Crock pot Italian Swiss Steak

Crock pot Italian Swiss Steak

Ingredients

1. 2 pound top round Black Angus steak (trimmed and cut in half)
2. 1 small onion, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
3. 1 large stalk of celery, chopped
4. 8 baby bella mushrooms, chopped
5. 1 can of tomato sauce
6. 1 can of water (using tomato sauce can)
7. 1 can of no salt added diced tomatoes
8. 1 tsp. course ground garlic sea salt
9. 1.5 tsp. course ground black pepper
10. 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
11. .25 cup brown rice flour
Steamed brown rice

Directions

1. In a large baggie combine the garlic sea salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, brown rice flour and steak. Shake until the steak is well coated.
2. Combine all other ingredients in the crock pot and add the steak. Submerge the steak into the tomato/water mixture as much as possible.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours
4. Serve over steamed brown rice.

Hunters Stew and Creamy Polenta

I made this last night and it was wonderful. The original recipe came from http://www.eatingwell.com/ and I had to tweak it a little to make it allergy friendly. This could easily become our new favorite dish.

(http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/hunters_chicken_stew.html )
Hunter’s Chicken is found across Northern Italy, with many variations. This version uses meaty bone-in chicken things and is full of onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. It’s also delicious served over egg noodles.
Makes 8 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 1 hour

TOTAL TIME: 2 1/2 hours

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used Bob's Redmill All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Mix)
12 bone-in chicken thighs (about 4 pounds), skin removed, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
1 cup dry white wine or vermouth (I was out of Vegan wine so I subbed Gluten free/Dairy Free chicken broth here)
1 1/2 pounds button mushrooms, halved or quartered, depending on size
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (We like Pacific brand but any Gluten Free/Dairy free brand will work
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 3/4 teaspoon dried
1 1/3 cups cornmeal (make sure it's gluten free)
6 cups cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until the onions are very soft and translucent, 2 to 4 minutes more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to a bowl; set aside. Remove the pot from the heat.
2. Place gluten free flour in a shallow dish. Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour. Gently shake off any excess.
3. Cook the chicken in 2 batches in the Dutch oven, using 1 tablespoon oil for each batch. Cook over medium-high heat, turning once, until browned on both sides, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
4. Pour wine (or vermouth or chicken broth) into the pot and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon, for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms, tomatoes, broth, bay leaves and rosemary. Return the reserved onions to the pan. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices, making sure each piece is partially submerged. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover the pan and cook, gently stirring once or twice, until the chicken is very tender, about 1 hour.
5. Meanwhile, combine cornmeal, water and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Partially cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and very creamy, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, while you finish the stew.
6. Remove the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Bring the liquid in the pan to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Skim or blot any visible fat from the surface. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the pan.
7. Gently stir in basil. Serve the stew over the polenta.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 431 calories; 17 g fat (4 g sat, 8 g mono); 101 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrate; 33 g protein; 3 g fiber; 706 mg sodium; 794 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Potassium (23% daily value), Iron (20% dv), Magnesium & Vitamin C (15% dv).
2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 4 lean meat, 1 fat

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Make polenta (Step 5) about 1 hour before serving. Prepare stew through Step 6. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Reheat stew and stir in basil (Step 7).

Blueberry Muffins

We went to our local farm today and purchased some gorgeous fruits and vegetables. One thing I bought was plump blueberries. I was going to make a blueberry cobbler, but the boys insisted on muffins. The muffins turned out totally delicious. Of course Older Boy won't eat them now because he didn't realize that they'd have REAL blueberries. He's used to the fake little blueberry specks you get in processed food. He's seriously anti fruit and that really bothers me. Good thing I figured out that the muffins are only 4 points each at http://www.weightwatchers.com/. Guess they'll make a good breakfast or snack item. The Little Man can only eat so many and the recipe made 17. If I freeze them, they fall out of favor and then no one eats them.

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup dairy free margarine
2. 1 cup white sugar
3. 1/4 cup brown sugar
4. 1 teaspoon of salt
5. 4 oz. organic applesauce
6. 1 eggs worth of Ener-G egg replacer, prepared
7. 1.5 cups Bette Hagman Feather Light Rice Flour
8. .5 cup Sorghum Flour
9. 2 tsp. gluten free baking powder
10. .5 cup milk alternative (I used vanilla Silk)
11. 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
12. 2 cups of blueberries


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix together margarine, white sugar, brown sugar, salt and lemon juice until fairly smooth. Beat in applesauce and egg replacer.
3. In another bowl, mix together Feather Light Rice Flour, Sorghum Flour and baking powder. Use a small amount of this mixture to cover blueberries (this helps keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin). Mix in the flour and milk alternative, alternating each. Gently fold in blueberries.
4. Spoon batter into the lined muffin cups filling cups almost to the top.
3. Bake for 30 minutes in oven until muffin tops are slightly browned and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan or eating.

Honey-soy grilled pork chops (w/ rice)

This is another recipe from Everyday Food Magazine (Martha Stewart). I didn't need to do a lot of tweaking to make this one friendly. And everyone enjoyed it.

Ingredients

1. Vegetable oil, for grates
2. 1 cup long grain white rice (we eat a lot of rice in our house so I made 4 cups of brown rice)
3. 2 Tbs. rice vinegar
4. 1/4 tsp. red-pepper flakes
5. salt and ground pepper
6. 2 Tbs. honey
7. 1 tsp. wheat free soy sauce (San-J)
8. 1 tsp. finely grated peeled fresh ginger
9. 4 bone-in pork rib chops (8-10 oz each)

Directions

1. Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. Cook rice according to package instructions. With a fork, stir in vinegar and red-pepper flakes; season with salt. Cover and set aside.

2. Make a glaze: Combine honey, wheat free soy sauce, and ginger in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Grill until opaque throughout. 5-7 minutes per side. Brush pork with glaze, and grill 30 seconds more per side. Transfer pork to a plate.

3. Serve pork chops and rice (add in a fresh summer salad for a more rounded out meal).

serves 4

Mini honey-mustard meatloaves

This recipe has been allergenized. The original recipe is from Everyday Food (A Martha Stewart Magazine).
I took Martha's original recipe and switched some ingredients to safe ones and left some out that I couldn't replace.

Ingredients
olive oil for baking sheets
2 Tbs. honey mustard
2 Tbs. ketchup
1-1.5 pounds of ground turkey
just under a 1/2 cup of polenta with brown rice bread crumbs added to make it a complete 1/2 cup (mix together)
salt and pepper

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with oil. In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbs. mustard and ketchup.

2. In a medium bowl, combine turkey, polenta/brown rice mixture, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper. From into four 2-by-4-inch loaves; place on baking sheet. Brush with mustard mixture.

3. Transfer meatloaves to upper rack of oven. Bake until loaves are cooked through, 15-20 minutes, moving sheet to bottom rack after 10 minutes.

In addition to the meatloaves, Martha also had a recipe for roasted potatoes. If you choose to use those too:

Ingredients
1 pound white new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1 Tbs. of olive oil, plus more for baking sheets
salt and pepper

Follow instructions for meatloaves to step 2.

Continuing from step 2 from above:
On another rimmed baking sheet, brush sheet with oil. Toss potatoes with 1 Tbs. of olive oil and lay flat on sheet. Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Transfer meatloaves to upper rack of oven, and place potatoes on lower rack. Bake until loaves are cooked through, 15-20 minutes, rotating sheets after 10 minutes. Remove loaves from oven; continue to roast potatoes until tender, about 5 minutes.

Worms in dirt

1 cup of chocolate ZenSoy pudding
3 Tbs. of soy whipped topping
3-4 crushed frozen KinniToos chocolate sandwich cookies
Safe gummy worms

Mix the pudding, soy whipped topping, and 1/2 the crushed cookies together and place in a cup. Add the remaining crushed cookies on top and finish with gummy worms.

Pizza pasta

I had ground beef and didn't know what to do with it, so I came up with this:

Pizza pasta

Ingredients

1. 1 1/4 pound of ground beef, chicken, or turkey
2. 1 small onion diced
3. Pizza sauce - approx. 24 oz. (I used 1 15 oz can of Hunts tomato sauce, 1 8oz can of Hunts tomato sauce, and 1 small can of Hunt's tomato paste and mixed in some spices - basil, oregano, garlic powder, etc.)
4. Safe pepperoni - approx. 20 pieces, quatered
5. Gluten free pasta (approx. 12 oz box)
extra spices as needed

Directions
1. Brown the ground meat and onion together. Drain when finished. Meanwhile, boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Add pizza sauce and pepperoni to meat mixture and cook on low until heated through.
3. When pasta is done, drain, and add to meat mixture.
4. Combine all ingredients and continue to heat on low until mixture is heated through.
Enjoy!

Oven Fries (aka Momma Fries)

The boys like to call these Momma Fries. I guess because they don't come from a bag in the freezer, but from Momma.

Ingredients

1. 5-6 large baking potatoes -peeled and cut length wise into uniform "strips" (like large french fries)
2. 1/3 cup olive oil
3. 1 tsp. paprika
4. 1/2 tsp. chili powder
5. 1 tsp. garlic powder
6. 1/2 tsp. onion powder
7. salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
3. Add cut potatoes and mix together (with your hands) until potatoes are evenly coated.
4. Place potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 450 degrees F turning once half way through baking.

Pizza Crust

Corn Meal Pizza Crust

Ingredients
1. 1 cup brown rice flour (plus a little extra for dusting)
2. 1/2 cup of corn meal
3. 1/2 cup tapioca flour
4. 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
5. 1 tsp. honey
6. 1.5 Tbs. Italian Seasoning
7. 1 Tbs. active dry yeast
8. 1 cup of warm water

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and in a bowl mix together the brown rice flour, corn meal and tapioca flour.
2. Add in vinegar, honey, seasoning and yeast. Pour water into mixture a little at a time and stir together. Only use enough water to combine all the ingredients (usually about 1/2-3/4 cup of the water).
3. Once combined, put dough mixture on a greased pizza sheet. Sprinkle with a little brown rice flour and push dough into the shape of the crust.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes in oven. Remove crust and top with your favorite toppings (we usually use pizza sauce and safe pepperoni).
5. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15-18 minutes or until done.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
1. 2 cans (16 oz) whole kernel corn, drained (low sodium preferred)
2. 3 to 4 medium potatoes, chopped
3. 1 onion, chopped
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. pepper to taste
6. 2 cups gfdf chicken broth (organic, low sodium preferred)
7. 2 cups soy milk or non dairy milk alternative (plain)
8. 1/4 cup dairy free margarine
9. 6-8 slices of bacon cooked and drained (I cheated and used the precooked kind)

Directions:
Combine first 6 ingredients in slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours.
Puree in a blender or food processor, if desired, then return to pot.
Stir in soy milk and margarine; cover and cook on HIGH about 30 to 60 minutes longer.
Garnish with crumbled bacon before serving. (optional)
Makes 6-8 servings.

Sloppy Joes

Ingredients

1. 1 pound of ground beef, turkey, chicken or buffalo
2. 1/3 cup of chopped onion
3. 1/3 cup of chopped green pepper
4. 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
5. 1 tbs. prepared yellow mustard
6. 1-2 tbs. safe BBQ sauce
7. 3/4 cup ketchup
8. 3 tsp. brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a skillet over medium heat, brown meat along with green pepper and onion. Drain liquid.
2. Add garlic powder, mustard, BBQ sauce, ketchup, brown sugar and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes.
3. Serve on Gluten free rolls or over brown rice.

Mediterranean Brisket (slow cooker)

*adapted from All*You magazine

Ingredients
1. 1 can diced no salt added tomatoes
2. 1/2 cup vegan red wine
3. 5 garlic cloves chopped
4. 1/3 cup kalamata olives chopped
5. 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
6. 1 (2.5 lb.) piece flat-cut brisket, fat trimmed off
7. salt and pepper
8. 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Place tomato, wine, garlic, olives and rosemary in slow cooker and stir to combine.
Sprinkle meat with 1 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper to taste.
2. Place it on top of tomato mixture; spoon half of tomato mixture over meat to cover. Cover and cook on high until fork tender, 5 to 6 hours.
3. Transfer brisket to a cutting board, tent with foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Skim fat from sauce; season with salt and pepper. Slice brisket across grain and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon some sauce over meat and sprinkle with parsley. Serve brisket wit remaining sauce on side.

Per serving: 424 cal.
15g fat
180 mg chol.
1g fiber
60g protein
5 g carb.

Mushroom Risotto

Mushroom Risotto (dairy free, gluten free, egg free, nut free):

3-5 cups chicken or vegetable stock (gluten free, dairy free organic), or water
2 Tbs. dairy free margarine and/or olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 ½ cups fresh cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 cup fresh white button mushrooms, chopped
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
Salt & pepper
½ cup dry white wine (for vegan wine I've been using Girasole Vinyards)



1. Place the margarine/oil in a large saucepan and heat on medium heat. When melted, add the shallots, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minute. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for another 8-10 minutes. Do not let the mushrooms brown.

2. Add the rice and stir until it is coated with margarine/oil (add a little more margarine or oil if needed). Add a little salt & pepper to taste, then the wine. Stir and let the liquid bubble.

3. Start to add the stock, approximately a ½ cup at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When the stock is just about evaporated, add more. The mixture should be neither too soupy nor too dry. Keep the heat medium to medium-high, and stir frequently.

It usually takes between 20-25 minutes until complete. The rice should be softened but with a little firmness left. Don't let the rice get overly softened. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Gingerbread Cookies

The boys wanted gingerbread cookies. I know I made them last year, but I think I used a mix from Gluten Free Pantry. I didn't have that today so I had to go fishing for a recipe that I could "allergenize". I found one that looked promising at Allrecipes. The original recipe is from Colonial Williamsburg. What attracted me to it is that it didn't have any eggs in it, so that was one less ingredient that I would have to replace. The cookies turned out beautifully! They held their shape perfectly and taste very yummy! They are a very old fashion cookie.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
1. 1 cup of white sugar
2. 2 tsp. of ground ginger
3. 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
4. 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
5. 1/2 tsp. salt
6. 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
7. 1 tsp. xanthan gum
8. 1 cup dairy free margarine, melted
9. 1/2 cup coconut milk
10. 1 cup unsulfured black strap molasses
11. 3/4 tsp. gluten free vanilla
12. 4 cups gluten free flour blend (1 cup Bette Hagman's Gourmet Light Flour Blend, 1 cup Sorghum flour, 1 cup Tapioca flour, 1/2 white rice flour, 1/2 cup arrowroot starch)

extra white rice flour for mixing and potato starch for rolling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and xanthan gum. Mix in the melted margarine, coconut milk, molasses, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. The dough should be stiff enough to handle without sticking to the fingers. If necessary, add additional white rice flour to prevent sticking.
3. When dough is smooth, roll between 2 sheets of wax paper or pat (I found patting easier)to 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with potato starch to prevent sticking. Cut into shapes and transfer to cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven. The cookies are done when the top springs back when touched. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks. Decorate as desired.