Balsamic Green Beans with Garlic, Red Onion and Almonds

I love buying local during the spring and summer seasons. There's something about being outside in the sunshine as you stock up on fresh veggies and fruit. Andrew and I recently took a stroll down to Pittsburgh's Strip District, which is home to the famous Wholey's Seafood, various odds and ends shops as well as fresh 

produce and meat markets. We got a little excited about how much fresh vegetables and fruit we could get for a very reasonable price.

One of our over zealous purchases was green beans. I enjoy pretty much all vegetables but green beans was one I was not familiar cooking with. I'm all about steaming with salt and pepper but we wanted to get a little creative with it. Needless to say, we'll be making this dish again soon.  

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2- 2 cups fresh green beans, ends cut off and washed

- About five chopped almonds

- 1-2 tbsp olive oil

- 1/4 medium sized red onion, diced 

- 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 3-4 tbsp balsamic dressing

Recipe:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Sautee in a large pan the olive oil, garlic and red onion until lightly browned. Add the chopped almonds and 1 tablespoon Balsamic Dressing and cook for an additional 2-4 minutes. 

Place washed green beans in a shallow, oven-safe pan. Add the sauteed mixture, stir and then add 1-2 additional tablespoons of Balsamic Dressing. 

Bake 10 minutes, remove to stir thoroughly and then bake for an additional 10 minutes. 

A few recommendations: 

- We didn't add Parmesan cheese but I'd recommend it for the cheese lovers. 

- Mushrooms may also be a delicious addition to this dish

- It will compliment a red meat dish well 

Rice and Beans - Time and Money Saving Lunch

Lunch for the week prepared on Sunday. Time and money saved.

Buying lunch while you are at work is a huge money suck, not to mention that the food is usually over-priced for the quality that you get.  For our first week in Pittsburgh, I did a great job of making salads the night before work and was extremely healthy.  That quickly turned into whatever leftovers we had in the fridge. And that quickly turned into scrambling in the morning to find something to bring with me.  Not the ideal situation to eat healthy and avoid eating crappy food, plus I would end up "supplementing" my lunch at the cafeteria.

To combat this, we started making a large batch of rice on Sunday that could be taken for  lunch every day of the week. What's that you say? "I want something interesting and rice is boring?"  There my friend, you are wrong.

We add the basics to the rice and then spice it up throughout the week.  Here is our basic recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked brown rice (or white - brown has more fiber and is a little heartier)

1 can sweet corn - drained

1 can chick peas (or black beans)

1 cup chopped jalapenos

1 cup choppen onion (red, white, whatever)

1.5 cups cooked chicken (roasted*, sauteed, whatever)

Seasonings

Recipe:

Put the beans in a small pot over low heat and cover.  Let them cook slow and low.

Heat up some olive oil in a LARGE pan - we use a wok like thingy.  

Throw in the onions, cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add jalapenos and corn.  Add seasonings such as garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano; cook for 2-3 minutes.

Drain the beans of their liquid.

Add chicken, rice, and beans to the vegetables - mix thoroughly.

Season as needed.

Multiple Colors = Multiple Flavors = Happy Tastebuds

*Our chicken cooking trick - pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees.  Throw the chicken on a pan lined with foil and season both sides (may we recommend some Montreal Chicken Seasoning?).  Cook for 17 minutes.  The chicken with be slightly crispy on the outside and very juicy inside.  From there, we will finely chop the chicken and add it to the rice mix.

Potential additions to the base mixture include finely chopped ham (left over from Easter dinner), a small can of crushed tomatoes, any other of your favorite vegetables.  

How to keep it interesting throughout the week:

Use the full arsenal of your refrigerator.  Add salsas, hot sauces, soy sauce, whatever you can think of to add a little zing.  Our finding is that flavor is very important in how satisfied we are after lunch.

Sweet and Salty Quinoa with Bacon and Veggies

This dish is a modified version of a Noble Pig recipe.  It's now one of our favorites.

With our version, we combined sauteed chopped yellow onion and green pepper, cooked quinoa and smoked bacon, sugar snap peas and Honey-Lime dressing. The dressing adds a little sweetness, the bacon adds a little saltiness and then we topped ours with Sriracha that added a little spiciness. And that's why it is now one of our favorite recipes. It's got it all. It's pretty healthy (especially if you cut down the bacon or use turkey bacon; either way there's enough going on that the bacon doesn't overwhelm the dish). We ate ours at room temperature with a glass of Pinot Grigio.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sugar snap peas
- One green pepper
- 1/4 medium yellow onion
- 1 cup quinoa
- 5 slices smoked bacon
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil

Honey Lime Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (or squeezed from one lime)
- Seasoning: garlic, crushed red pepper, paprika, salt and pepper

Recipe:
Cook the one cup quinoa per packed directions (one cup quinoa with two cups water). While it was cooking, I continued with the rest of the recipe. Move quinoa to a bowl once complete to prevent drying out/burning. I didn't cover it and allowed it to cool a little.

Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a sauce pan. Place the cooked pieces on a paper towel to soak up the excess fat and allow to cool before slicing into small pieces.

Saute the chopped yellow onion and green pepper with olive oil, salt and pepper on medium heat until softened.

Bring a large saucepan to a boil. While that is heating up, prepare an ice bath large enough to submerge the snap peas. Place the sugar snap peas in the boiling water for 1 minute, remove and place in the ice bath for two minutes, then remove and place on a paper towel to dry. Slice into thirds or fourths.

Lastly, combine quinoa, snap peas, sauteed veggies and dressing in a large bowl. Mix well and then add the bacon, stirring until thoroughly mixed.

We topped ours with ground pepper and a little Sriracha. Delicious!

Fresh Chunky Salsa

We've previously stated our affinity for Tex-Mex fare. In addition to being made gluten free easily, it is also usually cheap. But sometimes you get what you pay for and salsa is one of those items. The tastiest salsas are usually chunky and fresh and expensive.

We don't let that stop us. We are cheap and resourceful. We make the most out of canned foods and cheap ingredients to come up with a delicious salsa.

Careful with the jalapenos or your friends won't like you.

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can whole kernel corn
1 cup chopped pickled jalapeños
1 medium onion chopped
Chili powder
Crushed red pepper
Salt
Pepper
Cilantro

Recipe
Combine all of the vegetables and stir. Add Seasonings to taste.

Note - adjust the jalapeños and crushed red pepper to taste for your palate.

Note - cilantro is a nice addition, but not 100% necessary.

Potential additions:
Bell pepper
Cucumber
Shallots
Crushed tomatoes (if diced are not available)

Quinoa with Sweet Potato, Kale, Onion and Mushrooms

Quinoa is a favorite of ours. It's versatile, quick and easy to make and is a great source of protein. I think it's a lighter grain therefore I enjoy it with usually a heavier sauce, such as sausage and marinara or sweet potatoes and veggies!


While this is not necessarily a difficult recipe to make, I will admit preparing it (specifically the kale) can take some time. We recently prepared this dish on a day we were both home early from work. However, it does only require quinoa, mushrooms, kale, sweet potatoes and onions (as well as your favorite spices). For us, it was garlic and red pepper with a few dashes of salt and pepper.

Ingredients:
- One medium to large sweet potato
- One small yellow onion
- One large bunch of kale, washed and cut with stems removed
- 4-6 chopped mushrooms
- 1/2 cup white wine (preferably dry)
- Seasonings: garlic, red pepper, salt and pepper
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked

Recipe:
We started with cooking the one cup of quinoa, since it takes about 20 minutes to prepare. Nothing special here, just followed the directions on the package.

Next, heat a large saucepan with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat. Start with sauteeing the onion and sweet potato once the oil is warm. Allow the sweet potatoes to begin to soften, add the chopped mushrooms, stirring occasionally. Once the mushrooms begin to soften, add the chopped kale and white wine. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and stir frequently. I also added more garlic and red pepper flakes at this time.

Keep the saucepan on medium-low heat until all vegetables have softened. Most liquid will be absorbed at this point. Don't forget to check back on your quinoa! I've never experienced burnt quinoa but I imagine it probably doesn't taste too good. The quinoa will most likely be done before the kale and sweet potatoes. I usually put the quinoa in a bowl and cover with a towel or foil until the meal is complete. Add some of the sautee to a bowl of quinoa, top with parmesan if desired and enjoy!

We've made this recipe a few times and enjoy it every time. I've had a glass of Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir with it at different occasions and while both went well, I prefer the Pinot Noir with it.

Kale, Onion and Parmesan Quiche with a Sweet Wine

We had an abundance of kale  and onion, both of which needed to be prepared soon. With Easter around the corner, we figured a quiche would be perfect!

It was our first time preparing the dish. With a little help from the interwebs and the addition of our own tastes, we enjoyed this healthy dish for Easter Sunday brunch.

We added about a cup of sauteed kale, onions and spices to an egg mixture consisting of eggs, almond milk and dairy-free parmesan cheese, and baked it until cooked through. We prepared this a week before Easter and after baking, allowed it to cool then froze it until Easter morning.

Kale Sautee Ingredients:

- One large bunch of fresh kale, washed and chopped with stems off

- One small yellow onion, chopped

- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/2 cup water

- Seasoning to taste: red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and pepper

Kale Sautee Recipe:

Heat one to two tablespoons olive oil on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, kale and seasonings. Sautee and mix until kale begins to soften, a few minutes. Add water, cover and reduce to medium-low heat. Keep on heat until kale has completely softened, drain water and put aside.

Quiche Ingredients:

- 4 large eggs

- One cup Silk Almond Milk

- 1/4 Cup Dairy-free parmesan cheese, plus a little extra

- Kale Sautee

Quiche Recipe:

Beat eggs, milk and cheese together. Mix in kale sautee. Add a little more pepper and red pepper flakes. Transfer the mixture to a 9" pie pan, sprinkle with additional parmesan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

We enjoyed our crustless breakfast with a Trader Joe's hash brown (soon to come) as well as an adult beverage in honor of my grandparents, who both passed away within the past five years and enjoyed themselves a glass of vino. They lived a majority of their lives together on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and specifically spent their last few years together in Solomon's Island. I was excited to find at Christmas that my aunt and mom both bought me a red and white bottle from Solomon's Island Winery.  However, I enjoy dry wine and these wines were a bit too sweet for me. I just so happened to be drinking cranberry-raspberry juice that morning and tried a little with some of the sweet, white wine... Delicious! I did equal parts juice and wine and it paired well with the hash browns and quiche! 

Finger Lickin' Chicken

What cures that awful feeling the morning after too many margaritas? FRIED FOOD!

What makes someone who eats gluten free cringe? FRIED FOOD!

We were hungover. Our Snoopy waffles didn't quite do the trick, so we needed to feed the craving for dinner. We went back to the well with some sweet potato fries (with the addition of a round of broiling to increase the crispy factor) and paired them with a small salad and CHICKEN FINGERS! (All caps means we are excited)

We used some gluten free all-purpose baking flour and crushed tortilla chips to bread a sliced chicken breast, fried them up, and dug right in. Much like our spring roll mozzarella sticks, this dish brought a sense of normalcy to Brittany's diet. We made a lovely barbecue sauce to go with them and had a great Saturday night!

Ingredients

Before frying

1 large chicken breast, sliced into smaller pieces
3/4 cup gluten free all-purpose baking flour
1 egg beaten
1 to 1.5 cups crushed tortilla chips

Recipe
Standard breading steps:
1. Coat the chicken in flour by rolling it aroun in the flour bowl.
2. Transfer to the egg wash, coat thoroughly.
3. Roll in crushed tortilla chips.*

After frying

4. Pan fry over medium heat in olive oil until golden brown and cooked through.

* A real jerk once taught me two important things about breading:
1. Keep one hand out of the breading process, in order to make handling things easier, so that you can:
2. Add the bread (tortilla) crumbs slowly to prevent excessive caking and waste.
Don't be fooled. Hayes is still a jerk. Peter is awesome.

Sierra was sneaking in the background, waiting for her chance to steal a finger.

Pair this with a killer BBQ sauce, a small salad, and a whiskey-ginger.

Spicy Chicken Spring Rolls

Leftover Vietnamese spring roll wrappers from our Mozzarella Sticks night led to this Americanized Asian dinner!

Any excuse for soy sauce to be included in a meal and I'm in. These made for a healthy and light dinner, which was perfect for a warm spring evening.

We made chicken salad with Sriracha, mayo and an onion. Chopped up lettuce, carrots, broccoli and celery. Added a little of everything to each spring roll wrapper and served with soy sauce and extra Sriracha... Delicious!

Chicken Salad Ingredients:


-1 12.5oz can of chicken
-1 tablespoon mayonaise
-1-2 tablespoons Sriracha
-1 small onion diced
-1 teaspoon relish





Spring Roll Ingredients:

-4 Blue Dragon Spring Roll Wrappers
-2-3 stalks of celry, thinly sliced and cut in half
-4-6 small carrots in long slices
-1/4 cup Broccoli sprouts
-1/4 cup lettuce
-Soy sauce for dipping


We first made the chicken salad, mixing all ingredients, adding relish and Sriracha to taste. We placed it in the fridge to stay cold as we chopped the vegetables.

We found the easiest way to prepare the spring rolls was by using a glass and two plates that were large enough to fit each wrapper. The first plate was used to soften the wrapper. We used the glass to pour hot water on one wrapper at a time. Once softened, usually 10-15 seconds of it being immersed in the water, we'd move the wrapper to the next large plate to ensemble the spring roll. It can get sticky so we tried to move fast. We placed a scoop of chicken salad as well as a few celery and carrot slices, broccoli sprouts and lettuce on the wrapper, closer to one side. Fold the wrapper over the ingredients so about a half inch is left uncovered and then fold each side over as well. Place on another plate as you prepare the others. Repeat the process with however many you'd like (we made four).

We enjoyed them with carrots and homemade jalapeno hummus (soon to come) as well as gluten-free soy sauce, Sriracha and a glass of Pinot Grigio!

Mozzarella Sticks

Who doesn't love mozzarella sticks? I couldn't tell you the last time I enjoyed the delicious appetizer. Noble Pig, a website favorite of mine, posted a recipe similar to this one but using won ton wrappers, unfortunately not a GF food. However, I was able to find Vietnamese spring roll wrappers that substituted very well! Trader Joes makes a block of soy mozzarella cheese that is one of my favorite cheeses. Combine that with pepperoni, roll it in a spring roll, pan fry and serve with a side of marinara sauce! Yum!

Ingredients:
Mozzarella Sticks
- Blue Dragon Spring Roll Wrappers
- One block of Soy Mozzarella Cheese (from Trader Joes)
- Pepperoni Slices (3-4/stick)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil

Marinara Sauce
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 large splash red wine
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion
- Seasonings: oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and pepper

Marinara Sauce Recipe:
I sauteed the onions in olive oil until lightly browned and added the can of tomato sauce. I added one to two large splashes of red wine and the seasonings and let simmer while I prepared the mozzarella sticks, stirring occasionally.

Mozzarella Stick Recipe:
I sliced the block of mozzarella cheese into 6 1/4" slices while letting the olive oil and wok get hot. I placed one spring roll wrapper in the shallow tupperware filled with hot water for 10-15 seconds until completely soft. Once soft, I placed it on the large plate, put the mozzarella slice in the middle and the 3-4 pepperoni slices on top.  I crossed one side of the wrapper to the other, tightly against the pepperoni, folded up the ends and then rolled it to close the wrapper. Next, I placed it in the wok until all slides were browned and repeated.


Easy and delicious!

We enjoyed ours with a salad and glass of Pinot Nior! 

Kale Chips

Spinach has always been my green leafy vegetable of choice. I had leftover kale from a quinoa dish I made. I googled different ways to cook kale and sauteed, stewed and baked were amongst the popular options.

I was intrigued by the idea of kale chips. They ended up being extremely easy to make and surprisingly very delicious. I will think twice about buying regular potato chips again (maybe a little dramatic, but they were that good).

Ingredients:

- One bunch of fresh kale

- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

- 1/2 tbsp salt and pepper

Recipe:

We washed and cut the stems off the kale and chopped the leaves into small pieces (about an inch in size). We mixed the chopped kale and olive oil in a bowl, making sure to lightly coat each piece. Next, we added the seasonings and mixed thoroughly. We spread the seasoned kale on a cookie sheet and baked at 275, turning a few times, for about 20 minutes. We allowed them to cool for a few minutes and then they were gone!

Avoiding Sneaky Gluten- Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha Ketchup

Fries are one bar food that could be easily shared with a group of people and would usually not bother me if eaten in small amounts. That was until recently. I was told by a restaurant manager that fries are no longer GF, even if fried in a separate fryer. Apparently they fry better after being rolled in flour and this trend is becoming more popular within the restaurant community.

We decided to bake our own version at home to go with turkey burgers we made. And what goes best with fries? Sriracha ketchup! We used one large sweet potato, sliced into wedges and tossed in seasoned olive oil. The olive oil was seasoned with cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The fries were spread out on a cookie sheet and a little more garlic power and red pepper flakes were added. The Sriracha Ketchup was made with ketchup, few tablespoons Sriracha, cumin and red pepper flakes. Honestly, taste testing the ketchup was best for determining proper amounts of each ingredient. 

Ingredients:

- 1 large sweet potato

- 2-3 tbsp olive oil

- Seasoning: cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and garlic powder

- 1/4 c ketchup

- 2-3 tbsp Sriracha

- Seasoning: cumin and red pepper flakes

Recipe:

We combined all the spices with the 2-3 tbsp olive oil in a large bowl. We added the sweet potato wedges to the seasoned olive oil, tossing them around to make sure they were all covered. They were spread across a cookie sheet, added additional red pepper flakes and garlic powder and then baked them at 450 for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. While they were baking, I added the Sriracha, ketchup and seasoning in a small bowl. This made a lot but I will never let ketchup go to waste. I put it on a lot of foods.

Avoiding Sneaky Gluten - Taco Seasoning

Here, we introduce a new segment called "Avoiding Sneaky Gluten". Gluten (that little freaker-sneaker) frequently makes it's way into foods that you would not suspect. We're going to try to profile some of these sneaky foods with ways to avoid them.

Usually, Tex-Mex meals are the most delicious and easy to make naturally gluten-free. Rice and corn products combined with veggies, yum! I have made this known to my friends and family for the main purpose of social gatherings. My mom, who loves to cook and is quite good at it, has had 24 years to get used to cooking dairy free options for me. This whole gluten-free thing is new and tricky. While Tex-Mex has seemed to be the safest meal option, there have been multiple times recently that I've had to enjoy vegan tacos instead of the regular chicken, turkey or beef options because of the taco seasoning they used with the meat.

My friends and family members, as well as myself the first few times, were shocked when they realized the seasoning contained gluten. It was something I never even considered would bother me until I randomly checked because, well, ya just never know with gluten. I'm glad I did and have warned my friends and family about it. Even the taco seasonings that I have found to be "gluten free" contain not so great ingredients, such as dairy and MSG. I try to avoid MSG if possible after reading how it affects other people. So this has led to making a more natural and gluten-free version. We made it in bulk so we even saved money in the end... Healthier and Cheaper!

Ingredients (from allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/)

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Common Taco Seasonings and Links to ingredients:
McCormick - Contains dairy ingredients.

Pace - Contains Wheat Flour   
Ortega - Contains Maltodextrin

Old El Paso - Contains MSG

Buffalo Pulled Chicken

Gluten free Buffalo-goodness

Chicken wings are always a favorite treat for a weekend with friends. The obvious problem is that they are frequently breaded and the frying process is a huge problem due to cross-contamination.  How do you please the crowd while still maintaining your gluten free diet? Simple, use the greatest cooking invention since the oven - the crock pot!


We started with about 5 pounds of chicken, including both breast and boneless thighs for that nice dark meat flavor. We added a large onion (chopped) over the top.  The cooking liquid consisted of about a half cup of white vinegar and a half cup of apple cider vinegar.  You can adjust that to make sure your chicken has a little liquid to cook in.  We cooked the chicken low and slow for 8 hours.

When it came time to shred the chicken, we "pulled" it with two forks, but it really just fell apart with very little effort. We added a small bottle of Frank's Red Hot and that was it.

This chicken just falls apart.

In the past, we have used wing sauce and experimented with adding things like red pepper flakes, brown sugar and barbecue sauce.  This time we went very simple and it turned out better than ever.

We had rolls for the non-gluten free among us and we served it on corn chips for the gluten free folk.  We have also served it on corn tortillas and rice in the past.  This one is guaranteed to please all of the wing fans in the house.

3 pounds boneless chicken breasts
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
1 medium to large onion, chopped
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 bottle hot sauce (about 12 ounces)

Combine the chicken, onion and vinegar in a crock pot.  Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.  Shred the chicken with two forks.  Add the hot sauce and let it cook for a little longer to allow the hot sauce to cook into the chicken.

Quinoa with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Most gluten free pasta stinks.  I said it and I stick by it.  But gluten free substitutes can be fricken awesome!  Quinoa provides a great hearty taste and is quite easy to prepare.  So tonight, we went with a chunky tomato sauce, turkey sausage and quinoa.  Once again, we went with a spicy tomato sauce similar to the pizza sauce we made, just with a few more fresh veggies.



Thick cut onions, peppers and tomatoes started out in olive oil and Italian spices with a splash of red wine.  Then came the turkey sausage chunks and tomato sauce.

Throw it over the quinoa and voila!

Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion chopped
1 large bell pepper (we used orange) chopped
1 large tomato chopped
1 turn of olive oil
Basil, oregano, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper
1 cup of turkey sausage crumbles (cook according to package directions)
14 ounces of tomato sauce

1 cup quinoa (cook according to package directions)

Recipe
Saute the vegetables over medium heat with spices.
After the vegetables have softened, add a splash of red wine and the sausage (cooked), allowing to cook for about 5 more minutes.

(At this point, it is a good idea to start the quinoa, giving the sauce enough time to cook.)

Add the tomato sauce to the veggies, throw in some more spices and cover, cooking over low heat until the quinoa is done.  Again, remember the salt to counteract the sweetness of the canned tomato sauce.

[Easy] Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches!

I decided to make a batch of each gluten-free and gluten-filled chocolate covered peanut-butter pretzels during a weekend trip to the Poconos with a group of friends. You can never go wrong with a combination of pretzels, peanut-butter and chocolate.

Ingredients
One small bag of Gluten-free pretzels
One larger bag of regular pretzels (I chose a shape that allowed me to make a sandwich with peanut-butter)
2 cups skippy peanut butter
(Skippy because it was labeled gluten-free)*
One bag of semi-sweet chocolate chip

*I previously made these but added powered sugar and butter to the peanut-butter. To be honest, I couldn't tell a difference without the extra sugar and calories.  

Recipe:

I lined two cookie sheets with wax paper and began to melt the chocolate chips in a double broiler. While they were melting, I placed two pretzels together with a small amount of peanut butter in between. I started with the gluten-free ones so I didn't contaminate the chocolate or peanut butter. I filled up about a half of one cookie sheet with the peanut-butter gluten-free pretzel sandwiches. By that time, the chocolate was melted (I had to stir the chocolate every once in a while). I dipped the peanut-butter sandwiches in the chocolate, while also using a spoon to help drizzle it onto the sandwiches, and then replaced them onto the wax-papered cookie sheets. I repeated until all gluten-free peanut-butter sandwiches were dipped in chocolate and then moved onto to doing the same thing with gluten-filled pretzels. Using the gluten-filled pretzels, I filled up the entire cookie sheet.



I allowed the pretzels to cool on the counter before placing in two separate containers. They were quite delicious and didn't last long at the Poconos!

Cucumber Salad with Soy-Sriracha Dressing

For our failed sushi attempt, we had planned to put cucumber in some of our rolls.  When we switched to a stir fry, we just didn't see cucumber fitting into it, so we decided to make a salad of it instead. An issue came up when we didn't have a salad dressing to go with an Asian entree.  Necessity is the mother of invention, and with us, it is usually a spicy invention.

We started with a 2 part soy sauce base and added one part Sriracha chili sauce and a splash of rice vinegar.  We also shaved some cucumber with a peeler and added diced onion to the sauce to give it some body and flavor.  It turned out super spicy and was quite good.

The best part was using this dressing on the left overs.  The time in the fridge allowed the flavor of the onions and cucumber to release into the soy sauce.  A container of this spicy-salty goodness is going to be a staple in our fridge.

Soy-Sriracha Dressing
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Sriracha Chili Sauce
Shaved cucumber
1/4 cup minced onion

Combine all ingredients, enjoy!

Asian Stir Fry

After receiving two sushi books at Christmas, we figured it was a good time to attempt a few homemade rolls. We decided to start easy with just vegetables in case they didn't turn out as planned. And it was a good thing we did. After reading both books about how to prepare the sushi rice, we were quite intimidated about the first step of the process. Since I'm not really one to follow directions that well (or at all), I decided we could figure it out along the way. We weren't far along before I realized the rice was not sticky enough to roll. So we had a heaping of cooked rice and a ton of vegetables... Stir fry!



Ingredients:
- One and a half cups of rice (we used long grain, the first error in our sushi attempt)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons salt
- 1 boneless and skinless chicken breast
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of Gluten Free Soy Sauce*
- Few tablespoons of olive oil
- Cumin, garlic and red pepper flakes
- 4 or 5 sliced mushrooms (small)
- 3 to 4 stalks of chopped celery
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cut asparagus
- 1/4 cup chopped green pepper

* We decided to go lighter on the soy sauce as you can always add it in the end. We ended up not even needing to.

Recipe:
We cooked the rice in a rice cooker per (almost) manufacturer's directions. After allowing the rice to cool roughly 15 minutes in a separate bowl, we added the rice vinegar and salt. The rice sat while we cooked the chicken and vegetables.

We thinly sliced the chicken breast and pan cooked it in a wok over medium heat with olive oil, cumin, garlic and red pepper flakes. When fully cooked, we removed the chicken and put aside.

Next came the vegetables. We added more olive oil, cumin and garlic to the wok and started the sautee with the celery, green pepper and onion. Once they began to soften, we added the asparagus and mushrooms. We allowed time for all the vegetables to soften, adding a little more olive oil as needed.

We then added the rice and soy sauce. We mixed that around until all the rice was covered and then added the cooked chicken. We allowed a few minutes for all the ingredients to fully mix together, removed from the heat and served with spicy cucumber salad (see next post), Sriracha on the side and two glasses of red wine (Pinot Nior complemented nicely). While I love sushi and I am not ready to give up,  failing our first homemade attempt resulted in a great stir fry!      

Zesty Marinara Pizza

Pizza - the Holy Grail of the gluten and lactose free twenty-something.  We lived off of it in college and the taste and memories just make you feel good.  But what to do when you can't eat the crust OR the cheese?  As our dear friend Doug said, "Ill give you some sliced tomatoes and you can call it pizza."  Not very appetizing.

Luckily, on our apartment hunting trip to Pittsburgh, we found a nice little gem in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Gluuteny Bakery.  Brittany was as wide eyed as a kid in a candy store.  Bread.  Cookies. Brownies. WHOOPIE PIES? And the most beautiful thing in the whole store? Pre-mixed pizza dough.  We bought it.  We had to - it was a sign. A sign that we would be able to have a normal Friday night!

So we went a little nuts and came up with this gem. We like spicy foods and to eat on the somewhat healthy side, so we cooked up a little marinara with a kick, topped it with some ground turkey (left over from Mexican night),  fresh mushrooms, and gluten and lactose free cheddar cheese.*

Ingredients:
- One Gluuteny "Old World" Pizza Crust
- Half cup yellow onions - diced
- Quarter cup mushrooms - sliced
- One small can (10 ounce) tomato sauce
- Quarter cup ground turkey - browned
- Half cup of Cheddar flavored Veggie Shreds (It melts!)
- Garlic, Basil, Oregano, Salt and Pepper to taste
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes







We prepared the crust almost per package directions. We pre-baked the crust for 5 minutes and coated it with olive oil for a nice browning.  While the pizza was pre-baking, we made the sauce.







We sauteed the onions until slightly brown over medium heat. Next we reduced the heat to low, added tomato sauce and seasoned to taste.  We added a fair amount of salt to cut the sweetness of the tomato sauce and a LOT of crushed red pepper, hence the zesty title.

We turned this...

... into this!

We topped the pizza with sauce, sliced mushrooms, and ground turkey.  Last came the cheese. We baked according to package directions (another 10 minutes or so) or as Brittany likes to say, "you take it out when it is done." Quite the scientist.

And no meal would be complete without a glass or two of wine.  Our selection tonight was a lovely Pinot Noir from the Pinot Evil Cellars.  Wine with pizza SHOULD come out of a box.

*We know, we know, it is SUPPOSED to be mozzarella.  But when you find a store that has ANY soy cheese, you can't complain about the flavor options.  The cheddar went well with the shrooms and turkey anyway.