Game day food and a recipe gone vegan

Here are the recipes for some of our favorite snacks, the ones Jeremy requested I make for us to bring to a friends house to watch the Super Bowl.



Carolina Caviar

We like this best when served with Scoops chips to form a pocket for the ingredients.

-2 (14.5 oz) cans of black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
-1 clove garlic, minced
-1 cup or a half bottle light or fat free Italian salad dressing
-1/2 red onion, diced
-1/2 of 2 or 3 different colored peppers (I recommend a variety or green, red, yellow and/ or orange), diced
-¼ to ½ of a bunch of cilantro (as sold in the store) washed, pulled of the stems and minced

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Chill for at least an hour before serving.





Guacamole

-4 avacados, sliced in half, then sliced into small cubes (while skin is attached) and removed from skin with a spoon
-2 roma romatoes (or 1 medium to large tomato), seeded and chopped
-½ red onion, chopped
-1 clove garlic minced
-salt and pepper to taste (up to 1 teaspoon of each)
-a couple drops hot sauce
-chopped fresh cilantro
-the juice of 1-2 limes

Combine all ingredients in bowl, stir and serve immediately. Keep the pit of one of the avacados in the bowl if the dip will remain out for a while, or if it will be refrigerated (this helps keep it from turning brown).



7 Layer Dip

Layer your favorite ingredients. In this one I did refried beans on the bottom, sour cream, the homemade guacamole, salsa, cheese, cilantro and sliced jalepenos. You can add scallions, chopped tomatoes, black olives, or your favorite Mexican sides. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy.

Chickpea, Spinach and Whole Wheat Pasta

I adapted this from the Chickpea, Bacon, and Spinach Pasta on Kate's blog. I made Jeremy pork chops for dinner and served him this as a side while I enjoyed this as my main dish on Saturday. I also doubled the recipe and still had leftovers to enjoy for lunch Sunday and today.

-1 onion, thinly sliced
-5 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 t. red pepper flakes
-1 t. cumin
-1/2 t. black pepper
1 c. dried chickpeas, soaked and fully cooked (or 1 or 2 cans chickpeas, I'm not sure of the equivalent)
-1/2 bag frozen chopped spinach (or 4 c. fresh spinach)
-2 T. red wine vinegar
-1/2 c. veggie broth
-1/2 lb. whole wheat pasta (I used rotini because that's Jeremy's favorite, but I would have preferred the spaghetti that Kate used in her recipe)

1. Heat a small amount of olive oil in large pan, add onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin & black pepper. Cook until onions are tender.

2. Add chickpeas and spinach and cook for 5 minutes, until heated through. (At this point, you could stop and have a wonderful side dish

3. Stir in the red wine vinegar and veggie broth. Bring to a low boil and let simmer until the stock begins to thicken a little. Add pasta and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.


Shannon