Weekend Yums

Nothing like being Captain Obvious, but I love the weekends.

Weekends mean movie nights, family hikes, longer runs, visiting with friends, and spending time outside. 

It also means enjoying some favorite treats that I don't indulge in during the week.

Such as...homemade pizza. I usually make a quick/non-yeasted crust, but I just tried Mama Pea's Tried and True Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, and it was great. I topped it with some tomato sauce, chopped mushrooms, diced red onion, and Daiya mozzarella. If I ask my son what he wants for dinner, he will say "PIZZA!" every time. He loves it as much as I do!

It was ooey, gooey, melty, and delicious, although I think some kalamata olives would have really kicked it up a notch...next time!

Another Saturday evening, we came home late and wanted to eat pronto. I grabbed a package of sourdough wraps, some hummus, and vegetable errata (arugula, tomato, cucumber, carrot) and made some quick sandwiches while frozen fries were baking in the oven. A frosty glass of Colorado Native beer hit the spot! Beer + french fries + ketchup = awesome.

Sometimes, it's fun to indulge your inner college kid and just have snacky food for dinner. I made some OMG Oven-Baked Onion Rings from Appetite for Reduction and some Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta and went to town!

After having onion rings and bruschetta for dinner, it just makes sense to follow up with some "Not Guilty" Chocolate Chip Cookies. I mean, really. You've got to hit all your food groups!

As much as I love my big salads and smoothies, I also love to have fun foods on occasion.

What are some of your favorite weekend indulgences?

CCK's Flourless Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Sometimes, a girl's just gotta have a chocolate chip cookie.

Like, now.

I don't want a dozen cookies. I don't even want half a dozen cookies.

Okay, maybe I do want half a dozen cookies.

But really, I just want a cookie. In my mouth. ASAP.

Fortunately, that's why we have Chocolate-Covered Katie.

Her Flourless Chocolate-Chip Cookies take mere minutes (minutes!!) to make - a few minutes to throw everything together, and only 6 minutes to bake. That's it, folks. You want cookies in a jiffy? Go see Katie.

And loooook:

Her recipe makes a half-dozen cookies.

Perfect! Three for three, three for my hubby. My son had already gone to sleep, so no cookies for him...you snooze, you lose, buddy!

I totally would have shared, though. If there had been any left, that is :)

All the Way Arame Salad

When it's this hot and humid outside, I almost don't even want to eat anymore. I just want to drink all my meals. I'd be happy just consuming smoothies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My hubby, however, doesn't exactly share my proclivity for liquid meals. Fortunately, last night's dinner satisfied us both: All the Way Arame Salad from Chocolate Covered Katie's blog.

This is just what we needed on a hot, hot day - cooling, water-rich raw veggies, avocado, and sea veggies (I used arame and wakame) tossed in a light dressing of Bragg Liquid Aminos and rice vinegar.

I used carrots, celery, yellow pepper, orange pepper, zucchini, scallions, lacinato kale, avocado, and dried cherries for some tangy zip. I served it over a bed of baby spinach.

This is just about the most hydrating food you can eat! It's almost as good as a smoothie...almost :)

Pie, Smoothies, and Pasta Salad

Mmmm...this has been a delicious Sunday :)

It started off with my Pumpkin Pie Smoothie:

I first published this recipe on VegWeb a year ago, but I've been making it for at least two years now. I drink them by the boatload in the fall, but I had a hankerin' for one this morning. Maybe because it was 57 degrees outside? Who cares. It's always delicious, no matter what season it is! I've made a few small changes to my original recipe, but I think both variations are good. Give it a try!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Makes 1 large serving / 2 small servings

2 cups diced butternut squash, frozen
1 large banana (fresh or frozen)
1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 heaping tablespoon raw almond butter
1 cup filtered water (or more, depending on how thick/thin you like it)
5-6 ice cubes
1/2 packet stevia (or to taste)
3 tablespoons vanilla- or banana-flavored pea protein powder (optional, but it adds sweetness and thickness)
optional toppings: sliced almonds, chopped walnuts, and raisins, to taste

Blend all ingredients (except toppings) in a high-speed blender until thick and smooth. Pour into a glass and top with almonds, walnuts, and raisins to taste.

I usually opt for the additional toppings about half the time. Some days, like today, I just like it straight-up. It's one of the thickest and most filling smoothies I make. It hit the spot after my workout this morning!

Last night, before bed, I was having a wicked craving for Chocolate Covered Katie's Deep Dish Cookie Pie. I made a half-batch and had a small (large) serving before bed. I was sooo happy to eat the rest of it today! I mean, I did share with my hubby and son, but yeah, I did eat most of it :) This may be the only dessert I eat and don't feel guilty about. And I love Katie for that!!

For dinner, I made another recipe out of Appetite for Reduction, the Trattoria Pasta Salad with White Beans. I had some time before church this morning, so I actually whipped it up before leaving so it could sit all day and get super-awesome. Mission accomplished! My hubby, son, and I all loved it. What's not to love? Brown rice pasta, white beans, baby spinach, red onion, roasted red pepper, and kalamata olives are tossed together in a Sun-dried Tomato-Walnut Dressing. That dressing....oh my gosh. So incredible! It has an incredible depth of flavor...it's slightly tangy, earthy, and full-bodied. It sounds like I'm describing wine! ;-D But seriously, it's so good. I know I'll be making this a lot this summer! I served it with some steamed broccoli for a simple and delicious meal.

Question: what's in your favorite pasta salad??

CCK's Deep Dish Cookie Pie

I can't stop thinking about this dessert I made yesterday. All I can say is, Chocolate-Covered Katie is a GENIUS. GENIUS!!! Let me explain. Katie is a very, very cool blogger. Her blog motto is "where healthy tastes naughty." She makes things like cookie dough dip with chickpeas. She makes cake batter milkshakes with coconut butter. She's awesome. One recent recipe caught my eye - Deep Dish Cookie Pie.  Want to know what's in it? White beans. Yeah, seriously. It's gluten free, it's vegan, and it has some fiber and protein in it. I had to try it. There was a family cookout last night, and I decided this would be the perfect thing to bring. Several of my nephews follow a gluten-free diet and I wanted to surprise them!

This took literally 5 minutes to put together. I poured the batter into a 10-inch springform pan and baked it for 35 minutes.

 Now imagine slicing into this warm, gooey confection:

The chocolate chips were soft, melty, and scrumptious:

I figured I'd better sample the pie before I brought it to the cookout, just to make sure it didn't taste too "beany" or, even worse, "too vegan." ;-D As you can tell, I decided a rather LARGE sample was in order :)

The verdict? It was absolutely, mouthwateringly delicious. It tasted like the Toll House Cookie Pie I used to order at the Mews Tavern in my pre-vegan days, except better, because this actually had some nutrition! Granted, it's still a dessert, with sugar and chocolate chips, but I used a reduced amount of an unrefined, natural sugar (Sucanat). It's as healthy as a chocolate chip cookie pie can be. The best part was, I ate a LOT of it and I didn't feel sick afterward. It's my new favorite dessert. I will be making lots of this in the future. Best of all, the entire pie was eaten at the cookout. Not one crumb left! I was so happy that everyone enjoyed it. Now, go make this pie!! And check out Katie's other recipes, because that girl is amazing :)