Bev's Recipe Collection

For the Bars:

• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 5 tablespoons liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc.), or to taste
• pinch of sea salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup rice crisp cereal

Line a 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. In a pot over low heat, gently melt the coconut oil and then whisk in the rest of the crunch bar ingredients (except the rice crisp) to taste. Once the mixture is smooth remove from heat and stir in the rice crisp cereal. Pour mixture into prepared pan, smooth out, and then freeze for 10-15 minutes, or until the chocolate is solid.

For the Peanut Butter Drizzle:

• 2 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter (or any nut/seed butter of choice)
• 1.5-2 teaspoons coconut oil, as needed to thin out
• 1 teaspoon liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc.)

Melt the coconut oil and then whisk in the peanut butter and liquid sweetener. Adjust to taste if desired. Scoop into a plastic baggie. Remove crunch bars from the freezer and cut into 12 small bars. Snip a tiny hole in the baggie and drizzle the PB mixture onto the bars (you can also try drizzling it with a spoon, if desired). Return bars to the freezer until the PB drizzle is solid, about 5 minutes. Serve straight from the freezer or fridge. Bars will melt slightly at room temperature so I don’t suggest keeping them out long. Store leftovers in the fridge or freezer.

From Oh She Glows

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3 Tbs honey granules (or sugar)
• 1 Tbs salt
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1 1/2 sticks cold butter, sliced
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4  tsp vanilla
• Salt, for topping

Directions:

1. Combine flour, salt, honey granules, and paprika in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender, until small crumbs form. Or, combine the dry ingredients and butter in a food processor bowl and pulse until crumbly.

2. Make a well in the center, and add the water and vanilla. Stir to mix, then use clean hands to knead a few times, just enough to form a ball of dough. (Add just a tad more water, only if needed.) Divide dough into two pieces.

3. Lightly grease two 11″ x 15″ baking sheets  and sprinkle lightly with salt.

4.Roll the dough until about 1/4 inch thick on the trays. Sprinkle tops with salt. Cut the dough into square crackers with a pizza cutter.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned. Crackers will become more crispy as they cool, so don’t over-bake! (Remove edge crackers that are getting too dark if the middle crackers aren’t quite done yet, and continue baking.)

7. Remove baked crackers from sheets and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cool, plain or with dips or  and store leftover crackers in a sealed bag or container.

From Tammy’s Recipes

This spicy chicken is delicious and easy to make with only 5 ingredients!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbs Cajun Seasoning
• pinch of salt
• 3 Tbs melted butter (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, Cajun Seasoning, and salt. Dip each chicken breast in the melted butter (if using) and then coat it in the seasoned breadcrumbs. Place in a parchment lined 8″ by 11″ baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

From Blog of Joy

• 4 cans organic corn, drained
• 1 C flour
• 2/3 C corn meal
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/3 C sour cream
• 3/4 C butter

Mix batter by hand in a bowl. Place in a parchment lined 13×9″ pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Here is our version of this delectable Israeli pastry:

Dough:

2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 cups whole wheat flour (I milled soft white wheat berries.)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey granules (or sugar)

Filling:

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup berry preserves (raspberry, strawberry, or blackberry)
1/4 cup sucanat or brown sugar

Topping:
1 egg
1 tsp water
2 T cup honey granules or sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

• Chop cold butter and cream cheese into smaller pieces. Put pieces into your food processor along with sour cream, flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse until a crumbly dough forms and begins to fall away from the sides of the processor. Don’t over-process; the dough should look crumbly, like cottage cheese.
• Divide the dough into four equal balls. Wrap each ball with plastic and place in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 to 48 hours.
• In a skillet, toast the chopped nuts over medium heat until fragrant. Pour the toasted nuts into a food processor along with the chocolate chips, berry preserves, and brown sugar. Pulse together until a thick, coarse paste forms. Reserve.
• Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl; reserve. Whisk the egg and water; reserve.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly flour your rolling surface and rolling pin. Take one portion of the dough out the refrigerator. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness, spreading with your hands if necessary. (You may need to use the rolling pin to pound out the dough a bit at the beginning; the dough will be very firm and cold, but will become more pliable as it starts to warm.)
• Lift the dough gently from the rolling surface and re-flour your surface beneath the dough. Replace the dough onto the re-floured surface. Use a round 9″ plate or cake pan as a guide to make an imprint in the dough. Cut the dough into a circle. Form the trimmed excess dough into a small ball. Wrap it in plastic and reserve in the refrigerator, adding to the ball with each batch that is made.
• Take 1/4 of the filling and place it in the center of the circle. Spread it across the surface of the dough, leaving 1/2 inch margin. You can use your hands to make the spreading easier.
• Cut the circle into 8 or 12 equal triangles.
• Roll up each triangle, starting from the wide flat end and rolling towards the narrow point. Press the end point into the cookie to secure it. With the end point down, place the rolled cookies onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
• Brush the cookies with egg wash, and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Serve at any temperature. They’ll keep for a few days in a tightly sealed container.

Makes about 50 rugelach

Adapted from The Shiksah

These vegan muffins are super moist and delicious. We love them!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 heaping Tbs ground flax seed
1 Tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 large ripe banana, mashed
2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon extract (or 1 tsp lemon zest)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Sprinkle on top:
ground flax seed
unsweetened flaked coconut
sucanat

Directions:

Whisk together the flour, flaxseed, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, blend the mashed banana, lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla, and coconut. In a saucepan, stir together the melted coconut oil, almond milk, and sucanat and heat until warm (not hot). Add the coconut oil liquids to the banana mixture and blend. Mix in the flour mixture. Stir in the blueberries. Line 12 muffin cups with muffin liners. Divide the batter evenly into the muffins cups. Sprinkle the tops with ground flaxseed, coconut, and sucanat if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Serve warm or cooled.

Makes 12 muffins

Adapted from Healthy.Happy.Life.

Muffins:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3/4 cup honey granules (or sugar)
• 1 Tbs vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch of nutmeg

Cream the butter, applesauce, buttermilk, honey granules, vanilla and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Line 16 muffins cups with paper liners. Pour the batter evenly into the cups.

Streusel:

• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 Tbs whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbs sucanat (or brown sugar)
• 1 Tbs cinnamon
• 1 Tbs butter, melted

Stir together the streusel ingredients. Top the muffins with the streusel and press it gently into the batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and edges are golden. Let cool for a few minutes before removing the muffins from the muffin tins. Serve warm (slathered with butter), or cooled. Either way they’re delicious!

Makes 16 muffins

From Blog of Joy

This is one of my favorite meals!

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 oz) can organic sweet corn, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 Tbs Cajun Seasoning
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Serve with:

• Whole Wheat Tortillas (or gluten-free tortillas)
• Butternut Squash Hummus
• spinach
• 2 tomatoes, thinly slices
• Additional toppings: salsa, sour cream, and slices of avocado.

Directions:

1. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the chopped onion, and saute until the onion is tender.
3. Add the sliced peppers, and saute until the peppers are beginning to get tender (this will take several minutes).
4. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to cook until heated through.

To Serve:

Spread Butternut Squash Hummus in the center of each tortilla and top with a handful of spinach. Next layer on the beans, tomatoes, and additional topping as desired. Enjoy!

From Blog of Joy

Butternut squash adds a sweet twist to this classic Mediterranean dip.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pureed cooked butternut squash*
• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 Tbs tahini (optional)
• 1 tsp Cajun Seasoning
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Serve fresh or refrigerate. If the hummus gets dry, you can drizzle olive oil over the hummus to moisten it. Serve with bread (preferably pita bread or flat bread).

Makes about 2 1/2 cups of hummus

*Here is a helpful tutorial on how to peel, cut, and cook butternut squash. (I like to drizzle olive oil over the chopped squash and sprinkle it with salt and pepper and mix it with my hands before cooking.) The cooked squash can easily be pureed in a food processor. You will only need a small amount of it for this recipe, so feel free to experiment with the rest of the squash or serve it as a side dish.

From Blog of Joy

• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 3 T coconut oil
• 3 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 T ground cumin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz. frozen spinach (If possible, thaw overnight)
• 2 C hot water (to thaw the spinach)
• 3 (15 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
• 2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 C quinoa, rinsed
• 4 large carrots, grated (2 1/4 C)
• 8 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded or sliced
• 6 large red bell peppers, cut in chunks

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery; cook 5 minutes or until soft. Add cumin and garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in spinach, hot water, tomatoes, black beans, quinoa, and carrots. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Place pepper slices in the bottom of two 13×9 pans. Spoon quinoa mixture over peppers. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Layer with cheese and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Adapted from vegetariantimes.com