Gluten Free Archives - Page 6 of 7 A Byte of Life

Carrot Raisin Walnut Muffins (Dairy Free)

Well she’s at it again… the one who can’t rest when she’s sick! What can I say!? I was tasted up for a carrot raisin muffin and there were carrots in the fridge! Now, on a note to my future self, baby carrots are NOT the optimum for baking and I’m actually amazed that I didn’t grate my fingers in the process! But, as I previously stated, in my defense that’s all that was in the fridge and I was in no condition to be baking… let alone traipsing out to the store in the Seattle rain! So, I worked with what was in the pantry!

I cut the original recipe in half since my other half doesn’t enjoy vegetables in his baked goods and I can’t..er… shouldn’t eat a dozen by myself in a week. Although after tasting one fresh out of the oven just now, I’m pretty sure I could happily live off of these and soy foam americanos for at LEAST the next week. These are THE best muffins I think I’ve ever made! And let me tell you, I’ve made a LOT of muffins in my lifetime! They were perfectly moist yet dense and hearty enough that I wasn’t reaching for a second just to feel full. The balance between the walnut, carrot and raisin to “bread” ratio was superb!

When it comes to breakfast, I start with my “protein” and build around that. Garbanzo bean flour has twice the protein that other flours have and mixed with the other goodies in the muffin, it’s just a perfect delight to grab in the morning and doesn’t leaving me reaching for a loaf of bread by 10am or feeling bad about eating a muffin for breakfast! One of these guys with some yogurt or cottage cheese and a coffee and you’ve got a happy morning!

I was short on eggs and long on garbanzo bean flour so I figured I’d noodle around with the recipe a bit. After all, I strongly believe that recipes are simply “ratio guidelines” for us to play with! And I like raisins so I threw a few handfuls in there! When it comes to “wet” ingredients in baking recipes I cook a lot “to taste” making sure to keep the same ratio of wet to dry ingredients while making sure to keep an eye on the leavening agents. I learned that last one the hard way, you don’t want to omit those or you’ll have dense flat baked goods!

Carrot Raisin Walnut Muffins (Dairy Free)
Yield: 6 muffins
Recipe adapted from PCC’s Market recipe: Carrot-Walnut Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 c Garbanzo Bean Flour
1/2 c wheat bran
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 c + 2 tbsp apple sauce
2/3 cup vanilla soy yogurt
2 1/2 cups grated carrots
chopped walnuts & raisins to taste

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, one at a time, and stir to blend. Spoon into oiled muffin tins or paper muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Nutritional Value

	Calories	Fat(g)	Sat Fat(g)	Cholesterol(g)	Sodium(mg)	Potassium (mg)	Total Carbs (g)	Dietary Fiber (g)	Sugar(g)	Protein (g)
1 Dozen	175	2	0.75	3.75	346	226	31.5	6.6	16.8	8.6
Half Dozen	351	4.5	1.5	7.5	692	451	63	13	34	17

Variations:

Any flour can be used, but keep an eye on the baking time if you’re using whole wheat as it tends to burn quicker
1/4 c apple sauce replaced one egg
2 tbsp apple sauce replaced 2 tbsp oil
I added raisins to my recipe since I like them, but you can omit or add whatever other ingredients you wish (coconut, chocolate chips, other nuts, etc)

Roasted Garlic

I’m sick. Anyone that know’s me know that’s I’m TERRIBLE at being sick. I mean… TERRIBLE!! I’m grumpy, irritable, independent and needy all at once and just a downright mess. The moment I feel even the slightest hint of energy, I’m off running a marathon. Well, I did it again. Somehow the bug got me something fierce! It just laid me FLAT and thanks to my prince charming with patience as fortified as Knox itself, I was well cared for and starting to feel the slightest bit better today. Which of course meant that I needed to jump into the kitchen and cook up 15 pots of something-or-rather and bake this-and-that.

Made myself soup...someday I'll learn to rest when I'm sick... — Made myself soup…someday I’ll learn to rest when I’m sick…

Oh, how very wrong I was! “Simply” whipping up some home roasted garlic turned into chopping two massive leeks, a head of celery, handful of mushrooms, a large onion, a few handfuls of frozen peas and adding a can of white beans to a home prepared chicken stock base with pepper, bay leaves, cayenne and dried parsley (darn not picking up a fresh head at the store!)… see what I mean! I can’t REST! Now, I have to say…the soup smells lovely simmering in the pot but I completely over exerted myself into a grumpy bear and now I need to go sit in the corner and put myself into what I’m now referring to as an “adult timeout” and think about what I’ve done! New mantra… MUST rest… or at least try harder 🙂

ROASTED GARLIC
Prep: 5 minutes | Cook 30 min
Original recipe from: Simply Recipes – Roasted Garlic

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic.

3. Place the garlic heads in a baking pan (you can use either muffin or small loaf pans as they both work equally well.) Use Misto spray (or you can free hand pour) olive oil on the open garlic tops.

4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

5. Allow the garlic to cool 5-10 minutes so you can handle with bare hands. The garlic should simply slip out of the skins. If it doesn’t, simply use your fingers and peel back the skins and slide the garlic out .

Now you have some delicious home roasted garlic! Roasted garlic should last about a week in the fridge in an airtight container, but can also be frozen and used later in soups, pastas, spreads (especially with heirloom tomatoes basil and fresh potato or sourdough bread!) or any other cooking dish that might call for garlic. The only problem you might encounter, as with many other “make yourself” projects… you’ll be spoiled for the homemade and won’t want to use store bought! That’s what happened when I made Home roasted red peppers!

I LOVE collecting recipes and seeing how others use ingredients! How do you plan to use your home roasted garlic?

Elote: Spanish Style Grilled Corn Dip

What do you get when you mix sunshine, grilled amazing food, a nice cold beer or chilled wine and a rooftop? A VERY happy lady! Grilling is one of my favorite ways to cook food. Growing up in California, my family is accustomed to grilling in any type of weather. Neither wind nor rain nor inches of snow can keep us from firing up the grill!

One of my favorite things to grill is corn on the cob. But, there are so many other great ways to enjoy corn! For example, Elote! We first experienced Elote on our trip to Sedona this past spring. The winter in Seattle was starting to chill the bones a bit too much so off to warm up with sun and family! Elote is the namesake dish of a wonderful Spanish restaurant and it is a dip which is made of fire roasted corn and spicy mayo and is traditionally garnished with lime and Cotija cheese.

We took home the Elote restaurant cookbook as a birthday present, which included the restaurant’s recipe (posted here), and couldn’t wait to get home and make it ourselves. As you may know, I view recipes a general taste and texture guidelines. I love to tinker with recipes and personalize them. The dish at the restaurant had a very creamy consistency and was heavy on the mayo. I don’t like the super creamy aspect and neither of us really like mayo so we tinkered around and came up with the recipe below. Just took it to a birthday BBQ and it was a hit!

We grill our corn to make the Elote which gives it a wonderful charred flavor but you can also use canned corn and pan roast it for a few minutes until it starts to brown. I bet you could also bake it up in the oven…I’ll give that a try once fresh corn is out of season and see how that works out.

To test, we started with one ear of corn to play with the flavors and personalize then for the bbq we grilled up 6 ears of corn and it was a great amount for a side dish. The recipe below is for one ear of corn so you can multiply as needed for how many servings you desire.

Sommer Style Elote
Serves 1-2

1/2 tsp chicken stock + 2 cups water
1 small packet mayo
1 tbsp. Cholula hot sauce
1/2 lime, juiced
Salt & Cracked pepper
¼ c fresh chopped cilantro
dashes of: fresh cracked salt and pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic
1 ear char grilled corn
Sliced Emmental cheese (the original recipe calls for cotija but we aren’t really fond of it)

For the Corn
Soak the corn for 20 minutes in salt water to brine. Then, cook the corn in aluminum foil in the oven to cook at 400degrees for 20 minutes then finish on the grill. Set the corn aside to cool, then cut the kernels off the cobs.

Making the Elote
Mix the chicken stock, mayo, hot sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper, sugar and chicken stock in a sauté pan over medium heat. Once that’s all mixed up, add the corn kernels and stir until the corn is warmed and the water boils off. Add the sliced cheese and mix until melted then mix in the chopped cilantro and keep on the heat for a minute or two longer. Garnish with fresh cilantro and a dash of chile and serve with tortilla chips. We found that the red or blue tortilla chips were quite delicious and looked so festive! Food should always be fun!

Taco Tuesday: Black Bean & Lime

TTTTRRAADDDIITTTIIOOONNNN!!! TRADITION!

“Traditions, traditions. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as… as… as a fiddler on the roof!”(Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof)

Oh, excuse me! I was just practicing my Fiddler on the Roof singing. In case you’re inspired to watch the intro video you can check it out here: Fiddler on the roof – Tradition.

But this outburst of song was inspired by the weekly taco Tuesday tradition that we have.This post was actually last weeks Taco Tuesday adventure but I got busy and figured I better get it up before tonight’s Taco Tuesday adventure (sneak peek: fish tacos are on the menu!). Our Tuesday tradition keeps menu planning simple and I love that I can pick up the ingredients on the weekend and just grab some fresh cilantro from the market on Monday/Tuesday (or heck even Sunday if I’m lazy!) and then everything’s pretty much ready to go when we get home. Because let’s be real, by the time you get home from work and get through chores/errands/working out/traffic/family/pets… the last thing you want to do is cook up some tedious elaborate meal! Well, maybe that’s just me so those of you that are with me… read on!

I am the more carnivorous eater in our house, but also dairy-free so we try to find meals that I can get excited about without featuring meat/dairy for the main protein focus. There are a few wonderful things about tacos. First, the word itself. Taco…ttaaccoooo…TACO! It’s just fun to say! But another very wonderful feature of the taco is that it’s the everyone food. A taco can literally be made that will please anyone! From the meat and potatoes crowd to the vegan or gluten-free eaters, a taco will always have your back. They can be (deep breath) meat free, vegetarian, gluten-free, meat focused, lactose free, diary free, corn free, (air), wheat-free, egg free, nut free, tree-nut free, soy free, fish free, paleo…they can LITERALLY feed ANYONE!

Another amazing thing about tacos is that you can make them with whatever is in the fridge! They can be as simple or elaborate as you desire! Paging through our new cookbook I received as a birthday present from our recent trip to Sonoma, I was remembering the wonderful pureed black beans from Elote Cafe. They…were…delicious!!! Between that and a ridiculous excess of limes in our house (I’m not sure why… maybe it has something to do with a reverse sock monster effect? Someone PUT limes in the fridge?! We also have a glasses gnome that sneaks in an puts their sticky little paws all over our glasses! But back to the point! We had a randomly large amount of limes and decided to use them up in this tasty taco Tuesday recipe! For texture, I pureed some of the beans and left some of them whole. And… since I’m obsessed with grilled corm we also did a few ears of corn!

So sit back, relax, maybe make yourself a delicious sommer sherpa and enjoy the tradition of taco Tuesday with us!! Stay tuned for tonight’s fish tacos recipe coming soon and let me know what your favorite taco recipes are! I’ll be featuring your suggestions in my Taco Tuesday Pintrest board!

Black Bean & Lime Tacos w/Grilled Corn

1 can black beans
1 spoon full minced garlic and juice
Cracked Salt & Pepper to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste
2 limes, juiced (plus any additional wedges you want for garnish)
2 Ears Corn
Flour Tortillas (or corn for a gluten-free option)

Optional garnish/additions: Cheese, sour cream, grilled southwest cabbage slaw, avocado, Cilantro, jalapeño, chopped/grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, hot sauce/salsa, Elote, red peppers, radishes, fruit salsa

Soak the corn for 20 minutes then pre-heat the oven and wrap corn in foil and cook for 30 minutes. At that point I usually open up the foil and start to turn the corn every 5 minute to attain a good char. You can also use canned corn and heat on the stove if you’d like.
The beans usually take 10 minutes to prepare so when you’re ready heat the beans over the stove or in the microwave with the garlic, salt/pepper, cayenne pepper and juice of two limes. Once it’s thoroughly heated transfer to a vita mix blender and blend until creamy. You can also use an emulsion blender, potato masher, or food processor.
Slice the avocado and prepare the garnishes you desire
Heat the tortillas over open flame on the stove (or heat in the micro between two damp paper towels or in the oven wrapped in foil).
Spread out the black beans and garnish away!

Roasted Red Peppers

Roasted Red Peppers are a love affair of mine. It feels like I’m getting caught in the act of hijacking cookies secretly from the cookie jar when I eat them…yes…straight from the container. It “feels” like I’m doing something wrong because how can such a delicious treat be SO good for you!?

When the peppers are roasted it brings out their sweetness and lends a wonderful charred flavor to them which also makes them a wonderful addition to any sandwich, salad, tapas or antipasto plate, pasta, humus, dip, need I go on?

I decided that it was best to read up a bit before jumping in and ruining 5 wonderful red peppers and I was SO surprised by how easy the process was! The roasting process is painless, the hardest part will be the options of what to DO with the peppers once you’ve roasted them. You can use them right away, put them in a jar to eat through the week, freeze them or can preserve them. The thought of freezing them makes me a little skeptical, I feel like they’ll be mushy when they’re thawed out again. For this recipe I made enough for two weeks(ish) so I didn’t need to do any sort of preserving but this afternoon I’ll get another batch of peppers and a few mason jars (which I also have a crush on) and giving this Marinated Roasted Red Bell recipe from Simply Recipes a try.

Tips:

CHAR the peppers! Not only does this create the smoky flavor but it will also help you pinch off the pesky and indigestible skins.
Once out of the oven, place in a paper bag for 20-ish minutes (or longer if needed) to help steam the skins apart from the pepper. You can also use large bowl and cover with saran wrap or place in a large Tupperware. If you don’t let them char OR steam long enough and it is a PAIN in the rear to pinch off all the skins! So, make sure you char and steam them long enough!

There are SO many recipes that I want to try with roasted peppers! I’ve listed a few of them below. Please feel free to post comments with your favorite red pepper recipes! I’m always looking for more!

Red Pepper Recipes to Try
Panini with eggplant, onions, roasted red pepper and basil
Roasted Red Pepper Humus
Marinated Red Peppers
Tapas Plates (Pimientos Rojos con Anchoas)
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Grilled Eggplant with Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade

Roasted Red Peppers

Ingredients
Red Peppers (Yellow or Green work also, I just prefer red)
Reynolds Wrap Non-Stick Aluminum Foil
Cookie Sheet
Large Tupperware container or bowl and saran wrap for steaming the skins off

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450F then change to it to broil.
Wash and dry the peppers.
Core them from to remove the seeds. My method is the cut off the stem and cut around the top stem area like you would if you were coring a tomato. Pop out the core and chop them in half to remove all the seeds and white membrane inside.
Place the red peppers on an aluminum lined baking sheet with the cut side facing down.
Place the baking sheet on the top shelf in the oven and broil until the outer layer of the skin has blackened, about 20-25 minutes. Check them at the 15 min mark just to see how they’re charring…everyone’s oven is different.
Place the peppers in a the Tupperware or in a glass bowl covered with saran wrap and let them steam and cool until you can handle them, about 20 minutes.
Pinch off the skin from the peppers and place directly into jar or your preferred method of canning/preserving/freezing.

Easter Brunch Cake: Spiced Carrot Cake w/ Walnut Coconut Glaze (Paleo)

Happy Easter everyone!! What better way to celebrate the Seattle sun than with a delicious cake for Easter brunch. A member of the family recently enrolled in cooking school so this was the year for me to take a back seat in the kitchen and a prime seat on the patio with a mimosa and let someone else do the work!

But, a chef can’t QUITE sit still that long so I whipped up a breakfast cake recipe, keeping in mind the diet of our Paleo host and hostess and I have to report that it turned out to be a delightful little post-brunch treat.

I was positive that our new chef would do just fine filling our stomachs with the main course so we needed a festive cake that was just a tad sweet, had a nice moist yet crunchy texture and a flavor that was both rich and light to satisfy the last few remaining bits of space in our brunch-ers stomachs. This cake did the trick! I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, since my recipes are comprised of a little of this and a handful of that but the measurements below are rough estimates.

Notes: If it feels a bit dry, add more applesauce or soy milk. A bit too wet opt for more coconut or a dash more flour. With the glaze, keep the mindset that less water is better! It’s easier to add more water than have a half batch of glaze leftovers.

I did a bit too much and wound up with a half bowl of glaze! Above all else, pour another mimosa and have a wonderful day!!

Spiced Carrot Cake w/ Walnut Coconut Glaze (Paleo)

1/2 c apple sauce
1 c coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c packed light-brown sugar
1/3 c soy milk
2 c shredded carrots
1/3 c unsweetened coconut

Glaze & Topping:

1/3 c unsweetened coconut
water (as much as needed)
chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8inch round cake pan with Pam or Misto with Canola oil.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, applesauce and soy milk until smooth.
Gently mix egg mixture into dry ingredients until moistened; mix in carrots. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes (if browning too quickly, tent cake with aluminum foil). Cool in pan, 15 minutes. Turn out of pan, remove paper, and cool completely on a rack, right side up.
Transfer to cake pedestal, and sprinkle with crumbled walnuts
Make glaze and drizzle over the top of the cake and walnuts or dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Seafood Breakfast for Dinner: Potato Parsnip Pancakes with Shaved Crab, Poached Eggs and Breakfast Cocktail Sauce

Living so close to Pike Place Market truly does spoil us. Brunch, being one of my favorite meals to cook and eat, has recently become a fun tradition to try new recipes and variations on the good old favorites. We decided to do a seafood brunch Sunday morning so down to the market I went only to returned with fresh AMAZING crab from the Pike Place Fish Market. Not only do they stock a wonderful inventory of fresh, quality fish but they are notorious for throwing the fish great distances, much to the amazement of the crowd. It was a quite a feat to even make it the few blocks home before digging into “sample” the crab meat which I KNEW would be amazing. Even with my high expectations I was blown away. The freshness and quality of the crab was evident in how rich, buttery and just wonderful it tasted.

As I started preparing the brunch, grating the parsnip and potato and setting aside to drain, mentally setting the table and project managing the meal, starting the cocktail sauce… pause here. I opened a jar of our much loved Pike Place Fish Market cocktail sauce, mashed up a little avocado because I love them with both eggs and crab and started the grinder for some fresh coffee grounds to mix in. DON’T turn up your nose yet! It’s quite delicious and thanks to a trip to Seatown for Mother’s Day happy hour, Tom Douglas has me hooked on cocktail cause with coffee grounds.

I mixed and I blended, mashed and molded. Calling my trust taste tester over, I scooped up a bit for each of us and we had the same response when we tasted…it’s missing something. After much deliberation it was decided that a “kick” was missing. Imagine how dejected I was that I would need to make ANOTHER trip to the market and postpone making brunch until my taste tester made a most wonderful suggestion: let’s have the left over fajitas for lunch and have breakfast for dinner! What a brilliant idea! In our afternoon chores we picked up some fresh horseradish root and then it was game time! Breakfast for dinner, yes please!

Seafood Breakfast: Potato Parsnip Pancakes with Shaved Crab, Poached Eggs and Breakfast Cocktail Sauce
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1/2 lb crab meat, already cooked
eggs (one for the pancakes and one to top each pancake)

For the Breakfast Cocktail Sauce
1 Jar Pike Place Fish Market Cocktail Sauce
2 tbsp Fresh bold roast coffee, ground at a medium grind
Fresh Lemon, squeezed into the sauce to taste
Fresh horseradish root, exterior layer removed, soft white flesh grated and chopped

For the Potato Parsnip Pancakes
3 medium mini gold potatoes, grated
1 medium sized parsnip, grated
1 egg, lightly beaten
fresh cracked salt & pepper to taste

Grate the potato and parsnip in a colander and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Let stand for about 20 minutes. I also take one more step and lay out the grated vegges on a paper towel and pat dry.
In the mean time, make the breakfast cocktail by combining all ingredients to taste. Cover and let stand in the fridge.
Place grated vegges in a bowl.
Heat some oil in a skillet over medium/high heat
At this time, heat a sauce pan with water to poach the eggs
Lightly beat one egg and add it to the veggies, seasoning with fresh cracked pepper to taste.
Add a scoop of the mixture to the hot skillet, forming into a patty once in the pan and cook until brown on one side (about 8 minutes) then flip and cook the until brown on the other side.
Place pancakes on paper towel to drain excess oil and serve.
Poach eggs in boiling water for 90 seconds to 2 minutes depending on how you runny you like your yolk. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and place in a small ramekin to drain for a few seconds.
Plate up the potato parsnip pancakes and top with the breakfast cocktail sauce. Top with shaved crab, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon and place your poached egg on the top. Garnish with a bit more cracked pepper and dried parsley.
Enjoy!!!

Grilled Cabbage Slaw

In our house there are two forms of “to do lists”, there’s a “his” and a “hers”. “His” consist of various house chores and interior renovation tasks such as sanding, painting, scrubbing grout, fixing and rearranging various wires and boxes and electrical “this and that’s”. Tasks on that list are actually being completed while I curl up in the corner, typing away on the dining room table which is against the living room wall with boxes to the right of me, boxes to the left of me, boxes in front of me… ten points and a big golds star to any of you that know that Little Rascals quote. We’re in the middle of redecorating the little perch and I’m actually quite thankful to report that I have a very dashing handyman that LOVES this type of work. Or, at least enjoys it more than I do! He’s been slaving away and I’ll post before and after pictures once we have the new carpet in.

Let me proceed to the “her” version of the to do list: banana bread, morning muffins (which I made this weekend and posted here), blueberry muffins with crumbles on top, stir fry, fajita’s… this is just a sample of the meals that are on my list. And I must say, to quote the great Ron Burgundy, “I’m not even mad.” Settling up my part of the redecoration manual labor with some good homemade meals is quite fine with me! After brand new paint in the bedroom and a gorgeous new living room painted the perfect shade of meringue yellow which at the moment is shining brightly in the rare spring Seattle sunshine, my handyman deserved a good hearty meal. I decided to follow the coupon clipping and headed to Metropolitan Market to get some steak for our fajita’s. Up to the counter I bounded, with WAY more than I went in for and happily presented my coupon with a sense of great accomplishment at a few dollars well saved, only to realize that I apparently can’t read dates and the coupon wasn’t good for another 3 days! We already had our hearts set on steak fajita’s so I put back the second of the “buy-one-get-one-free” coupon that was no more, and juggled my groceries to the car.

As all wonderful recipes transpire, parts of this meal are NOT what I originally intended and I have to say that they actually turned out much better! I meant to marinate the meat, and didn’t, yet it was more perfect that I could hope! About an hour before I was going to prep the meal I was still trying to think of a recipe enhancement. While taking a mental inventory of the fridge I stopped on the middle right shelf where 1 1/2 heads of green cabbage still lived as remnant from the post St. Patty’s Day sale at the market. SLAW! I’d never in my life made slaw and wasn’t even sure if it would go with steak fajita’s but it was going to be made and tested to world, watch out! I have to say, the slaw turned out INCREDIBLE! So incredible, in fact, that I make a brand new batch when we enjoyed our next day leftovers. The key to this slaw is fresh ingredients, an entire Anaheim pepper for kick, fresh lime juice and the Creme de la Creme finishing touch is that I pan grilled it! That deep charred taste completed the entire meal. I’ll never again eat another raw slaw… to the grill with that side!

Grilled Southwest Cabbage “Slaw”

3 c. cabbage, chopped
1 ear corn, uncooked
1 medium Anaheim pepper, sliced and diced very thin with seeds
1 good handful cilantro, rinsed and chopped
1/2 Lime, juiced
1 spoon full minced garlic and juice
Cracked Salt & Pepper to taste
Cayenne Pepper to taste

In a large bowl, mixing all ingredients and set aside uncovered, to let the flavors mix (you can set this aside for however long you’d like which makes this a great prep ahead of time part of a meal, but let it set at least 20 minutes
Heat a non-stick pan over high heat and grill the cabbage until it’s charred, turning every few minutes (approx. 10 minutes)

Grilled Cabbage Slaw Salad with Seared Flank Steak and Galaxy Rice Cheese

Seared Steak Fajitas with Grilled Cabbage Slaw and Avocado

Cilantro Lime Chicken & Baked Potato Skins

Date night in our house is very important! We happened upon “Thursday nights” one week when we’d gotten home from work, gone to the gym, headed back home and realized that we were NOT in the mood to stay in and do our usual cook at home in pj’s. This, my fine friends, was the birth of date night! From that point forward EVERY THURSDAY we do something special but that doesn’t always mean going out. Since we’re trying to keep a closer budget (thank you new couch which will arrive in 8 weeks!!) and we both love to cook so much the past month or so we’ve been doing date night at home. I also have SO many recipes to cook through that this is a way to assure that I cook through at least one a week!

This date night was really one that made the memory books! I wanted to do something special and as you may have read in my previous post, our “honey do” lists for the house are pretty different…
his= house updates & open jars I can’t man handle open
hers= various dishes and meals he’d like me to cook

Well, I decided to really out do myself this week and built an entire meal around his favorite drink, the Moscow Mule . It’s a vodka based drink traditionally served in Copper serving Mugs and it has the most refreshing blend of ginger beer, mint and lime! We added a little twist to ours, the Sherpa Twist, and you’ll just have to read about it in the Moscow Mule with a Sherpa Twist post!

It took a few iterations of the menu but I finally gathered a few favorites and decided on cilantro chicken lime skewers and a game day favorite, baked potato skins. These usually have cheese so I tired out a new dairy-free cheese (review here) and was quite pleased with it! You can find Galaxy Rice cheese and their other various produces at Whole Foods. We grilled the chicken skewers as opposed to baking them because I have a wonderful grill master that’s willing to brave the cold for me. But if you don’t have access to a grill or it’s too cold, you can bake the chicken in the oven (as a full breast) or grill up in a pan (slice chicken as directed in recipe).

Enjoy this meal with some delicious Moscow Mule with a Sherpa Twist and you’re ready to party!!

Cilantro Lime Chicken Skewers & Baked Red Potato Skins
(For the chicken)
2 1/2 limes,fresh juice
drizzle olive oil
4tbsp minced garlic
Fresh cracked salt and pepper to taste
2 chicken breasts
Fresh Cilantro

(for the potato skins)
Small red potatoes
Milk (Soy Milk for me, half and half if you don’t have allergies)
Fresh cracked salt and pepper to taste
1.5 slices of Apple wood smoked bacon per person
Cheese (I used rice for mine, and regular Tillamook cheddar for my master griller skins)
Garnish Options: Cilantro, chives, salsa, sour cream, salt & pepper to taste

Marinate/Night before

Combine lime juice, oil and garlic and fresh chopped cilantro in a large ziplock
Rinse chicken and slice into 1in thick strips, season to taste with salt and pepper
Add to bag and mix around all the juices and spices mix
Marinate chicken overnight, turning once or twice to mix up the juices and spices
Wash the potatoes and pat them dry for tomorrow skins and cook up the bacon for the skins

For the Meal

Remove chicken from bag and thread onto metal skewers .
Make a small batch of the marinade and brush onto skewers while they grill. Start grilling/heat up the grill judging by how long the potatoes take. Chicken should take about 10-15 minutes to grill so once the potatoes go in the oven, send the chicken to the grill.
Meanwhile, place potatoes in a zip lock and microwave until soft (depends on potato but I’d judge about 45 seconds per potato just to be sure that they don’t get mushy).
Lay potatoes out to cool down, then half and scoop out into a bowl. Splash with soy/milk and season to taste with salt and pepper mix together and crumble in the bacon. (optional add ins: Broccoli, cheese, grilled onions). Scoop the mixture back into the skins, careful to not
Pre-heat oven to 400 & send the chicken to the grill
Bake the potato skins for 8-11 minutes. Top with cheese to melt and bake 3-5 min more

Curry Coconut Turkey Veggie Soup

Curry Coconut Turkey Veggie Soup
Can’t WAIT to make this one! Got this recipe from the BFF and she’s an incredible cook! Once I make it I’ll upload a pic!

ingredients

Onion
Carrots
Celery
EVOO
1lb Ground Turkey
Salt
Curry/cumin (to taste)
2 qts Chix broth
5tbsp Thai yellow curry sauce from TJ
Zucchini/mushrooms
1/2 can coconut milk
Little more salt and some cayenne
1/2-3/4 c fresh chopped cilantro

directions

Sauté onions, carrots and celery in EVOO until the carrots barely become soft
Add the turkey and brown in the same pot seasoning with salt, curry and cumin to taste
Add chicken broth the ingredients already in the pot
Add 5tbsp Yellow curry sauce from Trader Joes , chopped zucchini and mushrooms and 1/2 can of coconut milk with salt and cayenne to taste and simmer until veggies are cooked
Just before serving, mix in 1/2-3/4 c fresh chopped cilantro and let simmer for a few minutes