Tag Archives: gluten free

Creamy Mashed Squash

The other day I was really in the mood for mashed potatoes but I did not want to eat something so starchy and high in carb. This worked out great and would go well with anything.

Ingredients:

1 Large Squash peeled
2 Tbs Light Cream Cheese
1 Tbs Salt
1 Tbs Grated Cheese

Start by cutting the large squash in chunks. Place squash into pot with boiling water and salt. Once the squash is soft, drain and return to pot. Mash with a potato masher and add both the cream cheese and grated cheese. Mash and mix well.
Serve hot and enjoy.

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Skinny Holiday Hot Chocolate

I love every type of hot chocolate imaginable. I am lucky to live in a city with tons of special little hot chocolate places. Since I like to lighten things up this is my recipe that will make you next mug of steamy hot chocolate completely guiltless.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs Coco Powder ( Hershey makes a great one)
1 – 2 Tbs Any Sugar
2 Cups Water
1/4 Cup Skim or Almond Milk
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
* Cinnamon or Spice Optional
** marshmallow, whip, peep or candy cain for garnish

Place everything in a small pot and whisk well. Bring mixture to a boil and lower to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes whisking frequently. Cook until thickness you desire is reached. Serve with any topping you want. I love using festive peep for the holidays.

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Prince Charming Tortilla Soup

Once upon a time I met a boy who first told me a story about his love of cooking. After a long day of work and hanging out he offered to bring food over and make some famous soup. Being the foodie I am, I welcomed the idea. After a short trip to the store he was off banging away in the kitchen and cooking up a storm. Not allowing me to taste anything until it was done. Hours later after talking well into the early hours of the morning I was served a wonderful bowl of tortilla soup. It was savory with a little spice. With the warm broth, colorful veggies, fresh herbs and crunchy topping I knew this was something special. This was a soup made with love and the game was over. I found my prince because of a bowl of soup.

Ingredients:
3 Cups Chopped Cooked Chicken or Turkey ( Great use of left overs 🙂
1 Big Can Crushed Tomatoes
5 Cups Broth
2 Celery Stalks Chopped
1 Can Corn
1 Can Black Beans
1 Onion Chopped
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Lime
1 Tbs Salt
1 Tbs Chili Powder
1 Tbs Cumin
2 Bell Peppers
1 Cup Cilantro Chopped
* optional tortilla chips to top

Start by browning all onions, garlic, celery and bell peppers in a well sprayed large pot, cook till translucent and soft. Add broth, tomatoes and juice of the lime and bring to a boil. Add spices and lower heat to maintain a low simmer. Finally add turkey, corn, beans and cilantro. Cook at a low simmer for about 2 hours. Serve hot with tortilla chips on top.

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Stuffed Mushrooms

For the holidays, I have been looking for fun new gluten free appetizers. Since I try to incorporate veggies as much as possible , I figured stuffing mushrooms would be great. This recipe was a hit with my family for dinner and the few leftovers became part of my egg dish in the morning.

Ingredients:
2 Packs Baby Bella Mushrooms
2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic Chopped
1 Medium Size Onion Chopped
1 Pack Frozen Spinach ( thawed )

Topping:
One Cup Gluten Free Bread Crumbs or Crushed Nuts
1/4 Parm Cheese Grated
Small amount for Onion and Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Start by cleaning the stem out of the mushroom ( save the stem).
Oil Mushrooms and lay on cookie sheet. Place cheese, salt, pepper, mushroom stems in big bowl or food processor. Then stuff filling into mushrooms.

Next, take all the indigents for the topping and mix together. Pour topping all over mushrooms and broil on low for 5-10 minutes until the topping starts to brown and mushrooms are cooked.

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All Natural Whiskey Sour

I have really been getting into the new speakeasy trend in the city. A fun bar that is kinda hidden, has fancy drinks and makes you feel like your doing something different then the normal bar scene. I love to learn about the fancy cocktails and what makes them worth the extra few bucks. Normally its the extra effort or more expensive ingredients. When I try something new I love to re-create it.

After my birthday this year my friends were all talking about this go-go bar that has amazing Whisky Sours made with egg whites. Once I tried it I was in shock. As exotic as it sounds this stuff is good. No sour mix and this stuff is smooth. Give it a try.

Ingredients:
2 oz Whiskey
Juice of one Small Lemon
2 tsp Sugar
1 Egg White

The trick to this is all into the shaking. Place the egg white into a container with a screw top like a quart container or something smaller. Close lid tight and shake it like crazy till you get a really nice foam. Then add sugar and shake again. Last add lemon and whiskey and shake again.

Depending on how you like it either serve over ice or shake with ice and strain. I love using liquor rock that you keep in the freezer and they never melt.

Serve in a fun glass and enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Candy Nuts

Have you ever walked down a city street and you pass a hot nut vendor? The smell fills the air with nutty sweet goodness and you crave a bag. Now imagine making it at home. I made the mistake of doing it at night in the slow cooker and kept getting out of bed to have a few more, the whole house smell amazing.

Ingredients:

1 Lb Pecans
1/2 Lb Walnuts
1 Stick Butter
1/4 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Pumpkin Spice
1/2 Grated Whole Nutmeg
1/2 Tbs Cinnamon

Star by heating butter and white sugar in a pot until melted. While butter is melting pre-heat slow cooker. Next, place nuts in slow cooker and pour butter mix on top. Stir together well then sprinkle in brown sugar,pumpkin spice and nutmeg. Stir well and cook on high for an hour leaving the lid partly open. Then add vanilla and cinnamon and stir again and continue to cook with no cover for about another 40 minutes. Remove mixture and pour onto large cookie sheet to cool over night. Store in air tight container.

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Disappearing Pumpkin Soup

Everyone knows I love pumpkin. Well I have to admit both my boyfriend and Dad are not big fans. I was determined to make something pumpkin for dinner but I knew I had a hard group to please. Well this soup has the title for a reason, it was gone in less then 15 minutes. It truly is out of this world. I promise it won’t disappoint.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Pumpkin ( I prefer my fresh or frozen from my Pumpkin Breakdown recipe but can pumpkin would work)

1 Peeled and Chopped Apple

3 Cups Vegetarian Broth

1/2 Tbsp Pumpkin Spice

1 tsp Tyme

1 tsp Rosemary

2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Oil

1/4 Cup Heavy Cream

1/2 Cup Skim Milk

Start by placing the onion and oil in the slow cooker on high for 20 minutes. Then add all remaining ingredients and cook on low for at least 8 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning as you would like. Pour the whole mixture into a pot and pure with an immersion blender. Then heat soup and serve hot. This soup is great to make the day before and leave in the fridge until the next day. Just heat and serve.

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Turkey Pot Pie

With so many left overs in the fridge I have been playing around with some great new recipes. This is a great recipe to make in advance and have ready for a great comfort dinner. Plus and gluten free pot pie is a hard find and this is a great alternative.

Ingredients:

3 Cups Chicken Broth

1/2 Onion Sliced

2 Carrots Sliced

1 Stalk Celery

2 Cloves Garlic Sliced

2 Cups Chopped Roasted Turkey

2 TBS Corn Starch

3 TBS Left Over Gravy

1 OZ Red Wine

1 tsp Thyme

1 tsp Sage

Salt and Pepper

Place carrots, onion, garlic and celery in sprayed pot and cook on low until onions are translucent. Add both, thyme, sage, salt and pepper and heat until boil. Once boiling lower flame, add turkey and wine and simmer for ten minutes. Place corn starch in a little bowl and add some of the hot broth to make a thick liquid. Pour the liquid into the broth and continue to stir and simmer. Add gravy and cook until it all becomes a thick soup. I stored the soup in the fridge over night to make sure it firms up a little more.

The next day I placed the soup into two two small casserole dishes. Topped it with left over mashed potatoes. Spray the top well to prevent from burning and bake at 350 degrees for 45 min.

Enjoy!

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Super Simple Roast Turkey

It is funny to me how so many people are intimidated to roast a turkey. I came up with this recipe in college and it is alway a hit. I host thanksgiving every year and always do it that same. Feel free to use the same recipe for a fun week night chicken.

Ingredients:

1 Turkey (Breast or Whole)

2 Carrots Cut into Chunks

2 Celery Stalk Cut into Chunks

2 Oranges

1 Lemon

2 Onions

1 Garlic Head

1/3 Cup Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Sage, Thyme and Rosemary *Optional

Prepare your turkey, rinse and dry it. Place into roasting pan with pieces of carrot and celery at the bottom, the vegetables will help make a super flavorful gravy. Slice and peel lemon, orange, onion and garlic and place into a large bowl. Now you need to place about half of all the slices under the turkey skin. I start by making small cuts in the skin all over the bird including the legs, thighs, breast and so on. Then just insert all different pieces of the fruit, onion and garlic all over. I try to put one piece of each in every section of the bird. This will really keep the meat moist and add a lot a flavor. Take the remaining pieces of everything and stuff inside the bird. Pour oil all over bird coating all the skin. Then sprinkle all the seasoning all over the skin and rub it all in. Cover the bird with foil and bake covered at 325 degrees for about 3 hours depending on the size. I leave it covered for about two hours and then uncover it for the last 45 minutes to an hour and also baste it every 40 minutes. The best rule of thumb is an internal temp of 160.

When turkey is done, remove and let it sit covered with foil for 30 minutes before cutting.

For a gravy, put all the drippings in a pot. Add corn starch and a splash of red wine. Cook down and stir until gravy becomes thick and bubble.

Enjoy.

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Drunken Cranberry Sauce

There is something about tart cranberries as a side dish with any meal that always seems like a great match. From breakfast to dinner its always a great match. I loved the canned version as a kid but my grown up homemade version is a crowd please that takes not effort.

2 Lb Cranberries

2 Cups Sugar (or 1 1/2 Cups Sugar and 1/2 Cup Splenda)

1 Cups Red Wine

Zest and Juice of One Large Orange

1 Cup Apple Sauce

1 Oz Port

Place cranberries, sugar, orange juice, zest and wine in a small pot. Cook on medium heat and stir continuously. The sauce will quickly combine and berries will start to pop. Its important not to cook longer then 15 minutes in order to save some of the pectin to keep the sauce firm. 15 minutes is plenty of time for the cranberries to cook down and for everything to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool in fridge. Once cool add apple sauce and port.

Enjoy

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