Easy Crockpot Beef Brisket

I have had this recipe printed off for a long time and I finally got around to trying it.  It was SO easy.  The best part is, the brisket I bought was so big that I have more of it in the freezer.  I cut it into sections that would fit in my crockpot and froze the rest in crockpot-size parts.

 

Ingredients:

2 onions, thinly sliced

4 lbs beef brisket (not corned)

2 T. ketchup

1 T. red wine vinegar

1 T. brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

4 cloves minced garlic

water to cover bottom of pot

 

Directions:

Strew onions in bottom of crockpot.  Place brisket on top of the onions with the fatty part on the top.  Stir together the ketchup, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Rub onto the brisket.  Sprinkle garlic on top of the brisket.  Pour in just enough water to cover the bottom of the pot.  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.  I served this by itself first and poured some of the juice and onions on my plate with it.  I also made brisket sandwiches and put the onions from the bottom of the pan on the sandwich.  So delicious!

When it is done, it will shred like this:

img_6230

Fish tacos

A lot of places serve tacos near where we live.  However, it is hard to get a gluten free taco that has breaded fish on it, so I created this recipe in a continued effort to expand the types of meat in our diet.  It’s quick and simple and toppings can be adjusted according to your taste.  Right now we have lots of yellow tomatoes in our garden, so we used those (see picture below).  Measurements are approximate.

Ingredients:

Oil for pan-frying

3-4 pieces of fish (I used mahi mahi.)  Maybe 6-8 oz. (If frozen, defrost in water in the fridge.)

2-3 T. white or brown rice flour (I actually liked it better with white rice flour this time.)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

Corn tortillas*

Topping options: diced red peppers, diced red onion, spinach, tomatoes, cilantro, cheese,  etc.

 

Directions:

Combine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika in a shallow dish.  Dredge fish through flour mixture.  It will be a thin breading.  Pour oil in skillet until entire bottom of pan is covered with a thin layer.  Heat oil until a drop of water makes a spattering sound when dropped in it.  I used a splatter shield to help protect me from flying hot oil.  When oil is hot, add breaded fish to pan.  Cook on one side for maybe 3-4 minutes until the sides of the fish are looking cooked.  Flip fish over carefully and cook for another 3-4 minutes.  To test doneness, break a piece of fish in the middle with a fork.  It should flake easily.  Serve over warm tortillas and top with desired toppings.

 

*I have started getting a big bag of corn tortillas and freezing them in quart-sized bags.  I put waxed paper between each 5-6 tortillas and fill up the quart bag.  When I am ready to use the tortillas, I take them directly out of the freezer and toast them in a skillet on the stovetop, flipping them once.  My freezer tends to get ice crystals pretty quickly, so this added moisture helps keep the tortillas flexible as they cook.  Try it and see if it works for you!

I know this picture is sideways.  I have tried to convince my computer that it is not facing the correct direction, but it won’t believe me…

img_6309

 

Spaghetti Squash

When I saw this recipe, I thought it would never work.  Baking squash without water?  It’s sure to be dry.  However, I saw it on the blog of someone who has not let me down before, so I decided to try it.  It worked very well!

 

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise and with seeds removed

olive oil for drizzling (not extra virgin)

salt

 

Directions:

Carefully cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds (this is super easy with a grapefruit spoon).   Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Place squash halves on pan, cut side up.  Drizzle halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Bake for 20-30 minutes for small squash and 40-50 minutes for medium to large squash (I may have needed to cook it for 60 minutes- I don’t exactly remember).  Squash is cooked when you can easily pierce it with a fork (similar to how a potato would pierce when done).  Using a spoon, scrape out the strands of squash.  I added a little butter and some salt to add more flavor or you can use it as an alternative to spaghetti noodles or rice (the taste WILL be different than regular noodles).

Original recipe:

How To Cook Spaghetti Squash

img_6245

Healthy Coconut Flour Chocolate Cookies

I think this recipe might be paleo.  I’m not too sure since I don’t follow that diet, but I’m pretty sure it falls under a lot of “healthy” categories (low sugar, low carb, etc).  It tastes kind of healthy too.  I typically don’t go for “healthy” tasting recipes, but some of my friends do and they loved this recipe, so I’m adding it in case you like healthy cookies too.  The taste grew on me, but I have a pretty big sweet tooth and I would normally eat cookies with more sugar.  With that said, those of you who avoid refined sugar might just love this recipe.  Plus, it is helping me get rid of the large amounts of coconut flour currently in my possession.  I have had trouble finding recipes that sound good and that don’t call for eggs.  So, there are many reasons to try this recipe -just don’t expect it to be as sweet as the other dessert recipes I have posted :-).

 

Ingredients:

1/2 c. coconut oil

1 1/2 tsp dried mint or fresh mint or more (optional)

1/2 c. honey

1/4 c. cocoa powder (The original recipe calls for carob powder but I would only do that if you’re allergic to chocolate.  The taste is NOT the same.)

1/4 c. golden flaxmeal plus 3/4 c. water

1/8 tsp salt

1 c. coconut flour

1/2 c. shredded coconut (I used the sweetened kind, but you could use unsweetened if you don’t want the sugar.)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

 

Optional step: Heat coconut oil over low heat.  Turn off the heat and add mint leaves and allow to steep for 10-30 minutes.

Directions: Mix flaxseed and water first.  Stir all ingredients together, including coconut oil and flaxseed mixture.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes.  After baking, I rolled some of them in powdered sugar to sweeten them up, but you could skip this step.

 

Shrimp Scampi

This recipe makes me think of Forrest Gump.  I’ve been trying to expand my horizons and include more types of meat in our diet.  Realizing I hadn’t used much shrimp,  I was trying to think of ways to incorporate it and this is the part of the long list of shrimp uses that I remembered from the movie.  So here it is: shrimp scampi.

Ingredients:

1 package of gluten free spaghetti (I used HEB brand.)

2 1/2 T. olive oil (not extra virgin)

3 T. butter* (I used SmartBalance to make it dairy free, but I think you could leave this out and add olive oil instead if you didn’t want to use fake butter.)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp, thawed if pre-frozen

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp dried parsley

1 T. fresh parsley

1/4 c. freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice (I used lime because that’s what I had)

1/4 tsp. dried lemon peel or zest of half a lemon

1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half rounds (I forgot to do this so it is not pictured)

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

 

Directions:

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions.  Heat oil and butter over medium low heat being careful not to burn the butter.  Add the garlic and stir for one minute, then add the thawed shrimp, black pepper, salt, and dried parsley.  Cook until shrimp is pink, about 5-10 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the fresh parsley, lime/lemon juice, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes.  Stir in the drained spaghetti noodles and then add in the lemon slices.

*If you can eat real butter, I would use it.  I only use fake butter because my body doesn’t tolerate dairy well.  It’s usually better to use the real food if you can.

Original recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/linguine-with-shrimp-scampi-recipe3.html

img_6191

Simple Crockpot Chicken Drumsticks

This recipe is ridiculously easy.  I made it a few weekends ago for some young kids and they gobbled it up, so it is kid-friendly too.  If they don’t like the spices on it, they can easily pull off the skin and just eat the chicken underneath.  This has become one of my go-to meals when I don’t have a lot of time or when I can’t think of anything new to do.  I hope it makes your life easier too :-).

 

Ingredients:

2 tsp salt

1 T. paprika

2 tsp chili powder (Make sure it’s gluten free- I’ve heard that it’s sometimes not.  McCormick is gluten free for sure.)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp thyme

1/2 garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 lbs chicken drumsticks, skin on

 

Directions:

Loosely crumple aluminum foil and place it on the bottom of your Crockpot (see picture below).  This holds the drumsticks out of the liquid so they get a nice texture as they cook.  Combine all other ingredients and mix well.  Roll drumsticks in the spice mixture and place on top of the crumpled foil in the Crockpot (or any other slow cooker).  If you have any leftover spices at the end, sprinkle it over the chicken in the Crockpot.  Put lid on crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Mine is done in 6, but it shouldn’t hurt it to cook it for 8, even 10 hours.  I used to leave this in the crockpot while I was teaching at school. Do not remove lid while it is cooking as you will release steam and slow down the cooking process.  Discard the juice in the bottom unless you want it for something.  Serve over rice and with a side of vegetables.  This is also a good meal if you are taking food to someone- it’s easy to make and easy to transport.

 

Foil crumpled in bottom of crockpot.
How the chicken should look when it is cooked.

 

Original recipe: http://www.creativelydomestic.com/2009/10/slow-cooker-sticky-chicken-drumsticks.html

Confetti Corn

We had something like this at our wedding.  Granted, I was focused on other more important things on the day of the ceremony, but this is the closest re-creation I could come up with.  It makes for a pretty side dish!

 

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil

1/2  red onion, finely diced

1/2 red pepper, finely diced

1 lb frozen corn

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

 

Directions:

Combine olive oil, red onion, and red pepper in a pan and heat for 5 minutes or until they begin to soften.  Add frozen corn, salt, and pepper.  Cook until warm (maybe another 5-10 minutes).

Serve as a side.

Chicken and Broccoli Salad

My brother and I went on a hike for my birthday and I brought this along for our picnic.  It’s simple, quick, and healthy.  You can toss other things into your salad if you want.  This is way more flexible than baking!

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. cooked chicken, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces (can be replaced with more broccoli to make it vegetarian or to turn it into a side dish)

3/4 c. chopped broccoli

1/4 c. raisins

1/8 c. sunflower seeds (You can add more- I just ran out :-).

2 dashes celery salt

2 dashes sea salt

2 dashes black pepper

1/2 c. mayonnaise or to desired moistness (I used Vegenaise so it wouldn’t have eggs.)*

 

Directions:

Cook and cool chicken completely.  I recommend refrigerating it for a few hours before adding the mayo.  Combine all ingredients and stir.  This tastes even better if it has sat in the fridge for several hours to let the flavors combine.  Happy picnicking!

 

*Tip: If you can’t eat gluten and you live in a place where people share the jar of mayonnaise, make sure no one’s dipped into it with a used knife so you don’t get cross-contaminated.  Most likely they have…  To avoid such problems, you could keep a separate jar for yourself and label it so that people know not to dip into it.  Also, regular mayonnaise has eggs, so if you’re avoiding eggs, get one of the vegan brands of mayo.

 

BLT’s

Bacon, bacon, bacon.  I bought a pack of three packs of bacon at the store so I am finding all sorts of way to use it up.  This is nothing new, but sometimes people get a mental block because of omitting something like bacon.  If you have a loaf of bread you can eat, you can easily make a BLT.

 

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread (I used Pamela’s Gluten Free Bread Mix and made the egg free version)

3 strips of bacon, cooked

1/2 tomato, sliced

handful of spinach mix (mine had spinach, swiss chard, and kale)

optional:  add a slice of cheese

optional: spread mayonnaise on the bread.  If egg free, use a substitute such as Vegenaise.

Directions:

Make bread according to directions on the package.  I used golden flaxseed as the egg replacer.  Cut off two slices of bread and top with cooked bacon, tomatoes, spinach, and if desired, cheese and mayo.

Salmon and Bacon Salad

I haven’t experimented much with fish but I am wanting to start.  Here is my first post about fish!  My husband and I loved this salad!

 

Ingredients:

4 oz. salmon, rubbed with salt and pepper

2 strips of bacon (omit if you don’t eat pork)

2 handfuls of greens (mine was spinach, kale, and swiss chard from Costco)

1 tomato, chopped

dill for sprinkling

1 lime wedge

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

 

Directions:

Rub salmon with salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat until white starts to creep up the sides.  Maybe 7-10 minutes.  Flip over and continue to cook until fish flakes apart easily with a fork.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Cook strips of bacon until browned but not burnt.

To assemble salad, put the spinach mixture on the plate first.  Top with tomatoes and crumbled bacon.  Place salmon on top of salad and sprinkle with dill.  Squeeze lime wedge over everything and drizzle olive oil over all.