Fluffy, Tofu Pancakes

A while back from Ruby's Pantry we were given Nigari tofu. It's a super soft, sweet tofu that is pretty much useless in a stir fry. I don't know about you but when I think tofu, I think stir fries. So I had to do a little more research. I had previously used one package in a chocolate mousse kind of thing and that turned out really good. I froze the rest of the tofu and kind of forgot about it.

Then I found this recipe and it was amazing! Since I had to look up the conversions for all the ingredients, I'll list them here:

1 block of nigari tofu
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour
3/4 cup milk (could use soy milk to make these vegan)
1/4 cup sugar
a couple drops of vanilla extract

Mix the tofu, milk, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet until combined. Then make pancakes as normal (heat up your pan, add pancake batter, cook until bubbles pop, flip).

These turned out really super good. They were easy with a quick prep (cooking pancakes always takes me FOREVER. I got 15 pancakes out of this, made two at a time, and it still took almost 40 minutes to get them all cooked). I will definitely make again if I ever have more tofu to use up!

Carrot Cheese Crackers

Oh my goodness has it been a long time since I blogged! My computer was having some crazy issues and then I just got more and more behind. I am missing so many recipes I have made in the past few months and sadly, I will not be able to blog about them. When I don't blog a recipe shortly after making it, I forget all my specifications and notes to myself. How sad!

Well, today I made some crackers. They're supposed to be comparable to Cheez-Its and I think they are close enough. My husband said they taste like "under-cooked noodles, but that's a good thing! I liked them!" so...who knows.

I found the recipe here but I didn't exactly follow it.

For the carrots, a long time ago I had tried to make a carrot puree for my toddlers to enjoy in a pouch that was much too watery and chunky to be considered a puree. I froze it all in ice cube trays anyway and have been using it up slowly in sauces, burgers, casseroles, etc. I thawed about 15 ice cubes worth for the carrot part of these crackers.

So I put my carrot stuff in a bowl, added 2 eggs, and a big handful of cheese (and then my toddler added a handful of cheese--just for good measure!) and stirred it all up. I didn't use a mixer or food processor at all. I added the flour (I used white, not whole wheat) 1/4 cup at a time. The last 1/4 cup I should've added the whole thing but for some reason I thought my dough was thick enough. It was so sticky though so I had a really hard time getting cracker shapes out of a lot of it. So I made about 40 crackers and then a big pile of mush.

I would definitely make these again. Both of my toddlers loved them (even after knowing there were carrots in there!). Next time, I'll try not to forget to sprinkle on salt before they go in the oven but it actually wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it was going to be. Now I have a better use for my weird carrot ice cubes!

Kielbasa, Potato, Green Bean Dinner

At Ruby's Pantry this past month, we were given a 24 serving can of green beans. The can is one of those ones you find in the bulk aisle at Walmart. It's crazy big. We were also given a few purple potatoes and beef broth.

Tonight, I decided to combine 1 pound of kielbasa (not from Ruby's), about 1/4 of the can of beans, a couple handfuls of the purple potatoes, and 2 ish cups of beef broth in a slow cooker. I put it on low for 8 hours and it turned out wonderful, if not a little salty. (The beans were even reduced sodium but that is still a lot of sodium for a dinner!)

We were all surprised that the purple potatoes turned yellow-ish brown, like a regular potato!

I love slow cooker dinners, especially on busy nights. Dinner is already ready for you! There is little prep work to this one so it was even do-able with little kids. When I explained to my two and a half year old at breakfast time that I needed to make dinner, she looked at me like I was nuts and called me silly. But she gladly helped anyway. I don't know that she's actively seen me use the slow cooker before though because she thought it was going to be loud (like a blender) and was really confused when it wasn't! Several times throughout the day, she asked me if it was time to eat yet--probably because slow cookers make the house smell so good!

I will definitely be making this again. I would somehow find a way to reduce the salt and maybe I'd add an onion but it really doesn't need much in terms of seasonings without being bland! This dinner was easy and awesome!

Sweet Potato BBQ Chicken Pizza

I'm behind in my blogging (again) so I actually made this pizza a few weeks ago. We were nervous how it would turn out because it sounded healthy (ha!) and nobody but me really likes sweet potatoes.

I did take the crust out of the oven a couple minutes early because it was browning and I didn't want it to burn.

I also cooked the spinach (when I cooked the onions) because it had previously been frozen and I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I don't know that it matters if it's cooked or uncooked, regardless of being frozen. I will also mention that I didn't measure the sauces. I simply each one out separately on the crust until it looked good. This could've been close to a half cup but it did leave a lot of tomato sauce in the jar so be ready to have spaghetti the next night!

This pizza turned out great! Being cheeseless, I'm not sure I would eat it because I was craving pizza and trying to be healthier but I would eat it again. It's just not a good replacement for the real thing. Even David liked it. My toddler hates sweet potatoes too so she wasn't impressed, but she did like the toppings.  My mom was in town and thought it was really good also!

I would definitely make it again!

Chocolate Tofu Pudding

At Ruby's, we were given 6 blocks of nigari tofu. I asked my vegan, tofu-loving sister what nigari is and she wasn't entirely sure but said that it is really soft and would be best used in desserts or miso soup. When I pinterested for ideas for silken tofu, I was given lots of recipes!

My current recipe refuses to link up but it's from yummyhealthyeasy.com. It's very simple and takes less than 5 minute to make (and that even includes gathering your ingredients!)

Ingredients:
1 block (14 oz) tofu (the site says firm but I used my nigari and it came out just fine. Next time, I would drain it a little first. Ours was frozen so I'm not sure if that made a difference or not)

1 cup chocolate chips, melted

1 tsp Truvia sweetener (I just happened to have this exact amount in a sample packet in my pantry!)

1/4 cup milk

splash of vanilla extract

dash of cinnamon

Put it all in a blender until smooth and you're done! This turns out so creamy and delicious! Be sure to put your leftovers (if they are any!) in the fridge.

You would never guess there's tofu in there. My toddler loved it and didn't even realize it wasn't her regular, from a box pudding!

Eggplant Lasagna Roll Ups

In the past, I have made lasagna roll ups with great results. I do a noodle outside with a ricotta cheese/spinach mixture on the inside. I had seen people do something similar with a zucchini outside (instead of the noodle). I have been intrigued to try this but it's not zucchini season yet so I did it with an eggplant!

I had pinterested about it and found a recipe (that for some reason refuses to open so I am unable to give credit) but I had to make some changes.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cut length wise in slices (about 12 slices for 1 eggplant)
• about 1/2 cup sour cream
• about 1 cup ricotta cheese
• basil
• shredded parmesan cheese (I would've used mozzarella if I had it)
• pasta sauce of your choosing

Directions:

They talk about purging the eggplant. This is a process that gets rid of its bitter juices. I will probably not do this next time because I found my sink dry after doing it and even after rinsing, it make the eggplant really salty. If you are interested, you rub salt on your eggplant slices and let sit in a colander in the sink. Then rinse after about an hour. (Maybe I'm missing a step and that's why mine didn't work? I'm not sure).

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add in as many eggplant slices that fit. Cook a couple minutes on each side, until browned. Repeat until all slices are cooked. 

Mix up the sour cream, ricotta cheese, basil, and some of the cheese in a bowl. Spread on each slice of eggplant and roll up. Put in a baking dish and cover with pasta sauce (I used about half a jar) and the remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes (just enough to heat everything through. The original recipe doesn't call for the oven at all. You wrap your eggplant with the cold cheese mixture and serve. Eww!). This also assures that your eggplant is cooked all the way.

This recipe was a HIT! I think David and I both rate this an 8+ out of 10! He says he would still prefer noodles but I almost don't notice a difference. The eggplant flavor is really mild and it cuts easily with your fork. With 3 roll ups a person, this serves about 4 people. Compared with a regular lasagna noodle and a serving of 3 roll ups, the eggplant saves you over 200 calories! Incredible! 

I love healthy recipes and substitutions that actually taste good! Now, this recipe is definitely not healthy but by swapping the noodles for eggplant, I believe it helps! 

Parmesan Ham Noodle Dinner

I tend to make noodle dishes on Mondays. I'm not entirely sure why that is but seeing as today is Monday, we had noodles! Tonight's was based very loosely on several recipes so I will post what I specifically did.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of cooked ham, cubed
• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 package (4 oz) of button mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• oregano
• basil
• parsley
• garlic powder
• 2/3 of a 16 oz box of shell noodles, uncooked
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 2 cups milk
• 3 cups water
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in mushrooms, onions, and ham. Cook until the veggies are cooked. 

2. Add in seasonings and cook another minute.

3. Stir in milk, water, flour, and noodles. (You can use the entire box if it fits in your skillet but mine did not). Cook for 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

4. Add in peas. Cook for another minute or two. 

5. Stir in cheese and sour cream. Continue cooking until heated through.

This came together very quickly, especially after the veggies were chopped (I am very slow at prep work). David rated this an 8 out of 10 but wasn't sure what would make it better. I rate it about an 8.5. There was an unusual flavor to it and I'm not sure if it was the Parmesan cheese or the sour cream. I added in both because mine was still too liquidy with just a couple minutes of cook time left. Plus, I always seem to have sour cream I'm trying to use up. It is a very good dish though and I would definitely make it again (or something similar, depending on what I have on hand). You could easily adapt the veggies, cheese, or even the meat choice. The possibilities of this are endless! I love dishes like that!