Thursday, June 23, 2011

Minestrone


One of my favorites. This recipe makes a lot of soup!

Ingredients:
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion- chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper - chopped
2 carrots - cut into small round pieces
2 celery stalks - cut into small pieces
6-8  cups low sodium chicken broth
1 can white or pinto beans
*1/2 lb sausage - browned and broken into small pieces (optional)
*1 cup chopped kale or fresh spinach (optional)
1 - 1 1/2 cups pasta of choice (I use penne or elbow macaroni)
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste


Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in a large pot over medium - high heat. Saute onions about 6 minutes until soft. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add carrots, bell pepper and celery and cook 6-7 minutes. Stir in basil, oregano, broth and beans and bring to a boil. Add pasta and continue to boil until al-dente. Remove from heat and add cooked sausage and spinach. Top with fresh grated parmesan!

**Allergy-free substitutions:
Pasta - gluten free pasta of choice
Garlic - omit

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Schnitzel with Sausage Gravy

You can use just about any kind of meat in the place of venison. Goose is especially good! For a lighter option, skip the gravy and serve meat over a fresh salad!

Ingredients:
4-6 cuts of meat
1 can Sprite or 7-up
4 cloves garlic-peeled and pressed
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
salt & pepper
*1/2 lb pork sausage (optional)
1 small onion-chopped
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP flour
2-3 + cups milk
2 eggs
2-3 TBSP flour
*2 tsp cayenne pepper
*2-3 TBSP garlic salt
*1 TBSP onion powder
*2 tsp chili powder
Olive or grapeseed oil

(*approximate measure)
A day ahead: make marinade by combining soda, Teriyaki sauce, garlic and 2 TBSP pepper. Rinse and dry your cuts of meat. Using the waffle side of a meat tenderizer, tenderize both sides of each cut of meat until about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Place in a sealable container, cover with marinade and refrigerate.

Brown sausage in a large skillet, stirring in onion 2 minutes before done. Remove to a bowl, reserving drippings. In one shallow dish or pie plate, beat together eggs and a few TBSP milk. In a second dish or bowl combine flour with pepper, cayenne, salt, garlic salt, chili & onion powder. Don't be shy when seasoning! Use a lot of garlic salt and pepper especially.

Cover the bottom of your skillet with olive/grapeseed oil and heat over medium heat. Take marinated meat, coat in flour mix, transfer to egg wash then back to the flour. Place in oil and cover - cooking about 3 minutes on each side or until brown and crispy. Remove cuts to a plate and cover.
With the pan still over medium heat, melt butter - mix in flour and add milk. Whisk in a little pepper and onion powder. When it reaches desired consistency, stir in cooked sausage and onion. Serve over breaded meat.

**Allergy-free Substitutions:
Flour - any kind of gluten free flour (almond, corn, all purpose)
Milk - Original Almond Breeze or Unsweetened Coconut Milk
Butter - Smart balance or bacon fat
Egg Wash - you can skip this step entirely, or use a mix of dairy-free milk and a TBSP on vinegar.
Garlic/soy (Teriyaki sauce) - omit from marinade and use mustard powder and brown sugar instead, with a little extra onion powder. You can also try adding in a few TBSP of grated fresh ginger.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Ranch Pasta Salad

For all you Ranch Dressing lovers out there.

Ingredients:
1 box bow-tie pasta
1 can black olives - sliced
1 small jar green olives - chopped
2 cups grated pepper jack cheese
1 bottle Ranch Dressing
5 slices bacon - made into bacon bits
1/2 cup sour cream
black pepper

Cook pasta and drain. When cooled, combine with ranch, sour cream, olives, bacon and cheese. Season with black pepper. A quick and tasty side for any potluck or BBQ!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Allergy-Free Corn Bread

Super moist and heavy corn bread. You can alter the spices and add on all you want to make your perfect side dish. These are my two favorites.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup smart balance or coconut oil - softened
1/4 cup sugar
energy egg replacer equal to 2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (almond flour can also be used)
3/4 + cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 can creamed corn
1-2 tsp black pepper
pickled sliced jalapenos
2 TBSP crisco

Preheat oven to 375.
Start by greasing an eight or nine inch cake pan or a square glass casserole with crisco. Then coat with cornmeal.
Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and pepper. In a separate bowl cream together the sugar, butter, eggs and salt. Stir in creamed corn and jalapenos and add all to flour mixture.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 40-50 minutes or until top is slightly golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

If you like a sweeter corn bread. Omit the pepper and jalapenos and increase the sugar to 1/2 cup.
Also try adding a 1/2 cup of grated sharp cheddar to either recipe.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Split Pea Soup


You will need a crock pot.

Ingredients:
1 leftover ham bone, ham hock or 1 cup diced ham
1 - 1 1/2 cups dry split peas
1 can low sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
1 TBSP chicken bullion
1 large carrot - chopped
1 large yellow onion - chopped
1 small russet potato - peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic - peeled and chopped
2 bay leaves
salt
pepper
1 tsp dried majoram

Place the ham bone in crock pot - cover with peas, veggies, broth and water and seasonings. Do not mix together.
Cook on low all day or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Before serving, stir together removing bone pieces and bay leaves.

Try cheese bread as a side. Take a loaf of french bread and cut long ways down the middle. Lay both halves on a baking sheet. Spread each side with a layer of softened butter - top that with ranch dressing, grated cheese, garlic powder, pepper and parsley. Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Stuffed Mushrooms

I like my stuffed mushrooms big enough to eat with a fork! I use extra large white mushrooms - easier to stuff.

Ingredients:
2-3 strips bacon, sliced into small pieces and browned
9-12 large/XL mushrooms
olive oil
butter
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
parsley
salt
pepper
1/2+ cup mozzarella or parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a large cookie sheet.
Remove stems from mushrooms and set aside. Using a melon baller or small spoon, carefully remove as much of the insides of the mushrooms as you can and place the caps, hollow side up, on the cookie sheet. Finely chop all the stems and innards.
In a large pan, heat some olive oil over medium-low heat and saute onion and garlic until tender and almost translucent. Add the mushroom innards, raise heat to medium and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in the wine and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, add bread crumbs and bacon. Season with parsley, salt and pepper.
When it's mostly cooled, mix in 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon mix into mushroom caps and top with a small dollop of butter.
Bake until caps are soft and wrinkly. 2 minutes before done sprinkle tops with additional cheese.
Great with Ranch Dressing! And for creamier stuffed mushrooms, add a small amount of cream cheese to the bottom of the caps before you fill them up!

**Allergy-free substitutions
Butter - smart balance or bacon fat
Cheese - omit (they still taste awesome with out!)
Cream cheese - Tofutti better than cream cheese
Bread crumbs - Ener-G bread crumbs or make your own by combining rice crispies, pepper, onion powder and italian seasoning in a food processor
Garlic - omit

Twice Baked Sweet Potato

Very similar to my other twice baked potato recipe, only better!

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato (the meat is a light yellowish, not to be confused with the orange meat Yam)
2 TBSP smart balance or coconut oil
1/4 cup So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut milk
a handful of fresh chives, cut into small pieces
chili powder
pepper
salt
2 strips bacon, cut into small pieces and cooked well

Start by cleaning the potato and making steam holes all over it with a fork. Cook in the microwave until tender, just as skin begins to wrinkle.
When it's cool enough to handle, cut off the top 1/4 of the potato. Scoop out the meat into a bowl and combine with smart balance, milk, chives, bacon and season with salt, pepper and cili powder. Return all to the inside of the potato and wrap in foil leaving the top open. Bake in the oven at 350 until slightly browned on top.
Perfect for making ahead of time and refrigerating until dinner.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Allergy Free Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

My first time making a pineapple upside-down cake! It ended up being fall-apart moist, sweet and just Deicious!

Ingredients:
Crisco or butter for greasing
1 package Betty Crocker Gluten Free White cake mix. Including:
   -1/2 cup smart balance
   -EnerG egg replacer equal to 3 eggs
1 can pineapple (crushed, round pieces or chunks). Or you can use fresh pineapple!
1/2 cup smart balance or coconut oil, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar

FROSTING (if making 2 layers)
3 cups powdered sugar
3 TBSP cornstarch
4-6 TBSP pineapple juice

Preheat oven to 350.
Start by greasing your cake pan, either a glass casserole or 2 round cake pans. I wouldn't recommend using 2 cake pans unless you are going to double the cake batter. It's just too moist to hold together (my mistake).
Melt 1/2 cup smart balance, stir in 1/2 cup brown sugar until combined. Pour into bottom of cake pan(s). Arrange your pineapple pieces covering the bottom of the pan. You can also add some strawberry halves or Merichino cherries for color.
Mix the cake mix according to the directions, replacing the water with pineapple juice.
Bake until slightly browned and cake is cooked through. Let cool in pans.
If you are doing 2 layers you can spread a layer of frosting in between!