Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, its this time of the year again!

I know its been quite a while since my last blog post (ah...sorry).  Living in Minnesota makes for short seasons, so we try to soak up as much sun (or anything above freezing) as is humanly possible.  I'm sad that summer has come and gone, again.  But, autumn is (was) my favorite season!  Even thought its winter now in Minnesota.  What a surprise.  Can you say, "hello, subzero temperatures?"  I know, its a phrase never to be uttered- believe me!  Disclaimer; please don't say it if you want to keep your sanity.

Shout out to my homies!!!

Out of all the completely awesome food and recipe blogs out there, and I am very humbled and honored that you would even want to read this post, or anything on my blog.  And if you're reading this far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  This post is for you, man.  There are so many recipes out there on the internet that are tremendously better than anything I've ever posted.  So, thank you for reading, homie!

Lets get down to business.  What says "Thanksgiving" more than creamy mashed potatoes?  Because, I seriously can't think of anything.  So, today I'm going to share my top secret recipe for Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

That's right.

They are super simple, really fancy, and altogether amazing.  They go great with anything you're gonna eat them with!  Hey, that's a good tag line.  I'm going to use that again.

Every time I bring these to a potluck, they disappear...

And everyone ALWAYS asks how I make them... 

And, they've only got a few ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry!  So, here you go, just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Your dinner guests will NOT be disappointed.

(Disclaimer: Neither the Publisher nor Author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages resulting from use of this Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe.  All recipes are for information purposes only and are not warranted for content, accuracy, or any other implied or explicit purpose.  In other words, don't blame me if your friends don't like these mashed potatoes.)

Just kidding.

But seriously, leave me a comment below to tell me what your favorite Thanksgiving or Holiday-style food is.  Also, let me know if you give these a try and how they turned out!  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes                    
Yield: serves about 4-6 guests

"They go great with anything you're gonna eat them with!"
  

What:
3 pounds potatoes (russets, reds, or golds all work great, and organic gives best flavor)
1 TB vegetable broth powder, or chicken-like seasoning*
1 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup butter or vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance or Smart Balance)
2-3 TB unsweetened non-dairy milk (like soy, almond or rice milk)
2 tsp granulated garlic
1 TB dried parsley
1/2-1 tsp sea salt

How:
Scrub potatoes, put them in a large pot.**  Cover them with water, and add the broth powder, and salt (or, just use vegetable broth).  Bring to boil, simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes, until they're really fork tender and falling apart.

Drain out liquid, but leave about 3/4 cup of it.  Mash up the potatoes a bit with a masher just to break them up.  Then add butter, milk, granulated garlic, parsley, and salt.  Beat the potatoes with a hand beater until everything is creamy and smooth.

Add any extra seasonings to taste, and serve.



Notes:

 *It might seem pointless to some people to cook them in broth.  I know there are varying opinions on this subject.  But, I personally think it gives them an added depth of flavor.) 

**I leave the skins on, especially when I use organic, but you can always peel them if you don't like your taters with the skins on or something.  But, don't worry, I'm not one to judge.  You're just a  weirdo, that's all.

Barbeque Crockpot Soy Curls

Serve these on a bed of Mac and cheese, and you had me at hello!  They're also really good as a sandwich filling.  Or eaten over a bed of mashed potatoes.  Or over a bed of rice.  Over a bed of anything, good they'd be on.  I'm starting to sound like Yoda.  I've gone too far, haven't I?

This is what it looks like when you throw everything in the crock-pot...

                          

Here is the final product after it cooked in the crock-pot...

And here they are pictured over some macaroni and cheese (with extra cheesy sauce drizzled on top)...

Slow cooked... Two words that belong together.  Forever.

Hope you try these.
They're amazing.

Crock-pot BBQ Soy Curls 

Yield: about 4 cups

½ pound (8 oz.) dried soy curls
⅛ - ¼ cup vegetarian beef seasoning
2 cups boiling water
1 small onion, diced
2 cups barbecue sauce
¼ cup water

 Place soy curls in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water and vegetarian beef seasoning to reconstitute.  Stir occasionally, and let sit for 20 minutes.  (Using kitchen shears, you may choose to cut these up a little bit to make them all the same size.)
 Throw the reconstituted soy curls, diced onion, BBQ sauce, and ¼ cup water in the crockpot.  Stir well.
 Cook on high for 4-6 hours until everything is caramelized, or on low for 8-10 hours.  These freeze well.

Holiday Nog

Here's a recipe I came up with for a vegan holiday nog.


Holiday Nog
Yield: 4 servings

5 cups Almond or Soymilk
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/8 cup organic cane sugar
1 TB pure vanilla extract (or the seeds from 1 vanilla bean)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg, ground
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp rum extract (add this if you want more of a buttery flavor)
1/8 - 1/4 tsp xanthan gum

Blend everything in blender until very smooth, except for the xanthan gum.  Then add the xanthan gum and blend briefly.  Chill in fridge overnight so flavors can disperse, then serve.  Adjust flavors to taste.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here's a recipe my family used growing up.  I would make a bunch of these in the summer to sell with glasses of lemonade at our annual garage sales when I was young.  I remember making quite a bit of money doing that...

Since I've been cooking a little more healthier in recent years, just by cutting the eggs out of this recipe cuts out all the bad cholesterol and cuts the calories way down, too.  Try these, you will like them!

I especially like these in the fall and winter.  They always give me such a comfort!


Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen

1 1/2 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour (or gluten-free flour of your choice mixed with 1/2 xanthan gum)
1 TB egg replacer (or Arrowroot powder or Cornstarch)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg, ground
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 cup vegan margarine (I like Earth Balance)
1 cup organic brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup water
1 TB pure vanilla extract
3 cups regular or quick oats, raw (or gluten-free oats, if you can't eat regular oats)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (sub Carob chips or raisins)
3/4 cups pecans, chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a medium bowl, whisk flour, egg replacer or arrowroot, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt until fully mixed together.
3.  Beat together margarine, sugars, water and vanilla in mixer or with a hand mixer, until fluffy.
4.  Add flour mixture, mix until everything is incorporated. 
5.  With mixer running on low, slowly add in oats, chocolate chips and pecans.  You may also stir them in by hand.
6.  Using a cookie scoop, drop tablespoons onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
7.  Bake 10-12 mins, or until golden brown.
8.  Cool a couple mins on cookie sheet until transferring to a cooling rack.

Note:  Cookies freeze really well.  If I'm making these for a special event or potluck, I will bake them, let them cool completely, place in gallon freezer bags and freeze until I'm ready to use.  They thaw out in 20 minutes and taste like you just baked them.  Enjoy!

Healthy Onion Soup Mix

Here is my healthy version of onion soup mix.

Wow.  I never thought I would be able to use all of those words in one descriptional sentence.

When I was looking to make my own, instead of using the most popular blue boxed version -loaded with hydrogenated this, and MSG that- I looked online to find a homemade recipe.  I came across a few good recipes.  This is my favorite version of all of those recipes.

I usually at least double this when I make it.  It keeps very well in a glass jar in my pantry.  


Healthy Onion Soup Mix
Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

3/4 cup dried minced onion
1/3 cup vegan beef seasoning powder (I like McKay's Beef Seasoning, but Bill's Best would probably work well)
4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp organic sugar
1 tsp fine sea salt (optional)

Whisk everything together in a bowl.  Store in a small airtight glass spice jar.  Stores very well.  5 TB of mix are equal to one 1 1/4 oz package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix.

To make Onion Dip:  Mix 5-8 TB mix into 1 pint of sour cream to make the onion soup mix (or to taste).

Gluten Free Chickpea Loaf

Here's a very, very simple loaf.  Just in time for the holidays!  Enjoy.


Gluten Free Chickpea Loaf
Yield: 1 9x11 loaf

4 cups garbanzo beans cooked, partially mashed (slightly overcooking them gives nice flavor)
1 cup pecan meal
2 cups walnut meal
1 large onion, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
2 TB McKay's Chicken Seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sage or thyme, optional
2 TB arrowroot powder, optional
2-4 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup brown rice flour, if needed*

Mix everything together in a large bowl, until fully incorporated.  Place in lightly greased 9x13 glass pan, press down with the back of a spoon until even in pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

*If it looks like the consistency needs a little something more, you may add some brown rice flour to bind it together.