Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie

This is the dairy free pumpkin pie recipe I ended up making this year. I used this one because it was VERY close to the regular one we use. Terha will have to get on and post how it tasted. I tasted a little of the batter from the bowl that was left over and could not tell any difference.

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg or all spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup coconut milk (I used soy milk)
1 unbaked pie shell (make sure this is dairy free as well.)

Preheat your oven to 425*
Combine the sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Stir in the sugar mixture, pumpkin, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the soy milk.

Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350* and continue to bake for 50-60 minutes (it was 60 minutes for my oven), or until a knife inserted comes out clean. It may be a bit wobbly still, but it will firm-up as it cools.

Allow the pie to cool on a wire rack for 2 hours (this is important!). Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.

I was really surprised how well this came out. The texture and color looked the EXACT same as the other pies. I expected it to be more runny from not using evaporated milk but the soy milk seemed to cook well and set up just fine. I got the recipe from godairyfree.org

Pumpkin Pie~Dairy Free

Lori's Easy Pumpkin Pie

1 cup Original or Vanilla Rice Dream

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups unsweetened canned pumpkin (1-16 oz. can)

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ginger powder

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 unbaked 9" pie crust

Pre-heat oven to 425. Mix all ingredients and pour into unbaked pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until inserted knife comes out clean. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack to cool.

Slow Cooker Pizza

This is off the website allrecipes.com
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 8oz package rigatoni pasta
1 16 oz package shredded mozzarella cheese
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of tomato soup
2 14 oz jars pizza sauce
1 8 oz package sliced pepperoni
Any other desired pizza toppings

1 Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente; drain and set aside. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain off grease.
2. In slow cooker alternate layers of ground beef, noodles, cheese, soup, sauce, and pepperoni.
3. Cook on low setting for 4 hours

Verdict: This was yummy but next time I make it I will not put the pepperoni on until the last few minutes in the crock pot or when I serve it. The longer pepperoni is cooked the spicier it becomes so if you like spice put it in. This would also be good with green peppers, mushrooms, and other pizza toppings. With it this way it reminded me a lot of Goulash. If made without the cheese it's dairy free for Andrew.

"The Jam of Life" aka Rhubarb/Blueberry Jam

7 Cups Chopped Rhubarb
4 C Sugar
1 Can Blueberry Pie Filling
2 - 3oz pkgs Rapsberry jello

Cook rhubarb, sugar and pie filling over low-med heat. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in jello until dissolved. Pour into jars. When cool, put in freezer.

This is our family's favorite jam.   I have to make sure to make enough to last all winter.

YUM!!!!!!!

Zucchini Bread

3 Eggs
2 C Sugar
2 C Grated Zucchini
1 C Oil
1 Tbls Vanilla
3 C Flour
1 Tbls Cinnamon
1/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 C Chopped Nuts (Opt)

Beat eggs until foamy. Stir in sugar, zucchini, vanilla and oil. Mix well. Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nuts. Mix well. Pour into greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for one hour. Let rest about 20 minutes before removing from pans. Yield: 2 regular size loafs or approx 6 small.

Best Pancakes!

1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or substitute, see below)
1/4 cup oil

Mix it all up and pour onto a preheated skillet in desired pancake sizes and shapes. My kids prefer Mickey Mouse shaped ones. I like em big and fluffy. We have these at least once a week for dinner. So easy and yummy. I freeze the leftovers if/when we have any for breakfasts for the coming week. I like mine with peanut butter and syrup and with summer coming I have more fruit in the house so I'll start doing that instead. My kids like them with syrup and sometimes jam or peanut butter. So yum!

**Buttermilk substitution. I never have buttermilk so I use the one TBS of vinegar for one cup of regular milk. I mix that together at the beginning and let it sit until I have everything else mixed together then add it. Comes out perfect every time. To make dairy free make the buttermilk with Soy milk.

Banana Muffins

I got this recipe from a girl on a message board I frequent and I finally had ripe enough bananas Tuesday night to make them.

1 1/4 cup flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)
1 egg (or flaxseed mixture, see below)
1/3 cup canola oil (or no sugar added applesauce)
1/3 cup milk (soymilk)
1/2 chopped walnuts (I leave these out)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.
Combine first 7 ingredients (dry) in medium bowl. Mix the banana, egg, oil, and milk in a separate bowl. Make a well in the middle of dry ingredients and stir in wet ones. Mix until just combined. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips and divide among muffin cups. Bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown and smell heavenly.

Flaxseed mixture: Mix 1 TBS of ground flaxseed with 3 TBS of water and you have the perfect healthy egg alternative for any recipe.

Verdict: These were a perfect breakfast for me. My kids are not muffin fans (of any kind) so they have tasted them but have not eaten a whole one. They are really yummy and I plan on alternating between these and banana bread when I have bananas to use.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

4 chicken breast halves (mine were frozen)
1 can corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can chicken broth
1 cup salsa

Place ingredients into crock pot cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Verdict: This has GREAT flavor. I am not a salsa or spicy fan at all. I even kept the salsa out for awhile debating on whether or not to put it in. I decided to include it after all and I was so glad I did. This was not spicy at all but had great flavor and spices to it. I shredded the chicken during the last hour. This has a lot of liquid and makes a great soup or you can do what I did as I was running out the door to class and I just pulled out some chicken and corn and beans and wrapped it in a tortilla with sour cream and cheese. It was so good! My kids ate it as a soup with Frito's, sour cream, and shredded cheese. The chicken and corn and beans would also be good over a salad. The flavor they get from cooking all day is really good.

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chicken

I found this recipe here and tried it out last Tuesday. Tuesday has become my crockpot day because I have class that night so dinner is done before I have to leave.
-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, or 6 boneless, skinless breast halves
--1 cup brown sugar (it's okay. you can brush your teeth after.)
--1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (stay with me...)
--2/3 cup vinegar
--3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
--2 T soy sauce
--1 tsp ground black pepper

The Directions.

Use a 5-6 quart crock pot for this recipe.

Plop the chicken into your crock pot. Cover with the brown sugar, pepper, chopped garlic, and soy sauce. Add the vinegar, and pour in the soda. It will bubble!

Cover and cook on low for 6-9 hours, or on high for 4-5. The chicken is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired consistency. The longer you cook it, the more tender it will be.

Serve over a bowl of white rice with a ladle full of the broth.

Verdict: This chicken was SO tender. It had a really good flavor. I was expecting super sweet like candied yams and it wasn't that sweet so I was very pleasantly surprised. It made great leftovers.

Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 can chicken gumbo soup
1 can tomato paste
3 TBS ketchup
2 TBS yellow mustard

Brown ground beef and onion then add remaining ingredients. Serve on hamburger buns. We like this with carrot sticks and potato chips.
Notes: I'm not a huge yellow mustard fan so I don't put the full 2 TBS in there and my family doesn't notice or say anything but that's all I can taste if I put the full amount. I also like to put a little fresh garlic in with the hamburger while it's browning. Enjoy!

Chili

1lb Ground Beef
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 1 lb can chopped tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 1lb can kidney beans, drained
1 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 bay leaf

In large skillet, cook meat, onion, and green pepper until meat is brown and drain. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for one hour.
Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and corn bread.
This makes a thicker chili that is more like the consistency of Taco Soup.