Vegan Ranch Dressing & Dip.

Ranch dressing was and will forever be one of my most favorite condiments. Plant-based living I had to say good-bye to Hidden Valley and was on the search for an awesome vegan one. I found it. And it's like magic. 

Magic because anything it's over, my kids eat. SO awesome. They dip all sorts of veggies in it, on baked potatoes, over lentil taco salad, regular salad... Magic, right? Mama thinks so.

1 cup vegenaise (if you haven't tried this stuff... you really should. Better then mayo and SO much better for you!)
1/4 - 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 tablespoon of parsley, dill and chives, chopped (or 1-2 teaspoons dried)

Whisk all ingredients together - except milk - until well combined.Then slowly add the milk until you get the consistency of dip or dressing you like. It will thicken some after it's chilled. (You can always add more milk too before using.) Chill and let flavors combine.

Sweet Potato Fries with Basil-Garlic Mayonnaise.

I loooooove sweet potato fries. And these are good. And the mayo to dip 'em in are even better! SO good. It's a Giada de Laurentiis that I veganized. It wasn't hard... swap out the mayo for vegenaise and you're good. Although I'd like to think there was some more skill to it. 

I haven't gotten my family to love sweet potatoes the way I do... I blame it on their father's revulsion to them. So, I enjoy these all on my own. And I'm totally, and completely... okay with that.

5 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5-inch "fries"

drizzle of olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried

2 teaspoons kosher salt (I go way easy, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup vegenaise

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400*F.

Place the sweet potato "fries" on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. In another small bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice, and stir to combine. **

When the sweet potato fries come out of the oven, sprinkle with the basil salt. Serve with the garlic vegenaise alongside for dipping.

**I always go sooo light on the olive oil that the basil salt never really sticks to the fries. So, I just add it to the garlic vegenaise. 

Mexican Bowtie Pasta.

Here's another I got from LittleBirdieSecrets that's yummy... I loved it because I could get it ready earlier in the day, and not have to fuss with anything now that we're in the after school rush.

The original recipe called for mayo, and I subbed nayonaise for it {since they didn't have vegenaise at Sprouts}. Nayonaise has more soy in it then I'd prefer... so, I'll work on that or try it with vegenaise sometime. But it's so yummy and for sure going in the rotation!! The original has chicken and cheese added to it, if that's your flavor check out the link above.

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn, run under cold water for a minute
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup diced tomato
Juice from 1 lime
1/2 cup vegenaise {or mayonaise}
1 cup salsa of your choice
2-3 cups bowtie pasta (cook 2 min. less that directed)
1/2 c. chopped cilantro

Combine first six ingredients in a bowl. Chill. Mix mayo and salsa together and pour over cooked pasta. Chill. Before serving, add veggies to pasta. Toss with cilantro. Serve cold.

*You can also omit the pasta and serve as a yummy dip with tortilla chips!

belly biters: all {yum!!}