Chicken Quinoa Chili

• 1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
  
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken, in 3/4" cubes
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 can (6-8 oz) diced green chiles
• 3 cans beans (your choice, I use white beans, pinto beans, and black beans)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1. In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add diced onions and cook until tender.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and any selection of the aforementioned spices, and toss in the hot pot.  Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until juices run clear.
2. Add the chicken stock, green chiles, diced tomatoes, beans, chili powder, paprika, cumin, chipotle chili powder, white pepper, and cayenne pepper, and stir well.
   
3. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes.  Add the corn, carrots, and quinoa and allow to simmer for 20 minutes more.
   

Vegan Naan Bread

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups flour, plus a few tbsp for workspace 
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

 

1. Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Add salt and flour. Mix thoroughly. Knead dough on a floured workspace about 20 times and form into a tight ball. Put dough in a well oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel.
3. Put in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes. Dough won't rise much, but it doesn't need to.
4. Turn dough out onto a floured workspace. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out with a rolling pin to about 1/8" thick.
5. Grill naan pieces on a grill or electric griddle. In a pinch, a frying pan sprayed with some nonstick cooking spray will work.  A George Foreman grill also works, no need to even flip. Grill for 1-2 minutes on each side. 

Notes:

• Sub in any type of flour, I used half wheat and the result was great!

Yields 8 pieces

Quick Mini Biscuits

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup milk (I use almond milk)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Dash of salt
• 2 Tbs butter
• ~1/2 tsp your choice of seasoning: cracked pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, fennel, rosemary, etc 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease the cups of two mini muffin tins.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, milk, and butter.  Stir in seasoning. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until nicely puffed and browned.

Notes:

• I use wheat flour, but good ol' all purpose flour will definitely do the job.
• I have found that I can bake them at 400F for 7-9 minutes and they turn out fine too if you're in a hurry- just keep an eye on them.
• In place of butter you can use mayonnaise for a kick (I despise mayonnaise though...).
• If you have self-rising flour, just use a cup of that and omit the baking powder and soda.

Yields 16 mini biscuits

Pear Berry Crumble

Ingredients:

• 2 pears
• 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• cinnamon
• 1/4 cup ground walnuts or pecans
• 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbs butter or margarine, melted

1. Heat the oven to 400F.
2. Cut the pears into thin slices, and in a bowl mix with sugar, lemon juice, raspberries, blueberries, and a pinch of cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl add nuts, oats, brown sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon.  With a fork mix melted butter with ingredients until a coarse meal forms.
4. Fill 4 ramekins with fruit mixture, and top with crumble mixture.  Bake 12-15 minutes, or until fruit is soft and the top is toasty.  Serve with whipped cream or Cool Whip. 

Notes:

• Apples can be subbed for pears, or a mix can be used, whatever is on hand.

Yields 4 servings

Vegan Chocolate Puddin'

Hear me out, I know tofu in pudding sounds AWFUL, but it really isn't!  It lends to a really rich silky texture, and a very happy calorie count- about 120 calories a serving.  Not too shabby for fulfilling that chocolate fix.

Toss the following in a blender:

• 12 oz of soft silken tofu*
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (I subbed part agave syrup)
• 5 Tbs unsweetened cocoa
• 3 Tbs almond milk (soy works also)

And select one of the following flavor additions:

• 1 banana, in pieces
• 1/2 tsp mint extract
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp orange extract + some orange zest

Blend on high until smooth and delicious looking, distribute in serving vessels, and refrigerate for an hour to allow flavors to meld.

Notes:

• BUY ORGANIC TOFU.  Yes, I have a few soap boxes, and a general aversion to non-organic soy products is one of them.  Eating soy in excess can have devastating side effects in-and-of itself, but I am okay with organic soy in small moderation.  Non-organic tofu is like 99.99% genetically modified, and riddled with pesticides (soy plants are one of the most pesticide-laden crops)  And I'll shut up now.
• You can make just plain chocolate, but the "soy-y" flavor can be more distinguished without the additional flavor component.

Yields 4 servings.

Crispy Coconut Chicken Tenders

These tantalizing little tenders are a budget-friendly solution to craving coconut shrimp, and offer a down right delicious option when you want more than the typical chicken tender.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, or tenders
• 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp Chinese 5 spice*
• Canola oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 300F.
2. On a cookie sheet, spread the shredded coconut in a thin, even layer, and toast in the 300F oven for 8-10 minutes, stirring every 5.  Pay close attention because coconut burns quickly.
3. Once toasted, toss the coconut in a food processor and pulse until coconut is similar in consistency to bread crumbs.  Set aside.
4. Turn the oven up to 400F.
5. Cut your chicken into desired size, I like mine in small tenders.  Then season chicken with salt, pepper, Chinese 5 spice, and paprika.
6. Create your breading station, in one bowl beat the two eggs.  In another bowl mix panko breadcrumbs and toasted coconut.
7. Then, utilizing one hand for eggs, and the other dry hand for breadcrumbs, coat each chicken tender in egg, then breadcrumb mixture.  Press mixture on and ensure even coating.  Set coated tenders aside on a cookie sheet.
8. Once all tenders are coated, heat canola oil in a large skillet on medium high, and cook tenders 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.  Transfer partially-cooked tenders to a cookie sheet, and finish in the oven with an additional 10 minutes.
9. These tenders are delicious served with my mango ginger dipping sauce, or peanut sauce.

Notes:

• I find that the loose breading in the skillet gets burnt and nasty quick, so I clean the skillet out with a paper towel between batches and use new oil.
• Chinese 5 spice can be found at your local grocery- either in the Asian section or the spice aisle.  I have found it to be much cheaper in the Asian section than the spice section.

Yields 4-6 servings

Mango Ginger Dipping Sauce

In a blender add:

• 1 mango, chopped
• 1 tsp fresh grated ginger root
• 1 Tbs rice vinegar (regular vinegar works as well, but add only 1 tsp)
• 1/2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs orange juice
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1. Blend until smooth. Can be refrigerated and used up to about 3 days after.

Yields 4-6 servings

Banana Crumble Muffins

Ingredients:
Muffin

• 1 cup wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour (or all purpose flour if that's all you have on hand)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup agave syrup*
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (can substitute with oil or melted butter)
• 3 very ripe, mashed bananas
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Crumble topping

• 1 Tbs butter
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 Tbs whole wheat flour

1. Heat the oven to 375F.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix mashed bananas, applesauce, egg, white and brown sugar, vanilla and agave.
3. Sift in flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  Add salt, and stir until incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Cut in the butter, until the crumble resembles a coarse meal.
5. Butter and flour muffin tin, and fill each cavity about 2/3 full and top with about a Tbs of crumble mixture.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Notes:

• If you don't have agave you can use all white sugar
• Basically any flour will do the job, but I like using some cake flour with whole wheat because it lightens up the texture a bit.
• You can use muffin papers, but I have found with using applesauce that the muffin tends to stick to the paper.  So if you are subbing oil or butter for the applesauce, go after those muffin liners.

Yields about 16 muffins