Monday, December 22, 2008

Dairy Free Poor Man's Pierogies

I am of Polish descent and this is one of those dishes that I grew up with on the table for every special occasion. Since developing my dairy intolerance, I have had to alter the recipe. I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients -

10 oz whole wheat lasagna noodles, precooked
5 lbs yukon gold potatoes, cubed with skin on
6 tbs vegan butter spread
1 cup chicken broth
4 medium onions, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 lb bacon, chopped
10 oz follow your heart vegan gourmet cheddar, shredded
5 oz follow your heart vegan gourmet mozzarella, shredded

Directions -
In a skillet cook the chopped bacon until crisp.
Using a slotted spoon so that most of the renderings remain in the skillet transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
In the same skillet saute the onions and garlic until caramelized.
Boil the potatoes.
Mash the potatoes with the vegan butter spread, seasoning salt, black pepper, and chicken broth.
Once mostly mashed add in 1/2 of the shredded cheeses.In a 9 x 13 baking pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray begin layering.
Start by laying down a layer of lasagna noodles.
Next add a layer of mashed potatoes (about 1/3 of the mixture).
Then add a layer of sauted onions (about 1/3 of the mixture).
Then sprinkle on a layer of the bacon (about 1/3).
Top that with a layer of the shredded cheeses (about 1/4).
Add another layer of the lasagna noodles and continue as above ending with a layer of lasagna noodles topped with cheese.
Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is hot and bubbly on the edges.
Makes 24 servings (I cut the pan into 3 long rows then cut each row across into 8 pieces).

Nutritional Info
Fat: 14.4 g
Carbohydrates: 26.6 g
Calories: 271.5
Protein: 10.4 g
Fiber: 4.2 g

Dairy Free Peanut Brittle

This recipe is fantastic!!

From The Milk-Free Kitchen Cookbook

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup water
2 cups dry roasted peanuts
2 tbs smart balance dairy free spread
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Lightly spray a large pan with a raised rim.
Mix the sugar, light corn syrup, and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil, and cook to 230, or until the mixture spinsa thread when a little is dropped back into the pan from a metal spoon.
Stir in the peanuts and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture just starts to darken, about 290.
Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the margarine and the baking soda.
When the margarine is melted, stir in the vanilla.
Pour the peanut brittle out onto the prepared pan, spreading it thin if possible.
When the candy is cool and hard (about an hour) break into pieces.
Makes 24 - 1 oz servings.

Nutritional Info
Fat: 6.2 g
Carbohydrates: 18.0 g
Calories: 135.7
Protein: 3.3 g
Fiber: 0.8 g

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Dairy Free Chocolate Pecan Pie

Ingredients
1 9 inch Pillsbury Pie Crust
1/4 cup dairy free buttery spread
1 cup pecan halves
3 large eggs
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup dairy free semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400.
Melt the dairy free buttery spread.
Pour the chocolate chips into the pie shell.
Pour the pecans over the chocolate chips.
Beat the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the chocolate and nuts.
Bake 10 minutes at 400, then lower the oven to 350 and bake about 30 minutes longer, or until the nuts are lightly browned and the pie appears done.
Serve at room temperature.
Makes 8 servings.

Nutritional Info
Fat: 24.1 g
Carbohydrates: 68.0 g
Calories: 485.7
Protein: 5.4 g
Fiber: 2.1 g

Friday, December 19, 2008

Dairy Free Gingerbread Cake

This recipe still needs a little tweaking as the texture is a little odd and the flavors are not quite to my liking. It seems a little heavy on the ginger and too light on the others to me. So consider it a work in progress!

Please let me know if you try it out and if you did any modifications.

Dairy Free Gingerbread Cake

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp ground allspice
2/3 cup dairy free milk alternative (I used Oat Dream Oat Drink Maple Brown Sugar)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tbs fresh minced ginger
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.
Lightly spray a 9 x 9 square baking pan.
Sift together all of the dry ingredients (from the flour to the allspice in the ingredient list).
Mix together all the wet ingredients (from the milk alternative to the vanilla extract in the ingredient list).
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.
Pour into the baking pan.Bake at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool before serving if desired.
Cut into 3 strips then each strip into 4 pieces to make the 12 servings.

Nutritional Info
Fat: 0.6 g
Carbohydrates: 29.9 g
Calories: 130.5
Protein: 2.9 g
Fiber: 2.8 g

Introduction

Welcome to my blog!

I am the dairy free diva and live as you might have guessed a dairy free life. The reason for my dairy free living is a severe intolerance to anything and everything to do with milk. So, since I don't enjoy being ill I have changed my cooking and eating lifestyle to reflect this.

I am married and have 2 husky furbabies. I live in a very small town in Wyoming with a population of about 300. We have no local grocery store - the nearest one is 60 miles away. So, living here can be quite interesting at times!

I have IBS and PCOS which I am sure you will learn about from time to time in other posts.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.