Chicken Soup!

I’ve never made chicken soup from scratch but after making a whole roasted chicken I figured I might as well use the bones and carcass to make my own stock.  I plan on always using the bones for this purpose from here on out because I feel like simply discarding them is wasteful when they can render such a delicious liquid.  Google searching chicken stock will bring up numerous quick tutorials on how to make your own stock.  It is very simple and pretty much just requires you to cook the bones and leftover skin with some water and a few vegetables over low heat.  You can also use store bought stock if you don't want to slow cook stock overnight.

Ingredients
1 can of white beans
1 can hominy
3 gluten free garlic/artichoke chicken sausages (chopped and cooked)
1 ¼ cup shredded cooked chicken (I had this leftover from when I cooked my whole chicken)
4 carrots peeled and chopped
3 celery sticks chopped
10- 12 cups chicken stock or more if needed

1. Add broth and all veggies to the pot.  Cook over medium low heat covered for 15 minutes.
2. Add chicken and cook 5 more minutes.  Add sausage and cook 5 more mins.
3. Season with salt and pepper if needed and serve!

Thanksgiving Left Overs

It kinda looks like a dessert pizza!

I've been very lazy on the blogging front over the holiday weekend. I did manage to make one delicious and creative dish with the few leftovers we had.  My roommate Karen made a huge amount of cranberry sauce that was wonderfully tart. I used it to make an amazing galette that turned out to be one of the simplest desserts I have ever made.  The beautiful deep red of the cranberry also makes for a vibrantly colored dessert.

Ingredients
- 1 sheet of pastry dough (French Picnic brand - They come in boxes of two and I used one for my Thanksgiving fig gallette, leaving me one to experiment with.)
- 1/4 tube of almond paste
-1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 packet of stevia
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cranberry sauce


1. Blend the almond paste, mascarpone cheese, honey and stevia in a food processor.
2. Place pastry dough on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper.  Let dough defrost for 10 minutes or so.  It should still be slightly cold to the touch when you're working with it.
3. Spread almond paste mixture on the dough, leaving a border to fold dough over for a crust.
4. Spoon cranberry sauce on top of almond mixture.
5. Fold edges of dough to create a border. Brush lightly with buttermilk if you have any. 
6. Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes.  Make sure to rotate dish half way through.


This is a delicious use for cranberry sauce.  I'm considering making another one tomorrow because the one I made yesterday lasted less than 24 hours.  I think it turned out so well because the cranberry sauce I started with had such a wonderful tartness. Thanks Karen!

Almond Rosemary Biscuits (Thanksgiving Baking!)

I made these gluten-free goodies for Thanksgiving.  I had to make them two days ahead of time because I have a lot of work on Wednesday.  They turned out great but I had to alter the original recipe a bit because it did not yield enough biscuits and I ran out of Almond flour.  I decided to substitute in a little Amaranth flour because I had a bag in my pantry that my mom sent me a few weeks ago. It is gluten free and isn't nearly as grainy as other gluten free flours. 

Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups of almond flour

- 1/2 amaranth flour (plus more for sprinkling on parchment paper while rolling out biscuits)
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 1/2 cup olive oil or grape seed oil
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Combine almond flour, amaranth flour, salt, baking soda and rosemary in a bowl. Stir to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, oil and honey.  Whisk to combine.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  Mix together with your hands until combined completely.
5. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.  Lay a separate piece of parchment paper on your counter.  Sprinkle with flour.  Place dough on parchment paper.  Lay another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and use a rolling pin to flatten dough to desired thickness.  For thick biscuits, roll out to 3/4 in thick.  I made mine fairly thin- partly because I need a lot and because I was in a bit of a hurry. Use a biscuit cutter to cut your biscuits or a heart shaped one like i did.
6.  Bake for 12 minutes if you rolled them thin, 15 minutes if you rolled them thick.

Hope you enjoyed these as much as I did!

Coconut Flour Blueberry Cupcakes (Gluten Free)

½ cup coconut flour (sifted) 

a pinch of  sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs 

1/4 cup agave nectar (i actually did just a little less than 1/4 cup)
1 packet of stevia (these are the small single serving packets)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 cup blueberries
1.In a small bowl, combine sifted coconut flour, salt, stevia, and baking soda.

2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, agave, olive oil and vanilla bean paste and blend well with an electric mixer.

3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and blend with an electric mixer.

4. Fold in blueberries.

5. Bake at 325 F for 20 minutes in cupcake tins prepared with cupcake papers- make sure to rotate dish half way through baking.

Yields 12 muffins.

Note: I plan on trying these again with less agave to see if they still come out sweet. These muffins turn out pretty small BUT coconut flour is very filling. I also had a lot of issues with the muffins sticking to the cupcake papers.  I'm going to work on a way to fix this. Maybe I will try doubling the recipe and making a coffee cake out of it.

Kabocha Ginger Puree

I adapted this from a Bon Appetit recipe.  My version is simpler than BA's and also has less calories because I don't use the heavy cream.  If this recipe isn't creamy enough for you, feel free to add a little full fat yogurt or full fat sour cream.

Kabocha is the Yellow Puree on the Plate.

Ingredients
1 Kabocha Squash

1 teaspoon ginger powder
2 tablespoons butter
1-2 tablespoon good honey

1. Cut the kabocha squash into wedges and toss with a little coconut oil or olive oil.
2. Bake in the oven at 350 F for 20 minutes or until soft.
3. Peel the skin off each squash.  Toss the skins and place the cooked squash in a bowl. 
4. In small batches, puree the squash in a food processor.  In each batch, add a little ginger, butter and honey. Repeat the process until all the squash has been pureed.  Taste the puree and if necessary add more honey to make it sweeter or yogurt/cream/sour cream to make it smoother.


Note: One squash makes a lot of puree.  I like to make this on Monday or Tuesday and use it as a side dish for the next two days' dinner. The picture above was taken a day after I made the puree.  I had also roasted a whole chicken in the slow cooker the same day I made the puree so the meal above only took me 15 minutes.  I quickly cut up some broccoli and sauteed it with some garlic butter (homemade of course). That took at most 7 minutes.  While the broccoli was cooking, I sliced some some spinach and avocado. Then I assembled my plates.  I put squash and chicken on each plate- quickly nuked each in the microwave, then added the broccoli and simple salad.  There you have it- 15 minutes and 3 vegetable dishes and one protein.

Simple Haroseth

I know this is a passover thing but it also makes for a very yummy quick dessert.

Ingredients
2 Pink Lady apples (diced into 1/4 inch cubes)
1 to 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
3 tablespoons honey

1. In a bowl, toss the apples with lemon juice to coat evenly.  Add the walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg and toss to combine. Add honey to bind the mixture lightly. 

Sriracha Tuna Tartare with Fresh Mango and Avocado

Tuna Tartare served on toasted bread with Tuna Steak and a side salad.

I typically think of tuna tartare as a restaurant dish but after reading over a tartare recipe, I realized I was more than capable of making my own version at home.  This is a great appetizer for a dinner party because it can be prepared earlier in the day and doesn't require any heating before serving.

Ingredients
1 pound fresh sushi grade ahi tuna (skin and bones removed)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder
3 tablespoons Sriracha
zest and juice of 1/2 grapefruit
2 shallots minced
1 jalapeno (seeded and minced)
3 greens onions, white part only, sliced on the diagonal
sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground pepper
2 avocado (cubed)
1 mango (cubed)

1. Dice mango and avocado into 1/4 inch cubes.  Set aside in a bowl.
2. Cube the tuna into 1/4 inch cubes and place in a large bowl.  Add olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, wasabi powder, sriracha, grapefruit zest, grapefruit juice, shallots, jalapenos, and green onions.  Stir well.
3. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more to allow flavors to marinate.
4. Just before serving, combine tuna tartare with mango and avocado. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: For gluten-free kids like me, fell free to serve the tuna tartare without the toast.

Photo Credit: Quincy Dein

Apple Cheddar Frittata

Dinner is served!!

Made this for a last minute Sunday dinner. It didn't disappoint in flavor and the presentation was beautiful.  This would be great for a nice brunch.  Before beginning this meal, make sure you have a pan with a medal handle- plastic handles aren't oven safe.

Ingredients
8 eggs
1 egg white
1/4 cup of greek yogurt (whole, low fat or skim all work)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar (shred it yourself- pre-shredded have a lot of nasty chemicals in them)
1 1/2 apples (cut into thin wedges)
1 red onion (sliced into wedges)
sprinkle of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
olive oil or butter

1.  Slice red onion and cook in a pan over medium heat (about 7 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, whip together eggs, egg white, cheese, yogurt, salt and pepper until well combined.
3. Slice apples into thin wedges.
4. Add cooked onions into egg mixture. Stir to combine.  Add entire mixture to the pan (w/ oven safe handle).
5.  Cook for 2 minutes on the stove or until the eggs set.  Arrange apple slices onto of egg.
6. Place pan in the oven and cook for 20 minutes at 425 F. Make sure to rotate the pan once during the baking time. 

Place the apples on the eggs once the very edge of the eggs has set. 

Yum!

Coconut Rum Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

I chose to make mini cupcakes because the recipe is very rich.

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp  baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 ¼ cup light brown sugar

1 stick butter (room temp)

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup coconut rum

1. Mix flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. In a separate bowl, cream brown sugar and butter until fluffy.

2. Add egg and beat well. Add buttermilk and flour mixture alternatively while mixing.  Add rum and mix well.  Pour into lined cupcake pan.

3. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting

4 oz cream cheese

½ stick butter, room temp

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 Tablespoon coconut rum

1. Mix together ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.  Frost cupcakes.Optional- Sprinkle with coconut flakes.

Note: I made mine as mini-cupcakes.  Mini cupcake tins are available at Target and any cookware store.  Mini cupcake liners are available at Sur la Table or online here.

(Adapted from Ming Makes Cupcakes.  Ming’s version doesn’t include cocoa powder but the picture looks like a chocolate cupcake so I think the original recipe might have had a typo. I have used recipes before and they never disappoint.)



Cat- I hope you remember to make these for your parents!!

Savory Pancake Experiments (Blue Corn Flour Pancakes and Coconut Flour Pancakes!)

Blue corn pancakes on top and coconut pancakes on the bottom

Savory coconut pancakes topped with egg scramble and a side of fruit

I couldn’t fall asleep last night so I decided to experiment with simple savory pancake recipes.  For breakfast this morning I had a coconut one topped with scrambled eggs with spinach and onion and gluten free chicken sausage. Yummy! Making the pancakes ahead of time saves me cook time in the morning.

Option #1: Blue Corn Flour Pancakes
Blue Corn Flour Ingredients
- 2 eggs

-  ¼ cup blue corn flour

-  pinch of salt

- pinch of baking powder

(yields two pancakes)

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk. 

2.  Grease pan over medium heat with butter or coconut oil.

3. Add half the batter to pan.  Cook pancake 2 minutes or so on each side.

4. Repeat with the second half the batter.

Option #2 Coconut Flour Pancakes

- 3 eggs

- 2 tablespoons coconut flour (if you have the whole sale Whole Foods variety you should sift it first!)

- pinch of baking powder

- pinch of salt

(yields two pancakes)

1. Same method as above