Image – Page 2 – Kacey Tess

Crab Legs

I made this crab leg dinner for 2 for under $30! I found the king crab legs at Smith’s grocery store for $7.99 per lb. I served them with oven roasted-rosemary potatoes and a pre-made chopped kale salad.

Ingredient List:

2 lbs of king crab legs

Fresh dill

1/2 lemon sliced

1 tsp sea salt

Method:

Fill a large stock pot half way up with water

Add dill, lemon, salt and crab

Bring to a boil, reduce and steam for 10 minutes

Drain water and serve warm with melted butter

Oven roasted rosemary potatoes

Ingredient List:

4 red potatoes sliced thinly

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped

1 tsp sea salt

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 425

Prepare a baking sheet with aluminun foil

Place potatoes on baking sheet

Toss with olive oil

Sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, flip and bake an additional 15 minutes or until browning

Remove from oven, place on a plate covered with paper towel

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Bites

Sweet Potato Bites

Ingredient list:

2 large sweet potatoes washed and cut into bite size pieces

1/4 Coconut oil

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp dried parsley (optional, as garnish)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350

Pre pare a greased baking sheet or lined with aluminum foil

Melt coconut oil

Place all ingredients in a zip-lock bag and shake it until all potatoes are coated

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown

I dipped mine in a homemade Russian dressing and it was delightful!

Enjoy!!

Non-Dairy Alternatives

Non-Dairy Substitutes

{Click on any heading for a link to the product}

I have never been able to eat a lot of dairy so you can imagine how happy it makes me that so many non-dairy substitutes are available and most grocery stores now. There are so many to choose from, below I have listed a few of my favorites.

Unsweetened Almond Milk

(Everyday milk replacement, cereal, baking (sweet), drinking)

Even though I buy unsweetened I still find it slightly sweet, so this milk is great for baking and using in anything sweet. It has low calories, even less than skim milk, low carbs and is high in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and vitamin E. It is super easy to make yourself too!

Flax seed milk

(Savory baking, scrambled eggs, soups, sauces)

I think flax seed milk tastes the most like dairy milk out of any of the milks. I use this for anything savory. It is creamier than a lot of the other milk alternatives so it goes great in soups and sauces. It is also cholesterol free, lactose free, gluten free and has omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, B 12, D and calcium.

Greek Cultured Coconut Milk

This is a great alternative to dairy yogurt. It still contains live cultures but is soy, gluten and dairy free. I use this in place of traditional dairy yogurt, sour cream and mayonnaise.

Nutritional Yeast

I have not found a cheese replacement I love, but nutritional yeast does add a cheesy taste to sauces and meals. You can sprinkle on top of dishes to add flavor, stir it into potatoes or polenta and add it to almost any pasta dish to develop great taste without adding cheese. Nutritional yeast has that name for a reason too, it contains folic acid, B-vitamins, selenium, zinc and protein. You may have to visit your local health food store to find this.

Olive Oil

I use olive oil everyday! I hardly ever use butter, I normally always substitute it with olive oil or coconut oil. If you are cooking at high temperatures you will need to use an oil with a higher smoking point such as grape-seed oil.

Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Ice Cream

Everyone needs a treat! I like this non-dairy ice cream more than any others I have tried and even prefer it to dairy ice cream. My favorite flavors are Naked Almond Fudge and Mint Galactica. Try it, you won’t be disappointed!

{meatless} Club Sandwich

{Meatless} Club Sandwich

Ingredient List: 2 sandwiches

6 pieces bread toasted (I used 12 grain bread)

6 1/4” thick pieces of tempeh

1 tbsp olive oil

4 Tbsp guacamole

2 Tbsp stoneground mustard

10 spinach leaves

2 dill pickle spears cut into thirds

4 pieces pepper-jack cheese

4-6 slices red onion

Sprouts (I used radish)

1/4 cucumber sliced

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Sea salt to taste

Method:

Place the sliced cucumbers in balsamic vinegar and let marinade while cooking tempeh

In a large skillet heat oil over medium and add tempeh

Cook on each side until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes each side)

Start with one piece of toasted bread

Add gaucamole

Top with spinach, tempeh, pickles one slice of cheese

Spread 1 tbsp mustard on another piece of toasted bread and place on sandwich

Top with onion, sprouts, cucumber and an additional piece of cheese

Sprinkle with sea salt

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Korma

Vegetarian Korma

I made this meal for $10 (I had a few things on hand) and in under 30 minutes, it doesn’t get better than that!

Ingredient List:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2-3 yukon gold potatoes cubed

3 carrots roughly chopped

1 C sliced mushrooms

1 C frozen peas

1 8 oz can of tomato sauce

1 jalapeno (optional)

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tbsp yellow curry powder

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 Tbsp peanut butter

1 C non fat greek yogurt

Sea salt

Cilantro or parsley

Method:

In a large skillet heat the oil over medium

Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook until onions are soft about 5 minutes

Taste and season with sea salt if wanted

Add potatoes, carrots, jalapeño, peas (frozen), mushrooms, tomato sauce and peanut butter

Cook until potatoes and carrots are tender about 10-15 minutes

Stir in yogurt and bell pepper

Cook for 5 additional minutes

Garnish with cilantro or parsley

Serve on rice ( I used couscous)

Enjoy!!

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Ingredient List:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 white onion minced

1 14 oz can of italian diced tomatoes

1 vine ripened tomato

3 sprigs of fresh oregano

1 tsp sea salt

Method:

Heat medium skillet over medium and add oil

Brown onion

Add diced tomatoes and ripe tomato

Add oregano

Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer 20 minutes

Pour in to a blender, combine (be very careful it will be very hot!)

Enjoy!

Pizza Dough (no resting/rising required)

Ingredient List:

1 3/4 C flour

1 package of pizza dough yeast

1 tsp sea salt

3 tsp sugar

3 tbsp olive oil

3/4 C water

Method:

Combine all dry ingredients until thoroughly combined

Add oilve oil and water

Mix in a stand mixer for 4 minutes or knead by hand

Flour a surface and roll out

Use immediately or freeze

Ejnoy!

Skillet Pizza

Ingredient List:

I batch of pizza dough (Click here for recipe)

1 batch homemade pizza sauce (click here for recipe) or store-bought pizza sauce

1 green zuchhini sliced thinly

1 yellow pepper sliced thinly

1-2 leaves of kale de-stemmed and ripped into small pieces

1 jalapeno de-veined and seeded, sliced thinly

10 banana peppers sliced thinly

Any other veggies you have in your fridge, mushrooms would be great!

10 slices of provolone or colby-jack cheese

Red pepper flakes

Sea salt

Dried Basil

Olive oil

Method:

Grease a large skillet

Pre-heat oven to 475

Spread the dough in the skillet evenly making the sides higher

Spoon the sauce into the pizza

Place 5 pieces of cheese evenly around the pizza

Top with veggies and sprinkle with salt

Place the other 5 pieces of cheese on top of the veggies

Sprinke with red pepper flakes

Brush the crust with olive oil and sprinke with sea salt and dried basil (optional)

Bake for 15 minutes, check on it, if needed bake an additional 3 minutes or so. The crust should be browned.

Be careful when removing from oven, it will be very hot!

Enjoy!!

Cioppino

Cioppino

Ingredient List:

2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

2 carrots chopped into matchsticks size pieces

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

1 large shallot minced (1 tbsp reserved for bread)

3 sprigs rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1 can whole peeled tomatoes (14.5 oz)

8 ounces clam juice

1 C vegetable stock (or 1 C water and 1 tsp better than bullion)

1 lb fresh mussels

1 lb cod or any white fish cut into small pieces

1 baguette cut into 1/2 diagonal pieces

Sea Salt

Method:

Turn broiler on high

In a large skillet (oven-safe) over medium heat melt 1 tbsp butter and add carrots, garlic, celery, garlic and shallots

Cook until shallots are browned about 5 minutes

Add rosemary, thyme and tomatoes

Reduce heat to low and simmer for an additional 5 minutes

Season with sea salt (around 1 tsp)

Add clam juice, stock and mussels

Cover and cook 5 minutes

While steaming mussels spread the other 1 tbsp of butter over each piece of baguette, sprinkle with sea salt, reserved shallots and additional rosemary

Add fish and bring to a simmer

Place bread on top of Cioppini

Remove skillet from cooktop and place under the broiler

Broil until the butter is melted and bread is browned (about 2-3 minutes)

Remove from oven and serve

Enjoy!

Dragonfruit-Pomegranate Cheesecake Tarts

Dragonfruit-Pomegranate Cheesecake Tarts

Ingredient List:

2 8 oz bricks of cream cheese at room temperature

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 box shortbread tart cups ( I bought tart cups for this dessert, alternatively you could make a graham cracker crust and use a lined mini muffin tin, see my previous blog post https://kaceytess.com/2013/07/25/no-bake-raspberry-cheesecake/ )

Toppings:

1/2 dragon fruit

Blueberries

Pomegranate seeds

Sliced almonds

Method:

Place shortbread cups on a baking sheet

With an electric mixer blend cream cheese until soft and whipped (about 2-3 minutes)

Add sweetened condensed milk and continue mixing

Add whipping cream and mix until thoroughly combined and creamy (about 2 minutes)

Add vanilla and almond and mix until just combined

Scoop cheesecake mix into a ziplock bag, cut a corner out and squeeze mixture into shortbread cups

In a different ziplock bag spoon 1/2 dragon fruit into bag and squeeze until soft, cut a corner out of the bag and squeeze a dime size amount on to each tart

Top with blueberries, pomegranate and almond slices

Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours

You can also freeze these tarts and let defrost in the fridge the night before you are ready to use

Enjoy!