Mexican Style Lasagna

I'm writing this as I nibble on left overs from dinner last night and I'm already planning when I can make this again!  Who doesn't love a cheesy, gooey, spicy and garlicky dinner?  No, this one isn't grain free but isn't a grain splurge either.  To make this gluten free you could use an alternative white sauce base.


Ingredients:

• Green Bell pepper, sliced
• Red Bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• Shredded chicken (I roasted chicken for the week and used breast and leg meat)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp white flour
• 1 1/2 cups of whole milk
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1/2 of a chipotle in adobo
• 1-2 cloves of garlic depending on size
• 2 cups monterey jack cheese 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra olive oil for drizzling
• 6 corn tortillas

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet to medium and drizzle with olive oil.  Add the peppers and sauté, then add the onion after about 5 minutes, stir every so often.
2. Add in the chicken after about 10 minutes to heat through, add a couple shakes of salt and stir.
3. In a sauce pan, heat the butter and olive oil, add the flour once the butter has melted.  Stir to mix and cook for about a minute.  Add the milk slowly and whisk to avoid clumps.  Bring the heat to medium stirring with a spoon until the sauce thickens to coat the back of the spoon.  Allow to cool for several minutes.
4. In a food processor, add the garlic clove(s), chipotle, white sauce and spinach and puree until it is fully blended.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a baking dish, put a small amount of sauce to coat the bottom.  Place 2 corn tortillas to cover the bottom, layer 1/3 of the pepper/chicken mixture, then a layer of monterey cheese, then drizzle 1/3 of the sauce.  Add two more layers like this.  For the top layer, I added more of the cheese so it could get extra brown and bubbly in the oven.
6. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the top is browned!
   
   
   

Gluten Free: Beef Stir Fry

We were having a Chinese takeout kind of craving so that is what inspired this one.  We love broccoli with garlic sauce and what we love about it is how the sauce gets trapped in the broccoli and how it's so tasty and garlicky.  This is something I was never able to mimic until last night!  Obviously I had to add more than just broccoli to make nutritionally dense but it only enhanced the flavor and heartiness.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup Tamari
• 1-2 tsp organic Sriratcha
• 3 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

Stir Fry:

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 small green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 chopped white onion
• 2 cups thawed, frozen broccoli (I thawed it on a paper towel so the extra water was removed)
• 10 sliced button mushrooms
• 2 NY strip steaks, sliced thin (I used 0.8 lbs total)

Directions:

1. Mix the soy sauce, sriratcha, garlic and ginger together in a bowl.
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large cast iron skillet, add in the steak to the hot pan and sear until they are just a little pink and set aside in a separate bowl.  Pour a small drizzle of the soy sauce mixture over the steak and let sit.
3. Cook all of the vegetables in the heated pan for about 10 minutes while stirring every minute or so, until they reduce in size but are not mushy. Add in the beef and the rest of the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes.
4. I served this over a small portion of brown rice.

Gluten Free Dinner: Sushi Bowl

There is no raw fish in this dish but you can always add whatever seafood you want.  I used cooked shrimp, but grilled salmon would be great on top of it also.  This recipe made 2 bowls and took about an hour to cook.

Ingredients:

• 12 shrimp, cooked
• 1 avocado, cubed
• 1 mango, cubed
• 1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and cubed
• 1/3 cup of red quinoa, cooked in water
• 1/3 cup brown rice, cooked in water
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup low sodium tamari
• 1 tbsp or a little more of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp of grated ginger
• 1tsp-1tbsp of wasabi (I used packets from the sushi counter at Whole Foods)

Directions:

Stir together the tamari, ginger, wasabi and apple cider vinegar in a large bowl.  Add the quinoa, rice, cucumber, mango, avocado and shrimp and mix.  Top with sesame seeds and enjoy!

Grain Free Dinner: Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients:

• 1 Jewel yam, cubed
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 links of italian chicken/turkey sausage
• 2 eggs
• Guacamole (how I whip mine up: avocado, onion, jalopeno, lime, cilantro) or sliced avocado.

Directions:

1. In a skillet, melt the coconut oil and sauté the sweet potato on low heat.  Once they are softened, add the onion and the italian sausage and break it up with the spatula.  I turn the heat up to medium at this point.
2. In a buttered pan, cook eggs how you like them, I did over easy.

Sausage and Peppers in an appetizer

I made these for an appetizer at our holiday party (a little delayed in posting this) and they were a hit!  

Ingredients:

• A bag of those cute peppers, the tops and inner seeds removed
• 1/2 pound of italian chicken sausage
• 1/2 large or 1 small  yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1-2 cups of shredded Mozzarella cheese 

Directions:

1. Saute the sausage, onion and garlic together until the sausage is cooked.  Add the cooked mixture to a bowl and stir in the cheese.  You can add other cheeses as well, parm and fontina would be great.
2. Stuff the mixture into each pepper and set them inside of a mini cupcake sheet.  This is will help the filling stay inside the pepper and not ooze out.
3. Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes, until the pepper is soft.

Mango Salsa

We've had this on top of eggs and with shrimp tacos.  It's so bright in color and flavor that it's a fun way to welcome the spring season.  I add avocado to it but the recipe below is the basic salsa. 

Ingredients:

• 3 Mangoes, skin cut off and flesh cut off of core
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 jalopeno pepper
• 1/2 of a lime, juiced
• 1/4 cup of red onion, diced

Chop everything the size you choose and mix it together, add the lime juice and stir.  I only added the green parts of the jalopeno to avoid too much spice, but add as much as you like for heat.  Allow it to sit in the fridge for a day before serving!

Garlic Crostini topped with gorgonzola and honeyed arugala

A dish at a local restaurant inspired this appetizer.  It's simple to whip up for a delicious and light small bite!

Ingredients:

• A couple handfuls of arugala
• Gorgonzola Dolce (a creamy and slightly sweet mild blue cheese I get from Whole Foods)
• 16 thinly sliced baguette 
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp (or a little more) of a tasty olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled with the end cut off
• salt and pepper to sprinkle

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350F and brown the baguette pieces, when they come out of the oven, smear the top with the raw garlic
2. Spread on some gorgonzola cheese
3. Mix the honey, olive oil, arugala and salt and pepper to taste and place a small bunch of top of each crostini.
4. Enjoy!

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a delicious nutrient dense food and great choice for a side dish or snack.  My favorite way to eat them is below.  The sweet potato alone is only 100 calories/cup so it packs a lot of vital nutrients in a small package, making a really healthy snack or side dish.

I promise that that taste is better than the photo!

Stab the sweet potato with a knife, wrap in parchment and put it in the microwave for about 3 minutes.  Then finish cooking it in the oven heated to 375F for 40-50 minutes.  When it comes out, cut it in half, mash it up with a fork inside the skin and smear a couple small scoops of coconut oil on top.  Then sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and lots of cinnamon!

Roasted Asparagus and Gruyere Frittata

We have been eating so much asparagus lately that we are now close to being sick of it!   It's great roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper, in a frittata or mixed into a spring risotto.  Recipe for the frittata is below!

Ingredients:

• A bunch of asparagus, roasted in the oven at 400F for 20 minutes with salt and pepper.
• 1 cup of gruyere cheese
• 8 eggs, whisked
• 1/2 cup of yellow onion, diced and sautéed
• 1 clove of garlic minced and sautéed with the onion
• 2 tsp of organic, salted butter

Directions:

1. In the pan that the onions and garlic are sautéed in, heat to medium heat and add the butter,  eggs, all but a handful of the gruyere and salt and pepper.
2. Mix it with a spatula while it cooks, once it is half cooked and there is still a lot of runny eggs, arrange the asparagus on top and push it down a bit.  Cook it on the stove top for about 5 minutes.
3. Sprinkle the top with remaining gruyere cheese and put under the broiler for about 2 minutes, until the top is cooked and browned.  

Revamped Veggie Sandwich

I had posted an original vegetable sandwich recipe when I first started this blog and various versions have come about since.  This one is my favorite so far!

Ingredients for 2 sandwiches:

• Ciabatta rolls or a 4inch piece of a loaf, sliced in half
• 2 red peppers, roasted with skins peeled off (roast in oven at 400 degrees, cooked for 15 minutes until the skin bubbles)
• 1 large zucchini, sliced into about half inch rounds
• 1/3 cup feta cheese
• olive oil for drizzling
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped red onion
• a small bunch of basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. Start by adding the feta cheese, lemon juice, onion, and basil to a bowl.  Add about a tsp of olive oil to the mixture and stir to mix.  It will almost form a paste.
2. Next, heat a large skillet to medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil.  Add as many zucchini rounds as you can and flip them after a minute or two.  You want them to be browned but not translucent and mushy (overcooked).  Do this until they are all cooked.  After they are cooked, sprinkle some crushed black pepper over them.  The feta cheese mixture should be salty enough to season the sandwich.
3. To assemble the sandwich, spread the feta cheese mixture on one half of the bread and add the zucchini and red pepper, top the sandwich with the other half and press down for a few seconds so it all stays together. 

Quick Turkey Bolognese Stuffed Peppers

I made these for an easy and healthy packed lunch.

Ingredients for 6 halved peppers:

• 1 lb ground turkey (to make these vegetarian, beans would be a great sub)
• 6 big bell peppers, cleaned and halved longways (I used green but any color would be great)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 large can of whole tomatoes
• About a 1/2 cup of red wine, I didn't measure I just circled the pot a couple times with the bottle
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 slices of provolone cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a soup pot, drizzle with a little olive oil and heat to medium.  Add the turkey and break it up as it cooks with a spatula.  Make sure to leave it alone a bit without stirring to allow it to brown.  Once browned add the onion and garlic and cook for a couple minutes.  
3. Add the basil, oregano, salt and pepper and stir in.
4. Add the red wine and stir the bottom of the pan to bring up anything stuck to the bottom.
5. Now add the tomatoes and reduce the heat to low.  Break up the tomatoes to make a chunky sauce, and simmer for a half hour to 45 minutes.  You want it to be thick and reduced.  If it is watery, it will run out of the peppers.
6. Now assemble in a 9x13 baking dish.  Place the peppers cut side up, spoon in the sauce to fill and top with one slice of provolone cheese.  Bake in the over for 25 minutes, until the cheese is browned. I served them with some garlic cous cous.

Crispy Ham and Shallot Frittata

We obviously like eggs considering this is the third egg post in a row!  They are so versatile and easy for any meal.  In this recipe I used a mixture of cheese that I had on hand, Monterey Jack and Pecorino Romano.  Use whatever cheese you prefer.

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 4 eggs, 2 yolks removed
• 1/4 lb of ham, cubed (I used Whole Food's deli black forest ham but bacon with the fat rendered and discarded would be great too)
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup of shredded cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a pan to medium with butter and olive oil.  Add the shallot and cook for 5-10 minutes, until they are just browning. Remove and sets aside.
2. Add the ham and cook for 10 minutes, it will be done when the ham appears browned and slightly crispy.
3. In a bowl add the eggs, ham, cheese and shallot, reserve enough cheese to sprinkle on top.  Stir to combine.
4. Add the egg mixture to the pan, slowly swirl until it is cooked on the bottom side and slightly runny on top.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is browned.
5. I served this with roasted garlic broccoli.