Chow Mein

This is such a favorite meal of ours now, and it's one of those things that you can really through anything in, the best.  You can buy a bag of frozen mixed veges, which works great, and saves on the prep time!  But I really just use whatever I have in the fridge. :)

Chow Mein

serves 3-4

1 onion chopped

2 cups chopped bok chow

1-2 cups broccoli florets

1 cup spiralized or julienned carrots

6 ounces pasta (I used brown rice spaghetti noodles)

15 fresh/raw/cleaned shrimp 

soy sauce, ginger, garlic, scallions

In a pot of water cook the pasta as directed, drain it, rinse it with cold water and set aside.  Saute your vegetables in the same pot, on a high heat, with a drizzle of olive oil, season with salt and pepper.  I like my vegetables a little crispy still, but cook as desired.  Transfer your cooked veges to your serving bowl and set aside. 

 In the same pan, on high heat, with a drizzle of olive oil, place all your shrimp (hopefully they all fit in the pan).  Salt and pepper your shimp, and if using fresh garlic or ginger you can add it now, but you can use dry garlic/ginger as well.  About 2-3 minutes on each side should give you a nice sear.  Transfer your shrimp to your serving bowl with the vegetables.  

In the same pan, on high heat, with a drizzle of olive oil, add your cooked and drained pasta. Get a good sear on your noodles before tossing, it should only take a few minutes to do the whole pan.  Add a few tablespoons of soysauce, toss, and add veges and shrimp to your pan.  On high heat, toss a few times, just to re-heat everything, and serve!  Top with scallions and serve with sriracha!

Lasagna

6 lasagna noodles (make 7 just to be on the safe side, we like a gluten-free version)

1 lb Italian sausage

1/2 lb ground turkey

1 small onion (chopped)

1 jar of tomato sauce

1 T. crushed red pepper

1 bunch of fresh basil (chopped)

1 bunch of spinach leaves (washed and without stems)

1 (16 ounce) container of cottage cheese

1 egg

1 16 ounce package of mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. In a large pan saute the sausage, turkey and onion. Cook the meat mixture thoroughly; I like to brown the meat quite a bit, but you just need to be sure it is cooked through. Add crushed red pepper and salt and pepper to taste. I like a lot of pepper, and if you like things spicy feel free to add more red pepper. With the heat off, add the tomato sauce (any kind will do, I don't usually like anything with garlic in my lasagna), I love Newman's anything; set aside. When the pasta is done, drain and set aside until ready to assemble. Mix the egg and cottage cheese together thoroughly. Grate both cheeses in the same bowl and mix, set aside.

Now to assemble. This is how I layer my lasagna from the bottom up...

tomato meat sauce (3 layers)

noodles (2 layers)

cottage cheese (2 layers)

mozzarella cheese mixture (3 layers)

basil (2 layers)

spinach (2 layers)

(repeat)

and to eliminate some of the pasta I do not do a final pasta layer,

I end with the tomato meat sauce

(I like to use big spinach leaves and lay them out flat, so it completely separates these layers)

Make sure to note how many layers of each you will need. You don't want to use all your cheese and then not have any for the top!

Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes (until all the edges are bubbling). Top with the rest of the cheese, and bake 5 more minutes or until melted. Let cook for 10 before serving.

Happy Cooking!

with love,

kristin ann :)

Brownies... no bake and delicious!

I love easy, raw desserts.  Being someone that bakes a lot and loves the culinary aspect of that, I will probably never give it up completely, but I do like to switch it up, because I very much promote healthy living!

This is such an easy recipe and so delicious.

Raw, easy, healthy Brownies!
1 1/2 c. pecans
3/4 c. dates
1/2 c. cocoa powder
honey or maple syrup

With a food processor, blend your pecans, until they will not blend anymore (should be very fine).  Add the cocoa, pulse a few times until blended.  Add the dates (they should be pitted), and blend completely.  Now here is the only tricky part.. The recipe I used didn't call for honey or maple syrup, but it did say to use soft dates, which mine were not, they were more dry.  So after the first 3 ingredients were combined, they didn't form a "dough" which it was supposed to.  I added a drizzle of maple syrup and it did the trick.  While mixing, it should come together to form a ball of dough.  In a 8x8 pan I cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the pan but lay over the edges.  Press the dough into the pan, and refrigerate for at least an hour.  You can lift the paper out to cut the brownies on a cutting board or leave them in the pan.  Serve cold!  So yum.

Avocado Pesto Pasta

Avocado Pesto Pasta

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup pesto - make your own or buy it!

Cooked pasta - I used a brown rice pasta (spaghetti)

Sauteed veges - we used zucchini, kale, and swiss chard

grilled/sauteed chicken breasts (or shrimp would be great, and so easy)

chopped basil

parmesan cheese

The chicken takes the longest, so I seasoned my chicken breasts and got them cooking.  I season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and let them saute in a little olive oil over medium heat, about 7-8 minutes on each side (for larger/thicker pieces of chicken you can add a little water and cover with a lid, after you saute, until they are cooked through).  

In a large pan, I cooked my pasta (follow instructions for your specific pasta), drain and rinse in a colander and set aside.  While the pasta cooks I chop my vegetables.

Saute the vegetables (about 5-10 minutes depending on how crisp you like or don't like them) in a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  (I use the same pan I cooked my pasta in).  When they're done, put in a bowl and set aside (I use the bowl I will eventually serve in).  In the same pan, add the noodles to a little olive oil and saute for a minute, then add the pesto and avocado (which you can mix ahead of time, so it's creamy all the way through or put the avocado in chunks, which end up mostly dissolving anyways).  This only takes a couple minutes until everything is evenly distributed on the pasta.  Add your veges back in, and toss.  

Add the chicken to the pasta mix or serve on top, garnish with fresh chopped basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese!

So easy!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

A while ago I posted this recipe for peanut butter cookies, it's my favorite, always turns out amazing.  THIS recipe is just the gluten free and slightly less processed version.  My goal is to make it completely unprocessed and more natural but I'm not completely there yet.  Surprisingly I didn't have to change the amounts of any ingredients, just simple substitutions, which was amazing! I might actually keep this healthy baking up now :)  So, all I did was sub Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour, for traditional all purpose flour, and organic coconut sugar for granulated sugar.  It wasn't much of a change, but gluten free!  My next step is substituting all the sugar, and switching out the butter for coconut oil.. next time!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. organic coconut sugar (or regular sugar)
1/2 c. all natural peanut butter
1 T. honey
1 egg
1 1/2 c. Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten free flour
3/4 t. aluminum free baking soda
1/4 t. salt

Cream butter and sugars till light and fluffy.  Add the peanut butter and honey, mix thoroughly.  

Add egg , make sure to scrape bottom of bowl, and continue to mix.  

Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt.

Use a cookie scoop or spoon, and then roll into 1 inch balls.

Use fork to make cross marks, dip fork in flour if it sticks to the dough.

Sprinkle the top with sugar (I used the coconut sugar).

Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes.

Makes about 2 dozen.

I like my cookies soft and chewy, so I'm very careful about when I take them out of the oven.  The cookies will puff up slightly and start to gain a little color around the edges before ready to be taken out.

*Important side note: the dough should not stick to your hands.  You should be able to roll a ball without a mess, so if it's sticky, add a little more flour.   Reason that the recipe doesn't always have the same moisture levels include, size difference in eggs, temperature of butter, brand of flour, brand of peanut butter.. tons of things!  So just keep this in mind.

Chicken pot pie.. from leftovers! Oh and did I mention.. it's gluten free!

I love when we have leftovers and I can create a completely different meal with it!  It's just the best thing ever.  A few nights before this dinner I had baked a chicken, potatoes, broccoli and carrots, and we just had a whole bunch left.  I did end up adding a few extra things, just because.  Keep in mind this recipe is just estimated amounts of ingredients.  The point, is that you can use whatever vegetable/meat leftovers you have!  You might not be as excited as me, but this was a big deal for us at the murray house :)

Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie
You can make the recipe with regular flour for the filling and crust, but because we have gluten issues at our house, we kick the gluten.

Filling:
2 cups chicken cooked and chopped
2 cups potatoes cooked and chopped (cubed)
2 cups broccoli steamed
1 medium white onion chopped
1 cup carrots chopped
1 cup celery chopped
oil or butter

In a large skillet I sauteed the onion, carrots, and celery with a little olive oil (if you don't already have cooked carrots).  Added salt, pepper, and seasonings to taste (I like rosemary, sage, and thyme).  Should take about 10-15 minutes to get everything soft and cooked through.  I had a large bowl with the already cooked chicken and broccoli, and added the freshly cooked vegetables to the mix.  You don't have to have any one of those ingredients.  So if you have potatoes, peas, and carrots, already cooked, just use those, and you skip a step.

Gravy/sauce:
4 Tablespoons butter (or oil)
1/4 cup brown rice flour (or regular ap flour if you don't do gluten free)
2 1/2 cups milk ( you can use chicken broth, but not quite as much)
Salt and season to taste

In the same pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter (or you can use oil), and with a wooden spoon mix in the flour.  Over medium/low heat continue to stir this mixture in the pan, letting it sit occasionally.  I just like to make sure that the flour cooks a little bit.  Slowly add your milk to the pan while mixing.  A whisk works best, but I use a wooden spoon so I don't scratch my pans.  By slowly, I mean you only add a little bit, completely mix it in, and repeat.  This sauce isn't always going to turn out exactly the same, because it depends on how long you cook it at every stage, and at what temperature, also the kind of milk/broth you use.  So I never add all the liquid until I know what consistency I have and what I want.  I like my sauce a little thicker, so that the slice of pot pie holds better, while others don't mind the soupy consistency.  You can now salt and pepper to taste.  Then add to the bowl of your pot pie filling!  Mix lightly so that everything doesn't just mash up.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (you can use ap flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil (you can use shortening)
about 6 Tablespoons of water
extra flour for rolling out

In a large bowl mix the flour and salt.  Add the coconut oil and with a fork, mix away!  This step takes a while, you can use a food processor or a hand pastry mixer to speed this up.  You want all clumps of flour/oil to be smaller than a pea.  Add the water slowly.  You may need more, you want the mix to completely hold together, enough to roll out, but not too wet that it sticks to your hands or cutting board.
Roll out dough just larger than your 9x13 pan.  After I rolled it out I place the pan on top, and cut out the shape of the crust so that it can lay just on top of the filling (but inside the sides of the pan).  Add the filling to a butter/oiled 9x13 pan.  Using your rolling pin, roll up your crust and unroll over the filling.  Don't worry too much about how perfectly it fits as long as it doesn't lay over the sides of the pan.  Make some kind of an air vent for the crust, by using a sharp knife.  I usually just do a line maybe 5 inches long down the center.

Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes.  You want all the edges to bubble, and then you know it's heated through.  Let sit for at least 15 minutes before you serve.

*I had extra dough, so I cut out a few leaves and placed them on top of the crust, which is why you see so many layers and what not.  You could probably half this recipe to make it in an actual pie pan or a smaller corning ware type dish.  I actually made the 9x13 and a medium corning ware size dish because I had quite a bit of filling, and I just made more sauce/gravy for the extra dish.

Makin Banana Pancakes :)

I love pancakes, it's a bit of a weakness actually. Generally in the morning though, I have a little more willpower than the rest of the day so I eat somewhat healthy, and if I have time to make breakfast, I try and stay away from gluten (since my poor tummy doesn't do well with it). So, long story short, I found red mill's gluten free mix, tried it, and loved it! So here you go..

Gluten free Banana Pancakes



How I make these wonderful things...
Follow the instructions for the pancakes on the package. Have ready (for one batch, which serves about 4, so 8 large pancakes)

2 bananas sliced in 1/4 inch ish rounds,
brown sugar, and
chopped pecans or walnuts if you are the nut type :) and also,
you can add ground flax meal to the top (not necessary, but we didn't have nuts, and I love flax)

On a skillet, griddle, pan, whatever you use to do pancakes normally, over medium heat, butter your pan and pour on 4 good size pancakes. Let cook for about a minute and then work quickly. Place between 5-7 banana slices on the top of each pancake and push in just slightly. I usually put one in the middle and do a circle around that, just for aesthetics. Sprinkle brown sugar with your fingers or spoon on top of the pancakes. Sprinkle, nuts, and or flax as well. Once you feel the bottom portion of the pancake is done.. flip! You will want to make sure your pan isn't too hot, burnt pancakes are just the worst. The sugar side can burn easily if it's too hot. Cook for a minute or two until you feel the pancake portion is done, not doughy, and that's it! If you can make pancakes, you can make banana pancakes. But if you tend to suck at pancakes, I don't really know what to tell you :) Good luck!
Also, you can use any pancake mix or recipe. I have a from scratch recipe I used to use before the gluten issues came up, and I can't find it, so I couldn't put it in the post.. but I'll find it one of these days.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar, drizzle with syrup, top with butter, go nuts! Add more fruit, whipped cream, however you love your pancakes.



Happy weekend breakfast everyone!


Here's the mix, in case you want to look into it. Red mill is an amazing brand for gluten free and just healthy products in general by the way. Most health food stores carry their line of products (stores like safeway only have a few things). We use red mill's pancake mix, quinoa, quinoa flour, oat flour, flax meal, etc. Locally, I know raley's has a large selection of their products, actually all of them.
Again, happy weekend!
with love,
kristin ann :)

Baked Ziti.. and gluten free!

Since I've really wanted to make a point to cook gluten free I thought I might as well check out some pasta alternatives. I wasn't expecting much because I have not enjoyed most other gluten replacements, up until now. In my cooking I have never liked making substitutes. If you can't eat something, just don't eat it: this has been my philosophy until now at least. And usually it's because the alternatives aren't necessarily good for you, they're just alternatives. I bought some gluten free cookies the other day, and I eat them all the time, but they're just not as good as the original. And when you read the ingredients, it has I think 5 flour substitutes, and if I were baking it's just not worth the hassle.

Back to my dinner. I wanted to at least try another form of pasta, because I love pasta, and it makes for an easy and cheap dinner usually. On a few food sites I check out I have seen quinoapasta, and I thought, I'll try it. So I went to our local health food store (fremont natural foods, I think) and I wasn't impressed. I was hoping to see isles of glorious healthy food, and it is really more of a health supplement store, but they had a few food items. I found a bag of brown rice pasta, and decided to try it out. I love brown rice, it's always been one of my favorites, and so healthy! Anyways.. here's what I made :)

{top and bottom photos are the pre baked shots}

A Gluten-Free Healthy Baked Ziti

package of penne pasta (1 lb/16 ounces)

I used Tinkyada brown rice pasta

1/2 an onion, chopped

1 lb ground turkey

1 T. fennel seed

1 tsp. dry thyme or sage

salt and ground pepper to taste

1 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 jar of marinara (any flavor or brand) they're usually 26 ounces

16 ounce container of low fat ricotta cheese

1 bunch of fresh basil leaves chopped

2 cups grated low fat mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package instructions; rinse with cold water, drain, and set aside. In a large pan, saute the onion with a little olive oil, add ground turkey. Keep on medium heat, and continue to separate the meat into smaller pieces. Add fennel, and seasonings to taste. Cook until all meat looks seared and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Place the meat on a plate and set aside. In the same pan, over medium heat, add garlic and mushrooms with a drizzle of olive oil. Cook until golden brown, and add the marinara. Over low heat, stir the ricotta cheese into the mixture. Turn off the heat, but make sure that the cheese is completely mixed in, with no chunks. Add the basil to the marinara sauce, as well as the cooked turkey, and mix.

In a large baking dish (or a 9x13 pan) drizzle some olive oil to grease the pan. Add about half of your cooked pasta to the pan. Spoon or pour about half of the sauce over the pasta. Lightly toss the pasta and sauce. Continue to add the pasta and sauce until the pan is just about full. (I usually have a cup or two of pasta left over, which I refrigerate and use as a quick meal in the next few days). Make sure to add all remaining sauce. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to the top of the mix. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the edges all begin to bubble. Remove foil and top with grated cheese, and bake for another 10 minutes.

And enjoy!

Why I used some of the ingredients..

brown rice pasta - gluten-free, full of fiber and nutrients

ground turkey - much healthier than your Italian sausage, but tastes great

fennel - it gives you a similar taste to the Italian sausage

low fat ricotta - tastes and feels almost identical to the original, and less saturated fat

low fat mozzarella - tastes and feels almost identical to the original, and less saturated fat

Feel free to use your everyday pasta, Italian sausage, and any cheese you would like. I just wanted to give you a healthy alternative to a classic Italian dish!

(Jonna I absolutely love the dishes you gave me!!)

Lasagna!

This delicious lasagna was given to us by Martin's grandmother. I know, I didn't make it, so I should be allowed to post it, but I just have to. It was delicious lasagna, and gluten free! Lately my issues with gluten have been getting worse and worse, and I crave it more and more. If I stayed at home and cooked for myself it would be that bad, but you just can't get away from it. Well, lasagna is a meal that both my husband and I absolutely love and our creative grandparents made a gluten free option for us. Oddly enough, it wasn't with the intention of being gluten free or for me, they just happened to have a whole bunch of left over zucchini (given to them by us because of our abundance of zucchini) and so it was used as a substitute for the pasta. Great idea! I have no recipe for you, but I will create one soon!