Chocolate Doughnuts or Muffins, unfrosted

Needed a fast and easy chocolaty sweet bread of some kind.  This is what I came up with.  Deliciously chocolaty mini-donuts that are so good they don't even need frosting.  The batter also made an additional 5 mini muffins that were delicious as well.  I use a Wilton 1 dozen mini-doughnut pan, and a mini muffin pan.

For the Tapioca Egg:
      1 T. super hot water
      1/4 tsp. tapioca flour

1/3 c. sorghum flour
2 t. tapioca flour
3/4 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
1/4 c. cocoa powder
3 T. sugar

1 T. honey
1 T. oil
2 T. mashed banana (about 1/2 a banana)
3 T. coconut milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Tapioca egg
1/4 tsp. apple cider vinegar
pinch of baking soda

Preheat oven to 375°.  Make the tapioca egg:  I have a hot water tap at my sink that makes water hot enough for tea or hot chocolate.  This the water I used.  I measured 1 T of super hot water into a small measuring shot glass and whisked in the 1/4 tsp tapioca flour.  I microwaved it for 10 sec.  It will turn translucent and and gooey like an egg white.  Set it aside to cool.

Grease and flour the doughnut tin.  I used sorghum flour, but it turned the bottom of the doughnuts a lighter brown.  I wondered what it would taste like if I dusted the tin with cocoa powder?

Combine the dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl.  In a separate small mixing bowl, combine the honey, oil, banana, milk, and vanilla.  Add this mixture to the dry mixture, mix just until combined.  Stir in the tapioca egg.  Stir in the vinegar and the baking soda at the last minute.

A fast, easy, clean way to get the batter into the doughnut molds:  Take a frosting piping bag, or quart size plastic bag.  Snip off the tip or one corner of the bag to create about a 1/2 inch hole.  I needed Emily to hold the bowl for me, while I quickly scooped the batter into the bag, twisted the top and immediately started piping the batter into the doughnut molds.  Because the batter is thinner than frosting, it will drip out the hole without you squeezing, so watch out for drips.  This methods cleanly fills the doughnut molds with just the right amount of batter.  Once the molds were full, I still had batter, I grabbed the mini muffin tin, greased a cup at a time until I had emptied my batter into 5 muffin cups.

Place in a 375° F oven and bake.  The doughnuts took about 10 min., the muffins took about 15 min.  Allow to cool a few min. in the pan until the doughnuts begin to pull away from the side.  Run a knife gently around the outside.  The doughnuts should come right out if you greased and floured well enough.  The muffins came out fine with just the greased cups.

Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup

I made this soup tonight.  I meant to make it with Andian Dream Quinoa Shells pasta so Hannah could have it too.  But I forgot and put traditional wheat pasta in the Minestrone :(  The soup had really good flavor and I loved it!  Next time it will taste better with the Quinoa pasta!  I'll take a photo next time with the Quinoa pasta.

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, chopped, optional
1 can diced tomatoes, regular or italian
1 can garbanzo or white kidney beans, drained
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 cup Zesty Italian dressing
1 tsp. Italian seasoning, or a combination of parsely, orgeano, basil, margoram, rosemary, and thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 c. shells or rotini pasta, cooked

Combine the onion, garlic, carrot, zucchini, tomatoes, beans, broth, water, dressing, and seasonings in a large soup pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer 8-10 min.  Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a separate pot; cook and crumble the bacon.  Drain the pasta when it is tender.  When carrots are tender, stir in the pasta and the bacon.  Serve warm!

SunButter Chocolate Chips Cookies

I caught her with only two cookies left to take the picture!
This recipe was inspired when I was making Hannah's Papa his favorite Peanut Butter Cookies.

1/3 cup Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery sticks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup SunButter, Natural Crunch or Creamy
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
2 T. warm water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups Rice Flour Mix
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 bag Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips

Heat oven to 375° F. Cream together the buttery sticks, sugar and brown sugar until sugars are dissolved.  Add SunButter, egg replacer and water, and vanilla, beat until smooth.  In a separate bowl, combine rice flour mix, baking soda, baking powder, and mini chips.  Add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Chill if needed.  Drop by teaspoon full onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake in hot oven 10-12 min.  about 4 dozen cookies.

Taco Soup

So easy and deliciously yummy!

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1  15.25 oz can corn, drained
2  15 oz cans tomato sauce
2  15 oz cans kidney beans, drained
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 pkg taco seasoning (if you can find one without allergens)
OR  I make my own:
2 tsp. dried minced onion
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. crushed dried red pepper
1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Brown the ground beef in an extra large saucepan.  Add all the remaining ingredients. Simmer until heated. Serve with corn tortilla chips, daiya cheddar style shreds, and dairy free soy free sour cream if you can find some (I haven't looked).

Porcupine Meatballs

It's been a while since I posted.  Life gets busy. . .  Tonight I wanted Porcupine Meatballs, but I didn't want to have to make two batches, one traditional recipe and one Hannah could have.  So I tweaked the traditional recipe to make enough meatballs for all of us, including Hannah.  They are very delicate meatballs, treat them gently!

The meatballs:

1 tsp. tapioca starch

1/3 c. cold water

1/4 cup tomato sauce from a 15 oz. can

1/3 cup long grain rice

1/2 tsp. dried minced onion or 1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 lb. ground beef

The sauce:

remaining tomato sauce from the 15 oz. can

2 T. coconut aminos

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. minced onion or 1/4 tsp. onion powder

Heat the oven to 350° F.  Combine the tapioca starch and cold water in a small saucepan.  Stir until tapioca dissolves.  Heat on the stovetop over high heat until the tapioca gel is thick and translucent.  DO NOT BOIL!  Pour in a small bowl and refrigerator.  In a separate small mixing bowl, measure the 1/4 cup tomato sauce, rice, minced onion, garlic powder, black pepper, and ground beef for the meatballs.  Add the tapioca gel from the refrigerator.  Mix well.  Form into 1" meatballs and place in a 13x9 inch casserole dish.

Prepare the sauce:  In a small mixing bowl, combine the remaining tomato sauce, coconut aminos, dried oregano, garlic powder and minced onion.  Mix well.  Pour over the meatballs, be sure to cover each meatballs with some of the sauce.

Cover tightly with foil, sealing around the edges of the casserole dish.  Bake for 45 min. to 1 hour.  

Rice should be soft and poking out of the meatballs.  Use a large spoon to gently scoop each meatball from the pan, they are very delicate meatballs.  Serve with some of the sauce from the pan if desired.

Beef Taco Bake

This is a good old super easy standby casserole.

3/4 to 1 lb ground beef (or you can use ground turkey)
1 -15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup rice milk
1 cup chunky salsa  (We use Pace mild.  You can up the spice by using Medium or Hot salsa).
8 corn tortillas, cut into 1 inch pieces
Shredded Daiya cheese, or cheddar cheese
Sour cream, optional
Avocado, optional
Corn chips, optional

Heat oven to 400° F.  Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, drain.  Add tomato sauce, rice milk and chopped tortillas.

Spoon into a 2 qt baking dish.

Cover and bake for 30 min. or until hot.  Top with Daiya cheddar style shreds, optional sour cream, and avocado.  Serve with optional corn chips.

This picture has regular cheddar cheese and sour cream.  

Hannah put Daiya on her serving, but ate it before I could get out the camera.

Bacon Maple Pancakes!

Ah, yes!  Hannah is participating in a YW Cook-Off this Thurday evening.  She said, "Mom, do you think we could make Bacon Pancakes?"  So I did some research, and this is what I came up with for Hannah's recipes!

She liked them plain and with Golden Griddle syrup.  I liked them served with 100% maple syrup and the bacon bits.

This recipe made 8 pancakes:

6 slices thick cut bacon, cut in 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup gluten free oats

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup coconut milk with 1/4 tsp. lemon juice added

1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer

2 T. water

2 T. 100% maple syrup

1 T. bacon grease

Turn your oven onto warm.  Place a baking tray with cookie racks on it in the oven.

Cook the bacon pieces in large skillet over medium heat until crispy and brown.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked bacon bits to a paper towel lined plate.  Use 1 T. of the bacon grease for the pancake batter recipe.  Reserve the rest for greasing the griddle. (I also made Mom's Homemade Hashbrowns the same night and used the bacon grease to cook them too-YUM!)

Put the gluten free oats in the blender and blend to a fine flour.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Blend to combined, scraping with a spatula a few times as needed.  Allow to stand for 10 min to thicken.  Reserve about 1/4 cup of the bacon bits for garnish.  Fold the rest into the batter.

Heat the skillet to 325°.  With a heat safe basting brush, brush some of the bacon grease onto the hot griddle.  Pour 1/4 cup of the pancake batter onto the bacon grease.  Cook until edges are dry and middle is full of bubbles that have begun to pop.  Grease a new spot and flip the pancake onto the new bacon grease. Cook until browned and firm to the touch, about 1 min.  Remove pancakes to the warm oven to keep warm until ready to serve.

Serve with bacon bits and syrup.  

(The picture above is lacking the bits and syrup because I didn't remember to take the photo BEFORE we ate.  The photo was taken AFTER we ate with pancakes we did not plan to eat immediately :(

Tuna Noodle Skillet Casserole

Tuna Helper, move aside.  This is just as good and fast and allergy free!

Serves 2

1 cup gluten free pasta (we used Penne in the photo above.  Spaghetti noodles are another good alternative)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 T. minced dried onion

1/2 tsp. minced dried garlic

1 c. coconut milk

1/2 to 1 can solid pack tuna in olive oil

1 T. cornstarch or other alternative thickener (tapioca starch, potato starch, arrowroot starch)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 T. dried parsley

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 pinches, rubbed, thyme

Bring to boil 6 cups of water in a large saucepan.  Add pasta, 1/4 tsp salt, dried onion and dried garlic.  Boil according to package directions for the pasta, until pasta is al dente.  Do not over cook.

Meanwhile, gather your remaining ingredients.  Measure the coconut milk.  Open the canned tuna.  Use 1/2 to 1 can of tuna depending on how much tuna you like in your pasta.  In a small bowl or container, mix the tuna, cornstarch, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, parsley, lemon juice and thyme.

When pasta is al dente, use a fine mesh strainer (so you don't loose the onion and garlic through the holes of a larger strainer) and strained off the water.  Pour pasta back into the saucepan.  Add the tuna mixture and coconut milk.  Return to medium heat.  Cook and Stir until sauce is thickened and bubbly.

Serve immediately.

"Creamy" Chicken and Rice

This is our version of the Classic Chicken and Rice dish made with French Onion Soup Mix and Cream of Mushroom soup.  We season it with our own onions and spices and plain old natural chicken broth.  All the girls love it!
To Serve 5-6:

Heat the oven to 375°F,

1 1/2 or 2 cups of rice : depending on how much your family likes the rice
3 or 4 cups of chicken broth: depending on how much rice you used.
Enough chicken to feed 5-6 people: this can be boneless chicken breasts or thighs, or bone in chicken pieces.  Just adjust the cook time accordingly.
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup dried minced onion
paprika

Pour the rice into a 9 x 13 casserole dish.  Add the chicken broth.  Place the chicken on the rice.  Sprinkle over all: salt, pepper, onion and generously sprinkle the paprika to give it all a good color.
Cover tightly with foil.  Place in the hot oven and bake for time according to chicken choice:

35-40 min. for boneless
45-50 min. for bone-in

To use any boneless pieces smaller than breasts, you may need to reduce the rice to 1 cup so as to cook for 25-30 min. and not overcook the tenders.

Enjoy!

Fish Tacos

Some like it hot, some like it not so hot!

I made these fish tacos the other night for the whole family.  I used Ian's Gluten Free Fish Sticks for Hannah's tacos.  I used Van De Camp's fish sticks for the rest of us (much less expensive).  I have also made these with tilapia or cod battered and fried, but that was not Hannah food safe.  One time, Kim, my husband, made the Pico De Gallo recipe that follows.  The other night, I used a store bought fresh Pico De Gallo from the produce cases at Fred Meyer.  In both cases, the jalapeno pepper in the Pico De Gallo was little much for Hannah and Emily, her younger sister. The picture above has the store bought Pico De Gallo on it.  I suggested to Hannah the next time we have fish tacos, maybe she would just like to use salsa on her taco.  So if you can't handle the heat of a little bit of jalapeno, just use your favorite salsa!

1-2 tacos per person is a good rule of thumb.  3 tacos if you have big eaters.

Needed for 1 Taco:
1 corn tortilla
3 fish sticks, cooked
Shredded cabbage
Pico De Gallo (recipe follows or fresh from the store) or salsa of your choice
White Sauce (recipe follows)
1/4 lime to squeeze over all

The Pico De Gallo, if you make it yourself: (Makes enough for 8-10 tacos)
1 medium tomato, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (wear gloves!)
2 sprigs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 green onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

White Sauce:  Makes enough for 8-10 tacos.  Half the recipe to makes enough for 4-5 tacos.
1/2 cup Follow Your Heart Vegenaise, Soy-Free or Earth Balance Mindful Mayo made with Olive Oil
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 a head of cabbage will usually make enough cabbage for 8-10 tacos.

To soften the tortilla:
Prepare a plate with paper towels ready to layer between each tortilla as it comes out of the oil.
Heat a saute pan to medium-high heat.  Add about 1 T. oil.  Heat.  Carefully place one tortilla into the hot oil. Cook only about 15 seconds, carefully flip with a flat spatula, cook another 15 or so seconds, just enough to soften and warm the tortilla. Cook it too long and it will get too crisp.  Remove the tortilla to a paper towel on the plate, cover with another paper towel to prepare for the next tortilla.  Repeat the remaining tortillas.

Assemble:
Take a softened, warmed corn tortilla.  Place 3 fish sticks in the middle, add cabbage, pico de gallo, white sauce and squeeze of lime.  Fold up and enjoy!

Stir Fry

You can use chicken or pork in the recipe.

This picture contains crunchy chow mean noodles that are not gluten free.  Hannah eats her Stir Fry without the crunchy noodles.

1 1/2 cups rice

3 cups water.

3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into 1" bite sized pieces

2 T. canola or olive oil, twice

1 package frozen stir fry vegetables (be sure it is free of noodles, they contain gluten and/or eggs)

2 T. cornstarch, tapioca flour, potato starch, or arrowrroot (or your choice of thickening agent)

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. onion powder

2 T. wine vinegar

1/2 t. ground gingerroot

1/4 c. Coconut Aminos

1/4 c. dark corn syrup

1 c. chicken broth

sesame seeds

Combine the rice and 3 cups of water in a large saucepan with a fitted lid.  Place on stove burner set to high heat.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 min.  Fluff with a fork.

Place a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add 2 T. canola or olive oil.  Add the chicken and cook and stir until browned and cooked through.  Remove chicken from the pan to a plate.  Add another 2 T. canola or olive.  Add the stir fry vegetables.  Cook and stir until cooked and somewhat tender.  

In the meantime, combine the cornstarch (or other thickening agent), garlic powder, onion powder, wine vinegar, gingerroot, Coconut Aminos, dark corn syrup and chicken broth in lidded container.  Shake well to combine.

When vegetables are tender, add the chicken back into the pan.  Add the stir fry sauce you just shook well.  Cook and stir over Medium heat until the sauce is thickened and bubbly.  Serve with the steamed rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. (This is good with crunchy chow mein noodles too, if you can have the gluten in the noodles.)

Shepherd's Pie

Another good old comfort food- Hannah Certified~!

This recipe made just enough for about 6 servings.  You can easily double the batch to feed more like 8-10.

The potato topping:
4-5 russet potatoes (3/4 lb.), peeled and quartered
1/4 cup beef or chicken broth, we use Pacific Foods Free Range Chicken Broth
2 T. Earth Balance soy free buttery sticks
1 T. potato starch
1/2 T. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

The meat and vegetable filling:
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 carrot, peeled and diced small
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 lb ground meat, beef or turkey
2 T. potato starch
1/4 cup beef or chicken broth
1 tsp. Coconut Aminos
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 T. ketchup
1 tsp. freshly chopped rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. freshly chopped thyme leaves
1/2 c. corn
1/2 c. peas

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and boil until potatoes are tender, 15-20 min.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the meat and vegetable filling.  Heat a large saute pan over med-high heat.  Add the chopped onion, diced carrots, minced garlic and ground meat.  Cook and stir until vegetables are soft and meat is browned.  Drain any excess fat from the pan.

Sprinkle the potato starch over the drained browned meat.  Add broth,  Coconut Aminos, seasonings, corn and peas.  Cook and stir until sauce has thickened slightly.

Spread the meat mixture into a casserole dish.  We used a 2 1/2 quart, deep dish Corelle casserole.  Use any casserole dish you choose.  Just keep in mind, the more shallow the dish the more probability of boil over in the oven.  You may need to place a sheet covered in foil or parchment paper under the casserole dish to catch the boil overs.

For the potatoes:  In a large mixing bowl, add the broth, Earth Balance soy free buttery sticks, potato starch, salt and pepper.  Drain the potatoes.  Add the potatoes to the mixing bowl.  Mash everything together until the buttery sticks are melted.

Spoon the mashed potatoes on to the top of the meat mixture.  Begin with smaller spoonfuls around the edges, smoothing out the seal the edges.  Continue placing spoonfuls in the middle and smoothing to form and mashed potato top crust.

Place the casserole dish in the oven. (use the baking sheet under it if you used a more shallow dish.)  Bake 25 min. until the potatoes are nicely browned.  Remove from heat.  Allow to stand 15 min. before serving.

YUM!

Snickerdoodles!

They smell like them.  They look like them.  And, yes, they TASTE just like traditional Snickerdoodles!

 Hannah's first submitted photo with her Ipod!

1 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery sticks, softened (1 cup total)
1/2 c. water
3 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer
2 3/4 c. Rice Flour Mix*
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, buttery sticks, and water in a large bowl.

3. Stir in the egg replacer, flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. If dough if still a bit too dry, add another tablespoon or two of water, one a a time.

4. Mix the 1/4 c. sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

5.  Shape the dough into 1 inch balls.  Roll balls in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake 8-10 min. or until set.  Remove from cookie sheet.  Cool on wire rack.

*the Rice flour mix we used in our first batch of these snickerdoodles had homemade gluten free-oat flour in place of the sweet sorghum flour.  Please refer to the Rice flour mix recipe.

One Year Ago...and Lemony Chicken!

It was one year ago in March 2013 that I began this recipe blog for Hannah and all our special diet friends who ask about Hannah's recipes.  In this past year, I have posted over 70 recipes I have either created or adapted to be free of the foods that cause Hannah allergic reactions.  In the beginning, I did not add photographs of the food.  I soon learned how to add the photos.  Sometimes I forget to take photographs.  As I continue to work on this recipe blog, I will try to go back and add photographs to the recipes that are missing photographs.  It has also recently come to my attention, that some of my recipe's instructions are not very beginning friendly.  If there is a post with confusing instructions, or that needs more explanation, please just ask.  I would be happy to review the post and edit as needed.

Tonight I present for you:  Lemony Chicken.  I created this one after reading many other Lemon Chicken recipes.  As it turned out, Hannah has not tasted this one.  She went off to a friends house to watch a movie.  I will have to update the post after she tastes it to tell you what she thinks.  I really liked it with the purple rice in the picture below.  If you love strong lemon flavor, use 1 1/2 lemons.  To go for a more mild lemon flavor, use only one lemon and maybe only half the lemon zest.

Lemony Chicken served on Purple Rice

2-3 Boneless Chicken breasts, cut in to 1 inch pieces

(really you could make this with chicken in any form, bone-in, boneless, leg, thigh, or breast.  You will just need to adjust your cooking time longer for larger cuts of chicken.)
1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. olive oil

zest from one lemon* 

the juice from 1 or 1 1/2 lemons, depending on just how lemony you want it.

1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. dried oregano

1 tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large skillet over med-high heat.  Add olive oil, heat a moment before you add the diced chicken, onion and garlic.  Cook and stir, turning the chicken pieces until chicken is beginning to brown, and onion and garlic are soft.  (Again you could use whole boneless chicken breasts or larger pieces of chicken.  You may need to hold off on adding the onion and garlic until the last 5 min. of cooking these larger pieces.)

While chicken is cooking, combine the lemon juice, chicken broth, cornstarch and vinegar in a measuring cup or small bowl.  When chicken is nice and browned and cooked through, add the liquid cornstarch mixture, the lemon zest, oregano, salt and pepper.  Cook and stir until sauce is thickened.

Serve Lemony Chicken with rice, pasta or potatoes.  It would go well with broccoli, asparagus or brussels sprouts too.

Lemony Chicken served on white rice

*How to zest a lemon:

You will need multi-sided cheese grater that has a zest side, or an actual citrus zester.  I used a the multi-sided cheese grater.

Wash a whole lemon.  Dry the lemon.  Place the zester on a clean plate.  Hold the zester with one hand and the lemon in the other.  Rub the lemon up and down the zester just until you begin to see the white layer under the yellow rind.  

You do not want to zest so far down you actually get the white layer.  This layer can be bitter.  Turn the lemon and rub up and down against the zester until no more yellow rind remains on the lemon.  You should now have a about 1 to 2 T. of lemon zest on your plate.  This is what you will add to the lemony chicken.

Sloppy Joes

Hannah really likes this seasoned meat.  She will eat it straight up, or on a bun.  You can use the bun of your choice!

Makes 6 sandwiches

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. chopped celery (optional)
1/3 c. chopped green bell pepper (optional)
1/3 c. ketchup
2 T. gluten free oatmeal, chopped to quick size*
1/4 c. water
1 T. Coconut Aminos
3-4 drops Tabasco red pepper sauce

*I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oatmeal.  The pieces are little big though.  So I put it on a chopping board and using a  large chefs knife I chop through the Oatmeal, cutting it into smaller pieces that are more like the size of quick oatmeal.

Heat a 10 skillet over med heat.  Add ground beef and vegetables.  Cook and stir until beef is browned and vegetables are tender.  Stir in ketchup, chopped oatmeal, water, Coconut aminos, and red pepper sauce.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and simmer 10 min.  Spoon onto the bun or your choice, or in Hannah's favorite way, straight onto a plate!

Mediterranean Tilapia

 Flavorful, moist, and crunchy fish. . . A nice change from simply lemon pepper.

(Sorry for the shadow in the photo.)

Makes 6 servings

6 tilapia fillets(defrosted overnight in the refrigerator if they are frozen)

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup Enjoy Life Crunchy Flax with Chia cereal
1/3 cup coconut oil

1 tsp. dried minced garlic, or one fresh minced clove
1 tsp. marjoram
3/4 tsp. ground mustard
3/4 tsp. basil
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves

1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
3 T. Daiya mozzarella style shreds (optional)

Preheat oven to 400° F.  Place the Crunchy Flax with Chia cereal in a quart resealable bag. Seal out as much air as possible. Place the bag on a hard surface such as a wooden cutting board on the counter.  (I found this worked better than just right on the counter).  With the flat side of a mallet, smash the crunchy bits of cereal until most of them are crumbs.  You are not going for powder here, something more like bread crumbs or panko.  Set aside.

Line a shallow baking pan with foil. Place fish in single layer in foil lined pan.  Sprinkle the fish with the kosher salt.

In a medium bowl, combine the coconut oil and spices.  Rub about 1 T. of the oil onto the fish.

Stir the chopped spinach leaves, crushed cereal, bell pepper, and Daiya mozzarella style shreds (optional) into the remaining seasoned coconut oil.  Divide mixture evenly among the fish, pressing lightly so mixture adheres somewhat to the top of the fish.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 min.

(Hey Mikey, she liked it!)

Chocolate Pudding

WAY better than Jell-0 pudding.

This recipe makes 3 cups like the one pictured above or about 2 bowl servings.  Double the recipe to make 6 to-go cups, or 4-5 bowls.

1/4 cup sugar
1 packed and heaping T. cornstarch
dash salt
2 T. cocoa powder
1/4 c. Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips
1 cup coconut milk beverage
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.  Slowly stir in the coconut milk beverage until sugar is dissolved.  Heat over medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  As chocolate chips begin to melt, be sure to stir them up off the bottom of the pan so they don't burn.  Cook and stir about 10 min.  It will get thick and creaming and turn into pudding.

Immediately pour into to-go cups or into bowls.  Serve warm or chilled.

Tender Slow Cooked Country Style Pork Ribs

A super EASY Sunday dinner!

2-3 lbs. country style pork ribs
3/4-1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 T. sugar
2 T. Coconut Aminos
1 garlic clove, minced (or 1/8 tsp. dried minced)
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Place ribs in slow cooker.
Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over ribs.
Cover.  Cook on Low 4-6 hours.

Chicken Fajitas

She liked it!  Sorry I forgot to take pictures.  It sure is delicious.  You will just have to make it to see it!
Makes 6-8 servings

1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
2 T. olive oil
1 tsp. dried minced garlic
1 tsp. dried minced onion
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. dried cilantro leaves
1/4 tsp. course ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips*
1 medium green, red, or yellow pepper (or a mix of the them to equal one pepper), cut into thin strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
8-10 corn tortillas
1-2 T. additional oil to heat the tortillas

*still slightly frozen chicken breasts are easiest to slice into thin strips with a sharp knife.
Put chicken in a large resealable bag.
Mix juices, oil, spices and salt in a small bowl.  Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade for later. Add the remaining marinade to the plastic bag with the chicken.  Lay flat and squeeze out as much air as possible.  Turn to coat well.  Refrigerate 30 min.
This is when I cut the peppers and onions.  And I usually put a pot of rice on to cook to go with the fajitas.
Strain the chicken from the liquid.
Heat a large skillet over med-high heat.  Add chicken and cook and stir about 3 min. or until lightly browned.  Remove from skillet.  Add bell pepper, onion and reserved marinade; cook and stir until tender, about 5 min. Return chicken to skillet.  Cook 2-3 min. or until heated through.

Either remove the chicken mixture from the skillet and keep warm in a warm oven, then wipe the skillet clean and replace to burner and heat, or use a separate skillet and heat.  Add 1-2 T additional oil, heat.  Prepare a plate with a paper towel on top with a pile standing ready to go between each tortillas as it comes out of the pan.  Add one tortilla to the heated oil. The oil should bubble slightly around the edges, if it does not, the oil is not hot enough. Cook the tortilla about 30 seconds, flip carefully so as to not splatter oil.  Cook another 30 seconds.  Remove to the paper towel on the plate.  Cover with a paper towel.  Add the next tortilla to the skillet and continue warming the tortillas, stacking them on the pile, and covering them with paper towels.

Spoon the chicken mixture into the warmed tortillas.  Enjoy!

JoJos

A gluten free version of a grocery deli food.

1/2 cup gluten free flour
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
8 small potatoes, peeled or not
olive oil

Heat oven to 450° F.

Combine the flour and seasonings in a large plastic bag, ziploc or bread bag.  Peel the potatoes, if desired.  Quarter the potatoes into 4 wedges.  Place potatoes in the bag.  Allowing the bag to stay filled with air, zip or twist the bag closed.  Shake, shake, shake, turn, flip, flop, until all the potatoes are covered with the seasoned flour.

Cover a large sheet with foil.  Lay out the floured potatoes one cut side down onto the tray so they do not touch each other.

Bake 15 min.  Remove from oven, flip the potatoes onto the other cut side, drizzle now with olive oil.  Bake another 15 min. until golden brown.

Lasagna, sort of

Hannah really loved this easy version of a Lasagna style dish.  She even made it all by herself!

Gluten free Lasagna Noodles, uncooked
prepared Spaghetti Sauce, we used 1 jar Classico Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce
1 lb ground beef
1 package Daiya Mozzarella style shreds (you could also buy the block and slice it)
(I think Hannah also added Cheddar style shreds)

Heat oven to 350° F.

In a medium saucepan, over med. high heat, brown the ground beef.  Strain off the grease.  Add the prepared spaghetti sauce and 1/4 cup water.

In an 8 x 8 casserole dish, spread a thin layer of the spaghetti sauce.  Layer with one layer of Lasagna noodles.  Add another thin layer of spaghetti sauce, then one layer of "cheese".  Top this with another round of noodles, sauce and cheese, then noodles, sauce and cheese again, or until the casserole dish is full.

Cover with foil and bake 45 min. to 1 hour.

Happy New Year!

Party Cereal Mix (aka Chex® Mix)

For Hannah's New Year's Celebration, we made a Party Mix that was safe for her.

3 T. Earth Balance Soy Free Natural Buttery Spread or stick (coconut oil might be good too!)
1 T. Coconut Aminos
3/4 t. seasoned salt (we use Lawry's)
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
2 cups Ener-G gluten free Pretzel rings
2 cups corn Chex®
2 cups rice Chex®

Optional: you could also add sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, etc.

In a small bowl, melt the butter alternative.  Stir in Coconut Aminos and seasonings.

Measure pretzels and cereals into a large bowl, mix.  Drizzle the seasoned butter and stir into pretzels and cereal.  Mix well.  Microwave on high 2 min, stir, 2 min. stir, 1 min.

Layer a sheet of parchment paper on a large tray.  Spread the cooked mix out on the parchment paper to cool.  Store in an airtight container.