meatless pasta bake

Pasta Bake with Honey Butter Yeast Roll

Ingredients

4 cups uncooked whole grain penne pasta

2 6 oz. tubs Greek Yogurt/Cream Cheese

1-2 c. soy milk

2 T butter

red pepper flakes, salt, paprika,

small onion sliced

2 -3 cups of fresh spinach

browned/fried cubed tofu

sun dried tomato (used my dehydrator but you can use your oven set below 200 for up to 6 hours.

6 oz grated Parmesan cheese

1 c mozzarella, Havarti, or provolone for top

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake for 45 minutes.

Boil pasta al dente.  In a skillet with olive oil, sauté onion, garlic, dried tomato, and browned tofu.  In a sauce pot add butter, yogurt/cream cheese blend, soy milk, red pepper flakes, salt, and paprika.  Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer.  Rinse and dry your pasta.  Oil a large glass or ceramic baking dish.  Pour 1/3 c. of the cream sauce on bottom of baking dish.  Place 1 cup of spinach on top of the sauce.  Next add half of pasta, sprinkle Parmesan cheese, and then tofu/onion mix.  Repeat.  Sprinkle Mozzarella on top.  Bake covered in foil.  Toss pasta to mix cheesy sauce if necessary.  Serve hot.  It serves best when reheated.

multigrain yeast rolls

Ingredients

1/3 c. butter, plus extra for brushing on rolls

1 c. soy milk

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/3 c. honey

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 ½ c. whole wheat flour

Honey Butter Glaze Mix:

2 T. butter, melted

2 T. honey

1 T. brown sugar

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a half sheet pan or a 9x13-inch rimmed cookie sheet.

2.In a small saucepan, melt butter.

3.When butter is mostly melted, stir in milk, and heat mixture to 100-110 F.

4.Meanwhile, add yeast and honey to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl if mixing by hand).

5.When milk mixture is at temperature, add to yeast and honey; stir to combine.

6.Add salt and egg, and stir until combined.

7.Stir in flours in ½ c measurements at a time.

8.Add remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough clings to paddle and cleans the sides of the bowl. Dough will still be pretty sticky.

9. In an oiled bowl, place dough.  Cover with plastic and then a Towel.  Place in microwave or draft free location.

10.With floured hands, shape dough into 12-18  rolls, and place dough on prepared baking sheet or pan.

11. Cover, and let dough rest for 1-2 hours.

12.Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.

13.When rolls are done baking, brush with Honey Butter mix. Serve hot. Allow to cool and place into a bread bag with tie. Refrigerate for up to a week. 

acv rinse and homemade protein treatment

Once a month, I am aiming at balancing the ph in my hair and cleaning it from product buildup without a harsh wash. This process, by trial basis only would follow with a HOMEVEDA protein treatment.

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) rinse. After many views on YOUTUBE, it is best for 'relaxed' hair to only receive ACV rinses once per month. The current recipe for the ACV rinse for my hair volume is 1 to 4 ratio/using 1/4 cup of acv + 1 cup of water. I poured this into a spray bottle, sectioned my hair into fourths, and massaging acv into the scalp, on one section at a time. My hair was fully saturated before the mix bottle was empty. I then poured the remaining over my hair. The setting time was 10 minutes under a baggy.

After rinsing, my hair did not even look like my hair. I was pleasantly surprised and even for a moment wondered why I had never tried this before! The rinse closes the cuticles of the hair shaft allowing the strands to appear more shiny, as they reflect more light, but also improves manageability. Strands with open cuticles are easily tangled, unmanageable, and can lead to breakage.

Protein Treatment. Following this amazing ACV rinse, I mixed together [1 egg, 2 T soy milk, 2 T coconut oil, 2 T Aloe Vera]. With hair in four sections and using an applicator brush, I applied the treatment from root to ends. Covered hair with a baggy and a satin bonnet, then sat under a HOT dryer on MED temp. for 35 minutes. To remove egg, I co-washed with Suave Naturals Aloe and Water Lily, 2x. De-tangled, and applied the LOC method.

 

I have noticed an immediate marked difference and improvement. I will continue using this 1-2 punch! My hair loves it!

protein yogurt fruit bars

*This recipe is designed for the 6 count Tupperware Mold or equivalent
1 cup of frozen fruit or berries
1/2 cup banana
1/2 cup of Plain Yogurt
3/4 cup of Soy Milk
3 pkgs sweetner (depending how sweet you like it)
1 T of Lemon Juice

1) Add all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
2) Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for about 4 to 6 hours or until set.
3) If you find them difficult to remove from the mold, dip the bottom of the popsicle mold in warm water for about 5 seconds and they should come out nice and easy.