Requested Recipes

Banana breakfast cookies

Here are a few recipes that were requested from this week's menu. :o)

Banana Breakfast Cookies (flour-less, gluten-free, no added sugar - pretty guiltless!)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

2 cups old-fashioned (large flake) oats

1 cup dried cranberries (or dried fruit of choice - I used blueberries)

1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

1-1/2 cups mashed very ripe banana (about 3 medium)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1. In a large bowl, combine the oats, cranberries, and walnuts

2. In a medium bowl, combine the banana, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda until well-blended.

3. Add banana mixture to oat mixture, stirring to combine. Let stand 15 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray cookie sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheets.

4. Bake 14 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden-brown. Let cool on sheets 1 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days (or freeze in airtight bags/containers)

Kale chips

1 bunch kale (the standard curly kind works best)

spray olive oil

seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 350. Wash and thoroughly dry kale. Tear into bite-size pieces and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Spray lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with seasoning salt. (Salt and garlic pepper is also really good). Bake kale until the edges just begin to brown, about 20-30 minutes, but don't burn or they will taste bitter. Allow to cool. Once they're cool, you can give them another light spritz with olive oil and then sprinkle on some nutritional yeast (or if you're not vegan, some parmesan cheese). They're really good just on their own, though. I ate an entire head of kale today thanks to kale chips!

Impossible "cheeseburger" pie

This one is a little embarrassing to post, because a) it's just junky comfort food, and b) it's a recipe that I got off the back of a Bisquick box and veganized. ;o) The impetus for planning it this week is that I got some new chorizo-style seitan that I wanted to try in place of the soy crumbles, and I knew I'd be really busy with our adoption fundraiser this week and would need easy meals.

1 lb soy meat crumbles (like Yves or Boca brands)

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese substitute (we use Daiya)

1/2 cup Bisquick baking mix (yes, it's vegan!)

1 1/3 cup nondairy milk (I use unsweetened almond or soy)

And although the recipe doesn't call for it, you can add a little taco or chili seasoning. It's good either way.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9" pie plate with cooking spray.

2. In a large skillet, cook soy crumbles and onion over medium heat until heated through and onions are translucent. Stir in salt, spread "meat" mixture in pie plate, and sprinkle with cheese.

3. In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients with a whisk until well blended. Pour in pie plate.

4. Bake 25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.