German Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free, Soy Free)

Our Journey Starts Here: German Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Su...: Being sugar free doesn't mean you can't occasionally indulge on baked goods like this German chocolate cake. The chocolate cake ba...

Never eat cranberry sauce out of a can ever again (gluten free)

                                                            Holiday Cranberry Sauce

I have a friend that told me "if it does't resemble a can it's not cranberry sauce". He was joking but the thing is I think too many people assume that the cranberry, sugar filled gelatinous stuff is what holiday traditions are are all about. They are so WRONG, you all have been missing out on some delicious stuff, and excellent left over turkey sandwich condiment bliss.

Things you're going to need

1) blender, vitamix, or food processor

2) 2 bags of raw cranberries

3) 40 ounces of quality orange juice

4) 1/3 cup brown sugar

 5) teaspoon of orange zest

In a large stew pot (that has a lid) add your 2 bags of cranberries, 40 oz of orange juice and orange zest. Set on medium/high and boil until cranberries are tender and starting to burst.

stir in 1/3 cup brown sugar (you can add additional sugar if you prefer sweeter) and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and set aside with lid off for at least an hour then with a slotted spoon scoop the cranberries into a blender/vitamix/food processor and puree until smooth (add additional juice from pot if mixture is too thick).

Refrigerate and enjoy!

Want to know what to do with the left over juices? Strain with a small hole colander and use for bellini mix with a sparkling wine of your choice =) Also works well with club soda for kid friendly drinks.

Honey Mustard Glaze (Chicken or Lamb) (Gluten free and Dairy free)

       Ever get bored of eating the same flavors? We were! Karl came home with a lamb steak and I had no clue what to use lamb for other than Stew. I did a quick skim through my "Betty Crocker" cook book and decided mustard and rosemary would be my focus. Since we only had 2 lamb steaks and 4 bodies to feed I also used the glaze on some chicken breasts both were delicious!

Glaze/marinade

1/2 cup white wine (I used honeywood early muscat)

4 Tbs yellow mustard

1 Tbs honey

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp coarse fresh ground pepper

1p tsp sea salt

1/4 cup olive oil

(blend together in a magic bullet or blender/food processor) 

In a freezer ziplock bag place your choice of meat inside and dump the marinade in, squeeze out the excess air, seal and place in the fridge for at least an hour. 

Preheat your BBQ or Oven (medium/high heat)

Wash your potatoes (I prefer red potatoes) and in the center of the foil square spray a small amount of olive oil, sprinkle sea salt, pepper and garlic powder. Wrap up the potato in the foil and repeat for however many baked potatoes you need. 

Pull out two large rectangle pieces of foil and lay them on top of each other (should form a cross) lay your fresh or frozen mixed veggies in the middle (salt, pepper, and dairy free margarine/butter to taste) fold up the first layer and then the second to lock in the moisture.

Take your meat out of the marinade and grill, dump the remaining marinade into a sauce pan and bring to a boil (while stirring) for at least 3 minutes. Now take your glaze out to the grill area with a silicone basting brush or spoon (a silicone basting brush will save you a lot of cleaning from the grill later). Each time you flip the meat baste it with the glaze.

Place your foil wrapper potatoes and veggies under the meat on the bottom wrack if you have a double wrack grill, if any glaze falls off it will land on your foil instead of the flame area (the less clean up the better!)

When your meat is done, your potatoes and veggies should be too! If you're using russet potatoes instead of red potatoes you may want to put those on the grill before anything else to give extra time to bake.

Finish your potato with toppings of your choice and enjoy!

Low Calorie "Street Tacos" at home

Summer is quickly approaching, and even here in Oregon with the rain and overcast its starting to warm up for outdoor cooking! This week we grilled several chicken breasts and put them in the fridge to use for tacos, salads, sandwiches and etc. so we could have lean cooked meat with out heating up the whole dwelling.

Things you need:
Chicken Breasts (3-4)
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Salsa
Fire Roasted Peppers
Tortillas

Seasonings:
Poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, cumin

Grill the chicken breasts after lightly seasoning with poultry seasoning , salt, pepper and  cumin. After about 15-25 minutes of grilling let the chicken rest for 5 minutes then shred or cut into strips.

prepare your toppings! We used lettuce, canned fire roasted peppers, tomatoes and salsa. Additional toppings to consider would be black olives, onions, cheese, sour cream and jalapenos.

Depending on your gluten tolerance, you can use a variety of tortillas for gluten free I like Udi's, but for those of you wheat eaters I prefer these half corn half whole grain tortillas (heat up on a stove or in the microwave).

Assemble to your liking and enjoy! Simple, delicious, and low calorie meal the whole family will enjoy!

Not your Grandma's pot pie! (super easy)

I get bored of eating the same thing over and over again don't you? I am not a fan of frozen dinners but have always been intrigued by chicken pot pie. When I was little my grandma made chicken pot pie one summer when we were visiting in Missouri. In true southern fashion it had tons of butter, and a crust made of half a box of bisquick lol. I have never tasted anything so delicious (although I suffered from the butter). I was determined to make a lighter, easier version in my semi-homemade way.

Things you need:
Left over whole chicken (I pick it clean for dinner and lunch then the next day use it in this recipe!)
1 roll of crescent rolls (the safeway brand is dairy free)
3 left over baked red potatoes from the previous night's chicken dinner
2 cups of mixed frozen veggies

Let's get started! Throw your chicken carcass in a medium sized soup pot with just enough water or low sodium chicken broth to barely cover the carcass. Put a lid on it and simmer on medium heat until the remaining chicken meat falls off the bone. (This can take between 30 minutes to an hour or longer depending on how big your chicken was and how much meat was left on the carcass).
*Note* If you don't have left over  baked potatoes then use this time to wrap your washed/salted&peppered red potatoes in the oven now so we can assemble the potpie quickly.

*Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Ok remove the carcass from the liquid (let the stock continue to simmer and reduce) and remove the chicken meat from the bones, if you've simmered long enough it should practically fall off or already be in the stock pot. Throw away the bones and inedible stuff like fatty clumps, gristle or chewy skin.

Add the chicken back to the stock, cube your potatoes and add the potatoes and veggies to the mix. Dump the mixture into a pie dish (if the stock has been reduced properly it will be thick like a hash)
Unroll your crescent rolls and layer over the filling.

I layer the crescent rolls from tip to tail

Keep an eye on your dish, Baking time should be about 13 minutes or until  it is evenly  golden brown across the  top.

Cool for about 3 min and serve! It's delicious and much lighter in calories since there isn't a gravy on the inside or double layer crust!

Dairy Free Rice Pudding

Tonight for dinner we had stir fry using my left over Terriyaki Sauce from last weeks post and I had a couple cups of rice left over. I knew tomorrow morning was going to be hectic and thought, "hmm it would be so easy if breakfast was all ready to go in the morning.." So I decided to wing it and recreate my mom's rice pudding she use to make when I was a kid. I love homemade rice pudding! But of course I can't have dairy and my husband and kiddos can't do cinnamon so this recipe is with a twist and is very delicious!

You have to love it when you wing it and it turns out to be a winner =D

Things you need:

1 cup Original coconut milk

2 eggs

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2- 2 cups cooked rice (brown or white are both good)

1/2 Tsp of nutmeg

Foil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

In a blender/magic bullet whip the coconut milk, eggs, brown sugar and nutmeg until evenly incorporated.  Scoop the cooked rice into a pie dish and level out (don't pack it down). Pour the egg mixture over the rice.

Cover with foil and bake for 35-45 minutes until the center is firm.

Once the rice pudding is out of the oven remove the foil and allow to cool for about 30 minutes, you can enjoy while still warm or put in the fridge and enjoy cool for breakfast or as an after dinner treat.

This is so delicious, with the nutmeg and sweetness from the coconut milk I don't even miss the cinnamon.

(Gluten free) Teriyaki Chicken and veggies made easy

• Teriyaki Marinade
• ¼ cup soy sauce (I prefer low sodium)
• 1 cup water
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• 5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 -2 tablespoon honey
• Slurry for thickening....
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ cup cold water

Directions for assembling your marinade:

Mix all but cornstarch and 1/4c water in a sauce pan and begin heating. Mix cornstarch and cold water in a cup and dissolve. Add to sauce in pan .Heat until sauce thickens to desired thickness. If you thicken the sauce too much add a little water to loosen it up.

Things you need for the stir-fry:

3 large chicken breast (thawed or fresh)

One bag of frozen stir-fry veggies or fresh veggies of choice

Wok or large saute pan

3 cups of rice (uncooked)

3 cups of water

Marinate your 3 chicken breasts in  1/2 of the cooled teriyaki sauce in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to an hour.

1. 

   Cut your chicken breast into 1/4 inch strips (I use meat scissors for ease) and  toss into a  preheated (high) wok or saute pan. It's important the pan is super hot to quickly sear the pieces, otherwise the moisture seeps out and steams the chicken instead of fry it.

   

   Throw in your veggies (thawed or fresh) once the chicken has a nice sear on it.
   
   

   

   Only add the remaining half of the teriyaki sauce after the veggies and chicken are completely cooked, then  tossed until heated through and serve over your rice.
   
   

   
   

   

    You can use the teriyaki sauce the chicken was marinaded in but you have to make sure it's heated to a boil so the raw chicken is completely cooked. Then you end up with extra sauce for next time. Or if you want to play it safe throw out the marinade in the freezer bag and use the half that was untouched =)
   
   
   

   Rice

   
   

   For convenience I use minute rice which is equal parts rice to water and microwave for 5 minutes covered. 

   You can use what ever works best for your dietary habits. I like it with out a starch too, and also yakisoba noodles.

Easiest Salmon dish that even non-seafood eaters will love

I am going to be honest with you...I'm not much of a seafood person. I should be put to shame for being a self proclaimed foodie that does not like seafood! On the other hand, my husband loves salmon. I had to create a salmon dish that I was willing to eat with Karl and that Nadine would eat too. After a couple tries I'm pretty sure this is the easiest and yummiest salmon dish I've ever had.

2 bonesless salmon steaks (about 4 oz each) preferebly fresh not frozen

4 tbs of orange marmalade

4 tbs of orange juice

1 bag of mixed veggies (either the "steam ready" or frozen)

season to taste: salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder

Take a large sheet of foil and line the inside of a cake pan or cookie sheet,

drizzle foil with a light amount of olive oil

place salmon steaks on foil (scale side down) with room to curl up the foil for making a packet

Season salmon steaks, top each steak with 2 tbs of orange marmalade

Pour the bag of veggies over the salmon and season lightly

add 4 tbs of OJ for moisture

roll up the sides of the packet (adding more foil if needed to cover the whole thing), seal tightly

place in the preheated oven 350 deg for 45 minutes

remove from oven and serve over rice or as is =) for super easy and yummy rice I get the the frozen jasmine rice it only takes 3 minutes to microwave!

Each serving has less then 300 calories!

Waffle irons are good for more than just waffles...

I am all about easy ways to make yummy food. Today I made waffles for breakfast and at lunch time my waffle maker was still on the counter. I of course wanted to avoid making additional dishes so I opted to use the waffle iron as a panini press. Our grilled cheese sandwiches turned out crispy and our daughter got a kick out of the pattern.

Butter or olive oil on both sides of the bread, my kids did plain grilled cheese but I opted for goat cheese, fresh basil and sprinkled garlic powder on the outside of the bread as well. (DELISH!)

There you go folks! Easy and quick clean up!

15 minute Chocolate Chip Pancakes (Dairy Free)

Pancakes are one of the few food items I could eat anytime of the day and over and over... well and waffles.

One of these days I will make my own pancake batter from scratch but for now I have a super simple, super delicious recipe that fits the bill! Sorry folks this one is not gluten free although you could just sub out the pancake mix for some of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix.

Things you will need:

1 cup of Bisquick

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

Semi Sweet Chocolate chips (careful! Nestle has dairy in it!)

Canola oil

Let's get started!

If you've been following my blog you know I have a love affair with my Magic Bullet, I use it for everything that doesn't require my Kitchen Aid mixer. If you don't have one then just mix the ingredients in your blender or whisk really fast! 

Throw all your Bisquick, egg and coconut milk into the Magic Bullet and blend away until it's all evenly incoroporated. You'll notice the volume increases a little with all the delightful little air pockets that make these pancakes so fluffy! 

Heat your skillet and grease with the canola oil (I like using the Smart Balance Omega3)

Pour in your batter and sprinkle in the chocolate chips right before flipping. The key is to wait until the first side is nice and golden (you'll see several air bubbles rise and pop on the surface) then flip. You should only need to brown the 2nd side for a few seconds which means the chocolate doesn't burn.

Your first two may take a little practice with timing but then it's easy! From start to eating I can make enough to feed my family of 4 in 15 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken with Pico De Gallo and Creamy Goat Cheese Rice

I am always looking for low calorie easy dishes that we can throw on the BBQ and this is one of my absolute favorites! It has a juicy chicken breast with a risoto style easy rice base and zesty Pico De Gallo to add freshness to the dish. Yum!

Ingredients:
3 Chicken breast
2 cups minute rice
2 cups Chicken Stock
5 tbs Creamy plain Chevre (I like Fairview Goat Farm's)
Pico De Gallo (I get mine pre-made from the produce section in the grocery store)

Seasonings:
Rosemary
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper
Cumin

Instructions:
Season the chicken breasts on both sides and either grill on a cast iron pan or out door BBQ. Cook 2 cups of minute rice with 2 cups of chicken stock. Combine cooked rice with Chevre and lightly season with pepper and salt.
Assemble by putting rice on plate top with the chicken breast and garnish with Pico de Gallo.

It doesn't get any easier Alfredo! (gluten free and cow dairy free)

Hello, my name is Danielle and I have an addiction...to pasta ;)

I love fettuccini Alfredo so much I'm willing to eat it, drug myself with allergy medicine and be miserable for almost a week just to have a couple bites at Olive Garden. It's ridiculous and self destructive so I've put an end to the madness and come up with a simple and tasty alternative for those who want to use regular pasta or gluten free!

(Single serving)
1 serving of Rice pasta try DeBoles
1/4-1/2 cup of cooked chicken (I use left over rottiserie chicken you can bake/boil or pan sear a breast of chicken if you don't have left overs)
2 tbs of Chevre (I love Fairview Goat Farm's)
1tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1/4 cup of frozen broccoli (microwaved to heat)
Salt and pepper to taste!

You're not going to believe me how easy this is until you try it yourself =D

Boil the pasta in salted water, drain and place back on the burner low heat.
Add the margarine, chevre, chicken and broccoli. Stir until evenly incorporated and heated all the way through!
Salt and pepper to taste.
It really is that simple, and delicious! For additional zing add a tbs of bruchetta or pico de gallo.

Creamy Chicken w/ Veggies and Rice (Dairy free and gluten free) AKA The post that keeps getting deleted haha!

Before I start this blog post (for the 3rd time!) I have to say that I must not adapt well to new things. Why might you ask would I bring this up? I have posted this recipe on two other separate occasions and instead of "edited" them to add tags I deleted the whole post! lol TWICE! OK, this time... you all will get to learn the deliciousness and ease of this recipe.

Items to grab:
Gluten free onion soup mix (if you don't need gluten free then try Lipton's Onion Soup Mix)
4 cups of water
4 chicken breast
1 tlbs of crushed garlic
1/2 tbs of onion powder
1 tub of Tofuti Supreme Cream (or 8oz regular sour cream)
2 lbs of Earth Balance dairy free margarine (or regular butter)
1 small bag of frozen veggies
3 cups of uncooked rice (I like to use minute rice)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Simmer the chicken breasts in the water/garlic/onion soup mix until cooked all the way through. Then  pull the breasts from the soup mix and cut into bite size pieces.

Add the frozen veggies and simmer until cooked all the way through.

Add the supreme cream, margarine, and seasonings and bring to a simmer until sauce thickens  to  a gravy like  density. While your sauce is reducing take this time to prepare your minute rice.

Scoop the mix over the rice and enjoy! Makes for great left overs! and you can  re-purpose the chicken mix into a chicken casserole by using gluten free noodles a corn flake crumble and bake until the corn flake crumble is golden and crispy!

Trial errors and kiddie snacks that are picky eater approved =)

Oh my this week has been an interesting run of trials and errors in my kitchen...First, I wanted to make gluten free sticky buns and decided to try the "sweet bread sorghum flour" from Bob's redmill. Did you know you should read instructions closely? It's only meant to replace 10-15% of the gluten free bread mix! The sticky buns were far from sticky, they were like dog biscuits!  Then I had two separate requests for sugar free or low sugar cupcakes. Since my Chocolate velvet cupcakes only require a 1/4 cup of sugar I thought this would be easy to use standard flour instead of gluten free and Stevia sweetener instead of sugar. I was wrong. So gross. Beautiful texture and disgusting flavor, truly grotesque. I'm going to try again with using carrot juice instead of almond milk and make sugar free carrot cupcakes. Stay tuned for how those turn out.

So today's post is going to be your every day staple snacks for gluten free kiddies or just kiddies in general!

"Octopus" hot dogs and apple slice peanut butter sandwiches. 

For the hot dogs I took Foster farms natural turkey dogs and for 3/4 of their length cut them into strips (tentacles). Then boiled them in unsalted water until the tentacles curl up.

This little picky eater approves!

Another fun, easy and nutritional snack for your picky eater is a twist on the peanut butter and apples snack.  Nadine LOVES sandwiches but it's always more for the honey or the jam and she can get wild with sugar.
I "planked" an apple on cut size 3 on my pamper chef mini mandolin and used those as my "bread" for the sandwich.

Apple, peanut butter and a knife or mandolin. Easy!

So simple and delicious!