Chocolate-Banana Green Drink by me

This one is a little different than my usual, but great for when I'm pining for a milkshake rather than something ultra healthy.  It's a good compromise.

3/4 c Rice Milk
3/4 c Whole Milk (or more rice milk, soy, or coconut)
8-10 ice cubes
1 c fresh spinach
1 tsp (or more) raw sugar crystals (turinado is fine) or whatever sweetener you want
1/2 fresh banana (though more and frozen might be great as well).

Vitamix it, and you are done.  Makes at least 2 cups.  Looks like a frothy, green milkshake.

Seitan and Broccolini with Clementine Teriyaki

8 Ounces Sliced Seitan (I use West Soy brand)
1 Cup Sushi RIce
6-8 Stalks of Broccolini
2 Clementines
1 Tbs Vegetable Oil
Japanese Seven Spice, optional

Clementine Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 Cup Low Sodium Tamari
1/3 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Fresh Clementine Juice
1/4 Cup + 1 Tbs Rice Vinegar
1/4 Cup Water
Zest from 1 Clementine

Rinse your sushi rice in cool water and drain. Cook in your rice cooker or on the stove according to package directions, but 1 cup of sushi rice is usually cooked in 1 1/4 cups of water. Allow to cook completely and steam for 5-10 minutes off the heat while you are preparing the rest of the meal. Total cooking time for the rice will be around 20 minutes.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small pan let it go at a lively simmer for 20 minutes, until reduced and slightly thick. The sauce will NOT be super thick when it is hot. It will very slightly cover the back of a spoon and look syrupy, but it’s not going to be thick until it cools, so don’t worry if it seems runny. At the end of the cooking you should see large, excited bubbles (this is the sugar caramelizing), so if you don’t see those, keep cooking. Once the sauce is done, it’ll taste good but pretty strong. Set aside.

While the sauce and the rice are cooking, prepare your seitan and broccolini. Slice the seitan into 1/8″ thick medallions, or something similar. I usually don’t prep broccolini any more than rinsing it and chopping off the ends, but if the stalks are particularly thick, you may wish to half them lengthwise. This shouldn’t be the case with most bunches you find in the store, however.

Heat a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the seitan and let brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl, turn up the heat to high, and add broccolini in one layer. Once you get color on one side, flip, reduce heat to low, and cover the pan to finish the cooking, another 2-3 minutes. The broccolini should be bright green and cooked to a tender-crisp.

Once you are ready to serve, add the seitan to the pan with the broccolini. Drizze enough teriyaki sauce in to coat everything. Beware, if the pan is too hot you risk burning your sauce, so take good care here. Once everything is heated and covered in a nice glaze, serve immediately with the sushi rice. Top with seven spice if you like a little heat.

This sauce is strong so you just need enough to coat — save any extra for a future meal.

from VeganYumYum

Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

adapted from Southern Living 2007 Annual Recipes

serves 6

Prep time:  10 min

Cook time:  slow cooker 8 hours

2 (16-oz) cans Great Northern beans, undrained

1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (14-oz) package smoked turkey sausage, sliced

3/4 cup chicken broth

3 medium carrots, sliced

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine first 11 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.  Remove and discard bay leaf.

Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Orange and Oats Chewies

Orange and Oats Chewies
adapted from Best of the Bake-Off

Makes about 60 cookies

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut

Heat oven to 350F. Grease 2 cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, shortening, butter, orange juice concentrate, orange peel and eggs; mix well.

Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Stir in oats and coconut.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until light and golden brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute then transfer to rack to cool completely.

From The Girl Who Ate Everything Blog

What kind of camera/lens/equipment do you use? 

I have Canon Rebel XSi . I use mostly a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens and sometimes the standard Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Any suggestions or hints to have great food photos? 

Yesss!!!! Never use a flash. Most of my photos are taken outside on my back porch on a table in the shade. Get in close. People want the drool factor.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Crockpot Italian Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing (Regular is fine but I like zesty better. Sometimes I use a packet and a half.)
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)

Place the chicken in acrockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti

adapted from Allrecipes

1 pound dry ziti pasta

1 onion, chopped
1 pound Italian sausage ( or ground beef...I like sausage better)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce ( I used one Garlic and Onion and one Sausage)
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced ( 9 rounds)
1 1/2 cups sour cream
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain. 
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and sausage (or beef ) over medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook for a minute or so. Add spaghetti sauce and Italian seasonings, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2 sauce mixture, Provolone cheese, sour cream, remaining ziti, remaining sauce mixture and then mozzarella cheese. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. 
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted. You may want to cover it for the first 20 minutes with foil and then let the cheese melt and brown for the last 10 minutes.