Cinnamon Quinoa Bake

Very healthy breakfast or snack! Delicious with fresh ground honey roasted peanut butter. Recipe to follow.

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Fritters

Oh yeah, these babies are delicious! Amazing is basically the only word that truly does them justice!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded
1/4 cup "hot sauce" ( I used buffalo wing sauce)
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 blue cheese, crumbled
1 egg
1/4 cup gluten free panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil to fry

How to:

Add quinoa and water to pot with lid. Simmer until all liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. I recommend getting it to a boil first then bringing it down to low-heat for the 15 minute cooking period. Once cooked, stir with fork to fluff. Set aside, lid off, until cool enough to handle.

Once quinoa has cooled to handling temperature, add all quinoa, chicken, hot sauce, onion, cheddar, blue cheese, egg, breadcrumbs and salt & pepper to a large bowl.  Stir all ingredients until well combined.

Then, take mixture and form patties. Place patties on cookie sheet and place in fridge for 15 minutes. (Yields between 10-12 patties for me).

In the mean time heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Oil should cover the entire skillet. Once oil is hot, remove patties from fridge and cook in oil for 3-4 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove from skillet and place on paper towel to drain.

Viola! There you have a delicious and not TOO unhealthy snack/lunch/dinner. I recommend serving the quinoa fritters with extra wing sauce and blue cheese dressing for dipping. Cut up celery and carrot sticks also make a nice addition!

Enjoy! And as always- if you have comments or suggestions please share them with me!

Gluten Free Donut Muffins

Recipe coming soon!

Gluten Free Snowball Cookies

Something I realized ON Christmas Day this year was the fact that I hadn't made a single Christmas cookie this holiday season! I think it is the first time ever in my life this has happened. I started thinking how this catastrophe could have happened- was I busy with work? Had I lost interest? Then it hit me- being gluten free! All my Christmas cookies are typically chock-full of good old white flour so it didn't dawn on me to alter my recipes. So, last night I decided to alter a recipe to gluten free status and see how it turned out. (They came out deliciously if I may jump the gun and say so!)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour ( I used bobs red mill)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup softened butter ( I left mine out of the fridge for about 4-5 hours)
Powdered sugar (1/4-1/2 cup)

How To:

Preheat oven to 325.  Get out your handy-dandy kitchen aid mixer and remove the bowl so you can add in ingredients. Add all ingredients to bowl except powdered sugar. Attached bowl to mixer and beat on low- medium low until well combined, scrap sides of bowl as necessary. Dough should come together into a ball when done.  Once dough is mixed well, form one-inch round balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet one-inch apart. Bake for approximately 18-22 minutes.

Once cookies are cookies, remove from oven. Let cool on sheet for about 5 minutes. Then, sift powdered sugar over the top of them. Roll cookies in powdered sugar. Let cool completely. Once cooled, sprinkle again with powdered sugar. Viola! Complete! The easiest gluten free cookie recipe is complete. Now, dig in. This recipe yields approximately 30-40 cookies. ( I got 39 out of this recipe).

Delicious Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1 Cup Cooked and Cooled Quinoa
1/3 Vanilla Almond Milk
4 Eggs
2 Tsp. Vanilla
1/4 Cup  Coconut Oil, Melted (Extra Virgin Coconut Oil Organic - 32 fl oz (Google Affiliate Ad)
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) Butter, Melted
1 Cup All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour (Bobs Red Mill 21192 All Purpose Baking Flour Gluten Free (Google Affiliate Ad)
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 Cup Blueberries (a few extra never hurt!)
___________________________________________________________________

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 2, 12-count cupcake tins with cooking spray. Then, combine eggs, vanilla and almond milk in a food processor. Add in quinoa, blended until well combined. Finally, add melted coconut oil and butter and blend well.

In a separate bowl (preferably the one connected to your stand mixer), combine gluten free flour, baking powder and salt. Once combined, pour in food processor mixture. Mix on a low setting until well combined. Finally, very carefully fold in blueberries with a spatula. Scoop batter into cupcake tins. (You will probably yield 15-24 muffins depending on how large you make them).

Place in oven and cook for 16-18 minutes. They are done when they slightly bounce back when you poke them. Remove from oven and cook for about 5-10 minutes in the pan, after remove and cool on a wire rack.

They store very well and although I recommend eating as many as possible right away (because they are SO delicious), you should wrap the ones you do not plan to consume within the next 2 days and putting them in the freezer. Definitely take the time to wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap, it makes a difference!


Original recipe from http://groovyfoody.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/moist-and-fluffy-blueberry-muffins-gluten-free/ - I made a couple alterations in my version though.

Swiss Chard With Egg and Cheese

Delicious and even decadent (and gluten free) breakfast below! (However, I may have had it for dinner last night!!)

Recipe for a single serving:

Ingredients:

5 Leaves of Swiss Chard (stems and leaves chopped separately and left in 2 piles)
1/4 Cup Onion, Chopped (approx)
1 Clove of Garlic, minced
1 Tsp. Olive Oil (Academia Barilla 100% Italian Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 750ml.)
1/4 Cup Cheese, Shredded (I used cheddar)
1 Whole Egg
1 Tsp. Butter

How To:

Preheat oven to 350. Rub butter on the inside (sides and bottom) of an individual sized ramekin ( "7-Ounce Stackable Ramekin in Cherry" ) to coat and keep dish from sticking. Next, sautee onions and swiss chard stems in olive oil over medium heat until they start to soften but not brown. Add in garlic then swiss chard leaves. Mix and turn until well combined. Let cook for a few minutes, flipped and mixing ingredients every 30 seconds or so until the swiss chard leaves have cooked down. Then, turn off stove and immediately add (almost all of) the cheese to the vegetable mixture. Stir till combined. Place vegetable and cheese mixture into the buttered ramekin, spread evenly in the dish. Crack the egg on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cook in preheated oven for somewhere between 14-20 minutes (depending on how you want your egg yoke done). For example: I cook mine 18-20 minutes because I like my yoke cooked well. Carefully remove from oven and serve immediately right in the ramekin, perhaps with a piece of buttered (gluten free if you are me) toast! Delicious!

Enjoy!!!

Salmon Burgers with Cilantro Mayo

Recently Rob and I have been trying to broaden the types of fish we eat. Typically we just eat cod but we have trying to add in salmon as of late. I am not a picky eater, in fact, I cannot think of many foods I despise. However, in the past I have steered clear of salmon. I tended to find it too "fishy" tasting. Now I realize, it is all in the type of salmon you buy and how it is prepared. Tonight we had salmon burgers with homemade cilantro mayo, corn on the cob and zucchini (well, I had zucchini, Rob had the guacamole I made earlier today). Below I will tell you how the burgers with cilantro mayo were made.

Ingredients:

Burger-
2 Salmon Burgers (we used frozen from Whole Foods)
2 Slices gluten free bread (or regular bread or bun)
Cooking Spray (Spectrum Naturals 23460 Canola Oil Spray With Butter Flavor)

Cilantro Mayo-
1/3 Cup Mayo (I used light)
1 Cup Cilantro (fresh and chopped, stems & leaves)
1 Clove Garlic (fresh, minced)
2 Tsp. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper (Simply Organic 28644 Organic Black Pepper)

How To Make the Cilantro Mayo:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap until burgers are ready.

How To Make Burgers:

Remove frozen burgers from freezer. Cook in a skillet on medium heat, cooking 5 minutes on each side.

Assembly:

Spread one (or both!!) sides of the bread with the cilantro mayo, place burger on top and enjoy! You can obviously add other toppings to the burger. I had mine with chopped red onion & a little yellow mustard (in addition to the cilantro mayo), Rob has his with lettuce, red onion & yellow mustard. Whatever tickles your fancy!

As always, leave comments or questions if you have them. Enjoy!!!

The Sabbatical is Over

Okay, so I was not really on sabbatical, just got lazy and sidetracked planning my wedding. Now that the event is over and there is no more crazy planning to do- I intend to start writing my cooking adventures in this blog again! Although I did not actually need to write a post for this, I figured if I did, I would hold myself accountable.

Updates since I last posted (what feels like forever ago)--- I am now gluten free. Imagine that, the girl who loves beer, pizza and dessert can no longer eat wheat/gluten. So, from here on out, all recipes coming from me will be glutenus minimus. (Unless Rob sneaks in a post of course...)

Sweet Corn and Black Bean Salad

This recipe is SO easy to make and would add nice color to any BBQ! To top it all off, it is gluten free, vegan & high in fiber! Doesn't sound good? Well, I challenge you to make it and then tell me it does not taste good... come on, I dare you! Hint hint- you will lose because its delicious!

Ingredients:

1 Can of corn, rinsed and drained
2 Cans of Black Beans (no salt added), rinsed and drained
1/3-1/2 cup diced red onion
1.5-2 Tb seasoned rice vinegar
1 Tb Olive Oil
1 Tb Lime juice (fresh squeezed!)
1/4 Tsp. Sea salt
1/2 Tsp Ground black pepper
1/2-1 Whole Red pepper, chopped
1/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped

How To:

Take beans, corn, diced onion and red pepper and put them into a strainer. Rinse thoroughly and let sit to dry. In a large mixing bowl, combine olive oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper. Whisk thoroughly until ingredients are well combined to create a dressing. Then, combine the bean mixture into the dressing. Toss until incorporated. Cover and chill for about 2 hours. Add cilantro before serving. Enjoy!

Tips:

*After adding the cilantro and you serve the dish, if all is not eaten- it keeps well in the fridge for a few days.
*The reason you rinse the red onion is to get rid of the sharp flavor

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This Sunday, and for the past 3 Sundays, Rob and I have made Chicken Tortilla Soup. Needless to say.. we are addicted. The nice thing about this dish is that it provides dinner for the night you make it and at least 2 lunches afterwards and it only costs around $10! See a picture below (before we add cheese and chips of course):

Ingredients:

4 Boneless, Skinless chicken thighs

1 Cup Chicken Broth (Pacific Natural Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, 32-Ounce Containers (Pack of 12))

2 Cans Organic diced tomatoes with garlic, oregano and olive oil (Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes, Diced, 14.5-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12))

1 Can of Organic Black Beans, drained and rinsed (Eden Organic Black Beans, No Salt Added, 15-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12)_

1 4oz. Can of diced green chilies (Chi Chi's Green Chilies Diced, 4.25-Ounce Units (Pack of 12))

1 Yellow Onion, diced

3-5 Cloves of garlic, minced

1-3 Tsp. Cumin

Lawry's seasoning salt

Pepper

Garlic Pepper

Italian Seasoning

Sprinkle of Chili Powder

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Tortilla Chips

Process:

To begin, take out your crockpot and turn it onto high heat. Add chicken to the crockpot and cover chicken with chicken broth, diced tomatoes, black beans, onions, garlic and all spices. (I did not specify quantity of seasoning to put in but use your judgement, you do not need a ton of each spice; spice to your own taste). Mix items in crockpot until well blended, make sure chicken is covered completely. Let cook for approximately 3 hours on high heat. After 3 hours, spoon chicken out of the crockpot and shred it with a fork. Once shredded, return chicken to crockpot and turn it down to low heat. After about 10 minutes, add your diced cilantro to the crockpot; mix well and turn crockpot down to "keep warm" setting (basically whatever setting stops cooking but keeps the food hot). Let sit for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, serve. I choose to serve it in bowls with shredded cheese over the top and pieces of tortilla chips spread around the sides of the bowl. See below:

You can also serve it with chips on the side however I like serving it with the chips in the bowl so they slightly soften in the broth.

Serve hot and enjoy! Per usual, if you have comments or suggestions on this recipe or any of my other recipes, please feel free to share and leave a comment.

Homemade Apple Pie (with gluten free crust!)

For months Rob has been wanting us to make a homemade apple pie and we just never got around to it. Yesterday we gave in and made not only 1 but 2 apple pies! And... lets just say, it has been less than 24 hours and only 1 pie is left. Check them out:

As you can see, we did not use a top crust for the apple pie, instead we created a crumbling topping to cover it. Now, I am not going to lie to you--we bought the gluten free crust premade at Whole Foods (it came 2 to a pack) BUT every other part of this pie is homemade! See below how you too can make your own delicious apple pie! NOTE: Ingredient list below is for 1 pie


Ingredients:


1 Premade, gluten free pie crust
5 Peeled granny smith apples, diced into thin pieces
Cinnamon (Frontier Cinnamon Powder Certified Organic (3% Oil), 16 Ounce Bags (Pack of 2))
Nutmeg (Cole and Mason H277130 Classic Nutmeg Grinder)
Vanilla extract (Simply Organic Vanilla Extract Certified Organic, 4-Ounce Glass Bottles (Pack of 2))
1 Egg, beaten with 2 Tb of cold water and set aside
________________________
1 Stick unsalted butter
3 Tb Flour
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/4 cup Water
________________________
1/2 Stick of butter, partially melted
1 Cup of granola (we used vanilla almond from Whole Foods)
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Brown Sugar
White Sugar

Process:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. First, take all of your diced apples and place them in a large bowl (you need to be able to mix them). Then, sprinkle about 1-2 tsp vanilla extract and some cinnamon and nutmeg over the apples; mix until it looks like the cinnamon and nutmeg have spread out/no clumps. Each apple should have a little bit of spice on it. Note: You should use more cinnamon than nutmeg. Once the apples are coated, set them aside.

Now, in a medium skillet melt the unsalted butter over medium heat. Once melted, add flour. Whisk until smooth. Then add in both sugars and water; turn heat to medium high and whisk until smooth. Once smooth, turn down to low and let it simmer for about 5 minutes; whisk occasionally.

While the mixture on the stove is cooking, lets make the topping for the pie. With a fork, mix the butter with the granola. Once combined, mix in both sugars, a small amount of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. Mix until well combined. This mixture should be crumbly.

Now lets assemble the pie! Take your apple mixture and pour them into the bottom of the pie. Then, take the stove mixture and pour over the apples. Finally, carefully spread the crumb mixture over the top of the entire pie-taking the time to cover the top and the sides. Once the top of the pie is coated bake the pie for about 40-50 minutes on 325. After 40-50 minutes, take the pie out and lightly brush the visible crust with the egg & water mixture. Once you are done with that, put the pie back in the oven at 350 degrees for about another 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, take out the pie and voila! Complete! Let the pie sit for at least 15 minutes before you serve it.

This picture was taken after I made my first helping! YUMMY!

Homemade Fresh Salsa

I have obviously not written in awhile... not because I have not been cooking, but because I have been a little too lazy to post.  Over the next few days I am going to post about the meals/side dishes I have cooked over the past month or so starting with one of my favorites, my homemade fresh salsa!

Ingredients:

1 Package of cocktail tomatoes (10 oz.) (NOTE-- you can use cherry tomatoes too, if you use cherry tomatoes, use a whole package)
1/3 of a Red Onion (that is an approximation... go with what seems like enough onion for you... I like a lot!)
3 Cloves of fresh minced garlic (again, that is an approximation)
Lime -- The juice from 1/2 a lime
Cilantro -- About 1/3 of a bunch (sold at Whole Foods)
Dash of Salt (Morton Iodized Table Salt - 4lb. box)
Dash of Pepper (NoMU Just Pepper Black Pepper Grinder, 2.1-Ounce Grinders (Pack of 4))

Process:

Literally, all you need to do is dice up all of the ingredients. Mix them together, add salt and pepper, mix again. Done!

You can eat it right away or if you can let it set for a few hours and then eat, it is all preference. The most important thing is that you dice the ingredients so you get nice chunks of fresh cut veggies; the color scheme is beautiful. If you used a food processor to dice the ingredients it is just not the same, although it is easier... it is worth taking the time to cut all the veggies yourself.

Enjoy!