Crock Pot Breakfast: Cran-Maple-Apple Steel Cut Oats

Happily helping Mommy mix the cinnamon in!

Isaac was more than willing to help me prep this crock-pot meal. He loves to help in the kitchen and especially loves each of the ingredients that went into this meal. He sampled everything and became excited when he found out it would have oatmeal in it. Then, he adapted 'Someone's in the Kitchen with Dina" to.. "Someone's mixing apples with Mommy", making it into a full fledged song re-mix.



Once he realized the camera was on him,
he became my ham again :)

This is an extremely easy crock-pot breakfast. The trick was to throw everything in the night before and just cook on very low all night.


Crock Pot Breakfast: Cran-Maple-Apple Steel Cut Oats
(GF, DF/CF, CoF, SF, NF, EF)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of steel cut oats
         (I used Gluten Free Bob's Red Mill- be sure you use steel cut and not regular oats!)
3 diced Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
2.5 cups apple or apple-grape  juice  (I used apple-grape for some extra zing)
3.5 cups water
1 TBS cinnamon (in retrospect, maybe cuting this down to 1-2 tsp would be better!)
2 TBS Maple Syrup
Pinch of Sea Salt

Throw it all in, cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Let me know your thoughts!

Naturally,
Raych

3-Ingredient, Non dairy Frozen "Ice Cream", Banana-Chocolate-Peanut Butter!

This recipe is AWESOME. That's really all I have to say about how it came out. I did not develop this recipe at all, but rather, I'm passing it along to you from a pin I found on pinterest: http://userealbutter.com/2010/08/12/single-ingredient-ice-cream-recipe/.

The irony of this web address, is that this recipe does not call for any dairy. I wish I would have known about this recipe when my eldest son Isaac was younger. He was unable to consume dairy without getting "ill", an "intestinal milk allergy", not lactose intolerance. While he can now each most dairy products within limitation, I would give him (and my younger son Henri) this treat anyday! Lets face it, I feel like the whole family shouldn't be eating as much dairy as we do... since we all get stomach issues. Not to mention that this is a relatively healthy snack!

The only sugar in this treat is from the banana. I use all-natural panut butter with no sugar added. For my littlest guy Henri, I only used banana and cocoa. For whatever reason I am worried about having him try peanut butter, I don't remember being this nervous with Isaac. That being said, he will be tryign peanut butter tomorrow... when we are at my praetns house... which is closer to "help" shoudl we find out he's allergic. I live in the woods and at least 20 minutes form the nearest medical center- food allergies scare me. Henri is already known to be allergic to kiwi and mango (like me).

Ok, so on to the recipe...

This is the blend at a Fro-Yo consistency,
you CAN freeze longer for an ice cream texture!

Non-Dairy "Ice Cream", Banana-Chocolate-Peanut Butter

GF, DF/CF, CoF, SF, EF (Can make it NF, as I did for my mini-man!)

"4 bananas, just slightly overripe (I used 5 or 6 bananas)
2 tbsps creamy peanut butter (and I used 3 TBS)
2 tsps cocoa powder (Dutch process) (I used 1 TBS, to much chocolate before bed doesn't work for my kids)

DO NOT FREEZE THE WHOLE BANANA, you’ll have a heck of a time blending that beast.
Peel the bananas and slice them up into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick disks. Place the banana slices in the freezer for about an hour or until they are frozen solid. Put the frozen slices in a food processor and pulse. First they will start to resemble gravel, but keep going. The bananas will soon turn into a frozen mush – at this point, start scraping the sides down. The banana begins to blend into a creamy texture. When the bananas look like whipped ice cream, you can add your mix-ins like peanut butter and/or cocoa powder..."

The quantity I made was a little over a pint. Enought to feed 4 of us pretty good size servings. I would reccomend that you re-freeze the blended banana & other ingredients before serving, otherwise is more like a smoothie or "yogurt". I blended the chocolate in first, then removed some for Henri, THEN added in the peanut butter.

The whole family enjoyed this treat. I will definately be making this again!

Let me know your thoughts!

Naturally,

Raych

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries and Quinoa

It sure has been a while since I have posted any recipes. That being said, I have been constantly writing down new recipes, with no time to actually post them! It's a busy life :)

I started a new teaching job at the begining of this school year, adding an extra 20 minutes of commute time and a tiny bit more stress to my schedule. It has been a struggle to get tastey, healthy, and 100% natural home-cooked meals on the table every night. Unfortunately, that has meant the addition of some shortcuts in my cooking.

Tonight's meal, however, was a different story... a return to my goal or providing my family with some healthy made-from-scratch goodness. I can not, in any way, take credit for this recipe... I quite honestly found its precursor on pinterest. My adaptation is very similar to the original found at http://cookieandkate.com/2012/roasted-brussels-sprouts-with-cranberries-and-barley/. Biggest differences being my preparation technique and timing... and the fact that I do not use barley... I'M GLUTEN FREE! Either way, this sounded like a deliciously nutritious fall meal, using mostly ingredients that are IN SEASON (another big goal).

Once we had finished this dinner, which I had served with a sub-par steak (sorry to my hubby, Justin) I returned to my pinterest page to collect the recipe for another pin... a banana/peanut-butter/chocolate faux ice cream. That recipe should also be posted tonight, with credit, of course, being given to it's original author!

And before bed... I will be prepping up a delicious steel cut oat based breakfast to cook over night in the crockpot! If all goes to plan, that recipe will be posted tomorrow. I had a quick conversation with a woman in the GF section at Price Chopper today regarding what I do with steel cut oats- so maybe she'll search online and find my recipe too?

So, here is the recipe. It could be used as a main course, depending on the grain you use, or as a side-dish (you could avoid the grains all together).

(The picture does the final product no justice- DELICIOUS!)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries and Quinoa

(GF, SF, CoF, EF) It can be made without the pecans or the gorgonzola if you need DF/CF or NF!

Ingredients:
1 lb Brussel sprouts, "cleaned" and sliced in half
1 cup fresh cranberries
Sea salt Olive oil
1 cup quinoa
1 tsp onion powder
A little under 1/4 cup Gorgonzola
3 Tbs Pecans, crushed
Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs Maple syrup

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400* F
Prepare/slice and clean the Brussel sprouts
Toss the sprouts with 2 Tbs olive oil and 2 tsp sea salt
Heat a frying pan to medium temp, then add the Brussel sprouts.
 
 Try to keep the sliced side down for a nice golden color.
Cook for about 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup of cranberries, stir, and immediately transfer to a casserole/ baking dish
Bake at 400* F for 30 minutes, stirring once.

Meanwhile, in the pan you just cooked the sprouts in... Add 2 Tbs olive oil and 1 cup quinoa.
Stir, then stir in 1 cup water and the onion powder.
Allow to cook for a bit, until water is absorbed, then add another 1 cup of water
Remove sprouts/cranberries from oven
Toss in pecans
Drizzle balsamic vinegar and maples syrup over the top.
Serve over the quinoa sprinkled with Gorgonzola.

This was delicious and decently healthy. I am actually considering making this as a side dish, without the quinoa, for Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks!

Let me know your thoughts; and, as usual- email me should you have any recipes you would liek to see adapted to Gluten free or allergen friendly. I am always up for a challenge!

Naturally,
Raych

Recipe 37: GF Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

I made this delicious treat for the first time as we celebrated both Mother's day and mym moms birthday... it was a hige hit. Unfortunately, I am posting this AFTER rhubarb season, but I will be making this, without a doubt, next season!!!

GLUTEN FREE Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Filling
·         3 ½ cups rhubarb stalks cut into 1/4-inch pieces (I peel the stringy layer off and you MUST throw away the leaves… they are poisonous.)
·         2 ½ cups strawberries, sliced
·         ¾  cup white sugar
·         3 Tablespoons of quick cooking tapioca
·         1 TBS Lemon juice

Crust

·         2 Tbsp white sugar
·         ½ cup brown rice flour
·         ¼ cup tapioca starch
·         ¼ cup potato starch
·         1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
·         1 ½ tsp xanthan gum
·         1/4 teaspoon salt
·         1/4 cup butter
·         1/4 cup milk
·         1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, mix the rhubarb and the strawberries with the sugar, tapioca, and lemon juice. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Combine the crust ingredients in a bowl.

Pour filling into a casserole dish. Drop the crust batter over the filling.

Bake in a 350°F oven for 35-40 minutes until cobbler crust is golden brown.

You can serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream of choice.


Let me know you're thoughts! This is one of my favs!

Naturally,

Raych

Recipe 36: Gluten Free Waffles

 I am going through a series of recipes tht I have been writting down but have failed to post on here. For that reason you will likely see a slew of posts coming up that were written in the past, but I had not had time to edit and add images! It has been a busy spring and summer. I actually go back to teaching in a couple of weeks and I have no idea where my summer vacation went!

One thing I did have more time for over the summer was making some delicious breakfast meals for my family. Usually I'm up and out of the house before anyone else is awake during the school year!

Here's one of our favorites... it cqa be topped with ANY seasonal fruit or frozen and reduced berries!

Gluten Free Waffles

GF, CoF, Can be DF/CF if you use an alt milk, NF & SF (pending your oil choice)

Adapted from a recipe at “thishomemadelife.com”

 Ingedients:

2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 TBS baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 TBS sugar
1/2 cup of veggie oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or make your own with 1 tablespoons lemon juice and enough milk to reach 1 1/2 cups)
1 TBS vanilla

 Preheat the waffle iron.

Combine all dry ingredients and add wet ingredients one by one until mixture is nearly smooth (it may be just a little lumpy, but that’s ok)

I use a large beligian waffle maker, but I would say for you to just use your best jusgement on how much batter to out in the waffle iron. Cook until golden and not sticking to the iron.

I love this recipe because my whole family can enjoy it without anyone feeling they need to say it "tastes" gluten free! My only other reccomendation or issue would be that it does not refrigerate well if you have extra. I haven't tried freezing, but I'm sure if I had placed even the refrigerated one back in the toasted for a bit it would be great too!

Let me know your thoughts or what you may have changed or added?!

Naturally,

Raych

Recipe 35: Sauteed Kale with Turkey Meatballs (BABY FOOD option included)

Sauteed Kale with Turkey Meatballs (BABY FOOD option included)
IMAGES WILL BE UPDATED SOON!

Saute Blend:
2 cups of kale
1- 10oz container of mushrooms
1/2 medium onion, sliced into thin pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 tbs water
olive oil (for cooking kale and onion/mushrooms)

Saute the onion and peppers in enough olive oil to coat pan... until it starts to carmelize, add in the kale, 1 tbs minced garlic and salt. Saute on medium, then add 1 tbs water so kale does not burn and steams a little. Continue to stir for 3-5 more minutes, until kale becomes soft.

Turkey Meatballs:
1 lb ground turkey (not turkey breast- too dry for this recipe)
2 TBS minced garlic
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp basil (dried minced)
2 FLAX "eggs" (2 flax gel eggs= 2 Tbs ground flax and 6 Tbs water) I used flax gel
1/2 cup of GF breadcrumbs (I used Gillian's)

PreHeat oven to 350
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
Create 1 inch balls and space about 1.5" apart on a lined baking sheet.
Cook until golden (about 25 minutes)

Serve meatballs sprinkled with parmesan on top of the kale saute.


You can blend a desired portion into baby food. My son Henri loved it!!

Naturally,
Raych

Recipe 34: Gluten Free Chocolate Banana-Nut Bread

Paying homage to my friend Chrissy- a HUGE Monkees fan (specifically Davy Jones, who passed away this past week) I had decided to make to GF Banana Nut Bread... because as Chrissy said, while she may not know what Davy's favorite foods are, "everyone knows 'Monkeys' like bananas".
And, while Davy may or may not have enjoyed bananas... I sure as heck enjoy chocolate... so I added some in. By some, I mean a lot.

While my post itself isn't long this time around... trust me... the bread speaks volumes. YUMMM!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

GF, CoF, SF

(DF: if you avoid the chocolate chips or use Carob or Enjoy Life brand...

NF: You could also forego nuts if needed)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup tapioca starch

1 1/2 Cup Brown Rice flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4-5 medium)

1 cup sugar

2 TBS Cocoa

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

½ cup white chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli)

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Combine wet ingredients
Sift in dry ingredients (flours)
Add in nuts and chocolate chips last. (I sprinkled some buts on top too)
Coat a large loaf pan (or two small loaf pans)
Bake for 40-50 minutes. I did one large pan and it overflowed... so it may have taken be longer.


This makes a LARGE loaf. Be forewarned. If the dough exceeds 3/4 up the pan.. use two pans or do two batches... Mine overflowed as it rose. It WAS still absolutely delicious.

This recipe was a hit... and gone well before it hit the 24 hr mark on my counter.

Enjoy!

Naturally,

Raych