Meat(less) Patties YUMMY!

Meatless Patties

We are eating little to no meat products around here lately, so I'm experimenting with other options. Today, I scored!! Each of our 5 children loved these "meatless patties". I used leftover cooked bean soup. They really were delicious and I enjoyed mine with Dijon mustard on it. Kids enjoyed these with katsup. These would be good on a bun if you like. Served these alongside a salad and steamed rice.

Ingredients: 3 cups leftover bean soup(not too soupy, more on the thick side and my soup was well seasoned and had chopped carrots, onions and celery in it) 1 Cup Buck Wheat Flour, 1 Cup Rice flour, 2 eggs (yup, I know it's not vegan and I suppose that you could use egg replacer)

Instructions: Prep the bean soup in food processor so that it looks like mush. Pour it into a large bowl and add all other ingredients. Mix well and scoop out "patties", with a large spoon, into the hot oild (I just used about 1/2 c vegetable oil in the skillet). Brown on both sides, flip often until done.

Rice and Cinnamon Baked Apples

Rice and Cinnamon Baked Apples

Sweet, hearty breakfast!

Ingredients- Cooked Rice seasoned with a pinch of salt and 3 Tbsp Best Life, 4 large apples, 1 Tbsp Cinnamon, 1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw, 2 Tbsp Best Life Spread (or butter/we are going dairy free, so we use the Best Life) 3 Tbsp water, 1Tbsp corn starch.

Instructions- Prepare rice according to package. Core and slice 4 apples and toss them in a large bowl with cinnamon, sweetener and butter spread. Microwave for 10 minutes or until tender. Then, mix the water and corn starch together in a small dish and pour over apples and microwave another 2 minutes to thicken the whole batch. Serve the apple mix over the rice.

Baby Lima Bean/Veggie Soup, Layered Salad, Seasoned Fingerling Potatoes

We are attempting to eat a diet with less/no meat products, so this is our dinner tonight:

Baby Lima Bean and Veggie Soup, Layered Salad, Seasoned Fingering Potatoes.

Lima Bean and Veggie Soup: Ingredients-Frozen bag of lima beans, cooked according to instructions on the bag. Add finely chopped 16oz bag of fresh, baby carrots, ½ large onion, 4 celery stalks ( I used the food processor for all of these). Season with salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, garlic powder.

Instructions: When lima beans are soft, add all other veggies and seasonings,and cook another 30 minutes, until all are soft.  

Side/Fingeriling Potatoes: Ingredients-one large bag of washed fingerling potatoes, butter or substitute, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder.

Instructions- Boil potatoes until tender, add butter and seasoning, toss and serve. 

Layered Salad: Ingredients-Chopped lettuce, grated carrots, chopped celery, sliced/peeled cucumbers, thawed/drained previously frozen peas, Hellman’s Mayonnaise, sugar.

Instructions- Layer each ingredient into a salad bowl, twice. Ex: lettuce, cukes, carrots, peas and repeat. Top with dressing made from 1 cup mayo and 1 T sugar, stirred together well. The dressings serves as a “topper/frosting” and this salad is best if made a day in advance. Just tastes better this way. To serve, scoop straight down into the layers.  You could also top the mayo with cherry tomatoes that are cut in half. Very pretty this way.

Fast, yummy Peanut Butter/Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Ingredients: One cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy). One egg. One cup sugar. One tsp Vanilla. One cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.

Instructions: Mix all ingredients together well. Scoop cookie dough onto cookie sheet/stone. Press criss-cross design onto the top of each cookie, with a fork that has been dipped each time, into sugar.

Asian Beef and Pepper Veggie StirFry w/GF Rice Noodles

Ingredients: Any type of boneless steak, cut into thin strips. Bag (16oz)of frozen stir fry veggies (no packets inside this bag, just veggies). Bag of fresh baby carrots(16oz). One onion, chopped or sliced. Two red and/or orange bell peppers, thinly sliced. Two boxes or about 20 oz. of gluten free spaghetti noodles.

 Sauce:Half bottle of Grandessa-Signature "Garlic Vinaigrette” salad dressing (you could just use 3 crushed garlic cloves and 1/4c cider vinegar). One cup catsup. One half cup brown sugar. Two tbsp corn starch.

Instructions: Prepare noodles according to instructions on the box. Brown the meat in large skillet, drizzled with a little olive oil. Then, add onions. While onions are softening, mix sauce ingredients, in a separate sauce pan on medium heat until thick. Add the sauce to the beef and onion. Add the peppers. Cover and let simmer on low for 30 minutes or until beef is as tender as you like, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and to allow for even cooking.  In the meantime, steam carrots in separate pan until almost soft, then add the bag of stir fry veggies to the pan and continue to steam all veggies until just done, but not over cooked. When desired tenderness is achieved with the beef, add the steamed veggies, toss into the sauce and serve over cooked noodles.

Cupcakes, Icing & Sprinkles! Oh, my!

Yellow Cake Recipe:
Ingredients-
1 ½ cups rice flower (white will be sweeter than brown)
¾ tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
4 eggs
1 ¼ cups white sugar
2/3 cups mayonnaise
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and rive flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans or line your cupcake pan.
2. Mix the rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum together and set aside.
3. Mix eggs, sugar, and mayonnaise until smooth. Add the flour mixture, milk and vanilla and mix well. Spread into the pans of your choice.
4. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
5. * let the cakes cool before frosting them.

 ButterCream Icing Recipe
- ½ cup of butter
- ½ cup (butter flavored) Shortening
- 3 cups of sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
THEN WHIP IT ALL TOGETHER!

Almond Banana Bread

Fried Pickles & Homemade Ranch

Fried Pickles & Homemade Ranch Dressing

Apple Muffins

Great for breakfast, served with yogurt, or as a snack.

Ingredients-1/2c Sugar, 1/4c Shortening, 1 egg, 1  cup Rice Flour 1/4 c Potato Starch, 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum, 3/4cup Milk, 2tsp Baking Powder, 1/4 tsp Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, 1 Large Apple, peeled, cored, grated.

Instructions- Mix all dry ingredients together well. In separate bowl, mix egg and milk and melted shortening. Mix all ingredients together and pour ingredients into muffin tin, using  about 4TBSP for each muffin. 

(Note- This recipe is easily modified with dairy replacements and egg replacer)

Cheesy Italian Stuffed Chicken Breast

Cheesy Italian Stuffed Chicken Breast

Ingredients: Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts. Provolone Cheese Slices. Italian Tomato Sauce (Could be canned, or make your own-Tomato Sauce, seasoned with 3 cloves crushed garlic, basil, oregano, onion powder, salt, sugar) Sliced Tomatoes.

Instructions: Fillet the Chicken breasts. Place sliced cheese and sliced tomatoes inside of each one, along with 2 TBSP of sauce. Top each chicken breast with remaining sauce. Bake in oven, uncovered, for 45 -55 minutes on 375. Serve with cooked rice.

Pancakes [1]

You don't have to live without hearty pancakes when you decide to go "gluten-free"! These are delicious on their own, or served as a side of a "Big Breakfast", which would include Scrambled Eggs, GF Breakfast Sausage ( we use the generic Walmart brand, which also does not have MSG), and Hash Browned Potatoes ( we use Ore-Ida brand, as they are GF)

Ingredients: 1 Cup Rice Flour, (We have used Garbanzo Flour. You could use any type of GF flour, really, for this one cup) 4 TBSP Tapioca Flour, 4 TBSP Potato Starch, 2 TBSP Sugar, 1 1/2 TSP Baking Powder, 1/2 TSP Baking Soda, 1/2 TSP Salt, 1/2 TSP Xanthan Gum, 2 Eggs, 1 Cup Water, 1 Cup Milk, 1/2 TSP Vanilla or Almond Extract, 3 TBSP Oil

Directions: Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix all wet ingredients into another bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well. Pour about 4 TBSP onto griddle for each pancake. Cook on Medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side. Watch for bubbles and a little firming before flipping the pancake.  This recipe makes about 12 pancakes. Serve with Real Butter and Real Maple Syrup.

Rice~Krispies with Variations…

We love the classic "Rice Krispies Treat", but going gluten-free meant that this snack was not on our "safe" list, until Kellog's began marketing their "Gluten Free Rice Krispies" cereal. This is a quick dessert; ready in 20 minutes! We keep these ingredients on hand at all times, as you never know when you need a yummy treat fast!! (actually, it's pretty often around here)

Ingredients: One box of Kellog's Rice Krispies Cereal, One Stick Butter, One Bag of Jet Puffed Mini-Marshmallows.

Directions: In microwave, melt butter in a very large bowl for 50 seconds. Add all of the marshmallows and mix well, into the melted butter, to coat the marshmallows. Cook in microwave another 2 minutes. Add the entire box of cereal into the bowl, and stir well. Pour out the mixture onto a brownie pan (we spray a non-stick on pan). Use a lightly sprayed sheet of wax paper to press mixture into the pan. Use a rolling pin or the can of non-stick spray, to "roll" out the mixture, pressing it firmly into the pan, while it is covered with the wax paper. Remove the wax paper and place pan of treats into the freezer for 10 minutes. Cut into serving pieces, serve and enjoy!

Variation 1: Use a large box of "Fruity Pebbles" cereal as a substitute. It's sweeter and just fun!

Variation 2: Mix 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of sugar together and pour into the melted butter before coating the marshmallows in the bowl.

Variation 3: Press chocolate chips onto the top of the mixture, just before placing them into the freezer.

Variation 4: "Holiday Treats"- Crush peppermint sticks and pour them all over the top of the treats, then drizzle green icing in zig-zags, all over the top, before placing into the freezer. (icing is made with powdered sugar, splash of milk and green food coloring)

Queso & Chips

This makes a great lunch, when paired with the fresh, home made guacamole. All the kids loved it! Sure, we could have used "bagged" chips, but it was more fun and certainly tasteir to make our own! Kids thought I was "awesome"!

Ingredients: Mission brand corn tortillas, Vegetable Oil, Sea Salt, Can of Ro-Tel Tomatoes, Velveta Cheese

Recipe: Melt 1 cup Velveta Cheese, with 1/2 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes,  in microwave for 3 minutes, stirring every minute, to ensure mixture is mixing well and is smooth.

Heat 2 cups Vegetable Oil in sauce pan. Stack about 20 corn tortillas and slice them into 6 equal triangles. Drop about 20 "chips" at a time, into hot oil and cook until crisp. They will change to a golden color and sizzling will slow down when they are done. Remove chips from oil, drain in a collander and add salt to taste.

Guacamole & Chips

Ingredients: Mission brand corn tortillas, Vegetable Oil, Sea Salt, 4 Ripe Avocados, 1 Large Garlic Clove, Salt to taste, Squeezed Juice of 1/2 Lemon, 2 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Cilantro.

Recipe: Slice avocados in half and scoop out into bowl. Add garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, salt and mix will with a fork, chopping as you mix, in order to attain a "just so" consistancy. We don't like our Guac too mushy or smooth around here. A few chunks are better.

For Home Made Chips:

Heat 2 cups Vegetable Oil in sauce pan. Stack about 20 corn tortillas and slice them into 6 equal triangles. Drop about 20 "chips" at a time, into hot oil and cook until crisp. They will change to a golden color and sizzling will slow down when they are done. Remove chips from oil, drain in collander and add salt to taste.