This is a fast and easy recipe to make on a night when you really just want to eat and not cook.  It’s gluten and dairy free and full of the most amazing flavor.  This recipe will make enough for 12 tacos with leftover filling for an omelet the next morning.

This recipe was also shared with the NFCA and is featured as their Recipe Of The Week. If you have not visited their website yet you might want to see all of the great information they have to share.

Ingredients:

1 pound bay scallops

2 Purple Sweet Potatoes diced (can sub regular potatoes)

8 oz  Easy Homemade Fresh Chorizo

½ red onion diced

Handful of fresh cilantro chopped

1 tsp Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Corn Tortillas, warmed

*See notes for substitution ideas.

Directions:

First thing you want to prep is your purple sweet potato.  Peel and dice it and add it to a microwave safe bowl with water.  Cook on high for 6-10 minutes until they have started to soften.  The length of time will depend on your microwave.  Pre-cooking these potatoes while you are getting everything else ready, will go a long way to getting this dish cooked up fast.

Heat your pan on medium high and then let the coconut oil melt.  Add in your diced onions and cook until soft.  I like to remove these to a serving bowl while I cook the chorizo so they don’t over cook.  Remove the chorizo and add the purple sweet potatoes to the pan.  When they have browned remove them to your serving bowl and toss the scallops into the pan.  Make sure they are dry before adding them to your pan or they will steam and not brown.   Although I find it difficult to brown the smaller bay scallops as compared to the large sea scallops.  Warm your tortillas and keep them wrapped or covered on your table.

Once they scallops are cooked add them to your serving bowl along with the cilantro.  Mix it all together and taste.  You may or may not want to add any salt and pepper.  The chorizo is so full of flavor and seasonings that I didn’t need anything else.  You may feel differently.

At the table spoon the mixture into your tortilla, fold in half and eat.  It doesn’t even need any salsa but if I were going to try some it would definitely be a Creamy Tomatillo or Regular Salsa.

*Notes:

You can substitute a white potato for the purple sweet potato.  I found the purple sweet potatoes at the International Market.

You can substitute the large sea scallops for the smaller bay scallops if that is what you have on hand.  Just cut them into bite size pieces after you cook them.

If you don’t like or have scallops you can substitute shrimp.  Thanks Alta!

If you have chorizo that comes in a casing and it’s fresh, take it out of the casing to cook.  If it’s cooked links just dice it so it will be smaller than the potatoes.

You can also use homemade tortillas which would make this dish taste even better.

Can the big flavors of Jerk cooking fit into a little burger?  Oh yeah!  First, I love Jerk Chicken and Pork, Jerk Wings and the Pika-peppa sauce that tops it.  I also love burgers and I really enjoy taking dishes that I cook, and making them into a burger.  That’s all I did here.  But this mini meal still has that big flavor, it just fits into your hand.

Now the last time I asked, there were  50% of you that said you have eaten Jerk and 50% that have not.  I’m hoping this quick recipe will be that push for you to give it a try.  While a quick burger is not the same as the slow cooked chicken and pork,  the flavors in these burgers capture that same flavors.

I serve these burgers on tostones with Pika-peppa sauce, french fries and a side salad.  If you want to add in some red beans and rice as a side that would be good too.  Tostones are a staple in Cuban and Caribbean cuisine.  They are twice fried slices of green plantains and boy are they good.  I could eat a whole plate of these on their own.

This recipe was submitted to What Can I Eat That’s Gluten Free.  Take a peek for more gluten free foods.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground organic chicken breast

1 pound ground organic pork

4 tsp Jerk Seasoning

2 sliced green onions

1 lime juiced

2 green plantains

Celtic Sea Salt to taste

Coconut Oil

Canola Oil

Directions:

The hardest part of making this whole meal is to peel the plantain.  Cut both ends off and then cut into the peel.  Be careful not to go too deep.  Slice the plantains on an angle to give the largest ovals you can make.

Put the plantain slices into a pan heated to medium high that has 1/4 inch of coconut oil.  Cook the plantains until brown.  These cook up fast so keep an eye on them.  About 3-5 minutes on the first side and much shorter on the second.

Remove the plantains and put them one at a time between the parchment paper and roll the glass over the plantain to smash.  Don’t let it get too thin.  If you’re lucky enough to have a tostonera then by all means use that.

Return the plantains to the pan and fry for 2 more minutes.  Keep and eye on these as they literally take a minute a side.

When you take the tostones out of the pan put onto a paper towel and salt.

Now here is the hard part.  Don’t eat all of the tostones until you have burgers to put on top.

Time to make the burgers.  You can of course make the burgers first and then the tostones.  Your choice.

Mix the Jerk Seasoning, sliced green onion and lime juice into the meats.  You can take a small amount of mixed meat and fry that up to taste test the seasonings.  If you want a more robust flavor you may want to add in more Jerk Seasoning to the meat before you make your burgers.

Cook your burgers on medium high in a pan with canola oil.  This does not need a large amount of oil like the tostones.  When  the meat is firm, but still  has some give, then you know they are cooked.  If you cook them until they are very firm they will be dry and hard.  My burgers took approximately 5-7  minutes on the first side and a little less on the second side.

Place  your burger on top of a tostone and top with Pika-peppa sauce.  If you want to pick it up to eat, add a tostone on top!

When I was traveling to San Francisco I had an amazing meal of Lemongrass Chicken at The Slanted Door.  I’ve wanted to try and recreate it ever since.  Well one night I just couldn’t wait any longer and created this dish with what I had on hand.  The ingredients are a little different but it worked.

I did not have any green onions or fresh jalapeño peppers.  I did have a jar of pickled jalapeño peppers that I drained and rinsed.  Not as good but will do in a pinch.  I also added soy noodles and a red bell pepper just to add more volume and fresh taste and texture after using the jarred jalapeños.

The nice thing about this meal was it was cooked in one pan and ready in under 30 minutes.  To speed up the process you can cut your red onion and start cooking with that while you are cutting up the rest of the vegetables.  If you are using the fresh jalapeño  peppers, work with those first so you can get those hot oils off your hands.  If you are not use to preparing your shrimp, this will take a little time the first time you try it.  You will get very fast at this skill in no time.

Don’t forget to read all the way to the end for your notes and substitution ideas.

Ingredients:

1-2 TB Sate Paste

2-3 tsp fish sauce – I used Thai Kitchen that states it’s gluten free

1 stalk lemongrass or 1-2 tsp dried lemongrass

6-8  jalapeño peppers sliced on angle with seeds removed

4 red hot chili peppers left whole

2 green onions sliced

1/2 -1 red onion sliced

1 red bell pepper sliced thin

1 pound 26-30 shrimp or whatever size you have, butterflied

handful of peanuts, rough chop

Celtic Sea Salt & pepper to taste

2-3 tsp Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1-2 tsp Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

1 package of soy noodles- these are already cooked and heat up fast

See bottom of post for substitution ideas.

Directions:

First prepare your ingredients.  I also prep the shrimp and then put them back into the refrigerator to stay cold until I’m ready to put them into the pan.

To butterfly your shrimp, run your knife along the back of the shrimp almost all the way through the shrimp but not.

Butterflying your shrimp

This should allow the shrimp to open flat.

If you butterfly your shrimp, it will make your shrimp look twice as big when it cooks up and will give it more area to absorb the seasonings.  Great when you are using a smaller shrimp and a full flavor seasoning recipe.

First you want to saute the red onions, jalapeno and red peppers, not the chili peppers,  in a medium high pan with a little combination of oil.  Remove them from the pan before they are soft.  You want some crunch to your vegetables.  I add them to the bowl I’ll be serving from.

Save cooking your shrimp until last.

Keep your pan on medium high.  Once hot add the oil and then the shrimp.  Make sure your shrimp are dry or you will be steaming your shrimp.

As the shrimp cooks you can see them opening up.

Before the shrimp are over cooked, add in the Sate Paste and fish sauce to coat the shrimp.  This should take only a minute to get them all coated. Add back the vegetables and combine.   I used both the fresh lemongrass and dried.  Make sure you taste it to see if you want to add more Sate Paste.  Now add in your green onions, red chili peppers and chopped peanuts. If you are using dried lemongrass add that too.  Taste again and adjust the salt and pepper.

For the soy noodles that came in a pouch with liquid, I drained them in my fine mesh colander and ran them under hot water.  Toss into pan to combine and put all back into the serving bowl.

Note:  If you use fresh lemongrass you will want to cut it into long pieces that you can pull out before you serve.  When making this dish I only had 1/4 of a red onion.  It will work best with the 1/2 – 1 whole onion unless you have a monster red onion.

If you don’t like spicy hot do not bite into the hot peppers.  If you leave them whole they will only flavor the dish and not make it hot.  Make sure you take all of the seeds and membranes out of the jalapeño peppers and again, you will have more flavor than heat.  If you leave any of the white membrane you will have heat.

Substitutions:

You can make this dish with chicken instead.  I would use a combination of both breast and thigh for the most flavor.

As far as noodles, feel free to use your favorite type.

Also, using fresh jalapeño peppers is recommended.

If using shrimp you can use a larger size or smaller size.  I would still keep it to one pound.  You can also remove the tails if you don’t want to use your fingers when eating.

If you did not make your Sate Paste ahead of time you can use the Thai Kitchen Chili Paste and add in more peanuts.

Jerk Feast

Wow, that’s a mouthful!  I didn’t even add in the Dipped in Picka-peppa Sauce.

Picka-peppa sauce

We recently had friends over for dinner where I served this Jamaican Jerk Feast.   We were so hungry I almost forgot to take a photo.   I had filled my plate and had already dipped some wings into the Pica-peppa sauce.  I served this up with a tomato, onion and cucumber salad to balance out the spicy beans.  The meal was finger licking good.  I made so many wings that we couldn’t eat them all.  They of course are waiting in the freezer for a quick meal this week.

If you have never tried Jamaican foods, start with Jerk.  Jerk is typical seasonings that is used for chicken and pork.  I like it on fish and beef as a topping more than a marinade.  Rice is a typical side dish but the beans that accompany the rice are usually pigeon peas.  I only had red beans so that’s what we had.

Let me stop and expand on that last point.  If a recipe calls for something unique like pigeon peas and you have another bean that you’ve already paid for, use that.  Now it will taste different but it will taste good.  When you are out and about and find that ingredient then pick it up for the next time you make that recipe.  Using what you have on hand will save you time and money.

Back to the meal.  I cooked the rice in my rice cooker with water but you can use a stock to give it more flavor.  I wanted it very plain because I knew the beans would have a kick.  The Jerk could have been hot too but it was a medium heat.    Make sure you check things before you serve them so you can warn people.  The plantains are sweet and are a nice contrast to spicy beans too.  I hope you will give it a try.  To see the recipes, click at the bottom of the poll to continue.

Jerk Chicken Wings

Jerk Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

2 family sized packaged of chicken wings (cut buffalo wing style)

6 Scotch Bonet or Habanero  peppers

1 bunch of scallions, diced- white and green

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup vinegar

1 cup liquid from cooked hot peppers used for Spicy Mustard

Directions:

Mix everything except the chicken in a bowl.

Get two large plastic zip lock bags and put one inside the other.  Put the chicken wings into the inside bag and pour the marinade over top.  Close tight.  Work on getting as much of the air out as you can.  Now close the outside bag.  Give the bag a toss and mix all of the marinade around all of the wings.

Put into the refrigerator for 5 – 24 hours.  The longer they can hang out together the more the seasonings can penetrate the chicken.

If you don’t have the liquid from cooking hot peppers in vinegar you can always add vinegar to the marinade.  You can also add more peppers but 6 Scotch Bonet is a lot.

Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees.  Put the wings onto a baking sheet in a single layer.  Cook for 45 minutes.

Serve with Picka-peppa sauce.

Red Beans and Rice

Red Beans

Ingredients:

1 cup dried beans

water to cover

1-3 Scotch Bonet or Habanero Peppers

1 TBS bacon grease or 2 slices of bacon chopped and rendered

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Let your beans soak overnight.  Drain them and put into a pot with enough water to cover.  Add in the peppers with bacon grease and bring to a boil.   Turn down to low and cook for 2-3 hours until soft.  If you are using bacon, chop it and cook it to render the fat.  You can remove the bacon or leave it in when cooking the beans.

You can also use stock instead of water.  I find the bacon and peppers add enough flavor and the stock is not needed.

When you serve you can toss in chopped green onions.

Fried Platnains

Fried Plantains

Ingredients:

1-2 Ripe Plantains (yellow with a few brown spots)

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Directions:

Slice your plantains while your pan heats.  Add in the oil and when the oil is hot add in the plantains.  Cook until brown and turn over.  Cook until second side brown and remove from pan.

Have you ever eaten Sopes?  Sopes are a cousin to tortillas, but can be more versatile for fillings that have more liquid.  They are thicker than tortillas and have sides so they can hold fillings.  They don’t encase the fillings like a burrito or pupusas.  Usually you cook sopes by frying them on both sides in oil.  I didn’t want to make a mess and had really liked the way Carol Kicinski’s Sopes looked in her Simply Gluten Free blog post on Oven Baked Sopes. So I used the basic recipe I use for tortillas, pupusas and sopes but put them into a muffin pan to bake.

These were a big hit!  So much so that we’re still coming up with things to fill the leftover sopes.  Also the nutritional yeast gives it a nice cheesy taste but with no dairy.  Love it!

Nutritional Yeast mixed with Masa

Cheesy Sopes Ingredients:

3 cups Masa

2 1/4 cups water

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

Directions:

Mix the masa, salt, nutritional yeast, and water.  You want a consistency that stays together but is not wet.  Make these into balls and place one in each cup of the greased muffin pan.  I have this fun little tool that I use to press a depression in the center of each ball.  I found that if I kept this wet it made the work easier.  Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes.  After 10 minutes brush with oil and sprinkle with salt.

Chicken filling ingredients:

1-2 chicken breasts

8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced

1 large onion sliced

2 small or 1 large zucchini diced

Shallot Pepper

Virgin Coconut Oil

1-2 cups chicken stock

arrowroot slurry

Direction:

Saute the onions until brown, add in the zucchini.  Next add in the mushrooms.  Now I used cooked chicken breasts but you can also use raw and cook it up in the pan.  Sprinkle in the Shallot Pepper once these are all cooked.  Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Once boils add in the arrowroot slurry.  Take off the heat and stir constantly.  The sauce will thicken fast.  Make sure you bring in all of the stock around the pan and other ingredients so it is combined.  You want a nice gravy or sauce.

To serve I put two of the sopes on the plate and spooned in the chicken mixture with some spilling over the sides.

You can also check out What Can I Eat That’s Gluten Free on The Gluten Free Homemaker.

©Diane Eblin

This soup is called Have on Hand Soup because the ingredients list was created by what I had on hand.  It was so fast and easy to make because I used many  ingredients that were already cooked.  So think of this as a method more than a specific recipe.  Take the method and change the ingredients to be ones you have on hand.  Then you can make Have on Hand soup any day at a moments notice and it will have it’s own unique taste.

This method will also help save you money.  For more Pennywise Platters check out The Nourishing Gourmet.

Spring this recipe!

So here are the basics:

Ingredients:

Stock- enough to cover all ingredients plus a little more

Onions- any type will do, I like mine diced or rough chop

garlic minced or sliced

leafy green vegetable chopped

cooked protein- can be meat or vegetarian

pasta- already cooked works best

other vegetables that are just waiting to be cooked or are part of leftovers

herbs

oil

Directions:

The first thing you want to do is head to the refrigerator and freezer to see what leftovers you have hanging out just waiting to jump into the pool together.  You don’t want to look at these items as the dish they were, but the dish they will become.  Think of it as a challenge but just have fun.  Remember if you don’t like how it tastes, don’t eat it.  But you might just create a new favorite dish.  Keep notes just in case.

Saute onions in oil until translucent.  Toss in garlic to add to the depth of flavor, then add in chopped greens.  Let them cook just a little before adding in you other vegetables.  If the other vegetables are raw, cook them before adding the leafy greens.

Now you’re ready to add in your cooked protein, stock and herbs.  Bring it up to a boil for just a few minutes, then turn it down to simmer.  Add in the pasta last so it will not break apart when the soup is boiling.    If too much of the liquid cooks down, add more.

That’s all there is to it.  You can make this meal in 15 minutes from heating the pan to eating the soup.  Of course if you prefer just dump everything but the pasta into the crockpot, put it on low and eat later.  Add in the pasta a few minutes before serving.

Now here is the ingredients for my Turkey and Pork Noodle Soup with Spinach, Mushrooms and Ostrich.

Ingredients:

4-6 cups of chicken stock

1 organic yellow onion chopped

2 cloves garlic sliced

1 package of frozen chopped spinach (I was out of fresh but this works great in a soup)

1/2-1 cup of leftover Ostrich Steak Strips Stir-fry

7 leftover Mini California Cobb Salad Burgers,  cut into quarters

2 handfuls of cooked quinoa pasta

2 tsp Bouquet Garni from Penzeys (savory, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage, tarragon)

Celtic Sea Salt and Pepper

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Follow the directions above and you’ll have soup!

Ostrich Steak ©Diane Eblin

This summer I’m all about making really quick meals.  This one definitely qualifies taking 10 minutes cutting board to plate.  It’s also is a lean alternative to those who are tired of beef.  I really like using the Ostrich Steak Strips because they are already cut for me.  I’ve been really happy with every Blackwing Meat products I’ve tried.  I also use a lot of spices and herbs from Penzeys.  If you have not visited their store or their website you are really missing out.  They have some great combinations that can make your life a lot easier.  The herbs and spices are gluten free but the soup bases are not.

Ingredients:

2 -  6 oz packages of Ostrich Steak Strips (I like Blackwing Meats)

1 large organic yellow onion sliced, love the sweet vidalia onions

handful of trumpet mushrooms

handful of shiitake mushrooms sliced, stems removed

1 tsp Virgin organic coconut oil

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1-2 tsp Shallot-Pepper from Penzeys (coarse salt, Tellicherry black pepper, purple shallots, french tarragon and powdered bay leaves)

Directions:

Heat pan to medium high and add in both oils.  Saute onions until translucent, add in mushrooms until they start to brown.  Don’t add salt to mushrooms when you start to cook them.  This will release the water and they will not brown.  Next add in the Ostrich meat and saute until slightly brown, toss in seasonings and you’re done.

That’s it.  It took longer to write this post than it did to cook this meal.  The best part was the long string of compliments that came from serving this meal.  It’s funny how I can make a 10 minute meal that gets rave reviews but spend an hour in the kitchen on some dishes that barely get a mention.  Note to self, make this meal again!

Don’t forget to check out What’s For Dinner Wednesday.

Spring this recipe!

©Diane Eblin

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner because this is my new favorite way to make and serve desserts.   It was so easy and fast to make with already having the Blueberry Ice Cream ready in the freezer.  This was a great gluten free, dairy free, soy free, sugar free dessert for Father’s Day.  I keep sneaking in vegan dishes and no one in my family thinks anything about it. They will forget this line they just read.

I basically took my Blueberry and Blackberry Crumble Pie and made it in my muffin pan.  I use Breads From Anna for the pie crust as usual.  One package made an entire pan full of crusts.  I pre-baked the crusts a little so the topping and the crust would be done at the same time.  The filling was the same and the topping the same.

The sauce that I drizzled on top of everything was melted blueberry jam.  The same that I use for the filling.  I like Wild Oats Naturals jams (just a name, no oats involved) that are sweetened with fruit juice instead of sugar.  But don’t get any ideas that this is not a sweet dessert.  It’s very sweet and it was a big hit!

I’ve frozen the rest so now, anytime we want a little gluten free, dairy free, soy free, sugar free dessert, I can pop it into either the microwave or oven to heat up and we’re good to go.

Don’t forget tomorrow is Friday Foodie Fix and the Secret Ingredient is Spinach! I hope you will join in with your recipes either by using Mr. Linky to link back to your blog post or by leaving it in the comments section.  If you have a blog post using spinach, new or old, I’d love for you to share it and provide a link back to the Friday Foodie Fix page post tomorrow within your post.

©Diane Eblin

This is an easy gluten free side dish that I served with the Father’s Day dinner.  I’m sharing the meal one post at a time.  Not sure if I should show you the appetizer and dessert or hold out until tomorrow.  Maybe this afternoon I’ll post the dessert.  It was one of my favorites in a long time.  But for now we’ll stick to this side dish.

This is a clean it up, drop into a bowl to season and then toss into the pan to cook dish.  I really didn’t want to clean up the big skillet but this can certainly be made on top of the stove.  The green beans from the farmer’s market were great and I always have some mushrooms around, usually 3 or 4 different varieties.  But the pee wee potatoes I found while shopping at Wegman’s with my youngest son the other day.  They were the size of a large grape.  So cute I just couldn’t pass them up.  They were perfect for the dish.

Whenever you head to the grocery store or farmer’s market always look around for something you have not seen before and give it a try.  Have fun in the kitchen and your meals will taste great.

Ingredients:

just heading into the oven

1 package of Melissa’s Pee Wee potatoes ( can sub other small potatoes, just cut to the same size as mushrooms)

4 handfuls of fresh green beans, cleaned, stem end off and cut in half

2 shallots chopped

3 handfuls of cremini mushrooms quartered

1-2 TB extra virgin olive oil

1-2 TB organic virgin coconut oil

5 sprigs of fresh thyme, just the leaves

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Into a big bowl toss the washed potatoes, cut green beans, chopped shallots, thyme leaves, quartered mushrooms, salt and pepper.  Add in the two oils to coat.  You’ll have to melt the coconut oil in order to toss the vegetables to coat.  Start off with the 1 TB and move up if needed.  It really depends on how many vegetables you have.

Pour into an oven proof dish and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are done.   You will want to check on the dish every 10 minutes to toss so all sides are getting a nice roasted edge.   This dish took less than 5 minutes to prepare and it cooks while you are working on the rest of your meal.  You can serve it with any protein you like.  If you want to keep it vegetarian top it off with a little cheese or to keep it vegan you can add tofu or beans as an option.  There are so many vegan and vegetarian options for protein.  I’d love to hear your ideas.

For more dinner ideas check out The Gluten Free Homemaker for What’s for Dinner Wednesday.

Chili Piquin Tortilla Soup ©Diane Eblin

Some like it spicy, some like it hot and others like it to burn the @#*!! out of their mouth, eyes watering clear out your sinuses red face hot.  I’m in the middle, my son Andy I believe just loves it as hot as it can be. I think it started when we were out to eat and he was around 13.  His dish had a devil toung pepper, which he ate.  No one told him it was in there and to watch out for it in the dish.  I thought we were going to have to take him to the hospital.  I think after that everything else is mild in comparison.

So with inspiration from Andy and Shirley’s Tasty Tortilla Soup at Gluten Free Easily, I made Chili Piquin Vegetarian Tortilla Soup.  If you are not familiar with Chili Piquin they are small, red, fiery hot peppers that are grown and used throughout Mexico and the American Southwest.  They pack 140,000 heat units according to the Penzey jar.  However, while searching for heat units of other peppers they are most often noted as 40,000- 58,000.  Either way, they are hot.  To give you a comparison jalapenos are 2,500 -8,000 heat units and the devil toung that Andy ate is listed as 125,000 – 325,000 heat units.   Check out the Chili Heat Scale to find out how the scale was created and where your favorite peppers stack up.

The Chili Piquin jar says “USE WITH CAUTION.  Add 1 or 2 to Mexican moles and sauces, stewed meats and vegetables, Pazole and other corn recipes, barbecue sauce and hot and sour soup”.  I’ve used only 1 or 2 in the past but I didn’t think it was that hot.  So today, I was feeling more adventurous and added 12.  I also added 1/2 cup of diced jalapenos.  Oh we’re cooking with fire now!

Now if this is too hot for you take it slow and easy.  Add in what you think will work, let it cook to infuse, and then taste it.  Keep in mind the longer the soup sits, the hotter it will get.  You can always add more heat, but it’s really hard to get rid of it once it’s there.  Keep the bag of tortilla chips handy and if you can drink milk a glass.  They say that the casein in milk is what counter acts the heat.  For those of us who can’t eat casein, we’ll just have to endure.

Ingredients:

2 large spring onions, white parts only diced

2 garlic scapes diced

4-8 jalapenos diced

8-12 Chili Piquin peppers

28 ounce can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes

28 ounce can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

2-4 cups of vegetable stock

2 cups organic cooked black beans

2 cups organic cooked pinto beans

4 young fresh epazote leaves (can replace with dried)

1 bay leaf

2 handfuls of fresh cilantro, chopped

1 TB Ancho Chili Powder

1 TB ground cumin

Celtic Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

virgin organic coconut oil

Directions:

Heat your pot or enamel cast iron deep pan on medium high with the oil.  Add in the diced onions and cook until translucent.  Add in the garlic scapes, jalapenos and epazote, combine and cook for just a few minutes.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer.  After 15-20 minutes the flavors will start to combine enough to give you an idea of the level of heat.  After 20-30 minutes the soup will be ready to eat.  Adjust the amounts of the ingredients to suit your taste.

I like to serve my soup with tortillas to top it off.  I really like Xochitl chips.   They are thin and crispy.   You can also top it with fresh avocados and even sour cream if you eat dairy.  That will help cut the heat.  Enjoy!

I love visiting the farmers markets and finding vegetables that are new to me.  Garlic Scapes found me last week.  Garlic Scapes are the flower stems that the garlic plants produce as they are maturing.  Many farmers will cut them off so all of the growing energy and nutrients go to the garlic bulb.  They are long, green and curly and of course caught my eye because they just look fun.  I’m all about fun.

garlic scapes, spring onions, snow peas, bok choy, broccoli

There are many things you can cook up with scapes.  I decided to use mine in a stir fry with the other farmers market purchases, quinoa and the wild salmon that was on sale.  This was a fast chop and drop meal with a little soy sauce and wine to top it off.  The salmon was sprinkled with a little soy sauce and broiled in the oven.  Easy clean up!

What have you found at the farmers markets that was new to you.  Or maybe something that you’re not sure what it is and what to do with it.  Take a picture and send it in.  If I don’t know we’ll ask the community.  I might be doing that when my CSA start at the end of the month.

Ingredients for stir fry:

2 handfuls of snow peas

1-2 spring onions sliced

2-3 garlic scapes diced

1 crown of broccoli cut down

2-3 bok choy chopped

handful of shredded carrots

1 tsp fresh ginger minced

2 tsp gluten free soy sauce

arrowroot slurry

1/2 cup white wine

2 tsp organic virgin coconut oil

1/2 tsp sesame seed oil

Prep your vegetables as your wok or pan heats on medium high.  Add in the oil and let that come up to temperature which should be fast.  Add in the vegetables one at a time and let each one cook up: onions, bok choy, broccoli, garlic scapes, ginger, carrots, snow peas.  When these are all cooked up but not soggy, still a little crisp add in the soy sauce and wine.  Bring it up to a boil or close to it.  Add in your arrowroot slurry and stir.  It will thicken fast.  Top with the sesame seed oil and combine.  Serve over quinoa or rice.

For more dinner ideas check out What’s For Dinner Wednesday.

Chicken Chow Mein ©Diane Eblin

This is a dish I have loved to eat since I was a young teen.  I was a kid who ate only a few foods and the thought of eating more than one food at a time was gross to me.  Eating peanut butter and jelly together was a victory for my mom.  I didn’t eat onions or bean sprouts or anything at the Chinese restaurant but the deep fried chicken.   Well my mom took me out to lunch with her friend Sylvia.   Sylvia was a very exotic woman and I thought she was very intriguing.  After my mother announced I would never eat anything on the menu, Sylvia ordered Chicken Chow Mein for us.  I of course had to prove my mom wrong, so I ate it.  My mother was in shock and I found something new to eat.

For some reason that event in my life came to mind and I immediately wanted Chicken Chow Mein.  Tonight was the night.  This is a quick meal to cook and is very low cost.    I served mine over red quinoa but you can also serve it over rice or a combo of rice and quinoa.  I also put the organic wheat free soy sauce on the table so we can adjust the taste as you eat.

Ingredients:

2 boneless free range chicken breasts

1 large organic sweet onion sliced

6-8 stalks of organic celery sliced

1 handful organic button mushrooms sliced

2 handfuls bean sprouts

1 handful snow peas chopped

1 can diced water chestnuts, drained and rinsed

1-2 tsp ginger

2-3 cups chicken stock

arrowroot for slurry (1 tsp arrowroot to 1-2 tsp cold water mixed together)

soy sauce to taste

Virgin organic Coconut Oil

Directions:

Prep all your ingredients and heat your wok or pan with the oil.  Start with the onions and cook until soft.  Add in the celery and cook until soft. Mix the two ingredients together.  Make an well in the middle and add in the mushrooms, snow peas and water chestnuts.  After those cook up mix all together.  Season with ginger.  Again make an space in the middle and add in the chicken and season with a little more ginger, salt and pepper.  Once it’s cooked mix all together.  Now stir in the bean sprouts.   Make that well again and add in the chicken stock.  Bring it up to a boil and stir in the arrowroot slurry.  It should thicken very quickly.  Once the sauce is as thick as you want it, mix it into the chow mein.

That’s all there is to making my Chicken Chow Mein.  I put the wheat free soy sauce on the table when I served this so we could adjust to our own taste.

Now I’ve not priced out each ingredient but I can say when I ran to the store for the bean sprouts, mushrooms and water chestnuts, that only cost me $4 and I have some mushrooms left over.  This makes 6-8 servings so you have lots of leftovers or plenty for a crowd.  You could save money if you don’t buy organic foods or free range chicken raised without antibiotics.  The choice is one you have to make.  I just ask that you know as much as you can about where your food comes from and what is in it.   After all, you are relying on it to nourish your body and keep you healthy.

Buffalo Sausage with Mushrooms ©Diane Eblin

Whenever I cook vegetables for my husband I have to do a good job of either hiding them or making sure they are part of the dish.  They do not over power the dish with their taste and texture.  I guess that’s the same thing as hiding them.  I’m really working on getting more vegetables, fruits and safe grains into our diet and cut down on the meats.  One meat I’ve been noticing gaining more interest is Bison or Buffalo. I thought this would be a great addition to this evenings meal.

Recently at one of my local farmers markets I came across Cibola Farms selling Buffalo meat and free-range pork.   Hmm, that got my attention real quick.  Time to investigate.  I grabbed a handful of their brochures and asked the first question I always ask, are your products gluten free.  The reply was yes.  Everything is labeled.  If there is anything with any gluten it will say it on the label.  Cool, they knew what I was talking about.  Then I asked what else was or was not in the meat.  This is taken right from the brochure, “Cibola Farms Meats are free of growth stimulants, steroids, growth hormones and antibiotics.  No chemical or animal bi-product is fed to produce these 100% natural meats. ” Now they really had my attention.   I read more of their information, asked more questions and looked through their scrapbook to see what their pastures and livestock looked like.  Impressive.  But, what would it taste like?  So I bought a few different types of sausages, hot dogs and some ground buffalo.  I also bought some of their pork products.

National Bison Association Nutritional Chart

I wanted to know more about the nutritional values of this lean meat and found information and a table comparing the fat, calories, protein, B-12 and iron content to other proteins.  The National Bison Association website also provides cooking tips and more information on health benefits.

I also ran across the KC Buffalo website that shared this information on buffalo.  “Buffalo meat has as much calcium as a 6 oz. glass of milk, as much potassium as a medium banana, and contains vitamins B6 and B12.” This is sounding like a better choice for me than beef.

Tonight I pulled out the Italian sausage thinking it was buffalo and realized it was pork.  Threw that back and grabbed the next package becuase I really wanted buffalo.  This just sounded great and let me tell you, tasted great.  Buffalo, Cranberry & Wine Sausage with Pork.  The flavor was complex with layers of wonderful tastes.  The aroma was amazing.

So I cooked dinner and we served this dish with a nice glass of red wine.  However, Brad took one look at it and said, “What am I having for dinner?”  My reply was That Fish.  We’re still working on his taste for vegetables.  The real test was going to be my husband.  This dish does have a lot of vegetables and pasta and only a little bit of meat.  He loved it and said it was company worthy.  That is high praise around here.  Anything good enough to serve to company means, please make this again.  So Buffalo was a hit and it will be on our table again!

Ingredients:

4 links  Buffalo Cranberry & Wine Sausage with pork -Cibola Farms

1 organic yellow onion sliced

1 organic yellow squash sliced

1 organic zucchini sliced

12 cremini mushrooms, stems removed and sliced

12 shitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced

2 cloves garlic chopped

5 fresh sage leaves chopped

8 sprigs of lemon thyme or plain just taken of stem

handful fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (roll up the leaves and slice to give you chiffonades)

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1 cup mushroom stock (can sub other)

1 tsp arrowroot to make slurry

Celtic Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Virgin organic coconut oil

Extra virgin olive oil

2 large handfuls of cooked spaghetti (mine is quinoa)

Directions:

Prep all of your vegetables.  Next heat up your wok or large frying pan with sides.  Add in the oils and toss in your onions.  When they turn translucent add in the squash and zucchini.  After they cook down add in the mushrooms.  Now everything should start to brown a little.  Add in the garlic, thyme, sage and caraway seeds.  Combine well.  Now with my wok I pushed the vegetable mix to the sides and placed the buffalo sausage that was cut into chunks into the bottom of the wok.  I let that cook up and brown.  Keep it moving so it doesn’t burn.  Now I added in the cooked spaghetti and get everything combined.  Again, make a space in the bottom or middle of your pan to add in the mushroom stock.  Once that starts to boil, add in your arrowroot slurry.  This is made by mixing the arrowroot with cold water and stir well.  Once you add this to the liquid in the pan keep stirring or clumps can form.  It will thicken fast.  Now toss in your basil and combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  That means add it and then taste it before serving.

Empty your pan onto a nice large serving platter and serve.  If you eat dairy a little shaved parmesean would be a nice topping.

Gluten Free Twinkies

As soon as I saw Elana’s post on Gluten Free Twinkies I knew my son and I would be making these.  This month I’ve adopted Elana’s from Elana’s Pantry for Book of Yum’s monthy event, Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger.  This is a fun event where you can get a lot of great gluten free ideas.  I was honored to be adopted this month by Sea.  I suggest you see how she created one of my recipes with a vegetarian twist.

Elana of Elana’s Pantry,  offers great recipes using whole food ingredients that are gluten free.  She also has a big heart for the environment and saving money at the same time.   Love that!

Brad's Gluten Free Twinkies

So I emailed the Gluten Free Twinkie post to Brad and he immediately ordered the Twinkie pan.  As soon as it arrived we got busy making sure we had all of the ingredients on hand.  Brad is the baker in the house so he took the lead.  While I was out,  he and a friend got busy making the first batch of Gluten Free Twinkies which made 4.  By the time I got home there was one left that I got to sample.  Verdict- delicious!

Last night it was my turn to bake both the Gluten Free Twinkies and the Homemade Starbucks Orange Cake.  As I whined that I don’t like to measure, Brad took care of that.  He had everything ready for the Gluten Free Twinkies as I boiled the oranges for the cake.  Then he left me alone to mix and bake.  Well that’s where things took a turn.  I didn’t realize I started on the second page of the directions so I missed the first step of whipping the egg whites so they were ready when I finished the rest of the batter.  Oh, and the rest of the batter got the real egg treatment instead of egg replacer like Brad used because he’s not supposed to eat egg yolks.  Can you see where this is going.  The batter had to sit a few minutes while I whipped the eggs and it got a little thick.  I mixed everything together and filled the Twinkie pan half way.  I got 7 Gluten Free Twinkies so real eggs must make a difference in volume compared to egg replacer.  Into the oven they went with my fingers crossed.

Homemade Starbucks Orange Cake

Now time to work on the cake.  This one was so easy with only a few ingredients, that I didn’t need any help, so I thought.  I processed all of the ingredients and started pouring the batter into the 9 inch cake pan.  Of course I had to get a little help from Andy, my son who happened to be home from college.  He wanted an orange Twinkie with Mango Cream.  So I saved a little cake batter and baked him an orange Twinkie.  Both went into the oven.

Back to the Gluten Free Twinkies.  Again, not reading the directions but just looking at the ingredients I did it backwards.  I beat the egg whites and agave together instead of starting with the egg whites.  I kept beating it and wondering why my cream didnt’ look as good as Brad’s had from the day before.  Hmm, better read those directions.  So now I had an extra bowl of sweetness which  I gave to Andy for his Mango Cream.  He put a mango and the cream into the blender.  It tasted great but it would not thicken like he wanted.

So after I made the gluten free, dairy free Twinkie filling the right way, we started playing with filling them.  The filling really does not fill very much so I took a cue from Elana and added it after cutting and took a picture.

Orange Twinkie & Mango Sauce

The really do taste great!  I can’t remember what a chemical Twinkie tastes like but I’m guessing not as good as this.  I handed the plate to the boys and asked them to take a bite for the camera.  I really only wanted one photo but what I got was a funny stream of silliness.  We had a great time making Gluten Free Twinkies.  Even the orange Twinkie was great.  We ate it with the Mango Sauce that Andy made.

The Homemade Starbucks Orange Cake was in my over achieving oven, which cooked it faster than the directions noted.  Yes, I checked the directions many times.  My cake was a little darker than Elana’s,  but it tasted great.  The only hard part was waiting 2 hours for the cake to cool in the pan before I could taste it.  By the time all this was done and I had used every bowl, measuring device, mixer and every inch of the counter top and sink, the boys disappeared.  I only wish I had taken a photo of my kitchen.  It would be good for a laugh.

These were great recipes to make and I had a lot of fun baking with my boys.   They are both at home in the kitchen.  Andy can cook anything and Brad can bake anything.  Life is good!

Boys more interested in Mac

Make it look like you're interested in tasting them

Please look at the camera

Please, just smile for the camera

I give up, enjoy the Gluten Free Twinkies!

One thing I love about a shrimp dinner is it is fast and easy clean up.  Two things that make me and my husband (clean up duty) very happy.  This what we needed last night.  So I veered off the menu plan and started grabbing things out of the refrigerator, pantry and out to my herb garden (which I know is organic).  Here is what I came up with for our gluten free and dairy free meal.  Oh, and by the way, this week’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix just so happens to be Shrimp!

Pesto Shrimp on Polenta Portobellos ©Diane Eblin

I started by gathering some herbs from my young plants.  The only thing I have an abundance of right now is arugula.  This would be the base for the pesto.  However, arugula has a strong bite so I would need to balance this.  I started off really good with measuring but as I was adjusting to taste I have no idea the exact measurements.  You will need to do the same.  Adjust this to what you like or have on hand.

To serve I made a stack starting with the portobello mushroom, a tablespoon of pesto, big serving of creamy polenta and the topped with the shrimp and pesto sauce on top.  Another option would be to cook the shrimp in the pesto sauce.  Then I tossed a few pine nuts on top for that added crunch.  This dish had a great mouth feel with taste and texture.

Polenta cooked to package directions.  I added about 1 cup of almond milk in addition to make it creamy.

Grilled Portobello mushrooms- 1 per person (I did mine in the fry pan)

Saute Shrimp with shallots in virgin coconut and olive oils

Pesto:
Handful of arugula and basil
1 stem Mexican oregano
few sprigs of Italian parsley
1 cup toasted pine nuts
1 clove garlic
2 jalapeno peppers
1/2 lemon juiced
2 TB Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Add everything into your food processor and blend.  Then drizzle in the olive oil until the consistency goes from a paste to more fluid.  You need to taste and adjust.  If the bite is too harsh add more basil and pine nuts.  If you want it a little more spicy add in more jalapenos.

Have fun with this recipe.  Play with the ingredients and make sure you taste as you go.  For more gluten free dinner ideas check out What’s For Dinner Wednesday!

Apple Pupusas ©Diane Eblin

I had so much fun making the Salvadoran Pupusas the other day that were filled with pork, that I have been thinking about what else to use for filling. We had friends over for dinner and I made my Mini Tomatillo Chicken Burgers and Mini Black Bean Cakes with Creamy Tomatillo Salsa and served Strawberry Margaritas.  I wanted a Mexican type dessert and had really loved the doughy goodness of the pupusas.  So I thought why not fill it with baked apples and cinnamon.

I mixed the dough for this sweet dessert just like the savory meal.  This I would change the next time I make these.  I’ll add a little sweetness.  The apples were cooked in the crockpot all day with a little apple juice, raisins and cinnamon.  I’m not very good at the shape of pupusas or working with the dough just yet.  That will never stop me from trying.  I actually think these are better shaped in the half moon in stead of a circle.

The apples were a little too wet and they kept sliding around while I was trying to shape them and poking through the dough.  I gave up and just cooked the pupusas I had created in the hot frying pan with coconut oil.  When they came out I sprinkled with Penzeys Korintje Cassia Cinnamon and added a little more apples with a scoop of ice cream (Purely Decadent Coconut milk and dairy free).  We tasted them and noted it needed more sweetness.  I made more and then drizzled them with raw honey.  This helped a lot.  We all liked them a lot more and they quickly disappeared.  I’m grateful to have such good friends to let me play with our food.  

So to sum it up, these are gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan.  They are low cost and quick to make if you don’t count the time the apples are cooking in the crockpot.  I don’t count that.

Ingredients:

6 diced organic apples, without peels
1 cup organic apple juice
handful organic raisins
1-2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp arrowroot slurry

Directions:

Add all ingredients to crockpot, set to low and cook 3-6 hours.  This made tons of filling and I’m still using the extras.  Great for breakfast topping too.

The dough is simply 2 cups of masa and 1 1/4 cups water.  Add more of either to adjust the dough.  It should hold together but not be too wet.  Just play with it and adjust as needed.

So what else are we going to use for filling for pupusas?  Let me know your ideas and we’ll play together!

These little gems are as much fun to make as they are to eat.  Wait, that sounds like an old commercial.  But, if you are looking for a low cost meal you hit the jackpot.  I first saw pupusas at the DC United Soccer game.  There was a little stand in the stadium that sold them and the line was long, very long.  Any food that was attracting that much attention was defiantly getting mine.

I waited in the long line and bought two with a side of slaw for my husband.  I’m always hesitant to jump into something I don’t know all of the ingredients when I’m out, so he was the taste tester.  I am very sensitive to gluten and even one crumb will do me in for a week.  After my long wait in line, I returned to a very hungry husband and he was thrilled with the pupusas.  He gave me that look.  You know the one with the puppy dog eyes that melts me, and asked if I could make them.  Ok, the look was probably all in my head but he knows I’ll try to make just about anything.

Pupusas ©Diane Eblin

Pupusas were invented in Salvador and were brought to the US when many left their country to live here.  Pupusas are typically filled with cheese, beans, pork or all three.  I’ve also seen where people use shrimp, loroco (tasty green flower blossom), chicken, fish and even pumpkin or squash for vegan and vegetarian options. They are gluten free as the flour is made from corn treated with lime and can be made dairy free if you leave out the cheese.

I’ve been living gluten free since February 2007 and there are some things I miss.  I don’t really bake and don’t buy the processed breads and pastries, most contain rice which I can’t eat.  So I miss having a doughy tasty bundle in my hands like a burger on a brioche bun or a traditional calzone.  These pupusas have filled that gap for me.  They are warm, savory and doughy.  Of course, now I have to experiment with all types of fillings.  I’m going to try diced apples with a little cinnamon this weekend for dessert when we have friends over for dinner.  We’ll either have a tasty treat or strange looks.

I’ve had bags of the MASECA around to make tortillas.  One day while reading the bottom of the bag it listed all the different foods you can make with this corn.  Tortillas, Tamales, Empanadas, Atoles (hot beverage), Gorditas, Sopes and Pupusas.  I thought this was a sign and I should get busy cooking.  Since it is a stuffed tortilla, I basically used the same recipe for tortillas that is on the bag for the dough.  I had made a pork mixture that I used for the filling.

I will also be making some with beans so my vegetarian son can enjoy these.  I definitely need to make some big batches and freeze these to pop out and eat for lunches or when I don’t want to cook.  They are typically served with curtido, a colorful pickled vegetable mixture of cabbage, carrots, and onion, and spicy red sauce.  I made my own version of spicy slaw while the pupusas were cooking and served them with salsa and Tabasco.

If you live near a Shoppers grocery store, they are selling these 4.4 lb bags 2 for $5 or $2.50 each.  With the help of my extremely gifted in math son Brad, we calculated that each batch of 16 pupusas costs $0.38 to make plus the cost of the filling.  I only used a TB of meat in each one I made but I didn’t weigh that out so I can’t give you a total cost per batch of 16.   With the ground pork costing $2.25 per pound it’s not going to be very much.   I’m guessing around $0.10 each.  So you can stuff yourself for less than $2 and that includes the slaw!

Ingredients:

2 cups Instant Corn Masa Flour or Masa Harina like MASECA (DO NOT substitute plain corn flour or corn meal)
1 ¼ cups water (filtered is best for you)

Pork Filling:
½ – 1 pound ground pork
½ cup minced onion
1-2 TB Paprika
1 TB Smoked paprika
1 TB Cumin
1 TB Ancho chili powder
½ cup Vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Virgin organic coconut oil

Directions:

Mix the flour and water together.  You want the dough to be soft.  If feels dry add more water, a little at a time.  Divide the dough into 16 equal ball portions and cover with either plastic wrap or a damp cloth so they retain their moisture.

While that waits sauté the onion until it is soft.  Add in the pork and cook through.  Add in the seasonings and vinegar.  Once this is combined, take it off the heat.  You can put it into a separate bowl to help it cool off a little.

Now it’s time to prepare the pupusas.  Heat your pan to medium high and add in a little oil.  Keep a bowl of water near by.  Keeping your hands wet makes all the difference in the world.  Take a portion of the dough and start to make a little cup with your thumb.  It works best if you keep the dough going in a circular motion.  The dough should end up ¼ thickness.  Put a tablespoon of meat into the center and then close up the dough.  Now here is where mine don’t always turn out looking just right so I’m going to practice more.  Your goal is to have the filling stay in the middle and not break out of the dough and to end up with a round piece of dough like a stuffed tortilla.  So far mine has ended up looking like a half moon.  The shape does not alter the taste so don’t let this deter you.  Once you taste one of these gems you won’t care what shape it takes.

Toss it into the pan and cook up on both sides until brown.  This doesn’t take long, about 3-5 minutes on the first side and 1-3 minutes on the second side.  You really want to make sure to serve the pupusas warm so have a cookie sheet in the oven on 250 degrees that you can toss yours onto.  That is if you don’t eat them as you make them.

Add a side of spicy slaw and red sauce and let your mouth do a little happy dance.

Mushroom Risotto by Diane Eblin

I often hear people say that risotto is too difficult to make.  If stirring rice is hard then you won’t like making this dish.  This meal takes around 30 minutes to make and has a short list of ingredients.  When you serve it everyone will oooh and ahhh and because they think it’s so hard to make, they’ll be very impressed.

Ingredients:

2 cups Arborio rice
2-4 shallots diced
1 cup white wine
6-7 cups of mushroom stock
1 package shitake mushrooms sliced
2-3 Portobello mushrooms chopped
1-2 cups of grated parmesan
1 tsp Virgin organic coconut oil
1 tsp Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

First, heat up the mushroom stock and keep on low.  In a pan with sides, sauté the shallots in the two oils.  When they are tender, add the rice and sauté for a few minutes.  Now you want to begin the process of adding the stock one ladle at a time.  You add in the stock, stir, and when it is absorbed repeat the process.  When you have around 3 or 4 ladles of stock left, add in the mushrooms, salt and pepper.    Once all of the stock has been absorbed, which should take around 20 minutes, it’s time to turn off the heat and add in the cheese.  If you want your risotto to be dairy free you don’t need to add in the cheese, it’s already creamy without it.

Chilean Sea Bass by Diane Eblin

Fast, fresh and delicious.  I love when I visit the fish department having no idea what fish I’ll be eating that night.  I buy what is wild caught, fresh and recommended.   It’s really great when these are also on sale.  This shopping trip the Chilean Sea Bass won out and I was very happy. If you find another fish and different mushrooms you can still create this dish.  This is a method as much as it is a recipe.  Cook what you love.

Ingredients:

1 pound wild caught Chilean Sea Bass or another white fish
½ lemon juiced
3.5 ounces Oyster Mushrooms
3.5 ounces Shitake Mushrooms
1 large bunch fresh organic spinach, stems off and rough chop
3 cloves organic garlic, minced
4 shallots minced
1 cup white wine
Arrowroot slurry (arrowroot and cold water mixed together)
Parsley
Celtic Sea salt and pepper to taste
Virgin organic coconut oil
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  While that is heating up wrap your broiler pan in foil and place your clean fish on top of a little olive oil.  Give the fish a little salt and pepper and wait for the oven to reach temperature.  While waiting prep your vegetables and get your pan heated on medium high.  I like to use a combination of coconut oil and olive oil.  Sauté the shallots, then add in the garlic and mushrooms.    By now your fish should be cooking in the oven.  Depending on how thick your fish is will determine how long it takes to cook.  Mine took around 10 minutes.  Check on the fish with a fork. If it flakes, it’s done.

Back to the frying pan.  Once your mushrooms have browned a little add in your washed spinach.   This will cook down fast.  Add in the wine and lemon juice and heat until it boils.  This should only take a minute or two.  Mix in your arrowroot slurry and keep stirring.  This will thicken very quickly.  Turn off the heat and make a bed of these vegetables on a plate.  Place your sea bass on top, sprinkle a little parsley, a squeeze of lemon and serve.

After you’re done reading this, head over to the Nourishing Gourmet blog for Kimi’s Nourishing and Simple carnival for more great recipes.

Ok, so this dinner was not high in veggies but it could be.  Those who have followed my posts know I love Buffalo Wing Sauce.   I wanted Buffalo Chicken Wings but I wanted a lower fat version and one I didn’t have to eat with my fingers.  So this was a fast and easy to make dinner that was low cost, gluten free, dairy free and only a little mess to clean up.    I served these mini burgers with Utz “The Crab Chip”.  Love that Old Bay seasonings!  I wasn’t sure how those two strong flavors would play against each other but it was a big hit.  Now you can take a little more time and serve up a salad too but I count the celery and onions in the burgers and potato chips as my veggies.

Ingredients:

1 pound organic ground chicken breast
1 organic celery stalk diced fine
1 small to medium organic onion diced fine
1 small handful fresh parsley chopped
1 egg beaten (optional)
1/3 cup Frank’ s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 TB tapioca flour
Sea Salt & pepper to taste
Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Finely dice your vegetables and toss them into a bowl with the ground chicken, egg and parsley.  Mix well.  Add in the salt and pepper.  Last to be added is the tapioca flour.  The mix will still be very wet  but it will firm up when you cook the burgers.  I used my 2TB scoop but it really was just to measure and not to shape.   Make sure the pan and oil is hot before adding in the burgers.  Let the burgers cook on the bottom and up the sides before turning them over.  Remember to test if they are done by pressing on the burgers with the back of your spatula.  When they have a firm push back, they’re done.

I served the burgers with the bottle of Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce to top off the cooked burgers.  You can wrap the burgers up in lettuce or a tortilla or even serve it on a bun.  We’re not big on buns around here so on a plate with a fork works for us.  Enjoy!  For more gluten free meals check out What’s For Dinner Wednesday.

©Diane Ebiln

Yep, a burger!   Why not?  I love everything that goes into the salad, why not turn it into a burger.  For some folks, especially the ones at my house, burgers are more fun to eat than a salad.  So take all of the ingredients and turn it into a burger.  Wrap the burger in a big romaine lettuce leaf and top it off with avocado, tomato and bacon.  I forgot to grab a tomato at the grocery store so I used some salsa and I had romaine hearts, which was not as big a leaf as I would have preferred.  Whatever way you do it, have fun.    I have to say that this was so delicious, messy to eat, but delicious.  Fast, low cost, gluten free and dairy free meals are my favorite!   This meal took me less than 30 minutes from the time I pulled everything out of the refrigerator until I was sitting down eating.

You know that great sounding Avocado Mayo that Ali from Whole Life Nutrition shared with us on Friday Foodie Fix-Avocado, would be great on these burgers too.

So, what other fun salads are we going to turn into burgers keeping them gluten free and dairy free.  If you are free to eat both of those well you can add a lot more salad to burgers onto your list.   What would be on your list?

Cobb Salad Burger ©Diane Eblin

Ingredients:

1 pound organic ground turkey or chicken breast
½ pound organic ground pork
1 organic egg beaten
¼  red onion diced
½ -1 tsp minced garlic
1-2 tsp Boquet Garni – savory, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage, and tarragon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Course Sea Salt
½ tsp Cracked black pepper
Haas Avocado slices
Tomato slices or salsa
Romaine lettuce leaves
Cooked Uncured Organic Bacon Slices
Organic virgin coconut oil OVCO

Directions:

Mix the ground meats, diced onion, egg, and seasonings together.  Form into patties and place into a preheated pan with oil.  I have taken a liking to the mini burgers so I used the medium scoop again, approximately 2 TBS.  Cook until starting to brown and turn over.  Cook through.  Press on patties to see if they are firm and done.

Serve on lettuce leaf topped with tomato, avocado and bacon.  Or add that Avocado Mayo!

Head over to The Gluten Free Homemaker for more gluten free dinner ideas with her What’s For Dinner Wednesday blog carnival.

Friday Foodie Fix

Last week I was very excited to find 11 new recipes for eggs contributed to the Friday Foodie Fix.  I hope  with a weeks’ notice that we will have even more ideas for Secret Ingredient, avocados.  I love avocados and I’m always looking for new ways to use them in recipes.   Remember, these can be past recipe posts you’ve made and you can post more than one recipe for each Secret Ingredient.  Why limit yourself to just one.

Avocados are a fruit native to the Caribbean, Mexico, South and Central America.   Each fruit contains 10 grams of fiber and is packed with potassium.  The creamy green fruit also provides Vitamin C, A, B6, copper, iron, magnesium and pantothenic acid, which helps your body convert food into energy.   There are many types of avocados on the market but my favorite is the Haas.   All Haas avocado trees are descended from a single  “mother tree” planted by Rudolph Haas in 1926 in La Habra Heights, California.

When purchasing an avocado make sure it is ripe.  It should be soft when you squeeze it but not so soft one squeeze and you have just made guacamole.   If it is not ripe when you purchase it place it in a paper bag for a few days.  When you cut an avocado,  it will discolor fast.  It avoid this, squeeze it with a little lime juice.

To pit an avocado, use a sharp knife and cut around the avocado in half lengthwise creating a circle.  You will feel your knife run around the pit.  Twist the halves in opposite direction and they will part.  One side will be left with the pit.  Cleave your knife blade into the pit and twist the seed, it will pop out.  Be careful as you remove the pit from your knife.  While still gripping the knife with the pit I use my thumb holding the knife to slide it off.  You can also slide the blade on the edge of a bowl to knock it off.

To dice the avocado, make a crosshatch pattern through the avocado being careful to not penetrate the skin.  Then you can scoop out the cubes with a tablespoon.  To mash, use a fork or a potato masher.
You can also use my favorite guacamole tool.

My Friday Foodie Fix recipe is Pan Fried Bacon Wrapped Avocados and yes they are delicious.

Thank you for sharing your Friday Foodie Fix of avocados with us. It would very cool of you to link this back to your post on avocados too.  Here are the rules. Have a great weekend!

Next week’s Secret Ingredient is ……………. Asparagus!

My husband groaned and asked, “How many people really eat asparagus?”  Well, let’s show him!

This is one of those wonderfully naughty desserts.  It tastes great, makes a really cool presentation and it’s sweet.  What more can you ask for?   Well this version is gluten free and dairy free.  The main source of sweetness comes from the agave but there’s sugars in rum too, so this I’m sure is high on that sweetness index.  When I made this we ate it so fast I didn’t even get a photo.  If you make this creation please send me a photo.

Ingredients:

1 cup dark agave
¼ cup virgin coconut oil
4 bananas sliced in half long way
1 cup Rum

Your favorite ice cream.

Directions:

Cook in a large frying pan the dark agave and coconut oil.  Once this starts to bubble add the bananas that have been sliced in half, long way.  Cook for a couple of minutes.  While the bananas are cooking heat your rum either in a metal ladle or a small sauce pan.

Pour the rum into the bananas and light them on fire.  Make sure you have turned off the burners first and your vent is not on.  Also, pull pan off of the burner. You can also warm the rum directly in the bananas but be careful not to cook off all of the alcohol before the theatrical finish.

Serve in bowl with ice cream and sprinkle with cinnamon.  My favorite is Purely Decadent Coconut Milk
Vanilla.    Serves 4

For the history and original recipe upon which all Bananas Foster desserts are based, click here.

Mini Tomatillo Chicken Burgers ©Diane Eblin

These are my favorite “fun dish” I’ve made this month.  They tasted so good.  This meal would be great for company or any day of the week.  I made mine on a Monday night!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chicken breast
1 pound ground chicken thigh
½ orange pepper, finely diced
¼ -½ red onion, finely diced
¼ -½ white onion, finely diced
½ Anaheim pepper, finely diced
Handful fresh cilantro chopped
3 TB creamy tomatillo salsa
Sea salt & pepper to taste
Virgin coconut oil
Extra virgin olive oil
1 TB tapioca flour

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together.  Spoon mixture into pan preheated medium high.  I used a medium scoop, approximately 2 TB to make them mini burgers.  Cook until brown on the bottom and the sides start to cook.  Turn over, cook until firm to the touch and cooked all the way through.

I served these with mini black bean cakes and topped with tomato salsa and tomatillo salsa.  You can also add some tortilla chips for more crunch and texture.  If you make these take a photo and send it to me.  I’d love to see your creations.  Don’t forget to check out What’s For Dinner Wednesday!

Mini Black Bean Cakes & Tomatillo Chicken Burgers ©Diane Eblin

Quick easy recipe that can be served on a plate, wrapped in lettuce or a tortilla, on a bun or make them teeny tiny mini cakes and serve them on top of a tortilla chip!  You get the idea.  How will you serve up your black bean cakes?

Black Bean Cakes ©Diane Eblin

Ingredients:

1 can organic black beans rinsed or 1 ½ cup cooked beans from dried
¼ -½ red onion diced
¼ -½ white onion diced
½ anaheim pepper diced
1 small red or orange pepper diced
Handful fresh cilantro chopped
Sea Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp epazote
1 tsp ground chipotle
1 TB tapioca flour to mix into cakes

Tapioca flour to coat patties.

Virgin coconut oil mixed with extra virgin olive oil

You can substitute cornstarch for Tapioca flour.

Directions:

Mash beans in bowl with fork or in food processor.  Mix in remaining ingredients.  Form into mini patties.  Dust with cornstarch.   Cook up in pan on medium high with oil until brown on both sides.  Makes 16 black bean cakes.  I have found through trial and error that these come out the best if I make minis.  You can make larger sized cakes but they can sometimes fall apart if you cook them on too high a heat and don’t let them crisp up.  Mini’s are just more fun!

Serve with guacamole, salsa, tomatillo salsa and sour cream (if eating dairy).  Tastes great paired with Mini Tomatillo Chicken Burgers.

Mini Tomatillo Chicken Burgers ©Diane Eblin

Ingredients:

12 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise, stems, seeds and membranes removed
6 ounces cream cheese, let it set out to soften
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack or mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or less, to taste
2 large cage free eggs
2 tablespoons organic milk
8 teaspoons of a mix of the following seasonings:
1 TB paprika (smoked will add a nice flavor)
1 TB Salt
½ TB black pepper
½ TB cayenne pepper
½ TB dried leaf oregano
½ TB dried thyme
½ TB onion powder
1 TB garlic powder

1 cup Gluten Free bread crumbs ( I like Corn Tortilla crumbs)
1/2 cup rice flour (other flours can be substituted like garbanzo bean flour)
You can also add crushed Gluten Free corn flakes to the bread crumbs.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, cream together the cream cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, cumin, and cayenne.
In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, and milk.. In a shallow dish, combine the Gluten Free bread crumbs and 4 teaspoons of seasonings. In a third dish, combine the flour and 2 teaspoons of seasoning mix. Spread 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture into the middle of each jalapeno half. One at a time, dredge in the flour, dip into the egg mixture, then dredge in the Gluten Free bread crumbs, pressing to coat. If necessary, repeat the process. Place the coated peppers, cut side up, on a baking sheet covered in foil (easy clean up) and bake until the filling is runny and the crust is golden, about 30 minutes.
Make sure all of your spices and other ingredients are gluten free.

I love potatoes.  If I could, I would live on potatoes and chocolate, but not necessarily together.    Although, I have had chocolate dipped potato chips and they were very tasty.  Back to our fingerling potatoes.  These potatoes are a great side dish to fix when you want something that does not take a long time to make.  The potatoes are small and cook up fast.  You don’t need to peel them, just wash well.  When you drain your potatoes use the pot to finish the dish off.

Remember to change up the seasoning mix according to your own tastes, or what you are serving these with.  The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:

Fingerling Potatoes ©Diane Eblin

1 bag of fingerling potatoes
1 tsp organic coconut oil
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp toasted onion flakes
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 tsp parsley
Celtic Sea Salt and Corse Ground Pepper to taste

Directions:

Fill your pot and boil the potatoes until cooked (fork pierces potato).  This could take anywhere from 10-20 minutes.  As the potatoes are draining in a colander, add the remaining ingredients to the pan you just cooked them in.  Once the potatoes dry off a little and the oils have heated up add them to the pan and toss.  You just need to coat the potatoes.  Now they are ready to serve.  Enjoy.

Chipotle Burger with Tomatillo Salsa ©Diane Eblin

I love the smoky flavor of chipotle and cumin.  It can really change a boring corn soup into something exciting.  Well it can do the same for ground turkey.   In my effort to eat less beef, I’ll be making burgers this month with ground chicken and turkey with a little sausage added in once in a while.  A nice side benefit, turkey costs less than beef. When I was inventorying our freezer, I found a pound of ground turkey breast and turkey legs.  I like to mix the two meats together because the dark meat has a little more flavor.  Also, when making burgers with a lean meat I like to add an egg to help bind it together and vegetables for the liquid in them.  This time I just used onions.

Now I will say this meal tasted better than it looks.  My husband had seconds, and even mentioned later in the evening that he really liked dinner.  I’ll have to tuck that information away for a future evening.  We topped this meal off with Tomatillo Salsa.  I think adding the salsa also helped bring out the chipotle flavor.  Another great part of this meal was it only took me 20 minutes to mix and cook.   It did help that the rice and refried beans were already cooked and all I had to do was pull them out of the refrigerator and reheat.  I reheat in the microwave, but never in plastic or with plastic wrap.  I really don’t like plastic particles in my food and then in my body.  I use glass and either paper towel or wax paper.

These burgers are gluten free and dairy free.  You can always add cheese on top or even into the mix.  I would use a Monterey jack, Colby or cheddar cheese.   Also, I’m not a big fan of the packaged gluten free buns.   Maybe one day I’ll bake some of my own like many of you do.  The Gluten Free Homemaker made some along with focaccia bread that looked really good.  If I want to pick this up and eat it like a sandwich, I usually wrap it in a big lettuce leaf or corn tortilla.  My son had a brilliant idea.  I had made his burgers into minis in an attempt to get him to eat it.  I also used Old Bay seasoning instead of chipotle for his burgers because I know he likes that.  He used to eat potato bread all the time and loved it.  For his burger, he took two large rippled Herr’s potato chips and used them like a bun.  Whatever works for you!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey breast
1 pound ground dark turkey meat
1 onion diced and sautéed
2-4 tsp ground chipotle pepper
1-2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp cilantro
1 organic egg, beaten
Organic coconut oil
Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper to taste

Directions:

I like to sauté the onions before mixing it into the raw meat but it can easily be made with raw onions.  If you like your onions soft in your burger either dice the onions small or grate the onion into the meat with a cheese grater.  If you like a little crunch, you can have a bigger diced onion.
Mix the seasonings and onions into the meat.  Divide the mix into 8-12 burgers depending on how big you like your burger.  Put into preheated pan with oil and cook on first side for 5-8 minutes.  I like to wait to turn my turkey burgers until I see the sides of cooked meat moving up to the top.  When you turn it over the second side will take much less time, 2-5 minutes.  With turkey, you want to have the meat cooked but it is very easy to overcook it.  If you do, it will be very dry and you will need lots of salsa.  You can get a feel for how cooked it is inside by pushing down on the burger and see what resistance it gives you.  You don’t want real soft, under cooked, and you don’t want hard, overcooked.

You can find this on Gluten Free Wednesdays.

My menu said tilapia for dinner but I had a large package of chicken that I needed either to cook or to freeze, so the chicken was cooked.  Now most of the time when you blacken fish you cook it in butter.  Well I cook gluten free and dairy free so there was no butter harmed in my pans.  I used my favorite coconut oil which can give a sweet flavor and to me that is similar to butter.  Make sure you have enough oil in the pan and use a pan that is easily cleaned, or a cast iron skillet that is black already.

Blackened Chicken ©Diane Eblin

Now the beauty of the blackening seasoning is you can apply it to just about any protein you like.  Fish is what you usually see but I have used it on chicken, pork and steak.  This recipe is more about the spice combination and the technique.  Apply it to your favorite protein.  I believe it would work with tofu although I have never tried it and it would taste great on a portabella mushroom or polenta for more vegetarian options.

We really liked this combination of seasonings and it was not too spicy hot.  If you would like yours to be hot, add more cayenne pepper to the mix.  Now I’m sure you can purchase pre-mixed blackening seasonings but I like mixing my own and controlling how much of each ingredient I add.  Also, so many spice combos have sugar added to them.  I just don’t understand why we have to have sugar in everything.  I bet if you took a look at everything in your pantry and refrigerator that was processed that more than 75% of it would contain some form of sugar if not more.  It’s no wonder we have so many health problems in this country.  Oh, sorry, I’m on my soap box again. Can you tell I’m a recovering sugar addict.

Well I can tell you my spice mix has no sugar in it but if you feel the need go ahead and add some.  Please make sure you check to see if the seasonings you are using are gluten free.  Some companies add flour to keep things from clumping or as a preservative.  Remember a manufacturer does not have to include gluten as an ingredient.  I really like Penzey Herbs and Spices.  They are gluten free and always taste great.

Ingredients:

©Diane Eblin

1 pound of protein like skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Seasoning mix to coat (amounts below)
2-3 TB virgin coconut oil

Blackening Season Mix
1 TB Paprika
1 TB Sea Salt
1 tsp ground onion (I like toasted)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
Heat your pan on medium high and let the oil get hot.  Pour out some of the spice mix onto a plate.  Take your chicken and press it into the spices on all sides.  When the oil is hot and you will know because it will start to ripple, carefully add the chicken to the pan.   I always use my splatter screen when cooking this but don’t think it will keep the stove clean, it won’t.  When the top of the chicken starts to change from a raw look to slightly cooked in color, turn it over.  Don’t be alarmed when you do and your chicken is black, it’s supposed to be.  Remember this is blackened chicken.  The second side will take less time to cook.  After 3-5 minutes, I check by pressing down on the chicken.  Raw chicken and cooked chicken will have a different feel.  When it feels done, more firm when pressed, I take it out and cut into the middle.  If it is no longer pink and the juices run clear, it’s done.

I served this with rice cooked with a bay leaf and toasted onion and fresh thin green beans with shallots.  If you like your meals spicy hot, the rice is a good side dish to help put out that fire on your lips.

It’s been cold and damp for the past few days so I was very happy that Chili was on my menu.  I’ve had this package of buffalo on my inventory list for some time just waiting to be used.  I had found it hiding at the bottom of my chest freezer when I had finally started doing inventory before creating menus.  Buffalo is a very lean meat and I hope you will give it a try.  I of course made the chili in my crockpot so I could go about my day and it could do all of the work.  I like the chop and drop method of cooking and the nights where I don’t have to stand over the pans, but have a great meal.

Buffalo & Beef Chili with Goat Eye Beans ©Diane Eblin

Oh, and eye of the goat is a type of heirloom bean I found at Whole Foods.  I was curious how they would taste so added them to the chili.  Here

Eye of the Goat Bean

is how Purcell Mountain Farms describe them:  Favorite small bean in Baja California, gray with a dark stripe which gives the name “Goats Eye” and similar in flavor to Flor de Mayo Beans, sweet, with smooth texture.  Sounded perfect for chili to me.

Now that my chili is gluten free and dairy free there are a few things I have taken out but feel free to add them in if you can tolerate them.  I use to add beer and I know there are gluten free beers but I’ve not played with them but you can.  Also, topping chili off with some shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream is a thing of the past.  There of course are alternatives to that too, but I’m personally trying to not eat too many manufactured items.  I have to say that my body absolutely loves that too.  I feel better than I’ve felt in years.  But that’s another whole post, on to chili!

Ingredients:

1 pound organic ground beef
1 pound ground buffalo
1 large organic yellow onion, chopped
1-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 TB ground Ancho chili
1 TB ground Aleppo chili
2 TB ground Cumin
1 TB Epazote (negates the bean effect, I get my spices from Penzeys)
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 TB cilantro flakes
1 bay leaf
¼ cup mini chocolate chips (Enjoy Life)  this balances the acidity of the tomatoes
1 28 oz can & 1 15 oz can of Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes (fresh is always an options instead of cans)
1 cup beef stock
1 cup dried red beans and ½ cup eye of the goat beans, soaked overnight and cooked for 1-2 hours. (never let the water evaporate all the way when cooking)
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
1 tsp organic virgin coconut oil
1 tsp virgin olive oil

Directions:

My crockpot has a metal lining so I can brown my onions, garlic and meat in the same pot it cooks in all day.  If you can’t do this brown it up in a separate pan with the oil and place into crockpot.

Add in the seasonings, stock, tomatoes, beans and chocolate.  Mix until combined, put the lid on and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  If you don’t have that much time it’s not a problem but the longer it can marry together the flavors the better it will taste.  I always think chili tastes better the second day.

I like to serve my chili with fresh cilantro on top.  How do you serve your chili?

You are all in for a treat today, literally, if you get baking.  Alissa Segersten has written the best cookbook I have ever read.  (Sorry Julia) I think everyone, no matter if you follow a gluten free and dairy free diet or not, should own this book.  It has clear and concise descriptions and explanations about food and great recipes.  Thank you Alissa, for sharing these cookies and your wonderful cookbook with us.  Make sure you check out her Whole Life Nutrition blog and website.

Hi everyone, My name is Alissa Segersten, author of The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. Diane has invited me to be a guest blogger on her site and to pick a topic to discuss. Since Diane has so many wonderful gluten-free main dish recipes and ideas posted here I thought I would add a dessert and talk a little about baking gluten-free, using wholesome ingredients.

There are plenty of cookbooks and websites that offer wonderful gluten-free recipes. But what about egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, low or no sugar recipes? And what if you have an allergy to rice on top of it all? Is it still possible to indulge in the occasional sweet treat?

Of course it is!

You can create some very tasty treats using wholesome ingredients such as sorghum flour, millet flour, virgin coconut oil or grapeseed oil, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, dark chocolate, applesauce, fruit sweetened jams, and much more!

Of course it is important to remember that baked goods are not the ticket to health. A wholesome diet filled with whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, beans, fish, nuts and seeds will provide you with the most nutrients to reach an optimum state of health. With that in mind, the occasional baked treat can satisfy a craving without causing much of an issue.

Gluten-Free Baking Tips:

1. Measure precisely and correctly. I can’t stress this enough. If you have a recipe failure this is the most common pitfall. When baking gluten-free you need to take care in correct measuring.

2. Bake at a time when you will not get distracted. With gluten-free baking, many more flours and ingredients are called for than just the typical all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, eggs…  It is so easy to lose track of what you have added already. Twice the amount of xanthan gum or no xanthan gum could have disastrous results. I have done it before so I know, it is not pretty!

3. Store your whole grain flours in the freezer if you do not bake often. The oil in the bran and germ of the grain goes rancid quite easily after being ground into a flour. If your baked product has a slight bitterness, it is probably the result of an old flour gone rancid.

Here I will offer you an example of a recipe from the dessert chapter in our cookbook. Our Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies have all of the flavor and sweet appeal as a traditional chocolate chip cookie but with much less fat and only a smidgen of cane sugar. They are sweetened and bound together using a puree of medjool dates and hot water. If you can not tolerate cane sugar then you can replace the 1/4 cup of Sucanat with maple sugar. I buy my maple sugar from Authentic Foods, a gluten-free manufacturer.

This morning I made them using sorghum flour in place of the brown rice flour called for in my recipe.  The two flours are interchangeable for most recipes. I use mini-chocolate chips by the company Enjoy Life.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These gluten-free cookies are very easy to make. Serve with hemp milk or fresh almond milk for a fun treat! You can also vary the recipe by adding cocoa powder and a little extra sugar for chocolate cookies or take out the chocolate chips and add 1 to 2 teaspoons ginger powder and cinnamon each for a ginger spice cookie.

Makes About 1 ½ to 2 Dozen Cookies

1 cup medjool dates, pitted

1 cup boiling water

½ cup melted virgin coconut oil or organic butter

¼ cup Sucanat or maple sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups brown rice flour or sorghum flour

½ cup tapioca flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

¼ teaspoon sea salt

½ cup (or more) gluten-free chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place pitted medjool dates into a small bowl, cover with boiling water. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Then place soaked dates and water into a blender and puree.

Scoop out date puree with a rubber spatula and place into a bowl. Add melted coconut oil, whole cane sugar, and vanilla; whisk together.

In a separate bowl, mix together the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and sea salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together with a fork or wooden spoon. Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop by the spoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Gently flatten each cookie with the back of a spoon. You don’t want to flatten them too much, only slightly.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes. Baking time will depend on what size the cookies are. Larger cookies need a little extra time and smaller cookies a little less. Let cool slightly then enjoy! Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

These fresh vegetables are a wonderful side dish to your Sesame Crusted Tuna or other Asian seasoned meals.  You can even take this side dish and add in your favorite protein for a complete meal.  Using fresh vegetables is a great way to have gluten free meals.
Ingredients:

Bok Choy Stir-fry ©Diane Eblin

2 organic baby bok choy cleaned and sliced
1 organic stalk of celery sliced thin on angle
1 organic onion sliced
1 organic carrot julienne
1 tsp lemon grass
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp Wheat Free Soy Sauce
1 TB Virgin Coconut Oil
2 tsp organic canola oil

Directions:

Prep your vegetables.  After you heat the pan on medium high and get the oil hot add just the onions.  Once they are transparent add the remaining vegetables.  When they wilt down add the seasonings.  If you are a fan of garlic add this in with the onion to flavor the oil but be careful it doesn’t burn.  The two of us ate all of these vegetables by ourselves.

Shallot Grean Beans ©Diane Eblin

This is a wonderful and quick side dish that can accompany just about any type of protein.  I’ve served this with salmon most recently. Get your green beans in the produce section or better yet, from your local farmer.  Until the warm weather hits the east coast I’ll be hitting the fresh produce section at my favorite local grocer.  If you can find organic, that’s even better.

Ingredients:

2 large shallots sliced
2 large handfuls of fresh green beans, washed and stems cut off
Virgin coconut oil
Sprinkle of Sunny Paris Seasoning

Directions:

Heat the pan on medium high and sauté the shallots.  Once translucent add the green beans and sauté until slightly brown.  Sprinkle with a touch of seasoning, toss and serve.

Shrimp Tostados ©Diane Eblin

These little treats are great for breakfast, lunch or dinner and even as appetizers.  What could be more versatile?  You can also use whatever protein suits your fancy.  Beef, pork, chicken or even keep it vegetarian with peppers and onions or chipotle mushrooms.  They are also gluten free and casein free.  ¡Buenos Dias!

Ingredients:

Corn tortilla
Refried beans
Chipotle shrimp
Avocado
Chopped cilantro
Chipotle salsa

Directions:

First heat the corn tortillas until crispy, either in oven or on stove.  Spread with refried beans and top with shrimp and avocado.  Dabble on the salsa and sprinkle with cilantro.

Serve this up with a side of Creamy Tomatillo Salsa and chips and your favorite gluten free cerveza, margarita or juice depending on the time of day.

Chipotle Shrimp ©Diane Eblin

Shrimp is a wonderful mild pallet in which to paint your favorite combination of seasonings.  It is also a very quick fix protein for your meal.  Pair up these spicy Chipotle Shrimp with Tostados, Pizza, Tacos, Fruit Salsas, rice and refried beans and whatever else you can imagine.  Remember the two secrets to cooking shrimp: they must be dry when placed into the pan and when they are cooked right they form the letter C, if your shrimp make an O they are overcooked.  Good luck and have fun!

I would love to hear from you with your favorite spice combo for shrimp.

Ingredients:

1-2 pounds of #26 shrimp; shelled, deveined and tail off
½-1 tsp ground cumin
½ -1 tsp ground chipotle pepper
½-1 tsp cilantro
½ -1 tsp Ancho Chili pepper
¼- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsp virgin coconut oil
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Clean and devein the shrimp and remove tail for easy eating.  You can leave the tail on if you want to make a presentation or if you want a handle to pick them up with.  Make sure you dry your shrimp completely before cooking.

Heat the pan with oil on medium high.  Once the oil starts to ripple add in all the spices except the salt.  These will start to foam quickly so keep the pan moving.  Now add in your dry shrimp and cook until pink on both sides.  How many dishes can you come up with to serve these tasty shrimp?

Shrimp Tostados ©Diane Eblin

We love Mexican cooking around here so having refried bean on hand is a must.  I’ve always kept canned beans but working to get away from processed foods I’ve started making my own.  What a difference in taste!  There is no comparison to beans from a can to your homemade beans in your recipes.  Beans are very versatile and you can season them up in many different ways.  Above you can see I’ve used them as the base to my Shrimp Tostados.  Don’t worry, that recipe is coming tomorrow.  I like to cook my beans in the crockpot, saves money, stove top space, and I can leave them.  You just need to check them once in a while to make sure there is still liquid in the pot.

Ingredients:

1 bag dried organic pinto beans
9 cups of filtered water for soaking
4 cups Stock- (vegetable, chicken, pork work best)
1 onion diced
1-3 cloves of garlic diced
1-3 tsp Ancho chili pepper (use your favorite chili powder) or a whole Cascabel dried pepper from Penzey’s 11,000 heat units (remove before serving)
2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Expote
1 bay leaf
2 tsp cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse and sort beans.  Put in pot or bowl, add water so is twice as high as the beans or a 2 to 1 ratio.  Soak the beans overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain the beans and add the following to crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours:

beans
chopped onion
cloves garlic
stock to cover beans
ancho chili pepper
tsp cumin
expote
cilantro
bay leaf
Celtic sea salt and pepper to taste

The beans are done when you can mash them easily with the back of a spoon.  Remove bay leaf first and mash the beans. There are a few ways you can
do this.  You can use a fork or a potato masher to have a chunky end
dish.  You can use your blender or food processor for a smoother
texture.  I like to use a hand blender right into the pot.  Whatever
way you choose please be very careful if you are doing this to hot
beans.  They can splatter and burn you.   Always taste before serving.  If you want true refried bean heat a skillet with a little virgin coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil mixture and cook until it bubbles.

You can also set some aside and freeze.

Variations:

Chipotle Refried Beans- add 1-2 tsp chipotle pepper powder or 1-2 chipotle in adobo peppers chopped (spicy!)

Lime Refried Beans – add the zest of 1-2 Limes in when it’s time to mash.

Salsa Refried Beans- add 1 can Diced fire roasted tomatoes and 1 can diced green chilies

Bacon Refried Beans-
add 4 slices of bacon to pot so the fat renders.  Add in onions at this
point and brown.  You can either dice the bacon and keep in pot or just
take out.  Then add all to the crockpot and keep going.

Black Refried Beans- substitute black beans for pinto beans

Jalapeno Refried Beans-
add 2-3 diced jalapeno peppers (remove seeds to keep heat down or leave
the seeds for a really spicy dish) In a pinch add 2 tsp dried jalapenos
from Penzey’s.

Burn your mouth refried beans- use Chili Piquin 140,000 heat units each, add 1 to pot, do not touch peppers.

Polenta Fries ©Diane Eblin

These are a great treat especially when you are tired of potatoes or maybe you’re trying to avoid nightshade foods.  I like to make these when I have leftover polenta pieces but you can start from mixing the polenta from scratch and then cutting up the set polenta into your favorite fry shape.  I like De la Estancia Organic Polenta.

The other night when I made lemon scallops with polenta, I also pan fried some Dover Sole for my 9th grader who is not ready to try scallops.  I cut up the polenta in a French fried potato shape and cooked them in hot oil.  When you pull them out of the oil, salt them immediately.  That’s it.  They are crispy and salty.  What could be better with fried fish?

Brad eating fish & polenta fries ©Diane Eblin

This is the time of year in Northern Virginia where we’ll have a few really nice warm sunny days in the high 60’s or low 70’s and then the next few days in the 40’s.  This can be very wearing and send me right to the comfort food meals.  A gravy rich beef and noodles meal is one of those comfort meals.  Take that cold rainy windy weather.

This dish is quick and easy to make especially when you can pull the already cooked beef brisket from the freezer.  I know I must harp on this but it really does save you time and money.  Purchase those less expensive cuts of beef especially when they are on sale.  Cook them in the crockpot (uses less electricity, therefore $), separate into servings to cook with later and freeze.  Make sure you get freezer paper and the heavy duty foil where you can write on the outside what it is and the date it was cooked.  I like to wrap mine twice to insure no freezer burn.

Beef and Noodles ©Diane Eblin

This meal can be made in one pot but I like to cook my gluten free noodles separately in my homemade beef stock.  Again, making a large crockpot full of stocks and freeze them will save you money and help control ingredients.  In this recipe I used frozen peas but fresh will work too, just cook a little longer.  You can also use uncooked beef in whatever form you like, ground, and stew like cubes, sliced or even meatballs.  If you don’t eat meat, use your favorite substitute such as tofu, soy crumbles or portabella mushrooms with a vegetable or mushroom stock.

Ingredients:

1 onion diced
8 oz of mushrooms (cremini-baby bella or white button work best)
1-2 cups of peas
1-3 pounds of beef (judge by what looks good to you)
5 cups beef stock
1 tsp arrowroot for slurry (1-1 ratio cold water to arrowroot mixed)
1-2 tsp Bouquet Garni Penzeys-savory, rosemary, thyme, Turkish oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage, and tarragon
Celtic Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp virgin coconut oil
1-2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
½ package of noodles (I used Glutano Gluten-Free Pasta, Tagliatelle, 8.8-Ounce Bag)

Skillet with lid

Directions:

©Diane Eblin

Heat your skillet with oil as you cut up your onions.  Add them to the pan and cook until tender.  While they are cooking clean and cut up your mushrooms.  Remember not to wash your mushrooms under water, but wipe off with a damp cloth to keep them from getting tough.  Toss the sliced mushrooms (I keep the stems on) into the pan and add a little more oil if needed.  Wait for the mushrooms to brown before adding in a layer of salt and pepper.  Add in frozen peas and take advantage of the water released to scrape off the bits of flavor stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Meanwhile in a separate pot, cook your noodles so they will be ready to add into the main skillet.  Now add in your thawed cooked beef brisket, seasonings, cooked noodles and beef stock.  Stir to combine and put the lid on, turn to simmer for 3-5 minutes.  This will allow the beef to warm through and stock to thicken a little.   When you remove the lid, check the thickness of the stock.  If it’s too thin, slowly add in your arrowroot slurry, stirring constantly.  Remember to taste this before serving to see if you need to add in any more salt and pepper or seasonings.

Check out What’s For Dinner Wednesday for more gluten free recipes.

Pizza Soup by Diane Eblin

I’ve been making this for many, many years however this time it’s gluten free and dairy free.  The idea of pizza soup started with me trying to get my boys to eat tomato soup.  Well it worked for one, my college guy who is a great cook and loves food.  I’m still working on 9th grader.  The point is to put in what you like on your pizza into your pizza soup.  This is added to a tomato base along with the typical seasonings.  Now I used to add in cheese tortellini and I think you can find some that are gluten free but I’ve not seen any that are gluten and dairy free.  I also used to top it off with grated Parmesan cheese and served with a bread stick.  Now it’s cheese less and a gluten free bread stick.  When I served this last night I was told this version tasted much better.  Who knew!

What will you put into your Pizza Soup?

Ingredients:

2 – 28 oz cans of organic crushed fire roasted tomatoes (Muir Glen my favorite)
5 cups of organic vegetable stock (can sub beef or chicken)
1 onion cut in half and sliced
1 long sweet red pepper diced
1 package (8 oz) white mushrooms sliced (or your favorite)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 oz fresh spinach chopped or package of frozen thawed and drained
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 tsp virgin coconut oil
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
5-8 Italian sausage links or ground sausage (mild or hot)
1 box Quinoa Shell Pasta

Directions:

Heat a nice big stock or soup pot with half of the oil.  I love to use my LeCruset cast iron pot.  Add in your sliced onions and cook until translucent. Add in the sweet red pepper and cook until starting to soften.  Both of these should take 2-3 minutes.  Next add in your mushrooms, garlic and remaining oil and cook until they start to brown.  Pour in your stock and tomatoes and combine.  Sprinkle in the seasonings, add in your pasta and let simmer.  The pasta should cook the same amount of time as the box notes.

With a vegetarian at home I cook the sausage separately.  If you are cooking it all together, start off with your sausage before adding in the onions and go from there.

This recipe makes 12 -2 cup servings of soup.

Options to add into pizza soup:
Pepperoni
Pancetta
Chicken
Turkey
Ham
chorizo
anchovies
Diced eggplant
Olives
Artichoke hearts
Jalapenos
Sweet corn
Zucchini
arugula

Tropial Red Quinoa ©Diane Eblin

As you can see my menu can shift ingredients when needed.  I didn’t have the peppers needed for my intended side dish but I was very happy with what I came up with.  The great part about the lavender chicken is, it was already cooked.  I had made extra last month and stored them in the freezer.  The night before, I moved them to the refrigerator so they would thaw slowly.  Sometimes I forget and they thaw and reheat in the microwave all at once.  Cooking extra and freezing for later use is a great gift to give to yourself.  This is how you have inexpensive fast food where you also know all of the ingredients.

Lavender Chicken ©Diane Eblin

The lavender chicken breast was baked in a 350 degree oven using the Alii Kula Maui Lavender Gourmet Seasoning mix.  I like to use the bone in skin on chicken breasts for the most flavorful meat.  Remember, you don’t have to eat the bones and skin, that’s optional.  When you are shopping and they have a special price on the larger quantity, that is a great way to save the money right then and when you need a fast meal.  I think it’s easier to make the large quantities then trying to make small quantities.  If you keep doing this your freezer will be a wonderful restaurant full of dishes you’ve created.  You can take these for lunches if you work outside the home or a dinner to eat alone when your spouse is out of town.  So many possibilities of cook once, eat twice.

Tropical Red Quinoa

Ingredients:

¼- ½   cup diced mango and pineapple

1 cup pearl onions
1-2 cups sugar snap peas
½-1 cup orange juice
1 tsp Alii Kula Maui Lavender Gourmet Seasoning (just noticed on sale right now)
1 tsp arrowroot
1 tsp virgin coconut oil
1 cup cooked red quinoa (follow directions on box)

Directions:

I used the frozen pearl onions which I tossed into the pan with coconut oil.  Do this quickly and put a lid on it.  A hot pan with oil and frozen wet onions will create lots of spitting.  Keep an eye on the onions and keep them moving in the pan every once in a while by grabbing the handle and giving it a shake or toss.  After these have cooked down and started to brown add in the fruit.  I used frozen today but even with fresh fruit, be careful when adding.  Let that cook a little and add in the sugar snap peas, lavender seasoning and orange juice.  Bring this to a boil and add in your arrowroot slurry. This will thicken very quickly.  Once this is thick mix in the red quinoa and you’re ready to serve.

This side dish could accompany many main dishes such as seafood, pork and even tropical BBQ.

Crab cake, shrimp, fries and slaw ©Diane Eblin

I love crab cakes but Sodium Acid Pyroposphates (SAPP) in canned crab does not love me.  This is what you find in canned crab like Phillip’s that is added to prevent the formation of struvite crystals.  Those crystals are harmless, they just look like ground glass and tend to freak people out.  So in order for me to make crab cakes I’m finding it necessary to use crab meat right from the crab.  My local grocery store had frozen Dungeness Crabs on sale so I bought some to keep on hand.  Now living so near Baltimore we’ve been accustom to Blue Crab meat in our crab cakes and we did notice the difference.  If you live elsewhere you most likely have Dungeness Crabs in you crab cakes.  You decide which one you like best.  I’m looking forward to the warmer months when these Blue Crabs come out of their deep sandy burrow where they lie dormant November to May.  Fresh big Jimmies (males) that I can cook up and pick out the fresh meat for my summer crab cakes.

Now if canned crab meat does not bother you it is definitely a faster way to make a crab cake.  I think the jumbo lump meat makes the best crab

Blue Crab

cakes but that costs more than special crab or claw meat.  You can buy one of each and mix together to stretch your dollar.  Everyone has their own twist on crab cakes and for me I usually don’t make them the say way twice.  Crab cakes can be very versatile and take on whatever seasonings and flavors you’re in the mood for.   Here is my March 4th version of a crab cake along with the two sides I made of Old Bay potato wedges and coleslaw.  As you change the flavors of your crab cakes, so will your side dishes change. For more What’s for dinner Wednesday check out The Gluten Free Homemaker.

Crab Cakes

Ingredients:

8 oz hand picked crab meat
2 TB gluten free mayonnaise
½-1 tsp mustard (cracked or Dijon works best)
1 TB Old Bay seasoning
¼ cup gluten free bread crumbs
½ tsp ground onion powder
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp ground Salba (can be omitted)
2 tsp virgin coconut oil
1 tsp olive oil

Directions:

Heat your pan on medium high with the oil.  Mix all ingredients together.  I use a large scoop to create my crab cakes but you can divide this mix into 4 portions and use your hands to create the cakes.
Sauté the crab cakes in pan until brown on both sides.  This recipe makes 4 crab cakes.  You can also create a sauce to accompany the cakes with a little mustard (1 portion) and mayo (3 portions) mixed together.  If you like it sweet add in a little relish, and if you like it hot add in a little cayenne pepper.

Old Bay Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

4-8 potatoes depending on size and how much you want to eat
1 TB olive oil
1 TB Old Bay Seasoning
1 TB Celtic Sea Salt (or your favorite salt)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  By the time you’re done prepping the potatoes your oven should be hot.  I like my potatoes with the skin on but if you don’t peel your potatoes.  If you keep the skin on make sure to wash the skin with a vegetable wash or your 3-1 white distilled vinegar to water mix.

Cut up the potatoes in whatever shape you want.  You can make thick wedges, medium wedges, waffles, large stick or whatever shape you dream up. Toss the cut potatoes in the olive oil and seasonings.  Spread out onto a large cookie sheet or jelly roll pan covered with foil or stick proof liner in a single layer.  These are also great baked on a stone.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

4-6 handfuls shredded or sliced Cabbage
1 handful shredded or sliced Red cabbage (looks purple to me)
¼- ½  onion shredded
3 carrots shredded
2 TB gluten free mayonnaise
1 tsp cider vinegar
½-1  tsp raw honey
1-2 tsp celery seed
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

As you see I don’t really measure the cabbage in this recipe.  I just go by what it looks like.  I don’t like a lot of red cabbage but you adjust the portions to create what you like.  In a bowl large enough for all the ingredients, mix the mayonnaise, honey and vinegar so the mayo is a little thinner than it started out.  You don’t want a real thin consistency of vinaigrette, but thinner than plain mayo, so it will coat all of the vegetables. Slice up the cabbages and toss the onion and carrot into your food processor with the shred disc.   If you don’t have a processor you can do this by hand on a large grater.  Mix all together, toss in the celery seed, salt and pepper.  When this mixture rests the dressing will move to the bottom of the bowl.  Make sure you mix right before serving.  It will also become more watery the longer you keep it.

I love the one pot/pan meals, it makes clean up fast and easy.  I also love frittatas because you can add in whatever you have on hand.  Keep this in mind as you create your frittata from this recipe.  If I use an ingredient that you don’t have or don’t like, change it up with something you have and like.  If you want to add meat, cook it before adding it to a frittata.  Be bold, experiment.  That’s how new recipes are created.

Now cooking last night was for some reason a challenge for me with my head cold.  For some reason when my sinuses are stuffed this changes how clearly I can think.  Does this happen to you too or am I still off in my own little world?  When I was cooking this frittata I forgot to take out the sautéed filling before I added in the eggs.  If you don’t do this, these little tasty pieces of onion, corn, green chilies and peppers will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.  Learn from my mistake.

I like spicy foods and from what I read eating them can increase your metabolism and help ward off colds.  If this is true I should have been eating them every day this cold season.  For this frittata I used ground chipotle chili powder.  You can also use chipotle in adobo peppers.  Start with just one pepper and go from there as these peppers are very spicy.  You can also add garlic to this recipe and other vegetables, herbs and spices found in Mexican cooking.

Now for breakfast the next morning, heat up some gluten free tortillas and add in the warmed frittata.  A quick breakfast with your favorite coffee or tea.

What do you put into your frittatas?

Ingredients:

8 organic eggs
½ – 1 cup milk (almond, rice, hemp, coconut, goat, cow)
1 organic onion diced
1 long sweet pepper diced (orange, red or yellow peppers work too)
1 cup roasted corn (I used frozen from Trader Joes)
1 small can green chilies (roasting your own is best)
1 cup organic black beans
1 tsp Epazote (counter acts effect of beans)
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp cilantro
½ – 1 tsp ground chipotle chili pepper (adjust to your taste)
Salt & pepper to taste
1-2 tsp virgin coconut oil
1-2 tsp canola oil
Cast Iron Skillet

Directions:

First turn on your oven to 400 degrees so it is pre-heated and ready for your frittata.  As your skillet heats up on the stove on medium high with oil, get out your large cutting board and dice your vegetables.  Start to sauté the onions and peppers.  Once they have started to brown add in the green chilies, corn, black beans and spices.  Once this has warmed through, taste so you can determine if you want to add more chipotle chili pepper.  Now this is the point where you want to remove this filling. Add in a little more oil and make sure it is hot before adding in your egg and milk mixture.  I judge how much milk to add by looking at the color of the whipped eggs.  Too pale is too much milk for me.

Mexican Vegetable Fritatta ©Diane Eblin

After you add in the eggs wait a couple of minutes to make sure a film or cooked crust is forming on the bottom.  Now you can add back the filling you already cooked making sure to distribute it all around without disturbing the bottom of the pan.  If you want to add shredded cheese, do it now.  Keep an eye on your eggs and when you see the sides start to cook and form a crust put it into a pre-heated 400 degree oven.  The cooking time will vary according to your oven and pan size.  I would check it after 10 minutes and go from there.

The eggs will puff up a little and start to brown on the top.  Carefully remove from the oven and remember as you slice it up to serve that you don’t grab that hot handle.  Let your frittata rest for 3-5 minutes before you serve.

I like to serve this will a little salsa, slices of avocado and fresh cilantro.  You can top it with cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, or whatever fun tasty treats you want.

One of my favorite things to do is take leftovers from meals during the week and make a soup on the weekend.  This week when I cooked those delicious Jerk Pork Ribs and Chicken it created a wonderful stock in the pot.   I strained it and poured it into a leftover pasta sauce glass jar and stuck in the refrigerator.  This will allow the fat to rise to the top to be easily removed.  Always label these jars or else you’ll never remember down the road, especially if you forget to use it within a week.  This was a great base for my soup and this dish cost so little to make.

Pork Noodle Soup ©Diane Eblin

Ingredients:

Leftover stock from Jerk Pork & Chicken
1 cup Stock (I had turkey vegetable)
3 organic carrots chopped
1 organic onion diced
1 stalk of organic celery diced
1 bay leaf
½ thyme
2-3 small sage leaves crumbled
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp virgin organic coconut oil
1 tsp fat from top of stock (discard the rest)
1 boneless pork loin chop diced
2 handfuls of gluten free pasta noodles like Tagliatelle by Glutano

Directions:

Heat your pot on medium high and add in your oils.  Cook up the onion and carrots.  Once they begin to soften add in the celery and pork.  When the pork has cooked add in the stocks and seasonings.  Scrape the bits off the bottom of the pot.  Bring to a boil and add in the noodles.  Put the lid on and turn down to simmer.  The noodles cook up in about 6-10 minutes.

This soup is very inexpensive and fast to make.  Plus you clear out your refrigerator while you cook.

Seafood Stir-fry ©Diane Eblin

As we sat down to dinner last night my husband pointed out this was an expensive dinner.  He didn’t know my secret. Yes there were scallops, shrimp and lobster but I had not spent a fortune on them and the lobster had been in the freezer for months just waiting for the perfect recipe.  The 16 oz bag of wild bay scallops cost $6.49 and 16 oz bag of 26 count shrimp cost $8.49, purchased at Trader Joes.

The cooked lobster pieces can be found at most grocery stores in the freezer section.  I found mine at Whole Foods.  This is the expensive item costing $20, but since I had already purchased it over 6 months ago I didn’t want to waste it.  This however did not add anything other than the wow factor to this dish.  You can make this dish without it and you wouldn’t even miss it.  It still has enough wow to get by.  Even with all of these ingredients the cost per dinner serving for the dish shown is $10.  If you take out the lobster the cost is $5 per person.  Not as good as the $5 Dinner Mom but not too bad, so plan your week’s meals accordingly.
One of the great things about making a stir-fry is being flexible with your ingredients.  I shop for the vegetables that look the freshest and are a good value.  Also, if you don’t like an ingredient then don’t put it in your stir-fry.  As you are gathering your vegetables at the grocery store, think of how else you’ll use some of them because the entire amount will not be needed for this one meal.  Another way to really use the value of your food is to only buy enough for that meal but keep in mind you may get a better price for a larger quantity.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz bag of Wild caught bay scallops
1 16 oz bag of 26 count shrimp, peeled and deveined
7  oz cooked lobster meat (optional)
1 sweet organic onion sliced
½ package Mini corn – I cut mine into smaller bite size pieces on angle
A handful of Snow peas sliced on diagonal
1 ½ oz Beech mushrooms (or your favorite light mushroom)
1 celery stalk sliced very thin
1 carrot sliced very thin
2 baby bok choy, whites chopped and greens sliced
½ – 1 cup white wine (Chardonnay worked well. I use what I’ll be drinking with the dish.  Only cook with wine you would drink)
Corn starch
1-2 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp virgin coconut oil
1 TB olive oil
2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Wok or really large frying pan

Directions:

This is one dish you really need to prep your ingredients before you turn on that burner.  Grab a large cutting board to slice and chop up your vegetables and let them hang out until needed.  Wash your seafood and dry it.  Toss your shrimp in the corn starch and let them hang out too.  If you need to measure out the spices and wine go ahead and get them ready too.

Now on to the cooking!  I pulled out my wok which I realized has been waiting too long to join the party.  Get your wok really hot before you add in the oils (not the sesame oil).  When you add the oil you should see it ripple.  Be very careful as you add in vegetables that naturally have liquid in them.  Add in the onion and let it start to soften before you add in the carrots.  Sprinkle a little of the ginger adding seasonings as you layer in your food.  As they start to brown add to the wok the white part of the bok choy, mini corn and your celery and let cook for a short time.  Next add in the bok choy greens, snow peas and mushrooms.

Now if you have a really cool wok you’ll have a ledge where you can push your vegetables up onto so they can hang out until everything else is cooked. If not you can take them out of the work or frying pan.  I just pushed mine up the sides but it didn’t leave much room on the bottom of the wok, as there was nothing to hold the food in place.  Make sure you have some oil showing and toss in the dry scallops with your garlic.  These will cook up fast.  Remember to add in your ginger, thyme, salt and pepper every time you introduce a new food to the wok.

Next add in the corn starch coated shrimp.  This will give them a little crisp edge but it will also help thicken your sauce.  Cook on both sides and then add in the cooked lobster if you are using it and the vegetable mixture back to the wok.  Pour in your wine and scrape the bits off the bottom of the wok.  Your sauce should thicken nicely but if it does not add a corn starch slurry (equal parts corn starch and cold water).  At this point add in your sesame seed oil.  You don’t want to add it until the last minute of cooking.  Once everything is combined and you have a thick sauce toss in your black sesame seeds.

You can serve this as is or over cooked rice.  This recipe serves 4 for dinner and 6-8 for an appetizer.  If you serve this for your appetizer I can’t wait to see what the rest of your meal will be, so invite me over.

Check out what’s hiding in your freezer, that you’ve already paid for, and get cooking!

Frittata ©Diane Eblin

My husband says I have a gift of opening the refrigerator and creating a meal from random ingredients.  I call it make it up as I go cooking at the last minute because I didn’t finish the plan. Shhh, don’t tell him.  I don’t want to ruin his image of me. My plan was to make a quiche which I’m not sure why because I like frittata better.  I don’t like messing around with crusts because that requires baking.  I try not to bake as that requires specific ingredients and measuring.  I enjoy the thrill of the creating on the spot.  I knew I had plenty of eggs around and I thought some chorizo since that was already on the menu.  The last time I made a frittata I used thick heavy cream which I no longer can tolerate.

So I opened the refrigerator to see what “milks” I have on hand and vegetables or other proteins to join the chorizo in this frittata.  I always have onions and potatoes on hand so that seemed like a great fit.  The only option left was soy cheese or not.  We opted for not but if you are a dairy eating human than cheese is wonderful in frittatas.  For this I would have used a Manchego, a wonderful Spanish cheese, or Gruyere.

So as you are cooking your frittata, check out what is hanging around in your refrigerator.  Garlic is always wonderful (I’m not supposed to eat it), assorted types of peppers or whatever you have give it a try.  This is a very inexpensive dish to make so give yourself permission to make a flop and who knows, it might be your masterpiece.

Ingredients:

2 links of chorizo diced (read labels for gluten free)
2 medium potatoes, cooked and rough dice
½ large organic sweet onion
8 Organic eggs
½ – 1 cup milk (I used almond but coconut, hemp, soy, rice or your favorite will work)
1 tsp thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
2 tsp Olive oil
1 tsp Coconut oil
Cast Iron Skillet- Key equipment
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Directions:

Grab your large cutting board that you use for meats so you can work on one surface.  If you’re like me, who did not have 2 cooked potatoes hanging out in the refrigerator, put them in the microwave and cook to almost done.  They should be soft enough to eat but firm enough to cut up.

As they are cooking dice your chorizo and onion.  You can do a fine or rough cut on these.  I like a rough cut to give it a more interesting look and texture.
Heat your cast iron skillet on medium high with the oil.  Add in your onions and allow them to start to soften.  Then add in the chorizo and allow to start rendering it’s fat.  Next add in your potatoes.  Allow it all to start to brown.

Frittata in oven as edges had started to cook.

Meanwhile whip your eggs in a separate bowl.  Add in your milk.  I add milk according to the color of the eggs.  They will be a nice rich yellow and as you add milk they start to lighten.  As you whip, if you get to a very pale yellow that is too much milk.  Keep in mind I use organic eggs which have a more true rish yellow/orange color.  Add the thyme, salt and pepper to eggs.

Pour the eggs into the pan.  Once you can see the eggs starting to cook around the edges you know it’s time to put it in the preheated oven.  Bake it until it sets up firm and starts to brown on the top.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minuets.  You can then cut it up and serve it or turn it out onto a cutting board and bring to the table so people can serve themselves.  This will serve 3-4 people depending on how hungry they are and if you are serving other foods with the meal.  Please remember you just pulled that pan out of the oven so don’t grab the handle without protection.

Enjoy and please share your favorite ingredients for your frittatas with us.

Swicy Shrimp ©Diane Eblin

I love meals that I can pull together in 15-30 minutes.  I don’t know about you but some nights I’m either so hungry if I wait for an involved dinner I’ll be eating everything else in the kitchen, or I just don’t have a lot of time to cook.  Either way shrimp is a great dish to make for these circumstances.

Looking for a Valentine’s dinner that is easy to make and looks amazing? This would be a great dish to make for your sweetheart.  If you’re comfortable cooking and talking you can both enjoy a nice glass of wine while you cook.  With this being a fast dish to cook you’ll have more time to spend together.  A wonderful dessert to follow this meal would be Karina’s Kitchen Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake.

When I see wild caught shrimp on sale I buy a couple of pounds and freeze them separately.  I really like what I call very large shrimp.  When you purchase shrimp remember to look for the “count” not the size.  One is a fact, how many shrimp you get to a pound, and the other is an opinion.  My medium could be your large, but you will still see both listed.  Here are some options you may see, just remember to buy by the number and not the name.

U/10 10 shrimp or less = Colossal
U/15 11-15 shrimp = Jumbo
16/20 shrimp = Extra Large
21/30 shrimp = Large
31/35 shrimp = Medium
36/45 shrimp = Small
51/60 shrimp = Small (see these are both listed as small)
100 shrimp = Miniature

I like 16/20 for dishes that have a lot in them besides the shrimp, but I really like the U/15 when I’m creating a dinner around the shrimp.  I want the shrimp to be the star of the dish.

This dish had a really nice kick to it.  Adjust the jalapenos, chili powder and smoked paprika to your desired heat level.  You can serve this with rice to counterbalance that effect.   I just wanted to enjoy the shrimp with the sweetness of the fruit and the spicy peppers so we went solo. My son calls that taste swicy, sweet and spicy.

Ingredients:

1 pound U/15 shrimp (your preference on size)
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen and I like the tiny kernels)
1 cup Mango diced
½-1 cup Papaya diced
1 cup red onion diced
Handful fresh cilantro chopped
1 tsp Jalapeno chopped (I used dried but fresh is great too)
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
½-1 tsp Chili Powder
½ -1 tsp Smoked Paprika
½ tsp Onion Powder
½-1 cup white wine
Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

Serves 2 hungry people as a meal or 4 for appetizers.

Directions:

If your shrimp are frozen put them in a colander and let water run over them.  Make sure it’s not hot water you don’t want to cook them in the colander.   Peel and devein them leaving the tips of the tail on for presentation purposes. If you’re lucky you can get shrimp already peeled and deveined.  Once thawed, place the shrimp on a towel to dry. It is very important that you don’t put wet shrimp into a hot pan with oil.  First, you will create lots of hot oil splattering all over you and second, your pan will fill up with the water and you won’t be able to cook it off to brown up the shrimp and have the seasonings absorbed without overcooking the shrimp.  Trust me I’ve tried too many times.

©Diane Eblin

While the shrimp are thawing, cut up your onions, mango and papaya.  I didn’t have enough papaya when I was cooking so if you have more than my ¼ cup use it.  Heat your pan on medium high and when the oil is hot add the jalapenos.  This will flavor your oil and is necessary if you are using dried jalapenos.  Next add your dry shrimp.  Sprinkle with half of the seasonings.  When you see the shrimp getting pink turn them over.  Keep an eye on them.  If they curl up to that tight O then they’re over cooked.  When they are done, big C shape, take them out and place on you dish.  Feel free to create your own arrangement of the shrimp.  Have fun with this and try something different each time.

Add the onions to your pan and cook until soft.  This will not take very long so don’t walk away from your pan.  Add in the fruit, corn, cilantro and remaining spices.  The pan will brown and this is great.  Add in the wine and scrape your pan to get all of that wonderful flavor into your sauce.   Don’t let all of the liquid cook off.  If it does you might want to add a little more.

Spoon this mixture over your shrimp and top with sprig of cilantro.  This is a great dish served with wine and shared with someone you love.

Kalua Pork ©Diane Eblin

Aloha!  Well this is a sad day around our house.  It’s the last football game of the season with the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.  No more football until August 6th.  Yes, I know the date of the Hall of Fame game next year.  Last year Scott and I were fortunate enough to attend the Pro Bowl to enjoy this game first hand and the wonderful foods of Hawaii.  In honor of this game I prepared a Hawaiian meal.

Kalua Pork which is usually cooked Imu or in a pit in the ground covered in taro leaves.  Since my neighborhood association would frown on a pit in my yard to cook a pig I opted for my crockpot.  To accompany the pork we had sautéed vegetables, tropical fruits and rice.  For dessert I coated macadamia nuts with chocolate (Enjoy Life chocolate chips- gluten free, soy free, dairy free) to top off the mango coconut milk ice cream from Purely Decadent.

The meal was delicious and reminded us of the wonderful luau meal we had in Maui.  It was great but still can’t beat the real thing in the islands.

Ingredients:

Large Pork Butt
1 Tb Liquid Smoke (Colgin brand is gluten free)
2 tsp Red Hawaiian Salt (found mine at Trader Joes but if you can’t find any use Sea Salt or Kosher Salt)
1-2 cups water
½ Banana Leaf
1 bay leaf

Directions:

I can only get frozen banana leaves where I live so the first thing is to let them thaw.  Pull out half of a leaf as the leaves are huge.  Rinse off and I draped mine into the bottom of the crockpot. Place the pork butt onto the banana leaf.  Top with Salt, bay leaf and liquid smoke.  Wrap banana leaf around the roast.  Pour in water and put the lid on.  I let mine cook on low for 24 hours just as if it was in the pit.  You probably could get away with 12 hours but you choose.

Pull open the leaves and take out of the pot.  Pull out the pork and remove the fat if you don’t want to eat it and the bone.  Then take two forks and pull the pork into shreds.  It will be very easy as the pork is very tender.

©Diane Eblin

Now if you can find taro leaves these are traditionally used instead of banana.  They also make great bundles to wrap up the pork in for serving for a beautiful presentation.  This was my plate at Mama’s Fish House in Maui.

©Diane Eblin

You should have lots of left over pork.  Portion it out and freeze it.  It can be used in enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, wraps, taquitos, tamales, Asian stir-fry, BBQ, add it to pasta dishes or many other dishes.

Vegetables:
Sugar snap peas, sweet onion, broccoli, and carrots cooked in coconut oil and olive oil.

Tropical Fruit:
Fresh cut pineapple, mango, papaya, kiwi and coconut.

If you have traveled to the islands and have a favorite meal memory please share.  Mahalo.

Our feast with rice.

©Diane Eblin

I’ve always loved a big plate of pasta.  I think I got that love from my mom.  She could eat pasta every day.  Well for me life with pasta is a little different.  I can’t eat gluten (any type of wheat, barley, rye & sometimes oats) or rice so many pastas are off limits.  These days my pasta of choice is Ancient Harvest made with quinoa and corn.  It holds up well and does not fall apart, a problem with many gluten free pastas.  I also have changed the way I make meatballs.  So I will give you my recipe and make some suggestions on what you could add or change.

Ingredients:

1 pound organic ground beef
1 pound organic ground veal
1 onion, grated
2 organic eggs
1/3 cup your favorite bread crumbs, I used Tortilla Crumbs
1-2 tsp oregano
1-2 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
2 tsp rosemary salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp Organic Virgin coconut oil (or your favorite olive oil)
1-2 cloves of garlic minced

Directions:

Break your two eggs into a bowl and whip.  To that grate your onion.  This will keep the pieces small and allow the flavor to permeate the entire meatball.  Add in the spices and then the meats.  Start to combine gently.  Next add in the bread crumbs.  Mix until combined.  Keep in mind you don’t want to work the meat too long or it will make tough meatballs.

Heat your pan on medium and add oil.  Start making your meatballs using about a tablespoon of mixture.  Add them to the pan as you go.  If you can get them all the same size that’s great and it’s something I’ve never been able to do.  Brown the meatballs and then turn to brown on the other side.  This will help them stand up in the sauce.

Next add in your sauce either from a jar or homemade, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to two hours.  Tonight I did half and half on the sauce.  I only had one jar of the Lucini Tuscan Basil sauce and one jar of the Lucini diced tomatoes.  I added both with a little additional seasoning similar to the meatballs.  Not too many seasonings in the sauce with these meatballs, they are full of spices.

Cook the pasta according to the box.  One box of quinoa spaghetti serves 2 people.  Twist your pasta onto your plate in a pile and top with meatballs and sauce.

If you eat cheese add 1 cup of fresh finely grated parmesan cheese to your meatballs and some to top off the dish upon serving.

©Diane Eblin

Pork & Lentils ©Diane Eblin

This dish can be made in 15 minutes from start to finish.  If you cook your own lentils a little longer.  When cooking your own lentils maintain some of the stock when you combine it with the rest of this dish.

Ingredients:

2 organic carrots shredded
1 organic onion
1 pound ground pork
1 can organic lentils
1 tsp fennel
¾  tsp Penzeys Bratwurst sausage seasoning (salt, white pepper, yellow mustard, nutmeg, white onion)
2 tsp Organic Virgin Coconut Oil (or your favorite)

Directions:

Heat the pan on medium high. Dice the onion and toss into the hot pan.  While that starts to cook shred your carrots in the food processor.  You can also buy pre-shredded ones.  Once the onions are translucent add in the carrots.  Let them cook down and then push to the sides of the pan.  Into the center add the ground pork and cook through keeping it broken up.  Add the seasonings to the pork.  Once it is cooked add in the can of lentils without draining.  Combine and let simmer on low until you are ready to serve.  Maintain some liquid.  If it all cooks out add some stock back in.

Some days you just need easy.  Well this meal is very easy.   The yam and the broccoli I cooked in the microwave and seasoned with chipotle when served.

The turkey breast is just adorable.  You can see the size compared to the yam.   I find these at my local Whole Foods.  If you can’t find these any turkey breast will do, you will just need to adjust the length of the cooking time and add in a little more water.

Ingredients:

1 rolled Turkey Breast
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Chipotle
1 tsp Cilantro
½ tsp White pepper
½ tsp Black & Red pepper
1 bay leaf
Agave
1 tsp Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
¾ cup water

Directions:

Take off plastic but leave in netting.  Place in crockpot with water.  Drizzle with agave.  Sprinkle seasonings on top and then place coconut oil on the turkey breast.  Add the bay leaf, cover and cook on low for 4 hours.  This turkey breast actually has a built in timer but I take it out when I’m ready to eat.
Clean up is a breeze and you have a meal in no time at all.