Beef & Broccoli

Yum.

Ingredients:
Sirlion Steak
Ginger (a pinch of it grated.)
Garlic 3-4 cloves
Scallions (1 fairly large)
Broccoli
Oil

Marinade
1 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar
2-3 Tbs soy substitute (we use Bragg's)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cornstarch

Sauce
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs soy substitute (again, Bragg's for us)
2 tsp cornstarch & 1/4 cup water (thickener)


Slice you sirloin into strips against the grain. I prefer smaller pieces so I slice them to be near bite size. Then prepare your marinade in a ziplock (with above listed ingredients).  Marinade for 10 minutes.
While the marinade is doing it's thing, mince/crush your garlic, scallions, and grate your ginger.

Get your broccoli steaming. I use a steam pot (colander with boiling water under). You can microwave it, but I prefer to steam so the broccoli doesn't get soggy and water logged. Let the broccoli cook (while you do the other things for your beef (below) but don't let it get too soggy, you want a little bite to them.
Also, put your sauce ingredients into a bowl, this just makes it easier for you later. (not the thickening agents, of course, but get them ready also in their own cup.)

When you're ready, put your skillet on the heat at high, let it get really hot! Add your oil, then put your steak in. I recommend waiting just a couple minutes to let the beef brown by itself before adding the garlic, onion & ginger. Right before you're ready to flip the beef over throw in the garlic, scallions and ginger. Let cook till beef is browned and garlic, scallion and ginger are tender (it will happen fairly quickly). Then add your sauce liquids. Let simmer to a boil, then add thickening agents. Stir till well combined and sauce is thick. Last, add the broccoli to your pan and toss to coat.
Serve over rice, or if you wish, noodles (but if you're having it on noodles make double sauce!). It's a delicious meal.

Lemon Chicken Asparagus Soup

This was a great light soup. Each of my kids loved it (my boy picked around the asparagus, but still ate it...) We didn't have any leftovers, that's how yummy it was!

Note: A few days ago, I bought a chicken and did a roast chicken with lemon, fresh rosemary and thyme. I used that leftover chicken, diced, in this soup.

Ingredients:
Cooked Chicken (diced)
Asparagus
small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked quinoa
5 cups chicken stock
1 lemon

In your soup saucepan, sautee 3 cloves of garlic and 1 small diced onion on low heat with some olive oil till soft and onions are translucent. WATCH it closely, you don't want browned garlic or onion, no burning. Better to go slow than have to start all the way over.
Add diced asparagus, diced chicken, and 4-5 cups chicken stock (or bullion with water). Add pre-cooked quinoa & brown rice.
(I usually try to have both precooked in my fridge, that way I can use it quickly and not have to wait for it to cook. If you don't have it precooked, you can just add it and let it cook in the broth (you'll have to add more liquid as the quinoa and rice soak up the stock, so have some nearby). If you do it that way-- don't add the asparagus till the rice and quinoa is cooked or it will become mushy.)
Allow the soup to simmer till asparagus is tender, add juice of 1 lemon.
Stir.
Enjoy.

Hawaiian Chicken (Crockpot)

This was the meal that I had to get all prepped and ready cause I didn't have time to do much later. (I was carting the children all over for their extra curricular activities!) I browned my chicken, then threw the main dish in the crock pot, chopped my squash, threw it in my colander for steaming. When I came home all I had to do was turn on the pot for the squash to steam, and make the rice. 

For my life, it is absolutely necessary to know some quick crockpot recipes. 

Ingredients:
2 Tbs oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup Vinegar
14 oz Chicken Broth
1 1/4 cup Orange Juice
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 Tbs Bragg (or a soy substitute)
2 minced garlic cloves
1 bell pepper (diced)
3 Tbs Cornstarch
1/4 cup water


Brown your chicken in a skillet in the oil.

Take the remaining ingredients, throw it all in a crock pot. Stir. add chicken breasts.
Cook on high setting for 4-6 hours.

Serve over rice (we did brown tonight)

Lemon Chicken with Roasted Asparagus

Lemon Chicken
Twice around the pan with the olive oil, then throw in your diced raw chicken, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. You just want to quickly sear. Reduce heat and add in the 4 cloves garlic (I used my garlic press, but chopped is fine, too), till they start to sweat and soften. sprinkle in your parsley. Add the chicken broth & lemon juice. Let the chicken simmer in the sauce to finish cooking and to absorb that flavor!
Serve over rice.

Roasted Asparagus
Just cut the tops and about 3/4 of the bunch into bite sizes. Drizzle with olive oil, then salt and pepper. Cook in oven till tender and nice and crisp on the outside. (time will vary according to the thickness of your Asparagus). I sprinkled a little Mozzerella on top of my serving. Enjoy!

Bacon Tomato Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe is a family favorite. 

• 
  
• 3 green onions (trimmed and thinly sliced) *I have omitted this when I didn't have it on hand
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 6 slices center-cut bacon, chopped into pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced, or chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 28-ounce can Italian diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (or 1 Tbs dried)
• 1 bag GF spaghetti noodles 
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• A handful of fresh basil, thinly sliced or chopped (or 1 Tbs dried)

Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat olive oil. Add bacon and crisp. Add onions and garlic, cook 2-3 minutes to soften. Season with black pepper. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Add tomatoes and purée to pan. Bring up to a simmer and let thicken over low heat while you cook pasta. Stir in parsley. Salt pasta water and cook pasta to al dente. (BEFORE draining pasta, put about 1/2 cup of noodle starch water into pasta sauce) Drain pasta and toss with sauce for a minute or so. Serve in shallow bowls with cheese and basil on top.

For the Cauliflower:

Cut cauliflower into pieces. Spread on cookie sheet... drizzle with Olive Oil and some red pepper flakes. Broil till starting to brown. It's delicious! Nutty and amazing!!!

Blondies

Ingredients:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups gluten free flour
1 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/4 cups mini M&M’s
a few extra M&M’s

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8x8-inch pan with nonstick spray and then line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it browns and begins to smell nutty (watch it closely so it doesn’t burn). Let the butter cool for a few minutes, until just barely warm.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the browned butter and sugars. With a wooden spoon, stir in egg, vanilla and salt. Stir in flour, coconut and M&M’s until batter is blended.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle a few additional M&M’s on top. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Let the blondies cool before turning them out onto a cutting board and slicing into squares (chilling them will make that process even easier)


Recipe by Paige Nisson 

Fish with bell peppers

Tonight's dinner was simple. And really well received.

Ingredients:
White Fish (1 filet for each person, tonight I used Tilapia)
Bell peppers (yellow, red, green) sliced into strips.
1 Onion, sliced.
Pepper
Salt
Chili oil (1/4 tsp red pepper flakes in 1/4 cup olive oil)
Lime

For the potatoes:
2 large potatoes sliced (I use my mandolin so that they are all the same)
seasoning salt
pepper
olive oil

Take sheets of tin foil. Later onion, peppers, and then fish. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the fish. Spoon olive oil on the fish, about 2 small spoons. (if you want it hot, you can let your spoonful have the flakes in it. For me and the kids, NO flakes.) Squeeze 1/4 lime on each fish. Tent the foil to seal (roll the middle together, then pinch the sides in). Bake 450 for about 25 minutes or till fish flakes easily.

Slightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil. Spread your potatoes across (be sure not to have them too overlapped). Sprinkle with pepper, and seasoning salt. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake in oven till soft, not crispy though!

Great meal for us. So easy for me :) and that's awesome on a day where we have Jiu Jitsu! My SON even ate the potatoes!!! WHOA! My baby wouldn't' touch it, but I'm used to that. If it's not on her approved list-- forget about it. My oldest devoured it!
Hubby loved it too.

Mediterranean Pasta

This Pasta is hearty and full of flavor. Do yourself a favor and buy Gluten Free Pasta from a company that specializes in it. Mainstream companies are trying to pull it off, but theirs always ends up sticky and mushy. It really lacks taste and texture. Tinkyada makes great Penne, and macaroni noodles. I highly recommend it. Also, this recipe makes a lot, which we love because it's great for leftovers. When you can't do the traditional sandwich or mac and cheese for lunch it's always nice to have quick and easy options.

Ingredients:

2 packages of Tinkyada Brown Rice Penne Pasta

2 small yellow onions chopped

3 cloves of garlic diced

8 ounces of capers

1 cup of Kalamata Olives - PITTED! - chopped

1 large jar of Roasted Red Peppers chopped

2 jars of artichoke hearts, chopped

1 jar of Sun dried Tomatoes, chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 large handfuls of baby spinach

Olive Oil

Heat a large, deep skillet on medium high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Throw in your onions and garlic, cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the Capers, Olives, Red peppers, Artichokes, Sun dried tomatoes, Cherry tomatoes and spinach. Add a touch of sea salt. Stir, reduce heat to low and cover.

 Meanwhile, heat water and boil your noodles until they are al dente. When the noodles are done, drain and add to large bowl or serving dish. Add the vegetable mixture from the skillet and stir to combine. There you have it! I usually serve with a green side salad.

From Kaydence's Kitchen

Vietnamese Noodle (or something like that)

Ok, lets be honest, sometimes we make things, and they-- well, are outside of our comfort zone. That was this dish. I didn't have everything I wanted to make it... my mushrooms went bad, and I was out of bell peppers (having used them in another dinner). So I---- modified. I bet this is nothing like real Vietnamese noodles. Having only had Vietnamese food once, I'm still a little clueless. So this was a sort of "attempt".
But the example stands, you can cook a multitude of things going gluten free. You just have to look outside of the foods you were raised on, look into the things that you think "what the HECK do you do with that?!" when you see it at the store. My version today is boring looking, and so blah... no fun red's and greens... but it was yummy enough as it was... so play with yours, mix in some different vegetables!

1 squash (yellow julienned)
2 carrots (julienned)
1/2 onion (julienned)
1 can chicken
BRAGG (or other soy-like sauce)
2-3 tsp sesame oil
2 or so tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock (or bullion and water)
rice noodles








Put your noodles into their warm water to start cooking (my package said warm water for 5-10 minutes, follow YOUR package).

In 2 tsp sesame oil and a drizzle of olive oil, cook your carrots & onion till the onion starts to sweat and turn translucent. Add squash, chicken, BRAGG and broth. Toss with noodles. Done. {you don't want squishy veggies, so be sure not to overcook them!} Next time I'm going to put more veggies in it... spinach, bell peppers, and some other good ones!

Again, this was plain, simple and... honestly... LOVED.
My kids gobbled it ALL UP!
Husband loved it.

Spaghetti, Feta Asparagus and GF Garlic Toast.

Ingredients: (to make EVERYTHING)
GF pasta
Hot Italian Sausage
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped small)
6 leaves fresh basil (chopped)
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 extra large can of crushed tomatoes (the big ole daddy, or 3-4 regular sized cans.)
GF bread (your choice of brand, I like Rudi's the best, but we just tried another brand, and that's what I used here, it was great... but I threw away the bag when I put it in an air-tight container, so I'll have to get you the brand later! I bought it at Fresh & Easy!)
Butter
Garlic Salt
Olive oil
Asparagus
Feta Cheese

To make my spaghetti sauce:
Hot Italian Sausage
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped small)
6 leaves fresh basil (chopped)
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 extra large can of crushed tomatoes (the big ole daddy, or 3-4 regular sized cans.)

I sauté my meat till it's cooked through, then I throw my garlic & onion in with a little oil to sweat. Then I mix in the tomatoes, last I throw in my basil & parsley. I simmer it on the stove till I'm ready to eat. (today I simmered for 2 hours.)

To cook the GF pasta just follow the directions on the package, but I do cook my pasta longer than the package says... My package says 5-7 minutes I cooked mine for around 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

For my Asparagus with Feta:
I  cut my asparagus into bite size pieces. Then I steamed my asparagus till al dente, after that, I threw it in a little skillet with some oil to give it a little crisp. As I served it up, I topped it with feta.

For the GF bread:
I took my bread, put it on a cookie sheet and spread some butter on it. Then I sprinkled garlic salt on it. I cooked it under the broiler till golden.

Something to TRY...

I just made General Tso's Chicken for dinner....

{this is a photo of our actual dinner, when you see the other gal's photos--mine are crummy, also, I used sugar snap peas instead of snow peas (didn't have any on hand and had 5 kids here!), it was still good.}


It was great, really easy, and gluten free!! 
Go to THIS site, and you'll find the recipe! It was a crowd pleaser!

Healthier General Tso’s Chicken

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups snow peas, trimmed and halved diagonally
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chicken and Coating

• 2 large egg whites
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound chicken, cut into bite-size pieces

1. For sauce: Mix together water and cornstarch until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Set aside.
2. For chicken: Whisk together egg whites, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Stir in chicken.
3. To cook: Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add a small amount of oil. Add half of chicken to pan, dripping off excess coating. Cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan, add more oil if necessary and repeat with remaining chicken. Set the chicken aside.
4. Add sauce to skillet and cook until snow peas are tender and sauce is thickened. Add chicken (and any collected juices) to skillet.Toss to coat.
5. Serve with rice.

Serves: 4

*Make sure to use gluten-free soy sauce if cooking for those who cannot handle wheat.

* Feel free to add as many veggies as you like.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Granola

We stopped eating breakfast cereals years ago, we did smoothies, eggs, home made bread, etc... but then we started cutting out animal products, and then I couldn't eat wheat. So I decided I wanted to make something quick and easy to have on hand for breakfast. I've tried a few of incarnations of granola throughout the years, but this one has stuck the longest. It just developed out of a lot of different variations and we all love it so for now it's not changing anytime soon as our breakfast staple. 

Firstly, I must clarify, not all oats are gluten free. They are processed with wheat and contaminated. I order Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats online from Amazon. They come in bulk and are much cheaper than buying them by the bag at my local co-op.

Ok. So you need:

1 32 ounce bag of GF Whole Oats (that's about 8 cups)

1 1/2 cups of raisins

1 1/2 cups of nuts (I just pulse mine in the blender instead of chopping)

1 1/2 cups dried, flaked coconut, unsweetened

2 cups of honey (I love my local raw honey, check to see if you have local honey at your nearest health food store. The taste is much better and it retains it's anti-microbial properties)

2 10oz bags of mini chocolate chips (I highly recommend Enjoy Life brand as it is soy free and dairy free)

2 tbls. cinnamon

1 tbls. nutmeg

1 tbls. vanilla (I buy the alcohol-free brand. Pure vanilla and glycerin without the artificial "vanillin" stuff)

Preheat oven to 350. Pour the oats, raisins, nuts, coconut and spices into a large bowl. 

In a small saucepan heat the honey through on low heat. You don't want it to boil, just thin out for pouring. When it is warmed through, pour over the bowl of oats. Stir thoroughly and make sure everything is wet. 

Put unbleached parchment paper in a large pan. I use a 12x17 roasting pan, but you could use a cookie sheet with side or a jelly roll pan. 

Pour only half the mixture into the pan. 

(if you have a big oven and two big pans you could totally do two pans at once, but my oven was the first oven ever constructed. It's probably 40 years old, and it is tiny). 

Bake for 20 minutes on 350, stirring occasionally. 

If you did two pans at once, then take them out, let them cool and when they are totally cool, not even kind of warm, dump them back into a big bowl.

 

Pour on the chocolate chips and stir. 

All done!

I place mine in pourable tupperware containers. This usually lasts five people about a week to a week and a half.

From Kaydence's Kitchen

Taco Experiment.

So I usually make my tacos a pretty standard way. I use free range ranch beef (my dad's ranch) and I cook it with onions in a skillet till browned, then I add water and seasoning (I consult my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook to make my own no-flour seasoning). 

This time I did something a friend of mine suggested. I used Chorizo. I'm wondering if I used a wrong version? Or is it just that there's something special this friend does?? I don't know. Anyhow, this was our Taco Experiment. 

I started with my meat. I used Chorizo, beef and red beans. I added the red beans after the meat was cooked. I let it simmer while I cooked the rice.

The rice was so simple- yet delicious! I put my 2 cups of water on to boil, then I added 1 Tbs lime juice. I let my minute rice go... then at the very end, I added chopped cilantro. 

 I baked my taco shells in the oven, so they would be nice and crisp.

As you see from the 1st picture, I layered meat, rice and tomato, with a sprinkle of more cilantro on top. I actually think this would have tasted better on a burrito, but my son doesn't like corn tortillas so we did tacos. It felt very "carb-o-loaded" to me, but it was good. (If you are going to add cheese, I'd recommend right between the meat and rice! If you like a corn tortilla, I'd do that instead of taco shell!!) 

Now here was our KICKER! I made Jalapeño dip. I put in my bowl, 1/2 brick of cream cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/2 cup sour cream. Then I chopped a Jalapeño (after de-seeding it) very small. Microwaved till hot and smooth. YUM.

BJ's Brewhouse

Tonight we went out as a family and had dinner at BJ's Brewhouse.
We've wanted to take our boy there for some time to try the Gluten Free Pizza!
He loved it. Gobbled down about 4 pieces. Then we got a Gluten Free Pizookie, too.

I loved both the things our son got. I always try it myself, because if I wouldn't eat it, I wouldn't expect HIM to eat it. (Believe me, there have been things that have NOT passed the mommy test.)

Just to entice you to go and try it--- I've got some pictures from BJ's of the things we ate... (of course my son's pizza was pepperoni, and light on cheese.)

Corn Breaded Tilapia

Quick and Easy. I was out of time and patience tonight!

Ingredients:
5 filets of Tilapia
oil
dried dill
cajun seasoning
lemon pepper
corn flake crumbs
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

For the sides seen here:
Rice
1/2 a lemon (I just squeeze the lemon into my rice before I cook it.)

Salad:
Spinach
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse and pat dry your filets of Tilapia. (Use paper towels, and just throw them away!)

Pour about a 1/2 cup of corn flake crumbs into your blender and blend till fine grit. (Thank you husband for use of your hands to show the difference...)

Put your dill, lemon pepper and cajun seasoning in with the crumbs, mix well.

Sprinkle on top of your fish. Bake in a greased casserole dish till fish flakes (it depends on your thickness of the filet, ours took about 12 minutes). I also poured a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on top of my filets for a brown crisp on top.

Just before the fish is done, for the portions you want with cheese, sprinkle on top.
Serve over rice, with soy sauce substitute. (Tamari, Bragg's or your brand of choice.)

For the salad, I chopped my peppers, put them on top of my spinach. In a cup (with lid) I put equal parts oil and vinegar with some salt and pepper. Shake well, and pour on salad.

Mandarin Salad by Kaydence

I developed this recipe because I was craving Asian food!

Restaurants are not an option since all the food cooked there has soy sauce with wheat in it. If you happen to find a wheat free dressing anywhere most likely the salad has meat in it. So I created a salad and dressing to satiate my craving.

   

{It seems a little cliche to be using tofu, because I'm one of the vegetarians who is always ragging on people who take out meat and animals products from their diet and just replace them all with GMO soy products. Soy in large amounts isn't good for you, and GMO soy in any amount isn't good for you. But, organic tofu in moderation can be a good source of protein.}

You will need:

1 14 oz package of EXTRA FIRM Organic Tofu

1 14 oz package uncooked rice noodles

5-10 oz of slivered almonds (depending on your preference)

2 10 oz jars of Mandarin Oranges (yes, you can use cans, but I try to avoid them because of the BPA)

1 pound of greens (whatever you like, but I use dark greens for more nutrition)

Olive or Canola oil for sautéing

For the dressing:

1/2 cup toasted sesame oil (you can use olive oil, but this will give it a deeper Asian taste)

2 Tbs. Tamari (wheat free soy sauce, check your labels, always! Soy sauce always has wheat in it unless it's labeled as gluten free)

1/4 cup agave syrup (honey would work too)

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 cloves of garlic slightly chopped

1-2 tbls FRESH ginger slightly chopped (just eyeball two pieces that are about the size of your thumb)

Firstly, get out your tofu and cut it into half inch cubes. You have to use extra firm or it won't stay in cubes. Set it on some paper towel to let the moisture out a little. Put a shallow skillet on the pan. Add a little oil to the bottom (olive or organic canola will work) and then add in the tofu cubes in one level. Turn the heat on to medium and let the cubes start browning (you don't want to heat the pan first or the moisture from the wet tofu will cause the oil to splatter if you drop it in the hot oil). When they get brown (about five minutes) turn them over gently and them them brown on the other side for another five. Once they are brown on both sides they won't crumble and you can gently stir them and flip them to make sure they get covered. Turn the heat to medium low and let sit for a couple more minutes. When you are done, drain on a plate with paper towel. 

Get out your rice noodles, you will only need about 1/4-1/3 of the package. Break into little 2 inch-ish pieces. Add a little more oil to the same pan - until the bottom is covered but the oil isn't deep- maybe a scant 1/4 cup. On medium heat, add enough rice noodles to cover the bottom of the pan, don't over-layer. They will puff up beautifully. Put them on paper towel to drain. Do the next batch and so on until you have puffed all of your noodles. While those things are draining and cooling down, make your dressing.

Put all the ingredients listed above for dressing into the blender and give it a whirl until everything is thoroughly mixed and there are no chunks of garlic or ginger.

When I make this salad I dump all my greens into a bowl, add the almonds, mandarin oranges, tofu and rice noodles and then pour all the dressing on and toss because my family will eat the whole bowl. But if you want to save some leftovers, have everyone top their salads with the dressing separately so that the crispy noodles don't get soggy. 

An easy refreshing salad! 

From Kaydence's Kitchen

click on any picture to enlarge