Feast!!!

It's been a crazy summer with lots of traveling.  But we made it through it all and I'm ready to share some delicious recipes with you again.  Last night we had a family from our church over.  Their little girl was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  I wanted to make sure she knew what "gluten free" could taste like.  It took me years to find what was yummy!  Here I'm sharing what I made last night.

Simply Seasoned Chicken (from Simple & Delicious magazine)

serves 2-4

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)
2 Tbsp. gluten free Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. Honey
1/3 cup Panko gluten free bread crumbs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp gluten free seasoned salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. butter

Instructions:

1. Flatten chicken to 1/4 inch thickness.  In a shallow bowl, combine mustard and honey.  In another shallow bowl combine the bread crumbs and seasonings.  Dip chicken in mustard mixture, then coat with crumb mixture.

2. In a large skillet (I used an 8" cast iron skillet YUM! which wasn't quite big enough) over medium heat cook chicken in oil and butter for 5-6 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees F.

***My chicken got a nice dark crust.  I ended up breaking it up into smaller pieces so that it would cook faster.  Big HIT!

Farmers Market Squash Saute (also from Simple & Delicious magazine)

serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup grape tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
dash salt
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

In a large skillet, saute squash and zucchini in oil until crisp-tender. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in mozzarella, basil and salt. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Easy Dinner Rolls (12 rolls)

-One of my favorite recipes.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
3 Tbsp. milk, warm
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. yeast

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin cups.
2. Mix wet ingredients.
3. Place dry ingredients in stand mixer. Beat on low speed and add wet ingredients.
4. Place dough in muffin cups and immediately bake for 25-30 minutes.  (If you are using a larger cupcake size then it may make only 6-8 and take 35-45 minutes.) Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Mashed Potatoes

I don't ever follow a recipe for these.  But I mostly peel, chop, boil my potatoes until they are soft and I can pierce them with a fork.  Then I drain and mash them.  While mashing I add in butter, a little bit of milk, and sour cream or cream cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper.   Yum!

Carrot-Pineapple Cake

This is a Nuzman family recipe.  I have converted it to be gluten free because it's too yummy to go without!

***This recipe makes a large 10x17 cake or two round cake pans full.  I used 9x13

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice flour

3/4 cup potato starch

1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 eggs

2 cups finely shredded carrot

1 cup crushed pineapple with syrup (total amount of pineapple and syrup should be 1 cup)

2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 10x17 cake pan.  (I don't have a pan that big so I used 9x13 which is barely big enough and it took another 5-8 minutes baking time.)

2.  First add flours, starches, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, xanthan gum, and salt to a stand mixer.  (The recipe says to sift...which I'm sure would be beneficial...but I don't sift)

3. Add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix until all ingredients are moistened.  Scrape down sides.  

4. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.  

5.  Bake 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

6-8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla

dash salt

3-5 cups confectioners sugar

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cream together cream cheese and butter.

2. Beat in vanilla and salt.

3. Gradually add in confectioners' sugar.  (The original recipe calls for 5...I think 3 is enough.  I think I went for 4 because there were kids coming over and I wanted them to like the frosting.)  

4. Stir in chopped pecans (which I left out, unfortunately)

*EVERYTHING WAS SO YUMMY...but especially this CAKE!  MMmmmmm

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps and Egg Drop Soup

This meal was so scrumptious. It has so many fun flavors and it's super easy to make. The egg drop soup is the best I've ever had.

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps: (Serves 5 people, two lettuce wraps each)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 pkg. (16 ounces) frozen stir fry vegetable blend, thawed

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (make sure it's gluten free)

14 cup hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 green onions, chopped

10 lettuce leaves (Boston, Green Leaf, Romaine, etc.)

What to do:

Step 1: Cook turkey in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat until no longer pink.

Step 2: Chop stir-fry vegetables and add to the pan. Stir in the teriyaki sauce, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, ginger, vinegar, and oil. Stir-fry over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.

Step 3: Remove from the heat; stir in green onions. Place about 1/2 cup turkey mixture on each lettuce leaf. Fold the lettuce over filling.

Egg Drop Soup (Serves 5 people)

Ingredients:

5 cups chicken broth (make sure it's gluten free)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup sliced fresh spinach

2 green onions, sliced

What to do:

Step 1: Boil Broth and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Step 2: Reduce heat to low. Drizzle beaten egg into hot broth. Remove from the heat, stir in spinach and green onions.

Quinoa With Chicken

I am always looking for good quinoa recipes.  When it's something you eat all the time, you definitely get tired of the cold "summer salad" type quinoa dish.  That is why this one really stuck out to me. This is a one dish meal and it is pleasing to the taste-buds as well as the eyes because of all the colors.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

You Will Need:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/4 cup chicken stock or water, boiling hot
pinch of salt
1 medium red pepper, diced
1 medium yellow pepper, diced
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips
1 medium carrot, diced
8 ounces of asparagus or green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Lemon Roasted Garlic Dressing
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup olive oil, divided
dash of salt
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon of honey or more

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Soak quinoa for one minute in cool water, stirring to loosen any dirt particles.  Pour into strainer and rinse.  Place in a small baking dish.  (I used a 8x8 inch baking dish and this ended up being kind of crowded. I recommend something a little bigger.)
3.  Bake quinoa in preheated oven for about 8 minutes.  Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and bake an additional minute.  (I had never thought of doing this before, but it gives the quinoa a really nice texture.)
4. Carefully add chicken stock or water and salt to quinoa, stirring to blend.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  (Be careful when you put it in the oven not to slosh the dish because then you'll get quinoa all over the bottom of your oven, oops.)
5.  Heat remaining olive oil in a pan and saute chopped pepper and chicken strips.  Set aside.
6.  While that is sauteing begin making Lemon Roasted Garlic Dressing.  Place garlic cloves in a foil pouch.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and salt.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  (Instead of doing this I used store bought minced garlic and skipped the whole roasting step.)  Place roasted garlic in a blender.  Add lemon juice and honey and process until smooth.  With blender running, slowly pour in remaining olive oil until dressing emulsifies.
7. Steam carrots and asparagus or green beans for 1-2 minutes until brightly colored and slightly tender.  Drain and submerge immediately in cold water for 30 seconds.

8.  When quinoa is done, remove baking dish from oven.  Add pepper, chicken, carrots, and green beans/asparagus, stirring gently to combine.  Drizzle with Lemon Roasted Garlic Dressing and serve.

Tilapia Po'Boys

I always crave southern food in the summertime.  I don't know if it's the warm weather or maybe if it's just here because I'm almost living in the south, but this sounded so delicious.  And it was!  I used the buns from the previous post for this recipe.  I am so happy to be baking and blogging again.  

What you will need:

Cajun Mayo:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon cajun seasoning*

*I didn't measure any of the seasonings.  I tossed in some chili powder, white pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, thyme, garlic salt, and even allspice which tasted yummy.  The point is, put in whatever you want.  

Sandwiches:

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup GF flour (for this I used King Arthur Gluten Free Multi-purpose Flour) 

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1/4 teaspoon Seafood seasoning

2/3 cup buttermilk

4 tilapia fillets

Vegetable oil for deep fat frying

4 buns

What to do:

Step one: In a small bowl combine the mayo ingredients and set aside.

Step two: In a shallow bowl (I used a pie pan), combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, and seasonings.  Place buttermilk in another shallow bowl.  Dip fish in buttermilk, then coat with cornmeal mixture.  

Step Three: In a skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil.  (To know when it is hot enough the oil needs to be even more "fluid" than when you put it in.  Flick a little bit of water into the oil and if it sizzles it's ready.  If the sizzle made you jump...it's too hot.) Cook fillets for 2-3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Drain on paper towels.

Step Four: Place mayo mixture on bun bottoms and put fish on top of that.  Add in whatever toppings you desire.  I chose avocado, tomato, and lettuce.  

Step Five: Enjoy!

Blackened Chicken with Mango

Last night I was feeling creative.  Creativity is always better for me when dealing with a dessert because then I can base it on a craving.  But, it was dinnertime.  I decided on blackened chicken (which is one of my favorite meals ever) with mango.  As my ideas morphed a bit, it turned into a blackened/Cajun chicken topped with mango.

On another note.  We have moved from Provo, UT to College Park, MD.  Big change and I love it.  I love my kitchen and how much counter space I have.  I love that my kitchen is separate from my dining room.  All wonderful things.  And the weather here may be hot...but it's green all the time.  Who couldn't be happy? 

What you will need:

1 lb. chicken (breast or tenderloins is up to you)

2 mangoes diced (I'll show you how to do this if you don't already know)

2 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon fresh garlic (2 cloves)

dash of chili powder

1 tablespoon olive oil

Step One:  While defrosting the chicken I cut up the mango.  There are so many ways to dice mango, but I like this one the best.  Without peeling first, cut around the core (as close as you can).  You will probably end up with 4 or 5 pieces.  Score each piece horizontally and vertically.  Then invert.  With a paring knife cut along the peel.  In the end you should have beautifully diced mango without very messy fingers.  :)  

Step Two:  Mix all of the spices except the fresh garlic.  I chose to put all of the spices on a plate and mix it with a spoon.  

Step Three: In a large fry pan add the olive oil and fresh garlic.  Saute for 1 minute before adding chicken.  While that is sauteing, dip chicken in spices both sides until liberally coated (this is spicy...if you don't want it as spicy use less pepper and less spice in general).  Place in pan and cook until the inside is no longer pink and the juices are clear.  You can check this by cutting the chicken in the thickest part and using a fork, squeeze to see the juice.  Make sure you have enough light to see the color of the chicken.  (I used chicken breasts.  I cooked for 3 minutes and then turned it over, another 3 minutes, then I repeated the three minutes on each side.  At that point it was pretty much done.  

Step Four: Place chicken on platter or plate and top with diced mango and a dash of paprika.  Serve with whatever sides you want.  I chose corn and steamed carrots with grape and peach salad.  

Step Five:  Enjoy, but make sure you have something to drink.  LOL.  

Garlic Chicken Artichoke Pizza

At my bridal shower my younger sister decided to play the game where you have to answer questions that your fiancée answered earlier that day. For example, his question: what is your favorite color? Green. What is Mallory's favorite color? Red. Then they ask me those same questions: What is Aaron's favorite color? Green. What did he say your favorite color was? Red. Etc. Whenever I answered a question wrong I had to put a piece of Bubbalicious bubble gum in my mouth and chew. Well when you have like 30 questions you're bound to get some wrong. I think by the end of the game I was chewing a total of 11 pieces of gum. Not pretty. One of the questions I had to answer was: What's Aaron's favorite food? Well he pretty much likes anything, so I guessed. Pizza! And I got it right. Therefore, we have pizza quite a lot. And we love making up topping combos. This is one of those inventions.

The Dough!For this dough I used a focaccia bread recipe and adapted it to suit what I needed. I like it because you don't need to wait for the bread to rise any longer than it takes you to make the toppings. The only downside is that you bake it on a cookie sheet instead of a round pizza pan. I'm sure it would work on a round pizza pan though, you would just need to shape it into a circle. :) You will need:
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum/guar gum
2 1/4 tablespoons dry milk powder
1 tablespoon dry minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon vinegar

Step One: Mix all ingredients together for about 2 minutes. Let rise in bowl while making a topping. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Step Two: Grease a cookie sheet. (Don't forget this step)
Step Three: Spread dough on the cookie sheet with a spatula. (To get it to spread better I spray my spatula with cooking spray.) Step Four: Bake for 8* minutes. Not all the way done, but enough that the top is no longer "doughy".
*If you like your crust crispy bake for longer. Try 10-15 minutes.
Step Five: Put toppings on. Step Six: Bake for another 8 minutes. Cheese must be melted.

Meanwhile...

Toppings:
You will need:
1/2 cup ranch dressing (I used Bakers & Chefs brand, because it's gluten free)
4 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 2 teaspoons of minced garlic)
1 fresh sliced Roma tomato
1 zucchini sliced and halved
1 jar of Cara Mia marinated artichokes, California style (any brand will do though)
mozzarella cheese (or any cheese you prefer), grated
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes
1 sliced bratwurst
Salt and Pepper to taste

Step One: Cook chicken with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium size fry pan. Make sure it is cooked all the way through. I chose to season with season salt and pepper. To check if the chicken is done, cut one of your chunks in half. If the chicken is white (not pink) and the juice runs clear, then it is ready. Once the chicken is cooked, add the sliced bratwurst. Leave in for 2-3 minutes. Just until it is warm and starting to brown.

Step Two: Sauté zucchini in 1 teaspoon of olive oil.

Step Three: Mix garlic and ranch in a bowl. Then spread on pizza crust after it has cooked for 8 minutes.

Step Four: Sprinkle pizza with a little bit of cheese.

Step Five: Top with zucchini, tomato, cooked chicken chunks, and sliced bratwurst. Sprinkle more cheese over the top.

Step Six: Place in oven for 8 more minutes (still at 400 degrees).

Step Seven: Eat and Enjoy! (My favorite step.)