VeggieConverter

Helping moms introduce meatless meals with ease.

Maple Almond Cashew Butter

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almond butter | @VeggieConverter

We almost always make our own nut butter. In part because I try to avoid peanuts and also because homemade nut butter is delicious. But we bought some healthy almond butter when we were on vacation this summer and fell in love with the maple flavor that we'd never tried before. So, I wanted to emulate that flavor at home.

We love to use this almond butter to make 2-ingredient grain-free cookies, banana almond butter coconut smoothies and of course, PB&J sandwiches.

Maple Almond Cashew Butter

Makes about 1 pint nut butter

Ingredients

1 cup almonds
1 cup cashews
2 tablespoons avocado oil
salt, to taste
1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)

Method

Add almonds, cashews and avocado oil to a food processor or high-speed blender.

Blend until smooth.

Add salt to taste.

Add maple syrup and pulse just enough to mix in the syrup.

Results

Wow! Delicious. And super simple. We love this version. Though our usual non-syrup version is great, too. I like the mix of almond and cashew for its flavor and texture. Cashews are a bit softer and are less grainy in the end-result nut butter. But the almonds are so good for you, too, so it's nice to have a mix.

Almonds are high in vitamin E, an antioxidant. While all nut butters are high in protein (an ounce of nut butter is the protein equivalent to the same amount of meat) and fiber, almond butter is significantly higher than peanut butter in vitamin E, magnesium and iron.

Maple Almond Cashew Butter

Maple Almond Cashew Butter

Ingredients

  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • salt, to taste
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add almonds, cashews and avocado oil to a food processor or high-speed blender.
  2. Blend until smooth.
  3. Add salt to taste.
  4. Add maple syrup and pulse just enough to mix in the syrup.
© Kristi Arnold @VeggieConverter.com
Maple Almond Cashew Butter 1

 

maple-almond-cashew-butter

Kitchen Scrap Broth: Broth & Stock Cookbook Review

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Kitchen Scrap Broth | @VeggieConverter

I absolutely love making broth for my family. It was one of the first big money savers I embarked on when the girls were babies. We started out with vegetable broth and eventually started making bone broth from turkey and chicken bones. I made the broth even before I ate any chicken. I've cobbled together some pretty good bone broth in the past, but when I received a copy of broth & stock from the Nourished Kitchen to review, I found the perfect kitchen scrap broth.

For me, the big key was learning something I should've known, but hadn't thought about. I collect my kitchen scraps in a big freezer bag and put in just about any veggie scraps I have, usually including onions, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, zucchini. But as Jennifer McGruther says in broth & stock, "Brassicas, like broccoli, cabbage, kale, and collards, can infuse the broth with undesirable bitter notes, so it's best to avoid them." Well, duh! I should've known that. I even know to avoid putting them in my kitchen composter since they create a nasty stink. But this one change to my kitchen scrap broth made a world of difference in the taste of the broth. The chicken broth that resulted was absolutely the best tasting broth we've ever had. No funky flavors or smells in this broth. It's just absolutely delicious, golden broth. We've made three batches of this recipe so far and have been pleased each time.

The rest of broth & stock is filled with incredible real food recipes for soups and stews as well as many broth variations. So far, my next favorite is Yucatan-Style Lime Soup (sopa de lima). It's an incredibly simple recipe that's packed with flavor: chicken, onion, white rice and limes. Fantastic. I can't wait to explore the rest of broth & stock and continue to enjoy my perfect kitchen scrap broth for years to come.

Broth & Stock |@VeggieConverter

I made very minor alterations, listed below, to the original broth & stock recipe to suit what I had on hand and switch from cooking in a stock pot to my VitaClay cooker.

Kitchen Scrap Broth

Adapted from broth & stock

Makes 2 quarts

Ingredients

1 chicken carcass, including scraps like necks & backs if available
1 1/4 cups loosely packed vegetable trimmings such as onion skins and ends, carrot peelings, zucchini ends, herb stems
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 quarts cold water

Method

Place ingredients in VitaClay cooker or slow cooker and cook on SOUP setting for 5-8 hours (for a CrockPot, cook on LOW for 12 to 24 hours). When cool enough to handle, strain through a mesh sieve and pour into two 1-quart jars, sealing the lids. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

 

how-to-make-kitchen-scrap-broth

Paleo Mixed Berry Jam

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Paleo Mixed Berry Jam | @VeggieConverterMy kids are on a bit of a peanut butter & jelly kick (technically cashew butter and jelly). And we're doing this pantry challenge/war on debt thing so once we ran through all the jellies in the house I decided to make some with some the fresh and frozen fruit we already had on hand. But, of course, I can't have regular sugar, so I needed to use coconut sugar. 🙂 Thus, by happenstance, I crafted Paleo Mixed Berry Jam. And it. is. delicious. Plus, bonus, much less spendy than store-bought organic jam.

Paleo Mixed Berry Jam

Makes 5 half-pint jars

Ingredients

4 cups mashed berries or stone fruit (we used strawberries and blueberries)
1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
5 tablespoons instant pectin
3-5 drops lime essential oil (optional) (I use Lime Vitality essential oil)

Method

We used fresh strawberries pulsed lightly in the blender and some thawed frozen blueberries. You can use any berries you like. If they're fresh or not naturally bite-sized, either mash with a potato masher or toss them in a blender for one or two quick pulses.

Mix together sugar and pectin in a large bowl. Add mashed berries and stir for 3-5 minutes.

Add mashed berries and stir for 3-5 minutes.

Stir in lime essential oil if desired.

Ladle into 5 quilted half-pint jelly jars.

Water process for 10 minutes to can. If your kids eat jelly as quickly as mine do, you may not need to bother with that step. We processed four (just in case) and left one open in the fridge with one of these great easy use caps. Enjoy!

(Tip: if you want to try cashew butter and jelly like our girls love, just put about two cups of cashews and up to 1/4 cup of avocado oil, depending on the consistency you like in a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Easy peasy.)

Yield: 2.5 pints

Paleo Mixed Berry Jam

Paleo Mixed Berry Jam

Ingredients

  • 4 cups mashed berries (we used strawberries and blueberries)
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
  • 5 tablespoons instant pectin
  • 3-5 drops lime essential oil (optional) (I use Lime Vitality essential oil)

Instructions

  1. We used fresh strawberries pulsed lightly in the blender and some thawed frozen blueberries. You can use any berries you like. If they're fresh or not naturally bite-sized, either mash with a potato masher or toss them in a blender for one or two quick pulses.
  2. Mix together sugar and pectin in a large bowl. Add mashed berries and stir for 3-5 minutes.
  3. Add mashed berries and stir for 3-5 minutes.
  4. Stir in lime essential oil if desired.
  5. Ladle into 5 quilted half-pint jelly jars.
  6. Water process for 10 minutes to can. If your kids eat jelly as quickly as mine do, you may not need to bother with that step. We processed four (just in case) and left one open in the fridge with one of these great easy use caps. Enjoy!
© Kristi Arnold @VeggieConverter.com
Paleo Mixed Berry Jam 2

 

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Paleo Mixed Berry Jam | @VeggieConverter

Salsa Recipes: Red & Green Roasted Salsas

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Salsa Recipes: Red & Green Roasted Salsas | @VeggieConverter

Salsa really isn't hard to make. It's just one of those things you have to tinker with until you get it right (for your family, everyone's salsa tastes vary, methinks). And I think we're totally there. But, then again, we like to change it up, sometimes, too. But these are our go-to quick and easy salsa recipes. Roasted Red and Green Salsa: it's all roasted on one pan together and then blended separately.

Give it a shot and then tinker it to however your family loves it. 🙂 Let me assure you this way is a delicious way to start.

Salsa Recipes: Red and Green Roasted Salsas

Ingredients

RED SALSA

4 tomatoes
1-2 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt and cilantro to taste
1 drop of lime essential oil, optional (I get mine HERE)

GREEN SALSA

1 1/2 pounds of tomatillos
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 serrano peppers, stemmed and seeded
1/2 teaspoon salt (I like Himalayan pink)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 drop of lime essential oil, optional (I get mine HERE)

Method

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Peel the husks off the tomatillos. Place them in a roasting pan with the onion, garlic, and Serrano peppers.

Place the tomatoes, jalapenos and onion on the other half of the roasting pan (or cookie sheet.

Roast for 25 to 35 minutes. The tomatillos will break down and become juicy. Remove form oven and cool.

Place the roasted GREEN ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree. Season with salt, white pepper, and cilantro. Add lime EO Chill until ready to serve.

Place the roasted RED ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree. Season with salt and cilantro. Add lime EO. Chill until ready to serve.

Both salsa recipes (red and green) are absolutely delicious and they're so good for you! I do the green in the blender first because the flavor is a little more subtle and less likely to impact the flavor of the red if I don't rinse the blender in between pureeing batches. 🙂 Enjoy!

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Salsa Recipes: Red & Green Roasted Salsas | @VeggieConverter

Salsa Recipes: Red & Green Roasted Salsas

Salsa Recipes: Red & Green Roasted Salsas

Ingredients

  • RED SALSA
  • 4 tomatoes
  • 1-2 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • salt and cilantro to taste
  • 1 drop of lime essential oil, optional (I get mine HERE)
  • GREEN SALSA
  • 1 1/2 pounds of tomatillos
  • 1/2 onion, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 serrano peppers, stemmed and seeded
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (I like Himalayan pink)
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 drop of lime essential oil, optional (I get mine HERE)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
  2. Peel the husks off the tomatillos. Place them in a roasting pan with the onion, garlic, and Serrano peppers.
  3. Place the tomatoes, jalapenos and onion on the other half of the roasting pan (or cookie sheet.
  4. Roast for 25 to 35 minutes. The tomatillos will break down and become juicy. Remove form oven and cool.
  5. Place the roasted GREEN ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree. Season with salt, white pepper, and cilantro. Add lime EO Chill until ready to serve.
  6. Place the roasted RED ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree. Season with salt and cilantro. Add lime EO. Chill until ready to serve.
  7. Both flavors (red and green) are absolutely delicious and they're so good for you! I do the green in the blender first because the flavor is a little more subtle and less likely to impact the flavor of the red if I don't rinse the blender in between pureeing batches. 🙂 Enjoy!
© Kristi Arnold @VeggieConverter.com
Salsa Recipes: Red & Green Roasted Salsas 3

 

 

How NOT to Use Olive Oil

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How NOT to Use Olive Oil | @VeggieConverter

How should you use olive oil? And are there times when you should not use it?

Olive oil is delicious and healthy when used in many ways---from flavoring your salad greens to preventing wrinkles on your face.

It's full of natural antioxidants, vitamins A, D and E, flaconoids and polyphenols.

But, unfortunately olive oil has a bad side, too. Lately it's gotten a bad reputation as being scam-worthy, meaning you need to know whether your olive oil is fake.

It's also been made clear to me in recent years that you just shouldn't cook with olive oil at high temperatures.

Not only do high temps make olive oil's fats unstable, but the good stuff about olive oil also is harmed by heat:

  • Because of its low smoke point, heating olive oil creates toxic smoke that you'll breathe in while cooking.
  • The omega 3 fatty acids and polyphenols are damaged or destroyed by heat.
  • If your olive oil isn't pure, it can be cut with heavily processed vegetable oils.

Italy is fighting back against olive oil's troubles with a campaign funded by the European Union, the Italian Department of Agriculture and Unaprol, an organization that represents olive growers and producers.

"Flavor Your Life" plans to increase awareness and consumption of high quality pure olive oils through education on origin, production, traceability and use in cooking.

The campaign plans big activities like participation in trade shows and smaller activities like in-store tastings at whole sale clubs.

In addition to its usual pure olive oil, my local wholesale club is touting premium, traceable, 100% Italian 100% organic olive oil.

How NOT to Use Olive Oil

In spite of this campaign, there are several ways NOT to use your olive oil:

  • Most importantly, do NOT use olive oil for cooking at high heat.Even pure olive oil has a low smoke point.
  • Olive oil is best consumed raw and uncooked to protect its nutrients and fats.Butter is the much better option to cook with, or ghee as it has a higher smoke point.
  • While it's not toxic at low heats, cooking olive oil even at low temperatures breaks down its healthy fats and polyphenols.

Never fear.

You can still benefit from all the wonderful traits of pure olive oil.

Use olive oil in raw preparations such as salad oils and infused oils.

And, it's great as a beauty product ingredient, like in this wrinkle-reducing olive oil face mask.

Related Olive Oil Posts

How to Choose the Healthiest Olive Oil

Which is Healthier: Butter or Olive Oil?

Making & Using Herbal Infused Oils: Calendula & Olive Oil

5 Reasons to Stop Cooking with Olive Oil

Image: 96dpi via Compfight cc

Need a great source for pure, healthy oils? Buy it here.

How NOT to use Olive Oil | @VeggieConverter

 

Rainbow Carrots and Cream Cheese Dip

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RainbowCarrotDip

We've been getting some beautiful rainbow carrots in our CSA box lately (ours are purple, yellow, orange and some are a bit chartreuse). So the kids and I have been enjoying julienned carrots dipped in yogurt a lot. We decided to make an extra special dip last week from our fun book, The Outrageously Big Activity, Play and Project Book.

The recipe says the kids can do it all by themselves. But we found it much easier to have a parent help hold an immersion blender to blend up the cream cheese and milk in the first step. Having a kid smash it together with a wooden spoon is probably an effective activity if you're wanting your kids to focus on something, but we wanted our dip NOW!

So, we stick-blended it instead of smashing. What you do in your house is, of course, your choice. I'll try to keep myself from staring over your shoulder with a stick blender. 🙂 The kids had a ton of fun mixing up the dip and they absolutely devoured the dip and carrots once it was all ready. I definitely recommend this dip for a snack or even a pre-meal distraction technique while you're fixing dinner. It's a great way to keep the kids snacking on something healthy if you can't handle them "helping" with dinner. I don't know about you, but some days I have the patience for it and others I don't.

Enjoy!

Rainbow Carrots and Cream Cheese Dip

 

Ingredients

1 bunch rainbow carrots
8 ounces cream cheese (full fat)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 green onion, chopped (or chives)

Method

Julienne all but one carrot, shred the remaining carrot. Mix all but carrots and a bit of the green onion.
Top with shredded carrot and remaining green onion. Serve with julienned carrots.

Quick and Delicious Marinara Sauce

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marinara

I made this absolutely delicious caramelized onion-based marinara sauce somewhat by accident. I usually have a ton of Slow Cooker Marinara on-hand either on the canning shelf or in the freezer. But somehow I depleted my stock over the holidays without realizing it. And I had all the ingredients for lasagna out and ready to go---with no marinara sauce!

So, I decided I'd whip up a quick batch on the stove instead. And I was in a bit of a rush, so I just threw things together a bit willy nilly. And I even made a big goof when I went to add a little sucanat (brown sugar), pouring in way more than I thought it would need. It turned out absolutely delicious. I'm not ashamed to admit I was licking the pan. 😉

 

Quick & Delicious Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cups diced tomatoes (I used Roma)
15 ounces tomato sauce
6 ounces tomato paste
1/4 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
salt, pepper and onion powder, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste

Method

Caramelize onions in olive oil.
Add garlic and cook another few minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
Reduce to low, simmer for an hour.

Tangy Butternut Squash Nuggets #vegan #glutenfree

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Tangy Butternut Squash Nuggets #vegan #glutenfree 4VeganMoFo threw down the Chopped challenge this week with butternut squash, popcorn, apricot preserves and fresh rosemary as the four basket ingredients for the Brunch round.

So, since my VeganMoFo theme this year is Vegan Lunch Box recipes, I chose to lean toward the lunch side of brunch and make some tangy butternut squash nuggets with maple-apricot mustard dipping sauce. Yum! I think the kids are going to love these.

First, I ground up some stale popcorn (we had some leftover from our recent car trip, so I decided to be frutal and make breadcrumb-like crumbs out of stale popcorn).

I had about a gallon bagful of popcorn and it ground into 5 cups of popcorn crumbs.

Then I added the puree from a large roasted butternut squash. I ended up with about 3 1/2 cups of puree. Which is cool, because that's about the amount of puree in a large can of pumpkin. You could totally substitute canned pumpkin in this recipe for an easier version.

I mixed up the popcorn and squash and decided it was still a bit wet, so I added a cup of quinoa-brown rice blend. Then I mixed in the apricot preserves, a few cloves of roasted garlic and some pan-roasted rosemary that I chopped up.

Then I pulled out my "cheese" powder (that I use for vegan mac and cheese and "cheesy" popcorn) and pressed nuggets into a powdered plate, flipping to coat both sides. Mainly I did this to give the nuggets a crisp nonstick coating, but I also thought the hint of cheesiness would be yummy with the squash. I added a bit more of the rosemary to the cheesy coating, too.

The batch made about 36 tablespoon-sized nuggets. I ended up baking them at 350 for about 45 minutes and they were still moist on the outside, but crispy on the outside. Tasty.

The dipping sauce was pretty simple. I added equal amounts of apricot preserves, maple syrup and mustard. Then I chopped up a couple more dried apricots and tossed those in for a little texture.

I totally love the show, Chopped, so I hope I've done this challenge proud. Enjoy!

Tangy Butternut Squash Nuggets #vegan #glutenfree 5

 

Tangy Butternut Squash Nuggets

Puree of one large butternut squash (about 3 1/2 cups)

5 cups popcorn crumbs

1/2 cup apricot preserves (I made mine with dried apricots, similar to how I make my stone fruit jam)

1 cup brown rice-quinoa blend (like this)

3 sprigs fresh rosemary, pan-roasted and divided

6 cloves roasted garlic

1/2 cup of vegan “cheese” powder

Sauce ingredients

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

2 Tablespoons apricot preserves

2 Tablespoons mustard

Instructions

Mix ingredients thoroughly and coat with breadcrumbs.
Preheat oven to 350.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Mix sauce ingredients and use for dipping.

The Results

Zowie! Fantastic...and the kids loved them, too. Too bad mommy's going to sneak into the kitchen at night and eat them. Maybe there will be some left for Bug's lunchbox tomorrow...maybe.
Tangy Butternut Squash Nuggets #glutenfree #vegan

This post is shared at·Mouthwatering Mondays, My Meatless Mondays, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Cravings, Just Another Meatless Monday,·Homemaker Monday.·Meatless Mondays,·Mingle Monday, Mangia Monday, Made By You Mondays and Monday Mania.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup Recipe

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PumpkinSpiceSyrup
Apparently there's been some sort of pumpkin spice syrup shortage at Starbucks, but I haven't noticed, because I can make my own! It is absolutely fabulous in a pumpkin spice latte and also drizzled over ice cream (coconut milk ice cream is fantastic with this mixed in). I'm planning to make the kids some coconut milk push pops with pumpkin syrup swirled in later this week for their lunch boxes. Yum.

I'm so glad I found this recipe for Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup, because it's incredibly simple and I can just keep the syrup on-hand to pour into my coffee whenever I like. My previous recourse for pumpkin spice lattes was this delicious crockpot recipe from Stephanie O'Dea. But that pretty much just makes lattes for the day, whereas the syrup makes lattes for weeks! Yum! I love, love, love it.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups sucanat (or 3/4 cup honey for Paleo)

4 cinnamon sticks OR 1-2 drops cinnamon bark essential oil (I buy mine HERE)

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves OR 1 drop clove essential oil (I buy mine HERE)

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger OR 1 drop ginger essential oil (I buy mine HERE)

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg OR 1 drop nutmeg essential oil (I buy mine HERE)

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Method

Heat water and sucanat over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves.

Do not boil. Add cinnamon sticks and whisk in the remaining ingredients.

Heat for about 5 minutes to marry flavors. Remove cinnamon sticks.

Pour into a jar or other container.

Add about a tablespoon of syrup to a cup of coffee with cream for a pumpkin spice latte or drizzle over ice cream.

The Results

Incredible!

 PS: In case you need yet another reason not to buy your Pumpkin Spice Latte. The ingredients of the store-bought variety are pretty horrifying.

This post is shared with Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesdays, What's Cooking Wednesday, Works for me Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked and Bake with Bizzy, Hearth and Soul Hop.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup

Yield: 12

Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup Recipe

Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup Recipe

This pumpkin spice latte syrup recipe makes homemade pumpkin spice lattes super easy to make. You won't miss store-bought ones when you taste this! Enjoy!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups sucanat (or 3/4 cup honey for Paleo)
  • 4 cinnamon sticks OR 1-2 drops cinnamon bark essential oil (I buy mine HERE)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves OR 1 drop clove essential oil (I buy mine HERE)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger OR 1 drop ginger essential oil (I buy mine HERE)
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg OR 1 drop nutmeg essential oil (I buy mine HERE)
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

  1. Method
  2. Heat water and sucanat over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves.
  3. Do not boil. Add cinnamon sticks and whisk in the remaining ingredients.
  4. Heat for about 5 minutes to marry flavors. Remove cinnamon sticks.
  5. Pour into a jar or other container.
  6. Add about a tablespoon of syrup to a cup of coffee with cream for a pumpkin spice latte or drizzle over ice cream.
© Kristi Arnold @VeggieConverter.com
Cuisine: American / Category: drinks
Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup Recipe 6

White Pizza Dip

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White Pizza Dip

This week I'm sharing an absolutely fantastic White Pizza Dip recipe I adapted from How Sweet It Is.

And it is soooo delicious. It's like cheesy tomatoey garlicky crack.

It may be my new favorite dip. I absolutely love it when I get a big hunk of roasted garlic.

And the kids and Mr. Meaty really liked this dip, too.

I made it in my cast iron skillet. I may try to make it in the CrockPot next go-around, but it was pretty fast and simple to make in my cast iron pan in the oven.

And oh my goodness I snuck in some kale and it's officially one of only TWO recipes in existence that I've liked with kale.

I so want to love it, but meh, I just don't unless it's smothered in delicious. (The other kale recipe I love is Potato Kale Soup.)

White Pizza Dip

Ingredients

1 pint grape tomatoes, tomatoes cut in half
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
4 ounces steamed and shredded kale
crackers, bread or chips for serving

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place tomatoes on baking sheet.

Sprinkle with olive oil and salt, then roast for 20-25 minutes, until bursting. Set aside.

While tomatoes are roasting, mix softened cream cheese with about 14 ounces mozzarella and parmesan.

Stir in seasoning, garlic, kale, and roasted tomatoes, mixing well to combine.

Transfer mixture to an oven-safe baking dish, such as a Dutch oven or a  cast-iron pot.

Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly.

Serve immediately with crackers, chips or toasted bread.

The Results

Delicious. A definite repeat. It's so tasty and garlicky and cheesy. I highly recommend it.

White Pizza Dip | @VeggieConverter

Yield: 12

White Pizza Dip

White Pizza Dip

Ooey gooey garlicky white pizza dip

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, tomatoes cut in half
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 16 ounces mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
  • 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • 4 ounces steamed and shredded kale
  • crackers, bread or chips for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place tomatoes on baking sheet.
  2. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt, then roast for 20-25 minutes, until bursting. Set aside.
  3. While tomatoes are roasting, mix softened cream cheese with about 14 ounces mozzarella and parmesan. Stir in seasoning, garlic, kale, and roasted tomatoes, mixing well to combine.
  4. Transfer mixture to an oven-safe baking dish (I used my cast iron pot).
  5. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
  6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbly.
  7. Serve immediately with crackers, chips or toasted bread.
© Kristi Arnold @VeggieConverter.com
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Appetizer
White Pizza Dip 7

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