Egg Free, Dairy Free Tayana's Baked Empanadas

My girls were watching an old episode of Hannah Montana and Rico was selling empanadas. Tayana loved the way Rico said the word empanada and saying it that way herself, so she just had to have one. Traditional empanadas are made with an egg dough and filled with onions, garlic and other things my husband wouldn't eat. So, Tayana and I brainstormed and came up with our version. We used a cornmeal dough and a ground beef, gravy and diced potato filling. Everyone loved them and Tayana was so excited to say that she ate an empanada. She also had so much fun making the dough and filling. She helped roll out the dough, cut it, fill it and pinch it shut. They took longer than my regular meals, but they were really worth the effort because they were so yummy. Since we loved them so much, next time I'm going to make a triple batch and freeze the leftovers. It won't be much extra work to make the extras and then we have another option in the freezer for lunch.

Tayana's Baked Empanadas

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup dairy free margarine, melted
3/4 cup water
1 lb cooked ground beef
1 can gravy
1 can diced potatoes (or fresh diced and boiled potatoes)

Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Stir in the margarine. Add the water then stir until thoroughly combined. The dough should not be sticky, but it should also not be dry. It should hold together when you form it into a ball. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap then refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, place the ground beef, gravy and potatoes into a saucepan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and meat are tender (10-15 minutes). Allow to cool before using.

On a floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough to about 1/8" thick. Cut the dough into 5-6" circles. (I used a ceramic bowl that was about 5 1/2" across.) Place a good sized amount of the filling (about 2-4 tbsp) on half of the circle. Fold the other half over the filling then pinch to seal. Use fork tines to crimp the edges to make sure the edges stay sealed. Place the empanadas onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Continue until all of the dough is used, re-rolling as needed. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until just golden.

Shared with Savory Sunday, Meatless Mondays, Melt-in-Your-Mouth-Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Crazy Sweet Tuesday, Trick-or-Treat Tuesday, Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesdays at the Table, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Full Plate Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Share the Wealth Wednesday, Foodie Friday, Friday Food, Fabulous Friday, Food on Fridays, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love and Allergy Friendly Fridays.

Egg Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free Sunbutter Cups

Before Jazlyn's allergies, I loved Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. I still love the combination of Sunbutter and chocolate. Usually when I get a peanut butter cup craving, I make Sunbutter Squares or Chocolate Covered Sunbutter Eggs. This time I decided to try and make the candy actually look like a peanut butter cup. I started with a layer of chocolate, placed a Sunny Button on top then spooned chocolate over them. They were a little more time consuming that the other 2 recipes, but they looked really good and tasted even better.

Sunbutter Cups

5 cups safe chocolate chips, divided use
5 Tbsp shortening, divided use
1 cup Sunbutter
1/2 cup dairy free margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Microwave 2 cups of the chocolate chips with 2 tbsp of the shortening until melted and smooth. Place 72 paper mini muffin cup liners on baking sheets. Spoon the melted chocolate into the bottom of the muffin liners. Refrigerate the baking sheets for 30 minutes or until the chocolate is hardened. 

While the chocolate is hardening, place the Sunbutter, margarine and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble. Remove the saucepan from the heat then stir in the confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until thoroughly combined and smooth. Roll 1/2 tablespoon of the mixture into balls then flatten slightly into disks. Place the disks on a wax paper lined baking sheet. You want to make sure you have 72 Sunbutter disks. Remove the muffin liners from the fridge then place a Sunbutter disk on the top of each chocolate lined muffin cup.

In a separate bowl, microwave 3 cups of the chocolate chips with 3 tbsp of the shortening until melted and smooth. Spoon the melted chocolate on top and around the Sunbutter disk to cover it completely.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until the chocolate is hardened. Remove the paper liners then store the Sunbutter cups in the fridge or freezer.

Shared with Meatless Mondays, Made from Scratch Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Just Another Meatless Monday, Tasty Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Frugal Food Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Sweet Temptations, Full Plate Thursday and Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love.

Egg Free, Dairy Free Chicken Rice Pie

Another wonderful all-in-one casserole. We really liked the dough on top, which was like a flat biscuit. If desired, you can leave off the biscuit topping.

Chicken Rice Pie

2 cups cooked diced chicken
1 can peas or corn
2 cups cooked rice
1 can gravy
1 can creamed corn
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup flour
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup dairy free margarine, melted
2 tsp baking powder

Spread the chicken on the bottom of a sprayed 9x13 baking dish. Top evenly with the peas then rice. In a separate bowl, combine the gravy, creamed corn and chicken broth. Pour the gravy mixture over the ingredients, but do not stir. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, soy milk, margarine and baking powder. Pour the biscuit mixture evenly over top. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes.
*  If desired, you can omit the biscuit mixture.

Shared with Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love and Allergy Friendly Friday.

Egg Free, Dairy Free, Nut Free Sunny Buttons

One of Jazlyn's most requested candy recipes is Fudgy Buttons. We decided to take the same idea but make a fudge button with pure Sunbutter taste instead of the Sunbutter and chocolate flavor. They were very good and a nice change from our original version.

Sunny Buttons

1 cup Sunbutter
1/2 cup dairy free margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Place the Sunbutter, margarine and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble. Remove the saucepan from the heat then stir in the confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until thoroughly combined and smooth. Roll 1/2 tablespoon of the mixture into balls then flatten slightly into disks. Place the disks on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until set. Store in the fridge.

Shared with Meatless Mondays, Melt in your Mouth Monday, Tasty Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesday and Allergy Friendly Friday.

Egg Free, Dairy Free Pierogies

I love pierogies. If you aren't familiar with them, they are a dough pocket filled with mashed potatoes. Since I've never been able to find safe ones for Jazlyn, I decided I would figure out a way to make them from scratch. I decided to start with a simple dough then fill it with a mashed potato and bacon bit filling. Next time I'm also planning on adding some cooked ground beef. Jazlyn absolutely loved them and so did my whole family. I made my pierogies jumbo sized because I didn't want to fill and wrap a ton of small ones. This recipe made 22 jumbo pierogies. We had some leftover so I placed them on a wax paper lined sheet and flash froze them. I placed them in a freezer Ziploc once they were frozen. They reheated great in the microwave, the dough just became a little tougher. That didn't stop my girls from begging for more. I'm warning you ahead of time that this is not my usual quick to prepare meal, but they are so worth the extra time. Start to finish it took me about 2 hours to prepare them. For me, the extra time was worth it to see the smile on Jazlyn's face as she ate her first pierogies.

Pierogies

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp dairy free margarine
2/3 - 1 1/3 cup water
Prepared mashed potatoes
Optional additional fillings include bacon bits, finely diced onion, ground beef or other meats desired, etc.

Combine the flour and salt. Add the margarine then used a fork or your hands to mix until thoroughly combined. Add 2/3 cup of water then mix until well blended. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more water until the dough is able to be kneaded. Knead on a floured surface for a few minutes until the dough is smooth. Cover then allow the dough to set for 10-15 minutes. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/4" thick. Cut the dough into circles using a 4" round cookie cutter. Place the circles on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Continue until all of the dough is used, rerolling as needed. Combine the mashed potatoes and any additional fillings you desire. Take one of the circles then roll them out thin. Place 3-4 tbsp of the filling on half of each circle. Use enough filling so that the dough is puffed when folded. Wet the entire way around the edge of the circle then fold in half. Use a fork to crimp the edges shut. Wet the crimpled edge, fold over the edge again then use a fork to crimp the edges. Folding the edges ensures that the edges are tightly sealed. Bring a large pot of water to a boil then carefully drop 4-5 pierogies into the water. Boil for 2-4 minutes or until the pierogies float to the top. Continue until all of the pierogies are cooked.
*  I was able to make 22 big pierogies. If desired, you can use a small cookie cutter.
*  Leftovers can be flash frozen then stored in a freezer Ziploc bag. Simply reheat in the microwave.

Shared with 33 Shades of Green, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Frugal Follies, Cybele Pascal, Allergy Free Cookery and Make Ahead Meals.