Dairy Free Soy Free Peanut Butter Cereal Crunchies

My husband and I actually call this Peanut Butter Crack, because we seem to have no ability to leave it alone until it’s gone.  I love no bake cereal type desserts because they can satisfy my sweet tooth quickly.  With only a handful of ingredients and a five minute or less prep time we have a winner in my book.  Also I love peanut butter, and have used the pregnancy and post pregnancy as a reason to justify consuming unholy amounts of it. (it’s good for protein right?) This dessert is fast, sweet, crunchy, peanut buttery and totally addicting.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup karo syrup
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 4 cups Corn Flakes, Rice Crispies, Rice Chex or any combination of the 3
• Optional (only for dairy eaters:  ½ cup chocolate chips)

Instructions:

1. Add 4 cups of corn or rice cereal to a large mixing bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, mix the sugar and karo syrup until the sugar is mostly dissolved. 
3. Add the peanut butter to the sugar mixture in the pan and stir to combine.
4. Once the peanut butter is mixed into the sugar and Karo syrup add it to the bowl with the cereal and carefully mix together, trying not to crush the cereal.
5. (Optional – if diary is okay) Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Press warm mixture into a cookie sheet and cut into squares or eat by the handful.  Enjoy.

Dairy Free Soy Free Pasta Dinner

Since college I have always loved pasta. I think it might have been because it was the only meal I knew how to make and not botch for a number of years. Now when we’re sitting in the living room and I haven’t made anything for dinner and we’re all hungry it’s my go to meal. It’s quick and filling and to me it will always be delicious… honestly if I was trapped on a deserted island and I could have one food for the rest of my life it would probably be pasta.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 can Light Ragu No Sugar Added Tomato & Basil pasta sauce (The only premade kind I could find that doesn’t have dairy or soy)
• ½ pound ground beef
• ½ white or yellow onion
• ½ box of spaghetti noodles (I have yet to find a pasta that has dairy or soy so you should be fine here)
• Optional: Fresh asparagus  

Instructions:

1. Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Dice onion and add to browning beef in skillet.
3. While beef is cooking fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once water is boiling turn temperature down to medium heat and add pasta. Cook according to package direction, likely 7-12 minutes. Drain the water from the pasta when finished cooking.
4. Once beef is browned drain the fat and add the Ragu sauce to the meat, continue to heat over medium until the sauce is warm.
5. Serve by adding pasta to a plate and covering with sauce.

Cooking Asparagus

1. Take each stalk of fresh asparagus and apply a light pressure toward the middle/bottom of the stalk. It should snap and the tough bottom part of the stalk can be discarded.
2. Layer the stalks on a microwavable dish and fill the bottom of the dish with a ½ cup of water or until the stalk are touching the water but not covered by it.
3. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.