Monday, February 29, 2016

Gluten Free Nut Free Thai Chicken Recipe

I was pleasantly surprised at how good this was. I thought that using sun-butter to cook with might be a little strange, but it was delicious!

Ingredients

½ Cup of Sunbutter
3 Tablespoons of gluten free Thai fish sauce
Juice of 1 fresh lime (I used lime juice)
4 Tablespoons of honey (or agave nectar)
¼ Teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes 
½ Cup of water
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
Garlic, minced 
Ginger, grated 
Sea salt

Pepper
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
Broccoli florets

Directions

1. Combine the sunbutter, fish sauce, lime juice, honey, red pepper flakes and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside
2. Heat the oil in a large pan with a lid over medium-high heat
3. Add the garlic and ginger and toss in the oil 
4. Add the chicken pieces and cook, stirring frequently, until browned on all sides
5. Add the broccoli, stir to coat, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium
6. Cook until the broccoli is crisp tender and the chicken is cooked through
7. Add the sunbutter sauce to the chicken and broccoli, toss to coat

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Gluten Free Orange Chicken

This orange chicken turned out really well! I love cooking Asian dishes because they taste like the real thing but are soooo much healthier for you. The original recipe calls for the chicken to be fried in a pan, however, I baked it.


Ingredients

Chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces 
1/2 Teaspoon of salt
1/2 Teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 Cup of cornstarch, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1/4 Cup of tamari gluten free soy sauce
1/4 Cup of white vinegar
1/4 Cup of orange juice (I used more)
1/4 Cup of water
1/4 Cup of organic brown sugar, packed
1/2 Teaspoon of  minced garlic
1/4 Teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
Green onions, to garnish
Coconut cooking spray


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Place the cornstarch in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper, add the chicken on top and toss until evenly coated
3. Spray a cooking tray with oil and add the chicken
4. Bake until golden about 20 minutes5. Meanwhile, whisk together all the remaining ingredients in a small bowl
6. Once the chicken is cooked through and golden brown remove it from the oven
7. Pour the contents of the small bowl into a hot pan and simmer and stir until thickened
8. Once thickened, add the chicken to the pan, and toss to coat
9. Garnish with some green onions 

Black Bean Turkey Burgers

These were simple to make and tasted really good. I fried them in a grilling pan since it's winter. I cannot wait to make them again this summer on the grill.

Ingredients

1.5 Pounds of ground turkey 
1 Can of black beans, rinsed 
1 Cup of gf panko breadcrumbs (I used regular gf breadcrumbs)
1.5 Tablespoons of onion powder 
½ Teaspoon of garlic salt
1 Egg 
Pepper
Olive oil

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl
2. Form into patties
3. In a skillet, add a some olive oil. Once the oil is hot add the burgers and cook 7 minutes on one side
4. Press burgers down to flatten
5. Flip and cook additional 7-9 minutes until cooked through

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites (GF &DF)

I wanted to make cookie dough I could eat without having to bake into a cookie and also one that wasn't raw and could harm me or my unborn baby. I found this recipe and altered it a bit and it came out delicious. Addicting and delicious!

Ingredients

1 Cup of gluten free flour
2 Teaspoons of cornstarch
1/2 Cup of dairy free butter, melted
6 Tablespoons of brown sugar
6 Tablespoons of granulated sugar
2 Teaspoons of organic vanilla extract
2/3 Cup of mini chocolate chips (I used enjoy life brand choc. chips--they are free of everything)

Optional
2-4 tablespoons milk (I used unsweetened coconut milk)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, sugar, flour, and cornstarch
2. Beat in the melted butter and vanilla extract until it starts to come together, the dough will resemble coarse crumbs
3. Stir in the chocolate chips
4. Mix until dough slightly sticks together, but it will still look crumbly. If the dough is too crumbly, simply add in some milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is easier to work with. You will want to do this if you are rolling them into little balls
5. Scoop a heaping tablespoon. Roll the dough into a ball and place on prepared pan
6. Place pan in the refrigerator for the bites to chill for 30 minutes or place them in the freezer for 15 minutes

Friday, February 19, 2016

Crockpot Sweet and Tangy Asian Meatballs

These were really good. Made me super thirsty afterwards, but really good. I'm trying to get more into making crockpot meals since my husband and I will be welcoming a little one in just months!

Ingredients

For Meatballs
2 lbs of Ground pork (I used ground turkey)
½ Cup of green onions, chopped
4 Cloves of garlic, minced (I used a bit less)
1 Tbsp of sesame oil 
2 Tsp of ginger, freshly grated
2 eggs
Salt and pepper 
Sesame seeds for garnish 
For Sauce
⅔ Cup of Hoisin sauce
¼ Cup of soy sauce
¼ Cup of rice vinegar
5 Cloves of garlic, minced (I used a bit less)
2 Tsp of ginger, freshly grated
1 Tbsp of Sriracha sauce (I used a bit more)


Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Mix all the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl. Shape into 1 inch meatballs and place them on the baking sheet
3. Bake the meatballs for 20-25 minutes or until just slight brown and no longer pink inside
4. While they are baking, mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl
5. Place the meatballs together with the sauce into the  crockpot
6. Cook on low for 2 hours
7. The sauce will reduce and thicken a bit
8. Serve garnished with additional chopped green onion or sesame seeds

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Carrot Zucchini Muffins (Gluten and dairy free)

These are good! Once again, I think I let them bake for too long. But I'm learning. I would make these again. Great for an on the go breakfast.

Ingredients

1½ Cups of almond flour
½ Cup of brown rice flour
2½ Teaspoons of baking powder
½ Teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
½ Cup of honey (or pure maple syrup)
½ Cup of coconut oil 
2 Eggs
½ Cup of finely shredded carrots
1¼ Cups of finely shredded zucchini

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Line a muffin tin with paper liners
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, brown rice flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon
4. Make a "well" in the dry ingredients and add the honey, oil, and eggs and stir to combine. The batter will be thick
5. Add the shredded carrots and zucchini and stir until they are evenly distributed
6. Fill each muffin liner with better so it is about ¾ full
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Easy Rice Noodles

The original recipe was for an easy chicken Lo Mein, but since I cannot find gluten free Lo Mein noddles, I bought rice noodles(which I love). I also did not follow the recipe exactly and put my own spin on it. I made it more of a Thai dish, than I Chinese one. It was yummy, but I have made better rice noddle dishes.

Ingredients

Rice noodles (1 box)
5 Tablespoons of soy sauce (gluten free)
3 Fluid ounces of chicken Broth/Stock
5 Teaspoons of sesame oil
3 Tablespoons of lime juice
¼ Teaspoons of  red pepper flakes
Olive oil
2 Cups of broccoli, chopped
1 Cup of cauliflower, chopped
1/2 Cup of carrots, chopped
4 Eggs, scrambled
1 Cup of cooked chicken, cubed (I omitted this because it was Ash Wednesday)
1 Teaspoon of garlic, minced

Directions

1. Cook the rice noodles according to package directions
2. While the noodles are cooking, combine the sesame oil, soy sauce, chicken broth, lime juice, and red pepper flakes in a small pot and mix well. Heat over low heat
3. In a large skillet cook the eggs, once cooked push them to the side and add the olive oil. Place the vegetables in the olive oil and saute for 3-4 minutes or until tender
4. Add in cooked chicken and let cook for 1-2 minutes
5. Add the garlic to pan and mix everything together, let cook for another minute 6. Once the noodles are done, drain them and place in a large bowl
7. Pour in sauce mixture and toss
8. Add in the egg/veggie/chicken mixture and toss again
9. Make sure all the noodles are coated with sauce