Mom's Beef Stew

My mom made some awesome beef stew for my birthday dinner, and I had to make some!

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
2 -3 pounds stewing beef, lean
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
mushrooms, optional - I left them out
2 lbs potatoes - I found a bag of very small yellow potatoes from Roche Brothers I used. I think they were mini yukon golds
1 can tomato paste
1 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 14 ounce can of tomato sauce
4 cups of GF beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
Flour, I used GF flour Better Batter
Seasonings - whatever you prefer! My mom brought me back some great spices from her trip to Grenada. The seasonings she used in her stew, which I did as well, was a calypso chicken seasoning mix. The ingredients listed are salt, chilies, paprika, onion, garlic, oregano & ginger. So a combination of these spices (the onion and garlic being in powder form) would work great!

Take the meat out of the plastic and dry with paper towels.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then drudge in your flour.

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan, such as a Dutch oven, and add your meat in one or two batches. Using tongs, turn the meat after a few minutes on each side. When done, transfer to a large plate.

Add the onion to the now empty pan, adding a little more olive oil if necessary. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the browned bits left behind by the meat. After a few minutes, when the onion is soft and beginning to turn translucent, add the carrots (and mushrooms if you're using them, plus any other veggies you'd like) and let cook for another few minutes. When the carrot is softening a bit, add the tomatoes, sauce, paste, broth, salt & potatoes. I added two tablespoons of my spice packet.

Bring to a boil, then add the meat. Cover, and either simmer on low heat or transfer to a 350 degree oven. Either way, cook for around an hour until the meat is nice and tender. I like to finish cooking it in the oven, especially this time because I was also cooking some bread I made from one of my new King Arthur Flour gluten free bread mixes. BTW, the bread was AWESOME! One of the best breads I've ever had, and not even "for being gluten free". Just fantastic!

Doug had a nice bowl waiting for him when he got home from work!

Cupcakes!

I've made both gluten free chocolate cupcakes from scratch and from a mix. The mix was reeeally good, like better than most regular (non GF) mixes I've used. Since it was so good and easy, it will probably be my go to from now on. It's the King Arthur Flour gluten free chocolate cake mix. Since all gluten free flours are a mix of a bunch of things anyway (soy flour, potato flour, rice flour, xanthan gum...you get the idea) I don't feel like it's cheating.

So there are your instructions for GF chocolate cupcakes. The frosting, which is my favorite vanilla frosting, is as follows. It's called Crispy Magic Frosting and is from Joanne Chang's cookbook, who is the owner of Flour Bakery. 

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/5 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 and 2/3 cups of confectioners' sugar (I don't use quite this much...add gradually and taste so you can stop when it's sweet enough for you)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla

In a small heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg whites and the regular sugar. Place the bowl over, but not touching, a small saucepan of simmering water. Let heat, stirring frequently, for between 3 - 5 minutes. The mixture will be hot to the touch and the sugar should be completely dissolved.

Remove the egg/sugar mixture from heat and transfer to a standing mixture with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed for 6 - 8 minutes, until the mixture becomes a light, white meringue and is cool to the touch. Turn down the speed to medium, add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time, and let beat between each addition until the butter is fully incorporated. Add the confectioners sugar (see note above), salt, vanilla and milk and beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth and satiny. Pipe onto your cupcakes or cake! If you're not using immediately, you can transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge, or let stand at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you refrigerate, make sure to let come back to room temperature before you try to frost your cupcakes.

Here is my batch of cupcakes, ready to be delivered to all of my favorite Valentines!

Mississippi Mud Pie

Who needs flour??? That's the kind of thing I think when I make something like this...a flourless chocolate cake of sorts. Super easy, and a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:
Base:
8 ounces GF graham crackers or GF ginger snaps...I used ginger snaps because I had some lying around that were about to go stale.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate
Chocolate filling:
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1.5 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 and 3/4 cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350. 

To make the base, put the crackers in a food processor and process into a fine crumb. Put the butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of steaming, but not boiling, water. Here is a blurry picture of my melting chocolate and butter:

Melt the butter and chocolate, then add to the cracker crumbs and press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

To make the filling, do the same thing with the butter and chocolate to melt it. Put the eggs and sugar into a large mixing bowl and using a standing or hand held mixer, beat until thick and foamy. Beat in the cream, followed by the melted chocolate. Pour the mixture on top of the cookie crust and bake for around 45 minutes until just firm.

It will harden quite a bit as it cools, though. Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to fridge. Let chill for at least a half an hour before serving.

I thought it was best with some whipped cream and raspberries :-)

Fiesta Casserole

This is a really easy weeknight dinner. It also makes great leftovers. I served it with Mexican rice for high school girl friends Emily and Julie. And of course, Doug eat his fair share when he got home later that night. The recipe calls for ground beef, but I swap it out with turkey.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 large onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cups chunky tomato salsa (any temperature, I used hot because I like spicy things :-) )
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes with their juice
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernals
12 corn tortillas (most corn tortillas are GF, as opposed to flour tortillas, but I use Trader Joe corn tortillas that have the GF symbol right on them)
Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat a little olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Add the brown and break up with a wooden spoon/spatula until it's lost its color. Add the peppers and let cook until peppers have softened a bit. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in the salsa, tomatoes and corn. Bring the whole thing to a boil then remove from heat.

Spread a cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with half of the tortillas, then spoon half of the remaining meat mixture on top. Sprinkle some cheese on this layer, then do it again. I put more cheese on the top of the dish - use however much you choose. Bake, covered,  for 25 minutes or until heated through. Serve with sour cream, avocado...whatever you'd like!

Thai Chicken

My nephew Caiden has been a GREAT couch buddy while I've been injured. We were hanging out, him in his dino outfit and exersaucer and me with my boot and crutches (I know, he's cuter), and I browsed through my sister's crock pot recipe book. The crock pot is awesome for minimizing standing time!

Meredith had this Thai chicken in her crock pot while we were hanging out, and it smelled really good. She told me how easy it was, and being injured, I decided I wanted to make it too. She warned me that the sauce looked kind of like vomit, which it did, but it was delicious. Since we (ahem...Doug) ate it too quickly, I even made more a few days later. I doubled the quantity for the sauce the second time, since we ate it with rice and like extra sauce. This recipe is the single sauce recipe, so double it if you like sauce as we do. I also usually have most of this stuff lying around my house (OK, except fresh ginger), which is always convenient.

Ingredients:
2 - 2.5 lbs chicken breasts
1 cup hot salsa (I used Newman's Own)
1/4 all natural creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon GF soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
Chopped peanuts and cilantro for garnish

Mix together ingredients 2 - 6 in a bowl. Lay the chicken at the bottom of the crock pot, then pour the sauce over (this photo is from when I doubled the sauce).

Let cook on low for 8 - 9 hours. I like shredded chicken, so near the end I went at the chicken with two forks, then let cook for awhile longer. Sprinkle the peanuts and cilantro over the chicken.

Blueberry Corn Muffins

So I didn't take any photos here. This was one of the few things I made on crutches, and I wasn't going to make it more difficult by taking pictures (and having to find my camera). But, since the recipe is from another blog anyway, I'll just share the blog post:  http://comfybelly.com/2010/09/blueberry-corn-muffins/.

Since she provides a few alternatives for recipes, here is what I used:
1 cup GF corn meal
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
4 tablespoons melted, unsalted butter
1 cup of regular (as opposed to non dairy options provided on comfy belly) milk, mine was 1%
1/2 - 1 cup fresh blueberries

These were very delicious, and not even "for being gluten free".

Buckwheat Flour Pancakes

Contrary to how it sounds, buckwheat is gluten free. Crazy, right?

Ingredients:
1 cup buckwheat
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons melted butter

Mix together dry ingredients, then add egg, milk and butter. I always use my hand held electric mixer for this recipe, since it gets soo clumpy. 

Preheat griddle. Once it's hot, melt some butter over the surface. When making your pancakes, feel free to add whatever you want! I always have some frozen blueberries I can add.

The Best Squash Soup EVER

This blog post is one big shout out to Brenda, who came up with (and thankfully shared) this recipe! It's the best. Don't skip the balsamic glaze, it's amazing.

Soup:
2 tablespoons butter
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed (use a fresh one, not the packaged cut up ones)
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced
4 cups GF chicken broth
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon curry
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
 
Balsamic glaze:
Balsamic vinegar, dark brown sugar, butter

My diced squash:

Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and let cook until softened. Add the garlic and let cook for another 30 seconds. Add the squash, apple, broth, and zest.

Cover the pot and let cook until the squash can be easily mashed with a fork. Turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender.

Return to heat, and add the salt, spices and sugar. Let cook for another 5 - 10 minutes.

To make the balsamic glaze, add the three ingredients and simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens to the point where you can run a spoon through the pan and the glaze doesn't fill right back in immediately.

Doug and I like to eat everything out of mugs, soup included. So, here are our mugs: 

Just perfect for all of this snowy weather!!

Pork chops with mustard onion sauce

This was good. Not my favorite pork chop prep, but it was a true 30 minute meal from Cooks Country Magazine.

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons olive oil (I think I halved this)
6 garlic cloves, pressed (ditto)
2 tablespoons low sodium (gluten free!) chicken broth
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
8 thin cut boneless pork cutlets
1 onion, sliced thin

Combine oil and garlic in the bowl. Pop it in the microwave for a minute to combine flavors. The recipe suggested that you use half of the oil now, half later. I used it all now since I didn't want to cook with FIVE tablespoons of oil - blech. Combine the broth, vinegar, mustard, brown sugar and thyme in a separate bowl.

Pat pork chops dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, then add the chops to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side (if they're indeed thinly cut), then transfer to a plate.

Add the onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook for a few minutes until the onion gets soft. Stir in the broth mixture, cook for around 2 - 3 minutes.

Add the pork chops back into the pan and cook just long enough for the pork to soak up some juices and get hot again. Then you're ready to serve!

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Sauce

This is my third recipe for enchiladas on this blog. I love both the enchiladas verdes and beef enchiladas, but both are pretty time consuming. For the verdes, you have to roast and peel the peppers before you start. For the beef, you have to simmer the sauce for 90 minutes. I wanted a weeknight enchiladas recipe, and this is the closest I've come.Not surprisingly, this is a Cooks Illustrated recipe.

Ingredients:
1.5 tablespoons veggie oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 medium cloves garlic (I halved this, since Doug won't eat food once it's crossed the line into garlic-y)
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
12 ounces boneless, skinless, diced chicken. CI suggested thighs, but I used chicken breasts.
2 cans of tomato sauce (pureed tomato, not marinara) leaves
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 can pickled jalapenos, drained and chopped
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese.
10 corn tortillas (most corn tortillas are GF - flour tortillas are NOT)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Add onion and cook for a few minutes until soft and starting to brown.

Add garlic, chili poweder, coriander, cumin, salt and sugar. Cook for another 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, for another 30 seconds. The chicken should be totally coated with spices. Add tomato sauce and 3/4 cup of water. Cook, uncovered, for around 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Dump the whole thing into a bowl lined with a mesh strainer to separate the filling from the sauce. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and put in the fridge or freezer until cool enough to combine with cilantro, cheese and jalapenos.

Spread  1/2 - 1 cup of sauce over the bottom of your baking dish. Heat the tortillas up in either the microwave or the oven. Fill each tortilla with one tenth of the filling (around 1/3 cup) and line seam side down in the baking dish. Cover the rolled enchiladas with the remaining sauce and shredded cheese. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes and serve! You can serve with whatever staples you pick - sour cream, avocado, lettuce, etc. I also think it's crucial to make mexican rice with enchiladas! The recipe for mexican rice can be found at the bottom of the beef enchiladas post.

Coconut Flour Waffles

I already love my new waffle maker. I also love these waffles. Coconut flour doesn't taste like coconut, it's just a light and sweet gluten free flour alternative. They're also very high in protein and low in carbs. Just magic!

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1.5 teaspoons oil (I used veggie)
1.5 teaspoons of vanilla
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
3/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1.5 teaspoons honey
3 tablespoons coconut flour

Preheat the waffle maker. Mix together all of these ingredients. Spray the waffle maker with nonstick cooking spray. Then add the batter and cook your waffles!

I served with blueberry sauce - I just threw some frozen blueberries into a saucepan with some apricot jelly and some honey. Healthier than maple syrup :-)

I also made some eggs and bacon, per Doug's request, since he needed to recharge from snow blowing the driveway! We also both needed some fuel before spending the snow day snowshoeing around Brookline! Hooray for a post Christmas blizzard!

Creamy Parmesan Risotto

I love a good, simple risotto. This is just the ticket. Contrary to common kitchen lore, you do not need to stir risotto constantly. You just need to stir constantly for the first few minutes after the rice is added in order to convince it to become creamy. 

Ingredients: 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups low sodium (g-free!) chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Heat the chicken broth over low heat in a covered saucepan. When you add it to the rice (gradually) later, it needs to be warm. Make sure it's covered so it doesn't reduce. 


Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, around 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until it's coated with butter and begins to turn translucent, around 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, still stirring constantly, until all the liquid is absorbed, around 3 - 5 minutes. Begin adding 1/2 cup of the warm chicken broth, making sure to let the rice absorb the broth before adding more. This is where you can stop stirring constantly. Pay attention and stir frequently, but you no longer need to hover (and I bet your arm is getting a little tired). The whole process should take around 20 - 25 minutes. When you're done adding all of the chicken broth, turn off the heat, add the remaining butter, salt, pepper and Parmesan. Stir to combine, and serve! 

Gorgonzola and Porcini Risotto

So, I have to admit - I don't really like mushrooms. However, I had the most fabulous meal at cousin Laura's wedding back in September at the Chatham Bars Inn - which included mushroom risotto! This was fantastic, I thought I was coming around on the fungus family!

False. I think this risotto was especially mushroomy. Perhaps the stuff back at CBI was milder. Anyway, Doug and my mother raved about it (and my mom took the leftovers home, since we were heading out to PA and wouldn't get to them) so I figure it's a good recipe for all you mushroom fans. This recipe was featured on Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis back in 2008. She called for 4 cups of chicken stock, but I found the rice to be not quite done. 2 additional cups did the trick.

Ingredients:
6 cups chicken stock (my go-to gluten free chicken stock is available at Trader Joe's)
1.5 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter (I found this didn't cover the rice completely, so I added a little more, so perhaps it was closer to 4 tablespoons)
1 medium diced white onion
1.5 cups Arborio rice (rice is naturally g-free, as long as it's not "messed with" at all with spices or whatnot)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan
3/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola - some blue cheeses are aged on bread, though this is becoming less common. Just make sure you're buying GF cheese. All Trader Joe cheese is GF, FYI.
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

I had some trouble finding dried porcini mushrooms. This could have been because I was shopping so close to Christmas. I ended up buying these from Whole Foods:



Bring the stock to a boil with the porcini mushrooms in a covered saucepan.


Turn off the heat and let the mushrooms seep in the broth for around a half an hour, until the mushrooms are tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms. Bring the chicken broth back to a simmer (covered), since the broth must be warm when added to the rice.

In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Add the onion and mushrooms and let cook for around five minutes.


Add the rice and stir to completely cover with butter (this is where I added a little more).


Add the wine, and stir constantly until the wine is absorbed (around 3 minutes). Add the warm chicken stock 1/2 cup at a time, letting each additional absorb into the rice before adding more.


This whole process will take around 20 - 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and add in the salt, pepper, chives, parmesan and gorgonzola.

A note about adding the broth - figure out which of your ladles holds approximately a half a cup. It will make this process much easier!

My final product, snuggling up to a piece of steak!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

You seriously can't even tell these are gluten free. Grace made these for my sisters BTT baby shower back in August, and Doug has been bugging me ever since to make them! I was glad I finally caved, I forgot how good they are! Luckily, Grace was happy to share the recipe.

2 cups peanut butter - use the real stuff! Teddie's or Smuckers all natural are my go-to peanut butters.
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 bag of chocolate chips

Mix them all together, roll into one inch balls, smoosh them onto greased cookie sheets and cook at 350 degrees for around ten minutes. Delicious!

My FAVORITE chocolate chips:

60% bittersweet Ghirardelli chips. They're big and dark - I love them.

Here is my batter:


And my final product, wrapped and ready to go. I wanted to thank a friend for doing some free work on my skis, and this was just the way! I could have made regular cookies, but these GF cookies meant I could have a few myself :-)

Sweet Onion Marmalade

Woohoo! I am back!

Let's get right to it. Here is some sweet onion marmalade, which I'm super excited to serve with some steak over the holidays. I tried a little out of the jar and its fabulous, especially for an onion lover like me.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 medium onion (any kind, even red, though I used yellow)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 rosemary sprigs
2/3 cup brown sugar (get a new box/bag if yours is all dried up in your cupboard!)
1/3 cup dry white wine (I used Hogue Sauvignon Blanc, since it's what was in my fridge)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar (I was originally concerned that this had gluten, but alas! It's made from grapes, excellent news!)

In a heavy frying pan or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Thinly slice the onion and add to the hot oil. Let caramelize - takes 20 - 30 minutes at least (more, if you have the time...the more you cook, the more they'll brown) until they're changed colors and are a light brownish color.

Add the salt, pepper, rosemary sprigs and bay leaves. Let cook for another 20 - 30 minutes. Here is my pot at this point:



Add in the sugar, wines and vinegar.



Bring to a boil, stirring consistently, and then bring back down to a simmer. Let cook for another 20 - 30 minutes until it reduces to your desired consistency. Remember it will thicken a bit more as it cools. Here is my jar of sweet onion marmalade. I was surprised at how little it made, hence the clementine next to it for comparison purposes, but I think a little will go a long way.



It's good for up to 2 - 3 months, and is supposed to get better with time. I will have to make more, since this batch will get eaten right up :-)

Stay tuned for how it tastes with the steak we're grilling for our first (of five...lots of families to visit with) holiday dinners!

Chicken Jambalaya

I have NOT been good about posting, but now that finals are winding down I can post everything I made in April! Starting with this...very good. I kinda wish I hadn't made so much because it isn't the kind of thing you want to eat for four days straight. But a good one or two day meal maybe. I doubled the recipe, next time I will just make the amount below.

I precooked the chicken breasts just in a covered pot with some chicken broth over medium heat for around 20 minutes. It's also how I made chicken for chicken salad, just so you know. It won't have much flavor, but it's a good simple way to cook it for these purposes.



Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large chopped onion
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped red pepper
2.5 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 cups fat free, less sodium chicken broth (the gluten free kind, if it's a concern!)
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey breasts
2-3 cooked andouille sausage, chopped (I used hot italian turkey sausage from Whole Foods)

My chopped veggies!


Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, around 5 minutes. Add garlic and let cook for another 30 seconds then add the peppers and spices. Let cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients. Cover and let cook until the rice has absorbed the liquid.

My bowl!

Chicken Saltimbocca

For some reason, mixing ham and chicken is really appealing to me. Yumm.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin.
Ground black pepper
Almond flour (between 1/2-1 cup, just used for dredging the chicken...you could also just use regular flour)
1 tablespoon minced sage
4 slices proscuitto
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.25 cups dry white wine
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt, to taste

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine almond flour and pepper in shallow dish. Pat cutlets dry with paper towels. Dredge chicken in flour and transfer to large plate. Sprinkle evenly with minced sage and then place 1 prosciutto slice on top of each cutlet, pressing lightly to adhere.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until beginning to shimmer. Add chicken to pan, prosciutto-side down, and cook until light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook on other side until light golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack set on rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in oven.

Pour off excess fat from skillet. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and simmer until reduced to about 1/3 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Turn heat to low and whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Off heat, season with salt and pepper. Remove chicken from oven and place on platter. Spoon sauce over cutlets before serving.

Eggplant Parm

Sister Meredith made this for my birthday dinner (thanks Meredith!), and I had to make it a few days later because it was so tasty. So, thanks to her for this recipe and especially the gluten free version.

Eggplant
2 medium eggplants, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon pepper
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
87 ounces of canned diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
2.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh mozzarella, sliced (however much you like, I used two balls)

Instructions

FOR THE EGGPLANT: Toss eggplant slices with salt, and suspend in a colander over a bowl. You'll probably have to divide this into two bowls. Let stand for around 45 minutes - you're draining the eggplant, there is a surprising amount of water in there! My two batches:



2. While eggplant is draining, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions, place rimmed baking sheet on each rack, and heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix almond flour with salt and pepper

3. Beat eggs in pie plate. As you go, wipe extra liquid and salt off each eggplant slice. Dip eggplant slices in eggs, let excess egg run off, then coat evenly with almond flour mixture.

4. Remove preheated baking sheets from oven; add 3 tablespoons oil to each sheet (should just be enough to cover the baking sheet with a film), tilting to coat evenly with oil. Place half of breaded eggplant on each sheet in single layer; bake until eggplant is well browned and crisp, about 30 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes, and flipping eggplant slices with wide spatula after 20 minutes. Do not turn off oven.

Process your tomatoes in a food processor (leave some out if you want chunks).Transfer tomatoes to a saucepan and add red pepper flakes and basil. Bring sauce to boil over medium-high, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking pan or big casserole dish. Layer in half of eggplant slices, overlapping slices to fit; distribute 1 cup sauce over eggplant; sprinkle with half of parmesan. Layer in remaining eggplant (picture below taken at this point) and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and the optional layer of fresh mozzarella.


Bake until bubbling and cheese is browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving so it isn't too soupy.

Of course we couldn't wait to eat before I took a photo :-)

Ham and cheese chicken

So good, and pretty easy.

Pound out 4 chicken breasts until they're thin enough to stuff and roll. Or, buy the thin chicken breasts. Either way works!

Saute 1/4 cup red onion in a tablespoon of butter for a few minutes, until wilted. Transfer to a bowl and add:
1 small minced garlic clove
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon chopped thyme leaves (fresh)
4 ounces grated cheddar cheese

Mix this, then spread equally over the chicken breasts. Lay a slice of ham over each chicken breast and roll. Using twine or toothpicks, secure the rolls.



Dip the whole thing in egg wash (an egg with a little water), then in almond meal (or breadcrumbs, but almond meal is healthier and makes it gluten free).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a little olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the rolled chicken breasts and cook for a few minutes on each side, then transfer to preheated oven and cook for another 15-20 minutes.

I took a picture at a bad angle, so looks pretty crispy, but the crisp was actually pretty good because it was just cheese that had oozed out and gotten crispy. Delicious.