Balsamic, Mint & Basil Pan Grilled Pineapple with Ice Cream

This weather is giving me the winter blues so I needed something extra special for dessert tonight. This is what resulted from me looking up several different grilled pineapple recipes, then picking and choosing what I wanted to use. It did not disappoint :-) When the cold ice cream hit this warm seasoned pineapple, we were in heaven!

Serves 2

You will need:

half a pineapple, cut into rings (I have a very handy pineapple corer/slicer)

for the marinade:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 cup butter (I use somewhere in between and Earth Balance brand)
3 T agave or other liquid sweetener
1 T chopped fresh mint (or use 1 t dry)
1 T chopped fresh basil (or use 1 t dry)
1/4 t coconut flavoring (if you don't have this, you can top the finished dessert with coconut flakes)

Ice cream ( I used So Delicious Vanilla Bean)


1) In small saucepan, heat your vinegar to boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes. If it starts to burn reduce heat more.
2) Now transfer to bowl and mix in other marinade ingredients. Mix well until butter is melted.
3) Put your pineapple slices in this sauce to marinate for 2 hours on the counter. Save a few tablespoons of marinade for drizzling later.
4) When you are ready to pan fry your pineapple, do so over medium heat using a T butter or coconut oil  in the pan. Heat until each side gets pan marks on it. Don't cook too long or you will dry out the pineapple!
5) Meanwhile, reheat your remaining marinade in the microwave for about a minute. Now remove pineapple from heat, top with ice cream, and drizzle your sauce on top.
Eat immediately before your ice cream totally melts. Enjoy!

Amazingly Delicious Jalapeno Popper Sandwich

If you love the taste of homemade jalapeno poppers but don't have the time, make this sandwich!

I used all vegan subs for this recipe: Earth Balance Butter, Daiya Chedder and Galaxy Cream Cheese

Start by melting 1 T butter over medium in a skillet.
Cut slices from a crusty Italian loaf of bread.
Butter one side of each slice, flip and spread cream cheese on the other sides.
Take slices of jalapeno from the little nacho cheese jalapeno cans from the store (usually in the Latin food section) and layer onto the bread like this:

Now top jalapenos with cheddar cheese, close up your sandwich and cook over medium until bread is golden and cheese is melted. 

You'll be left with melty jalapeno goodness!

Tater Tot Beer Pie

The recipe is adapted from the Brewpub Tater-Tot Pie recipe from the book American Vegan Kitchen. I changed it quite a bit to suit me.

1 T olive oil and 1 T Earth Balance

1 large onion chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

2 large portabellas, diced or 1 can drained mushrooms if you don't have fresh

2 T italian seasoning

2 t thyme

1 t oregano

1/2 t celery salt

1/2 t savory

1/2 cup beer ( I used a little more)

1/2 cup water mixed with 1/2 a vegan chicken boullion

1/4 cup plus 2 T tomato Paste

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 package Gardein Chicken Strips

1/2 package Daiya Cheddar Cheese

1 pound frozen tater tots, thawed enough to cut in half

paprika for dusting

1. Spray a 3-quart casserole. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and margarine over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the mushrooms, Gardein Chicken and spices. Cook and stir a few minutes. Add the beer, broth, and tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add Daiya, stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes. At this point, you can add more beer if it seems dry and cook a little longer. Transfer to the casserole dish and set aside.
3. Cut the Tater Tots in half and spread them evenly on top of the casserole. Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let stand 5 minutes before serving

Pecan Pie Mini Pies

These little guys are incredibly delicious and hard to distinguish from the non-vegan version

Easy Pie Crust

1 cup flour

1/2 cup vegetable shortening or Earth Balance spread

1/4 cup water

Mix the shortening or butter into the flour with a fork and start adding water until  dough sticks together and isn't crumbly. You may not have to use all the water. If you accidentally add too much water, you can always put a little more flour in the mix.

Form dough into muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes before filling.

Pie Filling

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 T flour

1 T corn starch

4 T milk

2 T ground flax seeds mixed with 6 T hot water (let it sit at least 10 minutes)

8 T Earth Balance

1 t vanilla extract

1 cup pecans- crushed or whole, your choice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Melt butter in microwave and add sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. 

Mix all other ingredients, except pecans, in with butter/sugar combo

Pour into pre-baked pie shell

Bake for 20 minutes

Reduce heat to 275 degrees

Add pecans to top of mini pies and bake another 20-30 minutes.

They should look set up at this point. If not, give them a little more time but check them frequently.

DIY Cleaning & Laundry Supplies

fabric softener, window cleaner, laundry soap

These are so easy and work great! I can't believe I haven't made my own cleaning supplies before now. I had most of the ingredients already, so I only had to buy a few things. All the ingredients are cheap and come in large containers.

DIY Laundry Soap

Blend until you get 2 cups of bar soap (such as Kirk's castile) in your food processor. Add to it 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup borax (both available at larger grocery stores). Shake well. If you like, add about 10 drops essential oil. I used lavender. Stir well. Cheap and simple!

Add 2 T to each load of laundry. 

DIY Fabric Softener

Get a bottle with a pop off top like the one shown to the left. Put 2 cups white vinegar and 2 cups baking soda into the bottle. Then , add 4 cups water. It will fizz a lot so don't be alarmed. Swish to get ingredients evenly mixed. You can also add essential oil to your liking. 

You will have to shake this vigorously before each use! Either add 1/4 cup to your washer during the rinse cycle or keep and old rag in the laundry room and put about a teaspoon worth of it on the rag and toss into the dryer with wet clothes (my preferred method).

DIY Window cleaner

Get a spray bottle. Put the following in it:

2 C water,  1 C white vinegar, 1 C alcohol, 1 T lemon juice, 2 T dish soap

Use just like you would commercial window cleaner.

All Purpose Citrus Cleaner

This is still in the process of being made so I'll update when finished. To make this all purpose cleaner, you put orange peels into a jar filled with white vinegar and let it sit at least 10 days. Strain and put into a spray bottle.

Basil Preservation Update

Though preserving basil this way was a messy process (see previous post), the cubes did turn out nicely. I think it's worth the trouble. I'm hoping to winter over my basil, but if that doesn't work, I'll be glad I took time to do this.

Crock Pot Sweet Carrots & Herbed Potatoes Recipe & Sophie's Kitchen Breaded Vegan Fish Fillets Reviewed

Picked up Sophie's Breaded Fish Fillets a few months ago and just got the nerve to make them tonight. I never really liked fish aside from the greasy fish pieces from Long John Silver's. I think I liked those mostly for the breading. To be honest, the thought of eating anything fishy kinda grosses me out! They are made from tvp, textured vegetable protein, which I normally avoid but the box specifically said no GMO's so I made an exception. 

what they look like uncooked

Early in the day I put carrots in one crock pot and potatoes in another as side dishes (recipes to follow). I started looking online for a tartar sauce recipe to dip the fish fillets in. Another thing I've never liked is tartar sauce, but since this one would be vegan I might not hate it. I decided on a creole remoulade sauce and boy is it tasty! I can see using this with other recipes.

Creole Remoulade Sauce

1 C nayonaisse (vegan mayo)

1/2 an onion, diced

2 green onions, diced

1 t dried parsley

1/8 C capers

1/8 C sweet pickle relish

1 1/2 T lemon juice

1 t salt

1/2 t hot sauce

1 t dijon mustard

Mix all in food processor. Refrigerate at least 3 hours so flavors can come together.

Sweet Carrots

4-5 diced organic carrots

3 T brown sugar

3 T Earth Balance Margarine  

Put all ingredients into crock pot, stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours. You can drizzle them with agave right before serving. Either way, they'll taste like candy! 

Crock Pot Herbed Potatoes

6 medium organic potatoes, peeled and quartered

fresh basil and fresh rosemary, to taste (I like a lot!) cut up into small pieces

1/8 cup nutritional yeast

veggie parmesan (for sprinkling, optional)

1/4 C water

1 t each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, parsley

1/2 t each dried dill and season salt

3 garlic cloves (minced)

4 T Earth Balance Margarine

Place all ingredients into crock pot (except parmesan if using) and cook on low for  6-8 hours until tender. Sprinkle with parmesan before serving.

Finished Dinner (Serves 2)

Fish Fillets with Creole Remoulade Sauce, Sweet Carrots, Herbed Potatoes and Banana/Zucchini Bread. I really enjoyed the fish fillets. From what I can remember, they don't taste like fish. So, if you are expecting fish, you'll be disappointed. They remind me more of a chicken fillet. The box said to cook 8-10 minutes in a 400 degree oven, mine needed 15 to get done in the center. The texture was nice, the breading was crispy and the sauce I made really set them off. I would definitely buy these again.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust with Herbs

I'm always on the hunt for a good whole wheat pizza dough recipe. I'm pretty satisfied with this one. I doubled the recipe and made (2) 16 inch thin crust pizzas

You will need:

2 C white whole wheat flour (see note)

1 package active dry yeast or instant yeast

3/4 t salt

1 C hot water

1 T vegetable oil

1 T agave or sugar

1 t each dried bail, rosemary and oregano

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix whole wheat flour, yeast and salt together with spoon. Now add in water, oil and agave or sugar. Stir briefly then put your hands in the dough and get it all mixed up. You aren't really kneading just incorporating all ingredients. Add in your dried herbs.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in sized. Mine took about 30 minutes.

Grease your pan and stretch out your dough to desired size. 

Once you have dressed your pizza, bake in oven 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and toppings are done. 

NOTE: white whole wheat flour is milled from hard spring wheat rather than traditional red wheat. It is white without having to be bleached. The bag I have says it has 4.5 times the fiber of all purpose flour. 

I topped this pizza with tomatoes, oilves, fresh basil and Daiya Mozzarella. It was delicious. Enjoy!