Thai Cilantro Chicken

Found this on www.artsy-foodie.com. It was so easy and I even had time to make tomorrows breakfast (egg and potato frittata).

Cilantro Thai Grilled Chicken (serves 4)

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro
2 tablespoons asian fish sauce or 1 tablespoon of GF soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Place all the ingredients above in a food processor and process until smooth.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Pour marinade over chicken breast and let flavors sink in for 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Prepare your grill or broiler. Cook until temperature registers 165F on the meat thermometer. Let the chicken breasts rest for 5 minutes before serving, this prevents the meat from drying up.

Pizza Muffins

This was adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe and posted on this blog http://lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com/2010/07/annoying-habits.html. I modified it by decreasing the pepperoni to half a cup and adding half a cup of diced veggies (bell pepper and tomato). This is a nice quick make ahead dinner or snack for the kids if you don't have time to make something. Just serve with steamed broccoli or a green salad and you have dinner :)

3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
pinch of salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup cubed pepperoni or chopped pepperoni slices
1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes (if using) ; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella, Parmesan and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. If using standard muffin tins, you'll get about 11 or 12 and the cooking time will be 35-45 min.
3. Meanwhile, microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.

Beer Pizza Crust

Roland saw this pizza while watching Rick Bayless on PBS. It looked good so we gave it a try the Memorial Day weekend. It was really good - unfortunately I forgot to take a picture so I snagged this one from another person who made it :)

I love the way he writes a recipe :)

Makes one large pizza, serving 4
From Season 8 Mexico - One Plate at a Time

INGREDIENTS
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup room-temperature water
1/3 cup beer—a light lager is good here
A few tablespoons good-quality olive oil
2/3 cup Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
A couple of very thin slices of red onion
4 ounces goat cheese, coarsely crumbled into roughly 1/2-inch pieces
3 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and coarsely crumbled
OR 4 ounces Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed and cooked thoroughly
2 tablespoons grated Mexican queso anejo, Romano or Parmesan
A handful of cilantro leaves

DIRECTIONS 1. Make the dough. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, yeast and salt. Measure in the water and beer. Stir to combine everything into a rough-looking mass. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.
2. Form, bake and serve the pizza. Heat the oven to 500 degrees. Generously oil a 13 x 18 rimmed baking sheet (what’s called a “half sheet pan”). Use a rubber spatula to gently deflate the dough and scrape it out onto the baking sheet. Gently coax the dough—nudging and tugging—into an even rectangle about 9 by 13 inches.
Spread on the sauce, leaving a 1-inch border around the outside. Scatter on the bacon, sliced onion and crumbled goat cheese. Bake in the middle of the oven until puffy and brown, about 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with queso anejo and cilantro leaves, cut in squares and carry to your lucky guests.
Here's the salsa recipe: http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=324

Best Gluten-free Banana Bread

I found this recipe here http://www.musingsofahousewife.com/2011/11/best-ever-gluten-free-banana-bread.html. It certaintly lived up to it's name! I added some cinnamon, but otherwise kept it the same.


Ingredients:

4 eggs
4 or 5 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or butter)
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs lightly. Add mashed bananas, sugar, applesauce and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Meanwhile, melt coconut oil gently on stovetop. Add to wet mixture, flours and salt and baking soda. Mix until all ingredients are moist. Fold in melted coconut oil, mixing just until it is blended in. Pour batter evenly into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until bread is no longer wet in the middle. Use a toothpick or the touch test to gauge doneness. Remove from pans after about 10 minutes and cool on wire racks.

Paleasagna

No, I'm not doing the Paleo diet, but I am not a big pasta eater, so I was intrigued by this recipe for lasagna :) I've done an eggplant lasagna, but I don't have time to peel and slice eggplant right now. Roland said it was very good. I did substitute mozzarella for the goat cheese, since that's what I had on hand. Next time I will try to slice the zucchini lengthwise. Check it out! http://www.whatrunslori.com/2011/12/paleasagna/

Zucchini and Black Bean Skillet

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon oil
1-1/2 cups quartered lengthwise, sliced zucchini
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 oz each) Whole Black Beans, drained, rinsed
1 can corn (15 oz)
1 can (14.5 oz each) Rotel Tomatoes, undrained
3/4 cup water
1 cup Instant white rice
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, onion and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans,corn undrained tomatoes and water. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Add rice; stir well. Cover; remove from heat and let stand 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese.

*Note you can add some cumin (comino) to your taste to give it more of a mexican food taste. If you use non istant rice, then increase to water to 1 cup. I also used it to stuff bell peppers :)

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

The fact that I don't have a picture of these easy to make and very yummy cookies should be a testament to how good they are :D I found the recipe on a blog call Gluten-free Girl and the Chef. They stay moist and chewy - but they probably won't last long enough for you to test that statement. So, here it is:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F. In a bowl mix all ingredients. Chill in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Or just store peanut butter in the refrigerator so you can skip chilling the dough :)

Make 1" balls of dough and roll in sugar. Use a fork dipped in sugar to make a criss-cross pattern. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray a cookie sheet with no-stick spray. Cook for about 10 minutes. Let cookies rest for about 10 minutes and then remove from tray.

For a variation you can mix in some chocolate chips or use brown sugar in place of granulated sugar.

Flourless Brownies

This is recipe of my own creation. I had a few things I needed to use up, but no flour so on a whim I threw it all together and crossed my fingers that it would turn out well. And it did! These are very chocolatey without being fudgey. If you like a light tasting and sweet brownie these might be too much chocolate for you.

2 oz unsweetened bakers chocolate squares
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup Ghiradelli cocoa powder
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder or 1/2 tsp cream of tartar and 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
3 eggs


Preheat oven to 350F.In a double boiler or saucepan on low heat, melt chocolate squares and butter. In a mixing bowl combine cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar with a whisk. Whisk in and melted chocolate. Pour into greased 8x8x2 baking dish. Cook for 30 minutes.

Root Beer BBQ Pork Tenderloin

Found this recipe in a grilling magazine I bought last summer. It come from "The Hearty Boys" cookbook. Roland grilled the roast on a gas grill with a smoke box filled with hickory chips. I served it with potato salad and bread rolls.
Root Beer BBQ Pork Tenderloin
Rub
2 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika or smoked paprika

2 1 1/2 - 2 lb pork tenderloins

In a small bowl combine rub ingredients. Sprinkle onto pork and rub with your fingers. Place pork in a shallow baking dish and let stand 30 min at room temperature or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Place on a preheated grill and cook over med-high heat for 12-20 minutes, turning multiple times, or until meat thermometer placed in meatiest portion of pork registers 155F. Brush pork generously last 5 minutes of grilling with 1 cup of BBQ sauce. Discard any of the remaining brush-on sauce to avoid cross contamination.

Root Beer BBQ sauce

In a saucepan combine:
2 1/2 cups ketchup, 12oz root beer (Gales Root Beer is recommended), 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/4 cup yellow mustard, 2 TBS honey, 2 tsp salt and 1-2 tsp hot sauce. Cook and stir over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

Crock Pot Fryers

I found this on Busy-mommy.com. She says it's better then the rotisserie chickens you can buy at Walmart or the grocery store. Roland said it was much better and is only a 1/3 of the cost :) Make sure the use a fryer chicken, since they are fattier and will stay nice and moist. Some people say putting it breast side down will make it moister - but I didn't see a measurable differance.

1 broiler/fryer chicken (3.5-4 lbs)
2 Tbsp Paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional!)
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder or 3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Add enough water to make a paste. Spray crockpot bowl with non-stick spray. Place chicken inside breast side up. Rub chicken inside and out with paste. Pour 1/2 cup of liquid into the bowl - not over the chicken or you will wash the spices off. Cook in low for 6.5 - 7 hours, or high for 3.5 - 4.5 hours. Chicken is done when meat thermometer is at 180F.

Lemon Pepper Chicken: Pour the juice from two lemons and 1/4 cup melted butter of the chicken and then pepper the bird until well covered. Salt lightly.

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes

I found this recipe on a blog called Glorious Treats ( http://glorioustreats.blogspot.com/ ) through Pinterest. It's not too sweet and very simple to make. Check out this blog for tips on making, and decorating cupcakes and cookies. If you want to make this Gluten-free just substitute the flour for your G/F favorite flour mix. I used Bisquick G/F baking mix and reduced the sugar to 1 3/4 c since the mix has some sugar already in it. I topped the with a cream cheese frosting and used a Wilton 1M tip. Enjoy :)

Perfectly Chocolate Cupcakes (makes 24-27 standard sized cupcakes)

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (best quality available)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (best quality available)
1 cup boiling water
Directions- Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute. Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin, don't worry, this is right). Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. (I usually put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.) Bake cupcakes for aproximately 22-24 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Simple burgers

Here's a way to make your own beef patties that don't fall apart on the grill. :)

1 lb 80/20 ground beef
3 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce or Dales sauce
1/2 Tsp ea. salt and pepper
1 Tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning
Mix ingredients in a bowl. Form into 4 patties and grill.

Bell Pepper Eggs

I found these on Pinterest. It's a creative low-carb breakfast idea. The author called them "Flower-Power" eggs because of the shape of the bell pepper slices. I only had green on hand, but you can use red, yellow and orange for variety :)

Simply core, rinse out and slice the bell pepper into 1/4 - 1/2" thick slices. Preheat skillet on low heat and coat pan with cooking spray. Put peppers in the pan and break egg into one pepper. Cook until desired doneness :)

Coconut Brownies

I ran out of butter on the day I had promised a pan of brownies, so I used coconut oil. It wasn't awful, but not too great either. So I went looking for a proper coconut brownie and found this recipe. This is the place to find her brownie blog http://www.squidoo.com/brownie-recipe Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10x10 pan. I love to use corning ware to make my brownies. It makes a moist brownie that doesn't get a burnt flavor on the edges.

Ingredients
•1 cup all purpose flour
•2 large eggs
•1/2 tsp. salt
•2/3 cup coconut oil
•1/2 tsp. baking powder
•1 cup sugar
•2 Table spoons cocoa powder
•1 tsp. vanilla
Instructions Cream sugar, eggs, and coconut oil. Combine dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir well by hand, adding the vanilla last. Spread the mixture into the greased pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (in my oven sometimes it takes nearly 30), or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Easy Chicken Marsala

Found this on Pinterest and I have to say it's really good and easy. Took under 30 minutes to make. Make sure the vent-a-hood is on though - while pan frying I set off the smoke alarms :p

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Ingredients
2 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour or corn starch for gluten-free
up to 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
8 ounces container of mushroom, sliced and cleaned
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sherry or dry white wine
Optional: 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Garnish with chopped parsley or oregano

Directions:
Split each chicken breast through the middle to make 2 pieces. Place plastic wrap over them and pound each one flat using a meat tenderizer/mallet until they are about a quarter inch thick. Season a good amount of salt and pepper on both sides of each piece. Place some flour on a plate and and dredge each piece of chicken in it.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat and when the oil is hot fry each piece of chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown (this may require you to do this in 2 batches). Remove chicken and place them on your serving platter covering them with foil.

Reduce the heat to medium and add butter and mushrooms. Saute mushrooms for 4-5 minutes making sure to season them with salt and pepper lightly. Add marsala wine, sherry, cream, and chicken stock allowing the liquid to reduce slightly – approx. 3 minutes. Pour mushrooms and sauce over chicken and serve.

Green Smoothie

I've had a cold so I've been making lots of healthy foods and drinking teas and smoothies. This looks like it wouldn't taste good, but it actually does. It's rich in vitamins and fiber :) Milk doesn't agree with me so I substituted almond milk and I've heard freezing the kale makes it smoother :)

1 banana, thickly sliced, frozen
2 cups chopped kale
1 tablespoon flax seed meal (optional)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (optional)
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup orange juice

Directions
1. Place the banana, kale, flax seed meal, and coconut oil into a blender, pour in the milk and orange juice. Cover, and puree until smooth; serve.

Gluten-free Carrot Cake

A friend made me this simple carrot cake and it was wonderful :)

Cake
1 box (15 oz) Betty Crocker® Gluten Free yellow cake mix
2/3 cup water
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 Tsp ginger
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup finely shredded carrots (2 medium)
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Frosting
4 oz (half of 8-oz package) cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1 to 3 teaspoons milk
1/4 cup coconut, if desired

1 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 8- or 9-inch square pan with shortening, or spray with cooking spray.

2 In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, 1/2 cup butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons vanilla and eggs on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. With spoon, stir in carrots and pecans. Spread in pan.

3 Bake 36 to 41 minutes for 8-inch pan or 33 to 38 minutes for 9-inch pan or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4 In large bowl, beat cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon milk with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. Stir in coconut. Spread frosting over cake

Old Banana Bread Recipe

This recipe was discontinued in the early 90's edition of my Mom's favorite cookbook, so we saved it since it was so good. The new edition had a healthier, but less delicious version :)

1 3/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
2/3 Cup Sugar
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Salt
1 Cup mashed, ripe banana (2 medium bananas)
1/3 Cup shortening, or softened butter
2 Tbs Milk
2 eggs
1/4 Cup chopped pecans


Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8x4 loaf pan with non-stick spray.

Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add remaining ingredients; mix until combined. Pour into prepared baking pan.

If using a gas stove cook for 50-60 minutes. If using an electric place bread on center rack and cover top with foil for first 20 minutes and then remove foil for remainder of baking time. Test for doneness with a toothpick.

Basic Lasagna

12 oz ground sausage
1 cup chopped onion
1 diced bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes
8 ox can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fennel seed (optional)
1/ 2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
6 lasagna noodles (if gluten-free boil until al dente)
1 egg
15 oz ricotta cheese
½ cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese
1 TSP dried parsley or 3 TSP fresh parsley
8 oz shredded mozzarella

Brown meat with onion, bell pepper and garlic. Drain fat from pan. Add tomato, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir in herbs, salt and pepper taste. Simmer for 30 minutes or low heat. Taste and adjust seasonings to taste.

Preheat oven to 375F In a small bowl mix, ricotta, egg and parmesan or romano cheese. Unless using no-boil noodles, boil pasta.

In a 13x9x2” baking pan place 3 noodles lengthwise. Spread half of the ricotta mixtures evenly over noodles. Spread half of the meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining noodles, ricotta cheese and mozzarella.

Cook in oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Fried/baked chicken

Supposedly this tastes similar to KFC chicken. I like this recipe, but since i haven't eaten at KFC in 10 years I couldn't say if this is similar. Preheat oven to 4ooF. Butter a 13x9 baking pan. Or if frying heat lard in a pan.

6 chicken breast halves, soaked in milk for 20-30 mintues. If frying use fryer pieces.

In a pie dish or ziploc bag combine:

1/2 tsp. Salt
1 T Season All
3/4 tsp Pepper
1 c. Flour
2 tsp. Paprika

Put chicken in bag and shake or dredge through flour if using a pie pan. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes. If frying, fry over medium heat for 10 minutes, turn chicken and fry for 30 minutes with lid on pan, or until juices run clear when pricked.