Slow Cooker Vegetarian Refried Beans (No Soak, Easy Method)

These are delicious and creamy refried vegetarian beans, using a 5-quart (or larger) Crock Pot and a few simple ingredients. No pre-soaking the beans is necessary.  The cooking time remains the same, soak or not. You can make them vegan if you substitute non-dairy butter at the end.

It takes approximately 6 hours to cook, once everything is in the slow cooker. You can freeze the extra in portion-sized freezer containers and they can last safely between 3-6 months.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb.  Dried pinto beans
• 1 large onion (yellow preferred)
• 4 bouillon cubes (I use Better than Bouillion paste in place of chicken bouillion cubes)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf (optional)
• 6 cups water (I use 4 cups of vegetable stock in a carton and add 2 cups water to equal 6 cups total)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, this gets added at the end

Instructions:

1. This recipe does not require soaking the beans. You can soak the beans if you want, but it’s not necessary. Set up your slow cooker and set it to high.  (If you cook on low, cooking time is 10 hours.)

2. Slice the onion into large cross-section slices and sauté in a large skillet on medium-high heat with 2 TBL cooking oil until they are brown and caramelized on both sides.

3. Rinse and sort the dried beans, throwing away any rocks or clumps of dirt.  Put the beans in the slow cooker.  When the onions are brown, add them and their oil on top of the beans in the cooker. 

4. Add the bouillon/stock, garlic, and bay leaf. Stir and cover.

5. Set a timer for 6 hours. Stir every couple of hours and check on the beans.  They will take between 5-6 hours to completely cook. (If you cook them on low, set your timer for 10 hours.)

6. When the cooking time is done and the beans feel thoroughly cooked, ladle off at least half or most of the liquid - but save it separately to add back to your beans’ desired consistency at the end.

At this point, don’t forget to take out the bay leaf, if you added one.

7. Add the stick of butter into the cooked beans. Use an immersion blender and blend the beans in the pot until smooth. If you don’t have a stick blender, you can use a manual potato masher.

8. If your beans feel too thick and pasty, add a little of the reserved cooked bean liquid back, a tablespoon at a time, until it has the consistency you want.

———-

Eat with burritos, as a dip, with rice, eggs, tacos, roll ups, tostadas, etc.

DIY Power Dish-Wash

Here’s a budget friendly spray for your dishes to loosen up the sticky stuff.

You will need:

A spray bottle

Water

Dawn dish soap

Rubbing alcohol 

Directions:

1. Fill up the spray bottle with about 13 ounces of water.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol 

3. Add 2-3 tablespoons of dish soap

4. Stir or shake, put the spray top on, and it’s ready to use.

Turns out, rubbing alcohol is great for cleaning dishes. Spray this mixture on the dried food bits on your dishes and let it sit and power soak for 20-30 seconds before scrubbing. I’ve also used it for countertops, stovetops, and sticky things on the vinyl flooring.

Herby Cilantro Sauce

Even one of my cilantro-hating kids loves this sauce. It’s great as a dip or topping. It’s creamy, tangy, and very herby. It’s also fast and easy to make, in less than about 10 minutes.

Ingredients 

2 cups chopped fresh cilantro

1-2 chopped garlic cloves

1 jalepeño, seeded

Juice of 1 small lime

1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil

3/4 cup mayonnaise 

3/4 cup sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Blend everything up, one ingredient at a time, in a blender or food processor.  Add the lime juice gradually to taste.

Creamy Vegetarian Broccoli Salad

Tasty and filling broccoli salad!

Best eaten on the first day when it’s fresh, but still tastes good for an extra day.

Vegetarian. Contains dairy.

Ingredients:

• 1 crown broccoli, cleaned and grated, including the stems (cut off any small brown or dry edges from the stem first, but keep the majority of the stem)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (purple preferred, but any color is fine)
• 2/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese 
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tsp sugar
• Imitation bacon bits for topping
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the broccoli, onion, cheese, and sunflower seeds.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the sour cream and mayonnaise to make the dressing. Add the sugar, salt, and pepper and mix until it tastes balanced and the sugar is dissolved.

Pour the dressing over the broccoli mixture and gently mix until everything is evenly coated.

Top with imitation bacon bits and serve.

Shortbread Lasso Biscuits

This shortbread recipe is loosely based on the “official” Lasso shortbread. It’s not too sweet, but it’s very buttery and tasty!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

3/4 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 300 F.

2. Sift flour and salt into large bowl.

3. In separate bowl, butter should be soft - the consistency of mayonnaise, but not melted into a liquid.

4. Mix the vanilla into the butter.

5. Sift the sugar into the butter and mix thoroughly.

6. Mix the sifted flour into the butter/sugar mixture and combine evenly.  It will be crumbly.

7. Use a square pan, either covered with parchment paper or coated in butter. Pour the mixture into the pan and evenly spread out and press down to about 1/2” thick. Use a piece of parchment as a barrier sheet under your hand to flatten in the pan.

8. (Optional) You can cut into squares in advance before baking to make the cuts smooth later.

9. Bake until golden and firm, approximately 45-60 minutes.

10. Cool and re-slice, if necessary.

Amazing Mango Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

  Simple and delicious, and most importantly, my kid will eat salad if this is on it. We made this together and it was an instant success. It blends to a perky yellow-orange color that makes your salad look sweet and fancy.

Ingredients 

• 1 cup cubed mango
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 
• 3 tablespoons oil (we like vegetable oil, but any salad oil will work)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Pinch of salt

Blend all of the ingredients in a kitchen blending machine of your choice (we use a BlendJet)  until the ingredients are smooth and creamy.

That’s it.

Use it up within a week or so.

Strawberry Napoleons

My kid made these and we loved them so much, we made them weekly for a while. Delicious and a very easy recipe for kids. You could make them with other fruit or mixtures, depending on what you have or what’s in season. You could also add other flavors to the cream filling, or color it pink (or whatever color you like) to get creative and make it even more special.

Ingredients

1 box frozen puff pastry sheet (or homemade)

1 box instant vanilla pudding, 3-oz size

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups whipped topping (like Cool Whip) or sweetened whipped cream

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

Powdered sugar for dusting at the end (optional)

Melted chocolate, sprinkles, or other topping for drizzling at the end (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Prepare the frozen puff pastry by thawing it and cutting it into 12 equal rectangles, using a pizza cutter or knife. You could also use a ruler if needed.

3. Add the puff pastry rectangles to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the rectangles puff up and are golden brown.

4. Remove the puff pastry rectangles from the oven and allow to cool. Split them in half to make 24 rectangles.

5. In a bowl, mix the vanilla pudding with the milk. Let it set for 5 minutes. Fold in the whipped topping, to create the pastry cream.

6. Wash and slice the strawberries. If you use frozen strawberries, thaw them out and drain away most of the juice so they’re not too drippy.

7. Using a spoon or piping bag, put some cream on a rectangle, place some strawberry slices on the cream,   Add a little more cream, and then add a puff pastry rectangle on top.  Like a little sandwich.

8. On top of each little strawberry cream pastry sandwich, top with a little more cream and a few more strawberry slices.

9. At this point, you could drizzle them with melted chocolate or dust with powdered sugar, if you want.

10. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.  They are best eaten fresh, but can be stored for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

French Toast Casserole

This is our favorite way to eat French Toast.  The buttery brown sugar at the bottom of each bite is the *chef’s kiss*. The outside is firm and lightly crunchy.  The inside of each bite is like a warm, fluffy pillow of awesome. No more soggy, floppy big triangles of the old fashioned kind.  THIS IS THE WAY.

Ingredients

• 1/2 loaf of bread, cut into bite-sized cubes (we use regular bread, but it could be French bread)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided in 2 portions
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar for topping
• Pam or non-stick cooking spray
• Powdered sugar for topping
• Pancake syrup, or other toppings (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter or use Pam to grease a 13x9” baking pan.

2. Melt the butter and put in a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar until the mixture is smooth.  Pour the mixture into the bottom of the baking pan and spread it out evenly.

3. Carefully add the bread cubes to the pan, spreading them evenly over the butter/sugar mixture.

4. In a medium/large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon.  Carefully pour the egg mixture over the cubed bread, making sure to distribute it over all of the pieces and saturate them.

5. Sprinkle the other teaspoon of cinnamon and the tablespoon of brown sugar over the top of the bread cubes.

6. Bake the casserole for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar and whatever toppings you like on your French Toast.

Easy, Kid-Friendly Blueberry Vinaigrette

My kid is working on learning to enjoy eating green salad, because healthy.  So we found a way to use the blueberries that we picked and froze last summer to make a super tasty and very PURPLE salad dressing that makes eating salad fun awesome. You simply blend the 4 ingredients together, using a regular blender or immersion blender, food processor…or any machine that will purée the ingredients into a smooth dressing.

Ingredients

1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw)

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup honey

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients with your blender

2. Strain, if you want.

3. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.  Shake before pouring.

The Best Homemade Waffle Recipe Ever

My son and I have perfected a waffle batter recipe. You’ll need a waffle iron.  It will get messy and drippy, so maybe put a piece of parchment paper underneath your machine while you use it to catch the drips. It’s totally worth the mess, though.

Also, you can put the cooked waffles in a freezer bag, freeze them, and save them for later. These are better than store bought waffles!

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A dash of cinnamon
• Nonstick cooking spray
• (Optional) Toppings for your cooked waffles, such as butter, syrup, powdered sugar, jam, peanut butter, Nutella, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

2. In a large bowl, whisk just the eggs until they are thoroughly blended and smooth.

3. Add the flour, milk, and vegetable oil. Mix until blended.

4. Whisk in the sugar, and then everything else - the baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon just until smooth, Be careful not to overmix.

5. Spray the waffle iron with non stick cooking spray. Pour some batter onto the hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown.  I use a soup ladle, which seems to be the perfect amount (about 4 oz)  to fill both sides of our smallish waffle maker. Use whatever works for your machine.

For our waffle iron and this recipe, 4 minutes seems to be the perfect amount of time to cook the waffles to a perfect level of golden brown crispness.  But it could take anywhere from about 3-5 minutes for other waffle makers.

Enjoy your amazing waffles!

Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Pecan Praline Topping

SPC 4 life, baybeeeee.

This was so good during the holidays.  Even my picky eater loved it.

The crunchy praline topping was just the right thing to finish off the smooth, buttery taste of the sweet potatoes.

PSA:  Despite the contradictory markings required by the FDA on the can that say both names on different parts of the label, sweet potatoes and yams are 2 completely different vegetables.

Yes, they are both orange in color.

Yes, they are both root vegetables.

Yes, they are often used interchangeably in recipes.

But no, they evolved as two totally different things from separate parts of the world.

Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America (now grown in the U.S.).

Yams originated in Africa and Asia.  They are more like a yucca root with a starchy, tree-barklike texture.

The more you know *rainbow*.

Anywhooooo, here is a recipe for our tasty "sweet potato" casserole.

*If you don't like your casserole very sweet, you can reduce the sugar by up to half.  We liked ours the sweet way.

Ingredients:

1 large 40-ounce can of cut sweet potatoes or 3 smaller 15-oz cans, reserve the liquid syrup

*1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup butter, melted (for topping)

Kosher Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 2-quart sized baking dish.

2. Empty the entire can of sweet potatoes (save liquid separately) into a medium saucepan

and bring to a boil.  Heat about 15 minutes, until hot and tender, while adding some of the reserved liquid to get it to a loose consistency- but not too drippy (like soft oatmeal).  Remove the pan from heat and mash up the sweet potatoes.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes with the white sugar, eggs, 1/3 cup butter, milk, and vanilla extract.  Add a pinch of salt to taste to balance out the sweetness. 

4.  Spread the mix evenly into the buttered baking dish.

5. To make the topping: In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, chopped pecans, flour, and 1/3 cup melted butter. You can also add a pinch of salt to this to taste.

6.  Spread the crumbly mix evenly over the sweet potato mixture.

7. Bake 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center of the casserole comes out clean.

Watch the Sweet Potato Casserole song by Flula Borg

Tasty Creamy Parmesan Dressing (mayo based)

So many prepackaged salad dressings made by the big brands are overloaded with corn syrup, overly strong or sweet flavors and weird things.  Gross.  But here is a very simple, quick, fresh, and inexpensive dressing that tastes great on any green salad or as a dip/sauce.  It has a Caesar Salad type of flavor.  Once prepared, it can last up to 2 weeks in your refrigerator. You'll probably use it up sooner, however.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (freshly grated, if possible but prepackaged is fine)
1/4-1/2 cup lemon juice (start small and add to taste)
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to your taste

Directions:
Whisk together everything: mayo, Parmesan, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and Tabasco in a medium-sized bowl.
 Add salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate for at least one hour before using.

That's it. 

Food photo created by timolina - www.freepik.com

Super Easy Teriyaki Sautéed Mushrooms

This is an incredibly quick, easy, and DELICIOUS way to prepare a batch of sautéed mushrooms to use as a topping on just about anything! It is also extremely inexpensive and the ingredients are likely things you already have in your refrigerator.

I like to put these teriyaki mushrooms on veggie burgers, but I also love them in a rice bowl or noodles, or with other vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 clove fresh garlic, smashed and finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Teriyaki sauce (such as Mr. Yoshida’s)

1 tablespoon red cooking wine

Black pepper to taste

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil together. When everything is melted and it starts to get a little bubbly, add in your fresh garlic and stir quickly. Never let your garlic burn.

2. Immediately add the fresh mushrooms and sauté to let the mushrooms cook a little bit. About a minute or two. They will shrink down slightly.

3. Once the mushrooms are starting to get hot, add in the red wine and teriyaki sauce. You can add extra teriyaki sauce if you like. When the sauce starts to bubble, turn the heat down to simmer. Gently stir everything for about 4 more minutes.  Add some fresh ground black pepper to taste.

4. Use the mushrooms immediately, or let them cool to store in the refrigerator for later use. 

Magic Mojo Easy Spaghetti Sauce for Picky Children

My sensitive kid is currently finicky about textures in his food.  He likes sauces that are "smooth with no chunks" and no pieces of unidentifiable herbs or vegetables.  While we are working on helping him broaden his horizons to include more variety and chunky things in sauces, in the mean time he helped me create this great recipe for spaghetti/pizza sauce.  It is simple enough for a kid to assemble, extremely inexpensive, and so tasty!  The credit for the inspiration for this goes to a wonderful and gracious lady/blogger mom, a.k.a. 4hatsandfrugal.com , who also has finicky kids.  We started with her fabulous make-ahead pizza sauce recipe and adapted it to our tastes to be a quick spaghetti sauce.

Ingredients:
1 small can (6 ounces) of tomato paste
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 to 1 tablespoon ground oregano (should be like a powder, not leaves)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make it:
In a medium sauce pan, combine the ingredients (my son measures and combines in the pan for this part).
Turn the heat on to just under medium and continually stir as the sauce heats up.  Make sure it's smooth.  We like to use a whisk; It works great.  It takes just a few minutes before the sauce starts bubbling. Then, turn it way down to simmer while your noodles (or whatever protein/vegetables) are cooking.

We like to put it on Italian Bucatini, which is a large, tubular spaghetti type pasta, and then chop up a baked, crunchy vegetarian "chicken" patty to put on top.  Then we top it all with some Parmesan cheese.

If you are the type that mixes sauce into pasta and mixing before serving, this recipe makes enough sauce to cover an entire 16 ounce package of Italian Bucatini noodles.

SO EASY. SO TASTY. SO YUMMY.

Welcome to the Republic of Cold Brew Coffeeland

This summer, I became the queen of the cold brew. It is so easy to make! After being confused by a gazillion online articles about different grind sizes, "gourmet" methods, and ratios, I decided to experiment and keep it as simple and cheap as possible.

One great thing about making cold brew coffee is that once it's brewed in a big batch, it can sit in your refrigerator for up to two weeks (I hear!) and still taste fine (although mine never lasts more than a few days). Making coffee with heated water is not the same. Hot brewed coffee just doesn’t taste fresh or stay good for very long. There are scientific reasons for why cold brew coffee stays stable in the refrigerator with no degradation of quality, but I won’t go into that here. Let’s just get to how it’s made, shall we?

Step 1: Get a container with a lid.  I'm using a 64 oz. Rubbermaid juice thingie that I've had since about 1994.

Step 2: Get a funnel and 8 oz. of ground coffee.  Any kind you like -- it can be freshly ground and gourmet straight from a local fancy roaster, or it can be the standard big brand grocery store stuff.  It is strictly up to you and your taste buds.  It just needs to be a medium grind.

Funnel it into the big jug.

Step 3: Pour cold water into the container and fill it up.  Leave a little room for the coffee to expand.  Put the top on tightly.

Step 4: Give it a good shake to saturate the grounds.  Put it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.  You can also let it sit on your countertop in your moderately temperatured abode.

Step 5: 12 hours later, strain your amazing and delicious cold brew coffee using a French press (pictured above), or whatever straining device you have (coffee filters, cheese cloth, whatever works).

 This cold brew ratio works for me straight into a glass with a couple of pieces of ice and some almond coconut milk (and if we're being honest here, I like to add a few drops of vanilla extract). However, it can also be brewed as a concentrate if you reduce the water to about half the container. The water to coffee ratio can range anywhere from 1:2 to1:8, from the research I have done.  There are a lot of opinions about this out there! Again, it's all up to you and how strong you like it.  

Can you do it with decaf or half caf?  YES, you absolutely can. The process is the same.

Enjoy your delicious cold brew coffee.

Easy and Cheap 7 Can Vegetarian Chili Soup

This extremely quick, simple, and cheap recipe for chili soup is what we crave on cold rainy nights.  It's inexpensive and goes a long way.  It's based on the Pioneer Woman's meat-based recipe, but I've tweaked it with my own flair as a vegetarian dish and I've added a few extras.  You could definitely adapt this to be vegan if you wanted, I think.  But my version does have some dairy in it.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 can white (northern or navy) beans
1 can red kidney beans (light or dark red)
1 can vegetarian chili
1 can Rotel tomatoes, original flavor
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
8 ounces Velveeta (or substitute), divided into several small chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 TBL olive oil or butter to saute

Steps:
1. Over medium heat in a large pot, saute the chopped onion in some oil and cook thoroughly or carmelize as golden as you prefer.
2. Add the chopped garlic.
3. Add the contents of all the cans.  DO NOT DRAIN THE CANS.  Just add every bit of what's in each can.  The liquid in the cans becomes part of your soup.  Every drop is used in this recipe and nothing is wasted.
4. Let it all get hot and start to bubble a little.  Then, add the Velveeta and stir until it's all melted together.
5. Serve when it turns into a beautiful orange soup.  You can top with a little sour cream and chopped green onions if you're feeling festive.

That's it! So easy.  So quick. So tasty.

You could leave out the Velveeta if you wanted to avoid dairy and it would still be tasty.
You could also add a can of green chiles, or use Fiesta style corn for variety.  The beans could also be changed for some other canned beans, if desired. Like navy, for instance.
I also sometimes add a chopped up veggie burger, to make it more "meaty" and chili-like.

See photos below!

The basic recipe ingredients

Saute onions until caramelized

Add garlic and start adding in the cans' contents.  Don't drain the cans. Use every drop.

Veggie chili

Black beans

Northern beans

Light red kidney beans

Sweet golden corn

Chopped up grilled Boca "turk'y" burger from yesterday

Throw in the Velveeta (this was the generic store version, "Nice N' Cheesy")

A few minutes later, it becomes a beautiful, zippy, orange-colored chili soup that will thaw the coldest of hearts on a rainy night.

Bento Box Salad Dressing

It's no secret that I am a complete sucker for teriyaki and yakisoba.  I am on a quest to test out every teriyaki joint in my city.  I think I finally figured out a good approximation of the creamy, mayo-ey salad dressing comes on the fresh green salads that you get with a bento box at teriyaki restaurants.  I crave that taste sometimes - the crispy-fresh, cold, crunchy lettuce with a delightful dressing accenting the top.  YUM.  In restaurants, the dressing ranges from white to off-white, to beige, but it's always slightly tangy, slightly sweet, kind of aromatic, and slightly creamy.  It balances out the other flavors on the tray perfectly.  This is a basic recipe that can be adjusted, depending on your taste, and depending on what you have on hand for your ingredients.

Ingredients

5 TBL mayonnaise (I used regular American mayo, but many recipes use Japanese mayo/Kewpie)
1 TBL seasoned rice vinegar (if you don't have rice vinegar, you can use a mild vinegar like white wine vinegar)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar, more or less (some recipes suggest 2 tsp, but I prefer it less sweet)
2 tsp sesame oil

If you have sesame seeds, you can add 1-2 TBL of them, or ground them up and add them.

Mix everything in a bowl until the sugar has fully dissolved and it has a creamy, tan-colored salad dressing consistency.  You really shouldn't taste one overwhelming flavor.  It should be a nice balance of all of the ingredients.  But of course, that depends on your own personal preferences.

Some people add a little grated ginger to this recipe. You could also add some fresh black pepper, a teaspoon of fresh, chopped garlic or onion,  It is very customizable.  But start with the basic recipe and go from there.

I eat this on fresh green iceberg lettuce. It is so simple and so good that I don't feel like anything is missing.  Because Lettuce + Dressing = LOVE.

Occasionally I will add some baby carrots.  Some people put this dressing on soba noodles or cole slaw style sliced, raw cabbage. You could definitely use it as a dipping sauce for all sorts of things: steamed vegetables, cold noodles, proteins...there's really no limit.  (*But maybe you shouldn't put it on your breakfast cereal.  I wouldn't pour it on ice cream either.)

I'll tell you what would be awesome.  Dip some perfectly ripe, avocado slices in this dressing. Now you're talking.

Once made, if there's any left over, it should be refrigerated and used within a week.

*This is a vegetarian recipe, made with egg-based mayonnaise.  Vegan mayo could be substituted.

Oh my stars, Pickled Red Onions, I love you. Jump on my food.

Quick and Easy Pickled Red Onions:

You will need:

1 good sized red onion, sliced into super-thin, longish strips

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 head of garlic - use as many cloves as you like, from 3 to the whole head.  Peel, crush, and chop the garlic.

1 bay leaf (optional)

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

black pepper (optional)

crushed red pepper (optional)

In a medium saucepan, pour in the vinegar and water.  Add the salt and sugar, black pepper, red pepper, bay leaf, and garlic.  On medium-high heat, stir the mix until the sugar and salt are dissolved.

Add the onion slices and toss everything around lightly.  Keep the heat on medium-high and cook the onion mixture for 3 minutes - no longer than that.  You want the onions to still have a little crunch, but not be raw.  I set a timer to keep myself on track, and also because I am one of those set-the-timer-for-everything people.  It's just my way.  I'm Time Girl,

Stir the onions slightly while they heat up.

Turn off the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the onion/garlic pieces to a clean, dry, pint-sized mason jar.  Then, pour in as much of the spiced vinegar liquid into the jar as will fit to cover the onions.  Leave about 1/2" space from the top of the jar.  (Do not overfill.)  Screw the top on, finger tight.  This is not true canning, by the way - this is just a refrigerator recipe.

There you have it.  The tastiest, tangiest, and sassiest condiment you have ever made yourself.  You can put pickled onions on hot dogs, tofu dogs, hamburgers, bean burgers, sandwiches, potato salad, frito pies, chili, tacos, fish, tuna salad, you name it. Any munchies that need to be gussied up, really.

Here's another magical thing about pickled onions:  You can amend the spices in the vinegar mix any way you like.  You can add pinches of cinnamon, cloves, coriander seeds, lemon zest, lime juice...anything you like, and it will still be AMAZEBALLS.  I personally like it peppery but still on the plainish side, because I like to taste the garlic and onions.  But that's me.

Try this on some fish tacos and fall in love.  You're welcome.

Jacquie's Hearts of Palm Dip

Ingredients:

1 (14.5 ounce) can or jar of hearts of palm, drained and chopped

12 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese 

3/4 cup mayonnaise (regular or light)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup sour cream (regular or light)

1 green onion

Combine all ingredients.

Spoon into lightly greased 9" pie pan.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with crackers or pita chips.

Homemade surface cleaner

Not food, but still a recipe!

So easy, so cheap...
Someone passed this idea and recipe to me from Pinterest, and I use it daily.  It cleans dishes, sinks, tubs, showers, hard surfaces, and all kinds of things - simply and for pennies!

Some people don't like the smell of vinegar.  I don't mind it.  It's a gentle, versatile, thrifty, and effective cleanser and cooking ingredient.  Mostly, the vinegar smell wears off after a bit, and all you have is cleanliness.  If you are on a budget, or just want to avoid complicated, crazy, over-chemicaled cleaning products, TRY THIS.

You will need:
Dawn blue dishwashing liquid  (Must be Dawn, must be blue.  Others may work too, but not as well as Dawn)
White vinegar - you could use regular white vinegar in the cooking aisle of your store, or you could use cleaning-grade vinegar.  Both work well.

In a saucepan, heat equal parts of Dawn and vinegar (I use 1 cup/1 cup) over medium-lowish heat for about 2 minutes, until the solution is hot, but not boiling or bubbling over.  Turn off.  Let cool.  Use a funnel and pour it into a spray bottle.  That's it.  It's ready.

*Why heat it up?  The heat emulsifies the mixture and makes it a little more effective, and also keeps it from separating.  Could you make it without heating it?  Yes, but it may not work as well.

* What can this be used for?  Vinegar is great for cleaning all kinds of things.  This mixture is particularly good for soap scum and bathroom surfaces.  I have used it on laundry stains as a pre-treat.  I have cleaned my floors with it.  I've cleaned off my vinyl couches with it.  I've cleaned my counters with it.

WARNING:  I don't know what it would do to marble - so don't use it on that.  (Vinegar and marble don't mix.)

JZ's Vegetarian Spinach Muenster Quiche

Everything below will be divided into 2 pies.
You will need:
2 standard pie shells (16 oz. each)
16 oz. grated Muenster cheese
2 packages frozen, chopped spinach
A big onion, chopped finely
1 tablespoon (+/-) chopped garlic
Olive oil for saute
5 eggs
A pinch of salt, to your taste

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Defrost and squeeze the liquid from the spinach and move to giant mixing bowl.
3. Saute the onion and garlic in a pan, over medium heat until soft and transparent. Let cool.**
4. Mix grated cheese into spinach.
5. When onions are cool, fold into spinach/cheese mix.
6. Beat eggs and gently add to the mix.
7. Pour the mix into equal parts into the pie shells.
8. Bake for about an hour, or until each pie firms up.  It may need longer, depending on your oven.

*Because these quiches are so thick, we bake them at a pretty low temp for a long time, to avoid overcooking on the outside and undercooking on the inside.  Depending on your oven, you might need to adjust the cooking time.

*Could you add an herb or spice?  Oh my, yes.  I tend to add a dash of nutmeg to spinach dishes.  But any kind of herb would probably be delicious...maybe a hint of curry?  Or oregano?  Or basil?  Yarp.

**Remember that part I mentioned about letting the sauteed onion mix cool off before adding it to the spinach/cheese mix?  I mean it. 
Hear me now and believe me later:  One thing you don't want is having hot onions melting super soft cheese prematurely and turning the whole deal into a globby, melted cheese disaster in a bowl before you pour it into the pie shells.  Not pretty.

Everyone in our house loves this kickass quiche...even our finicky toddler.
You could sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top, also, btw.

ONE MORE IMPORTANT THING:
After you take the quiche out of the oven, let it sit and rest for about ten minutes.  The eggs will continue to cook.  Also, Jay says, "The cheese needs to calm down." What he means is that the cheese is too hot, angry, and melty, straight from the oven when it's nuclear hot.  Just like pizza, you can't cut a clean slice until the dish sits untouched for a bit.