So, after talking to my middle sis yesterday about food - something we always seem to like to talk about:) - and eat:) - I was inspired to make some mac and cheese for everyone - even those with allergies to infinity!! Thinking about her delicious mac and cheese made me need to have some of my own, and here's the results - I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Another one of my healthy food resolutions is to start adding more fresh veggies to meals from my garden. Soooo, the broccoli pictured above was used in last nights dinner! I added it to the mac and cheesy goodness to make it feel a little healthier. NOW, here's the recipes, and here's Last Night Dinner:
Mac & 'Cheese' w/ broccoli & pancetta, chickpea veggie patties, & mixed baby lettuce salad
Mac and 'Cheese w/ Broccoli & Panchetta
This was sooooo good - I can't wait for you to whip it up and try it! I felt like I was eating the real thing. WOW!
-Preheat the oven to 375
- Now boil and pot of water w/ some salt for the rice pasta you will be using. You can choose any variety - I used elbow brown rice pasta from "Tinkyada" Pasta Joy, but I know that there are many brands out there to try. I have used this one before, and I really like it b/c it seems less mushy and easier to use.
-Once the water is boiling cook the pasta fully, according to the directions on the package. I recommend making enough pasta for 3-4 people.
-After the pasta is cooked (mine took about 16 minutes), drain it and let it sit.
-In a large bowl, combine by stirring, 1+ cups of grated fake cheese product (** I used "daiya" deliciously dairy free cheddar style shreds - this is the only fake cheese product I have found that doesn't contain soy, casein/milk protein, or gluten), 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, 1 head of chopped broccoli, 1/4 c. original almond milk (or other sub.),fresh herbs (oregano, cilantro, thyme, etc.) salt and pepper to taste, and IF you want (I did!) add some thinly sliced and chopped pancetta. I think you could also add bacon or some other meat and that would probably be pretty good too - Experiment! You could also eliminate the broccoli and meat and go straight up too.
-Combine about 1/4 cup of corn flour, and 1/4 cup rice flour + a dash or two of almond flour if you like. You should take about 1/4 of this mixture and add it to the mac and cheese mix.
-Now, lightly oil a glass baking dish. Dish the mac and cheese mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining flour mixture you have left.
-Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then bake another 10-20 minutes uncovered, until the top is a little brown and you think it looks and smells done - it will start to smell delicious......I know mine did!
Chickpea Cutlets
This one goes out to all of the veggies - you are gonna love this!! I adapted the recipe from "Veganomicon", a great Vegan cookbook from a great veggie.
-First, mash up 1 1/2 cups (I can drained) of chickpeas in a large bowl:
-Mash em up really good. Then add (as I already started to do in the pic above:): 1/2 cup corn flour, 1/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 c. water or veggie broth, 3 garlic cloves, chopped, grated or pressed, fresh or dried oregano and thyme. I started by trying to knead all of this by hand, but then I started getting tired and remembered my new handy dandy mixer from my fancy mom! This helped alot, and I slowly kneaded/mixed it in there for about 3 minutes while I took a break!
-Now you can heat a good amount of olive or other oil in a large skillet. While it is heating, you can take the chickpea dough you have created and shape it into 4 separate balls. Take each ball and flatten it out. They are a little unstable at first, but trust me, the frying will take care of this.
-Once the oil is hot enough, carefully place the patties into the pan - I found it was easiest to do this with a spatula. And let them fry up and simmer on each side for about 7 mins., until browned as you like:
Once cooked, drain on some paper towels & keep warm in the oven until ready to serve. DELICOUS!!
* These would also be great in sandwiches - good substitute for a veggie burger if you are sick of these - Even better the next day, so you may want to make extra - I just had one for breakfast, and I know it may sound gross, but it was great!
If you don't want to fry, the recipe that I adapted also said that you could bake them in the oven.
Mixed Baby Lettuce Salad w/ Rainbow Carrots & Cucumbers
- Add a good amount of mixed baby lettuce, mache, radicchio and frisee to a salad bowl.
-Cut up about 3 rainbow carrots and a cucumber and add to bowl.
-Toss in dressing of choice - I used poppy seed.
ENjoy!
Here's the whole meal one more time.
Don't worry about the carb calories in the meal - you can do my sister's work-out if you're on the east coast and shovel out your car, or a neighbors.....
Happy Eating!!
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