Thanksgiving recipes

I have decided this year I'm going to help out my mother-in-law with Thanksgiving dinner, even though she usually say's that I don't need to bring anything when I ask. Here's the recipe that I found I'm going to use.

GLUTEN FREE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

Cream of Mushroom Soup:

olive oil

1 lb. button mushrooms (or any other kind you prefer)

6 Tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken/vegetable broth

2 cups whole milk

6 Tablespoons flour (sweet rice flour preferably, but brown rice flour works ok too)

1 teaspoon Coleman’s dry mustard less than 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper for a little kick (optional)

salt to taste (maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons)

pepper

French Fried Onions

1 3/4 – 2lbs fresh Green beans, cleaned and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 Tablespoon Tamari J’s Wheat Free Soy Sauce

Directions: To start this recipe, I would prepare the french fried onions. It would be smart to prepare these in advance and store them in an air-tight container, so you are not stuck in the kitchen for longer than you have to be. First, saute your mushrooms in olive oil and set aside. Next, prepare your cream of mushroom soup. Start by melting your butter in a large saucepan and once the butter starts to bubble, add your flour. Then add your spices- I chose dry mustard, shake of garlic powder, salt, pepper, and the tiniest amount of cayenne pepper. Once the roux has cooked/bubbled for a few minutes, add your milk and chicken/vegetable broth. Whisk until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, add back in your mushrooms. At this point, cook your green beans for 4-5 minutes until bright green. Strain the water from the green beans. Once they are done, put the green beans in a large casserole dish. Mix in the soup and soy sauce. Top with the French Fried Onions. Bake for about 35 minutes on 350 degrees or until bubbly. This will make a huge casserole!

French Fried Onions

1. Gather your ingredients.

2 or 3 big sweet onions (shallots are a good variation)

enough milk for soaking onions

1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons salt (try the first batch and adjust the salt to taste)

pepper (you can also add a little cayenne pepper if you wish)

gluten free flour

oil for frying

2. Measure gluten free flours, salt, and pepper and put into a zip lock bag.

3. Slice the onions and separate into rings.

4. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Oil should be about an inch deep. When the oil is hot enough, a flick of water will make the oil sizzle.

5. Soak the onions in milk for a few minutes. Don’t try to do all the onions at one. Just one batch at a time.

6. Dredge the onions in the gluten free flour. Give them a good coating of flour.

7. Place the onions in the frying pan with the heated oil.

8. When the onions start to float to the top turn them over and cook until just golden brown

9. When the onion rings have finished cooking, lay them on a paper bag or paper towels to cool/drain some oil.

10. Store in air-tight container, top your casserole, or eat them!

Recipes taken from www.glutenfreemommy.com I think I'll also make a gluten free cornbread dressing as well. Anyone got any good recipes?

Steak Fried Rice

I'm down to the dredges of the cow share that I took part in last october. Why I saved the filet mignon for last, I dont know. Well anyway, it was sort of freezer burned. So, instead of throwing it out, I decided to cut it up in pieces and make filet mignon fried rice. Turned out pretty good except I wouldnt cook the filet all the way through next time. Medium rare would have been perfect. Another good reason not to use such a fine cut of meat for fried rice!!

2 filets, or cheaper cut of meat, cut into 1 inch cubes.
2 cups cooked brown rice(day old is best for fried rice)
2 free range eggs
any combination of vegetables that you like. I used zucchini, white onion, carrot and white cabbage, about 1 1/2 cups.
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp organic wheat free soy sauce.
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, sliced
sautee veggies until tender. In a separate pan, cook meat until medium rare or medium if you are using filet, otherwise, you can cook the meat in the same pan with the veggies. Combine veggies and cooked rice. Season with fish sauce and soy sauce and ginger.Add steak right before serving. Enjoy!

Acorn Squash stuffed with Apples, Sauteed Swiss Chard with Bacon & Raisins and Roasted Lemon Chicken

This is a three course meal that I made last week. I usually have to prep food ahead of time, because I get home around 6:30 or 6:45 most nights, but I will not sacrifice homemade food just because I don't have enough time when I get home to make meals from start to finish. I cooked this chicken ahead of time and reheated later. I used the microwave to cook the squash because I was running short on time, but I normally would use an oven. It would taste better but take longer to cook..probably like an hour or so. So, if you have time, go for the oven! The swiss chard took like 6 minutes to cook. I cooked the bacon ahead of time and chopped all the veggies, so all I had to do was combine ingredients in a pan and cook.

Roasted chicken with lemon:

1 whole (preferably organic)chicken-I used a 2.5 lb chicken from a local farm
1 lemon, cut in quarters
2 cloves garlic, chopped
sea salt & pepper
1 tbsp coconut oil for basting

Rinse chicken & pat dry. stuff cavity with garlic and squeeze lemon juice over it. rub salt and pepper into the chicken skin and then stuff the lemon in the cavity as well. Baste with coconut oil. Cook in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Apples

1 acorn squash, cut in half
1 granny smith apple, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 tbsp grass fed butter
cinnamon
agave nectar or maple syrup

Place squash in a microwave safe dish, fill cavity with apple chunks. Microwave on high for 15 minutes, or until done. Top with pats of butter, agave nectar and cinnamon. Cook in microwave for another minute or so.

Swiss Chard w/ Bacon & Raisins (adapted from recipe on www.themovementdallas.com)

1 bunch swiss chard, leaves removed from ribs, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp smoked sea salt
1/4 cup raisins
2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 onion, chopped

Sautee onion in coconut oil until tender and transulcent. Add smoked sea salt and swiss chard. Cook down until wilted, add water and raisins and cook for a few more minutes. Add in bacon right before serving. Very kid friendly with the raisins and bacon..oh and afraid of vegetables that are too green husband friendly too. He liked it! yay!

Crock Pot Steak Chili

So, I had a sirloin tip roast in the freezer that needed to be cooked and instead of making the typical roast with potatoes, onions and carrots(which I do all the time) I wanted to give it a twist. It happened to turn out like chili when I was done though. And it was darn good!

1 2-3 lb sirloin tip roast, browned to seal in the juices
1/2 yellow and 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced or chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cup dry black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup salsa(I use jack's, cause it tastes so fresh with the cilantro)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 jalapenos, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Place roast in the bottom of crock pot. If there is any visible fat, trim before browning and remove bones if need be. Combine all the rest of ingredients in crock pot and stir. Cook for up to 11 hours on low. Use a fork to break up the meat into pieces after it's done. I like to stir in some ketchup afterward and top with cheese and sour cream. It really did end up tasting like a steak chili!

Gluten Free Banana/Pumpkin Muffins

I made these last night and they turned out amazingly well! If you don't use Pamela's mix, make sure you add baking soda. Pamela's mix already contains baking soda. It also has a trace amount of milk, but you could make it dairy free by combining your own gluten free flour blend.

1 cup pamela's mix (or other gluten free flour blend)
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup raw honey
2 free range eggs
1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
4 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup canned pumpkin pie filling(I used an organic brand)
1/2 cup mashed banana(about 1 banana)
chopped pecans or walnuts on top

Preheat oven to 350. Mix eggs, oil, vanilla and honey together until well blended. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into muffin tin or loaf pan. Top with nuts. If making muffins, cook for 23-28 minutes, if using loaf pan, cook for 1 hour. Yeilds 12 muffins. I think next time I'll add dark chocolate chips too!

Mark's Tuna Salad

My husband can make a good meal, even though I rarely see it! Last night he made tuna salad for us for dinner. This recipe could easily fit into a traditional foods lifestyle if you alter the ingredients some. I used mayonnaise purchased from www.celticseasalt.com The brand is Wilderness Family Naturals. It contains no soybean oil, and is all natural. I would omit the relish and replace it with finely chopped naturally fermented pickles and add a little honey for sweetness. You would probably want to leave out the lawry's salt as well. I would have used celtic sea salt, but the hubby was making it, so..

Here's his recipe:

2 7 oz cans tuna, drained(We like albacore)
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
lawry's salt(to taste)
2 free range hardboiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup sweet relish(we like Wickles)
sweet mesquite seasoning(to taste)
1 tbsp grainy mustard
mayonnaise, to the consistency that you like

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, serve with crackers, as a sandwich or in a salad. Mark had a sandwich with raw pepperjack cheese, and I had it served over a salad with raw pepperjack, fresh avocado and homemade dressing.

Food!!

So, some people think I'm crazy, but most of my friends and family think its cool the way I eat. Yes, I have my slip ups and eat a handful of candy corn(my weakness!!) now and then, but for the most part, I've been trying really hard to eat traditional foods, local, organic and as much raw milk products as I can possibly afford. The next habit I need to kick however is my Starbucks habit. It's not that I even need the caffeine. Sometimes I go in just to get a drink out of habit. It's paying a hefty toll on my wallet though. I've found this awesome app for my palm called Budget Manager, and it's basically like a checkbook register in your phone. I always hated writing every purchase down, but I've got my phone with me at all times, so it's really easy to enter in amounts. It helps track your money and each budget individually. I know what I have in my account to the penny now and it's really helping me spend my money wisely. Anyway, back to food. My next challenge is to start taking coconut oil daily to see if it helps with my thyroid function. I've heard of people going off thyroid medication completely after taking coconut oil daily. What an easy fix! Last year, my family and I bought a whole pig from a local farm, lard, jowl, everything. A few months later, we bought a whole cow, bones, organs, everything. After reading the book, Real Food, What to Eat and Why, by Nina Planck, I was so convinced that eating traditional foods, the foods that were available and readily eaten 100 years ago is the healthiest way to eat. I understand why vegans and vegetarians feel the way they do about killing animals(well, only the ones that feel bad for the way animals are treated, not the ones that think animals shouldn't be killed at all, regardless of how humane it may be), but I'm convinced that I need a good amount of meat, protein and fat in my diet, but from a humane source. That's why I buy locally. I've felt this way for years but was convinced that I needed to eat according to the food pyramid to be healthy. Being gluten free, it's very hard to get in a lot of grains in a day, and I felt overwhelmed. Reading this book helped affirm my feelings about food and a diet that suited me. I'd say in a given day, my percentage of fat/carbs/protein is 50/30/20. Not exactly following the food pyramid. I believe that each person is different and that there's not a one size fits all approach to a healthy diet. I happen to feel great eating more fat and protein and less grains. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox and share a recipe for everyone :)

Black Beans and Rice

1 can diced organic tomatoes

3/4 cup salsa or 1 can rotel

1 pork jowl, frozen or thawed

3 cups homemade chicken stock or bone broth

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 small onion, diced

1/2 lb black beans, soaked overnight and rinsed

some salt and pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

2 cups cooked rice

Combine all ingredients except rice in a crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours. Serve with rice, sour cream, cheese and some sliced avocado. Enjoy!