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21 Simple, Quick, & Easy Meals
All tagged Butter
Easy Baked Apples for Two is a quintessential winter dessert, from the classic warming spice of cinnamon, to the smell of baked apples in your kitchen- delicious! My mom made these throughout my childhood (and adulthood) and are a family favorite. These Easy Baked Apples for Two are relatively low in sugar compared to other desserts during the holiday season 😊 This recipe can easily be expanded to serve as many people as you would like.
Creamy Mushroom Soup tastes like pure comfort food but is loaded with veggies and has no cream or half-and-half! It’s as easy as cooking onion, mushrooms, and potatoes in broth and blending until smooth with nondairy milk. The chanterelle mushrooms from @MushroomMikeLLC add both elegance and a peppery, earthy flavor.
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
What (your ingredients):
1 tablespoon avocado oil
½ yellow onion, diced
Pinch of salt
28 oz. white mushrooms, diced
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup dry white wine
3 russet potatoes, diced
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cup unsweetened nondairy milk (I used Ripple)
10 chanterelle mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons butter (vegan)
Pinch of salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Optional: Drizzle of olive oil
How (your directions):
Heat avocado oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
Add the diced yellow onion and a pinch of salt and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add diced mushrooms, salt, and dried thyme. Sauté, stirring frequently, until liquid from mushrooms evaporates, about 5 minutes.
Add white wine and stir for 30 seconds.
Add potatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat vegan butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add chanterelle mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.
Turn the stove heat off and stir in nondairy milk into the soup. Using an immersion blender or high-speed blender, blend the mushroom soup until smooth.
Serve soup with freshly ground pepper and a spoonful of chanterelle mushrooms on top. Drizzle with good olive oil and enjoy hot!
Why (the science): Fiber-rich potatoes and nondairy milk add a plant-based creaminess to the soup without the need for heavy cream or half-and-half! Mushrooms are prebiotics, which feed the healthy bacteria in your gut to help reduce inflammation and boost your immune system.
Light and fluffy Vegan Raspberry Muffins are the perfect meal prep breakfast to enjoy throughout the week. You’ll be absolutely adored if you make these for someone special on Valentine’s Day! These muffins are significantly lower in sugar than traditional muffins, and the raspberry preserves help sweeten the muffin and add extra raspberry flavor. The whole wheat pastry flour is my secret nutrition weapon when it comes to baking- it’s whole wheat (hello, health benefits of fiber and vitamin E for blood sugar control) but is light and fine like all purpose flour.
Serves: 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
What (your ingredients):
1 tablespoon flax meal
3 tablespoons water
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tablespoons melted vegan butter
2 tablespoons raspberry preserves
1 cup raspberries
How (your directions):
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Line a muffin tin with 8 liners, then set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together flax meal and water. Set aside while preparing dry ingredients.
To a large bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Once the flax egg has thickened, add almond milk, melted butter, and raspberry preserves to the flax egg. Stir to combine.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until flour is just moistened.
Fold in raspberries evenly through batter.
Using an ice cream scoop, evenly distribute batter among the lined muffin tin.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove muffins from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 3 minutes.
Transfer muffins to a cooling rack.
Enjoy warm, room temperature, or toasted for breakfast throughout the week!
Why (the science): Raspberries are rich in the antioxidant, ellagic acid, which reduces inflammation in the body and repairs DNA.
These Pink Pancakes are perfect for Valentine’s Day brunch or Christmas morning! I mean, look at that color 😊 And they couldn’t be easier to make, since they’re made in a blender. Serve them with butter and maple syrup, and perhaps a dusting of cocoa powder for something sweet and elegant. Or try my savory version with slices of avocado, wedges of blood orange or grapefruit, and a drizzle of tahini. You could even pack the savory ones for lunch and eat them at room temperature…yum!
Serves: 2 (2 plate-size pancakes or 9 silver-dollars)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
What (your ingredients):
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plant milk
1 cup roughly cubed beet (raw, not cooked)
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
Coconut oil for cooking
Savory toppings: avocado slices, blood orange or grapefruit sections, drizzle of tahini, freshly ground pepper
Sweet toppings: butter, maple syrup, a dusting of cocoa powder
How (your directions):
In a high-speed blender, add oats, plant milk, cubed beet, baking powder, and salt. Blend until smooth.
In a large skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Pour pancake mix into whatever size you prefer.
Once the sides are cooked and the tops are bubbling, flip the pancakes.
Allow to cook on the second side for 3 more minutes.
Serve immediately with your favorite sweet or savory toppings!
Why (the science): Beets contain the pigment betalain, which is considered a potent antioxidant which fights inflammation and oxidative stress.
This recipe is inspired by a dear college friend who made this for me in college- a family recipe used for every Thanksgiving celebration. Festive and comforting, yet delightfully easy, I love to enjoy this Roasted Acorn Squash for a yummy lunch on the weekends! Use any candied sweet and spicy nut to make this side or entrée extra special, and be sure to dip each spoonful of squash into the melted butter in the center 😊
Serves: 2
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
What (your ingredients):
1 acorn squash
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons sweet and spicy nuts (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods has a few options)
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
How (your directions):
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
Cut acorn squash in half, remove seeds and stringy flesh from center, then roast on lined baking sheet for 40 minutes.
Once acorn squash has finished roasting, place one half in each bowl.
In the center of each half, add 1 tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons sweet and spicy nuts (I used pecans), and 1 tablespoon cranberries.
Enjoy hot!
Why (the science): One serving of acorn squash provides 145% of your daily vitamin A needs, which is critical for helping your eyes absorb light and for supporting cell growth in your heart and lungs!
Sometimes, dinner simply needs to be prepped and on the table in less than 40 minutes. Start to finish, this elegant quinoa stuffed acorn squash accomplishes that goal, but it will look like you spent hours in the kitchen creating it! Children are apt to love it, since the flavor profile leans toward sweet, especially with the cinnamon and raisins. Quinoa is a complete protein, so this filling dish would make a great “Meatless Monday” option.
Nothing tastes more like the comfort of Fall than apples and spices! It’s too easy to make your own chutney, which serves as the perfect accompaniment to Quick-Brined Rosemary Pork Chops. Add even more flavor using spiced jam from the Preserving Place, a beautiful locally-owned and operated artisan store located in the Westside district of Atlanta and conveniently ships all across the country!
