Ambrosia

This is a recipe that was given to me from a lady that I worked with about 15 years ago.

Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Chill: At least 1 hour
Serves: 6

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, or to taste
1 large can fruit cocktail, drained well

Mix cream cheese, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk.  Add fruit cocktail; chill for at least 1 hour.

My Variations*:
For a healthy alternative, use 2 cups vanilla or any flavored yogurt in place of cream cheese, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk
Add 1/2 cup flaked coconut
Add 1 cup mini marshmallows
Add 1 apple, cubed
Add 1 banana, sliced
Add 1 can chunk pineapple, drained
Add 1 cup fresh grapes
Add 1 small can mandarin oranges, drained

*If you add a lot of extra ingredients, increase the amount of cream cheese, heavy cream, and condensed milk (or yogurt)

Wilted Spinach Salad

Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 1

1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced
1/4 cup pine nuts
5 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup Craisins
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese

Melt butter in a wok over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until translucent.  Add pine nuts and saute for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Turn off heat and immediately add spinach leaves, tossing constantly until slightly wilted.  Pour immediately onto plate and top with Craisins and cheese.

This is really tasty with caramelized onions.  To caramelize onion, melt butter over medium-low heat and add sliced onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes or until golden.  I caramelized 2 onions and froze what I didn't need.  Then when I was ready to use them, I just tossed them in a heated pan to defrost.

I made this for my mom - she has an intolerance to dairy and nuts, so I made it with olive oil, onion, spinach and Craisins and she said it was very good!

Sweet Potato Soup

I tried this soup for dinner, it was delicious!

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 medium orange sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups squash, cubed (I used a Magda Hybrid, but any mild squash will do)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 cups vegetable broth
dash black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
cheddar cheese, optional

Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. add approx 1 Tbsp oil to the pan. Add onions and garlic, saute for about 2 minutes. Add yams, squash, rosemary, black pepper and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for approx 40 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprigs. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender), blend until soup is thick and smooth. Add sour cream and stir until incorporated. Serve in bowls and top with a little cheddar cheese if desired.

some of my recipes that work with my new diet...

Strawberry-Banana Smoothie
Mango Smoothie
Cantaloupe Soup
Fruity Pancake Topping

Herbed Vegetable & White Bean Soup

Prep. Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 large carrot (or 10 baby carrots), peeled and diced
2 zucchini, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups water
3 to 4 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes
1/2 cup white rice
1 tsp fresh lemon zest

2 Tbsp dry parsley (or 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped)

1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups cooked navy beans (or 1 can cannellini), drained and rinsed

Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Cook onion, celery, carrot, and zucchini for 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute.  Add water, bouillon, rice, dried seasonings (if using fresh, add at the end), and pepper; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.  Add beans and cook for 2 minutes.  Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Tip: I used my food chopper and the preparation was so fast and easy!


This is the original recipe.

Almond Butter Cookies

This is a great recipe that has no flour.

What I did different:

I didn't have any almond butter, so I made my own following these instructions.

I used raw cane sugar in place of white sugar.

The dough was a little dry, so I added an extra egg white and it was perfect.

I also only rolled the tops of the dough balls in the raw cane sugar.

They were different, but very tasty. They are good plain and the chocolate is yummy. Some other ways I'd like to make them: raspberry jam instead of chocolate on top and peanut butter or pistachio butter instead of almond butter.

Banana-Nut Gluten-Free Pancakes

Last week, I mixed some different gluten-free grains and ground them in my wheat grinder, then made my pancake mix. The pancakes had a strong flavor and an aftertaste that the whole wheat pancakes don't have, so when I made pancakes again today, I added a little cinnamon and vanilla to the batter. Then, I topped the cooked pancakes with a sliced banana, toasted almonds, and maple syrup. The cinnamon and vanilla added a nice flavor to the pancakes and the bananas and almonds on top made it absolutely delicious!

P.S. I'm going to play with the grain ratio for the gluten-free flour mix, then I'll post it.

websites

Here are some helpful websites for vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.

www.savvyvegetarian.com
www.vegetariantimes.com
www.chefinyou.com
www.allrecipes.com
www.food.com
www.realfoodmadeeasy.ca

Roasted Garlic

Serves: 2

1 head of garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp salt or to taste

Dash freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F. Slice head of garlic in half horizontally, so that you slice all of the cloves in half. Place halves on a piece of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap around the whole head of garlic, about 12x12 inches. Drizzle oil on the garlic and sprinkle garlic with salt and pepper. Put halves of garlic together and bring foil around garlic so that it looks like a big Hershey's kiss. Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until soft and golden. Serve as a spread on bread or in a recipe that calls for roasted garlic.

Tip: Bake at the same time you are baking something else that takes a while to cook, such as, a roast, lasagna, etc.