Dairy Free Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

I love cheesy pasta dishes. I was disappointed when I went back to Pittsburgh in August and had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Joe Mama's, realizing that all of my usual orders were smothered in cheesy sauces: Hug Yo Belly Gemelli, Herbed Chicken and Penne, Nonna's Gnocchi... Another Pittsburgh restaurant, Eat 'n' Park, was a common place for me and my husband to go for a quick lunch or dinner. Our usual was their Chicken Broccoli Alfredo. In college we loved to go to The Underground at Carnegie Mellon, where we would get a plate of hot pasta topped with creamy Alfredo sauce and marinara. The point is, I used to order Alfredo all the time.

I gave it up for awhile, refining my tastes by ordering complex pasta dishes at Italian places and trying new things with more nutrion. But lately I've been craving cheesy things. The only solution to that is to experiment with dairy alternative products and to create masterpieces. My dairy free chicken broccoli Alfredo is definitely a masterpiece. It tastes better than the real thing and I'm serious. I could eat this everyday!

I used the best tasting dairy free alternatives: Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Milk, and Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream. Aged parmesan cheese has very little lactose, 0mg per serving, so it's not going to bother lactose intolerant people in small amounts. In large amounts it will, so if you eat a lot be careful or take a Lactaid pill. It can't be eaten by people with a milk allergy. For a completely dairy free version, I recommend using Vegan Grated Parmesan Cheese Alternative by Galaxy Nutritional Foods. There's also a parmesan cheese alternative on the market called Parma!. It's made with walnuts, salt, and nutritional yeast. I haven't tried it yet but I'll blog about it when I do.


Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread
1 cup almond milk
1/2 cup Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

1/3 cup parmesan cheese or parmesan cheese alternative
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish


2 chicken breasts, sliced and grilled
1/2 lb of linguine
1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli

Directions:

1. Make sure your chicken breast is cooked or almost finished before starting the sauce, pasta, and broccoli. I cut mine into four thin strips and grilled them with my George Foreman Grill the same time I started the pasta. I also recommend broiling for a grilled chicken taste. Start pasta by following the directions for cooking on the back of the box. Prep broccoli for quick light microwave steaming by putting it in a dish with a tablespoon of water and covering it.

2. Once your pasta and chicken are cooking, start the sauce. Melt Smart Balance in a large saucepan over medium heat. After it is melted add almond milk, sour cream, and garlic powder. Whisk to combine.
                          
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in water in a small dish and gradually add to milk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Bring sauce to a simmer. Cook for five minutes or until mixture has started to thicken. Add parmesan cheese and whisk to combine.
                         
3. While the sauce is thickening, steam fresh broccoli for two minutes in the microwave. Go back to the sauce, remove from heat, and stir in 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley.

4. At this point, you can cut your chicken into small strips and combine all ingredients in the saucepan to coat with the Alfredo sauce, or you can layer them: pasta, chicken, broccoli, and sauce. Garnish with a sprig of parsley and mangia!

Dairy Free Whipped Potatoes

Usually the best ingredients in mashed potatoes are butter and cream, but for the lactose intolerant person in your family, those ingredients won't be helpful in your Thanksgiving spread. That doesn't mean your mashed taters have to be dry and bland! It's easy to use Lactaid milk instead of regular milk, but if you want to eliminate milk altogether, and there are no egg allergies in your family, try adding mayonnaise. Now before you say, "Eww, mayonnaise," really consider the creamy possibilities here. I'm not talking about Miracle Whip--that fake, salad dressing stuff. I mean real, made from eggs mayonnaise. For some reason people think mayonnaise is made from dairy products, just like some people think eggs are dairy products--but I have never seen any version of mayonnaise made with dairy. I have also never considered eggs a dairy product. Milk is produced by cows, eggs come from chickens. Eggs have never been milk.

Anyway, mayo is a great replacement for cream in mashed potatoes. Mayonnaise and potatoes always go together--think potato salad. But you aren't adding a cupful, you don't want your potatoes to taste like mayonnaise. You shouldn't taste it at all. By adding a couple tablespoons to your dish you are merely making them creamy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. My recipe uses Earth Balance Buttery Spread--a blend of healthy oils that serves as a butter and margarine replacement, and it also uses a mixer, to get that creamy, whipped consistency you can't get by simply mashing.  This time around I used red potatoes; leaving most of the skins on adds more nutrition to your potato dish. But, they aren't really the best potatoes to use for mashing. It's best to use Yukon Gold if you have them.

Ingredients:

5 or 6 medium to large potatoes, preferably gold potatoes
2 tablespoons of Earth Balance or Smart Balance Buttery Spread
2 tablespoons of Real Mayonnaise--I used Best Foods.
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of dried parsley

Directions:

1. If leaving the skins on, scrub the potatoes under warm water with a vegetable brush. I cut off the unsightly spots. Or, just skin the potatoes completely and rinse.

2. Cube the potatoes and put them in a large pot. Fill with water until just covered.

3. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Be careful not to over cook! You could get a gluey consistency when you whip.

4. In a large bowl, add the Earth Balance, mayo, and potatoes. With your mixer, whip on medium speed until combined, adding salt, pepper, and parsley as you whip. Use a spatula to scrape the sides and make sure everything is mixed well, but no need to over mix. Serve smothered in turkey gravy. Never doubt mayo again.

My Thanksgiving Spread: Reynolds Oven Bag Turkey, Cranberry Stuffing, Charred Citrus Broccoli, Mayonnaise Whipped Potatoes, and a huge helping of homemade gravy.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Soy and Goat Cheese

Here is one of my and my husband's favorite things to make for dinner. It's perfect for the person in your family who is lactose intolerant. You can make one side of the pizza with soy cheese, and one side with regular cheese. It works perfectly for us, and I get my pizza fix without worry. I even get to satisfy my cheese cravings by adding a small amount of goat cheese crumbles. Goat cheese has less lactose than regular cheese. It bothers me in larger amounts, but just adding a tiny sprinkle enhances the buffalo chicken and cheese flavor. If you can't do any goat cheese, then eliminate it altogether, or just add it to your husband's side of the pizza. But it is a good alternative for people who only have mild lactose intolerance. You can also try adding Parmesan cheese to the soy cheese to give it a more authentic cheese flavor. Hard, aged cheeses lose most of their lactose in the aging process so small amounts shouldn't bother you.

There are lots of cheese alternatives out there. My favorites are Trader Joe's Soy Mozzarella, and Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds. I have only been able to find Daiya items at Whole Foods. Daiya cheese alternative is also gluten and soy free, so it's perfect for people with other allergies. I would never eat any cheese alternative by itself, but when combined with other ingredients soy cheese blends in just like the real thing.

Ingredients
1 bag of premixed pizza dough (We like Trader Joe's Garlic and Herb dough)
Trader Joe's Soy Mozarella Cheese, shredded to desired amount
1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
1 12 ounce can white chicken, drained of liquid
1/4 cup Franks Buffalo Sauce (you can also make your own buffalo sauce)
2 tablespoons of Franks Buffalo Sauce
1/2 cup tomato basil marinara sauce
Flour
Course grind cornmeal (if using a pizza stone)

Directions

1. If the pizza dough is refrigerated, let sit for 20 minutes before rolling.


2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.


3. For the crispy on the outside, soft on the inside pizza, use a pizza stone. Heat in the oven for ten minutes before placing the pizza on it. You can also use a regular non-stick pan, just make a square shaped pizza. If you have a large flat cookie sheet, you can make a circular pizza on this. Or, if you have it, use a circular pizza pan.



3. In a small pan, combine the chicken and 1/4 cup of Buffalo Sauce. Cook until heated and the sauce is absorbed into the chicken.


4. On a clean surface, sprinkle a thin layer of flour. Roll out the pizza dough with a nonstick rolling pin, adding more flour as needed. You can also use your hands to
roll the dough, which is what I used to do,
but I have simplified my life by buying a
non-stick rolling pin.


5. Remove the pizza stone from the oven and sprinkle with course grind cornmeal. Don't use flour--it will only burn and your pizza will stick. Place the rolled dough on the pizza stone, rolling up the edges to make a crust if you desire, and cook in the oven for three to four minutes.



6. Remove the cooked pizza crust from the oven and get ready to put on your toppings.



7. Spread the tomato basil marinara sauce on the pizza evenly. Using too much sauce will make the pizza soggy and hard to cut, but some people like their sauce, like me.


8. Sprinkle on your desired amount of soy mozzarella cheese.



9. Next, add the Buffalo Chicken in an even layer, topping with a sprinkle of crumbled goat cheese.




10. For the last topping, drizzle the 2 tablespoons of Buffalo Sauce all over the pizza.


11. Place in the oven and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until desired crispiness. Thoroughly enjoy.

Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Dip

I never thought I would be able to eat this stuff again! I mean, the main ingredients are three types of cheese. I used a combination of cream cheese alternative and non dairy cheese to make this highly addictive dip much healthier than it's original version. It's completely free of lactose, trans fat, and the only cholesterol in it is added by the lean chicken! It tastes so amazing and so close to the original version you won't even notice the difference! Even if you can eat dairy, don't eat the regular version of this dip again--this recipe eliminates so much of the fat and cholesterol that you should not be putting into your body. Trust me, this is good.

Ingredients

• 8oz This Is Not a Tub of Cream Cheese This Is a Tub of Non Dairy Spread from Trader Joes
• 2-3 tablespoons Franks Red Hot Sauce (depending on how spicy you want it)
• 5oz canned chicken
• 1/3 cup Daiya Chedder Style Shreds

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.



2. Soften the cream cheese alternative in the microwave for 30 seconds, then mix all ingredients together until well blended. It's easier to blend if you mix the cream cheese and Franks first.


3. Bake for 20 minutes to melt it all together and OMG the result is divine. Enjoy with some lime tortilla chips and tell me how much you love it.

Soy Milk Pumpkin Pie

Soy Milk Pumpkin Pie

For my husband's birthday I usually make him a pumpkin pie instead of cake, since he considers it the best dessert ever created. I was an expert at making a creamy, melt-in-your mouth pumpkin pie. Now that eating anything made with 12 ounces of condensed milk is out of the question for me, I thought I would take a shot at making it lactose intolerant friendly. There are a bunch of dairy free pumpkin pie recipes out there, but I think you'll find mine particularly tasty. My husband loves it!

Ingredients
1 refrigerated pie crust
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, 1 egg white
15oz can pumpkin
1 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.



2. Mold the pie crust into a pie dish and trim excess dough from the edges.



3. Mix sugar, salt, and spices in a small bowl until thoroughly blended.




4. In a large bowl, beat eggs and egg white. Stir in the pumpkin and then the sugar and spice mixture.



5. Gradually add Very Vanilla Soymilk and stir until completely blended. Pour into pie crust.



6. Bake for 15 minutes to set a crispy crust, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 40 minutes. To check if the pie is done, stick a knife through the middle and see if it comes up clean. If there is a layer of pumpkin on it, you may need to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Serve with dairy-free vanilla ice cream if you want to go all out. Happy Fall!