Vegetarian Pad Thai

Vegetarian Pad Thai Noodles

* 1 pound Asian-style rice noodles

* 1 / 4 cup soy sauce

* 1 / 2 cup lime juice

* 2 tablespoons peanut butter

* 2 tablespoons hot sauce

* 1 / 4 cup sugar

* 1 block tofu, diced

* 1 onion, diced

* 4 cloves garlic, minced

* 2 tbsp sesame oil

* 1 / 2 cup bean sprouts

* 1 / 4 cup chopped or crushed peanuts (optional)

* 4 green onions (scallions), sliced

Cook noodles according to package instructions.

Whisk together soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, hot sauce and sugar.

In a large wok or skillet, sautee tofu, onion and garlic in sesame oil for a minute or two, stirring frequently. Allow to cook for another minute or two.

Add cooked noodles and peanut butter and soy sauce mixture. Stir well, and allow sauce to thicken as it cooks for about 3 minutes. Top with peanuts, bean sprouts and green onions and serve hot. — Source: http://vegetarian. about.com

The Best Alfredo Sauce

The key here is to use 35% whipping cream, good white wine, good parmesan cheese and stir the sides CONSTANTLY. This recipe is SO SO SO easy and simple. When using it for pasta, I add steamed broccoli and diced roma tomatoes in it. AWESOME!

1 clove of garlic

1/2 cup of white wine

500 ml of 35% whipping cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Put the garlic and wine into a warm frying pan (med) and let the wine reduce. The garlic should be softened by then but not brown. Slowly add the whipping cream, stirring constantly. It will thinken around the edges of the pan so use a spatula to scrape it. Keep it on a slow boil until you notice it thicken to the consistency you would want to eat the sauce at and add the parmesan cheese.

Hint: I usually I put the pasta in the boiling water at the same time as add the cream and they tend to finish around the same time.

Make Your Own Baby food

Making your own baby food doesn't only make sense because it's healthier and fresher but it saves you cash as well! Who really knows how long ago that food was grown or how long it has been in those jars? Who had a hand in preparing what you are about to feed your CHILD?! It's so simple to make and there are a number of sites on the internet to suggest to you ingredients to include to add protein when the baby gets to the "time to add meat to their diet" stage. (lentils, nutritional yeast, brown rice, tofu etc etc.) It's really not rocket science.

We've always been an "on-the-go" family. My children on occasion ate jarred, usually organic baby food but I never felt good about it. It was for convenience sake. Then I learned the trick of FREEZING it into ice cube trays and creating individual portions for easy transport.

The basics of making your own baby food is to steam the veggies until they are soft enough to mash or puree, add protein if they are at "that stage" and give them lots of variety. My kids always loved carrots & squash combined, or blueberries & apples combined. Be creative and open your child up to a whole world of new and wonderful foods!

Veggie Kabobs

Choose all your favourite veggies. I use mushrooms, green zuchini, yellow zuchini squash, red, yellow, orange & green sweet peppers, grape or cherry tomatoes, sweet onion etc etc. Cut them, with the exception of the mushrooms which you want to leave whole, into bite size pieces. (but not too small-you want them the be big enough that they won't break off the skewer. Also, if you like tofu, cut a block up into large cubes and mix in with the veggies.

I marinate the veggies in a peanut satay sauce (I use a store bought marinade) a few tablespoons of vegetable oil and salt & pepper to taste. Toss with the veggies and tofu let them sit in a covered bowl in the fridge for about an hour. I soak the bamboo skewers in water prior to arranging the veggies on them in whichever order is most appealing to the eye. Lay them on a cookie sheet and brush with the marinade before putting on the BBQ. They don't take long on the grill. Watch for the edges getting charred.... there is nothing worse then blackened veggies! Serve with rice.

Hot Bowtie Pasta

500g box of farfalle pasta (bowtie)

2 Tbsp veg oil

1 cup thickly sliced white mushrooms or small button mushrooms whole

1 green chile sliced thin (don't discard the seeds)

2 cups bruschetta

1/2 cup snow peas (optional)

salt & pepper to taste

Boil the pasta according the the package directions and drain.

In 2 tbsp of veg oil, sautee the mushrooms. Stir in the snow peas and sautee until plump and crisp.

Add in green chilies and bruschetta and sautee for just a minute or two before adding in the pasta.

Mix well, add salt & pepper and serve.

Shepherd'sPie

4 medium potatoes

2 Tbsp margarine

1/4 cup milk

Salt & Pepper

1 meduim onion finely chopped & sauted

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 pkg ground-beef style soy

1 1/4 cups of prepared vegetarian gravy (either a powdered mix prepared or canned mushroom gravy)

I cup of frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn)

Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until mashable. In a medium bowl, mix the cooked onions, ground beef-style soy, mushroom gravy, frozen vegetables, and salt & pepper. Pour into an oven proof casserole dish. Top the soy mixture with the potatoes, spreading to the edges.

Bake in a 350°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes are browned and the mixture bubbles around the edges.

Makes approximately 6-8 servings

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Boil elbow macaroni noodles according to package directions.

Mix with Homemade Cheese Sauce

Add in broccoli and cauliflower if desired

Mix together in a buttered oven proof pan

Top with sliced tomatoes and grated cheese.

Bake in the oven until heated through.

Broil until cheese bubbles and browns slightly.

Make it Gluten Free by using brown rice pasta and cornstarch instead of flour in the sauce.

Bean Burritos and Rice

Quite possibly one of the easiest dinners ever....

There are many mexican/spanish rice side dishes out there that can be prepared quickly and easily that go well with Bean Burritos. Be sure to use fresh tortilla wraps, regular or whole wheat. Heat canned refried vegetarian beans in a pot while you prepare the rest of the toppings..... shredded cheeses, shredded lettuce, sour cream, avacado, tomatoes, salsa. Make up your wrap and roll it up! It's that easy!

Use all-corn tortillas (soft or hard) to make it Gluten Free!

Soy (chicken breast style)

Cook soy (chicken-style) "chickenless breasts" in a frying pan with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of chicken-style vegetable stock per breast until most of stock is absorbed.

Serve with grilled peppers, corn on the cob, baked potatoes and salad for a summery meal or serve with mashed potatoes, green beans and broccoli & cauliflower with homemade cheese sauce for more of a wintery meal.

Cheese & Veggie Pies

Bake puff pastry mini shells according to puff pastry package directions.

Mash together cooked potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots etc as well as Homemade Cheese Sauce and fill puff pastry mini shells with mixture.

Spoon more cheese sauce over top upon serving.

Serve with crusty bread and and a garden salad!