Salmon kabobs with roasted brussels sprouts

This is one of my favorites. Mostly because I LOVE brussel sprouts. I used to not like them at all, but I found a recipe that works and now I love them. The key, in my opinion, is roasting them. For the kabobs: Salmon, cut into 1 inch square pieces green pepper, cut into 1 inch square pieces purple onion, cut into 1 inch square pieces garlic powder salt pepper olive oil For Brussels Sprouts: Cut the ends off your brussels sprouts and slice in half, length wise. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Layer all the kabob goodies onto a stick, drizzle with olive oil and season with the above seasoning to taste. This would be great on the grill, but because of our temporary living situation we did not have that option. So instead I lined a large baking sheet with tin foil. I put the kabobs on one half of the sheet and the brussel sprouts on the other. I covered both with tin foil and baked at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. It turned out great!

Pot Roast Chili

We had a crock pot beef roast the other day, and as always we had left overs. I was trying to think of something different to do with the left overs, so I decided to make chili. It came out pretty good! You will need: 1 large container gluten free chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you prefer) 2 Large tomatos, finely diced 3 garlic cloves, finely diced 1 medium onion, finely diced 1 can chili beans (make sure it says gluten free on back or check manufacturers website) 1 can kidney beans (same as above) 2 Tablespoons chili powder (this is to taste really, everyone likes their chili different) Left over Pot Roast (I had about half a roast left, seasoning on the roast was just garlic and parsley) I started by sautéing the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil in a large soup pot. Once tender, I added the tomatoes and quickly mixed together. Then I added the stock and beans. I chopped up the remainder of pot roast and added it to the soup, and finished with the chili powder. Bring all ingredients to a boil, then let simmer. The trick to really good chili, in my opinion, is simmer time. The longer you simmer, the better it tastes.

Beef Tacos with Sweet Potato Slaw

This recipe is both a success....and a flop. It's a success in that both things tasted great, however the pairing is just not right. They would both be good paired with something else, so I decided to post them anyway, with that disclosure.

I'll start with the tacos, which are pretty self explanatory! You will need: 1 lb ground beef (or turkey) 2 garlic cloves 1 small vidalia onion, finely diced 1 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Gluten free corn tortillas ice burg lettuce baby spinach sliced avacado shredded cheese diced tomato Brown the ground beef with finely chopped garlic cloves and onion. Add seasoning. Once cooked top with your favorite toppings (or use mine listed above!) Sweet Potato Slaw 1 large sweet potato, diced 1/2 head of purple cabbage, shredded 1/2 head of green cabbage, shredded 1/2 cup carrots, shredded 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon brown sugar Mix all ingredients in small roasting pan and roast at 400 degrees for about an hour (or until sweet potato fully baked). This was good, however too sweet to go along side a taco.

Crock Pot Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Hello all! Well things have been busy lately and I have been unable to post. I have been trying to take note and pictures of my recipes anyway, so I'll have a few to post today. We are in a new location for my husbands work, and are staying in an apartment for a couple months. It's been strange not having my own kitchen to cook in! While we've been here I have been trying to make more of an effort to eat "clean" and make nutritious meals for the family. I'll start with lettuce wraps! I have been trying to use the crock pot a lot lately. For one thing, it's easy. You can throw whatever you want in there in the morning and not have to worry about dinner for the rest of the day! Since we are more or less on "vacation" from our normal lives (ok, maybe just the girls and I, Clayton still has to work), it's nice to spend less time in the kitchen and more time outside enjoying the pool and playground!

You will need: *3 chicken breast *1 8 oz can bamboo shoots *1 8 oz can water chestnuts, finely chopped *1 cup diced mushrooms *2-3 celery stalks, diced *1/2 cup gluten free peanut butter *1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce *1 tablespoon brown sugar *1/2 cup finely diced or shredded carrots *Ice Burg lettuce, washed and peeled into cups I placed all ingredients except the last two in the crock pot and let it cook all day (about 8 hours). I did go back and stir the ingredients a couple times throughout the day, to make sure all the flavors were mixing and the peanut butter was resolving into the rest of the dish. Before serving, I transfered everything to another dish and shredded the chicken. Then I added to carrots (not cooked, I did this for the texture, to add a little crunch) and mixed well. Add this to your lettuce bowls and that's it! Enjoy!

Coffee Cake Banana Bread (Gluten Free)

I tried baking last night and it was terrible. I burned it. I will blame it on getting carried away with the Walking Dead finale on TV. Anyway, I decided to try again tonight. Tonight's attempt came out MUCH better. I adapted this recipe from one I found in my husbands family cook book, and added the filling based on one I found online.

You will need:

Batter:
*1 stick of butter, softened
*1/2 cup splenda
*1/2 cup sugar (you can skip the splenda and do 1 cup sugar if you wish)
*1/2 cup honey flavored greek yogurt (I'm sure plain or vanilla would suffice, this is what I had)
*2 eggs
*2 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed
*2 cups Bobs Red Mills all purpose gluten free baking flour mix
*3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
*3 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
*2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder

Filling:
*1 Tablespoon butter, melted
*1/2 cup packed brown sugar
*1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Topping (optional):
*walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. In electric blender, mix butter, sugar, and yogurt until creamed together. Add eggs and bananas and mix well. In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix well. Mix filling ingredients together separately. Poor half of the batter into the loaf pan. Spread filling evenly over batter. Top with remaining batter. Add walnuts if desired. Bake for 40-45 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).

I am not a baker, and frequently mess up my attempts, however I think this turned out good! Enjoy it, this may be the only baked good that makes the blog!

Veggie and Coconut Quinoa

This recipe was inspired by a conversation with my friend Kim. We both love coconut. She was telling me about something she makes with coconut, and I couldn't remember if it was rice or quinoa. Since quinoa takes on 20 minutes to prepare and gluten free brown rice takes 45 minutes, I went with the quinoa. I suspect either option would taste great.


What you will need:

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1 cup quinoa
carrots, finely diced (I used about 5 or 6 baby carrots)
Frozen peas (I did not measure, but I would guess about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 tablespoon butter
dash of red pepper flakes

In a medium sauce pan, mix coconut milk, water, and quinoa. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. While quinoa is simmering, begin to melt butter in a small frying pan. Add carrots and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add red pepper flakes. Add frozen peas and sauté for about a minute. Finally, add the shredded coconut and cook until just toasted. When both things are done, serve veggie mixture over top of quinoa.

This tasted great. The sweet flavor of the coconut and the slight hint of spice from the red pepper flakes went well together. I made this a vegetarian dish tonight, but next time I think I'll try adding shrimp.

Mexi Pizza

Friday night in our house is Pizza and a movie night. Because of Layna's allergy, we do not order pizza, but rather make our own. This recipe was thrown together when we had a busy Friday and no time for the traditional pizza crust. This is quick and easy and you can switch up the toppings pretty easy!


You will need:

*Small corn tortillas (Make SURE they say gluten free if you are Gfree)
*Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Santa Fe flavor
*Gluten free refried beans
*Small roma tomato, chopped
*Small can roasted and diced green chilies
*Mexi blend shredded cheese


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Begin topping pizza, beginning with the Santa Fe cooking cream as your sauce, followed by refried beans, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and finally the green chilies. Bake for 10 minutes (or until cheese is melted) and serve! This would also be good with a bit of sour cream on top.