, and sometimes we tend to feel that we are alone in the world with just our children for company. I am a firm believer spending time with other moms and being able to laugh about, cry over, ask about and share whatever is in your heart. Chances are, your friends have been through something similar and can share some advice, and if not it is always a blessing to have someone to talk to who does not interrupt you by asking for more juice. Right?
So, I will post some of my tips for cleaning, organizing, taming tantrums, having successful road trips, crafts, and of course - RECIPES!
My first priority for this blog was to share the recipes that I have come across while combing the internet. But to understand the motivation here, you'll have to meet my kids. Gabriel was born in August of 2006. At about 3 months old, it was very obvious that Gabriel had eczema on his arms, legs, back, tummy, tushy, and his face. Poor baby! At about a year old, he was diagnosed with asthma as well. Gabriel has always been a big guy, and I don't mean 'chunky', I mean 'BIG'! He was 15 pounds at 6 weeks old! I tried to nurse Gabriel for his first year, but he was RAVENOUS! Once, we timed him and he drained a 10 ounce bottle in 52 seconds! I just couldn't keep up with his appetite, and so he was moved to formula. His eating has always been wonderful, he isn't a picky eater at all, and doesn't have any of the dietary restrictions that lead to this blog. That was Graham.
Graham was born 6 weeks premature and has had health complications that went along with that. He was born deaf, but that wasn't evident until he was 3 months old. When he was ready to try the cereals, he had violent reactions. He was projectile vomiting, and then had a seizure and was taken to the ER where he passed out. It was determined after a flexible sigmoidoscopy and a biopsy of his colon that he was allergic to rice, soy, and dairy. Luckily I was successfully nursing him, and so the dietary restrictions were all mine to enjoy. I was not allowed to eat anything containing those ingredients. This really changed the way I thought about food. I became more aware of what was in all the foods I was buying, and started making major changes in our meal plans. Even after he was weaned, Graham is still on a non-dairy diet (to be fair, he is allergic to the milk protein) after trying to introduce dairy into his meals. He would get upset tummies, diarrhea, and general crankiness.
So, our journey has continued and what we thought would be a temporary change in our diets has become a permanent change. We are embracing the non-dairy life - some of us with gusto, and some of us (my DH) with reluctance. I hope that the recipes and tips on my blog are helpful to you, and that you share it with others! Please feel free to send me any questions that you have, and thanks for joining me!
So, I will post some of my tips for cleaning, organizing, taming tantrums, having successful road trips, crafts, and of course - RECIPES!
My first priority for this blog was to share the recipes that I have come across while combing the internet. But to understand the motivation here, you'll have to meet my kids. Gabriel was born in August of 2006. At about 3 months old, it was very obvious that Gabriel had eczema on his arms, legs, back, tummy, tushy, and his face. Poor baby! At about a year old, he was diagnosed with asthma as well. Gabriel has always been a big guy, and I don't mean 'chunky', I mean 'BIG'! He was 15 pounds at 6 weeks old! I tried to nurse Gabriel for his first year, but he was RAVENOUS! Once, we timed him and he drained a 10 ounce bottle in 52 seconds! I just couldn't keep up with his appetite, and so he was moved to formula. His eating has always been wonderful, he isn't a picky eater at all, and doesn't have any of the dietary restrictions that lead to this blog. That was Graham.
Graham was born 6 weeks premature and has had health complications that went along with that. He was born deaf, but that wasn't evident until he was 3 months old. When he was ready to try the cereals, he had violent reactions. He was projectile vomiting, and then had a seizure and was taken to the ER where he passed out. It was determined after a flexible sigmoidoscopy and a biopsy of his colon that he was allergic to rice, soy, and dairy. Luckily I was successfully nursing him, and so the dietary restrictions were all mine to enjoy. I was not allowed to eat anything containing those ingredients. This really changed the way I thought about food. I became more aware of what was in all the foods I was buying, and started making major changes in our meal plans. Even after he was weaned, Graham is still on a non-dairy diet (to be fair, he is allergic to the milk protein) after trying to introduce dairy into his meals. He would get upset tummies, diarrhea, and general crankiness.
So, our journey has continued and what we thought would be a temporary change in our diets has become a permanent change. We are embracing the non-dairy life - some of us with gusto, and some of us (my DH) with reluctance. I hope that the recipes and tips on my blog are helpful to you, and that you share it with others! Please feel free to send me any questions that you have, and thanks for joining me!
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