Stuffed Italian Bread

 

Received this recipe via Email from my sister-in-law. She's flippen awesome. Thanks Annemie!!!   This is Cheesy-Melty-Onion-Garlic-Love weekend.    Stuffed Italian Bread is like onion-garlic bread on crack. Highly snackable, highly addictive, you find yourself unable to stop pulling those cheesy bread pieces and licking your fingers good after devouring each piece.   Trust me. You will go crazy over it.   The only problem with it is those few agonizing moments of waiting for the bread to cool down a bit while drooling at the melted, gooey cheese between those oh so delicious cracks just so you don't burn your mouth when you do eat it. It's a real test of self restraint for those few moments.   STUFFED ITALIAN BREAD   Ingredients:   1 Italian loaf, about 12 inches long 1 stick butter, melted 1/8 cup olive oil 3 tsp minced onion 2-3 cloves garlic, grated 1 tbsp dijon mustard 1 tbsp poppy seeds 3 tsp chopped parsley (add more if you wish) 1 ½ cup grated cheese    Instructions:    Preheat the oven to 180º.   Mix the melted butter, olive oil, onion, garlic, dijon mustard, poppy seeds and parsley in a bowl.   Cut the bread into cubes with X slices without cutting all the way through the bottom crust.   Pour the butter-onion garlic mixture carefully into those X cracks using a small spoon and over the top of the bread. Fill those delicious cracks with the grated cheese. (It seems like a lot of work and trouble but it's all worth it. Yes.)   Wrap the entire loaf with foil, sealing the sides properly and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and unwrap. Bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and gooey.   Bon appetit, tout le monde!     Hot, gooey, melting and very very tasty.... I think I'm in love...     What are you waiting for?    Stop counting those calories and just DIG IN!   You'll thank me for it.     30 seconds and 6 hands later....         Have a nice weekend, everyone!

 

Cherry Berry Breakfast Bars

Cherry Berry Breakfast Bars

 

vegan

adapted from Edible Perspective’s Monster Bars

makes 12 small bars

 

Ingredients

 

2.5 c rolled oats
2/3 c whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp. ground flax seed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 small, ripe mashed banana
1/2 c peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1/2 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c cherry jam jelly (or any flavor)
1/3 c sliced fresh strawberries (optional)


Instructions

Preheat oven to 350* Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, or lightly grease bottom and sides of pan.

I made homemade cherry “jelly” by pitting and halving about 1 1/4 cups of bing cherries, placing them in a small saucepan with a little water and sugar, and letting them simmer on medium low heat for about 15 minutes. Then I put them into a food processor and blended well, and pushed them through a sieve over the saucepan and discarded the pulp. To the remaining liquid, I added a little lemon juice and let the mixture simmer on low for another 5 minutes to thicken. Then I set it aside in the fridge.

You can just use your favorite low-sugar jam if you’d rather save time.

Next, in a large bowl mix oats, flour, flax, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar until combined. In a medium size bowl, mash banana well. Stir in peanut butter with a fork until combined. Then stir in vanilla and almond milk with fork until combined.

Add wet to dry and stir with a spoon until just combined. Batter should be very thick and not too wet. Mix until no flour or oats are left on the bottom. If it seems dry add 1-2 Tbsp. more milk. If too wet, add 1-2 Tbsp more flour.

Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the pan with a spatula, until smooth. Spread jelly and strawberries on top evenly. Plop down spoonfuls of the rest of the oat mixture on top of the jelly; it will be easier to spread this way. Spread carefully with a spatula, until evenly distributed + covering the jelly.

Bake for about 33-35 min until lightly browned on top. Let cool for 30 min. Lift bars out by the parchment and cut into bars. Wrap individually for easy on-the-go snacks, or keep in a sealed container in the fridge.

Vegan Banana Oat Pancakes

So here’s the deal. I love pancakes. You know this. And if you didn’t know, now you know.

Alongside coffee on a leisurely weekend morning, this is just about my heaven. My little slice of pancake heaven.

The recipe is still incredibly healthy with whole grains, no refined sugar, and very little oil. And the taste is out of this world.

Vegan Banana Oat Pancakes
yields 5 medium pancakes

Ingredients

1 banana
1 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 Tablespoons agave or sugar (use honey for non-vegan)
1 Tablespoon flaxseed
2.5 Tablespoons water
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons milk (I used almond)
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour (or sub other flour)

Method

Make flax egg by combining water and flaxseed in a small dish, stirring and letting set for 5 minutes. Mash the banana and baking powder together, then add salt and agave nectar or honey. Add the oil, egg, vanilla, milk and stir. Then add the oats and flour and stir until just combined. Add another splash of milk if the batter appears too thick.

Scoop batter onto a greased skillet over medium heat (not too high or they’ll burn) and cook for 2-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. They will appear a little soft in the middle but that’s kind of what you’re going for as they’ll be a bit more dense and chewy than a traditional pancake. Serve warm with desired toppings.

Vegan Morning Glory Muffins

Vegan Morning Glory Muffins

INGREDIENTS

3 flax eggs [3 T flaxseed meal + 6.5 T water]
1/2 c applesauce
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 T vanilla extract
1 banana, mashed
1/3 to 1/2 c brown sugar
2 c flour *
1 T ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 carrots, grated
1 apple, peeled & grated
1/3 c raisins [optional]
2 T chopped pecans
* in any combination. I used 1 c whole wheat, 1/2 c all purpose & 1/4 c coconut flour, which is very absorbent.


METHOD

Preheat oven to 375 F. Prepare muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium bowl whisk flax eggs, applesauce, banana, oil, brown sugar and vanilla.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir the carrots, apples, raisins, walnuts and coconut into the flour mixture to coat.
Combine both mixtures in the larger bowl. If too dry, add a splash of almond or soy milk.
Spoon into the muffin tins, filling totally full [or 3/4 if you prefer a smaller portion].
Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden and a knife comes out clean.
Makes about 20 muffins.

Vegan Black Bean Brownie Bites

Vegan Black Bean Brownie Bites

Recipe type: Dessert

Author: Dana Shultz

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 17 mins

Total time: 22 mins

Serves: 6

 

These vegan brownies are gluten free, vegan and totally delicious. They taste just like rich, fudgey brownies and the black beans are entirely undetectable. Just ask my many pleased readers who’ve tested the recipe for themselves.

 

Ingredients

• 1/3 of a 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 flax egg (1 T flaxseed meal + 2.5 T water)
• 1 T coconut oil (or other oil)
• scant 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• dash salt
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 t baking powder
• heaping 1/2 t finely ground espresso powder or instant coffee granules
• 1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips (dairy free for vegan)
• dash of chocolate sprinkles

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 6 muffin tins. Prepare flax egg by combining flax and water in small bowl and letting it rest for 3-5 minutes. Combine black beans through instant coffee in a food processor (sift in sugar if clumpy) and puree. Then stir in chocolate chips and sprinkles. Pour batter into muffin tins and smooth the tops with a spoon. Bake for 17 minutes or until tops are dry and starting to pull away from the sides. Let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan.

2.2.6

*Approximate Nutritional Stats at the bottom of this post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mmm. Healthful indulgence at its finest. Try these, won’t you? I know you won’t regret it.

 

5-Minute Vegan Fudge

 

 

 

5-Minute Vegan Fudge

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut butter*
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter**
• 2 small ripe bananas, cut into one-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup raw cacao powder*** or regular cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch sea salt

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, roughly five minutes or so.
2. Use a spatula to pour the mixture into a flat, sealable container.
3. Place the container in the freezer. The fudge needs to be super cold in order to retain its shape, so I find that it’s best to store the fudge in the freezer. If you store it in the fridge, it will have a semi-solid mousse-like texture.

Brownie Balls or Bars

Caution!

Seriously addictive!

These are sort of a cross between a Tootsie Roll and a traditional brownie.

Makes 24 balls or bars

Ingredients

2 cups chopped dates
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 cup cacao powder
2 cups ground Brazil nuts
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut for garnishing (may substitute dried)
Cacao nibs and/or goji berries for garnishing (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients except the coconut and garnishes in a food processor and process until smooth.

2. Roll the dough into w-inch balls. Roll each ball in coconut, then in cacao nibs, if using, then press a goji berry into the top, if using. Place the balls on a baking sheet, and chill them for 2 hours. Alternatively, you can spread the dough about 1/3 inch thick on a baking sheet, sprinkle with dried coconut, and press in cacao nibs and/or goji berries, if using. Slice into bars and chill them for 2 hours. To extend the shelf life of the balls or bars, you can dehydrate them for 4 to 6 hours,until only slightly moist.


Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/recipe-brownie-balls-or-bars.html#ixzz2NPWC4Wl0