Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Elana's Savory Vegetable Quiche

I've recently found a gluten free blog that is rather different from most, in that the author uses mostly almond flour for baked goods (although she's now branching out into coconut flour too). I'll bet many of you know that I'm referring to Elana Amsterdam and her wonderful blog, Elana's Pantry.

What intrigues me is that she is grain-free, not just gluten free. I've read many posts on the board at celiac.com stating that one person or another did not experience healing until they gave up all grains (and usually dairy as well!).

Elana's blog has tons of great recipes and lots of other helpful info....after I fell in love with her blog, I went ahead and bought her cookbook; this recipe is from her book (and I hope it inspires all of you to go out and buy the book too!):

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 C blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 T minced scallions
1/4 C grapeseed oil
1 T water

Filling:

2 T grapeseed oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 C broccoli, sliced into small spears
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 3)
1 C thinly sliced mushrooms
1/4 C finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes (dry packed)
3 large eggs, whisked
4 oz goat cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and scallions. In a smaller bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the grapeseed oil and water. Stir wet ingredients into dry until thoroughly mixed. Press the dough into a 9 1/2-inch or deep dish pie pan. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely before filling.

Quiche: Heat grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion for 8 - 10 minutes, until soft. While onion cooks, steam broccoli until bright green. Add broccoli, garlic, mushrooms, and tomatoes to the onion, and saute for 15 - 20 minutes, until broccoli is tender. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, and salt. Stir in the sauteed vegetables, then pour the mixture into the pre-baked crust.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes at 350 degrees until browned around the edges and cooked through. Let the quiche cool in the pan for 30 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Orange Chicken

Stephanie, the Crockpot Lady, keeps coming out with great recipes, even though her year of Crockpotting is officially over! Here is another one:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch pieces
1/2 C gluten free flour
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 T kosher salt
6 oz (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (little or no pulp is best)
3 T brown sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 T ketchup

Directions:

Stephanie says to use a 4 quart Crockpot for best results. Coat the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off any excess. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. Sear it just enough for the flour to stick.

Place the chicken pieces into the Crockpot. In a small mixing bowl, combine orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste; add more sugar if you want it sweeter. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Polenta Lasagna

I've been experimenting with polenta lately, because it's naturally gluten free. I decided to use it to make a version of lasagna (hubby loves lasagna!):

Ingredients:

Olive oil
2 18-oz tubes of polenta
2 jars gluten free marinara sauce (or you can use your favorite homemade sauce)
1/2 pound of mushrooms, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced,
1 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb gluten free Italian sausage
1 lb ricotta
1 lb mozzerella, shredded and divided
Parmesan, grated
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano

Saute the diced onion in a small amount of oil in a large skillet until soft. Remove the casings from the sausage and crumble into skillet; cook for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, and garlic and cook for a few more minutes, until sausage is browned. Remove from heat, drain off excess grease, and set aside.

Reserve approximately 1 C of mozzerella for topping. In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining shredded mozzerella, ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and the basil and oregano.

Slice each tube of polenta into approximately 15 slices. Use ~1 C of marinara sauce to cover the bottom of a 13" x 9" pan, then place half the polenta slices evenly spaced on the sauce (I do 3 by 5).

Top the polenta layer with half of the cheese mixture, then half of the sausage-veggie mixture. Cover with marinara sauce, then layer remaining polenta, cheese, and sausage-veggie mixture on top. Pour generous amount of sauce over all, top with reserved mozzerella and more Parmesan.

Bake at 35o degrees for approximately 35 - 45 minutes, until bubbly and cheese topping is beginning to brown a bit.

Enjoy!!

Crockpot Baby Back Ribs

Fall-off-the-bone good....!

Ingredients:

5-7 lbs baby back ribs
gluten free barbecue sauce (I used Homemade BBQ Sauce version 2)

Directions:

Separate the ribs into serving sized pieces (4-5 ribs) and place in the Crockpot, basting with your favorite gluten free barbecue sauce. Cook for 6-7 hours on High.

Remove ribs gently (they fall apart easily at this point) and place on a cookie sheet or roasting pan, and baste generously with more sauce. Place under broiler for a few minutes, just until the sauce starts to "crisp up" a bit; you don't want them burnt....watch them closely!!

NOTE: If you're still working on side dishes for dinner, you can bake the ribs at 250-300 degrees for up to 45 minutes to keep them warm, and turn on the broiler at the last minute, just before you serve dinner.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Homemade Gluten Free Barbecue Sauce, part deux

My latest version of the original homemade gluten free barbecue sauce:

Ingredients:


1 large onion, finely chopped
2-3 T butter
2 C gluten-free ketchup (Heinz works)
2/3 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C gluten-free worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins is gf in the USA, but NOT in Canada)
2 T lemon juice
1 1/2 T liquid smoke
1 T Old Bay Seasoning (or more, to taste)
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 T white vinegar

Directions:

In a sauce pan melt butter. Add onion and saute until tender. Add all remaining ingredients and heat 2 to 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves.