Homemade Organic Raw Cashew Milk

Necessity is the mother of invention, and when I realized I was out of milk (I didn't want to use the boys’ chocolate oat milk) I decided to give making my own nut milk a try.

Cashew milk is ridiculously easy to make and required very little prep time. I started soaking the cashews and dates at 8 am and had fresh healthy milk by lunch. Best of all no special equipment just my trusty old Ninja blender.

I used my Organic Bakers Extract from Costco in this. It’s a chocolate vanilla blend that added a nice but not chocolate flavor. The milk was way better than any I've bought and easy enough to put together while holding the baby.

I can't wait to try it out in my overnight oats in the morning.

Ingredients:

1 C Raw Cashews

2 Dates (you could also use a little maple syrup or other sweetener)

4 C Water

1 tsp Vanilla extract (or Organic Bakers extract from Costco)

Dash of Sea Salt

Soak the cashews and dates in a mason jar with just enough water to cover. Chill in the fridge 4 hours then drain.

Place drained cashews and dates in blender with 2 cups of water and process until smooth. Then add remaining 2 cups of water, vanilla extract, and salt. Process until incorporated.

That's it. Chill and use within 5 days

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed French Toast Waffles

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed French Toast Waffles... WHAT!?!

That's right. When the five year old said he wanted breakfast for dinner tonight I jumped right on it. He is going through one of those fun phases where he won't eat anything, except eel sushi (I know, right?) and mac and cheese.

I'm not a huge fan of breakfast, give me a protein shake or a kind breakfast bar any day, and I'm even less inclined to eat the usual sweet breakfast fare, but I wanted to accommodate my picky eater.

So off to Pinterest I went and found a recipe for french toast waffles. Bingo! My big kid loves waffles, but how could I turn this into something the hubs and I would eat.

I love jalapeno poppers and since you can turn cream cheese, jalapenos, and bacon into a filling for almost anything, why not french toast. 

We made a basic version of french toast for the kid, eggs, milk, cinnamon and sugar and dipped slices of bread into the egg mixture and cooked on the waffle maker. In a separate bowl we mixed the eggs for our adult breakfast for dinner and everyone was happy. 

For the filling:

4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 C shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 Jalapenos
3 Green Onions
2 pieces Bacon, crumbled

For the french toast:
8 pieces of Sourdough Bread
8 Eggs
1/3 C Milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and roast jalapenos for 15 minutes, turning them halfway through.
Meanwhile start cooking bacon (you know you want to cook extra to go with your waffles) and mix together 2 pieces of crumbled bacon with cream cheese, cheddar, and green onions. When jalapenos are finished cooking cut into medium sized pieces, and add either half or all the jalapeno depending on the spice level. 

Spread filling on 4 pieces of bread and top with remaining slices. Heat up waffle maker. 

Mix 4 eggs and milk with salt and pepper in a pie plate. Dip sandwiches into egg mixture and cook on waffle maker. Place done sandwiches in oven to keep warm. when sandwiches are done cook remaining four eggs sunny side up. Serve on top of  your jalapeno popper stuffed french toast. 

Grilled Chicken and Pesto Zoodles

I love carbs. I have proclaimed my love for all things wheat on this blog and in articles I have published on the Mediterranean diet. 

Our cheap little spiralizer

I have tried my hand at cauliflower crust pizza and other wheat like substitutes and was left less than impressed but zucchini noodles, or zoodles, is one trend I wholeheartedly love. Our favorite way to serve zoodles is cold or room temperature (cooking them gives them a soggy texture I do not enjoy) perfect for the warmer weather headed our way.

You don't have to go out and spend a ton of money on a spiralizer for this dish, we have an inexpensive little gadget that does the trick but if you wanted to spiralize harder veggies like beets or butternut squash you may want to invest in something a bit fancier.

I made enough pesto for 3 recipes of this dish, so portion out the remaining pesto into small containers and freeze the leftovers for another day. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using. 

Grilled Chicken and Pesto Zoodles

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Breasts
1 tbs Italian Seasoning (salt free)
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 medium Zucchini, spirialized into noodles
1 C Grape Tomatoes

Pesto
3 C Basil leaves, packed
3/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 oz Parmesan Cheese, grated or crumbled
4 cloves Garlic

In a quart size freezer bag combine 1/4 C olive oil, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Make pesto by combining basil, cheese, garlic cloves and 3/4 c extra virgin olive oil in food processor until it forms a paste and is free of lumps.

Grill chicken over medium heat for about 12 minutes, turning once. While chicken is cooking grill tomatoes for 5 minutes. 

In a large bowl combine cold zucchini noodles with sliced grilled chicken breast, tomatoes and about a third of the pesto.

I would imagine that this would make great leftovers but we ate it all.