Gyros and Dairy Free Tzatziki Sauce

Original recipe at A Good Appetite. Borrowed with permission...

Here's my slightly altered version:

Gyro Meat
(picture shows half recipe)
1 med onion, chopped
2 lbs ground pork
1 T garlic, finely minced
1 T dried marjoram
1 T dried ground rosemary
2 t sea salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper


Preheat oven to 325. Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds. Put it into a paper towel and squeeze out as much juice as you can. Add the onion and remaining ingredients into Kitchen Aid stand mixer (or use a food processor) and blend until a fine paste is formed. Place the mixture into a loaf pan, spreading it into all the corners. Put the pan into a water bath & bake until the mixture reaches between 165 & 170, should be about an hour. Remove from the oven & drain off any excess fat. Place a brick covered in foil on top of the meat (we used another loaf pan filled with canned goods for weight) and let sit for 15 - 20 minutes [I didn't need to do this when using just half the recipe]. Slice and serve on pita with tzatziki sauce (below), onions & tomatoes.

You can also cook this on a rotisserie. See Alton Brown's recipe for details on that.

Dairy Free Tzatziki Sauce

12 oz Tofutti Sour Supreme (sour cream)
1 med cucumber, peeled, seeded & finely chopped
pinch sea salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 T olive oil
2 t red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced (I used about 1 tsp dried crushed leaves)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Can be stored up to a week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Tilapia with Lemon Dijon Cream (Dairy Free)

Original Recipe from What's for Dinner?. Used with permission...

6 Tilapia filets

Combine in a bowl...

1 C Tofutti sour cream
2T Dijon mustard
1t lemon juice
1t lemon pepper
1t italian herbs

(I always have trouble with fish breaking in a skillet... but the taste is great. ) Heat 2 T oil in a large skillet and cook fish until flaky. Pour dijon cream evenly over fish, cover and reduce to low heat. Simmer 1 minute or until sauce is hot. Serve fish and sauce over noodles.

Note to self: Next time try cooking in the oven 450 for about 10 minutes... pour dijon cream over and heat for another minute or two. Hopefully this will help keep the fish in tact! :) Also, thin out the sauce a little (personal preference).

Green Smoothies

There's no "real" recipe for these, it's just a hodgepodge of veggies and fruits. However, I have learned that I like the veggies to be liquefied, so I generally add them first with about 2 - 4 cups of water and blend. Then I add my fruits and other ingredients. Blend again. (I love the liquefy button!) I like to drink mine with a straw especially when I'm adding more greens and removing some fruit.

Here are the foods I've used in my green smoothies (not all at the same time... different combinations each day):

Veggies
Spinach
Kale
Mustard Greens (don't like)
Collard Greens
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Snow peas
Snap peas
carrots
avocado

Fruits (fresh or frozen)
apples
pears
bananas
peaches
pineapple
mango
kiwi
strawberries
oranges
blueberries
raspberries/blackberries (don't like because the seeds never really go away)

Other
Milled Flax Seed
Wheat germ (very little... I don't like the taste)
Hemp seed
Stevia
Frozen orange concentrate
Vanilla
Cinnamon (just a little... too much will numb your tongue... trust me.)
Vanilla Soy/Rice Milk


Basically anything will do. Fruits and veggies don't have a chance to go bad around here anymore!

I haven't tried a savory green smoothie yet (garlic, onion, other veggies, no fruit).
Have you?

Alabama Pulled Pig

I found Alabama Pulled Pig at allrecipes.com and the only thing I've changed is to use dairy free margarine instead of the butter. This takes a while to cook, but it is so worth it! Lots of meat for several, several meals and it tastes wonderful!!

• 3 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
• 1 stick dairy free margarine
• 1 quart water
• 5 pounds Boston butt roast

1. In a non-reactive saucepan, combine the cider vinegar, salt, brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and margarine. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Mix in the water, and return to boil. Sauce the pork before smoking, and then every hour or so while it cooks.
2. Start the pork butt on a slow smoker using hardwood coals or charcoal briquettes and mesquite or apple wood chips. Smoke the pork for at least 6 hours and up to 10. The longer the smoke time, the deeper the 'smoke ring', a red ring of flavor, will penetrate.
3. After the meat has smoked for 6 to 10 hours, use aluminum foil to wrap the meat. Fold the edges of two sheets together to form a watertight seal. Place the meat in the center and bring the edges up to the top, cupping the meat. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the meat and then seal the foil tightly around the roast.
4. Place the meat package back on the smoker, or in a 350 degree oven (175 degrees C). If it is on the smoker, increase the heat. Cook the package until the meat pulls easily from the bone. This can be checked easily by pushing on the top of the foil package with an oven-mitted hand to test for softness. It will take up to 2 hours.
5. Once the meat is done, remove it from the smoker or oven and let it cool. Pull the pork from the bone and discard the fat and gristle. Pull the meat apart in large chunks about 1 inch wide by 4 inches long.
6. [Optional] Place the meat chunks in a pan and pour about one cup of sauce for every 4 pounds of meat, or to taste. Heat until simmering. Serve immediately or let marinate for several days. The meat can also be pulled into smaller pieces using 2 forks, this is locally known as 'shredded pork'.

Dairy-Free Egg-Free Spice Cake

I found the original recipe at allrecipes.com

I omitted the raisins and doubled the spices. The cake is very dense and moist, however it tasted even better when I added the DF cream cheese frosting! I devoured the cake. Yes, me. Well, mostly me. The kids had a bite or two. It was after all, my birthday cake (and a test for Witt's birthday cake). Here's my recipe:

• 1 cup shortening
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

1. In a saucepan combine the shortening, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove form heat and let stand until cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch baking pan or two round pans.
3. Stir the flour and baking soda into the cooled spice mixture and mix until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes.

Egg-Free Dairy-Free Chocolate Cake

I was directed to this recipe by The Thrifty Blogger for a cake I would love, so I tried it. The recipe is for two round cakes: in one I completely omitted the egg and in the other I substituted 1/4 cup applesauce for one egg. Both cakes were very tasty, but the one with the applesauce was better in my opinion... VERY MOIST. However, the center of the cake did sink, so I'm thinking 1/4 cup might be too much... but it was so good I didn't really care what it looked like! :)

I coupled the cake with Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting and it was MAGNIFICENT! Everyone raved about it at Witt's birthday party! (The cake shown here was 1/8 of a cake cooked in a mini loaf pan... for Witt's individual birthday cake.)

Thank you, Thrifty Blogger for a great recipe! I think that was the best chocolate cake I've ever made!!!

My adaptation to HERSHEY’S “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup applesauce (may want to reduce a little for a non-sinking center)
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add applesauce, soy milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Dairy Free Cornbread

Jeff really liked this cornbread - nominating it one of his top two. In keeping with the requests of Go Dairy Free, I am only posting a link to the recipe and not the recipe itself. Enjoy!

I substituted white cornmeal for the yellow.

Basic Corn Bread
Go Dairy Free - Tuesday, 13 May 2008

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