Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Ingredients

PASTA

• 2 (~119 g each) red bell peppers
• 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium shallots* (finely chopped)
• 4 cloves garlic* (finely chopped)
• Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1 1/2 cups Unsweetened Original Almond Breeze Almond Milk
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder (or other thickener of choice)
• 1 pinch red pepper flake (optional // for heat)
• 12 ounces gluten-free linguini or spaghetti noodles (or other noodle of choice)

FOR SERVING optional

• Vegan parmesan cheese
• Finely chopped fresh parsley or basil

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 500 degrees F (260 C) and roast red peppers on a baking sheet until charred - about 25-30 minutes. Cover in foil for 10 minutes to steam, then remove (peel away) charred skin, seeds and stems. Set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to package instructions; drain, toss in a touch of olive oil, cover with a towel and set aside.
3. While the red peppers are roasting, bring a large skillet over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until golden brown and soft - about 4-5 minutes. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and stir. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Transfer sautéed shallot and garlic to blender with roasted peppers, almond milk, red pepper flake, nutritional yeast and cornstarch. Season with desired amount of salt, pepper, and red pepper flake.
5. Blend until creamy and smooth, taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more salt and pepper or nutritional yeast for flavor. You want the flavor to be pretty robust and strong since the noodles don't have much flavor - so be generous with your seasonings.
6. Once blended, place sauce back in the skillet over medium heat to thicken. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low and continue simmering.
7. Once sauce is thickened to desired consistency (see photo), add noodles. However, before tossing add a touch more olive oil, salt and pepper to the un-tossed noodles for added flavor. Then, toss to coat.
8. Serve with (generous amounts of) vegan parmesan, red pepper flake, and fresh chopped parsley or basil.

Notes

*2 shallots yield ~1/4 cup finely chopped.
*4 garlic cloves yield ~2 Tbsp minced.
*Inspired by/loosely adapted from Lauren's Latest
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.

Sandy White's Salad

Here is recipe for salad dressing.
1 1/2 C oil
3/4 C  white vinegar
3/4 C sugar
1  1/2 tea. Salt
1 tea. dry mustard
2 T. Grated onions
Mix all together in quart jar.  Makes about 3/4 full. Keeps well in fridge. 
Shake well, make sure sugar dissolved. 
I usually use red and Romaine lettuce.  You can add feta cheese, candied nuts, I usually use slivered almonds, green onions.  We really like pears in it.  You can apples.  Strawberries and raspberries  are also good. 

Reesa's Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken breast, cooked and shredded* or rotisserie chicken 

Chicken broth to cook your chicken in (if using a slow cooker)
1 apple, diced of your choice; we usually choose Gala or Fuji)
1 cup grapes, halved or quartered
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 green onions, diced
1/2 cup Brianna's poppyseed dressing (more or less depending on preference)
Dash of white vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Feta cheese
Ciabatta/torta rolls or artisan bread

Directions:
1. Place chicken in slow cooker with enough water to cover about halfway. Cook on low 6-7 hours, high 3-4 hours.
2. Prepare ingredients that need to be chopped and diced, add to large bowl.
3. Add shredded chicken, poppyseed dressing, vinegar, salt and pepper to the rest of the ingredients and mix.
4. Let chill until ready to serve. Serve with feta cheese on sliced French/artisan bread, ciabatta/torta rolls or croissants.

*to make it a super easy and convenient meal, use a rotisserie chicken [shout out to Costco] instead of cooking your own.

Caramel Shortbread Squares

(I doubled this and put it in a 9 x 13 pan)

Ingredients
•    2/3 cup butter, softened
•    1/4 cup white sugar
•    1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
•    1/2 cup butter
•    1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
•    2 tablespoons light corn syrup
•    1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
•    1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
Directions
1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
2.    In a medium bowl, mix together 2/3 cup butter, white sugar, and flour until evenly crumbly. Press into a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
3.    In a 2 quart saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. Pour over baked crust (warm or cool). Cool until it begins to firm.
4.    Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 minute, then stir and continue to heat and stir at 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour chocolate over the caramel layer and spread evenly to cover completely. Chill. Cut into 1 inch squares.

Cutler's Brownie Marshmallow Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 2/3 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 1/3 cups cake flour*

Marshmallow Creme

• 3 egg whites
• 2 cups light corn syrup
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Chocolate Frosting

• 1 cup butter
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar
• milk
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs
2. and vanilla and mix until blended well. Add dry ingredients and mix. Cookies can be rolled, formed into drop
3. cookies, or pressed into a 9 x 13 pan (double recipe and bake time). Roll and form cookies and bake at 350
4. for 10-12 minutes. Cookies are
5. done when top is slightly cracked and no longer looks wet.

For the Marshmallow Creme:

1. Combine egg whites, corn syrup,
2. and salt. Beat on high speed for
3. 10 minutes or until thick. Add
4. powdered sugar and beat on low speed until blended. Add vanilla and blend.
5. May be frozen for later use.

For the Chocolate Frosting:

1. Beat soft butter, cocoa, and
2. powdered sugar together until smooth. Add a splash of milk and vanilla, blend
3. well.

Assembly:

1. Spread cooled cookies with about 1 tablespoon of marshmallow creme. Top the creme with frosting.
2. Try not to eat the whole batch before your kids get home from school.

Baked Oatmeal

• 2 cups rolled oats
  
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ¹/₂ teaspoons cinnamon
• ¹/₂ teaspoon fine-grain salt
• 2 cups milk
• ¹/₃ cup maple syrup
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 bananas, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 ¹/₂ cups blueberries or a mix of berries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter the inside of a square 8-inch baking dish.
2. In a bowl, combine the oats, half of the walnuts, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, the milk, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.
4. Spread a single layer of bananas across the bottom of the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle about two-thirds of the berries on top. Cover all that with the oat mixture and then drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and walnuts over the top.
5. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the oats are set. Let cool for a few minutes. Drizzle with the remaining melted butter and serve.  Recipe and photo by Heidi Swanson

Cheesy Potato Soup

4 medium potatoes, diced

1 large onion
1 quart water
3 stalks celery diced
1/4 Cup butter
3 TBS flour
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups grated yellow cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground pepper
chopped chives
sour cream
cheese
bacon

Combine potatoes, onion, celery and water in heavy saucepan.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.  In heavy saucepan melt butter; add flour; cook and stir until mixture bubbles.  Remove from heat; stir in milk.  Return to heat; cook and stir until thickened.  Stir mixture slowly into potatoes - don't drain the water; cook and stir until thick.  Add cheese and seasonings.  Serve topped with chopped chives, sour cream, cheese and bacon.