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RECIPES

RECIPES/ Sides

A Super Easy & Delicious Lunch-Vegetable Masala Rice Medley with Corn-A No Recipe, Recipe

 

When I get tired of big salads for lunch, I search my freezer and can always find some fun convenience foods from Trader Joes.

Even if you don’t live near a Trader Joes, this idea can still work using different convenience foods.

 

These Vegetable Masala burgers from Trader Joes make me very, very happy.  They are Vegan and Soy Free.

They have a great Indian flavor and a bit of a spicy bite, but not too strong.  They do not scream masala.

They are full of chunks of potatoes, corn, carrot and peas.  They remind me of a potato pancake with added spices and vegetables.

I often eat them between pieces of naan bread as a sandwich.

I also love browning them on both sides then crumbling them up to top salads or rice. They come fully cooked, so just heat and serve.

I like for them to have a crunch to them which is why I brown them first.  It takes just minutes.

On this particular day, I had Trader Joes Rice Medley on hand in the freezer.

This is another super great convenience food that I love having around.  This medley is nice and chewy, full of fiber and grains that are so good for you.

My kids love this one because of the chewiness.  Just heat and serve!

If you prefer plain rice, Trader Joes have organic brown rice in packets in the freezer section.  Or, you could just make your own and freeze it!

 

I had some leftover corn in my refrigerator from dinner the night before that I added.  I like the texture and color that it gives.

This may seem like it needs flavor or a sauce, but really it doesn’t.  The Vegetable Masala burgers have enough flavor to make this a very hearty and satisfying lunch.

My kids ate the leftovers as an afternoon snack, they loved it.  They commented on the slight spice, but still gobbled it up!

This Garlic Naan is also from Trader Joes.  I do not eat it often since it is not dairy free, but boy is it GOOD!  They also have plain and whole wheat.

Vegetable Masala Rice Medley with Corn & Naan no recipe, recipe!

Yum!

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GF, Vegan & Raw/ RECIPES/ Sides

Cream Of Broccoli Soup-No Dairy!

I don’t eat much dairy anymore, so I had been on a search for a dairy-free, creamy, broccoli soup.  My sister-in-law also eats a plant based diet, and at a family gathering she brought the most amazing soup recipe.  It was creamy and had layers of flavor, and I really couldn’t believe it was dairy free!  When she shared the recipe with me, I saw that from Forks Over Knives Cookbook, which made me smile, as it was a recipe that had caught my eye and I had even marked the page of my Forks Over Knives cookbook.

This soup recipe starts like most of my other soup recipes, with chopped onion, celery and carrot.  This mix from Trader Joes is reasonably priced and very convenient.  I felt a little lazy and not in the mood for chopping, so I grabbed it.
Such pretty little layers!

 

Look how healthful these ingredients are!  Bet you can’t guess what makes the soup creamy!

 

The bag of cashews became this creamy base thanks to my food processor.  What a great trick for non-dairy eaters!

 

This recipe does take some chopping.  I didn’t get to be lazy after all.  My sister-in-law used frozen chopped broccoli in hers and honestly, I could not tell the difference.

 

I get way too excited seeing photos full of plant color.  I get even more excited knowing I can get them into my body in the form of a delicious soup!  The recipe calls for potatoes, I didn’t have any, so I used sweet potatoes instead.  It slightly changed the color of our soup, but really added a nice flavor.

 

Cooking down the veggies.

 

Adding the cashews

 

Mix and cook down.

 

Puree using a hand held blender.  I have this one by Cuisinart and I love it.

 

A hand held blender makes pureeing soups so easy and is much safer than trying to transfer hot soup to a blender!  I love mine and use it all the time.

 

Delicious, creamy, full of flavor (Non-) Cream Of Broccoli Soup!
Cream Of Broccoli Soup
 
6 cups vegetable stock or bouillon
1 rounded cup raw cashews
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 medium unpeeled potatoes, cubed
1 large head broccoli, including stem, chopped (about 4 Cups if you use frozen broccoli & stems)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1. Puree 1 cup of the vegetable stock with the cashews in a blender until smooth. Set aside.

2. In a large pot, cook the onion, celery, and carrot over medium heat in 1 cup of the vegetable stock for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and potatoes and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the remaining 4 cups of vegetable stock and the broccoli, thyme, salt, and black pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer until the broccoli and potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the cashew mixture to the soup and stir until mixed. Remove the pot from heat and puree about half the soup, in small batches, until smooth. Return pureed soup to the pot and reheat, stirring well. Serve. 

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Have you seen Forks Over Knives yet?  It is a great film, one that really changed my views on food.  Below is the trailer.  I believe it is on Netflicks, or you can buy the DVD here.

 

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Meals/ RECIPES

50 Recipes From New Nostalgia & A Confession

See that tab up there that says “Recipes?”  Well, it is a recipe index here at New Nostalgia that I am SUPPOSED to be updating as I post new recipes.  But…I have been a bit lazy.  Actually, unmotivated is the word.  You see, I have been hard at work dreaming up a new blog design, and due to this idea, I keet putting off the task of updating my recipe tab.  Why update when my whole blog is soon to get a face lift?  Well, time has gotten away from me and I was flabbergasted when I realized it had been almost a year since I put my published recipes into my recipe index.  

Bad, bad blogger I am! How nice of you all to put up with such non-sense!  Yes, a super exciting face lift is coming to New Nostalgia. I know I have been saying that for a long time now, but really, its COMING!  Until then, I thought I would share this list of New Nostalgia recipes that are not in my recipe index, but will be very, very soon!




























































































Raw Cookie Dough Bites








Brunch/ RECIPES

Banana Pumpkin Muffins

Like I mentioned in this post, we are having an ‘eat from the pantry’ week to save some $.  I like the challenge of only buying the basics-bread, milk, peanut butter–and using as much as possible from what we already have in our cupboards, pantry and freezer.

I think muffins are great to have sitting around.  They make a great after school snack, or are a nice addition to a green smoothie for breakfast.  They keep my girls from saying the most dreaded “Mom, I can’t find anything to eat.”

I made Brownie Bites which uses pumpkin as a secret ingredient that helps keep the muffins moist.  The problem was it only used 1/2 a can of pumpkin, and since I am in a ‘use-what-we-have’ mindset this week, I went on a search for another muffin that uses pumpkin.

I didn’t have to search very long.  One of my favorite sites, Happy Herbivore, had an awesome looking recipe for Banana-Pumpkin Muffins.  I knew I had a freezer full of frozen bananas, a jar of unsweetened applesauce in the pantry, and of course, my 1/2 can of pumpkin.  I was set!

I was surprised my girls preferred these Banana-Pumpkin Muffins over the Chocolate Bites.  Well, surprised until I tasted one.  They are YUMMY!  They are moist, have just the right amount of cinnamon spice, and the chocolate chips I added made me very happy.  I did have one daughter ask if I could leave the chocolate chips out next time.  I had to agree with her, they would be just as good without them!

I made these the same time I whipped up Brownie Bites.  Brownie Bites cook at 330 degrees, and when I put both types of muffins in the pan, I was a little nervous that they would not get done at the same time, but they did just fine.

I don’t have a finished muffin photo for you, but take my word for it, they are pretty and super yummy!

Banana-Pumpkin Muffins
11/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I just used plain whole wheat flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 whole bananas
1 cup pumpkin ( I was not exact, I used whatever was left in the can after making Brownie Bites)
3/4 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup pure cane sugar, it was all I had on hand)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (or dairy, whatever you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin tins to prevent sticking.  In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice together.  Then whisk in sugar and set aside.

In a bowl, mash bananas, ripe ones are best.  Add applesauce and pumpkin & milk. Stir.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  Stir just until combined.  If you want to add chocolate chips or nuts (1/2 cup) add after a few strokes.

Spoon into muffin tins, 3/4 full and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.  I used mini muffin pans, so mine took about 8-10 minutes.  Regular size muffins will take about 18-25 minutes.

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RECIPES/ Sweets

Brownie Bites With A Surprise Ingredient To Make Them Moist

The minute I saw this recipe for Brownie Bites linked up at Anti-Procrastination Tuesday from Double The Decor, I knew I had to make them.  They looked moist and chocolaty, they were vegan, and they used ingredients that everyone is familiar with.

 What makes these babies so moist?  PUMPKIN!

I’ve had a can of pumpkin sitting around and using it made me particularly happy!  This recipe only used half a can, so I found another recipe that uses pumpkin, Banana Pumpkin Muffins, and made 2 types of muffins.

Todd and I had a little pep talk at the beginning of the week about money & how we needed to save some money for bill paying the next couple months.  Yeah, one of those fun talks.  Blech.

One of the ways I thought I could help with that is to have an ‘eat from our pantry’ week.  That is where I get creative and use as much food from our pantry/cupboards/freezer that I can.  I still had to buy the basics–bread, almond milk, peanut butter.  But, it is Thursday and I have only spent $50 on groceries this week and for us, that is a significant savings.

These muffins really helped in this endeavor.  They made a lot, they were filling and great for snacking.  They also used that can of pumpkin that had been sitting in my pantry for way to long.  

 Brownie Bites
{adapted Double The Decor via Chocolate-Covered Katie}

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp plus 1/16 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup, our taste buds are used to less sweet around here. Could also use 1/2 cup maple syrup, according to Chocolate-Covered Katie)
1/2 cup of pumpkin
3 T oil (I used coconut oil)
2 T non-dairy milk (or dairy if you’d like)
11/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 330 degree and grease a mini-muffin pan.  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, then add wet to dry and mix well.  Scoop mixture into muffin pan and bake for about 10 minutes, but check with a toothpick first to make sure they are done.  Let cool and enjoy!

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GF, Vegan & Raw/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Raw Cookie Dough Bites

Another great Pinterest recipe that I will make often!  I’ve made it twice in 2 weeks already.

Now, I made the mistake of calling it cookie dough to my girls because they were expecting super duper sweet and creamy cookie dough. 2 of the 3 were disappointed with the results, but my youngest and I LOVE THEM. They are somewhat sweet, but there is some texture to them.  I love that there is a touch of sweet, a touch of salt, and the texture makes me very happy.  They mix up in minutes, no baking, and are a great fix for when I want a treat.  They are unrefined, whole grain, and no sugar!  Whoop!!

Raw Cookie Dough Bites
{adapted from A Dash Of Compassion}

2/3 cup raw walnuts
2/3 cup raw almonds {my second batch, I used ALL raw cashews instead of almonds and walnuts. Yum!}
2/3 cup oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup raw agave nectar {I used honey, was out of agave}
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 Tbls mini chocolate chips, or cocoa nibs {I used vegan dark chocolate chips}

In a food processor, process nuts, oats, cinnamon and salt to a fine meal.

Add agave (or honey) and vanilla and process to combine.  Add chocolate chips, and process to combine.

Roll into balls (about 1 Tbls each).  Store in refrigerator.

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I like to use my small cookie scoop, then my hands to roll into balls.  It keeps them very uniform.

Today's Creative Blog

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RECIPES/ Sides

Fresh Lemon Pasta Salad With Asparagus & Tomatoes

Easter Sunday was a beautiful, meaningful, relaxing and delicious day for us.  After a great church service, we went to my in-laws, and the food was wonderful!

I had to take a picture of my plate, I thought it was one of the prettiest plates of food that I have seen in awhile.  Look at all those colors!  I skipped out on the ham, but sure was not missing it due to all the wonderful food we had.

We have a large family so my mom-in-law does much of the cooking, and then we all bring a side dish or dessert to share.

I brought Fresh Lemon Pasta Salad With Asparagus & Tomatoes.  I had seen it on Pinterest, and it sounded so light, fresh and delish!  That is exactly what it was.  Very simple, very fresh, very light.  I made it Sunday morning while getting ready for church, yes, it was that easy.  I loved that it can be served warm, cold, or room temperature.

Fresh Lemon Pasta Salad With Asparagus & Tomatoes

12 oz. pasta (I used whole wheat spaghetti, the original recipe calls for Orzo pasta)
1 bunch fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 lemon, zested and juiced
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
Salt & Pepper
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano (leave out to keep it vegan)

Bring 2 large pots of water to boil.  Add a big pinch of salt in each.

To one pot, add asparagus and blanch, about 2-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus.  Place blanched asparagus in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep them green.

To the second pot, add the pasta.  Cook per package instructions.  When tender, drain and place in a large bowl.  Add blanched asparagus and tomato halves.

Mix olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Stir into pasta and vegetables.  Stir in parsley and grated Parmigiano Reggiano, if using.

This can be served warm, room temperature or cold.

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