Vegan/Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Cake Ingredients:  

2 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Ground Clove
1/4 tsp Ground AllSpice
2 C Granulated Sugar
2 Medium Bananas (mashed to replace egg)
1 1/2 C Applesauce
1/2 C Raisins
1 C Shredded Coconut
1/2 C Chopped Pecans or Walnuts
1 C Crushed Pineapple (in juice not syrup)
2 C Grated Carrots
1 tsp Vanilla 

Frosting:

1 C Vegan Butter (Earth Balance is great)
16 oz Vegan Cream Cheese (Kite Hill works well)
2 C Powdered Sugar
2 Tblsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla

To make Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix sugar, banana, and applesauce until combined

Add carrots, coconut, pineapple, raisins, pecans, and vanilla to the sugar mixture.

In separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and combine well

Pour into baking pan of your choosing (well greased 9x13 pan, 2 well greased 8x8 pans, 2 8 inch round pans, lined muffin tins, etc..)

Bake 35-40 min until edges start to brown and pull away from the sides of the pan. Insert a toothpick to assure complete cooking. Cake is very moist.

Cool completely before frosting

To make frosting:

Allow cream cheese and butter to soften completely and mix together on medium speed until smooth

Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix until smooth

Add lemon juice and vanilla, mix until combined

**If you plan to transfer from the baking pan, line the pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

Loaded Potato Soup

 32 oz bag Frozen Hash browns, diced
1 large Onion, diced
1 C Carrots, Shredded (matchstick ones from the store hold up well)
4 C Broth/Stoke - Chicken or Veggie
3 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 C Butter, sliced (Vegan for Dairy Free)
2 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Celery Salt
8 oz package ham, diced
1 1/2 C Heavy Cream (plant based-vegan heavy cream for non dairy)

Toppings:
Shredded Cheddar - (Omit or replace with vegan for allergy)
Bacon Bits
Sour Cream (Vegan or omit for allergy)

1- Add hash browns, onion, carrots, broth, garlic, butter, salt, pepper, celery salt, and ham to instant pot bowl
2-Cook 9 minutes on high and allow 10 min natural release
3- Add heavy cream and mix thoroughly
4- Top as desired and enjoy

TO FREEZE: Add all ingredients except toppings and heavy cream to a freezer baggie or container. Freeze.

To cook from frozen- add to instant pot and saute for a few minutes until there is 1/4 C or so of melted liquid on the bottom of the pot. Cover and cook high pressure for 10 min, allow 10 minute natural release. Add heavy cream, mix thoroughly, top as desired and enjoy

** if you defrost before cooking, follow the instruction above the same as freshly made

**If you prefer to use the CROCK POT -
FROM FROZEN- Dump frozen ingredients into crock pot, cook 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low, add heavy cream, mix thoroughly, top as desired and enjoy

Big Mac Salad

Salad: Amounts to your preference and family size

Lettuce of your choice - I use Iceberg or Hearts of Romaine
Ground Beef  or Turkey
Dill Pickles, diced 
Tomatoes, diced
Cheddar Cheese, shredded (Vegan for dairy free)
Onions, diced
Croutons - homemade is BEST but store bought is fine too (Omit for gluten free)

Dressing:
1 1/2 C Mayonnaise (Vegan for allergies or preference)
6 Tbsp/4ish large Baby Dill Pickles
6 tsp Mustard
3 tsp White Vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4 C Sugar (or erythritol or choice of sweetener) - adjust to taste preference

1- Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender or Magic Bullet, blend thoroughly. Dressing can be used immediately but flavors blend better with a few hours or overnight in the fridge. CAN MAKE AHEAD

2- Chop Salad ingredients and set out in separate dishes for individual assembly

Spam Fried Rice

 

4 tsp Oil of choice
12 oz can Spam, diced
1/2 C Onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 C Peas, frozen is fine
2 tsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp Ginger, minced
2 eggs (Use JUST eggs or omit for allergies)
3 C Rice, cooked (leftovers are perfect)
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce (Gluten Free or Liquid Aminos for allergies)
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste

1- Heat half of the oil in skillet over medium heat, sauté cubed Spam until browned (3-4 minutes) and set aside in a separate dish
2- Heat another tsp oil in the skillet, add onion and carrots, saute until tender (4-5 min) and season with salt and pepper to taste
3-Add garlic and ginger and heat for 30 seconds or so, add veggies to spam dish and set aside
4-Add remaining oil to the skillet and scramble the eggs, salt and pepper to taste
5-Add Spam and veggies back to the pan with the eggs
6- Add soy sauce and sesame oil, mix well and heat evenly - ENJOY!

Chicken Gnocchi

 4 Chicken Breasts, cut into cubes

1 C Flour (Almond Flour for Gluten Free)

1 tsp EACH Salt, Pepper, Paprika, Garlic Powder

3 Tbsp Oil (EVOO or Avocado)

3 Tbsp Butter (Vegan butter or margarine for Dairy Free)

3 Tbsp Garlic, minced

2 C Chicken Broth

2 C Heavy Cream (Plant based Heavy Cream or Creamer for Dairy Free) 

2 C Parmesan Cheese (Vegan Parmesan or OMIT for Dairy Free) 

1 tsp EACH Oregano, Thyme, Red Pepper Flakes

2/3 C Sun Dried Tomatoes (OK to omit if you want)

1 Package Gnocchi (Gluten Free Gnocchi for Gluten Free)

1-Dice Chicken and set aside
2-Combine Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and Garlic Powder with Flour, toss chicken in flour mixture to coat.
3- Melt butter and oil together in skillet and sauté chicken cubes until cooked through and set aside (on separate plate, you'll need the skillet)
4- In the same skillet, sauté garlic until toasty, add Chicken broth and heavy cream
5-Once warmed and mixed together add Parmesan until melted and combined
6- Add Oregano, Thyme, Red Pepper Flakes 
7 Add Sun Dried Tomatoes and Gnocchi, simmer until warmed through and Gnocchi is cooked (usually 5-7 minutes but you should check your package)

Serve and Enjoy!!

Notes: We enjoyed this with a side of streamed broccoli and it was delish. We don't always have the sun dried tomatoes and vegan parmesan is often out of stock near me so we omitted both and it was still AMAZING! 

My kids think the breaded chicken cubes are basically Chick-Fil-A nuggets so sometimes we just make the chicken!

If Gnocchi isn't your thing, it can easily be subbed for pasta (gluten free if you need it that way) or make the sauce and chicken without either gnocchi or pasta and serve over rice. 

Allergy Monster Cookies

 

4 ½ Cups Gluten Free Oats
1 cup and 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Cup Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Salt
2 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter
½ Cup Vegan Butter (Earth Balance Soy free)
9 Tbsp JUST egg replacer (equiv to 3 eggs)- I've used all applesauce to replace eggs and it works too!
¾ tsp light corn syrup
¼ tsp Vanilla
¾ Cup Dairy Free Chocolate Chips (enjoy life ricemilk)
1 Cup dairy free M&Ms (unreal chocolate gems)
a few (3ish) scoops of applesauce **see instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients. Dough will be crumbly. If it is too crumbly to form a ball, continue mixing and add one spoonful of **applesauce at a time until dough is sticky enough to form a ball. Scoop approximately ¼ cup size balls and place 4 inches apart on a baking stone. Bake 12-15 minutes being careful not to over bake.

Freeze leftovers. Defrost at room temp and enjoy or pop in the microwave for 9-12 seconds and enjoy warm!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Sorry about the flash reflection on the broth! Haha Ill get a better pic next time:)

Broth:
1 Whole Chicken
1-3 Breasts of Chicken (If Desired)
1 medium Onion, quartered I have used chopped frozen or dehydrated onions)
2-4 Carrots, whole
3 stalks of Celery, whole or halfed
3 cloves Garlic, whole and peeled
3-4 Tbls Chicken Bullion Powder (or cubes or base, I think base is the best)
Water to cover

Soup
Water
2 Tbls Bullion Powder (or cubes or base)
1 Tbls Salt
4 C Carrots, chopped
4 C Potatoes, chopped
4 C Celery, chopped
1/2 large Onion
1-2 cloves of Garlic, pressed (I have also used dehydrated here)
Egg Noodles (or make your own!! SO GOOD) - Can use Gluten Free 

Noodles
2C. Flour - (Can use Gluten free flour blend but they are a little flaky)
2 Eggs - (Can use JUST eggs for allergy)
Water

Broth:
Place whole chicken and 1-2 breasts (if desired for extra meat) in crock pot, add onion, carrots, celery, garlic and bullion, add water to cover, cook low 6 hrs. Place a strainer over a large stock pot and strain the stock into the large stock pot. Set aside the chicken to cool and toss veggies (you need to pull chicken apart so it needs to be cool enough to touch with your hands).

Soup:
Add water to the stock to thin. I add enough to fill my stock pot about 3/4 full but thats up to you. Add 2 more TBSP of bullion and 1 TBSP of salt (this is to taste. Just keep adding until you like the taste). Bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, chop up carrots, potatoes, celery, onion and garlic. Once the stock is boiling add the veggies, bring back to a boil and boil until veggies are tender. While veggies are getting tender, tear chicken apart with hands. I tend to only use the white meat but when my hubby shredded the chicken he digs more into it and gets out every little bit of meat. Thats up to you too:)  Finally, add  noodles and boil until the noodles are done.

Noodles:
Mix flour and 2 eggs together, add drizzles of water until a ball forms. Set ball aside to rest for 10 minutes. Cut into 4 small balls, roll out and cut each ball as desired. I use the KitchenAid attachment and roll to a thickness of 4 and slice with the fettuccine cutter. Hang to dry or boil immediately. You can make these the night before and refrigerate if you choose. If you choose to make noodles any recipe works but this is the one I use and I use the whole batch.

I also make rolls the day I make this recipe and make atleast 3 dozen. That way my family eats that night and I freeze two bags of soup and 2 bags of rolls for another nights fast easy and still homemade dinner! Yummy:)

FREEZABLE: When you are ready to use it next just set it out to defrost or dump the frozen soup in a pot and warm through. Being frozen with the starch of the noodles and potatoes thickens the broth. Add a little more water as you heat until you have reached your desired thickness. Keep this in mind as you freeze it. You can freeze slightly less per batch and it ends up making plenty once thinned. 

**I have not frozen this with the gluten and egg allergy adjustments- so I don't know how that will work

Strawberry Salad

Mixed Greens

Dried Cranberries

Sliced Almonds

Fresh Strawberries, sliced

Dressing:

1C. Olive Oil

1C. Sugar

2 Tsp. Soy Sauce (Gluten Free of Liquid Aminos to avoid Gluten)

½C. Vinegar

8oz. Poppyseed Dressing - (Can be subbed with any similar style allergy free dressing for allergies)

Mix together salad ingredients. Mix together dressing ingredients and top salad with as much as you would like.

Meatballs on a Stick

1lb Ground Beef (I use Ground Turkey)

1/8 Tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

¼  Tsp. Salt

½ Tsp. Garlic Powder

½ Tsp. Dried Oregano

1 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion

½ C. Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

¼ C. Skim Milk (almond or oat milk for Dairy Free)

½ C. Quick Rolled Oats (Gluten Free if needed)

2 Egg Whites (Chia Egg substitute for allergies)

Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Beat together egg whites, oats, and milk. Add parsley, onion, oregano, garlic powder, salt, crushed red pepper flakes. Mix together with meat of choice until well combined (hands are gross but really work best) Form into small balls and place on baking sheet. Bake @400 degrees 7-10 min. or until no longer pink. They can also be fried if you desire but it is much healthier to bake:) Cool, skewer and serve with Marinara Sauce for dipping.

We also use these Meatballs for:

Spaghetti and Meatballs (There is no separate recipe for that, kinda self explanatory:)

Mini Meatball Subs

Sliders (squish down flat and cook like a burger/serve and eat on a roll)

These can be frozen raw or cooked. If I freeze them cooked I boil them in the marinara sauce to reheat. If frozen raw, defrost and cook as desired.