Month: November 2014

Cottage Pie Topped with Fresh Herbs

It’s cold outside! Warm up with this comforting classic made safer with just starch (either tapioca or corn starch) and water to thicken the gravy.

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Recipe:
3-4 cups (22 oz), leftover or fresh-made dairy-free garlic mashed potatoes. (Cook potatoes and garlic cloves until soft. Drain only half of the cooking water. Mash, adding salt amd garlic powder to taste.)
1/4 cup (2 oz) chopped fresh thyme and parsley or cilantro (set aside).
1 pound (8 oz.) ground beef
1 med onion, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups (16 oz) baby carrots
1 Tablespoon of corn or tapioca starch mixed with 1 cup of water.
1 teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, and italian seasoning
1 Tablespoon of steak sauce (most steak sauces are safe but check ingredients to be sure they are safe for you, if not, replace with either 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce or 1 Tbsp of tomato paste with a dash of cider vinegar)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet over med-high heat, brown ground beef and onions together.
When beef is browned, add garlic and carrots and sauté for 1 minute. (Carrots will mostly cook in oven).
Add seasonings and the starch mixed with water. If too thick, add more water, 1/2 cup at a time until desired consistency.
Add steak sauce, stir, and pour mixture into an 8×8 baking dish.
Taste to make sure you seasoned it to your liking.
Top with mashed potatoes.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Take out of the oven and sprinkle fresh herbs and fresh cracked pepper on top.

Recipe can be doubled for more than 3-4 people.

Green Apple Tacos with Cinnamon-Sugar

We often walk by Annie’s Pretzels and we miss those delightful cinnamon-sugary bites. This works well to fix that craving.

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Recipe:

Cut up some green apples, set aside.

Warm corn tortillas (or gluten-free tortillas) in a skillet with coconut oil or canola oil.

Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar and stuff with the apples.

Eat! 🙂

We loved these. My son especially loved these as he prefers crispy fresh apples. If you want to get creative, you could cook your apples down, or add pecans, shredded coconut, dates, rum-soaked raisins, shredded carrots, maple breakfast sausage – or whatever you think would be good!

Have fun!

Old Bay Salmon Salad

Appease a seafood craving with Old Bay seasoned salmon salad.

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Measurements below are approximate, always taste your food and add more spices as needed.

4 cups leftover cold salmon
1 cup Hellman’s canola-based mayo (it has no soy but double check to be sure it hasn’t changed)
2 stalks celery, minced
1 small red onion, minced (optional)
Chopped fresh parsley (if you have it, if not, it’s still good without it)
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

Mix together until blended. Taste and add seasoning if needed.

Serve with crackers (if you can eat crackers), or roll up in romaine lettuce leaves, or do like we do: eat as is with a side of apples and/or red grapes. Yum!

Easy Salmon and Toasted Sesame Kale

If you have a limited Paleo-style diet, and can have (and like) fish, try an easy pan poached salmon with a side of sauteed kale.

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To make this easy on yourself. Thaw your packages of salmon in the refrigerator (in a bowl) the morning or night before you plan to cook it.

We took two packages of frozen salmon from ALDI and did it this way. It made the packages so much easier to open and the fish slid right out. Without the the thawing, you’ll be dealing with hard bricks of fish that are difficult to open. Trying to do this with really cold hands just adds to the unpleasantness of dealing with frozen fish. So, thaw. Your hands and frustration meter will thank you.

When ready to cook, put in a large pan on stovetop over med high head with a little water, salt, and a generous dusting of Italian seasoning. Cook until done, about 3-5 min on each side.

While that is finishing, sauté about 6-8 cups of kale in a large saucepan with about 1/2 cup water. After it has wilted, add salt, garlic powder and toasted sesame oil to taste.

Whatever doesn’t get eaten, put in the fridge to enjoy later.

When dealing with multiple food allergies, use the time you are making something, to make more than you need. Ready-made meals are a luxury when you have multiple food allergies, so plan ahead for some easy nights!

Enjoy!