Coconut Milk Whipped Topping

Coconut Milk Whipped Topping ( Dairy Free )

1 can coconut milk

icing sugar, maple sugar or stevia -to taste

1/2 tsp vanilla

Chill coconut milk  in the refrigerator for at least a day. Open can. Skim off the solidified white creamy stuff from the top and put it into a small mixing bowl or blender. After taking off the top half of the can you will notice that it starts to get runnier and there will be a bit of clear liquid. You can still scoop off some more of the thicker white milk. I would say in total I used about 2/3 of the can. Discard the rest.  Add a little bit of sweetener of your choice to the thickened coconut milk along with the vanilla. Whip just for a minute or so. Use in place of whipped cream or cool whip. This does have a coconut flavor to it but it is soo good. I served mine on a gluten free cake and topped it with glazed strawberries.

Hint: The above can comes from co-op and costs over $3.00 but if you are familiar with Dollarama, they sell them there for $1.25 and it works just as good!

Pistachio Salad

PISTACHIO SALAD:

1 small pkg pistachio pudding

1 tin crushed pineapple

2 small tins mandarin oranges, drained

1 large tub cool whip

2 cups cottage cheese

3 cups grapes, halved

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Mix all ingredients together. Store in the refrigerator. This is a family favorite. The crushed pineapple is a must but other then that you can experiment with fruit. Leave some out or add your favorite. Adding fresh pineapple is also very good!

Pizza Casserole

Pizza Casserole:

4 cups dry Pasta (I prefer Rotini)

1-2 tins Tomato Soup

1 lb gGround Beef

 1/2 cup diced Onion

1/4 cup diced Bell Peppers (optional)

1/2 tsp minced Garlic

1 tin mushrooms, drained (optional)

1 tsp Clubhouse Italiano

2 cups Pizza Sauce

2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

2 cups shredded cheese of your choice

1 cup Pepperoni, diced or sliced 

additional Italiano-up to 1/2 tsp

Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain. Stir tomato soup into the macaroni; put into casserole dish. Meanwhile brown the ground beef with onion, peppers and garlic. Once the meat is no longer pink and the veggies are soft add the mushrooms if desired as well as Italiano, pizza sauce, Parmesan cheese and salt & pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Pour sauce into the casserole dish and stir into the macaroni. Top with shredded cheese. Sprinkle diced pepperoni on top of the cheese as well as additional Italiano. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes @ 350 or until bubbly and heated through.

Cheesy BBQ Burgers

Cheesy BBQ Burgers:

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 egg 

3/4 -1 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup BBQ sauce OR ketchup

1/2 cup Shredded Cheese of your choice

1/2 tsp seasoning salt OR salt

1/4 tsp seasoned pepper OR pepper

                                         1-2 tbsp Onion dip mix (I used Onion Ranch from EverydayStyle but
3 Onion dip mix or Cheese, Chives& Bacon from epicure works great too. If you don't have any of these just use about 2 tsp of dry onion flakes)

Shape into hamburger patties; makes approximately 1 dozen. BBQ for about 4-5 minutes on each side, depending on your  BBQ as well as the temperature. Brush with additional BBQ sauce if desired or top with a cheese slice.