by jphilo | Feb 13, 2013 | Recipes
Mashed potatoes is one of those foods that makes winter palatable. But Mom’s version of this comfort food is made with lots of butter and milk.
Which makes them very buttery and smooth.
Which is what makes them comfort food.
Which doesn’t jibe with my new dairy-free diet.
Which made winter rather unpalatable.
Until I discovered a secret ingredient that gives dairy-free mashed potatoes the buttery, comfort flavor I love so much. What is the secret ingredient? Yukon Gold potatoes!
Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes
4–5 Yukon Gold potatoes
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4–1/2 cup almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, or chicken broth
salt and pepper
Peel, cube, and wash potatoes. Put in sauce pan and add water until the bottom half of the potatoes are covered. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Turn down heat to maintain a low boil and cover. Boil 15–20 minutes until tender.
Drain off water. (You can save water and add it to gravy or use it as liquid in homemade bread.) Add margarine to potatoes. Use a hand potato masher or electric hand mixer to mash potatoes and margarine together. Add milk or broth a few tablespoons at a time until potatoes are the consistency you like. Keep mashing until lumps are gone. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
by jphilo | Feb 6, 2013 | Recipes
Between a long, busy weekend and the tail end of a cold, there was no time to test recipes. Instead, in honor of soup weather, here are links to several favorite soup and stew recipes. Enjoy!
- French Stew: This was my daughter’s favorite when she was growing up.
- Cream of Broccoli Soup: This soup tastes equally good with almond milk for those of you who have dairy allergies.
- Cheeseburger Chowder: Hiram and I recently tested a non-dairy version of this family favorite recipe using almond milk and non-dairy cheese shreds. It was surprisingly good.
- Crock Pot Bean Soup: This recipe is easy, inexpensive, healthy, and tasty. What more could you want?
- Turkey Tortilla Soup: This one’s in last place because there’s a division in the Philo ranks concerning it. I love this soup, but the Man of Steel does not. Believe me, its delish!
So what’s your favorite soup recipe? I’d love to try something new.
photo credit: stock.xchng
by jphilo | Jan 30, 2013 | Recipes
This week’s recipe comes from the old-as-the-hills category of the family cook book. I remember Mom making this in a dutch oven before crock pots came into vogue…which happened around the time we got married in 1977. One of our wedding presents was a crock pot, so I’ve always made it that way. (No, I don’t have the original crock pot any more.)
What with the price of beef and us trying to eat healthy, I don’t make pot roast very often. But when it’s on the menu, we indulge completely. I make gravy from the rich broth and whip up mashed potatoes. If you prefer, use the meat for French dip sandwiches as the broth is perfect for dipping. However it’s served, this meal always gets the Hiram coveted seal of approval.
Crock Pot Beef Pot Roast
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pound roast (arm, chuck, or rump)
1 package dry onion soup mix
In the morning, sprinkle half the onion soup mix in the middle of a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to wrap around entire roast. Put roast on soup mix and sprinkle the rest of the mix on top of roast. Wrap and seal roast inside foil.
Place roast in crock pot (do not add water), cover, and cook on low all day. About 20 minutes before serving, remove roast from crock pot and put on large plate. Cover with lid. Pour broth into sauce pan and skim off grease. Use broth to make gravy or for French dip sandwiches. Slice roast shortly before serving.
by jphilo | Jan 23, 2013 | Recipes
The National Pie Association (I’m not making this up. The National Pie Association really does exist.) says today is National Pie Day. In honor of that auspicious occasion, I invite you to download the PDF of our family’s favorite pie recipes. The document has every pie recipe featured on this blog to date in one handy, dandy place:
- Broccoli Cheese Pie
- Vegetable Quiche
- Cherry Pie
- Fresh Peach Pie (see photo above)
- Grandma Dorothy’s Favorite Rhubarb Pie
- Rhubarb Custard Pie
- Crumb Top Blueberry Pie
- Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
- Crumb Top Apple Pie
Best of all, the document includes the recipe for the best homemade pie crust ever–Grandma Conrad’s Never Fail Pie Crust. To download the PDF, go to this blog’s Free Stuff link. Then, celebrate today’s holiday with a slice of your favorite pie.
Happy National Pie Day to one and all!
by jphilo | Jan 16, 2013 | Recipes
Today’s recipe is for non-dairy lasagna. It’s the same recipe I’ve used for years and years, but it’s made with non-dairy ricotta cheese and non-dairy mozzarella-style shreds. Hiram and I ate it this weekend, and it received the coveted Hiram seal of approval.
Hiram’s comment was, “You just have to think of it as a new recipe rather than expect it to taste like the old one.” To be honest, he liked it better than I did. Probably because I like the old recipe so much. But, at least with the new recipe, we get to eat lasagna again. That’s a blessing!
Non-Dairy Lasagna
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork sausage
16 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
16 ounces Tofutti Better than Ricotta Cheese
1 cup Daiya non-dairy mozzarella cheese shreds (optional)
8 ounces lasagna noodles
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown meat in a skillet. Drain and rinse to remove fat. Return to skillet and add onions and green pepper. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add crushed garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and tomato sauce. Stir well and bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer uncovered.
While meat sauce simmers, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.
Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Arrange 1/3 of lasagna noodles in bottom of pan. Spread with 1/3 of meat mixture, 1/3 of cottage or ricotta cheese, and 1/3 of mozzarella. Repeat two more times. Bake uncovered for 1/2 hour.
by jphilo | Jan 9, 2013 | Recipes
Today’s recipe is the latest addition to the dairy-free file. Two tricks make them a sweet (and semi-healthy) treat for people with dairy allergies. First, use dairy-free chocolate chips (Trader Joe’s sells them, but mine came from our food co-op). Second, use whole wheat pastry flour to add fiber and the illusion of healthy goodness!
Dairy-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup margarine, lard, or coconut oil (or any combination of the 3 to equal 1 cup)
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups old-fashioned or steel cut oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 ounces dairy-free chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350°. Cream sugar, shortening, and eggs until fluffy. Mix in vanilla, salt, and soda. Add flour and mix well. Add oatmeal and mix. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts until blended.
Spoon dough onto heated stones or cookie sheets in large teaspoonfuls. Bake for 10–12 minutes. Allow to cool on newspaper covered with wax paper.
