Quinoa Salad

This is a fun salad and uses quinoa (keen-wah) that you can find in any grocery store.  I used red quinoa but you can use any color.  It's high in protein too so this makes a great meal on it's own or a side dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1/3 cup diced fresh onion
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
2 avocados, halved, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/4-1/3 cup shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
2 Tblsp. lemon juice
2 Tblsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:
1. Rinse and drain quinoa and place in a sauce pan with 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

2. Transfer quinoa to medium bowl.  Add tomatoes, avocados, and onions and combine well.  Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, and salt then add to quinoa mixture and coat well.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mix if you'd like.

Pots de Creme

I haven't really posted many desserts.  In fact, have I posted any homemade ones?  Anyway- this one comes from Pioneer Woman.  It's D E L I C I O U S

Every bite is like eating a truffle. MMMMMM.  And it's so so easy.

Here we go -
Ingredients:

• 12 ounces, weight Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Nestle and Ghiradelli are gluten free)
• 4 whole Eggs, Room Temp
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract 
• 1 pinch Salt
• 8 ounces, fluid Strong Hot Coffee (you can use decaf too if you don't want the caffeine)

Preparation Instructions

Take 4 eggs out of the refrigerator ahead of time and let them come to room temperature before starting.

When eggs are at room temperature begin by placing the chocolate chips into a blender. Then add the eggs and the vanilla. Add a pinch of salt. Turn on the blender.

While it is blending, remove the circular disk from the blender lid and very slowly pour in 8 ounces of strong, VERY HOT coffee. It's really important that the coffee is VERY HOT so that the end product is the right texture and smooth and creamy. 

Blend for a minute or so until mixture is smooth and fairly free of visible bits of chocolate.

Pour the mixture into serving glasses but leave lots of room to add whipped cream later. 

Place in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 hours so the mixture has a chance to set.

Garnish with whipped cream and serve!  Yum!

Chicken Taquitos

Here's yet another one from Our Best Bites.  I'm so impressed with their recipes and that most of them are naturally gluten free or can be modified easily!  And they have a recipe for a dipping sauce too that is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.  I'll post that below.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup cream cheese
- 1/4 cup green salsa (I believe most brands are gluten free but make sure to read the label)
- 1 tblsp. lime juice
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 3 tblsp. cilantro
- 2 tblsp. sliced green onions
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken [COSTCO and SAFEWAY's are gluten free])
1 cup grated pepperjack cheese (I have used plain monterey jack cheese too)

- small corn tortillas
- salt
- cooking spray (all but those with FLOUR--like baking sprays-- in them are fine)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
2. Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it is soft and easy to stir.  Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic and stir until combined.  Then add cilantro, green onions, chicken, and cheese and combine well.
3. Heat a few tortillas in the microwave at a time until they are soft enough to roll without breaking.
4. Place 2-3 tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of the tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.
5. Roll them as tight as you can and place them seam side down on the baking sheet.  Line them up so they aren't touching. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and bake for 15-20 minutes until they start to get brown.

If you go to their recipe link, they have step by step pics which are fun!

And here is their recipe for the most delicious dipping sauce to dip them in - Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing

Ingredients:
- 1 pack Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix (this is gluten free - not sure about other brands) (DO NOT prepare this according to package)
- 1 cup mayonaise (Hellmen's, Best Foods, most store brands are gluten free)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (or 1 fresh lime juiced)
- 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup green salsa
- hot sauce

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend it up!  Add hot sauce to taste.  It's best to make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken in the fridge.  But we have made it and used it right away too and it still tastes yummy!


 

Cheeseburger Pie

I am back.  I've been ill and so honestly I haven't cooked a meal since the summer.  Even now, I find myself having my husband cook but now I'm able to at least plan meals.  Here's a really easy one from Betty Crocker.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup Bisquick Gluten Free mix (you can find this in your local grocery store where you'd find  regular Bisquick)
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in salt and pepper. Spread in pie plate; sprinkle with cheese.
2. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk and eggs until blended. Pour into pie plate.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Sweet and Savory Flank Steak

This is another great one from Our Best Bites. It's almost naturally gluten free.

Ingredients:
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C soy sauce (LA CHOY, SAN-J WHEAT FREE SOY SAUCE, BRAGG'S AMINO are gluten free)
1 C pineapple juice
1 T freshly grated ginger
4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced

up to 2 lbs flank steak

Combine first 6 ingredients for the marinade and mix well. Reserve about 1/4 cup and set aside.

Score flank steak with a knife diagonally on both sides (about 1/8 inch deep)

Put the steak in large ziploc bag and pour marinade over it. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Take out of fridge 30 minutes before grilling. Place steak on grill and cook for 5-10 minutes per side, depending on the size. Use the 1/4 C marinade you set aside to brush over steak in the last few minutes of grilling. Flank steak should still be pink in the middle when done.

Remove from grill and let stand for 5 minutes before cutting so the juices can redistribute. Always cut flank steak against the grain, in thin slices to serve.

Jambalaya

Here's another great naturally gluten-free meal from Our Best Bites. Here's the link to the original recipe.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. white rice
5 c. water
2-3 Tbsp. butter
1 green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped (my husband doesn't like celery so we left it out!)
A lot of garlic (probably 5-6 cloves), minced
1/2 lb. high-quality smoked sausage(approximately; you can actually use a little less if you buy, say, a 14-oz. package of sausage) We used Hillshire Farms beef Kielbasa
1/2 lb. ham (you can also substitute leftover chicken, shrimp, or other shellfish; however, you'll also need to compensate for the smokey flavor and the salt from the ham, so be prepared with liquid smoke and salt to taste. And you'll want it to have a distinct smokey flavor.)
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
Cajun or Creole seasoning to taste (I used about 2 tsp. of Cajun spice mix)

Directions:
Put rice and water in a medium-large saucepan and cover. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and cook 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Remove from heat and allow to stand.
While rice is cooking, finely chop sausage and ham (in your food processor if you have one) and set aside.
Melt butter over medium heat in a very large skillet. When butter is hot and bubbly, add onion, green onions, green pepper, garlic and celery and cook until tender. Add chopped meat and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Add tomato sauce and then add cooked rice. Add Cajun spices and cook for about 10 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Spicy Honey Chicken

I'm back! Had to take a break to give birth and survive the first few months of a new baby :)

But I'm cooking again and still always trying to find delicious gluten-free meals.

Here's one we tried the other night. I found it here at the Our Best Bites website. There are some other tasty looking recipes there so you might see more.

I used chicken breasts

2 tsp vegetable oil

Rub:
2 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (I just used regular old chile powder above and omitted this because I didn't have any!)

Glaze:
1/2 Cup Honey
1 Tblsp Cider Vinegar (BRAGG'S, HEINZ are gluten free)

Directions:
Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well. Trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub it in to coat all the pieces. Rub spice mixture on each piece of chicken to thoroughly coat. Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2T honey glaze for later. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.

Then, when you're done cooking and your chicken is on the plate, drizzle some of that set-aside glaze on top.

Yum!