Banana Swirl

We recently watched an episode of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  There was a recipe for banana swirl.  They showed how to make it, but it seemed way to easy.  I had to give it a try.  Sure enough it is that easy.  I think it is a great option for food allergic people because it is one single ingredient -- Bananas. Granted you are no allergic to bananas.

Banana Swirl (aka banana ice cream)
2 frozen bananas

1. Freeze bananas for a few hours.
2. Place frozen bananas in blender. Blend on medium-low for about a minute or two.
3. The mixture will resemble ice cream in texture.
4. Add sprinkles, chocolate sauce or honey (or anything you think goes with bananas).

You will be so impressed with this -- you have to try it.  Enjoy!

Dairy-Free French Fries

Hop over to my other blog and check out this French Fries recipe.  It's free of most allergens (except soy) and quite possibly the French Fries I've ever made!

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Chocolate Shortbread Cutout Cookies

I was really excited when I found this recipe in an old cookbook.  The original recipe calls for butter, but I substitute dairy-free margarine. There are only five ingredients.  The dough isn't very sticky.  You can roll it out right away and you don't need much flour.  I was extra excited about it being egg-free, which meant our 3-year-old could roll out the dough and help with the cookie cutters.  Overall, the taste is okay, but with frosting -- yummy!!

Chocolate Shortbread Cutout Cookies
(Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free)


1 cup dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cup flour

1. Mix margarine, powdered sugar and vanilla together.
2. Add cocoa.
3. Then add flour.  Mix until smooth.
4. Roll out dough -- don't need much flour.
5. Cut with cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  Watch them carefully because they are so dark, it's hard to see if they are burnt.

Super easy and fun to make with the food allergic child!!

Dairy-Free Thanksgiving recipes

Okay, I know many families worry that holiday meals just won't be the same if it isn't slathered in butter.  But you know what?  It's actually very simple to adapt a big fancy Thanksgiving meal to your allergy needs.

Here are some recipes and suggestions that work for us.

Turkey
12 lb turkey
Olive oil
2 Tbsp salt (I actually use a little less)
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp paprika

1. Mix seasonings together.
2. Rub olive oil and seasonings on turkey.
3. Stuff with stuffing (recipe below) if you want.
4. Bake per directions on packaging. (18 minutes per pound at 325 degrees)

Sausage Stuffing
3 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
2 medium onions
2 cloves of garlic
4 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 bag of stuffing crumbs (I like Brownberry Herbed Seasoned Stuffing)
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp sage
1/2 pound pork sausage, browned and drained
2 cups chicken stock (homemade recipe here)

1. Heat olive oil and margarine in large skillet.
2. Add onions, celery, carrots.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds before removing from heat.
3. Combine stuffing crumbs, poultry seasoning, sage and pork sausage in large bowl.
4. Stir in chicken stock and cooked vegetables.
5. Stuff in turkey or bake in casserole dish at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.  I highly reccommend stuffing the turkey -- so good!

Mashed Potatoes
6 potatoes, diced
5 cups chicken stock (and more water if needed)
Pepper
Garlic, keep whole

1. Boil potatoes and garlic in chicken stock for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
2. Drain potatoes, but save a couple cups of the stock in separate bowl.
3. Slowly add chicken stock to potatoes as you mash them.

**You can add soy or rice milk, but you don't need to to have some good flavor.**

Gravy
Brown bits from turkey
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme (optional)

1. Take brown bits from turkey and heat in skillet.  Add flour and mix together.
2. Slowly add chicken stock and cook on medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until desired consitency.
3. Season with salt and pepper.


Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 cups cranberries

1. Boil water with sugar.
2. Add cranberries and cook on medium heat until thickens.  About 10 minutes.

**Canned cranberries are dairy-free, too.**

Corn

I always save corn from the summer and freeze it for a simple dish.  I just heat it up and add a little dairy-free margarine and salt.  

**Personally, I don't see anything wrong with just heating up corn or green beans (either frozen or canned).  Why not have an easy dish?**

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie (sorry, not egg-free)
Last year I made two pumpkin pies.  This one and the recipe from on the back of the pumpkin can.  I had never made pumpkin pie before.  While the taste was a little different, we concluded that the dairy-free version was very, very good.


Crust
I cheat and buy Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust -- no dairy or soy

Pumpkin filling
16 oz can pumpkin
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 slightly beaten eggs (not sure if egg substitute works here, sorry)
2/3 cup rice milk

1. Bake pie crust at 375 degrees in pie plate for 10 minutes before adding filling.
2. Combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.  Add eggs.
3. Beat until just combined and stir in rice milk.
4. Pour filling into pie crust.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes
5. Cool on wire rack.

Baked Cod -- Dairy-Free

Okay, so when it comes to fish I normally make the dish with (milk-based) butter for my husband and myself -- there's just something about fish and butter.   And then I make a separate dish for our daughter that is dairy-free.  Normally it's not that much work, and I do this for many meals.  However the other night I came across this recipe and tried it dairy-free for all of us. It was so good!

Dairy-Free Baked Cod
adapted from cooks.com

1 lb fish (I used wild caught Alaskan cod)
1/4 cup melted dairy-free butter (I used Earth's Balance)
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp lime juice (see my tip for having lemon and lime juice on hand)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Cut fish into single portion sizes or keep whole. Place in baking dish.
2. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over fish.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for half hour. Baste once our twice while baking.

Dairy-free, Egg-free Cut-out Cookies (plus frosting!)

I don't know where I found this recipe originally.  But it works out great for cut-out cookies.  I just couldn't wait to make them again until Christmas, so we made Halloween cookies.  I think I'm just craving cut-out cookies because they look so good in the grocery store bakeries.  I just don't trust those cookies for our little one.  The best part of these cookies is being able to let our daughter help.

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Cut-out Cookies
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
1/2 cup shortening (I use Crisco)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce
2 1/2 cup flour

1. Mix all ingredients except flour together.
2.  Slowly add flour.
3. Once mixed well, then wrap in cling wrap.  Refrigerate for a couple hours.
4.  Roll out dough and use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

This frosting is amazing!

Dairy-Free Frosting
1 Tbsp melted dairy-free margarine (I use Earth's Balance)
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp shortening (I use Crisco)
2 tsp vanilla soy milk
1 cup powdered sugar

1. Mix wet ingredients (all but powdered sugar) in mixer.  I like to use my Kitchenaid Mixer.
2. Slowly add powdered sugar.
3. Mix for 5 minutes on medium speed.

Halloween treats -- Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free

I've read a lot of "Allergy-Free" blogs and see that many are posting online stores that sell allergy-free Halloween treats.  Well.  I look at the price and think it's just not worth when you tack on shipping (and the fact that a child might not like it or eat it all).  I get it's about providing fun treats for kids with food allergies and I greatly appreciate the effort and hope someday that we will just find these treats next to the bags of candy in the aisles full of dangerous candy. Maybe we'll get out own aisle someday.  But for now, I choose to find what is available and safe to eat and work with.

All this week I will be sharing Halloween treat ideas that don't take a lot of time, are cost effective and lots of fun to eat.  Hold on to your seats but many of the items I will share will be (big sigh) processed foods.  Guess what I think it's okay in moderation, especially during the holidays.

Today's Fun Halloween Treat is:

Halloween Trail Mix
(You can use any variation of cereal, dried fruit, pretzels, etc. -- make it your own)

1/4 cup Cheerios
1/4 cup Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal
1/4 cup Kashi Honey Sunshine
1/4 cup Cinnamon Toast Crunch (I sent my husband to the grocery store to get a General Mills deal and he brought this home for snacks)
1/2 cup Craisins
2 Tbsp Enjoy Life chocoalate chips
leftover Teddy Grahams (I think there were five left and a few arms and leg pieces)
2/3 cup Ghost Marshmallows

1. Simply mix all ingredients together.  I always let my daughter pour them in a large bowl and stir with wooden spoon.
2. Store in zip lock bag or air tight container.

**My daughter told me that the Craisins were spiders and the teddy grahams were puppies (dressed in costumes I presume).  It doesn't take much to turn something into something else.  Plus when you're 3 years old everything is a great idea. **

Dairy-Free Taco Salad

I had this awesome taco salad at a function recently.  I searched for a couple different recipes and adapted it to my own tastes (and what I had in my freezer).  Turned out really tasty.  While I haven't made the dairy-free version for our 3-year-old, here's what I plan to make.

Taco Salad

(original recipe)

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1  package taco seasoning mix
• 2 cups black beans
• 1 (16 ounce) bottle French dressing (I used Kraft Catalina)
• 1 head iceberg lettuce (I used spinach)
• 1 (14.5 ounce) package tortilla chips
• 2 cups shredded soy cheese
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons dairy-free sour cream (optional)
• 1/2 cup prepared salsa (optional)

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and drain.
2. Stir in the taco seasoning, beans and French-style dressing. 
3. Fill the dressing bottle 2/3 full of water and add to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Crush the bag of chips, open the bag, and toss the broken chips into a large bowl with the lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. When the meat mixture is done, combine it with the lettuce, tomatoes, chips and mix well. Then, add salsa and sour cream.

**Note this needs to be mixed together right before eating otherwise the chips get soggy.  I actually made this as a lunch/snack for a couple days and just kept all ingredients separate until right before eating. Then I just added how much I wanted to eat for that meal.  This would be very helpful if you are just making a small portion dairy-free.  The recipe can easily be halved.**

Cheerio Snack Bars

Oh my, it's been a long time.  So sorry to my loyal readers.  I will try to get some more posts up this weekend and date them for next week.  In the meantime I must share this really good snack.

Cheerio Snack Bars
I took the original recipe from here.  However, I changed the quantity, substituted Sunbutter and used the stove.

1/2 bag marshmallows (about 5 oz)
1 1/2 tsp dairy-free margarine (I used Earth's Balance)
1/4 cup Sunbutter (or Soybutter or Peanut Butter)
1/2 tsp cocoa
2 1/2 cups Cheerios (more if needed)

1. Melt margarine and marshmallows on low on stovetop.
2.  Stir in Sunbutter and cocoa to melted marshmallows.
3. Add Cheerios to mixture and stir carefully.
4. Pour into an 8 x 8 pan.  Smooth out and cut.

Birthday Doll Cake -- Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Peanut-Free

I've been just waiting and waiting to post this awesome doll cake that I made of our daughter's birthday.  I've been extra busy this week, so sorry for the delay.  Our daughter just turned 3 this week, so the cake had to be extra special.  But it also had to be free of allergens -- dairy, nut, peanut, and egg.  Oh boy what a challenge it was!  I made several cakes and tried several frostings.  On top of that I had no idea how to decorate a cake to begin with.  Talk about a learning curve.

Dairy-free, Egg-free, Peanut-Free Cake Recipe
Adapted from Divvies Chocolate Cupcakes.  I used it as a cake recipe.  I made two cakes in a Pampered Chef bowl.  See links below for tutorials on how to make doll cake.  

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's dark cocoa)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp vegetable oil (Crisco)
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups water

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Grease cake pan or bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

4.  Mix together oil, vinegar, vanilla, and water until well combined.  I used my KitchenAid mixer.

5.  Add Flour mixture to wet mixture.  This will be a very wet batter.

6.  Pour into cake pan.  If making cupcakes or cake bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done in center.  If using Pampered Chef bowl bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Frosting Recipe:  I tripled the recipe.  Note when I was decorating the doll,  I had to move very quickly.  The frosting started to melt as it warmed up.  I did some decorating then stuck it in the freezer.   Then after 20 minutes did some more decorating. The cake then stayed in the freezer until serving.  Tasted great cold.  My niece said it tasted like ice cream cake.


Tip:  I made the cake ahead of time and frosted the "dress."  I then kept it in the refrigerator until the day of the party.  That's when I decorated the doll and put in freezer as noted above.


Tutorials to make doll cake

• Betty Crocker's YouTube directions
• Pampered Chef Doll cake directions
• Allrecipes -- view photos for ideas
• Happy Housewife YouTube directions (Betty Crocker by nonprofessional)

Dairy-Free Frosting (for cake decorating) **UPDATED**

**I have updated this post a little with a photo and link to the cake recipe I used that is dairy-free, egg-free and peanut-free.  I noticed this post got a lot of hits, so I wanted to make it more resourceful.  Recipe is the same.**

Okay, so I found the frosting.  I've made two batches since finding it. It's very easy to make and tastes good -- even to us egg/dairy eaters.  This is a awesome frosting recipe!

Dairy-Free Frosting (from The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book)

1 cup dairy-free margarine (I used Earth's Best at room temp.)

2 Tbsp soy milk ( I used Silk Vanilla Soy Milk)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. In a stand mixer or hand held mixer cream margarine, soy milk, vanilla, and salt until really mixed well. 

2. Slowly add confectioners' sugar and mix for 1 minute on low.

3. Mix on medium speed for 4 to 6 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

4. Chill for 30 minutes before using.


**Note:  When I frosted the cake I had to work quickly because the margarine softened.  I just frosted some and then froze it for a little while.  Then I worked on it some more. **

Check out the dairy-free, egg-free, peanut-free cake recipe here!

Dairy-Free Cas Mac

When my husband and I were first married, one of our favorite meals was Cas Mac (re-named by my husband).  We ate it often and got a little tired of it.  But it is my go-to meal when I can't think of anything to make.  Our daughter and I were talking the other day about lunches, and it dawned on me that I could easily make a dairy-free version of Cas Mac for her.

Dairy-Free Cas Mac
(This is one of those recipes that I will take some of the ingredients from the main dish that I making and make a single serving for her.  Note: This make enough for about 4 servings).

1/2 pound Ground Beef, browned and drained
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup dairy-free cheese sauce, based on preference (this freezes well and can be pulled out for this meal to make it easier)
1 cup macaroni noodles (or any pasta you like)
1/2 can tomato soup (save the rest for a meal later in the week)
1/4 to 1/2 cup Frozen vegetable, (we like corn)

1. Brown beef.  Drain. Set aside.
2. Boil noodles for 8 minutes.  Drain. Set aside.
3. Make cheese sauce. Mix with noodles.
4. In casserole dish mix meat, cheesey noodles, tomato soup and vegetables together.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until baked through.

Fourth of July Marshmallows

I adapted this idea from here.  I'm not nearly that patient talented to make those amazing treats.  But we were able to make the marshmallow part.  Note our daughter did this one by herself!!  I think my toddler is turning into a preschooler!

Fourth of July Marshmallows

Large Marshmallows
Red sugar sprinkles
Blue sugar sprinkles
water
toothpicks
3 small containers

1. Fill each container.  One with the red sprinkles, one with blue sprinkles and one with about 1/2 of water.
2. Put toothpick on top of marshmallow. This is what you will hold onto to dip your marshmallow so you don't get too sticky.

3. Dip marshmallow in water.

4. Dip in blue sprinkles.
5. Use the same toothpick and put it through the top of the blue sprinkles.

6. Dip unsprinkled side in water and then red sprinkles.

**We made this for afternoon snack and our daughter ate it faster than you can imagine.  I guess you can't get better than sugar and marshmallows (except if only chocolate was involved, hmm there's an idea in waiting)**

For more recipes (not neccesarily dairy-free) go the Grocery Cart Challenge and Life as Mom!

Not Quite Dairy-free Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

My daughter is lucky.  For whatever reason, regular Cool Whip does not cause any allergic reaction for her.  Yay!  Right?  So, when I was reading this blog entry on Cooking During Stolen Moments last week (scroll to the bottom, but read them all) I was anxious to try the frosting/topping.  I substituted Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese and it tastes excellent.  Even to those of us who are dairy eaters.  If you are not lucky enough to use regular Cool Whip, I found this excellent resource on Go Dairy Free that gives a few products to try and some at home recipes (be sure to scroll to the bottom to see whipped topping suggestions).


Not Quite Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting
3 oz Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Cool Whip (or use on of these dairy-free options -- scroll to bottom)

1. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla.
2. Fold in Cool Whip.

**This is an excellent topping for berries.  I'm going to use it on top of brownies and add strawberries on top.**

Oooh So Good

Tonight I had a craving for chocolate.  Ever since I realized that I have an allergy to peanut, I have cut most chocolate out (with the exception of a small Boom Choco Boom square here and there).  I used to eat chocolate every day.  Although my peanut allergic reaction is pretty small, I decided it best to keep it out of my diet because I believe it made my other food allergies worse.  I have yet to find a doctor who agrees with.  I digress.

I searched one of my favorite recipe sites for food allergies Food Allergy Mama and found this absolutely delightful (yes chocolate is delight for me) Dairy, Eagg and Nut-Free Chocolate Pudding Cake.  It's ooey good and we ate it with ice cream.  Our daughter had Purely Decadent Coconut Milk ice cream.

**Side note:  I was asking our daughter tonight if the coconut milk ice cream hurt her anywhere.  A question I am starting to ask her when she eats foods I'm allergic to or worry should could be allergic to.  With my allergies you can't see them, but I can feel them tighten my throat.  She told me yes.  I thought that was actually odd since this is the second container of Purely Decadent she's devouring.  I asked her where she hurt.  She pointed to the top of her head.  I asked some questions about other foods if they hurt her and she said no to all.  I asked if Mommy's milk hurt her and she said yes.  I asked where and she told me her cheeks, which is where she gets hives.  I asked again about the coconut milk ice cream and she said it hurt the top of her head.  I realized she must have eaten it too fast and it gives her an "ice cream headache."  Don't you just wish you could get in that little brain sometimes?**

Recipe- Strawberry Refrigerator Jam

Yesterday, my almost 3-year-old and I went strawberry picking at an organic farm.  She wasn't really too interested.  There was a lot of waiting.  Waiting to be given a row to pick, waiting for me to pick them, waiting to pay and waiting to eat them.   She sure does love strawberries.  She was much happier once we got home and tasted the juicy fresh strawberries.

In an over-ambitious attempt at 9:30 last night, I decided to make some refrigerator jam.  I am completely impressed with how easy this was to make.  Our daughter ate it today on her Sunbutter and Jelly Sandwich.  The results:  She ate it up!

Strawberry Refrigerator Jam (makes about 3/4 cup)
(this recipe comes from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook -- my favorite go-to cookbook!)


3/4 cup sliced strawberries (use an egg slicer if you have one)
1/4 cup and 2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice (great to have in the freezer for a late night recipe)

1. Place a glass bowl in the freezer or in ice water.

2. Add all ingredients in non-stick saucepan.  Cook on medium low for about 10 minutes.  Sauce will thicken to jam consistency.
3. To test the consistency of the jam, place 1/2 tsp on hot jam in cold bowl.  Let it set for 30 seconds.  If it runs slowly (or slightly from side to side) then it's done.  If it's too fluid give it a couple more minutes in the saucepan until it thickens.
4.  Allow one hour to cool and store in refrigerator.

This will refrigerate for up to two weeks in an airtight container. 

Check out more great recipes at The Grocery Cart Challenge and Life as Mom!

Leftover bread or crust -- do this

Recently we made these cinnamon sugar bread crusts from leftover bread.  So good.  I used Earth's Balance spread instead of butter.  Yummy!

Another Porcupine Meatball recipe

I found this recipe in a dairy-free cookbook, but I can't remember which one.  Recently I made my mother-in-law's porcupine meatball recipe about a month ago, but wanted to compare this one with my family.

Porcupine Meatballs II
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1/4 cup uncooked rice (I used Minute Rice)
1 tsp minced dried onion (my favorite)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 lb ground beef (uncooked)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt (recipe calls for 1 tsp -- too much for me)
1/2 cup water

1. Mix 1/3 cup of tomato sauce, 1/4 cup uncooked rice, onion, garlic, pepper, mustad, vinegar and ground beef. Shape into 20 small meatballs or 10 large meatballs.
2. Place in skillet.
3. Mix remaining sauce, oregano, salt and 1/2 cup water. Pour sauce over meatballs.
4. Bring to boil, reduce heat and cover.
5. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is done.

Check out more great recipes at Life as Mom!

Dairy-Free Cheese Sauce freezes well

Recently I posted a couple recipes that use a dairy-free cheese sauce.  I tried freezing it last week and unthawed for dairy-free macaroni and cheese.  The results:  Wonderful.  I simply unthawed the sauce and then heated it up on the stove on low.  


Tip:  Use baby food jars to freeze this sauce or extra tomato sauce for toddler size portions.  Plus it doesn't take up too much space in the freezer.


Dairy-Free Cheese Sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes (I found them at a health food store -- a little pricey but so worth it)
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp powdered mustard
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dairy-free butter (I used Earth's Best)
1/4 cup rice milk (you can substitute soy if you like)

1. Mix water, nutritional yeast flakes, cornstarch, mustard and salt in blender for 30 seconds.
2. Melt dairy-free butter in sauce pan.
3. Add blended mixture to melted butter.  Keep on low to medium-low and whisk for 3 to 5 minutes.  It will thicken some.
4. Slowly stir in rice milk.  Stir until it thickens to consistency you want.

Recipe - Dairy-Free "Cheesy" Chicken Spaghetti

Last week I posted this recipe for dairy-free cheese sauce.  I made a dairy version of chicken tetrazzini and adapted this recipe for my dairy-free toddler.  I just took some of the ingredients from our main dish to make hers.  This recipe serves about four servings, but can easily be scaled down.

Dairy-Free "Cheesy" Chicken Spaghetti

1 to 2 cups spaghetti
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small zucchini, sliced thinly or grated
1 carrot, sliced thinly or grated
1 small onion, sliced thinly or chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup cooked chicken

Dairy-free "cheesy" sauce
(this can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a couple days)


1 cup water
1/4 cup nutrtional yeast flakes
14 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 to 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dairy-free margarine
1/4 cup rice milk (or soy milk)

1. I used a vegetable peeler to thinly slice zucchini and carrot.
2. Heat oil.  Add vegetables and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Boil pasta for 8 minutes. Drain.
4. Add pasta  and cooked chicken to vegetables.

To make cheese sauce: 
1. Blend water, nutritional yeast flakes, cornstarch, mustard powder and salt in blender for 30 seconds.
2.  Melt dairy-free margarine in sauce pan
3. Add blended mixture to margarine.  Stir for 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Slowly add rice milk to sauce pan.  Stir until thickens.
5. Add sauce to pasta and vegetables.  You may not have to use all the sauce -- use your discretion. Save extra sauce for a mac and cheese meal later in the week.