text:
GIG of ECW 2014 Cookout Recipes
Recipes from our 5th Annual Gluten-Free Cookout 2014
Printer Friendly
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Jeannie H.
Ingredients for salad:
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 ripe avocado
2 ears of fresh sweet corn
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Dressing ingredients:
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp honey
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper
Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. The corn should have some brown spots and be tender and not mushy. Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices. Set aside and let cool. Slice the tomatoes in half. Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro.
Dressing directions:
1. Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated. Be careful not to mash the avocados. Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle.
Missy K.
1 head of cabbage or (1/2 green and 1/2 purple heads) sliced thin'
1 Cup sliced Carrots
3-4 celery stalks chopped
3/4 C sliced Almonds
3/4 C sunflower Seeds
1 C Craisins
Dressing ingredients:
1/2 C olive Oil
1/4 C red vinegar wine
2 TBSP Honey
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper
Mix well pour over cabbage mixture Toss well refrigerate till ready to serve.
Jane D.
Original Recipe:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 c. sour cream
1/3 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 lbs. seedless red grapes
2 lbs. seedless green grapes
3 Tbls. brown sugar
3 Tbls. chopped pecans
Mix cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in grapes until well coated. Refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle brown sugar & pecans just before serving.
Serves 21 - 24.
Kimberly S.
Any veggies you have on hand, today's mix included:
1 large onion
3 stalks of celery
1 pound each of corn, peas, green beans [all cooked, if frozen; otherwise 15oz can each is fine...especially if you're not cooking for an army!]
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Sweet Pepper
1 pound of your favorite beans [today's were kidney - they add nice color]
1 cup oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Dash of ground mustard
Put dressing ingredients in an a small-medium bowl and whisk together.
Put all veggies in a large bowl, pour on dressing and carefully mix ingredients together. Chill in the fridge.
Al K.
Eggs – hard boiled
Miracle Whip
Hellman's Mayo
Penzey's Ground Mustard
Penzey's Powered Garlic (omitted)
Penzey's Powered Onion
Penzey's White Pepper
White Vinegar
Penzey's Smoked Paprika
Cut eggs in half and put yolks in a food processor, set aside the white halves for filling.
Pulse the yolks until they're finely ground
Add 2 heaping tablespoons of Miracle Whip, 1 heaping tablespoon of Hellman's to yolks. Mix.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add another 1 or 2 spoons of MW and 1 of Hellman's. Mix
You're going to for a smooth, creamy texture. You'll also want to adjust the MW/Hellman's balance too. Again – use your taste buds. We add the Hellman's because MW can breakdown and get watery over time. Hellman's stops this from happening.
Now add a ¼ teaspoon of vinegar and mix. Taste – is it tangy enough for you? Add more if you like. We like ours tangy. Usually as the day goes on, the tanginess turns into sweetness, so we usually go for a bit extra tang upfront.
Now add the ground mustard and mix. Start small and add a little until you get it to your liking.
Do the same thing with the onion and garlic powder. You might go lighter on the garlic.
Same goes for salt & pepper.
Once you get the flavor profile where you like it, it's time to fill the shells.
Spoon the filling into plastic bag. Enough so it will fit comfortably in your hand. Snip one of the bottom corners. Don't make the snip too big – do about ¼" or slightly bigger. It's easier to control the filling process.
Squeeze the filling into the shell and set aside.
After all shells have been filled, sprinkle the paprika on top.
Peggy K
Crust Ingredients:
1 cup GF brown rice flour (Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour)
½ cup tapioca starch (Bob's Red Mill)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
½ teaspoon salt
¾ c. water
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 eggs
2-3 Tablespoons sweet rice flour (for dusting pan/hands)
Topping Ingredients:
1 1 oz packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix
2 - 8oz. Packages cream cheese
Broccoli (raw)
Cauliflower (raw)
Cherry Tomatoes (raw)
Red Onion (raw)
Yellow Pepper (raw)
Shredded Cheese
Make and bake crust following Peggy's Flat Bread Recipe found here:
While crust is cooling, chop veggies in small bite sized pieces. In a bowl mix together Dip Mix and cream cheese.
When crust is completely cooled, spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle chopped veggies. Top with shredded cheese.
Provided by: Don & Laurie P.
Prepared by: Al K.
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fresh rosemary - minced
Fresh sage - minced
Fresh parsley - minced
Fresh basil - minced
Fresh oregano - minced
6 cloves garlic - minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cut chicken breasts in half make them thinner (butterfly). In a bowl mix olive oil, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper to make the marinade. Pour marinade in large pan/dish, then add chicken. Make sure all pieces are coated. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours.
Preheat grill. Cook chicken for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until chicken is completely cooked (juices run clear).
Provided by: Don & Laurie P.
Prepared by: Al K.
1 package of Johnsonville Original Brats
1 187ml bottle of red wine
A few slices of onion
A few cloves of minced garlic
Preheat the grill. In a large pot, pour in wine and fill with water. Drop in onion slices, garlic and brats. Bring to a boil. Grill brats until they have the color and char you like.
Taylor D.
1 box chocolate Chex cereal
1 pkg. GF miniature marshmallows
1 stick of butter
2 c. chocolate chips
Melt butter in large pan, add marshmallows. Stir until melted. Add cereal & stir until coated. Then, mix in chocolate chips.
Press into greased 9 x 13 pan.
Jeannie H.
Original recipe:
1 pack gluten free Oreo cookies finely ground.
4 tablespoons melted butter
6 ounces raspberries
32 ounces cream cheese room temperature
1/4 cup Better Batter gluten free flour
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs room temperature
Boiling water, for roasting pan
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap exterior of 9inch springform pan (including base) in double layer of foil;set aside
Step 2
Mix finely ground cookie and butter together in medium bowl. Press crumb mixture firmly onto the bottom of pan. Bake until set about 10 to12 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Reduce temperature of oven to 325 degrees.
Step 3
Process raspberries in food processor until smooth about 30 seconds. Pass purée through fine sieve into small bowl & discard solids. (I do not sieve the raspberries). Whisk in 2 tablespoons sugar and set aside.
Step 4
Put cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With mixer on low speed add remaining 11/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup Better Batter gluten free flour in a steady slow stream. Add salt and vanilla mix well. Add eggs 1 egg at a time mixing well after each but do not over mix. Pour cream cheese filling over crust.
Step 5
Drop raspberry sauce by the teaspoon on top. With wooden skewer or toothpick swirl into filling.
Step 6
Set cake pan inside shallow roasting pan transfer to oven. Carefully ladle boiling water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of cake pan.
Bake until cake is set but slightly wobbly in center, 60 to 75 minutes.
Step 7
Transfer cake pan to rack let cool completely. Refrigerator uncovered 6hours or overnight. Before unfolding run knife around edge of cake.
Peggy K.
Pam Cooking Spray (not Pam Baking Spray - that contains wheat flour), for misting the pans
2 tsps. rice flour, for dusting the pans
1 bar(4 ounces) Baker's German Chocolate Sq.
1 Betty Crocker Yellow GF cake mix (15 oz)
1/4 cup (half of a 3.4-ounce package) Jell-O Brand Vanilla instant pudding mix
3/4 cup milk (see Note)
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsps. pure Penzey's vanilla extract
Bake the cake at 350. Spray pans with veg. spray and dust them with rice flour. Shake out the excess rice flour.
Melt the chocolate by breaking it into squares, placing it in a heavy saucepan over very low heat, and stirring constantly, about 5 min. or microwave on high power for 45 seconds, then stir until the chocolate has melted completely. Scrape the melted chocolate into a large mixing bowl.
Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and 2 tsps. of vanilla in the mixing bowl with the chocolate and beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop mixing scrap down sides and continue mixing on medium speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
Then pour in prepared pans and bake for 18 to 22 minutes.
Note: If you need it dairy free also use water instead of milk.
For the coconut pecan frosting:
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup granulated sugar
8 tbls. (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 large egg yolks
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 package (7 ounces, 2 2/3 cups) sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Place the milk, sugar, butter, and egg yolks in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened and golden brown in color, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Let the frosting cool to room temp for a spreading consistency, 30 min., then fold in the coconut and pecans.
Peggy K.
Cupcake Ingredients:
Pam Cooking Spray (not Pam Baking Spray - that contains wheat flour)
2 tsps. rice flour, for dusting the pans
1 Betty Crocker Yellow GF cake mix (15 oz)
1/4 cup (half of a 3.4-ounce package) Jell-O Brand Vanilla instant pudding mix
3/4 cup milk (see Note)
1/2 cup butter
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsps. pure Penzey's vanilla extract
2 tsps, pure Penzey's Pure Lemon Extract
Frosting ingredients:
4 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup butter
6oz. Cream cheese
2 tbsp Limon Chello
Zest of 1 lemon
Bake the cake at 350. Spray pans with veg. spray and dust them with rice flour. Shake out the excess rice flour.
Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla & lemon extract in the mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop mixing scrap down sides and continue mixing on medium speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.
Then pour in prepared pans and bake for 18 to 22 minutes.
Note: If you need it dairy free also use water instead of milk.
Frosting – mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Garlic Cheese Biscuits
Gluten-Free Garlic Cheese Biscuits
If you have missed Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits, you'll like these! This is a slightly modified recipe from LARavenscroft on Food.com.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
2 1/4 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake mix
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients
Cut in butter.
Stir in cheddar cheese.
Add beaten egg and milk.
Drop onto an ungreased baking sheet
Bake for 15-17 minutes or until GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious)
Tomato Soup
Gluten-Free Tomato Soup
Peggy came home from work and was hungry tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. However, there was a small snag in this plan; we didn't have any tomato soup.
As many of you know, most tomato soup is not gluten-free. Since I'm not a huge fan of tomato soup, this fact was not a hardship for me when I went gluten-free.
It was late and neither one of us wanted to run down to the store to get a can. I said, "It is tomato soup, it can't be that difficult to make, I'll just make some [gluten-free of course]".
So I hop on the iPad and Peg grabs her laptop. In few minutes we a have few recipes that are quick and easy [and good and gluten-free!]. While I worked on the soup, Peg made the grilled cheese sandwiches. We make a great team!
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium white onion, coarsely chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes [with juice]
1 1/2 cups gluten-free chicken broth or water
2 Bay leaves
1/3 cup skim milk (we didn't have any heavy cream)
Salt & fresh ground pepper
Place medium sized pot [enough to hold all the ingredients] on medium heat. Add butter and olive oil. Add onion, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Saute until onion is soft and just start to caramelize [about 10 - 15 minutes].
Add tomatoes and juice to the pan and stir to crush dices of tomatoes. Add the broth [or water] and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Simmer until tomatoes pieces begin to break down, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, remove bay leaves, and allow soup to cool slightly. Carefully spoon some of the soup in blender/food processor [you may have to do this in batches]. Blend until smooth. Return soup to the stove over low heat and stir in cream.
Taste for seasoning adjustments.
Even though I'm not a fan of tomato soup, I have to say, I did like it and will make this again.
If you're looking for a kicked up grilled cheese sandwich, check out our Pesto Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
Sauteed shrimp and steamed asparagus garnish the soup.
Until the next good eats - cook well and be well.
Seasoned Rice with Chorizo
Seasoned Rice with Chorizo
Most meals around our house are like an episode of The Food Network's Iron Chef. We never know what we're going to have too far in-advance.
It usually starts with "You know we have ________ in the fridge yet".
However, in this case, I was digging through the freezer looking for a protein. Chicken - nah, just had it. Beef - nope, need to give it a rest. Pork chops - mmm nah-uh, just not feelin' it.
Tonight's secret ingredient is...Chorizo sausage! Allez Cuisine!
Now...what to do with it? This is what I came up with...
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1 cup rice
2 cups of gluten-free chicken broth
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
Penzey's Forward seasoning
Klemment's gluten-free chorizo sausage - sliced
1 or 2 carrots, finely diced
1/2 cup diced white onion
Salt & Pepper
Granulated garlic
Olive Oil
Green Peas (frozen, but fresh if you've got 'em)
Fresh Parsley - roughly chopped
Combine rice, broth, butter, salt and seasoning in a pot. Bring to boil and stir once. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add olive oil and carrots to large pan saute on med-high heat until carrots start to soften. Add a bit of water to help steam carrots.
Add onion and stir
Season with salt, pepper, granulated garlic
Add sausage to pan and stir.
Lower heat once everything is heated thru
Add rice to pan when it's finished cooking.
Mix ingredients well.
Add chopped fresh parsley right at the end.
Until the next good eats - cook well and be well.
Seasoned Vegetable Medley with Shrimp
Seasoned Vegetable Medley with Sauteed Shrimp
This veggie dish has become a favorite in our house. I make a large batch so I can have left overs. I like to make an omelet with these veggies.
This dish is all about timing. You don't want the shrimp to get done first and get cold. You don't want to leave the veggies in the pan waiting for the shrimp to get done.
The veggies will cook at different rates; you can help adjust for that by paying attention to piece size. Cauliflower and carrots tends to take longer to cook due to their density. I like to have a bit larger pieces of cauliflower, so those go in first. I try to keep the carrot slices about 1/4" thick. Broccoli, squash, and zucchini cook pretty quickly - keep a close eye on them so they don't turn to mush.
I tend to like my veggies on the crunchy side, so adjust the cooking times to suit your tastes.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Veggie Ingredients:
Yellow Squash
1/2 lemon - quartered
Grass Fed Butter
Olive Oil
Granulated garlic (Penzey's)
Granulated onion (Penzey's)
Tuscan Sunset (Penzey's)
Fresh ground pepper
Shrimp Ingredients:
1 lb raw, peeled, devained, and cleaned shrimp
Olive Oil
Granulated garlic (Penzey's)
Granulated onion (Penzey's)
Forward (Penzey's) Adds a bit of heat and spice
Salt & fresh ground pepper
Place shrimp on a plate.
Season shrimp with garlic, onion, Foward, salt & pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Mix well.
Set aside while working on the veggies
Cut veggies into bite sized pieces. Place large saute pan on medium high heat.
Add olive oil to pan. Add cauliflower. Stir.
Squeeze lemon pieces over cauliflower and add lemon pieces in the pan.
Add splashes of water to create steam. When water has evaporated, add a bit more. Do this through out the entire cooking process.
Lightly season with granulated garlic, onion, Tuscan Sunset, salt and pepper.
Stir. Allow cauliflower to saute/steam for about 2 - 3 minutes.
Heat another saute pan for shrimp.
Add carrots - lightly season - stir - add a bit more water - stir for 3 - 4 minutes.
Add a bit of olive oil and shrimp to other saute pan. Stir.
Add broccoli - lightly season - stir - add a bit more water - stir for 1 - 2 minutes.
Stir shrimp
Add squash and zucchini - lightly season - stir - add a bit more water - stir for 1 - 2 minutes.
Remove shrimp pan from heat. Shrimp should be pink.
Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter to veggies. Stir while melting.
Taste and add additional seasoning if needed.
Remove the lemon pieces.
Plate the veggies, top with shrimp.
Until the next good eats - cook well and be well.
Laurie's Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Laurie's Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
This recipe is from our friend Laurie at Food For Primal Thought and teacher extraordinaire. If you are interested in learning more about Primal/Paleo lifestyle templates [and some great recipes], take a look 'round her blog. Good stuff! Be sure to check out the Frizzled Spicy Beef.
If there was room on the recipe title bar, I would've used her name for this cookie. I think you'll agree "Gluten-free Not-So-Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies That Don't Taste Like Crap" is a much more creative [and descriptive] name.
These cookies have the ideal cookie texture for me - crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
2 1/4 cups almond flour (Honeyville - gluten-free certified according to packaging)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar with 1 tblsp water (just enough to create the consistency of honey)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 325.
Mix together the dry ingredients: almond flour, baking soda & salt.
Mix together the wet ingredients: sugar, vanilla, egg, melted butter.
Combine dry and wet ingredients, then add chocolate chips.
Place tablespoon sized dough balls on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 for 14 -15 minutes or until edges lightly GBD (Golden Brown & Delicious).
After removing from the oven, allow cookies to cool slightly before removing from pan.
Until the next good eats - cook well and be well.
Carrot Cake
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Peggy converted this recipe she got from a co-worker. We served this cake for GIG of ECW's 5th anniversary celebration.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1/2 cup GF coconut flour (Bob's Red Mill GF)
1/2 cup GF sorghum flour (Bob's Red Mill GF)
1 cup gluten-free flour mix (Jules GF Flour Mix)
1/4 teaspoon Xanthan gum (Ener G)
1 tsp double strength vanilla (Penzey's)
4 extra large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup coconut oil (Dr. Bronner's White Virgin)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 cups grated carrots
¾ cups organic raisins (Roundy's – nothing but raisins)
1 cup raw, unsalted pecans (Nuts.com - GFCO)
3 teaspoons cinnamon (Penzey's)
2 teaspoons baking soda (Arm & Hammer)
4-5 oz cream cheese (softened)
3 tbsp softened butter
3/4 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla (Penzey's)
1 tsp milk
Cake Directions
In mixing bowl cream together eggs, oil & sugar. Add vanilla. Mix in shredded carrots. Add dry ingredients. Mix with mixer for 5 minutes. Fold in nuts & raisins.
Grease two 9" round pans. Add parchment paper to bottoms. Spoon mixture into pans.
Bake at 350 for 30-35 min. or until toothpick comes clean or golden brown and pulls away from sides of pan. Cool in pan on rack for 5 min, then remove cakes from pan and allow to finish cooling on rack.
Frosting Directions
Place ingredients in mixing bowl. With mixer whip ingredients mix for about 5 minutes or until fluffy.
Frost cooled cake. Refrigerate after it's frosted to firm up frosting.
Garnish with chopped pecans.
Note: Due to the coconut oil, refrigeration of the cake will result in it being firm. Best to serve at room temperature, unless you like firm cake.
Until the next good eats - cook well and be well.
Peggy & Al
GIG of ECW 2013 Cookout Recipes
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Becky Davis
Green beans (blanched, cut into 1 inch pieces)
Red beets (cooked, peeled and diced)
1 garlic clove (minced)
Balsamic vinegar (high quality)
Extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
Layer first 3 ingredients in portions of choice. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over vegetables.
Becky Davis
Using Grandma Smith's recipe
Beets - about 5 lbs.
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar
½ cup beet liquid
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon pickling spices
1 medium onion – sliced
Trim beets, leaving root and 1 inch of top to prevent bleeding. Cook until tender. Drain. Save liquid.
Slip off skins, roots, and tops. Slice.
Combine beet liquid, vinegar, sugar, salt and add spices, tine in a bag. Bring to a boil.
Add beet and onions. Boil 5 minutes.
Remove spices. pack into sterilized jars.
Fill to 1/4 inch from the top and seal.
I make this in a 1 gallon jar and keep it in the back of my fridge. It lasts for 1 year.
Becky Davis
1 - 5 qt. plastic ice cream pail with cover
Brine Ingredients:
Cucumbers, washed, ends removed, and quartered
1.5 qts. water
1 large white onion, diced
1 pint white vinegar
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup canning salt
½ teaspoon mustard seed
1/8 teaspoon alum
4-6 dill heads
Fill pail with cukes, standing on end. Add onions, cloves, mustard, and dill.
In a saucepan, heat brine to boiling. Pour over cukes.
Let stand, uncovered, for 3 days.
Cover and refrigerate. Will keep for up to a year.
Makes 5 quarts.
Becky Davis
Modified from Ball Blue Book
2 lbs trimmed green beans
¼ cup salt
4 heads dill
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 ½ cups vinegar
2 ½ cups water
Pack beans, lengthwise, into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
To each pint, add ¼ red pepper flakes, 1 clove garlic, and 1 head dill.
Combine remaining ingredients and bring to boiling. Pour hot over beans, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
Remove air bubbles. Adjust caps. Process pints and quarts 10 minutes in boiling water bath. Makes 4 pints.
Jane & Jeff Davison
Original recipe from Closet Cooking.com
Salad Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded or diced
1 cup strawberries
1 cup avocado
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup roasted strawberry BBQ sauce
2 green onions
Cilantro to taste
BBQ Sauce Ingredients:
4 cups strawberries, hulled (if they are large cut them in half)
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons strawberry preserves/jam
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 chipotle chili in adobo, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, grated
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
BBQ Sauce Directions:
Place the strawberries in a single layer on a baking pan lined with foil folded up on the sides to capture the juices and roast in a preheated 425F oven until they start to caramelize, about 15-20 minutes.
Bring everything except the cilantro to a boil, reduce the heat, simmer for 15 minutes, remove from heat, mix in the cilantro and puree in a food processor or blender or using an immersion blender.
Option: Add 4 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon.
Salad Directions:
Bring the water and quinoa to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the quinoa is tender and has absorbed the water, about 15 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes, covered.
Meanwhile, slice the strawberries, dice the avocado and slice the green onions.
Mix everything and enjoy.
Peggy Klapperich
Modified original recipe from Taste of Home: http://bit.ly/16QPWto
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
¼ cup grass feed butter, softened
1 cup finely chopped radishes
½ teaspoon granulated onion (Penzey's)
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
1 small head red cabbage for serving - optional
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth; stir in the radishes, onion, parsley and seasoned salt. Chill for at least 1 hour.
To make a cabbage serving bowl, hollow out the head of cabbage, keeping the core at the bottom intact and removing enough interior leaves so that a 1-in. shell remains. Add dip; serve with vegetables or crackers. Yield: 1-1/2 cups.
Peggy Klapperich
1 packet of Essential Everyday Onion Soup & Dip Mix (labeled Gluten-free)
1 16 oz container Light Sour Cream (labeled Gluten-Free)
Mix ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Kimberly Stowell
1 head cauliflower
Similar amount of broccoli
1 red onion
16 oz bag frozen peas – thawed, not cooked
2 cups Mayonnaise (used no/low fat)
1 cup sour cream (used no/low fat)
Spices to taste:
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tb spoon dill
Salt & Pepper
Mix ingredients together in bowl, refrigerate and serve.
Shannon Jahsman
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman: http://bit.ly/1aBwiFY
1/2 whole Small Seedless Watermelon, Diced
1/2 whole Red Onion, Diced
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Seeded And Diced
1 whole Green Bell Pepper, Seeded And Finely Diced
1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Seeded And Finely Diced
2 whole Jalapeños, Seeded And Finely Diced
1 whole Bunch Cilantro, Chopped
2 whole Juice Of 1 To 2 Limes
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Put all ingredients in a bowl and toss together. Taste and adjust ingredients as desired.
Jeannie Heller
"Given to me by a sweet Hispanic lady"
6 avocados
1 clove garlic diced small
1/2 onion diced
3 or 4 jalapeños (or to taste I like a bit of zip to it)
1 large tomato (skin peeled off and cut small)
Cilantro to taste (I like a lot which gives it an earthy flavor)
1 large or 2 small limes juiced
From a jar of pickled jalapeños take about 2 to 3 tablespoon of just the liquid and add it to the guacamole.
I use a potato masher to mix it up and depending on the company I leave it chunky or mash it up more for a creamier texture.
Leave 2 of the Avocado seeds in the batch to help decrease the browning process.
Al & Peggy Klapperich
Recipe from Anne of Green Gables Cookbook
Found on Simply So Good Blog via Pinterest
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups water
Zest from one lemon
1 ½ cups fresh lemon juice
Ice cubes
Cold water or sparkling water
Lemons slices
Fresh mint leaves
Measure the sugar and water into a sauce pan. While stirring with a wooden spoon, bring the mixture to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Let cool slightly.
Add fresh squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest to the sugar syrup. Cool completely. Pour the lemonade syrup into a quart jar. Cover tightly with the lid. The syrup can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 weeks.
When you are ready to serve the lemonade, put some ice cubes in the bottom of a glass. Our ¼ cup of the lemon syrup over the ice cubes. Add ¾ cup cold water or sparkling water and stir.
Float a thin slice of lemon and, if you like, a fresh mint leaf on top of each glass.
The recipe makes enough syrup for 14 glasses of lemonade.
Al Klapperich
Recipe from "Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry": http://bit.ly/15Un6ZP
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast and thighs
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Also added fresh Thyme [not part of original recipe]
Cut chicken breasts in half (butterfly) to make them thinner. In a bowl mix olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, salt and pepper to make the marinade. Pour marinade in baking dish, then add chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours.
Preheat grill. Cook chicken for 2 to 4 minutes on each side, or until chicken is completely cooked (juices run clear).
Al Klapperich
1 package of Johnsonville Original Brats
1 187ml bottle of red wine
A few slices of onion
A few cloves of minced garlic
Preheat the grill. In a large pot, pour in wine and fill with water. Drop in onion slices, garlic and brats. Bring to a boil. Grill brats until they have the color and char you like.
Peggy Klapperich
Crust Ingredients:
1 cup GF brown rice flour (Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour)
½ cup tapioca starch (Bob's Red Mill)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
½ teaspoon salt
¾ c. water
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 eggs
2-3 Tablespoons sweet rice flour (for dusting pan/hands)
Topping Ingredients:
1 1 oz packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix
2 - 8oz. Packages cream cheese
Broccoli (raw)
Cauliflower (raw)
Cherry Tomatoes (raw)
Red Onion (raw)
Yellow Pepper (raw)
Shredded Cheese
Make and bake crust following Peggy's Flat Bread Recipe found here:
While crust is cooling, chop veggies in small bite sized pieces. In a bowl mix together Dip Mix and cream cheese.
When crust is completely cooled, spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top. Sprinkle chopped veggies. Top with shredded cheese.
Jane Davison & Shannon Jahsman
Crust Ingredients:
1 c. gluten free flour blend
1 c. chopped nuts
1 stick butter
Mix together like pie crust. Put in 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until slightly brown. Allow to cool.
Filling Ingredients:
1- 8oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 c. powdered sugar
1 large container Cool Whip
2 small pkgs. instant pudding
3-1/2 c. milk
Optional: Cool Whip
Optional: chopped nuts
Whip the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold in large container of Cool Whip. Spread on cooled crust. Prepare 2 pkgs. pudding, using 3-1/2 c. milk. Spread on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
If preferred, top with Cool Whip and chopped nuts. Chocolate or butterscotch instant pudding may also be substituted.
Peggy Klapperich
This will be Peggy's 2013 Cookie Daze entry.
"A Fairy Tale – Your favorite fairy tale in cookies"
Ingredients for Chocolate Gems:
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp double strength vanilla [Penzey's]
2 cups GF flour mix [Jules GF Flour Mix]
1/2 cup GF sorghum flour [Bob's Red Mill]
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
Ingredients for Raspberry Jam:
Fruit Pectin (SureJell)
Microwave unsweetened chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add sugar; mix well. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour; mix well. Refrigerate 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.
Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake 8 min. or just until set. (Do not overbake.) Cool on baking sheet 1 min.; remove to wire racks or waxed paper. Cool completely.
Frost Chocolate Gems with Raspberry Jam
Peggy Klapperich
Gluten-Free recipe by Peggy, converted Viloa Blumeke's recipe as published in Peace Lutheran's Cookbook
Cake Ingredients:
1 Bob's Red Mill Vanilla Cake Mix
3 large eggs
½ cup coconut oil
2/3 cup of Manardin oranges with juice
Frosting Ingredients:
1 20oz can crushed pineapple
1 5 ½ oz. Package of Kraft Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 8 oz Cool Whip
Preheat oven to 325.
Beat cake ingredients together for 2 – 4 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
Grease a 9 x 13 pan and pour in the batter.
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow to cake to cool.
Frosting directions:
Mix pudding with pineapple let sit for 10 minutes. Fold in Cool Whip.
Frost well cooled cake and refrigerate.
Lemon Garlic Chicken over Cauliflower Mash
Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken Breast
over Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash
Facebook is not all time-wasting games, people-sharing-more-stuff-than-we-really-wanted-to-know...it can be a really useful tool. Seriously...
I believe one of my Paleo Diet friends posted the low-carb Lemon Garlic Shrimp over Cauliflower Mash recipe from Nancy at SheCooksHeCleans.net. Like a good husband, I asked Peggy to Pin it for me so I could make it for her. The ironic thing...it's just the opposite in our house...I cook and Peg cleans...just the way I like it.
I did make the shrimp & cauliflower and we both loved it! We had tried mashed cauliflower in the past, but we weren't impressed [at least with that particular recipe]. This recipe on the other hand...is a keeper!
In my adaptation of Nancy's recipe, I am simply replacing the shrimp with chicken and removing the lemon juice and red pepper flakes from the sauce. Actually the chicken you see was actually grilled the night before. Peggy is not a fan of reheated meat, but she had no problems cleaning her lunch plate.
If you like garlic, you're going to love this dish! It calls for fourteen to sixteen cloves. You'll need a way to peel them quickly; watch this video, it really works: http://vimeo.com/29605182
Oh yeah, word of caution, don't plan on going out after eating this, you're a walking Garlic Weapon of Mass Destruction. This gives a whole new meaning to "chemical weapon".
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound (3 or 4) chicken breasts
Cauliflower Mash:
1 head of cauliflower, cut into even medium to large sized florets
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Half and half or cream / Milk or broth, optional use if needed to correct consistency
Lemon Garlic Chicken:
Marinated Chicken (from above)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup white wine, or gluten-free chicken broth
1/2 sweet onion, minced
Pinch or two of dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
1. Mix all the ingredients of marinade in a bowl large enough for all the chicken pieces. Place chicken in the bowl and make sure each one gets well coated. Cover and place in refrigerator for 1 - 4 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400 and fire up your favorite grill (gas or charcoal). Place cauliflower and garlic cloves in foiled shallow pan [sided cookie sheet or jelly roll pan]. Drizzle enough olive oil to coat the pan/foil and the vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil and roast for 15 min. Remove foil and carefully stir vegetables so they don't stick and so they brown evenly. Uncover and roast for another 15 – 20 minutes or until cauliflower and garlic are soft and lightly browned. Remove from oven.
3. As the cauliflower is roasting, get your grill grates cleaned and prepped. I like to heat my gas grill to about 500-600° to carbonize anything that might be sticking on the grates. Brush the grates with a grill brush to remove any carbonized food particles then clean with several layers of paper towel that was liberally coated with vegetable oil. This clean the grates, but it also creates a non-stick surface. Close grill cover and allow internal temp to rise back up to 500+
4. Place chicken breasts on the grill. Grill until meat is firm and juices run clear (or internal temperature reaches 165°). Remove from grill, cover allow to rest and keep warm.
5. Place cauliflower & garlic with a couple tablespoons of butter in a food processor and puree. Add parmesan cheese and mix well. The cauliflower should be a mashed potato or grits consistency (fairly thick, not runny). Add a touch cream or broth if it's too thick. Place in a heat-proof bowl and keep warm.
6. In a sauté pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon set aside on paper towels. When cool, chop into small pieces. Set aside.
7. Add two tablespoons of butter to the bacon drippings and melt on medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened. Add minced garlic, and oregano – sauté for a minute. Stir in wine/broth. Cook until liquid is reduced by half (only a few minutes). Salt & pepper to taste.
Note: I also had left over bacon, so I did not have bacon drippings to help create a sauce. So, in order to re-heat the chicken and make a sauce, in a pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter, a splash of olive oil and sauté some minced onion and garlic. After onions soften, add some gluten-free chicken stock (1/4 - 1/2 cup?). Cover just the chicken with a small cover and allowed the sauce to reduce & slightly thicken. Near the end of cooking, add some dried oregano. If I had some white wine, I would've used that instead of chicken stock.
8. Slice chicken and place over mashed cauliflower, spoon sauce over the top. Garnish with chopped bacon.
Until the next good eats - cook well and be well.
Holiday Recipes 2012
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Submitted by Becky
This is a recipe from my Mom.
½ lb. butter
2 T honey
2 c flour (Meister's Gluten-Free Flour)
¼ t salt
2 t double strength vanilla (Penezy's)
1 1/4 c finely chopped Pecans or Walnuts nuts (Nuts.com)
Beat butter until creamy. Stir in honey.
Add flour, salt, vanilla and nuts and mix thoroughly.
Chill dough 1 hour.
Form into balls the size of walnuts. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Bake @ 300 approximately 35 min, or until light brown.
Roll in confectioners sugar while hot and again after they've cooled.
Submitted by Becky
1 c white sugar
1 c lard or shortening
2 eggs, beaten
1 c molasses
1 c sour milk or buttermilk
1 t baking soda
1½ t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
4 cups flour
pinch of salt
Can scoop the dough with a spoon, or bag it and pipe it onto the cookie sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass in sugar and press the cookie down. Bake at 325 13-14 min.
Submitted by Kimberly
This to me is the taste of the holiday season...orange, cranberry, walnut and cinnamon
1 package (12 ounces or 3 cups) of fresh cranberries
2 medium Pippin or Granny Smith apples quartered and cored (I prefer skins on, but some like them peeled)
¾ cup sugar
½ cup orange marmalade
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons (or more!) of Grand Marnier...Brandy works nicely too in a pinch!
2 cups of chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I use more like 1 Tablespoon since I LOVE cinnamon)
Chop cranberries in a food processor. Remove. Chop apples in food processor. Add to cranberries and then add remaining ingredients. Stir well and enjoy. This tastes better if it is refrigerated overnight. This relish can be refrigerated up to 2 months! Often I will make a double batch at Thanksgiving and eat until New Years!
Submitted & GF conversion by Peg
Original recipe: Nancy Brown from Mt. Zion Lutheran Church Cookbook
1¼ cup Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
½ cup Bob's Red Mill GF Sorghum Flour
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 tsp Arm & Hammer baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ cup butter
¼ cup Butter Flavored Crisco
½ cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp double strength vanilla
1 egg
Hershey's Kisses
Combine in a large mixer bowl. Mix at low speed until a dough forms. Shape dough into balls using a rounded teaspoonful of dough. Roll balls in additional sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven. Top each hot cookie with a Hershey's Kiss – pressing down so cookie cracks around the edge.
Submitted by: Peg
Original Recipe: Jules Shepard
Ingredients - Cookies:
½ cup shortening (Earth Balance® Shortening Sticks) or [½ cup of butter]
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
¼ cup milk [use slighlty less if using real butter]
1 teaspoon double strength GF vanilla extract
Food coloring (optional)
2 ¼ cups Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Calumet baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Ingredients – Icing:
¼ cup butter
¼ cup Crisco
1 tsp gluten-free Vanilla
4 cups of powdered sugar
¼ cup of milk
Cream shortening and sugar until very fluffy. Add egg, vanilla extract, milk, and food coloring (optional], beating until integrated. Add the dry ingredients last, mixing until evenly blended. Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze until cold and no longer sticky, at least 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375ºF (static) or 350ºF (convection).
Lightly flour the rolling surface, rolling pin and cookie cutters with Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. Roll the dough to approximately 1/8-inch thickness and cut shapes, re-rolling dough to utilize all the dough.
Place cut-out cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and decorate with colored sugar or sprinkles, if desired. Bake approximately 8–10 minutes, but remove before they begin to brown at the edges. When baked and cooled, frost with Easy Cookie Icing, if desired.
Directions - Easy Cookie Icing :
Combine frosting ingredients in mixer bowl.
Beat until fluffy
If frosting is too dry or stiff – add small amount of milk until it's easily spreadable.
Note: Peg made two different versions of these cookies. One batch following Jule's recipe, another batch using real Wisconsin butter – just like Happy Cows intended. During the group's blind taste-test - butter was the winner!
Submitted by: Al
Original recipe: Cook's Country
This is our favorite and go-to mashed potato recipe.
4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled, quartered, ½" pieces
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
12 garlic cloves, minced [We use 4-5]
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
Place cut potatoes in colander. Rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. Drain thoroughly. This is a very important step to eliminate excess starch, which produces gluey mashed potatoes.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook garlic and sugar, stirring often, until sticky and straw colored, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rinsed potatoes, 1 1/4 cups half-and-half, water and 1 teaspoon salt to pot and stir to combine. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from heat, add remaining butter to pot and mash with potato masher until smooth. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining half-and-half until liquid is absorbed and potatoes are creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
Peg's Home Econ Banana Bread
Banana Bread
The original recipe is from my 9th grade Home Economics class. I've adapted this version so it's GF. I also modified the GF and the non-GF recipe to reduce the sugar.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1 1/2 cups Jules Gluten-free Flour Blend
3/4 cup Gluten-free ground flax meal
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup Crisco
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
(can use un-sweetened applesauce if not enough bananas)
1 1/2 teaspoon Gluten-Free Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon Penzey's Vanilla Extract
Makes 2 regular sized breads or 6 mini breads.
Cream butter, sugar, & eggs together well. Stir in bananas/applesauce. Sift dry ingredients together and mix with banana mixture. Pour into grease 2 bread pans or 6 mini bread pans. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. Bread is done when inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Slow-cooker to the rescue...again! It's been pretty busy around the Al & Peg House as of late. Weekends are doubly-busy, so in order to make good eats, we need some help. Whilst we're scurrying around the house, the slow-cooker is doing all the hard work.
Peg found this naturally gluten-free recipe: http://www.recipe.com/slow-cooker-chicken-cacciatore/?esrc=nwrc071212pinc
The original recipe calls for chicken drumsticks, but we used thighs instead - more meat on the thighs.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped carrot
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
1 green, yellow, or red sweet pepper, cut into strips
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 chicken thighs, skinned (about 3-1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1. Combine mushrooms, celery, carrot, onions, sweet peppers, and garlic in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Place chicken on vegetables. Combine broth, wine, tapioca, sugar, oregano, bay leaves, salt, and pepper; pour over chicken.
2. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3-1/2 hours.
3. Remove chicken; cover to keep warm. Remove and discard bay leaves. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Stir in undrained tomatoes and the tomato paste. Cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Serve vegetable mixture over chicken and cooked pasta or rice.
Until the next good eats...
Al & Peg
Pumpkin Bars
Pumpkin Bars
While they are called "Pumpkin Bars", it's really more like a cake. The finished product is about 2-3" tall - not flat like a brownie.
They guys are an annual fave around our house and with family & friends. In almost all cases, Peg makes these [the GF version] since they are indistinguishable from the gluten bars.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
4 eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Penzey's cinnamon
1 tsp Arm & Hammer baking soda
1 tsp Calumet baking powder
1 cup of Jules Gluten Free Flour (GFCO Certified Product)
1 cup of Sorghum Flour (Bob's Redmill)
1 tsp Xanthan gum
Combine all ingredients & mix well. Pour in to greased 11x15 pan.
Bake @ 350 for 25-30 min. 8 x 11.5 pan will work for 1/2 recipe
4-5 oz cream cheese (softened)
3 tbsp softened butter
3/4 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp milk
Mix & beat until fluffy. Spread on warm pumpkin bars.
These will freeze quite well.
Until the next good eats...
Al n Peg
Lemon Blueberry Bread
Lemon Blueberry Bread
It's a cool fall day, so that means baking, particularly when we are on vacation. While I was painting the bathroom, Peg was in the kitchen converting a gluten-full recipe to a gluten-free recipe. The cut loaf shown here didn't last long.
While this might look like a bread, it's more like a cake. Regardless of what you call it, it's darn tasty!
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Bread Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar (scant)
3 eggs
2 1/4 cup Jules Gluten free flour blend
3/4 sorghum flour
1/4 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
3/4 tsp double strength vanilla
2 tablespoons tightly packed lemons, zest of
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 ounces or so frozen blueberries
Icing Ingredients:
8 ounces powdered sugar (or 1/2 box)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons tightly packed lemons, zest of
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 - Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2 - Important: grease and flour two loaf pans.
3 - Cream butter and sugar.
4 - Add eggs and beat until smooth.
5 - Add buttermilk.
6 - Mix dry ingredients together and add to buttermilk mixture.
7 - Blend well.
8 - Mix in lemon juice and zest.
9 - Gently fold in blueberries and only mix until incorporated.
10 - Pour batter into loaf pans.
11 - Bake loaves on the middle rack of the oven for 60 to 65 minutes.
12 - Cool bread 10 minutes, remove from pan and place on a large cookie sheet, top side up.
13 - For icing: Combine icing ingredients in a bowl.
14 - Beat icing with an electric mixer until smooth.
15 - Drizzle icing over the warm loaves.
16 - The icing will harden when the bread cools to room temperature.
I halved the icing recipe and had plenty.
Original recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-blueberry-bread-69730
Until the next good eats....
Al n Peg
Crockpot/Slow-cooker Beef Roast
Slow-cooker Beef Roast
Have you ever come home from a long day at work tired, hungry and don't really feel like making anything? Yeah, that happens around our house...a lot. One weapon we rely on is our slow cooker. It's a magic time machine - you put stuff in it [usually frozen] before work and by the time you get home - POOF! Dinner! Good eats without a wholelotta work...I'm all over that like fur on a weasle...
This is crazy simple - takes about 5 - 10 minutes of prep work before you leave for work. Simple is what I need in the morning 'cos I'm usually half asleep when I'm putting this together.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Sliced large onion or 2 med. onions
Hand full of carrots
Stalk or two of celery
Chopped tomato (I've used tomato paste in the past, but we had fresh tomatoes to use)
Penzey's Granulated Garlic
Penzey's Granulated Onion
Penzey's Herbs de Provence
Salt & Pepper
1/2 - 3/4 cup of water or gluten-free beef broth or red wine.
2 - 2 1/4 lb Chuck Roast
1 tablespoon of Sweet Rice Flour to thicken gravy
Place veggies on the bottom of the slow cooker. This gives the meat a bed of flavor to rest on.
Season both sides of the frozen meat with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, Herbs de Provence. Use whatever herbs/seasoning you like - be creative!
Place frozen meat on top of veggies.
Add liquid.
Set slow-cooker to stun (low). For us, the cooking process is about 9 hours by the time someone gets home.
Walk out the door and return 8 - 9 hours later to some really great smells!
When I get home, I strain the veggies from the liquid. After 9 hours, they've given their little veggies lives to flavor the meat and the liquid for the gravy.
In a sauce pan heat up the liquid. Make slurry with the gluten-free flour and some water. Whisk the slurry into the pan. Allow to come to a boil and thicken. If it's not thick enough, make and whisk in a bit more slurry. Turn down the heat to a simmer. Season gravy to taste.
Homage to the Herbage
If you've ever wondered what type of herbs to use, my Facebook friend Jimmy Boswell [aka the Gluten-Free Chef] from New Zealand created this very handy chart. He suggest which herbs to use for selected meats or veggies.
A great tip from Jimmy -
The general rule for using dried is use ¼ dried herbs for what's suggested for fresh amounts in a recipe. You can reverse this if dried is suggested and you have fresh.
I took the liberty of putting Jimmy's text chart into a table...
Jimmy Boswell's Herb Chart for Proteins Protein Herbs Beef Basil, Bay leaf, Caraway, Chervil, Lovage seed, Cumin, Garlic Fenugreek, Ginger, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Savory, Tarragon, Thyme and Peppermint. Chicken Thyme, Anise, Basil, Bay leaf, Borage, Chervil, Chives, Cinnamon, Cumin, Dill, Fenugreek, Fennel, Garlic, Ginger, Lovage, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Saffron, Sage, Savory and Tarragon. Duck Bay, Rosemary, Sage, Sweet Marjoram and Tarragon. Fish Anise, Basil, Borage, Caraway, Chevil, Chives, Dill, Fennel, Garlic, Ginger, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Saffron, Sage, Savory, Tarragon and Thyme. Fish - Baked or Grilled Basil, Bay, Caraway, Chervil, Chives, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Lemon Thyme, Lovage, Marjoram, Mints, Parsley, Savory, Tarragon and Thyme. Fish - Oily Fennel and Dill. Fish Soups Bay, Lovage, Sage, Savory, Tarragon and Thyme. Goose Fennel, Sage and Sweet Marjoram. Ham Lovage, Marjoram, Mint, Mustard, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary and Savory. Lamb Basil, Bay leaf, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin, Chervil, Dill, Garlic, Ginger, Lemon Balm, Lovage seed, Marjoram, Mint, Parsley, Saffron, Rosemary, Sage, Tarragon, Thyme and Savory. Liver Basil, Dill, Marjoram, Sage, Savory and Thyme. Pork Anise, Caraway, Cardamom, Coriander, Chervil, Dill, Garlic, Ginger, Oregano, Rosemary, Saffron, Sage, Tarragon, Fennel, Lovage seed, Marjoram, Savory and Thyme. Rabbit Basil, Bay, Marjoram, Lovage seed, Rosemary and Sage. Salmon Dill seed and Rosemary. Seafood Basil, Bay, Chervil, Chives, Dill, Fennel Seed, Marjoram, Rosemary, Tarragon and Thyme. Turkey Basil, Garlic, Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Saffron, Sage, Savory, Tarragon, Thyme, Parsley and Sweet Marjoram. Veal Basil, Bay leaf, Chervil, Chives, Ginger, Marjoram, Mint, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, Savory and Thyme. Venison Bay, Lovage seed, Rosemary, Sage, Savory and Sweet Marjoram.
Jimmy Boswell's Herb Chart for Veggies Veggie Herbs Artichokes Bay, Savory and Tarragon. Asparagus Chives, Lemon Balm, Sage, Savory, Tarragon, Thyme, Chervil, Dill and Tarragon. Avocado Dill, Marjoram and Tarragon. Beans Dried Savory, Cumin, Garlic, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, and Thyme. Beans, Green Savory, Basil, Caraway, Cloves, Dill, Marjoram, Mint, Sage and Thyme. Broccoli Basil, Dill, Garlic, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Oregano, Tarragon and Thyme. Brussel Sprouts Dill, Sage and Savory. Cabbage Basil, Caraway, Cayenne, Cumin, Dill, Fennel, Marjoram, Sage, Savory, Borage, Dill seed, Mint, Oregano and Savory. Carrots Anise, Basil, Chervil, Chives, Cinnamon, Clove, Cumin, Dill, Sage, Ginger, Marjoram, Mint, Parsley, Savory, Tarragon, Thyme and Chervil. Cauliflower Basil, Caraway, Chives, Cumin, Dill, Garlic, Marjoram, Parsley, Rosemary, Savory, Tarragon and Fennel. Corn Chevil, Chives, Lemon Balm, Saffron, Sage and, Thyme. Eggplant Basil, Cinnamon, Dill, Garlic, Marjoram, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Sage, Savory and Thyme. Lentils Garlic, Mint , Parsley, Savory and Sorrel. Mushrooms Coriander, Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Tarragon, Thyme, Basil, Dill, Lemon Balm, Parsley, Rosemary and Savory. Onions Basil, Marjoram, Oregano, Sage, Tarragon and Thyme. Parsnips Basil, Dill, Marjoram, Parsley, Savory and Thyme. Peas Caraway, Chevil, Chives, Rosemary, Savory, Tarragon, Thyme, Basil, Chervil, Marjoram, Mint, Parsley and Sage. Potatoes Parsley, Basil, Caraway, Chives, Coriander, Dill, Fennel, Lovage, Sage, Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Tarragon and Thyme. Spinach Anise, Basil, Caraway, Chevil, Chives, Cinnamon, Dill, Rosemary, Thyme, Borage, Marjoram, Mint, Sage, Sorrel and Tarragon. Squash Basil, Caraway, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Savory and Dill. Tomatoes Basil, Bay leaf, Chives, Chervil, Coriander, Dill, Garlic, Lovage, Sage, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Savory, Tarragon and Thyme. Turnips Dill seed, Marjoram and Savory. Zucchini Basil, Dill, Marjoram, Rosemary and Tarragon.
Until the next good eats...
Coffee Cake
Peg ran across a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine showing all the variations of a yeast-dough. This set off a firestorm of ideas. She woke up early Saturday in anticipation of making this coffee cake.
Of course it was a wheat-based recipe, so it'd have to be converted.
She thought a pre-existing recipe might work well as a starting point. The recipe she used was that of my favorite flat bread [bread that I use for making sandwiches & buns]
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Cake Ingredients
1/4 cup GF brown rice flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup GF Sorghum (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/2 cup Tapioca Flour
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 c. water
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
2-3 Tablespoons sweet rice flour (for dusting pan/hands)
Streusel Topping Ingredients
1/2 cup Jules GF Flour
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
3/4 cup of nuts
Glaze Ingredients
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup powered sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons of milk
Recipe makes 2 - 8" round pans
Mix together all dry ingredients except sweet rice flour (brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, xanthan gum, yeast and salt).
In a heavy mixer, combine wet ingredients (water, vinegar, oil, and eggs).
Slowly add dry ingredients to well blended wet ingredients.
Beat on medium/medium high speed for 4 minutes.
Dust two 8" round cake pans with flour (or oil bottom of pan and lightly dust oiled pan).
Place dough in a warm spot, allow to rest/rise for 35-40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Mix streusel ingredients in a bowl until crumbly.
Sprinkle on top of dough
Bake for 12-18 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.
Mix Glaze ingredients in a bowl. Add milk slowly as needed - mixing until the desired consistency.
Allow to cool before drizzling the glaze.
You could sub-out the flours with your favorite flour blend if you like.
Granola with Certified GF Oats
Granola with Certified Gluten-Free Oats
Peg converted this non-gluten-free granola recipe. She mixes this into her yogurt in the morning for breakfast.
Note: Oats have been controversial for over 20 years. Are they acceptable on a GF diet or not? Some celiacs will react to the protein found in oats [avenin], just as they react to the proteins in wheat, barely, rye and oats.
Most medical professionals say gluten-free oats can be tolerated in limited amounts [1/2 to 3/4 cup per day for adults]. They also suggest restricting oats for one year for those newly diagnosed.
Should you decide to add GF oats to your diet, please consult your medical professional.
For a general overview on oats see: http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/theglutenfreediet/a/OatsForCeliacs.htm
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
5 cups certified gluten-free oats (GF Harvest Oats used here)
2 cups chopped raw pecans or 1 cup chopped raw pecans and 1 cup slivered almonds & raw sunflower seeds (Nuts.com)
1 cup shredded or flaked coconut (Nuts.com)
1/2 cup ground flax seed (Bob's Red Mill - GF)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (Penzey's)
1/2 teaspoon salt (use less if desired)
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil (Dr. Bronner's White Virgin Coconut Oil)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses or sorghum syrup (Grandma's Molasses - labeled GF)
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a sauce pan
Place over medium heat and cook - stirring often - until the sugar dissolves.
Pour hot mixture over the dry mixture. Stir until thoroughly blended. Mixture will appear wet.
Spread evenly in a large jelly roll pan or a shallow pan with sides.
Bake at 300 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Cool and store in an air tight container
Yield: 9 1/2 cups
Everybody in the Pool (aka Hamburger) Soup
Have you ever run into a situation where you needed to use up all sorts of miscellaneous things in the fridge? Yeah, well, this is the result. We had a little of this - a little of that. Whatever was laying around got thrown into the pot. Bottom line, we really weren't following as recipe.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1lb Hamburger
Fresh Mushrooms
1/2 cubed Rutabaga
Frozen Green Beans
Frozen corn
Green Bell Pepper
Gluten-Free Beef Stock,
Gluten-Free Chicken Stock
Bay Leaf
Saute' green bell pepper & onion in a big soup pot [7 qt pictured here] for a few minutes.
Add a pinch a salt and pepper. Becareful with the salt, your stocks have have additional salt.
Add 2 lbs of hamburger to pan and brown.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper
Drain/remove excess grease.
Add chicken or beef broth - probably 2-4 cups total
Add bottle of 46oz bottle of V8
Add Bay Leaf or two
Add veggies that need longer too cook first (like rutabaga, carrots, celery, etc]- staggering them by a couple of minutes.
Taste for salt/pepper
Bring up to a boil then reduce heat to simmer
Cover pot and let simmer for 30 - 60 minutes stirring occasionally.
Check a carrot/celery/rutabag - if it's a texture you like - dig in!
Until the next good eats...
Chili Con Carne
This is the style of chili that I grew up on. Rarely did we have the "soup-like with pasta" type chili. Peg prefers the "soup-like" chili so she uses my chili as a "concentrate" to create her type [see below]
My mom and I would take a spoonful of chili and place it on top of a Saltine. This is how I learned how to eat chili. It was nothing for me go thru at least an entire sleeve of crackers this way. I shudder at thought of this now. Good grief...
Also, as a kid, I picked out the beans because I didn't like them. Now I like them, but Peg picks them out for "preventative measures". Funny how things change...
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Chili Con Carne
1 lb ground beef
2 cans of diced tomatoes (use fresh if you have 'em)
or 1 jar of Newman's Mild Salsa
1 diced medium onion
2 stalks diced celery
1 diced bell pepper (pick your favorite color or colors)
1 can of kidney beans (I prefer Joan of Arc)
1 - 2 teaspoons Penzey's Chili Con Carne spice blend (start small, you can always add if needed)
1 - 2 teaspoons gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
(Lea & Perrins brand is gluten-free, many brands are not)
Salt to taste
V8 or tomato juice
GF Beer (optional)
A few ounces of shredded cheese (garnish)
1 - 2 Green onions (garnish)
1 fresh diced tomato (garnish)
Add peppers, celery and onions to pan, add pinch of salt and Penzey's Chili Con Carne spice mix
Saute' until slightly soft.
Add ground beef and brown on med-high heat. Remove any excess grease.
Drain and add beans - stir
Add canned tomatoes or salsa - stir
Add 1 - 2 cups of liquid (V8/Tomato Juice/GF Beer) - stir
Add Worcestershire sauce - stir
Allow chili to come to a good bubble and reduce heat to simmer.
Stir occasionally.
Salt & season to taste
Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. If chili becomes too thick - add more liquid of choice.
Soup-like Chili with Pasta Note: Gluten pasta requires you to be be mindful of cross contamination risks.
Make your favorite pasta and set aside.
Place several scoops of Chili Con Carne into a larger pan on low heat
Add 16 - 24 oz of V8/Tomato Juice
Add cooked pasta
Simmer until heated
Salt & season to taste
You might need to re-season this chili depending on how hot you like it. I tend to like my chili spicier than Peg, so when she adds the liquid and the pasta - it's about right for her tastes.
If you are using canned tomatoes, they are going to be sweeter and less spicy than salsa. You'll need to adjust amount of chili seasoning depending on the tomato product used. Taste as you go...
Until the next good eats...
Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken
This was part of a very fallish Saturday night dinner. What you don't see is the roasted squash.
In the 20 years that Peg and I have been married, we've never roasted a chicken. We've done turkeys countless times, but not chickens. Why? Don't know. 99% of our chicken comes in the form of boneless-skinless breasts...it's quick, it's easy, it's versatile. Well, things have changed.
Some days it's like Iron Chef Kitchen Stadium around our house - I never know what is going to turn up. Friday night I helped put away groceries and came across a whole chicken.
Me: "A whole chicken?!"
Peg: "Yeah, I think we need to roast a chicken to go along with that squash."
Me: "Are you going to make Beer Can Chicken?"
Peg: "I would but we don't have any gluten-free beer in cans".
Now I'm sure we could've worked out the logistics of making a gluten-free beer can chicken if we put our minds to it, but we had a zillion other things to do around the house on Saturday. As I was recovering from my yard raking & mowing induced myocardial infarction, I decided to consult one of my friends about a roasted chicken recipe. It didn't take long before he suggested a recipe from Tyler Florence of Food Network fame.
I decided on Tyler's recipe because 1) there is only a handful of ingredients 2) there is only a handful of steps 3) it was going to taste great! I don't like following recipes in the first place, and it's even worse when it's long and drawn out...and often times organized weirdly...and often times makes me swear at it [maybe I'm the one that's organized weirdly, but that's whole 'nother post...].
Some people like gourmet-type foods with an ingredient list as long as your arm and a set of directions that is as thick as War and Peace. I have neither the patience nor the time for that! I'm a simple guy, that likes simple, but great tasting gluten-free food. Tyler's recipe is a perfect example of how you can take simple ingredients and make amazing food! Yes, "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".
This recipe is a keeper. In our house we call it "Company Food" [food we'd serve to guests].
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1 whole chicken (organic, free-range if you like)
1 lemon, quartered
1 head of garlic, halved
1/4 bunch of fresh rosemary, thyme and parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds of red potatoes (all about the same size)
Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to 400
Tyler's recipe [and many others] calls for rinsing the chicken, however the USDA suggests that rinsing can spread bacteria thus increasing cross contamination risks. When cooked properly (internal temp >165) any bacteria on the chicken will be destroyed.
Season the cavity with salt & pepper - after removing the bag of "goodies" found inside.
Stuff the herbs, garlic & lemon inside the cavity.
Tie the legs together and place into roasting pan. I used our dutch oven, it was a snug fit so I didn't tie the legs.
Season outside liberally with salt & pepper and drizzle the olive oil over the entire chicken.
Toss in the potatoes around the chicken.
Roast for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remember to baste the chicken with the drippings every 20 minutes.
Check internal temp by inserting an instant read thermometer into thickest part of of thigh - it should read 165 degrees.
Remove from pan and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Note: We saved the pan drippings, added the carcass (and the head of garlic) back to the dutch oven and covered it with tap water. Let this come to a boil for 10-15 minutes and strained the liquid gold into a large bowl or measuring cup. After cooling, place in fridge. The fat will rise to the top to be skimmed off later. This will be the base for some killer chicken soup!
Until the next good eats...
Pesto Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Don't get me wrong, I really like leftovers for lunch, and have them quite often, but sometimes it's nice to make something fresh.
Since we had a couple of tomatoes from the farmers market just begging to be used, we decided to turn our Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich into a Pesto Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
I best get back to the vacation fun of cleaning the garage...
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Pesto Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich
2 slices of GF Bread (Udi's is shown here)
Basil Pesto (homemade is best, but Classico Basil Pesto shown here)
2 slices of Provolone cheese
1 slice of tomato
Olive Oil
Heat pan or griddle to medium heat.
Drizzle olive oil on one side of each slice of bread. This side will be placed directly on the heat.
Spread pesto on the non-oiled side of each slice.
Lay down one slice of cheese on top of pesto
Lay down the tomato slice.
Lay down the last slice of cheese. This encases the tomato in an envelope of cheese.
Cover with remaining slice of bread. Remember Pesto side toward the cheese/oiled side on top.
Place sandwich on pan and cover. Covering will help the cheese melt.
Check after 1 - 2 minutes - make sure it's not burning. Flip when GBD (golden, brown & delicious)
Do the same to the next side.
I'll let you decide how best to slice your sandwich. Personally, I think diagonal cuts taste far better. :-)
Since GF bread slices tend to be smaller, I made 2 sandwiches.
If you're looking for gluten-free tomato soup to go with this, check out our Gluten-Free Tomato Soup!
Until the next good eats...
Tuscan Chicken with Veggies
It's a great mix of basil, oregano, red bell pepper, garlic, thyme, fennel, black pepper and anise.
We only purchased a small .5 oz bottle that day, but we will getting a larger bag of it. Sadly, I used it all tonight.
At the checkout, we found a recipe for Tuscan Veggie & Chicken Pasta Salad. I decided tweak how the ingredients were put together. This is my version...
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Tuscan Chicken with Veggies
1 Package boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in thin strips.
1 package gluten-free pasta (shown here: Jovial GF Brown Rice Penne Rigate)
1 Red bell pepper, thinly julienned
1 Green pepper, thinly julienned
1 Medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (half a lemon)
1 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Teaspoons Penzey's Tuscan Sunset
Salt & Pepper
2 Tablespoons Penzey's Tuscan Sunset
2 Tablespoons water
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
In a bowl large enough to hold all the pasta, mix Tuscan Sunset and water, let stand 1 minute, then whisk in oil and red wine vinegar.
Prepare GF pasta per directions on package. Leave it slightly al dente because it will be returned to the pan at the end. Place cooked pasta in to bowl with dressing and gently mix until pasta is coated. Let stand.
Using medium heat and large deep pan saute' peppers and onion with small amount of olive oil for several minutes or until peppers have softened. Sprinkle in 1 tsp Tuscan Sunset. Salt and Pepper to taste. Remove from pan.
Return pan to stove, increase heat to medium-high and allow pan to heat up without smoking. Add small amount of olive oil to pan and add chicken strips. Allow chicken to turn golden brown. Reduce heat to simmer. Sprinkle in 1 tsp Tuscan Sunset. Salt & Pepper to taste. Add lemon juice.
Add in saute'ed veggies and dressed pasta. Make sure to get all the pasta dressing into the pan.
Gently stir a few times until all ingredients are fully heated - about 2 - 3 minutes. Be careful not to damage the pasta.
The original recipe called for asparagus tips. This is a great addition, unfortunately I did not have any handy this time. Options I want to try in the future: mushrooms and/or artichoke hearts.
If you like more tanginess, add more red wine vinegar or lemon juice.
Until next time...
Brownie Bites with Raspberry Chocolate Topping
Peg first made non-GF Brownie Bites for her co-workers. Since they were such a hit, she decided to make a gluten-free version of them.
The outside is slightly crispy, but the inside is moist and chewy - like a...brownie. Kinda funny how that works...
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Gluten-Free Brownie Bite Ingredients
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp double strength vanilla [Penzey's]
2 cups GF flour mix [Jules GF Flour Mix]
1/2 cup GF sorghum flour [Bob's Red Mill]
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
Brownie Bite Directions
Microwave unsweetened chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add sugar; mix well. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour; mix well. Refrigerate 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.
Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake 8 min. or just until set. (Do not overbake.) Cool on baking sheet 1 min.; remove to wire racks or waxed paper. Cool completely.
Frost Brownie Bites with Chocolate Raspberry Topper (see recipe below)
Peg converted this original recipe.
Chocolate Raspberry Topper Ingredients
1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tbsp Ball® RealFruit™ Classic Pectin
4-1/2 cups crushed red raspberries
6-3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
6 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands
Chocolate Raspberry Sauce Directions
Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
Combine cocoa powder and pectin in a medium glass bowl, stirring until evenly blended. Set aside.
Combine crushed raspberries and lemon juice in a large stainless steel saucepan. Whisk in pectin mixture until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
Ladle hot sundae topper into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.
Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.
Special thanks to Colleen for sharing this original recipe!
Chocolate Crunch Brownies
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Prepare one 13 x 9 pan gluten free brownies. I use Betty Crocker Mix. Most stores have the mixes in the isle with the other non gluten free mixes.
1 jar (7 ounces ) marshmallow crème. I used Kraft from Wal-Mart in Berlin.
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups Kellogg's GLUTEN FREE Rice Krispies. I found these in the regular isle with the other cereal at Oshkosh Festival Foods
Spread Marshmallow crème over cooled brownies.
In a small saucepan melt peanut butter and chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly. (This takes a very short time.)
Remove from heat and stir in cereal.
Spread over marshmallow layer.
Chill before cutting. Store in refrigerator.
Yield 3 dozen (depending on size cut)
Big Al's Burgers
Big Al's Burgers - Al
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1lb of your favorite hamburger (we use Brandon Meats)
Salt or Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce (this brand is gluten-free in the USA. It was not GF on Canada that last I knew. Not all Worcesteshire sauces are)
1/2 medium onion - finely diced.
Fire up the grill.
Flatten out hamburger on a plate.
Spread out the onions.
Sprinkle the salt & pepper to taste.
A few splashes of Lea & Perrins to taste.
A few splashes of A1 to taste.
Mix hamburger and ingredients together.
Make 1 big burger patty and cut into equal fourths. Do thirds if you want monster burgers
Form each portion into patties. I make a ball, place it on a piece of waxed paper large enough to folder over the top - then use a small 4-5" plate to press it flat to desired thickness. No high-tech burger presses for me!
Grill and enjoy!
Red pepper flakes if you like a little fire in your burgers.
Add a splash of A1 Steak Sauce to the meat before mixing it.
Cold Veggie Salad
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Any veggies you have on hand, today's mix included:
1 large onion
3 stalks of celery
1 pound each of corn, peas, green beans [all cooked, if frozen; otherwise 15oz can each is fine...especially if you're not cooking for an army!]
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Sweet Pepper
1 pound of your favorite beans [today's were garbanzo, but kidney or black beans add nice color]
1 cup oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Dash of ground mustard
Put dressing ingredients in an a small-medium bowl and whisk together.
Put all veggies in a large bowl, pour on dressing and carefully mix ingredients together. Chill in the fridge.
Crockpot/Slow-cooker Beef Tips & Gravy
Crockpots [technically we have a slow-cooker] are nice - you toss the stuff in - head off to work - when you return - dinner awaits! It's great getting out the vehical in the garage; you can smell dinner even before you walk into the house.
In this case, Peg had off of work, but was busy around the house so she decided to make this. Down home comfort food...
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1/4 cup GF sweet rice flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 cup GF Sorghum Flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 dash black pepper
2 pounds sirloin or beef stew meat -- cubed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
7 1/4 ounces (just shy of 1 cup) gluten-free beef broth
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce (USA Lea & Perrins brand is gluten-free, many brands are not)
1 teaspoon gluten-free ketchup (Heinz)
Optional Seasonings: Penzey's Bavarian Style Seasoning or Penzey's Herbs de Provence
Combine flour, salt and pepper. Toss beef cubes in seasoned flour mixture to coat. Place in slow cooker.
Cover with onions and mushrooms.
Combine beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Pour over beef cubes.
Cover and cook on low 7 to 12 hours. Before serving, check gravy consistancy, if it is too thick, add some more beef broth.
Mushrooms were omitted this time because for some strange reason we were out. Bavarian & Herbs de Provence were added.
Original recipe: Cook's Country
This is our favorite and go-to mashed potato recipe.
4 lbs russet potatoes, peeled, quartered, ½" pieces
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
12 garlic cloves, minced [We use 4-5]
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
Place cut potatoes in colander. Rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. Drain thoroughly. This is a very important step to eliminate excess starch, which produces gluey mashed potatoes.
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook garlic and sugar, stirring often, until sticky and straw colored, 3 to 4 minutes. Add rinsed potatoes, 1 1/4 cups half-and-half, water and 1 teaspoon salt to pot and stir to combine. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from heat, add remaining butter to pot and mash with potato masher until smooth. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining half-and-half until liquid is absorbed and potatoes are creamy. Season with salt and pepper.
Cold Pasta Salad
For those of us without kids, we are going to squeeze every last bit out of summer before it slinks into fall.
Summer time = cookouts and family gatherings
Cookouts and family gatherings = cold pasta salads!
Any cookout worth its salt has a cold pasta salad present. Years ago, a relative of Peg's brought this [non-gluten-free] pasta salad to a summer family event. Peg said that I'd really like it - it was tangy, zesty and a bit spicy. Yup - sounds like right up my alley, but I couldn't touch it.
Until today...we made this salad for our group's annual cookout! Nothing is off-limits at this cookout!
Gluten?!? We don't need no stinkin' gluten!
Jovial Foods was kind enough to send us some samples of their pasta [my sole intent was making a rightous cold pasta salad]. I think we accomplished that mission!
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Salad Ingredients:
1 lb Jovial Gluten-Free Penne Rigate Pasta.
1 Small Onion
1 Green Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Small Zuchinni
½ lb of Mozzerella cheese (cubed)
½ lb of Hormel Pepperoni Slices (chopped)
¼ lb Hillshire Farms Hard Salami Slices – chopped.
3 Stalks Celery (sliced)
3 Fresh tomatoes (sliced or chunked)
1 can pitted black olives (sliced)
Dressing Ingredients:
1 ½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup of canola oil
¼ cup of olive oil
½ cup Heinz White Vinegar
2 ½ teaspoon Penzey's Orgeno
½ teaspoon Penzey's Pizza Seasoning
¼ teaspoon Penzey's Garlic Powder
Mix dressing ingredients, veggies & meat chill for at least 2 hours. Do not mix in cheese.
Make gluten-free pasta several hours before eating. Allow to cool (room temp).
Mix pasta, dressing with veggies and meat, and cheese together. Chill until needed.
Product notes:
Gluten-free pastas have a tendancy to harden when cold. Jovial's Penne has a much better texture [softer] when chilled overnight.
Jovial's GF products are certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization.
German Chocolate Cake
Our friend asked Peg if she could make a gluten-free German Chocolate Cake.
Instead of standard sized cake, Peg decided to make a doz. cupcakes and this mini-cake.
The cake was a hit! Our friend was so excited she dug into it immediately and shared it with a few other gluten-free guests.
Another gluten-free guest headed directly for the cupcake container after seeing the mini-cake.
Peg is becoming quite the Google Master. She found the recipe in a cake baking forum - without any help from me.
After reading through the forums posts, it appears this recipe is from The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free book by Anne Bryn. The premise of the book is to take ordinary [gluten-free] cake mixes, "doctor them up" and make them better! This is one cookbook we don't have.
Here is the cake recipe and frosting recipe
This mini-cake was made in 4 1/2" tart pans. We sliced the top off of the bottom layer to make it flat.
The rest of the batter went to make cupcakes.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Flat Bread
This is my favorite home baked bread - hands down - bar none!
This bread is flexible enough to wrap around a brat or hot dog without breaking. Since this is baked in a jelly roll pan, it's one big piece of...flat bread. [Clever name, huh?]
For use with a hotdog or brat, the piece needs to be cut a bit larger than a slice for a sandwich.
As you can see Peg has also made hamburger buns as well as a focaccia-style bread (see below).
Peg started with this recipe and tweaked it a bit. The Scintilla gives the bread an earthy, roasted flavor.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1 cup GF brown rice flour (Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour)
½ cup tapioca starch (Bob's Red Mill)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 Tablespoon instant yeast
½ teaspoon salt
¾ c. water
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 eggs
2-3 Tablespoons sweet rice flour (for dusting pan/hands)
1. Mix together all dry ingredients (not the sweet rice flour that's used for dusting).
2. In a heavy mixer, combine wet ingredients (water, vinegar, oil, and eggs).
3. Slowly add dry ingredients to well blended wet ingredients.
4. Beat on medium/medium high speed for 4 minutes.
5. Dust a large jelly roll (15 x 11) pan with flour (or oil bottom of pan and lightly dust oiled pan).
6. Scrape dough onto oiled/dusted pan and press as thinly as possible. (fill pan)
7. Using a fork, tap indentations across the entire dough.
8. Place dough in a warm spot, allow to rest/rise for 35-40 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 425F.
10. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until the top is slightly browned.
11. It wil come out of the oven with a slight crust that will go away as the bread cools. Allow the bread to cool 15-30 minutes before using. It will become flexible and soft.
12. Cut into large pieces to use as a folded sandwich bread or as individual slices.
Note: Instead of 1 cup of brown rice flour, try using any combination of sorghum, millet, oat flour, almond flour. Just make sure it totals 1 cup.
Peg's Primo Peanut Butter Cookies
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
½ cup butter
½ cup Butter Flavored Crisco
1 cup sugar
½ cup Skippy Peanut Butter
½ cup Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter Chunky
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla (McCormick's or Penzey's vanilla)
1 cup GF sorghum flour (Bob's Red Mill "Sweet" White Sorghum Flour)
1 ½ cup Jules GF Flour Mix
2 teaspoons gluten free baking soda (Arm and Hammer)
½ teaspoon salt
Yield: 8 – 10 dozen
Cream shortening, sugars & peanut butters.
Add eggs and beat well
Sift flours, baking soda, salt – add to creamed ingredients
Shape into balls - ½ tablespoon dough
Place on cookie sheet & flatten with fork. Dip fork in sugar first.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Time may vary depending on your oven.
Peg Notes:
You can use a single gluten-free peanut butter of choice. I happen to like the Natural Peanut Butters.
If you don't live in a 100% gluten-free household, make 100% sure the peanut butter has not been "double dipped". The easiest way to do this is to use an un-opened jar. Crumbs from non-gluten-free bread will contaminate the peanut butter and thus making it off-limits to those following a gluten-free diet. The butter dish is another huge contamination risk - it's best to get out a fresh stick. The same contamination rules applies for the Crisco & the sugars (or any product) as well.
Yes, crumbs matter.
You can also use any gluten-free flour mix you wish. Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour Mix is readily available in most grocery stores. This recipe is pretty forgiving when it comes to the type of GF flours. I use the sorghum flour to slightly boost the nutritional value.
Spare Ribs with BBQ Sauce
While perusing the meat cases at Brandon Meats, I saw a nice rack of ribs. I had never cooked ribs, but they looked too good to pass up.
Since Google and I are on a first name basis, I decided to see what he could dig up for me. I finally decided upon this recipe at AllRecipes.com. Since it was basically gluten-free from the get-go, there was little converting. Be aware - many Worcestershire sauces are not gluten-free, as well as soy sauces.
Not all of our recipes are "Company Food", but we have deemed this worthy of that title. Company Food is food that we'd serve to guests or at family functions.
Not being one that strictly follows recipes, I decided to modify the one I found and created what you see below.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
Meat Ingredients:
A rack of 12 (or more!) spareribs
Sauce Ingredients:
1 cup of brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 cups of ketchup
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/2 cup GF soy sauce (La Choy)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins is GF in the USA)
1/4 cup of rum (optional)
4 cloves of crushed garlic
2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon Penzey's Chili 3000 mix
Misc. Ingredients:
1 Bottle GF Beer - Use when oven roasting the ribs
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, mix all sauce ingredients together.
Pull out about 1/4 cup of sauce for coating the raw ribs. This prevents contaminating the entire batch of sauce with raw meat.
Cut ribs into manageable pieces (I had 2 slabs of 6 ribs).
Liberally coat raw ribs with the sauce.
Place ribs in a container and store in fridge 1 - 2 hrs or overnight if you have time.
Remove ribs from fridge & wrap in tinfoil - double layers if you like.
Pour bottle of beer in large roasting pan.
Insert a small oven safe rack in the pan. I used 3 "snakes" of tinfoil since I had no rack. This keeps the meat out of the beer.
Place ribs in the pan.
Bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Remove & unwrap ribs.
Apply another coat of sauce and loosely wrap.
Preheat Grill to 350 - 400. I used a gas grill.
Apply vegetable oil to paper towel and wipe on grill grate.
Place ribs on grill grate. Meat side up.
Use in-direct heat when grilling the ribs. Burnt ribs are not good eats!
Every 10 minutes - add another layer of sauce.
Total grill time about 30 - 40 minutes.
Al Notes:
This entire cooking process does take about 3 hrs like the original recipe states. It depends on how long you leave the ribs marinade after the roasting. I left mine sit about 30 - 45 minutes before grilling. Your patience will be rewarded!
Note: I doubled the amount of sauce, however I didn't double all the ingredients. I didn't have chile sauce so I replaced it with ketchup & chili seasoning mix.
Adjust the ingredients of the original sauce to your liking. I didn't want my sauce to be too sweet, so I didn't double the brown sugar.
I didn't have Chile sauce so I sub'ed with ketchup & chili seasoning. I also increased the dry mustard.
I did not double the rum, I wasn't sure how it was going to taste. We happened to have some White rum we brought back from our last trip to Jamaica. You could taste the rum, but not over powering.
Taste it as you go - adjust accordingly - and make notes!
There's a good bit of sauce leftover. We plan to use it on chicken next!
Next time, I'd cut back the chili seasoning a bit. The sauce applied to the ribs was perfect after cooking. The unheated sauce has a bit of a bite to it. This is good if you like a little extra bite. Peg does not, I do.
Next time, I think I'll put the meat directly in the GF beer, I opted not to this time since it was the first time making this. I added the beer so the meat wouldn't dry out.
Chicken & Wild Rice Blend with Veggies
The Wild Rice Blend is from Lundberg and has become one of my recent favorite meals. It simple to do, but it takes time for the rice to cook. However it gives you time to do the veggies.
The recipe for this on the bag.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 small onion
1/4 cup red bell pepper
1/4 cup carrot
1 (or more) cloves of garlic
2 tbs butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used EVOO).
2-3 tbs of GF soy sauce (GF Teriyaki sauce is used in the original recipe, but we don't like teriyaki sauce)
1 cup of Wild Blend
2 cups of water or GF chicken broth (Kitchen Basics, Progresso, Campbell's)
1 tbs butter (optional - you could use EVOO too)
Salt & Pepper to taste. Just know how salty the broth is before you season.
Combine rice, liquid & butter/EVOO in pot with tight lid
Bring to boil. Stir once then cover.
Reduce to simmer and cook 50 minutes.
Remove from heat and let stand while covered for 10 minutes.
While rice is cooking prep the veggies. Use you imagination - use colorful veggies!
In a pan, add butter/oil & garlic over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Add onion, celery & carrots and stir. Sauté for 3-4 minutes
Add red bell pepper. Sauté for a couple more minutes.
Add mushrooms & stir.
Add GF teriyaki or soy.
Reduce heat and stir occasionally.
Remove from heat when veggies are tender.
Once the Wild Blend is done, fold in veggie mixture.
Lemond Almond Cookies
by Aneh Mundi
We got this recipe from Aneh in a gluten-free cooking class we took in 2005. Peg finally had a chance to try it out.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar
3 1/2 cups Almond Meal (Bob's Red Mill)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind (about 1/2 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon GF vanilla (Penzey's!)
In a mixer beat eggs and sugar
In a separate bowl combine almond meal, baking powder and lemon rind
Add eggs and mix to form soft dough
With oiled hands roll rough into small balls about the size of a walnut.
Flatten out balls in powdered sugar. Flatten some thing smooth (glass, plate, etc)
Bake at 350 for 10-15 min. or until GBD (Golden, Brown & Delicious).
These taste as good as they look!
Cashew Chicken Stir-fry
The recipe is from Taste of Home's Treasury of Christmas Recipes.
This is our favorite stir-fry recipe. The sauce has a perfect balance.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
2 cups GF Chicken Broth (Campbell's Natural Goodness, Kitchen Basics)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cut into bite sized pieces
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
3 cups broccoli florets
1 cup Snow or Snap peas
1/4 cup GF corn starch (Argo)
3 tablespoons GF soy sauce (La Choy)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 cups of cashews
Cooked rice (optional)
In skillet or wok, add 3 tablespoons of broth and heat.
Add chicken, stir-fry over medium heat until pink is gone (3 -5 minutes).
Remove chicken with slotted spoon and set aside.
Add garlic, carrots & celery to pan - stir-fry for 3 minutes.
Add broccoli and peas - stir-fry for 4-5 minutes - till crisp tender.
Combine corn starch, soy sauce, ginger & remaining broth and mix.
Add chicken to pan.
Add liquid to pan.
Cook and stir for several minutes - sauce will thicken.
Stir in cashews or add cashews when serving.
Al Notes:
I tend to use more chicken broth than stated. We like to have a bit more sauce.
Minestrone Soup
This recipe is adapted from Living Without Summer 2005 issue.
It's one of our favorites and gets rave reviews from all who've tried - gluten-free or otherwise.
We save it for the fall/winter when it's cold and yucky on the outside and warm and yummy on the inside.
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large onion - diced
2 medium carrots - sliced
2 stalks celery - sliced
1 medium potato - diced
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 small zuchinni
1 tspn oregano
2 tspn salt
4 cups GF chicken broth (we used Swansen Natural Goodness)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 cup fresh or frozen green bean (1 1/2" pieces)
1 15oz can kidney beans - drained & rinsed
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (optional) or 2 cubes of frozen homemade basil pesto (See Al Notes)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Add olive oil, butter & garlic to a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute until onion is transparent and soft.
Add celery, carrots, potato. Saute for another 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and chicken broth.
Bring soup up to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15-30 minutes. Veggies should be tender.
Add the corn, green beans, kidney beans, zuchinni and simmer for another 15-30 minutes.
Stir in fresh basil or add frozen pesto cubes and allow to melt.
Serve hot and don't eat too much. You could also top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
Al Notes
Since we made a double batch, we use both kidney beans and black beans.
In the summer I will make fresh basil pesto. This is usually a Saturday project for me. We have a little farmers market downtown and I'll get several bunches. I'll whiz up a batch and pour it in ice cube trays and freeze it. After about a month of pesto making, we'll have several freezer bags full of pesto cubes we can use for a whole bunch of things...like this soup!
Vegetable Beef End of Summer Soup
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1 - 2 pounds stew meat
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 32 oz carton GF beef stock [Kitchen Basics]
1 48 oz bottle V8 Juice
2 - 3 cups cubed fresh rutabagas
2 - 3 cups sliced fresh carrots
2 - 3 cups chopped fresh green beans
1 medium onion chopped
2 cups chopped zucchini
2 ears cooked fresh corn cut off the cob
3/4 cups of frozen peas
3 cups chopped cabbage
2 chopped Roma tomatoes
1 Bay leaf
Salt & Pepper to taste
optional: 1 packet of HerbOx beef bouillon
optional: 1 small 5.5oz can of tomato juice
Add olive oil to your soup pot or dutch oven and brown stew meat.
Add beef stock and V8 juice to pot and stir.
Add carrots and rutabagas. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add all the rest of the veggies and bay leaf.
Stir and simmer covered pot for about 3 hrs.
Rinse the bottle of V8 and add water to pot [about 1-2 cups].
Peg Notes:
The amounts of veggies can be adjusted to your tastes. I added the additional HerbOx and tomato juice because I felt there was more veggies than liquid. I didn't want to loose flavor as I added liquid, so I used the HerbOx
Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
1 medium onion - chopped
2 celery ribs - chopped
2 medium carrots - grated
1/2 cup of butter or margarine
2 tablespoons of sweet rice flour
4 cups of milk
1 can Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups of cubed cheddar cheese
3 cups of chopped broccoli - steamed
3 cups of chopped cauliflower - steamed
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned salt
In a Dutch oven, sauté onion, celery and carrot in butter until tender. Stir in GF flour until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add soup, cheese, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and Lawry's; mix well. Cook and stir until cheese is melted and soup is heated through. Yield: 10-12 servings (3 quarts).
If you can do lots of dairy - this is a good one. We have not tried subbing out the dairy.
You can use the same base to make potato soup by replacing broccoli/cauliflower with 6 large potatoes, peeled, diced, and cooked (about 8 cups)
Beef Stew
If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross Contamination.
2 pounds beef
3 - 4 Tb Sweet Rice Flour
2 Tb chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cubed onions
1 1/2 cups of cubed celery
3 cups cubed and peeled potatoes
3 cups sliced carrots
28 ounces beef GF broth [Kitchen Basics, Imagine, etc]
or (Herb-Ox w/ 28 oz of water could be used instead of beef broth)
Option - replace 6 oz of stock with 6 oz of red wine.
Preheat oven to 325.
Trim fat from beef and cut into 1.5 inch cubes. We get stew meat that's already cubed at our meat market.
Put flour, salt & pepper into plastic bag. Drop in a handful of meat, close bag and shake to coat. Remove coated pieces and set aside. Repeat this until all pieces are coated. You may need to add more flour as you go. Just be mindful as to how many pieces you have left and how much flour is in the bag - you don't want to have a lot to throw out when done.
Discard excess flour.
Combine parsley, pepper & thyme and set aside.
Put half of beef on the bottom of a Dutch oven or a big pan with a lid. Top with half the onions, half the potatoes, half the carrots. Sprinkle with half the parsley mixture. Repeat layering (starting again with the beef and ending with parsley). Pour in broth [or broth/wine mixture]. Cover and bake for 2 hours.
Al & Peg Notes:
This recipe as it's shown is fine, however, it could use a bit of jazzing up. We are making this for dinner tomorrow afternoon. We are planning on replacing 6 oz of beef broth with red wine. 6 oz equals a mini bottle of wine that you get in a 4 pack.
Edit 2/5/07 - We really like the addition of the red wine. However, it turns the sauce [and the potatoes] a slight shade of purple. It tastes good, but color is not right.
We also added a several shakes of McCormick's Grill Mates Hamburger Seasoning.
We did have to add a little extra salt after tasting it.