Gluten Free
This is a meal that made me rethink spaghetti squash. I thought I didn’t like spaghetti squash, but in reality I really just didn’t like how it was prepared before. So, if you think you don’t like spaghetti squash, why not give this recipe a try and see if it changes your mind too!
Ingredients:
1 Spaghetti Squash
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 Head Broccoli, cut into florets
2 Cloves Garlic, finely grated
3 Chicken Breasts
1-2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with foil.
Half the squash lengethwise, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Place on the baking sheet cut side down. Bake for 15 minutes.
Add the broccoli to the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, toss with the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Place on baking sheet and return to oven. Bake another 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the squash is soft.
Scrape the spaghetti squash out into a large bowl. Chop the chicken and add it to the bowl along with the broccoli. Toss to combine.
Serves: 4
Tags: Broccoli, Chicken, Dairy Free, Dinner, Gluten Free, Spaghetti Squash, Squash
Sweet and tangy roasted chicken drumsticks make for a simple and delicious dinner that is perfect for company.
Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
12 Drumsticks
Salt & Pepper
6 Tablespoons Honey
2 Limes, juice and zest
Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a large baking dish.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in the prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
Prepare the glaze by combining the honey and lime juice and zest together in a small bowl.
Pour the glaze over the chicken and bake for 20-30 minutes more until the chicken is cooked thoroughly, turning several times.
Yield: 12 Drumsticks
Tags: Chicken, Dairy Free, Dinner, Gluten Free, Honey
Risotto and sweet potatoes are two of my favorite things. Put them together and it’s a heavenly dish! This risotto would be good with any type of sweet potato.
Ingredients:
5 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
1-2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion, Chopped
1 Stalk Celery, diced
2 Cups Short Grain Brown Rice
1lb Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 Clove Garlic, finely grated
Salt & Pepper
Nutmeg, freshly grated
2 Tablespoons Butter
Heat the stock in a sauce pan and keep warm over low heat.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery. Cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add the rice and sweet potatoes, cooking 2-3 minutes to toast the grains. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Start adding the stock, 1-2 ladlefuls at a time. Stir frequently until almost all of the liquid is absorbed before adding more stock. Keep adding stock until the rice is softened and creamy. This will take about 45 minutes with brown rice.
Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a little nutmeg and stir in the butter.
Serves: 4
Tags: Dinner, Gluten Free, Risotto, Sweet Potato
Easiest and best tasting frosting ever! I doubled this recipe when I made it last time and froze half of it for later. The butterfly cake pictured above is from Chloe’s 2nd birthday.
Ingredients:
1 ½ Squares Bakers Chocolate
3 Tablespoons Water
3 Tablespoons Butter
12 Large Marshmallows
1 1/3 Cups Powdered Sugar
In a large bowl, microwave the chocolate, butter, water and marshmallows until melted. Microwaving in short intervals, stirring frequently. Cool in freezer for a few minutes.
Sift in the powdered sugar and stir to combine.
*Note: I forgot to sift the powdered sugar. Notice the lumps. It did end up being lump free after lots of stirring.
Yield: Frosting for 1 cake
Tags: Chocolate, Dessert, Frosting, Gluten Free
I think I say this all the time, but risotto is my favorite food. So creamy, delicious and cheesy. The asparagus is a nice addition to risotto.
Ingredients:
1 lb Asparagus, tough ends trimmed & cut into 1-inch pieces (keep the stalks separate from the tips)
6 to 7 cups Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
1 1/2 Cups Brown Rice
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Add half of the asparagus stalks (no tips). Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain and blend in a food processor with a little water until smooth. Set aside.
Heat the broth in a sauce pan and keep warm over low heat.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the rice and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the broth a ladle full at a time, stirring frequently until almost all the liquid is absorbed before adding more. Keep adding liquid until the rice is softened, about 45 minutes. After about 30 minutes, add in the remaining asparagus stalks and tips.
Once the rice is softened, stir in the asparagus puree.
Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: 4 Servings
Tags: Asparagus, Dinner, Gluten Free, Parmesan Cheese, Risotto
If you love almonds and cilantro, you will love this chicken!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups Blanched Almonds
1/4 Cup Cilantro
2 Eggs
4 Chicken Breasts
Salt and Pepper
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine the almonds and cilantro in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are finely ground. Pour onto a plate.
On another plate, beat the eggs with a splash of water.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip in the egg, coat with the ground almonds and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake until the chicken is cooked thoroughly, about 20 minutes.
Serves: 4
Tags: Almonds, Chicken, Chicken Breasts, Cilantro, Dairy Free, Dinner, Gluten Free
This soup is a great way to stretch a buck since you can feed 4-6 people with only 3 pork chops! Also, it was a great way for me to use up the last 3 pork chops in my fridge. Since the soup is cooked for a couple hours, everything has a nice, rich flavor. This could also be made in the slow cooker. I found this recipe on AllRecipes.com and modified it to my liking.
Ingredients:
3 Bone-In Pork Chops
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
1 Bay Leaf
3 Cups Chicken Broth
4 Cups Water
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
6 Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into small chunks
3 Cups Chopped Broccoli (about 2 small crowns)
1 Carrot, diced
1 Large Onion, diced
2 Stalks Celery, diced
Put the pork chops in a large soup pot. Sprinkle with the paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Add the bay leaf, broth and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove the pork chops and reserve on a plate.
Add the potatoes, broccoli, carrot, onion and celery. When the pork chops are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the bones, chop up the meat and return it to the pot. Bring to a bubble, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove bay leaf before serving.
Serves: 4-6
Tags: Broccoli, Carrots, Celery, Dairy Free, Dinner, Gluten Free, Pork, Potato, Soup
I’m usually terrible at making smoothies, but I thought I would give it another try. I found this recipe from the Martha Stewart website and decided to give it a try with only a slight modification. The original recipe called for raspberries, but I used strawberries instead. It turned out to be pretty good and was a great use for the coconut water I had in my freezer from the coconuts I opened a while back.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Ice
1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries
1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt
1 Banana
1/2 Cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
1 Tablespoon Honey
¾-1 Cup Coconut Water (or any juice)
Place the ice and frozen strawberries in the blender.
Add the remaining ingredients on top. For the coconut water/juice, just start with ¾ cup and add more if you need to.
Blend until smooth and enjoy!
Yield: 2 Servings
Tags: Banana, Breakfast, Coconut, Gluten Free, Oats, Smoothie, Snack, Snacks, Strawberries, Strawberry, Strawberry Smoothie
Bacon wrapped chicken breasts stuffed with blue cheese and arugula. What a divine combination. Blue cheese and bacon were made to be together and they are just so delicious in this dish. Even if you don’t like blue cheese (or think you don’t like blue cheese) you should really try this…it might change your mind.
Ingredients:
4 Chicken Breasts
4 Slices Thick Cut Bacon
1 Container Blue Cheese Crumbles
A Large Handful Arugula (or Baby Spinach)
Preheat oven to 425°F. Cover a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
Cut open the chicken breasts to make a pocket for the stuffing. Be careful not to cut all the way through the chicken breasts.
Stuff with a large spoonful of blue cheese and some arugula.
Wrap tightly with one bac
on strip. You may need to carefully stretch your bacon strips before wrapping so they reach all the way around a couple times. Make it so the ends of the bacon are under the chicken breast so it doesn’t come apart. Place on the baking sheet.
Bake until bacon is crispy and chicken is cooked thoroughly, about 20 minutes.
Serves: 4
Tags: Bacon, Bacon Wrapped, Blue Cheese, Chicken, Chicken Breasts, Dinner, Gluten Free, Stuffed Chicken
I love my slow cooker! It makes it so easy to make dinner on busy days, weekdays, when you have guests or really just any day of the week. I always use slow cooker liners to make for an easy clean up. This recipe comes from A Year Of Slow Cooking.
Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Turkey or Beef
1 Packet Taco Seasoning (McCormick)
1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix (or homemade – see below)
2 (15 oz) Cans Kindey Beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15oz) Cans Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15oz) Cans Corn (or about 2 cups frozen corn + a little water)
1 (28oz) Can Diced Tomatoes
1 (15 oz) Can Tomatoes with Green Chiles
Toppings: Shredded Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream
Brown the ground turkey or beef and place in the slow cooker. Sprinkle with the seasoning packets. Add the beans, corn and tomatoes. Stir to combine.
Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours (or high for 4-5 hours).
Serve with cheese and sour cream on top
Serves: 6
Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley
1 teaspoon Dried Dill Weed
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Dried Minced Onion
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Combine all ingredients together in a small bowl.
Tags: Corn, Crock Pot, Dairy Free, Dinner, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Ranch Dressing Mix, Ground Beef, Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix, Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Ranch Dressing Mix, Slow Cooker, Taco Seasoning, Tomatoes, Turkey