New Recipe (GF, Raw & Vegan) & One Great Birthday Gift!

If you know  me well, then you know that I was beside myself when I opened one of my birthday gifts and it was……….a Spiralizer!  I know, its’s hard to contain the excitement isn’t it?!? Seriously, though, I was so excited to get this because I have wanted to delve into the world of veggie pasta for a long time now.  Last night I finally made a dish using my Spiralizer, and it was super easy!  Cutting the zucchini took a few minutes, tops.  It was fun to make and eat.  There is just something about eating “pasta” that you cannot resist! There are some of you I will never convince to eat zucchini pasta, but for those of you who are interested, here is what I did!  I followed this recipe from Pinch of Yum with some changes; my version is below.

I paired this with a yummy salad and corn on the cob for a delicious, filling meal.  I also made cheesy pasta for my swimmers.  It was their favorite by far.  They ate the entire bowl, saying it was even better than the boxed pasta that I buy from Amy’s!  I have made homemade Mac and Cheese before, following recipes to the ingredient, and I have never had this much raving about it.  I literally cooked some pasta, pulled it off the stove, and mixed in a few Tbsp. of butter and a handful of Mexican cheese!  Seriously, that’s it! LOVED IT!  It will definitely be a staple in my house over the next few weeks.  Without further ado, here is the recipe for zucchini pasta:

Zucchini Spaghetti with Avocado Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini, spiralized
• handful sliced cherry tomatoes
• handful sliced red, yellow, and orange bell peppers
• handful sliced carrots

Avacado Sauce:

• 1 avocado
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 Cup fresh parsley
• 3 green onions (only green part), sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• juice of 1 lemon
• pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix.  Mash avocado, parsley and green onions together in a separate bowl, then whisk in all other sauce ingredients.  Pour sauce over zucchini noodle blend and mix to combine.  Best eaten the same day!  ENJOY!

Recipe: Carefree Chickpea Cakes

I had some chickpeas that I needed to use, and I thought that they work so well for “tuna” salad that I would try a vegan version of “crab cakes”.  I love the flavor of Old Bay, so I used 2 tbsp., but they were a bit spicy for my kids.  I dialed it back to 1 tbsp. for his recipe, but feel free to use more if you’d like!  I am sure these would be delicious dipped in some fancy sauce, but I don’t have the time for that.  Perhaps you do?  Feel free to share.

Carefree Chickpea Cakes

Carefree Chickpea Cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup cooked chickpeas OR 1 can chickpeas (liquid drained)
• 1 heaping tbsp. finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
• 1 celery stalk, finely diced
• 1 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning (2 tbsp. if you want them slightly spicy)
• 1 tbsp. potato starch, unmodified (you could also use tapioca or corn starch)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil

Make sure all liquid has been thoroughly drained from chickpeas.  Mash with a fork in a medium size mixing bowl.  Add onion, green pepper and celery and mix together with fork.  Add remaining ingredients and continue to mix and mash with fork.  You want all the ingredients thoroughly mixed together with no large chunks.  Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil and heat on medium-low heat.  Form mixture into 1 1/2-inch patties and cook on each side for about 5 minutes.  Be careful when flipping these guys; they are fragile.  Also, watch the olive oil. You may need to add a little more halfway through cooking the cakes.  Makes about 2 dozen cakes, depending on size.