Mom's Potato Salad

Updated from a previous recipe, this is a special potato salad that my Mom used to make for family holidays together.  Over the years of helping her make this, I became an expert potato peeler!  It is best to make this the day before it's meant to be served, as the flavors will have time to set in and the salad is best served chilled.  I could eat this morning, noon and night!

10-12 russet or red (or both!) potatoes
2 stalks celery
1/2 red onion
2 large (or 5 small) dill pickles
6 radishes
Vegenaise
mustard
celery seed
salt & cracked pepper

1: Peel potatoes, cut into cubes and boil until medium-soft (very important not to boil too long or your salad will be mash!).  Rinse in cold water and set aside

2: Dice onion, celery stalks, pickles and radishes, then add the mixture to cooled potatoes

3: Generously add the Veganaise, mustard, celery seed, salt/cracked pepper to suit your taste.  I, personally, have a mustard obsession

4: Add sliced radishes for decoration (my Mom's signature!), chill overnight (if possible) and serve cold...delicious!

*Note: My mom's recipe involved Miracle Whip (she does NOT like Mayo!) and hard-boiled eggs.  I added the celery seed.  Also, do not add sliced red peppers...I learned the hard way--it will make it taste like grocery store potato salad!  :-/

Creamy Potato Salad

10 russet or red (or both!) potatoes
2 stalks celery
1/2 red onion
1 large dill pickle
6 radishes
Vegenaise
mustard
celery seed
salt & pepper

1: Peel and cut 10 potatoes into cubes and boil until medium soft (too soft and they will be mash!)
2: Strain potatoes in a colander and run very cold water over them to stop them from cooking
3: Slice the celery, onion, pickle and 4 of the radishes and add to the a large bowl with the potatoes
4: Add two generous scoops of Vegenaise along with about 3 tablespoons of mustard and slowly fold the ingredients together, so as not to mash anything
5: Add the celery seed and salt and pepper to your taste preference.  I like to add more mustard just because I like a little more of a tangy taste.
6: Slice the remaining 2 radishes and place over the top of your salad and serve!  YUM!

Updated recipe here.

Taco Popcorn

1 bag of Pop-Secret Kettle Corn (or you can do it the old fashioned way via stovetop)
Ortega Taco Seasoning

1: Pop popcorn
2: Add a little bit of the taco seasoning at a time to determine your taste. 

I like the combination of sweet kettle corn and spicy seasoning, so I add enough seasoning to coat at least a third of the bag.  You can buy the taco seasoning by packet or larger container.  This is definitely a treat for those who previously loved cheese popcorn.  Yum!

Rice Crispies!

6 cups (basically the whole box) of Brown Rice Crisps

1 container of Ricemellow Creme (you can also use a bag of Dandie's or Sweet & Sara)

3 tbsp Earth Balance Vegan buttery spread

1: Melt Earth Balance in a large saucepan on low

2: Stir in ricemellow creme, once melted, remove from heat

3: Slowly add rice crisps until completed coated
4: Add mixture into a "buttered" (Earth Balance) pan and cool.

Optional topping:
1/2 package of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp of natural peanut butter

1: Melt chocolate and peanut butter in a small saucepan
2: Add a layer on top of the completed crispies and cool.

*This recipe has been verified Gluten-free.

Root Beer Float

Yum!

1 pint of Vanilla Bean So Delicious Coconut Milk Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert
1 can of A&W Root Beer

The directions for this treat are self-explanatory, but I just wanted to say that, personally, I prefer Hansen's Creamy Root Beer in this recipe, but A&W is the second best as far as creaminess goes.  This combination makes two floats.

Basmati Medley

Wow!  Every once in a while, I even surprise myself!  This was one of my most delicious recipes yet and and was so simple! To make it exactly as I did (recommended), you will need to shop Trader Joe's.  I'm sure you could substitute some of the ingredients...but I wouldn't!

2 cups organic vegetable broth

1 cup basmati rice medley

1 can white kidney beans

2 tbsp Earth Balance

Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute

2 pita pockets

spicy hummus

1: Traditionally, when rice is cooked over stovetop, you would use the 2:1 ratio; 2 cups water, 1 cup rice.  Instead of the water, I chose to use vegetable broth.  So add 2 cups vegetable broth and 1 cup basmati rice medley.  Also add 2 tbsp Earth Balance and 2 teaspoons of the 21 Season Salute seasoning. 

2: Bring to a boil, then immediately turn to low setting, cover and put a timer on for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes if the wild rice portion of this medley is still too hard for your taste, cook for an additional 5 minutes.

3: Add kidney beans and gently stir into the rice medley being careful not to mash the beans.

4: Serve with a side of pita triangles and spicy hummus for a deliciously simple and filling dish!  Yum!

Candied Carrots

6 carrots

1/2 red or yellow onion, chopped

2 tbsp Earth Balance

1 tbsp brown sugar

1: Saute onions in pot.

2: Peel and thinly slice carrots.

3: Add carrots, Earth Balance and brown sugar to the pot, mixing thoroughly.

4: Simmer on low-medium for 10 minutes, until carrots are soft, but not mushy.

Cheesy Cauliflower & Broccoli

Cheesy Cauliflower & Broccoli

raw or frozen cauliflower
raw or frozen broccoli
Earth Balance vegan spread
Daiya cheddar cheese
salt & pepper

1: Saute vegetables in a medium sized pot with 2 tbsp Earth Balance along with a dash of salt and pepper.  Cover and cook on low-medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2: Add just enough Daiya (1/4 -1/2 cup, depending on how much vegetables you used) to pot, mixing until thoroughly melted and covered.  Try not to mix too long, as the Daiya will begin to stick to the pan!  Enjoy! :)

Vegan Mocha

1 cup drip coffee
3/4 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk
2 tbsp Hershey's Special Dark Syrup


Options:
espresso (if you have an espresso machine)
rice or soy whipped cream
Sweet & Sara mini marshmallows

1: Add Hershey's syrup and coffee to mug and stir until thoroughly mixed
2: Heat soy milk in a medium sized pot on high heat
3: Right before the milk begins to boil, remove from heat and beat with a whisk until frothy
4: Add to an extra-large, cozy, rainy-day mug, holding back foam with whisk until the very top.  Enjoy! :)


Side note: this isn't just my cheaply-fabulous way to make a mocha...Seattle has many, many coffee drive-thru cafes, many of which I discovered, used Hershey's syrup as the "mocha"!  Tricky!

Cheesy Chive Potatoes

5 lbs of red potatoes

olive oil

bunch of chives, sliced

Lawry's seasoning salt

pepper

3/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese

1: Preheat oven to 400°F

2: Peel and cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes and place them into a boiling pot of water for about 6-7 minutes, until medium softness (not soft enough to mash though!).

3: Strain and place in a casserole pan with just enough olive oil to lightly coat the potatoes.

4: Add 1/2 the chives and all of the Daiya then bake for 45 minutes, turning potatoes about halfway through.

5: When browned, add fresh chives to the top, cool for five minutes and serve as a delicious side! Yum!

Roasted Pepper Rice

Roasted Pepper Rice

1 cup rice
2 cups water
1/2 red and yellow peppers
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
Earth Balance
salt & pepper

1: Add rice and water to a medium size pan, bring to boil, stir, then put on lowest setting and cover for 18 minutes (time this!!)
2: While the rice is cooking, use a kabob stick and roast the peppers over a burner on the highest setting (if you don't have a gas stove, bake the peppers for about 10 minutes on 400º).
3: When slightly burnt, cool and peel the skin off.  Chop into small squares.
4: On the stovetop, saute onions, celery and peppers on low with a tiny bit of olive oil.
5: When the rice has finished cooking, fluff with a fork and add pepper mixture along with a tbsp on Earth Balance.

Avocado Flatbread & Spanish Rice

This is a quick thing to make if you're in a hurry!

Avocado Flatbreads

(NOT Gluten-free)

flatbread (make sure there is no whey in it!)

avocado, slice in large chunks

roma tomato, chopped

red onion, chopped

garlic powder

Quick Spanish Rice

(Gluten-free)

white rice

salsa

3 tbsp tomato sauce

salt & pepper

1: Boil 2 cups water and add 1 cup rice.  Set burner to lowest setting, cover and cook for 18-20 minutes (timer, please!).

2: Soften flatbread by cooking them directly on a burner for a few seconds on each side.  If you prefer a crispier edge, put them in the oven for 5 minutes at 400°F.  

3: In a bowl, mix avocado, tomato, onion and garlic powder (fresh garlic if you'd like).  Spread over quartered flatbreads.

4: When rice is cooked, fluff with a fork and add 1/4 cup salsa (more or less if you'd like), tomato sauce and salt & pepper to taste.  And there you have it!

Peanut Butter Cups

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter

2 tbsp Earth Balance Vegan Spread

vanilla
extra peanut butter for filling

mini cupcake wrappers or mold, if you prefer

1: Over low heat, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, Earth balance and vanilla together being careful not to overheat mixture

2: Using a very small spoon or the end of a utensil handle, scoop in chocolate mixture covering sides and bottom of paper cupcake:

3: Fill cup with natural creamy peanut butter.  You can get fancy and make your own peanut butter from scratch or various other fillings, of just keep it simple:

4: Cover with a tiny bit of the melted chocolate mixture:

5: Place cups in a container that will help hold them in place.  Freeze for one hour.  Enjoy!





Alternative:
* Add slivered or sliced almonds to chocolate mixture after it has been removed from heat.  Instead of filling them with peanut butter, simply pour the chocolate/almond mixture into mini paper cupcakes and freeze to make a fudgy-chocolate treat.  Delicious!

Garden Green Bean Saute

garden green beans
small carrots
yellow onion
2 tbsp Earth Balance Vegan Spread

1: Saute all ingredients at once in Earth Balance
2: Simmer on low, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened
3: Salt and pepper to taste




*Fun fact: These green beans and carrots are both from my Las Vegas desert garden.

Cheesy Black Bean Rice

2 cups white rice (cooked)
1 cup black beans
1/4 cup tomato sauce (optional)
1/2 cup Daiya Vegan Cheddar
1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
sweet paprika
cumin
salt & pepper 

1: Saute onion with salt and pepper in a bit of olive oil
2: Add black beans, tomato sauce (if you want it to be saucy) and enough cumin and sweet paprika to mildly flavor the beans, but not be overpowering
3: Add rice, salt and pepper.  Mix well.
4: Right before its heated to your liking, add the Daiya just until it is melted and well mixed.  Enjoy!

Cucumber Dill Medley

3 Cucumbers 

10 Roma Tomatoes 

Vegan Spread (Smart Balance Light/Earth Balance) 

Fresh Garlic 

1/2 chopped Red Onion 

Scallions (bunch) 

Fresh Dill (bunch)




Saute garlic with a bit of vegan spread. The amount of garlic you use will depend on what your preference for garlic is, but a good rule of thumb would be a quarter of the amount of onions/scallions you are using. Next add sliced scallions and chopped onions. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and cube them. Add them to the mixture along with lots of minced fresh dill and continue to saute on low until the tomatoes become a bit saucy.

Chop the cucumbers any way you like (biased, sliced, squared, etc) and either saute them with a tiny amount of vegan spread or keep them raw. Place them on a dish and spread the tomato mixture over the top like a sauce. Enjoy!

*This recipe can also be made using Zucchini in place of the cucumbers and poppy seed added to the sauce.