Wine braised lentils

Lentils are amazing. They are great for vegetarians because they have a ton of protein and a ton of naturally occurring iron in them. They are also super cheap, especially the brown variety. Brown is the easiest to find and usually you can get a dried package for under a dollar. This recipe classes up the cheap brown lentil a little. The alcohol sort of cooks out, but if you're really worried about it you could use cooking wine, which is non-alcoholic.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried brown lentils

1/2 onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 -3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/3 cup red wine

3/4 cup veggie stock

1/2 cup spinach, cut in ribbons

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper, to taste

parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Boil lentils in plain water for 8-10 minutes. They should still be a little hard. While they are boiling, saute onion in oil until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add mustard and garlic and cook a minute more. Add wine to pan and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add lentils and cover with veggie stock. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding water to the pan if it gets dry. The goal is to have most of the water absorbed but not all of it. After lentils are soft add the spinach to the pan and cook just a minute or two to wilt it. Season with salt and pepper, add butter to pan, and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Pinto bean tacos

Yes, another taco recipe. I really do make them a lot. This is the kind that I make the most often because it is super quick and I usually have all of the ingredients on hand. The boyfriend and I planned to make dinner together and he really wanted tacos but he feels weird cooking meat at my place, despite my insistence that it is ok (he's nice like that). When he learned that all I had were pinto beans he was pretty bummed and told me they were the grossest beans. After trying them (and finishing like 5 tacos) he admitted that they were great and that he was wrong (!!!). He even said he would try changing up his standard Chipotle order because he liked the pinto beans so much.

Ingredients:

1 can pinto beans, rinsed

2/3 cup water

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chopped jalapenos

corn tortillas or taco shells

onion, chopped

avocado, sliced

cilantro, cut in ribbons

lettuce, shredded

hot sauce

other toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, chopped tomatoes, etc

Directions:

In a small sauce pot heat beans, water, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and jalapeno over medium heat until beans are soft, usually about 5-8 minutes. Mash a few of them so that the beans thicken up a bit. If using corn tortillas, soak them in water and then heat one at a time in a frying pan for about 30 seconds per side, or until they are pliable but not falling apart. Fill tortillas or taco shells with beans, top with onions, avocado, cilantro, lettuce, and hot sauce (or the toppings of your choice) and serve immediately.

Perfect pan pizza

This pizza is so good and so perfect that the boyfriend and I couldn't even wait to eat it so that we could take a picture of it. The boyfriend even said that this pizza was as good as his favorite delivery pan pizza, which is incredibly high praise since he orders one at least once a week. This pizza really needs to be baked in a cast iron skillet. If you don't have one I would really suggest buying one immediately. It will be the best $30 you will ever spend. This recipe is for a 10" skillet but I don't see any reason you couldn't use a 12" as well, your crust will just be thinner.

Ingredients:

1/2 a recipe no knead bread dough
2 tablespoons olive oil (or 1 tablespoon oil and 1 of butter)
1/2 -3/4 cup pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
1/2 block mozzarella cheese (not the fancy fresh kind, that has too much water), shredded
1 handful freshly shredded or grated parmesan cheese
Toppings: ours included onion, tomato, spinach, green pepper, feta, half sausage (for the boyfriend), and half green olive (for me)

Directions:

Make the bread dough as directed up until the second rising. At that point place oil (or oil/melted butter) in a cast iron skillet. Allow the dough to do its second rising in the cast iron skillet. It will spread out and fill the bottom of the pan without you needing to do much work at all. Preheat the oven to 550. After it has filled the bottom and has gone through the hour of rising, poke the dough with your finger tips to release some of the air bubbles. Lift up the sides of the dough and let if flop down to release any final bubbles. Top with sauce and mozzarella then all of your toppings except parmesan. Place it in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sides have crisped up and the cheese has melted and begins to brown just a little bit. Take it out of the oven and carefully lift up one side of the pizza to check the bottom. If it isn't as crispy and brown as you want then place it on the stove over medium-low heat for a minute or so to crisp it up a bit. Top with parmesan. Remove from heat and let it rest for a few minutes, then cut and eat.

Roasted chickpeas

These are the perfect snack - they are crunchy, salty, and (best of all) healthy. You could really season these however you'd like, but I really like the smoky and barbecue-like flavor that paprika gives. These will keep for a few days if you put them in tupperware or a ziplock bag. The chickpea skins tend to burn a little more easily so if you're worried about burning them you may want to peel them first.

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika (there are two kinds, get the smoky not the sweet)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a pan with sides (jellyroll pan) with aluminum foil. In a medium bowl combine your drained and rinsed chickpeas with your seasonings. Mix and massage with your hands until they are evenly coated. Pour onto the foil-lined pan and bake for 30-40 minutes total. At the 15 minute mark take them out and shake the pan to prevent sticking. At the 30 minute mark shake the pan again. Bake for increments of 5 minutes shaking after each until you've achieved your desired level of crispiness. Let them cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a dish to serve.

Tortellini tomato soup

I know a lot of people hate tomato soup, and to be honest, I don't always love it. Something about it usually tastes sort of tinny, which doesn't taste well with a creamy soup. This version of tomato soup is rich and flavorful but doesn't have any milk or cream in it. Instead, I used red wine to deepen the flavor. The alcohol cooks out so don't worry about any alcohol content in the soup. Even if you think you hate tomato soup you should try this one, it might just change your mind.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 large onion, diced (or 1/2 a small)
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
5-6 cracks of black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup crushed tomato
1 1/2 cups veggie stock
1 handful mini cheese tortellini
mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until veggies are soft but not brown (maybe like 5-7 minutes). Add garlic, tomato paste, black pepper, italian seasoning, and sugar and cook about 1 minute more. Add wine and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine has reduced just a bit, maybe about two mintues. Add crushed tomato and veggie stock and increase heat to medium-high. When the soup begins to simmer add the tortellini. Mine said to cook for 16 minutes but cook yours according to the package. If the soup is getting too thick just thin it out with a little water as it cooks. Cook until the tortellini is done making sure to stir occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom. Top with mozzarella cheese when you're ready to eat.

Candy canes

I will fully and readily admit that making your own candy canes is sort of a crazy thing to do. You can buy a pack of them in pretty much any flavor for about a dollar. This recipe will cost you more than that and will require much more work. All of that being said, these are still really fun to make and they are delicious. Plus there is just something sort of nice about making them from scratch and being able to control the flavor and color. I adapted this recipe from Taste of Home. Their recipe was great, but the instructions were lacking a few things that really helped the canes come together so I've done things my own way. A few suggestions: have all your equipment and ingredients ready before you start, use an accurate candy thermometer or learn how to test the temperature of candy using the cold water method, and finally pick up some latex gloves and some knit stretchy gloves and put them on before you attempt to pull the candy.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon flavored oil (or 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons extract) like cinnamon, vanilla, or peppermint

food coloring

Directions:

In a large, heavy bottomed pot combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar together. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once dissolved, stop stirring completely. Clip a candy thermometer on the pot and heat the candy to 280 degrees (soft crack stage). Remove from heat and add flavoring. Divide the candy between two oiled cookie sheets. Add food coloring to one of the pans and stir to combine. Put on knit gloves, then put latex gloves on top of that. After the candy has cooled for about a minute or so pick up the non-colored candy and stretch and pull it for a while until it turns shiny and white. Place this back on the pan and pick up the colored candy. Stretch and pull it the same as you did for the white part. Once both have been stretched and are soft and pliable, press the colored part onto the white part and massage until they form one smooth log. Stretch and smooth that log until it forms a long, thin rope. Cut into smaller sections and twist each section so that the typical candy cane stripes appear. Cut into 4-6 inch lengths and curve the top around so that it forms a cane shape. Place on a plate and allow to dry for 24 hours before eating to prevent them from being sticky. 

Ginger dressing (sushi restaurant style)

Whenever I tell people that I like going out for sushi they always give me this weird look until I tell them that I only order veggie rolls (and then I'm told that's not real sushi). Anyway, I really do love it, especially the tempura rolls or anything with eel sauce. Seriously, it's amazing. Aside from the rolls one of the best things is the salad that comes with it. It's usually a simple iceberg lettuce salad but is always topped with this insanely delicious dressing that was a mystery to me until recently. I looked at a few different recipes before concocting my own, so I can't really take full credit for this since it is just a conglomeration of recipes already out there, but who cares? It's incredible.

Ingredients:

1/4 of an onion
2 large carrots
3 tablespoons of chopped fresh ginger
1 rounded tablespoon of miso paste
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 rounded tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Throw the onion, carrot, and ginger into a food processor and process until the pieces become very fine. Add miso, vinegar, sugar, oils, water, and salt and process again for a minute or two or until it becomes liquefied. Scrape down the sides of the food processor and turn it on again until you're sure the dressing is as smooth as it is going to get. Taste it and season according to your tastes. I added a little more salt and a little more sesame oil and will probably thin mine out a little more too.

Peanut noodles

I ordered spicy peanut noodles at a chinese take out place once and fell in love with them. The place I ordered from didn't add any vegetables or anything, which for me made the dish sort of dull so I tried making my own and realized that they are incredibly easy. They are equally good hot or cold as well, so leftovers are not a bad thing. You could really add whatever veggies you'd like to these, but if you add broccoli or something you may want to boil it with the noodles while they cook.

Ingredients:

2 servings of soba noodles (or spaghetti if you want)
1 large carrot, julienned
3 inches (or so) of cucumber, julienned
6-8 strips of green pepper, cut in thirds
1 large handfull of cilantro
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon (plus a little more) of rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 good squirt of sriracha sauce (as spicy as you'd like it)
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions:

Boil noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside. In a medium sauce pan melt peanut butter over low heat. Add soy sauce and stir. Slowly add water, whisking the entire time to thin out the peanut butter. Once the water is incorporated and things start to thicken, add the vinegar, garlic powder, sriracha, and sesame oil and stir to combine. Turn the heat off and add the noodles and veggies to the pot and mix to coat everything in the sauce. Toss cilantro in right before serving.

No knead bread (by Mark Bittman/Jim Lahey)

Ok, Jim Lahey is a genius. He came up with this recipe and then shared it with Mark Bittman, who then published it in the New York Times. This might be the best thing the Times has ever published, and that is saying a lot coming from me. I (obviously) did not invent this recipe myself, but I think everyone should try making it at least once. I will also be posting (in the future) variations of this bread and recipes that call for this bread as one of the ingredients, so I thought I'd include it here as well. It really is as easy as everyone says it is, except for my dad who has an inexplicable amount of trouble with it.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup water

Directions:

In a large plastic bowl combine all the ingredients and mix it all up. The dough should be what Mark calls "shaggy" but I have no clue what that means so I took it to mean "wet-ish". It definitely should be a little loose. If you add the 1 3/4 cup water and it looks dry for some reason go ahead and add more, but don't use more than 2 cups. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and keep it on your counter at room temperature for about a day (at least 18 hours). After you've let it rise for 18-24 hours, sprinkle a good handful of flour on your counter top and pour the dough on top. Fold your dough over on itself a few times until you can shape it into a rough ball. Cover it with a clean towel. Let it rest for an hour. After an hour, place an enameled cast iron dutch oven (one with a lid) in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Let the dough rest for another hour while the pan heats up in the oven. After the hour is up, transfer the dough into the pan, cover it, and bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and cook for an additional 15.

That's it. Homemade, crusty, delicious bread.

Cough drops

It is starting to get cold out, which means that getting sick isn't far behind. I caught a cold early this year and after trying to find a flavor of cough drops at the store that didn't make me cringe I decided to try my own. These aren't medicated at all but if your sore throat isn't bad these will do the trick. The two pictured are vanilla/peppermint and honey/lemon/sage but you could really flavor these however you'd like.

Ingredients:

For vanilla peppermint:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup water
2 drops green food coloring
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
powder sugar mold (just pour 2 cups powdered sugar in a 9x13" pan and press a measuring spoon in it until little holes remain)

For honey, lemon, sage:

1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sage
zest of one lemon
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup water
juice of one lemon
2 drops yellow food coloring
powder sugar mold (see above)

Directions:

(If making the honey, lemon, sage option: boil 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon sage, and lemon zest together. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 20 minutes. Strain and measure out 1/3 cup) Both versions follow the next steps: Combine water (or sage/lemon water), sugar, and corn syrup (or honey) in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until sugar is fully dissolved. Stop stirring and boil mixture until it reaches 300 degrees*. Remove from heat and add flavorings and coloring. Spoon the syrup into the holes that you created in your powdered sugar and transfer to the refrigerator. After a few minutes remove from the refrigerator and shake the pan so that the powdered sugar coats all the sides. Let them rest until they fully harden.

*you can either use a candy thermometer (which is great if yours is accurate) or you can do what I did and do the cold water test. All you have to do is fill a dish with cold water and spoon a bit of your syrup into it. If it is at 300 degrees it will harden instantly and you can hear a "clink" when it hits the bottom. It will not form a ball and there will be hard strings of candy throughout the water.

Vegetable barley soup

Despite not having a ton of things in it this soup is one that always fills me up quickly. I love the chewy texture of barley too, which makes its longer cooking time more worth it. This soup does need to sit on the stove for longer than most of my other soups, but the prep work is pretty easy so I feel like it all evens out. Somehow the barley turns the broth sort of buttery and silky while it's cooking, which I like because it makes it sort of different from a typical broth-based veggie soup. This recipe makes a lot of soup, like enough for a few servings.

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 large carrot, sliced in thin half moons
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 mushrooms, cut in half, then sliced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 bottle of beer*
1/2 cup medium barley
4 cups veggie stock
1 bay leaf
salt
pepper

Directions:

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-low heat and add onions, celery, and carrots and cook for several minutes until they start to soften. Add mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook until the mushrooms have softened and have started to turn brown. At this point there may be some brown bits on the bottom of the pan, which is good. Add your beer and stir up all those brown bits. Add the barley, the veggie stock, the bay leaf, and salt/pepper. Cover the pot and simmer over low-ish heat for about 45 minutes, checking it at 30 minutes to make sure it doesn't need more stock, Stir occasionally during this time to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom. When barley is tender and has opened up then the soup is done. Transfer to bowls and enjoy!

*Ok, two things. First: if you only use half a beer then you get to drink the other half. Second: use what you like to drink. I used an amber ale in this one, which was nice because it matched the mushroom flavor. You could also use a pale ale or an IPA. Don't use a fruit beer though, obviously.

Red lentils and rice

I really like indian spiced dhal but I lived with a friend who hated the smell of curry and any indian spices, so I decided to change up the spices in traditional dhal (and made it less labor intensive) so that I could eat them without making the house smell like indian food. I used red lentils here because they don't have the same earthy flavor that brown lentils do and they cook much more quickly.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of rice
1/4 cup red lentils
3/4 cup veggie stock
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 dash crushed red pepper
salt
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 handful cilantro
diced tomato
minced onion

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions (I used a rice cooker). While the rice is cooking, combine lentils and veggie stock in a small sauce pot and heat over medium heat. Add garlic, cumin, and crushed red pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer about 15 minutes, or until the lentils have broken down and are extremely tender. Check on them a few times to give a stir and to add a little more stock if they are getting dry. Remove from heat and taste. Season with salt if necessary, Add cooked rice to serving bowl and top with a scoop of lentils. Squeeze the lemon juice on top (I usually do about a quarter of a lemon per bowl). Top with a generous amount of cilantro, some diced tomato, and minced onion,

Cheaters' stromboli

Ok, so I say "cheaters" stromboli because I didn't make the dough. I used Pillsbury Crescent Dough. That stuff is amazing!And I'm not even getting paid to say that (hint, hint, Pillsbury!). They now make this product that is a seamless sheet of dough for things like this stromboli, so now you don't have to press several triangles together to get a nice big piece. Anyway, the dough is light and flaky, which I like but you could easily use pizza dough for this too if you want. You'd have to cook it a bit longer though.

Ingredients:

1 crescent roll sheet, cut in thirds
1/4 a small onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
5-6 florets broccoli
1 cup spinach, cut in ribbons
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
dash of garlic powder
dash crushed red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water
tomato sauce for dipping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Place broccoli in a pot with water and boil until it is tender, drain and set aside. In a large sautee pan, cook onions and garlic in oil over medium-low heat for a few minutes, or until onions become soft. Add mushrooms and do not stir pan - just leave them. Cook about 2-3 minutes and then stir the mushrooms. Cut broccoli into small pieces and add to pan. Cook until mushrooms are soft and brown. Add spinach to pan and cook until it turns soft, adding a splash or two of water when it looks like it is drying out. Season with garlic powder, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper. On a pan lined with aluminum foil, unroll your dough sheet. Cut off 1/3 of dough and set the rest aside. On the 1/3 in front of you pile a small amount of cheese about an inch from one of the long sides and make a line down the dough. Top this with your cooked veggies. Top with more cheese and the parmesan. Carefully roll the dough around the cheese and veggies and press to seal, making sure to seal up the ends as well. Cut a few slits in the dough. In a small bowl, mix egg and water together and whisk. Brush top of dough with this egg mixture. Transfer to over and bake for about 15-18 minutes or until the dough is fully browned. Cut and serve with tomato sauce for dipping.

Boozy worms and dirt dessert

I am super proud of this one, I have to admit. It combines all the things I love: pudding, gummies, alcohol, and cookies. This is certainly not the version you grew up with as a child and you should definitely be careful while eating this because there is a LOT of vodka in it. If you're not making it for halloween you don't have to decorate it like a graveyard - I just thought it was cute.

Ingredients:

2 packages of chocolate pudding
3 cups milk
1 cup whipped cream flavored vodka
1 package cool whip
1 individual size package of oreos, crushed
12 milano cookies, with the bottoms cut off
1 package gummy worms
1 cup vodka

Directions:

Two days before you need the dessert soak gummy worms in vodka and cover. They will absorb it over the next couple days, just make sure to stir every once in a while to prevent them from sticking together. A day before you need the dessert mix the pudding with milk and beat for a few minutes with an electric beater or stand mixer. Mix in the whipped cream (or vanilla, or regular) vodka and beat for another couple minutes. Fold in the cool whip and mix gently until it is combined. Transfer mixture to a 9x13 pan and freeze. It won't freeze solid because of the vodka. The day you need it take it out of the freezer and scoop out spoonfuls of pudding, in the hole you created bury the vodka soaked worms, then place the pudding back on top and smooth out. Do this all over the pan. When all the worms are buried top with the crushed oreos. Place milano cookies in the pudding to look like tombstones. Place in freezer until you're ready to serve. The texture will be sort of mousse like at the beginning but the longer it sits out the more pudding-like it becomes.

Buttermilk drop biscuits

I did not originally come up with this recipe, and honestly, I have no idea who did or where I found it. I've been making these biscuits for so long that I've pretty much memorized the amounts but I can't take credit for them at all. These bake up fluffy but still nice and crunchy on the outside, which is exactly how I want my biscuits. The recipe below makes about 5 biscuits but if you're making these for more than 2 people you'll want to double the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons shortening
1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a medium bowl. Add shortening and mix together with your hands until things come together in crumbles, it should be dry and almost sandy. Gently stir in the buttermilk until just combined. Loosely form into balls, but don't make them smooth. The spikier the better. The spikes brown up and get all crunchy and delicious. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Butternut squash soup

Yes, another soup recipe. This one is an important one though because I promise that it will feature heavily as the base for a few more meals as well. When I make this soup I make it plain and then season it as needed since it can be so versatile. If you know you're not going to use the leftovers for anything else then go ahead and season the whole pot. If you're doing that some good suggestions would be curry powder, or a vanilla bean, or cinnamon. I usually add cream to each individual bowl as well. The one pictured was topped with cream and cinnamon (although you can't see it) as well as granny smith apples, walnuts, and raisins.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed (scrape out the seeds too)
2-3 cups veggie stock
salt
pepper
toppings/seasonings

Directions:

Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and translucent but be careful not to brown them. Add squash and stir. Add just enough stock to cover the squash. For me this was about 3 cups. Bring things to a boil and continue to cook until the squash is very, very soft. Maybe about 20-30 minutes. Either use an immersion blender or a regular blender to puree the soup and then thin to the consistency you like with more stock. Simmer for a few more minutes, transfer to bowls, and season each with the toppings of your choice.

Cheddar cheese grits

I was talking with someone recently who told me that they hated grits. I was shocked and then asked them how they made them. They told me that they tried to microwave them, which obviously didn't create the creamy and smooth texture of properly cooked grits. The recipe below is simple and comes together quickly, but still manages to turn out thick and rich. You can use any sort of cheese you'd like, but I've found that sharp cheddar or white cheddar work the best.

Ingredients:

1 cup veggie stock
1/4 cup quick-cooking grits
1 dash garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
black pepper
hot sauce, optional

Directions:

Bring veggie stock to a boil in a small pot, slowly stir in grits and garlic powder and reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Grits are done cooking when they are thick but not dry. Turn off heat and stir in butter. Add cheese and season with black pepper. Serve right away and top with hot sauce if using.

Overnight oatmeal

Oatmeal always seems like a lot of work on weekday mornings. I'm certainly not going to wake up 15 minutes early to make a pot of oatmeal when I could just grab a yogurt and run out the door. This is the perfect solution and it will keep you much more full than yogurt will. I was a little worried about eating cold oatmeal, but it was actually really good! You could always pop it in the microwave for a little bit if you want it warm though.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup quick oats
1/3 cup water (or milk/almond milk/juice/etc)
1 small handful of nuts/fruits/seeds (really whatever you want)
Sweeteners (honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, etc), to taste
Flavorings (cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, vanilla, almond extract, etc), to taste

Directions:

Place oats and whatever liquid you want in a mason jar. Top with fruit, nuts, seeds, sweeteners, and flavorings in any combination you'd like. Put the lid on and seal tightly. Shake until everything is mixed. Store overnight in the refrigerator. The oats will absorb the liquid and become soft and plump.

*The oatmeal in the front of the picture has raisins, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon. The ones in the back have chopped dates, walnuts, and vanilla. I didn't use any sweeteners other than the dried fruit and it was plenty sweet for my taste.

White bean and spinach soup

Soup is the perfect comfort food. Now that it is officially fall chances are good that I'll be making it at least once a week. This soup comes together relatively quickly and tastes delicious. The best part is that it is nice and creamy without actually having any cream in it. I've made this soup a lot and I've substituted kale for the spinach before and it turns out well, you just have to cook the kale a little longer.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small onion (or 1/4 large), chopped

1 large (or 2 small) cloves garlic, minced

1 can of white beans, drained

1 cup veggie stock (or a cup of water with a bouillon cube dissolved)

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

dash of cayenne pepper

a few good cracks of black pepper

1 large handful of spinach leaves, cut into ribbons

shaved parmesan cheese

balsamic vinegar

lemon oil 

Directions:

In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat and add onion and garlic. Cook onions and garlic until they are soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add the beans and the stock, then sprinkle in the rosemary, cayenne, and black pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat until beans are soft, approximately 10 minutes. Pull out about 1/3 cup of the beans, then puree the remainder. Add the beans back in and continue to simmer for a few more minutes. Add the spinach to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until it has wilted. Transfer to bowls and top with shaved parmesan slices, a few drops of balsamic vinegar, a few drops of lemon oil, and a good crack of black pepper.

Hot sauce

Full disclosure: this is absolutely not a recipe I created. This comes from Bon Appetit. I've made this a few times and it is seriously some of the best hot sauce I've had and I really didn't see the need to change it or adapt it at all. It doesn't have the consistency of mass produced hot sauce - it is pretty thin so it pours rather than drips like store bought so just be careful when you're using it.

Ingredients:

1 pound of hot peppers (jalapeno, serrano, cayenne, habenero, etc)*
2 tablespoons of salt
1 1/2 cups white vinegar

Directions:

Throw the peppers and the salt into a food processor and pulse until you have a nice puree going. It won't be smooth yet, but that's ok, you're going to process it again anyway. Transfer the mixture to a non-reactive container (preferably glass) and let it sit, covered, at room temperature for anywhere between 1 and 7 days. I usually let mine go for 3-4, otherwise it gets too intense for me. Put the puree and the vinegar into a food processor and turn it on continuously until you get a nice, smooth consistency. Strain the mixture through a coffee filter, pressing slightly on the solids to extract all the sauce. Store in a glass container and keep in the refrigerator for up to four months. Shake it before using.

*Sometimes I'll add a clove or two of garlic as well. The one pictured is made with 100% serrano peppers. If you don't want it so spicy you could replace some of the hot peppers with a bell pepper of the same color.

Spicy potato tacos

I love tacos. There are so many delicious kinds you can make whether you're a vegetarian or not. Tacos are one of those meals where you can make several fillings and then people can decide what kind they want, making it a good choice for when you are serving meat eaters and non-meat eaters. I love this version because it is a little different than you're typical taco. Feel free to adjust the level of spice to your liking. The amounts listed below made three tacos (enough to feed just me), obviously increase the amounts if you're making it for more than one person.

Ingredients:

4-5 red potatoes, diced (I cut each potato in 6ths)
1 1/2 cups veggie stock (or water with a bullion cube dissolved in it)
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1-2 good shakes crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 of a large jalapeno, minced
3 corn tortillas
Toppings: avocado, tomatoes, red onion, sour cream, shredded lettuce, chives, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.

Directions:

Combine potatoes, stock, tomato paste, and spices in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan with a lid that is tilted to the side to allow some of the steam to escape. Continue to cook the potatoes until they are a step or two past fork tender - they should be soft but not falling apart. Mash a few of them and continue to cook until most of the water has evaporated. Add oil and jalapenos and keep cooking, uncovered, until potatoes begin to crisp up, making sure to scrape the pan every once in a while to make sure nothing burns. Heat tortillas by wetting them and then placing them on a hot saute pan, flipping them after about a minute. Fill tortillas with crisped up potatoes, then top with whatever toppings you'd like.

Fried green tomatoes

I recently bought my first cast iron skillet (finally!) and I had been trying to think of the perfect thing to break it in when the idea of fried green tomatoes came to me. It's such a southern dish that it just felt like the right choice (other than cornbread of course, but my skillet is way to big for cornbread unless I'm cooking for others too). I made mine on the spicy side and served them with sour cream and hot sauce, but feel free to adjust the seasonings however you'd like. If you want them smoky but not spicy some smoked paprika would be really nice in the bread crumbs.

Ingredients:

2 - 3 green tomatoes
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 or 6 good cracks of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Slice your tomatoes horizontally in 1/4" to 1/2 inch slices. Pour your buttermilk into a small bowl (I used a teacup, which was the perfect size to dunk each slice) and, in a separate shallow dish, mix together your bread crumbs, flour, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. One at a time, dunk a tomato fully under in buttermilk, then transfer to the breadcrumbs and coat completely. Repeat for each tomato. Heat your skillet (doesn't have to be cast iron) over medium heat and add oil and butter. When the butter is melted add your tomato slices and fry for 2-3 minutes, flip and fry 2-3 more minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and season with salt. Serve immediately (they really don't keep well).

Black bean soup

I love soup. I once told someone that soup was my favorite food but I was told that soup isn't a food, it is a method of cooking. I'm sticking by it though. Soup is delicious. This soup can be easily adjusted to your preferences (just like most soups) so feel free to play around with it. I like to top this soup with lots of things but it is good just on its own as well.

Ingredients:

1 large clove (or 2 small cloves) of garlic, minced
1/2 small (or 1/4 large) red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-6 slices green pepper, chopped
1/2 a tomato, chopped
1/2 a jalapeno, minced (adjust to your taste)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups veggie stock (or 1 bouillon cube mixed with 1 1/2 cups water)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Toppings: sliced avocado, chopped red onion, chopped tomato, sour cream, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.

Directions:
In a medium sauce pot saute garlic, onion, and green pepper in olive oil over medium low heat for a few minutes or until the onion softens but before it browns. Once soft, add the tomato and jalapeno and continue to cook for another minute or two. Add black beans, stock, cumin, and chili powder and stir to combine. Turn heat up to medium and bring to a low boil for 5-10 minutes or until the beans are soft and can be easily smashed. At this point you can puree the whole thing and make it smooth, or you can do what I do and smash the beans with a potato masher until most of them have broken down but stop before it becomes smooth. Turn heat down to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens up to the consistency you like. Ladle into bowls and top with any combination of toppings you like.

Tart applesauce

I love fall. It is by far the best season and one of the reasons it is the best is because of all the delicious foods that come with it. It is the start of comfort food season. One of the healthiest comfort foods in my opinion is applesauce, especially warm apple sauce. Maybe with a scoop of ice cream on top but that would certainly make it less healthy. Anyway, I have a few applesauce recipes I use, but this one is a less sweet, more tart version that is good when you want to have this with a meal instead of as a dessert.

Ingredients:

4 granny smith apples, peel, cored, and diced
3/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1/2 a small lemon, juiced
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place apples, apple juice, water, and zest in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Cook on medium-high heat and bring to a slow boil. Boil for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft enough to be easily mashed. Mash with a potato masher, turn heat down to low, season with salt and continue to cook until it is the thickness you want. I usually cook mine for 5 or so minutes. Turn off heat, stir in lemon juice and serve.

Basil pesto pasta

One of the best parts of having my own (small) garden is that I have fresh herbs on hand all summer and into the fall. Fresh herbs, and particularly basil for some reason, are really expensive at the store but can be grown easily, even indoors. Unless you're me. Then it is absolutely impossible to keep an indoor plant alive. One person commented that my house looked like a plant graveyard and a coworker just recently removed the plants from my office to try to revive them. Anyway, outdoor herbs are easy and if you have a bumper crop of basil then pesto should be an obvious next step. The recipe below makes enough pesto to cover two pretty hearty servings of pasta, but you could easily just use this as a sauce and spread it on a grilled cheese or on crostini with goat cheese.

Ingredients:

1 cup basil leaves, loosely packed

1 small clove of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1/2 a lemon, juiced

1/4 cup parmesan, grated (not the stuff in the can) plus more for the top

olive oil, a few good sized glugs

2 servings of spaghetti, with some of the cooking water reserved

8-10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Directions:

Heat a dry skillet over medium heat, when it is warm add the pine nuts and keep shaking the pan until the nuts are golden brown, which should only take about 3 minutes. Transfer the pine nuts to a food processor, add the minced garlic and a small glug of olive oil and pulse a few times to break things down. Add the basil to the nuts and garlic and pulse a few more times. Add the lemon juice and process for about 30 seconds. While the food processor is running, stream a good sized glug of olive oil (maybe like 1/4 cup) into the mixture. Continue to process until a loose paste forms. Mix in the cheese and process a few more times, if it looks dry add a little more oil. The goal is to get the pesto to be bright green and sort of creamy, but not oily and runny. In a medium sauce pan, boil water for your pasta and salt it well - someone once said it should taste like the ocean in order to properly season pasta. Boil your pasta, but when it is done cooking take about 1/3 cup of the cooking water out before you drain it. Drain pasta and transfer it to a large bowl (or back in the pan but don't return it to the heat). Add your pesto and mix well, adding some of the cooking liquid back in as you're stirring to loosen up the sauce and coat the pasta. Stir in cherry tomatoes and grate more parmesan on top.

*If you want to save the pesto you have two options: freeze it or refrigerate it. If you freeze it then don't add the cheese, mix that in the day that you're serving it. If you refrigerate it you can make the whole thing but then coat the top with a nice layer of olive oil to prevent it from browning. If it browns it still tastes fine, it just looks nasty.

Polenta fries

To say that I'm obsessed with Grizzly Peak's polenta fries would be an understatement. They are so freaking amazing. They are crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and served with this incredible homemade ketchup. I've called the restaurant and asked for the ketchup recipe but they wouldn't share it, which is actually unusual, most places are happy to provide their recipes. I don't blame Grizzly Peak though, if I found out how to make it at home I'd be much less inclined to spend $9 on polenta and ketchup. Even though the ketchup recipe is a mystery, the polenta part is actually super easy (and cheap!) to make. I used instant polenta because I'm a quitter and don't want to spend 30-40 minutes whisking over a hot stove.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup instant polenta
2 1/4 cup water*
salt to season the water (next time I may try veggie stock)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (if I were really fancy I'd use chopped roasted garlic)
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning OR rosemary (adjust to your tastes)
cooking spray

Directions:

Boil salted water in a sauce pan and slowly stir in polenta. Cook according to package directions, mine cooked in only 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in garlic, parmesan, and your herbs. Transfer this to a pan that you've sprayed with cooking spray (I used a pyrex that measured maybe like 8"x6"). Take a wet spatula and evenly spread polenta in pan, trying to smooth it as much as possible. Place it in the fridge until it is firmly set and cool. Invert it onto a cutting board and slice into thick fries, they could really be any size you want. Arrange them onto a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Place them under the broiler until they are brown and crispy on the outside, turning as necessary to crisp all sides. Broilers all have different strengths, so the cooking time will vary wildly. Just keep an eye on them. Mine took about 15 minutes from start to finish and the bottoms browned before the tops so I turned them so that all the sides had a chance to crisp up.

*The amount of water you'll need to use will depend on the type of polenta you pick up, just follow the directions on the box. You can also season these any way you like, I didn't want mine to be too herby so I just lightly seasoned them.

Wine braised mushrooms

When I was growing up I was obsessed with this restaurant called Spaghetti's. Honestly, at this point I have no idea if the food was actually any good or not but their chianti mushrooms still haunt my dreams with deliciousness. Also, 13-year-old me thought I was super cool and classy for ordering (and actually enjoying) something with chianti in the title. The recipe here is my attempt at recreating that appetizer, which was really just a big pile of mushrooms served with some bread to soak up the braising liquid. I will often eat them like this for an appetizer. If you're looking to make them into a meal I'd recommend serving them on top of soft polenta or throwing cooked spaghetti into the pot after removing them from the oven and tossing it with some shaved parmesan.

Ingredients:

1 box (a pound?) of button mushrooms
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup red wine (use what you'd drink)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons water

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Clean your mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel and cutting the stems down just a little bit. In a pot that can transfer from stove to oven (I use my enameled cast iron dutch oven for this) melt butter over medium low heat. Once butter is melted, place mushrooms cap side down in pan and do not move. Let them cook there without moving until the butter starts to turn golden brown, probably like 2-3 minutes. Turn the mushrooms over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. You want to cook them for 5 minutes total. After 5 minutes turn off the burner, add garlic, wine, soy, and vinegar and stir to release the good brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add water, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. If you want more sauce just remove the mushrooms from the pan and add more water, scraping down the sides and bottom of the pot to release more sauce and stirring to combine.

Date energy balls

When I first made these and was talking to my housemate about them she thought that I called them "date energy balls" so that I would have something to snack on that would give me the energy to go on a date, which is definitely true; these would give you great pre-date energy and would hold off your hunger for a while too! But really they are just made using dates. These will really kick your hunger and they are a great after-work but before dinner snack or a pre-gym snack.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pitted whole dates (not the chopped kind that are rolled in flour)

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup any other dried fruit (including more dates) that you like

1/2 cup any other nut that you like (including more walnuts)

1 cup quick oats

2 tablespoons flax seeds

1/4 cup dried coconut (if you like it, see note below)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Throw the nuts in a food processor and roughly chop them. Then add the dried fruit and blend until the fruit starts to break down. Add the oats, flax seeds, coconut (if using)*, and vanilla. Process until it becomes a dough. If it is dry and not turning into a dough, add a little water and try again. Wet your hands and take a small amount (like a good, rounded spoonful) and form it into a ball. Form all of it into balls and then toss in the freezer. You can eat them frozen or thaw them, either way they are delicious!

*You can really flavor these any way you want. You could add cinnamon, or cocoa powder, or actual chocolate, or really anything you want to flavor it up. I just don't really like cinnamon or chocolate so I didn't add it.

Tomato basil crostini

This year my garden was hit hard. Out of all the things I planted, the only things I'll be harvesting are tomatoes and basil (and a few chives, thankfully!). Despite my initial frustration with the bunny (or asshole human) that destroyed most of my plants, I'm very happy that my favorite things are still going strong. This is just one of many things to make with cherry tomatoes and basil. Obviously increase the amounts to make as many as you feel like you can eat.

Ingredients:

3 slices of baguette or french bread
1 garlic clove, cut in half
6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
4-6 leaves of fresh basil, cut in ribbons
reduced balsamic vinegar*
salt

Directions:

Toast bread slices. Remove from toaster and rub the garlic clove, cut side down, over crisped bread. Top with tomatoes and basil. Drizzle balsamic syrup over tomatoes and season with salt.

*To reduce balsamic vinegar, just place regular balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan and simmer until it has reduced by half. When it is done it will be thick and syrupy and should be able to coat a spoon.

Cucumber salad

This salad is the perfect side dish for summer. It is crunchy, light, and slightly sweet. The best cucumbers for this salad are the long skinny ones that are wrapped in plastic at the store. The reason they're so good for this is because they don't have big seeds like the other cucumbers. If you use regular cucumbers just scoop out all the seeds before you slice them.

Ingredients:

1 English cucumber
1/4 of a small red onion
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 rounded tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dill weed

Directions:

Slice the cucumbers and red onion as thinly as humanly possible and throw them into a non-reactive (not metal) bowl. Smash a garlic clove but don't chop it at all (you want it to be big enough to pick out later). Throw that into the bowl too. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and dill and mix it well to combine everything. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight if possible, but at least for a couple hours. Honestly, it is edible right away but it gets better once the cucumbers start to soften and soak up all the other flavors. Just pick out the garlic clove before you eat it. After it has soaked overnight you may also want to drain some of the liquid off too.

Tomatillo salsa

Tomatillos are these really weird looking fruits (veggies?) that grow with this papery stuff covering the outside. They taste like a cross between a green tomato (which is an entirely different thing) and a lemon, and they have the texture of a cross between an unripe tomato and an apple. Growing up, we planted them in our backyard and I didn't realize until moving away that they would be sort of challenging to find. Luckily my grocery store usually has a small amount of fresh tomatillos available and they almost always have canned. I've made this salsa with both fresh and canned before, both of which resulted in really tasty salsa, but I definitely prefer the fresh.

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic

1/4 small red onion, chopped

1 small (or 1/2 a large) jalapeno, or more if you want it spicier

6-8 fresh tomatillos (or 1 can, drained)

1 small lemon, juiced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 good handful of cilantro

Directions:

Mince your garlic really finely, then sprinkle it with salt and smash/drag it across your cutting board a bunch of times with the back of your knife until it makes a paste. Throw this in the food processor. Chop your onion and your jalapeno and add those to the food processor too. Turn it on a few times so that your pieces become even smaller. Rinse your tomatillos to remove any of the sticky coating and then quarter them. Add the tomatillos, lemon juice, and salt to the food processor. Pulse a few times to break things down, then turn it on and let it run continuously for a while until things are really starting to come together. Turn it off, throw in your cilantro, pulse a few more times, then turn it on again and let it run until it is the consistency you like. I like mine on the smoother side, so I let it go for a while. It tastes best immediately, but it can stay in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I just  give it a good stir if it has been sitting for more than a day.

Falafel pita

Ok, so I cheated a little on this and didn't make my own falafel balls. Who has time for that?! I used a dry mix that I picked up from the grocery store. I prepared it according to the package except that I cooked it on a waffle iron instead of deep frying it 'cause it's faster, healthier, and doesn't make your whole house smell like hot oil. 

Ingredients:

1 pita

2-3 prepared falafel balls (seriously, just get the powder)

1 big scoop hummus

1 big scoop cucumber yogurt sauce

A few shakes of hot sauce (if you want)

4-6 thin slices red onion

4-6 thin slices green pepper

1 small handful chopped tomato

1 small handful shredded lettuce

A few sprigs cilantro or parsley

Directions:

Warm your pita for a few seconds to make it pliable. Spread the hummus in the middle in a line. Place your falafel on top (I cut mine in half so the bites were manageable). Spoon cucumber yogurt sauce over the falafel and sprinkle with hot sauce (if using). Arrange vegetables and herbs on top and roll up. I wrapped mine in foil like chipotle does and then cut it in half. To eat it, I just rolled down the foil as I went, that way all the stuff stayed inside and it stayed tightly rolled.

Cucumber yogurt sauce

I love middle eastern food and when I get it at a restaurant I always get double the amount of cucumber yogurt sauce. It is so good and so deliciously garlicky and bright. Turns out it is really simple to make as well! This sauce is great with pita, on falafel, or really on anything where you want a bright, garlicky, creamy sauce.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup diced cucumber, diced really finely

2/3 cup plain greek yogurt (or one single serve container)

1 garlic clove

1/2 of a small lemon, juiced

1 good dash of salt

1/2 teaspoon dill weed

Directions:

Chop the garlic as finely as you possibly can. Seriously, run your knife over it until you don't think you can chop it any more. Then sprinkle the garlic pieces with a good amount of salt. Take the flat part of the knife and scrape the garlic and salt mixture against the cutting board 10-15 times, or until the garlic breaks down and turns into a paste. Place the garlic paste into a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Season with more salt, if necessary. Refrigerate for while so that the flavors can all mesh together. It is best to leave it for like an hour, but you don't have to. It will just get better the more it sits. 

Spinach and mushroom quesadilla

Quesadillas are pretty simple to throw together and I'm sure everyone has a go to quesadilla "recipe" by now. This one is spicy, smoky, and full of veggies so you can pretend that it is healthy. The recipe makes one quesadilla, obviously increase the quantities of everything if you want to make more than that.

Ingredients:

2 flour tortillas (I used the fajita size)
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 slices of red onion
5-6 mushrooms, sliced
1 cup chiffonaded spinach (probably 3 good handfulls)
1 tablespoon reduced fat cream cheese
dash garlic powder
dash cayenne pepper
4-5 dashes of liquid smoke*
salt and pepper, to taste
2 ounces (1/4 block) of mozzarella, shredded

Directions:

Saute onion and mushroom in olive oil over medium heat until the mushrooms soften and brown (stop before the onions brown though!) this should take like 2-4 minutes after the oil is hot. Toss the spinach in the pan and add just a tiny splash of water to start the wilting process. Cook until spinach is dark green and wilted. Lower the heat to low and add cream cheese. Stir until it is melted. Season with garlic, cayenne, salt, pepper, and liquid smoke (if using). Set aside. Preheat your broiler. Place on tortilla on top of aluminum foil, add half your cheese, then top with veggies, then add the rest of the cheese. Place the other tortilla on top and give it a good squish. Spray it with non-stick spray and sprinkle it with salt. Cook it under the broiler and watch it closely. Take it out when it turns golden brown and has a few darker brown spots on it. Flip it over and watch it even more closely. It is done when it is golden brown on both sides. Let it rest for a little bit and then slice it with a pizza cutter. Serve with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream (or whatever you want to serve it with).

*I realize that no normal human has liquid smoke on hand. You definitely don't have to use it but I really like to add it for a smoky flavor. You could substitute smoked paprika instead or used smoked mozzarella or leave it out entirely.

Almond milk

I really hate cow's milk. I just think it is nasty. Almond milk, however, is delicious! The few that I've tried from the store were all sort of thin and watery and some of them were pretty grainy, so I decided to try making my own. Turns out that it is way better. With this recipe you can decide how thick you want it. If you use 2 cups of water the result is something close to 2% milk, 2 1/2 cups is something like 1%, and 3 cups is more like skim milk. I like my almond milk to be more versatile so I don't flavor it, but you could easily add a splash of vanilla. 

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds (unsalted with skins on)

2-3 cups water (plus more for soaking)

2 dates, pitted

Directions:

Place almonds in a large bowl and cover with a large amount of water (so that there is an extra inch of water on top of almonds). Soak uncovered overnight. If you aren't making the almond milk right when you wake up in the morning then dump out the water and replace with fresh water. After they are done soaking, drain and rinse the almonds. They should be sorta plump and squishy at this point. Dump the almonds and the two dates into a blender and cover with between 2 and 3 cups of water, depending on your desired thickness of milk. Blend for 2-4 minutes, or until the almonds are completely broken down and the water has turned opaque and white. Strain the mixture through a good, fine strainer (coffee filters work well, a thin kitchen towel works well, cheese cloth was a nightmare though). Lightly press and prod the solids left in the strainer to get more milk out. Let it sit until the solids are pretty dry. Transfer the milk to a glass jar and refrigerate. The solids you have left can be dried in the oven and crumbled into yogurt/cereal/oatmeal/ice cream.

**There is a product called a "nut bag" (hahaha, jokes) that you can buy that apparently strains the solids out perfectly without getting any grit into the milk. That would be great, but why would you buy that when you can use a coffee filter?

Cheese crackers

Ok, let's just be real, these are cheez-its and they are spectacular. They're also super easy and you can pronounce everything in them, which is nice for a change. This recipe only makes a small amount - the picture has all of the crackers in it. I made a batch to bring to a friend's place for game night once and they were gone almost instantly, so maybe make a few batches unless you're just going to eat them yourself while binge watching Scandal or something. 

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup extra sharp cheddar, shredded

1/2 teaspoon salt, (use 1/4 tsp if you used salted butter)

3/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or 1/4 if you want them spicier)

coarse salt (like kosher salt or sea salt flakes) for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Throw everything except the coarse salt into a food processor and blend until it turns into dough. Form the dough into a circle, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for an hour. Unwrap dough and roll out on a floured surface until it is the thickness you like. I like my crackers on the thin and crispy side so mine were probably like 1/8" thick or maybe a little thinner. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter, sprinkle with salt, and transfer to a baking sheet (I lined mine with parchment paper, which made things a little easier). Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-12 minutes, or until the bottoms are getting a little color. You don't want to over bake these since they'll crisp up even more once they cool. Transfer to a cooling rack and (if you can wait) let them cool down a bit. Then eat them. Or put them in an airtight container, I guess.

Caramel apple baked french toast

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of traditional french toast. It always seemed to egg-y to me and, to be honest, why bother when you could make waffles? Then I discovered BAKED french toast. It really is a good alternative to waffles (but only when your waffle iron is broken. Seriously, waffles are amazing). Also, you have to plan ahead for this one since it requires an overnight soak.

Ingredients:

1 lb. loaf of french bread, cut into 1" slices

6 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1/3 cup apple cider

3/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 apple, diced

Directions:

Whisk together the eggs, milk, and cider in a large bowl. Soak the bread in the egg mixture for 30 minutes, gently flipping the bread to make sure all of it is covered. While that is soaking, saute the apple over medium heat until it is soft but stop before it breaks down and becomes apple sauce. Melt butter and sugar together in a 9x13" pan (I generally use a glass pan and just set it over the burner on my stove so I don't have to dirty another bowl). Mix in cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and apple. When your bread has finished soaking carefully remove each slice from the bowl and place it on top of the butter mixture. The slices really don't need their own space, so really cram em in there. Cover the pan and place in the fridge overnight. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes. Invert onto a baking sheet and serve.

Whole grain beer mustard

Before I write anything else I must warn you. WATCH OUT FOR MUSTARD GAS. But seriously, watch out for mustard gas when you're making this. I wasn't really thinking when I made this the first time and I stuck my face directly into the food processor to smell how delicious it was becoming and I almost fell over after inhaling a huge amount of the fumes. Maybe open a window or something. Despite its dangers, this mustard is absolutely worth making! It is so freaking easy and so, so, so delicious.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mustard seeds (any combination of yellow, brown, and black. Darker = Spicier)

3/4 cup cider vinegar

3/4 cup beer (pale ales and ambers work well, but use what you like)

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

In a ceramic (or other non-reactive) bowl, combine seeds, vinegar, and beer. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours. Transfer to a food processor and add the rest of the ingredients. Blend like crazy (the more you break down the seeds the spicier and thicker it becomes). I like to leave a lot of the seeds whole just because I love the look and texture of really grainy mustard. Transfer to jars and store in the fridge.

Easy homemade pizza

This pizza, from start to finish, seriously only takes like 35 minutes. That is less than the time it takes to order one and have it delivered. This pizza uses a dough that is quick to put together, but obviously doesn't taste as good as one that has been rising all day (no one has time for that). It sure as hell beats little caesers though. The one pictured has spinach, mushrooms, red onion, tomato, and feta, but you can top it with whatever you'd like. This makes a pizza big enough for two people.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast 

1/2 cup warm (not hot) water

1 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup tomato sauce, or really as much as you want

mozzarella cheese, as much as you'd like

toppings

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with foil, spray it with non-stick spray. In a small mixing bowl, combine yeast and water, stir to dissolve completely. Add flour, honey, salt, and oil. Mix and then knead with your hands a few times. Let it sit for about 10 minutes, then knead it on a floured surface a few times. Roll it out until it is the thickness you'd like and then transfer it to your lined pan. Roll the edges of the dough to create a crust. Top the crust with the parmesan and garlic (or season your crust however you want). Bake crust for 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and spread with sauce. Top with cheese and whatever toppings you'd like. Return to the oven and bake for 8-12 more minutes, depending on how crispy you like your pizza.