Beef and Vegetable Red Curry

I make this curry quite frequently, but this time it was extra good.  I followed the directions on the back of the Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste jar with a lot of changes (does that count as following them?) and I used up all the leftover vegetables in my fridge. It was the best one I’ve made so far!  I think the main difference was the fish sauce.  Once upon a time I bought a big bottle of the cheap stuff but it just smelled weird so I never used it.  Then I bought a bottle of the Thai Kitchen fish sauce and used it a few times but I think I left it at my old house when I moved.  The next several times I made this recipe, I didn’t have the fish sauce and then I finally broke down and bought a bottle the next time I went to the store.  It made all the difference!  My recommendation is not to skip it!  Also, I recommend storing it in the fridge :-).

 

Ingredients:

1- 13 oz. can coconut milk

1/2 jar of Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste (or more if you want it hotter)

1 T. brown sugar

2-3 zucchini, sliced into half coins

1 onion, diced

1 large tomato, diced

1 small head of broccoli, chopped

1 pound ground beef, cooked- omit for vegetarian

1-2 T. Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce (I used 2 T. and I recommend this brand.  It’s gluten free and the taste is right.)- omit for vegetarian and replace with salt

extra coconut milk from a carton if you need more liquid or just another can of coconut milk (I usually end up adding a cup or two if I have lots of vegetables.)

optional: splash of lime juice

Cooked rice for serving.

 

Directions:

Heat coconut milk in a large pan.  Add curry paste and brown sugar and stir, allowing to heat for 1-2 minutes.  Add in vegetables and allow to cook for about 5 minutes.  At this point I usually add in some extra coconut milk to make sure there’s enough to make a sauce.  Add in cooked ground beef and allow to simmer for another 5-10 minutes until vegetables are cooked to desired softness.  Pour in fish sauce and lime juice to taste.  Add extra salt if desired, but the fish sauce is salty.  Serve over rice.

Note:  The beauty of curry is you can put most vegetables in it.  Good options are: potatoes, green beans, carrots, celery, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, tomatoes, mixed frozen Asian veggies, etc.

 

Original recipe can be found on the back of the Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste jar.

 

Bean Soup

We had people over the other night to help us pass out candy on Halloween.  I decided last minute that I wanted to serve food to our guests, but I didn’t really have time to cook or to go to the grocery store.  I started looking through our pantry wandering if there was anything I could whip up and I re-discovered a package of mixed beans that I hadn’t used yet.  This is a great soup for serving to a large crowd.  It’s also easy to keep the ingredients on hand in your pantry as a backup. Turns out I was having so much fun with our company that I forgot to take a picture….sorry.  You’ll just have to imagine it for now :-).

 

Ingredients:

3/4 bag of Hurst’s HamBeens brand 15 bean soup*

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1/2 tsp chili powder

1-2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1- 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 packet ham seasoning (included in Hurst’s Hambeen’s soup mix and it’s gluten free!)- leave out to make it vegetarian.  I’m not sure it actually has ham in it…

Cooked rice for serving

 

Directions:

Soak beans overnight (rinse and then cover with at least 1 extra inch of water- they will swell.  Leave in the fridge overnight.  Drain water in the morning.)

Put beans in a crockpot and cover the beans with at least 1 extra inch of water.  Cook on low all day (maybe 6-7 hours).  After beans are soft, you may scoop off some of the water from the top of the beans so your soup won’t be as watery.  I just take out water until I can see the beans poking through the water.  Add all the other ingredients and allow to cook for 30 min-1 hour or more.  Serve over cooked rice.

 

*Texas friends- this is available at HEB.  Really, any bean soup mix would work.  If you can’t find a bag of mixed beans, you could make your own and you could mix and match the beans it contains.  This bag includes the following beans: northern, pinto, large lima, yelloweye (what in the world is that?), garbanzo, baby lima, green split pea, kidney, cranberry bean, small white, pink bean, small red bean, yellow split pea, lentil, navy, white kidney, black bean.

Swedish Meatballs

I have never had the meatballs at IKEA, but these are supposed to be fashioned after those.  If you can eat gluten and dairy and such, you may want to just want to head to IKEA and get some.  However, if you have been longing for them and you can’t eat them for some reason, here’s the recipe for you!

 

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

2 T. olive oil, divided

1 onion, diced

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork- or another pound of ground beef if you can’t eat pork

1/2 c. Rice Chex crumbs (I blend them in the food processor)

2 eggs (I used the equivalent of 2 eggs using Ener-G egg replacer)

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp and 1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

 

Gravy:

1/4 c. butter (I used SmartBalance)

1/3 c. Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour

2 1/2 T. arrowroot powder

4 c. beef broth

3/4 c. sour cream (I used Tofutti as a non-dairy substitute)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 T. fresh chopped parsley

 

Directions:

Meatballs:

Prepare Ener-G eggs.  Crush Rice Chex.  Put 1 T. olive oil in a pan and cook the onion until it’s soft.  Combine all meatball ingredients together  (meats, onions, Rice Chex, Ener-G eggs, allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper) and stir well (I used my hands.)  Form into 1 1/2 inch balls.

Heat 1 T. olive oil in pan.  Add meatballs and cook in batches until outsides of all are brown- maybe 4-5 minutes.  Set meatballs aside.

Gravy:

In a skillet, melt the butter and add in the flour and arrowroot, stirring constantly.  Add in beef broth and continue cooking while still stirring, about 1-2 minutes.  Add sour cream and stir well.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put meatballs in the gravy and allow to cook for another 10 minutes until meatballs are thoroughly done, stirring constantly.  Add in chopped parsley and serve.

 

Original recipe:

http://damndelicious.net/2014/02/21/swedish-meatballs/

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Picadillo Cubano (Cuban Ground Beef and Olives)

This is a dish that grew on me.  The first time I tasted it, it was strange since I hadn’t had much experience with green olives.  And pairing it with raisins?  It sounded weird.  And it was, a little bit.  But, after I got over my initial reaction, I found I was looking forward to eating leftovers.  By the time we ate the last serving, we were sad that it was gone.  All that to say, this may be out of your comfort zone, but if you’re looking for a new taste, go ahead and give it a try and let me know what you think!

 

Ingredients:

1/4 c. olive oil

2 pounds ground beef

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

1 large onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1- 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 T. tomato paste

1 c. white wine

1/2 c. Spanish olives, cut in slices

1/3 c. raisins

Cooked white rice, for serving

 

Directions:

Cook the ground beef and drain off the fat (unless you’re using grass fed- then don’t waste anything!).  Add the olive oil and heat.  Stir in the cumin, oregano, bay leaf, onion, green pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.  Add tomato sauce and paste, white wine, olives and raisins.  Cook for another 30 minutes to allow the wine to cook off and to allow the flavors to combine.  I think I didn’t let it cook for the full 30 minutes the first time and maybe that’s part of the reason that the leftovers tasted better.  Serve over rice and don’t eat the bay leaf!

 

Original recipe:

http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/picadillo-cubano-cuban-ground-beef-dish

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Frosted Graham Crackers

We loved this treat as kids.  It was super easy for mom and we were super happy, so everyone was a winner!  As kids we used a jar of frosting and a package of just regular graham crackers.  As an adult eating gluten free, it hadn’t occurred to me to resurrect this easy treat.  One day I wanted something sweet but didn’t want to make a big recipe that I would have to work on for days to finish.  We are trying to eat less sugar and that just wouldn’t do.  I started scrounging in my pantry and freezer.  I came across one lonely graham cracker (Kinnikinnick brand), and in my freezer I had some frozen cream cheese frosting leftover from my carrot cake.  You better believe I set that frosting out on the counter immediately to let it start defrosting :-).  As soon as it was spreadable, I spread it on that graham cracker and relived my childhood.  I invite you to enjoy such an easy treat.  There’s actually a lot of canned frosting that is gluten free and dairy free if you want to make it even easier on yourself.  I have gotten spoiled in my old age and prefer homemade, but as a kid, the canned stuff was just fine by me :-).

 

Ingredients:

leftover frosting (about 1-3 T. depending on the size of your graham cracker)

1 graham cracker (I used Kinnikinnick brand- may contain eggs although it’s not listed in the ingredients.)

 

Directions:

Break the graham cracker in half.  Put frosting in between the two pieces of graham cracker.  Now you have a frosting sandwich.  Enjoy!

 

Other frosting ideas: chocolate frosting, oreo buttercream frosting

Vegetable Beef Soup

We received a dutch oven for our wedding and I finally initiated it with this dish!  I have been wanting to make vegetable soup for awhile, but in my mind it was this super long and hard task, so I avoided it.  I finally broke down and made it, and much to my surprise, it wasn’t that hard at all. I hope you find a nice new dish for your repertoire in this soup.  It filled my dutch oven to the brim, so make sure you are using a large pot!

 

Ingredients:

2 1/2 T. olive oil

1 1/2 c. chopped onions

2 c. peeled and chopped carrots

1 1/4 c. chopped celery

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 cans chicken broth (I think I used Swansons)- use vegetable broth if vegetarian

2 cans diced tomatoes with juice

3 cups diced potatoes (1/2 in, skins on)

1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 c. frozen green beans

1 1/4 c. frozen corn

1 c. frozen peas

2 c. cooked ground beef (optional)- omit for vegetarian

Optional: add cooked noodles (I added Schar Bonta d’Italia gluten free anellini)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven.  Add onions, celery and carrots and cook for about 3-4 minutes, add garlic, and cook for another minute.  Add broth, tomatoes, potatoes, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Allow it to begin to boil and then add green beans.  Reduce heat and cook on medium-low for 30 minutes or  until potatoes are soft.  Add beef and frozen vegetables.  Cook 5-10 minutes or until beef and vegetables are heated through.  Add cooked noodles if desired.  For best yumminess, serve on a cold night :-).

 

Original recipe:

Vegetable Soup

Gluten Free Vegan Pumpkin Pie

I was shocked to find out I hadn’t yet posted this recipe on my blog.  It’s the recipe I’ve used for holidays over the past few years.  Actually, as soon as I finish this post, I plan to go make two of them for our Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow.  A photo will be posted when I am finished :-).  As for toppings, there’s a new product called CocoWhip put out by SoDelicious which I have been using in place of CoolWhip.  I found it at Sprouts in the frozen section.  If you can’t find it, you can always make your own coconut whipped cream (see below or google it.)

 

Ingredients and Directions:

Crust:

Combine:

1 c. brown rice flour

1/2 c. potato starch

1/4 c. tapioca starch

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

1-2 T. sugar (use only in sweet pies such as this one)

Add in 1/2 c. oil and stir just until incorporated.

Add 3-4 T. cold water and stir gently until incorporated.

 

Press into 9-inch pie shell (don’t bother trying to roll it out- just use your fingers and press it gently until there are no gaps.)

 

Filling:

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 heaping* teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 heaping* teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 heaping* teaspoon cloves

1/4 heaping* teaspoon nutmeg

3 T. arrowroot powder

 

Stir together.

 

Add:

2 T. golden flaxseed meal mixed with 6 T. warm coconut milk (from a carton)

2 tsp vanilla

15 oz. canned pumpkin puree

13.5 oz. canned coconut milk (the higher fat content, the better)

 

Combine all filling ingredients and pour into pie crust.

Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Normally, you could stick a knife in the middle to tell if the pumpkin pie was cooked.  However, because this one relies heavily on coconut milk, it will still look a little gelatinous when you take it out.  Allow it cool for two hours and then stick it in the fridge overnight.  In the morning it should be normal pumpkin pie consistency.

Top with whipped coconut cream or SoDelicious CocoWhip.

Coconut whipped cream ingredients:

Solid part of a can of coconut milk (shake the can in the store to see if it sounds like pure liquid or like there’s some solid coconut in there).  Refrigerate the can for 4 hours and then just scoop out the solid part for use.  Whip it with powdered sugar (start with 1 T. and taste and add from there) and dash salt.

 

*If you want the pie to be a little less spiced, you can level off the teaspoons instead of using heaping portions.

Note:  There is always some extra filling left when I make this recipe.  When I doubled this, I actually had enough extra filling for an extra pie, so now I have 3 pies.  Another option is to bake it in ramekins or a pie shell without a crust as a treat for the kids if they want to try it but the pie is being saved for an event later…

This is a conglomeration of several recipe ideas.  I have modified the ideas significantly since then.  As to what the original sources were, I’m not really sure…

 

Pie shell before adding filling.
Pie right before going in the oven.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These taste just like Thanksgiving.  What does Thanksgiving taste like?  Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.  I don’t have much to say about these.  Just try them if you are jealous of everyone else’s Thanksgiving sweets :-).

 

Ingredients:

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/2 c. butter (I used SmartBalance)

1 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs (I used 2 flax eggs which means 2 T. golden flaxseed meal mixed with 6 T. water)

1 tsp vanilla

1 c. canned pumpkin puree

3 c. flour (I used: 1 c. oat flour, 1 c. brown rice flour, 1/2 c. potato starch, 1/4 c. tapioca starch, 1/4 c. millet, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum)

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 c. mini-chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pre-mix flax eggs.  In a large bowl, blend coconut oil and butter.  Add in sugars and stir well.   Stir in flax eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin puree and stir well.  In a medium bowl, combine flours together and add all dry ingredients except chocolate chips.  Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well.  Add chocolate chips at the end and stir in.  I refrigerated my dough for about 10-15 minutes.  An hour would have been better but I was in a hurry :-).  I would do so especially if your house is warm.  Drop batter by Tablespoons onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.  You really do want to bake it that long.  I thought mine looked fine at 12 minutes this time so I took them out early.  They were fine that day, but the next day they were super duper moist and were acting a little underbaked.  Don’t take them out too early and you’ll be fine :-).

Original recipe:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe.html

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

What to do with leftover pumpkin?  So many recipes call for part of a can of pumpkin, but what do you do with the rest?  We tried our hand at pumpkin smoothies.  We were having such a good time that we forgot to take a picture :-/.  You’ll just have to imagine it.  Or, you can click on the original recipe below and imagine what it would look like if it just had the pumpkin part without any of the whipped cream.  This is quite a hearty smoothie.  Happy Holidays to you!

 

Ingredients:

2/3 c. pumpkin puree (Refrigerate first to make your drink colder.)

1 banana (Can use a frozen one to make the drink colder.)

1/3 c. walnuts

3/4 tsp cinnamon

scant 1/8 tsp ginger

scant 1/8 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp nutmeg

3/4 c. unsweetened cashew milk (coconut milk may be even better)

3 T. maple syrup

2 tsp molasses

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

 

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Enjoy!  This made plenty for two people.

Original recipe:

Healthy Pumpkin Pie Parfait w/ Coconut Whip

Tomato Basil Chicken in Butter Sauce

So much basil.  I have been trying to find new recipes in order to use up the basil in my garden.  I am best at growing basil and cherry tomatoes.  We have one cherry tomato plant that has continued to produce throughout the summer and through the fall.  It looks like it won’t last much longer, but we’re enjoying it while we have it.  The basil, on the other hand, has been doing fabulously.  My sweet basil has begun to die off, but I bought this new one called Ajaka and it seems to be quite hardy.  I made this recipe with some of the last of my sweet basil.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c. olive oil

5-6 roma tomatoes, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

two handfuls of fresh basil, cut in strips

1/4 c. butter (I used SmartBalance but I think it would have been ok to replace it with more olive oil and some salt)

 

Serve over spaghetti squash or pasta

 

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan on medium high and rub the chicken with salt and pepper.  Cook the chicken in the oil until cooked (maybe 10 minutes?) and set aside the chicken, leaving the oil in the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the oil to cool slightly so your tomatoes won’t splatter everywhere.  Add the tomatoes and cover with a splatter shield if necessary. Please be careful!  Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes cook down some.  Add the garlic and butter and allow to cook for a few minutes.  Return the chicken to the pan and add the basil a minute or two before serving.  I served mine over spaghetti squash.

 

Original recipe:

Garlic Basil Chicken with Tomato Butter Sauce