"Corn" dog bites

Who doesn't enjoy a good corn dog?  Jenna sure does - that's her little hand trying to reach the plate as I snapped the picture!  A corn dog is probably the one thing I missed having at the state fair this year.  Lucky pinterest had me covered!  Check out the original post here.  These were so quick to whip up and tasted super amazing!  Grab some ketchup or mustard and go to town!

1/4 cup melted butter
3 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup almond flour, firmly packed
2 tablespoons coconut flour, firmly packed
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-4 hot dogs, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk together melted butter, eggs, and honey.
Stir in the flours, baking soda, and salt.
Scoop into a greased mini muffin pan, about 1 tablespoon of batter in each cup.
Place 1 hot dog piece in each muffin.
Bake for 14-17 minutes, until golden brown.

Green Chili Stew

Green Chili Stew

(with minor changes as usual)

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds cubed beef stew meat (I used one and it was plenty)
1 onion, chopped
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with
green chile peppers (aka Rotel)
1 1/2 cups beef broth (I used 3 cups)
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile
peppers
1 teaspoon garlic salt (I think I just added a clove of minced garlic instead)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 cups frozen corn

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, heat the oil and brown the stew meat and the onions until onions are translucent; about 5 minutes
2. Pour in the diced tomatoes with chiles, beef broth and chile peppers. Stir in the garlic salt and cumin. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add a little more beef broth or water if needed during simmering.
4. Stir in cubed potatoes to the mixture and simmer for an additional 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Then add in the corn and simmer for 5 more minutes.  

So yummy and has a little kick from the Rotel.

No-Noodle Zucchini Lasagna

Not my picture... I took it from the recipe on
allrecipes.com because I forgot to take one. 

This recipe was super delish but a little labor intensive.  Luckily it was Sunday when I was making it and my trusty yet elusive sous-chef Taylor was able to help out a lot so it went much faster then if I was making it alone.  Would be really good for a make ahead meal or a freezer meal. Originally from here.

2 large zucchini
1 tablespoon salt
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 can tomato paste
1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 egg
1 (15 ounce) container low-fat ricotta
cheese (I used cottage cheese)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped
spinach, thawed and drained
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese


1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a deep 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. Slice zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices. Sprinkle slices lightly with salt; set aside to drain in a colander.
3. To prepare the meat sauce, cook and stir ground beef and black pepper in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Add in green pepper and onion; cook and stir until meat is no longer pink. Stir in tomato paste, tomato sauce, wine, basil, and oregano, adding a small amount of hot water if sauce is too thick. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer sauce for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Meanwhile, stir egg, ricotta, and parsley together in a bowl until well combined.
5. To assemble lasagna, spread 1/2 of the meat sauce into the bottom of prepared pan. Then layer 1/2 the zucchini slices, 1/2 the ricotta mixture, all of the spinach, followed by all of the mushrooms, then 1/2 the mozzarella cheese. Repeat by layering the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella. Spread Parmesan cheese evenly over the top; cover with foil.
6. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil; raise oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Beef and Butternut Stew

It is soup season here on the blog!!  Here's one more since I know you're in the mood for more soup tonight.  This recipe came from from Mickey Trescott's Autoimmune Paleo cookbook (with minor adaptations).  I must say I LOVE everything out of her cookbook and would recommend it to anyone trying to eat a whole food diet!  This stew is so yummy I usually don't have as much left over as I think I should.  Something about the pear with the squash and cinnamon is just a really fun flavor combination.  This soup also freezes well if you like to make things ahead.  Enjoy!

1 tablespoon coconut oil
2-3 pounds cubed stew meat
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 cups bone broth (you can use beef broth if you don't make your own bone broth)
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 pears, cubed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 pears, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme for garnish

Heat the oil in a large pot on medium high heat and brown the meat on all sides.  Remove the meat from the pot and set aside.  Turn the heat down to medium.
Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook another couple of minutes, stirring to ensure they don't burn.  Add the bone broth or stock and the browned meat back to the pot, and bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes, making sure the pot simmers gently.
Add the squash, cinnamon and sea salt, and simmer another 15 minutes.  Add the pears and simmer a few more minutes until the meat and squash are both tender (this depends on how big your squash chunks are.  Keep an eye on it so you don't over cook them and turn them to mush).
Serve garnished with the fresh thyme.

Cheeseburger Soup

Another soup recipe! I just can't get enough soup! This one comes from the Wheat Belly Cookbook. (My changes)

4 cups chicken broth, separated
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets (I used a whole one because why not)
1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
(I think I added a diced green bell pepper and was glad that I did)
1/2 pound ground beef (I used a pound of ground turkey)
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley ( I used a teaspoon of dried)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coconut flour ( I used corn starch as a thickener so Taylor would eat it)
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (so not enough.  go a cup or go home)

In a large saucepan, combine the 3 3/4 cups broth and cauliflower.  Cover and bring to boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium low.  Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until cauliflower is super fork tender.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat the butter or oil.  Cook the onion and beef until no longer pink.  Drain the grease.  Stir in the parsley, paprika, salt, and pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Puree the cauliflower and broth with a immersion blender (or normal blender).  In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1/4 cup broth and coconut flour until smooth.  (I just used a little bit of cold water and cornstarch) Gradually add to the cauliflower mixture and cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened.  Whisk in the cheese just until it melts.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the reserved beef mixture.

Taylor and I really enjoyed this soup and it was pretty quick and easy to make!

Super Burritos

This is a recipe that Natalie gave me.  Ernie and KC both love it.  It is a great way to use leftover roast beef, or any other meat you have sitting around, and it makes a great thing to send with Ernie for lunch.  Last Sunday I made a roast and had leftovers so this week, it's Super Burritos!

*Warning:  this is a recipe that is different every time I make it!  I just use what I have on hand and change it up, but they love it every time.

1/2 onion, diced
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Leftover roast (or any other meat), shredded
Leftover rice (if you have it) or cook 1/2 to 1 cups of rice
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
Cheese, shredded
Large corn tortillas
Possible add-ins:  green chilies, corn, salsa, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute the onions in the coconut oil.  Add the roast and saute for a minute or two.

Add the rice, beans, and spices and saute for another minute or two.  Add anything else you would like.  Cook until all is warmed through.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

Warm the tortillas, wrapped in a dish towel, in the microwave for a minute or two to soften.

Put about 1/3 cup of the mixture in each tortilla, cover with cheese and close tortilla with a toothpick.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes until crisp.

Great served with avocado, tomatoes, salsa, etc.  Or just pick them up and enjoy!

Lo Mein

I love when the Bountiful Basket has the "Asian Pack" option.  It means bok choy and subsequently lo mein for dinner!  While not originally a GF recipe, just sub in some GF spaghetti (I prefer the Ancient Harvest quinoa/corn blend) and you are good to go!  Just be careful that your asian sauce ingredients are GF as a lot of brands are not.  Credit for this one goes to my aunt who actually introduced our family to a GF way of thinking!  Thanks J!

3 tablespoons soy sauce (La Choy)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce (Panda Brand)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (Sun Luck)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
1 pound pork loin chops, sliced into 1/8 inch pieces (I've also done with chicken as shown in the picture.  Both are delicious!)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons grated ginger root
olive oil
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced (sometimes I sub snow peas, I happened to have both this time so used both!)
2 bunches scallions
1 head Chinese cabbage or bok choy (happend to have bok choy and some asian cabbage so used both!)
8 ounces GF pasta noodles
1 tablespoon Asian chile garlic sauce

Whisk soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and five-spice powder together.  Place 3 tablespoons of mixture in a large ziplock bag, add pork.  Seal bag and squish around so all pieces are coated with marinade.  Refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.  Whisk broth and cornstarch into remaining soy sauce mixture.  In separate small bowl, mix garlic and ginger with 1/2 teaspoon oil, set aside.

Heat 1 tsp oil in skillet over high heat until just smoking.  Add half of pork in single layer.  Cook until browned on all sides.  Transfer pork to medium bowl and repait with remaing pork and more oil. 

Return skillet to high heat, add more oil.  Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown.  Add scallions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions are wilted.  Transfer vegetables to bowl with pork.

Add more oil and cabbage/bok choy to now empty skillet.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to wilt.  Clear center of skillet; add garlic/ginger mixture and cook.  Return pork/vegetable mixture and broth/soy mixture to skillet; simmer until thickened and ingredients are well incorporated.

While cooking pork and vegetables, cook pasta noodles.  After draining noodles, transfer back to pan and add cooked stir-fry mixture and chile garlic sauce.  Toss noodles constantly until sauce coats noodles.  Serve immediately.

Taco Pie

A friend of mine posted this recipe on Facebook a while ago and I thought I would give it a try.  Time went by and when I finally decided to make it, I couldn't find her post.  I went on line and found that many people had posted this recipe and many people had commented on it saying how they had made it and it was so easy and great.  People lie on the internet. . . really.  Not that it isn't good--it is, but if they used the same kind of potato flakes as I did (how many different kinds are there?), it was not quick and easy.  Because it has potato flakes and it is a taco pie, K.C. dubbed it "Potaco Pie."

Potaco Pie

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup milk
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 1/2 cups mashed potato flakes (you could also use left over mashed potatoes and omit the butter and milk)
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Sour cream, optional

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter. Add milk and 2 tablespoon taco seasoning. Remove from heat and add potato flakes until incorporated. Press mixture into the bottom of a 10-inch pan.
2. Bake for 7-10 minutes until it just BARELY turns golden brown.
3. In a medium skillet, cook beef and onions until beef is browned and cooked through. Drain. Add Salsa and remaining taco seasoning. Cook until bubbly.
4. Pour into crust. Bake for 15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
5. Let cool for 5 minutes. Top with cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Cut and serve with sour cream.

Important Notes: 

 I was using the potato flakes that you get at Costco.  They come in little pouches that make enough for your family.  I opened one up and measured how many potato flakes came in one pouch--1 1/4 cup.  Perfect!  I would need two pouches to equal the 2 1/2 cups called for in the recipe.  I melted my butter and added my milk and then added one pouch of flakes.  As I mixed it I thought--"Hmm, this looks like the right consistency for pie crust right now.  What will happen when I add another 1 1/4 cups of flakes?"  Wanting to follow the recipe exactly, I added the rest of the flakes.  I ended up with a big bowl of taco-flavored dust.  Not very crust-looking.  I put it in the pie plate and it filled the entire plate, no room for anything else.  This is when I started to doubt the honesty of many people on the internet.  Maybe I just had the wrong flakes.  I melted more butter and added more milk and essentially doubled the crust recipe.  I divided it in half and it worked perfectly in my crust.

Also, I added some refried beans that I had in the fridge to the meat mixture. I think it helped keep the pie together.

We actually really like our "Potaco Pie," which is lucky because I have an extra batch of taco-flavored crust sitting in my freezer in a Ziploc bag!

Hot Stuff

On Saturday we went to Sam's Club and I bought a 6 pack of beautifully colorful bell peppers.  Now, 6 is kinda a lot of peppers, but I like to have them on hand to through into pasta, salads, eggs, etc.  Fast forward to Tuesday when I picked up my produce basket.  It is like Christmas day going through the basket and to my surprise (and dismay) there were 7 beautiful bell peppers in it.  holy. crap.  What is a girl to do with 13 bell peppers!!! I don't even like them that much.  They make me sooo burpy (more than usual :) ).  Luckily, I split my basket with a friend at school, so that got rid of 4 of the bell peppers. What to do with the rest of them?? Make this:

Stuffed Bell Peppers (adapted from 3-4 recipes I looked at from allrecipes.com) :

4 green bell peppers (or any color I guess. Mine were huge so I only used 4, but if you have smaller ones you could probably fill 5-6)
1 pound ground beef (I think turkey would be really good too)
1 cup cooked rice (the original recipe I looked at said 1/2 uncooked rice which made me excited because I thought "oh good, it will just bake in the oven and be so fast" wrong.  The first step is to cook the rice.  So, I thought I would be upfront about the rice and its preparation. )
1 onion, diced
1 can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
mozzarella cheese, one handful and another handful.

Preheat oven to 400. (cook the rice if you haven't already)

Slice off the top of the peppers and pull out the seeds and ribs.  Place in a baking dish that has a little bit of olive oil at the bottom to keep them from sticking.

Saute onions in a pan with olive oil for a few minutes.  Add ground beef and cook until brown.  Drain. stir in the rest of the ingredients and the rice, except the mozzarella cheese.  Once it is all combined, toss in a handful of the cheese.  (I didn't originally do this when I made them yesterday, but I wish that I had.)  Stuff into hollowed out peppers.  Cover and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven, uncover, and generously apply a layer of mozzarella cheese on the top.  Bake for 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted. They are super filling and so delicious.  But watch out for the pepper burps! Enjoy!
                                         

Before going in the oven

Hot out of the oven

Asian Lettuce Wraps and Garlic Roasted Butternut Squash

Yesterday was a beautifully sunny day in the mid 70's and I was getting ready to go lay out by the pool.  We wanted to eat something light for lunch because it is hard to feel cute laying out in a swimsuit when you have eaten a big heavy lunch.  I pulled out a head of iceberg lettuce from our weekly farmer's market produce bag,  some spinach, cabbage, and assorted vegetables for the salads.  As I went to unwrap the beautiful head of iceberg lettuce, on the front it said "Have you tried our Asian Lettuce Wraps?" Well no, I hadn't, but they sounded good! So I went to dole.com to find the recipe but it was so hard to navigate and find the recipe on the ipad so I gave up.  I then preceded to read about 15 different asian lettuce wrap recipes, none of which I had all the ingredients for and I was not about to run to the grocery store again (we had already gone that morning).  So I decided to save the lettuce for Monday and pick up the extra ingredients on my way home from work.

So today, I was really craving those asian lettuce cups and thought to myself, I am just going to make up my own recipe of lettuce cups with stuff I already have, based on what I had read on all those different recipes.  So this is what I came up with:

*Disclaimer: I really just made it up as I went, so I apologize if you think "wtf is this?"

Coconut oil
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
some mushrooms, diced
1/3 cup soy sauce
a splash of rice wine vinegar
ginger ( I just sprinkled in some powdered since I didn't have fresh, but I would definitely recommend fresh ginger for this)

1/4 a head of cabbage, diced up

Iceberg lettuce, rinsed, and pulled into separate leaves.  

Saute the onion and bell pepper in some coconut oil for 2-3 minutes.  Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.  Drain.  Add a little more coconut oil to the pan and put the meat mixture back in it.  Add the mushrooms, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and cook on medium low for 5 minutes.  

Scoop into lettuce leaves and eat it up. nom nom nom. I think it is good.  I am not sure. haha I kept asking Taylor what he thought about it and he said it was delish and proceeded to eat about 6 leaves full, but I couldn't tell if he actually liked it or was driven to binge due to the fact we had been fasting all day. So try it and tell me what you think! Or if you have a good asian lettuce wraps recipe you have tried and liked send it my way! 

As for the squash.  I had it so I made it like we would make roasted potatoes, carrots, or sweet potatoes.  

1 butternut squash, peeled and diced into cubes

1-2 cloves minced garlic

salt

pepper

olive oil

Preheat oven to 400.  Lather squash cubes in olive oil and sprinkle with S&P and garlic.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Delish!

Mongolian Beef

I feel like meat has been a little under represented in the blog and I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about my status as a self-respecting carnivore.  Enter this next recipe.  Pulled from the Cooking Light: Fresh Food Fast cookbook, (one of my very favorites from my glutenous days, and still very adaptable) this is one of those meals that Joey and I fight over who gets the leftovers (since there's never enough left for both of us!)

Mongolian Beef

1 lb. of flank steak, trimmed and cut into thin slices
cooking spray (I use a little olive oil)
1/3 cup hoisin sauce (make sure yours is gluten free - I use the Sun Luck brand)
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or to taste if you want it more/less spicy)
4 green onions

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Coat steak with cooking spray (or olive oil).  Cook steak in pan over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until browned and liquid has almost evaporated, stirring occasionally.
2.  While steak cooks, combine hoisin sauce and next 5 ingredients in a small bowl.  Cut onions crosswise into 1-inch pieces.  Add sauce mixture and onions to meat in pan; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce is slightly reduced (do not overcook meat).  Serve immediately.

I like to have the sauce made before I start cooking the meat - I find I am less stressed while cooking if I don't have to worry about grating ginger while I'm supposed to be not overcooking the meat.  I like to serve with sticky rice and Sesame Buttered Broccoli.

Sesame Buttered Broccoli

1 1/2 lbs broccoli, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons soy sauce (make sure it's gluten free!)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Cook/steam/boil your broccoli however you normally do.  Mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl.  Toss with the broccoli to coat, and serve.  Note - I usually cut the recipe in half.