Tag: comfort food

Scotch Eggs with Bacon Dip – No One Notices They are Gluten-Free ;-)

These appetizers are a true pleasure to serve and eat! Scotch Eggs are currently a more well-known treat in the U.K. but are beginning to gain popularity in the U.S.,particularly in Irish Pubs. This version is made gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free  – but no one cares because they are so good! (A goal we always strive for). The dipping sauce is optional. Most people do a mustard dip, but you might also enjoy the Bacon Dip (see recipe at bottom) that we happened to like with these.

Tip: Don’t salt the outer crust. Let the flavor of the sausage be the life of the party!

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Gluten-Free Scotch Eggs

(double, triple, or quadruple the recipe for parties)

1 16-oz package of ingredient-safe uncased sausage* (either breakfast sage or italian flavor)

4 large eggs

1 egg, whisked with 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup quinoa, sorghum, or rice flour mixed with 1/2 cup cornstarch or tapioca starch

3/4 cup cornmeal or quinoa flakes

*Note: Check the ingredients on the sausage you purchase. Most have wheat, soy, and/or diary fillers. Be particularly careful of purchasing sausage from an independent sausage maker. Get to know them and find out what ingredients they use and how they manage cross-contamination.

Step 1:

Place the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with water, add 1 tsp baking soda (helps with peeling later), and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes and then remove from heat. Let the eggs stand for 15 minutes to soft cook.

Step 2:

Prepare an assembling station. A bowl for the sausage, a plate to press the sausage, a bowl for the flour, a bowl for the egg wash, a bowl for the cornmeal or quinoa flakes. A pan or plate to hold the sausage prepared eggs.

Step 3:

Peel eggs and rinse if needed. Divide sausage into quarters. With the first quarter, press onto a plate into a large disk about 1/2 inch thick. Set an egg in the middle of the sausage disk and gently wrap the sausage around the whole egg, being careful not to break the egg. Repeat for the remaining eggs.

Take each sausage-wrapped egg and dip into egg wash, then roll in flour, then egg again, then roll in cornmeal or quinoa flakes. (Traditionally, this is done with regular flour and breadcrumbs.)

Repeat for each egg.

Step 4:

In a deep skillet over medium-high heat, bring the oil to 350 degrees F. Add the eggs and cook for about 2-3 minutes, then turn over and cook the other side so that the eggs start cooking evenly all around. Cook for about another 12-18 minutes, turning occasionally to make sure all sides are thoroughly cooked.

Check temp of the oil and make sure it remains hot (be careful it doesn’t get too hot or you’ll burn the coating).

When the eggs are dark golden browned, they are likely done.

Cut in half to expose the egg and serve warm. Many people also enjoy these cold.

You could serve these with a warm dijon mustard or try:

Bacon Dip

3/4 cup canola-based mayo (to avoid the soy oil)

1 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder.

1 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon mustard

1 slice of cooked bacon, crumbled fine

fresh cracked pepper to taste

Mix all together, top with fresh parsley (optional), and enjoy!!!

Roasted Potatoes with Red Onions and Rosemary

Roasted Potatoes

These were a tremendous hit at a family gathering. Best thing is that they are free of the top 8 food allergens! The secret ingredient for these is a tiny bit of mustard. Any food that is a somewhat neutral flavor such as potatoes, eggs, squash and other similar neutral flavored foods do really well a bit of something acidic to brighten it up and bring out the flavor. This is a perfect accompaniment for any dish in any season. This went particular well with an Easter Ham and Deviled Eggs. Enjoy!

Roasted Potatoes with Red Onions and Rosemary

parchment paper*

5 lb bag of red potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 large red onions, peeled and cut into large chunks

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tsp salt

2 tsp cracked pepper

2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp dried rosemary (can use fresh if you like, but use half as much and chop it finely)

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

Directions:

After you peel, rinse, and cut the potatoes, bring the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set the rack to the middle position. Line a deep large casserole dish with parchment paper (*note: this helps keep the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan).

Put the potatoes, onions, salt, pepper, and rosemary into the dish and coat with oil. Toss the potatoes in the seasoning and oil until well coated. Bake for 45 minutes.

Stir the potatoes, being careful not to push the parchment paper off of the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 15 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and some of the edges are a nice crisp golden brown color.

Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and stir in the Italian seasoning and mustard and more salt to taste.

Easy Allergen-Free Weeknight Dinner Series: “Cheesy” Chicken and Rice

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

This is reminiscent of the broccoli, cheese and rice casserole that is popular in Oklahoma and which was usually present at nearly every potluck I attended as a child. I looked forward to potlucks for this very dish. I loved the creamy combination of rice and cheese. If I could compare it to another delicious dish, I would say that this is a Southwest version of a delicious risotto. The version I made here does not have broccoli because I didn’t have any on hand, so I subbed red bell pepper and celery and it was a hit. You may decide on different veggies as the base of this is pretty versatile.

I made this in the skillet, but you could certainly bake this in a casserole dish after browning the meat and onions, and keep it warm until guests come over. Add some gluten-free breadcrumbs and put it under the broiler for a bit for browning. My family went back for seconds AND thirds, so I don’t think they missed the real cheese. 🙂

Make ahead notes for quicker weeknight dinner prep: Make large batches of rice on the weekend and freeze in 2 cup portions. You can also do the same for mashed or grated potatoes. For your protein, keep three packages of meat thawing in the refrigerator at all times. When you use one, get another package out to thaw and keep rotating. Use the one that has been thawing the longest. Fish usually thaws in one day, so you may want to plan differently for fish. Having rice handy and meat thawed out will make your dinner prep quicker and easier. Use canned beans for meatless nights (try to get the canned beans that do not have EDTA as a preservative. Ingredients should just be beans, water, salt.)

Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground chicken

1 small yellow onion or 1/2 of large white onion, chopped

2 cups cooked med or long grain rice

1-2 cups of water

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon, dried sage

1/2 teaspoon, dried thyme

2 ribs, celery, chopped large

1 red bell pepper, chopped medium

1-2 cups daiya vegan cheese

2 Tablespoons earth balance vegan margarine (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Optional: 2 slices of allergen-free bread, toasted dark golden brown, crumbled

or 1/2 cup Mary’s Gone Crackers’ Herb Flavored Gluten-Free crackers, crumbled

Directions:

1. Brown ground chicken and onions in a large skillet over medium heat.

2. Put your frozen rice in the middle (if you made it in advance) and add some water. Cover and let boil and steam, stirring occasionally to break up the rice, add more water if needed.

3. When rice is hot and incorporated, remove lid and add spices and veggies. Let simmer until water is mostly evaporated.

4. Turn heat to low and add the vegan cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning and amount of cheese to your liking. If you do not have vegan cheese, try using a combination of vegan margarine and nutritional yeast.

5. (Optional) For a crunchy breadcrumb topping, process some Mary’s Gone Crackers Herb-Flavored gluten-free crackers in a small food processor and sprinkle over top. Or, you could toast a slice or two of gluten-free bread, process in a food processor or crumble over top.

Garnish with fresh parsley, basil or rosemary or add hot sauce if you like.

Tasty Macaroni and Cheese for the Dairy-Free Crowd (with Variations on a Theme)

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I’m overdue in putting this up on my wordpress page. So, here it is! A common weeknight staple in our house, this has a mild cheese flavor, like American cheese, and as most veteran dairy-free cooks know, the secret ingredient is Nutritional Yeast. You could add some Daiya cheese substitute to this also, but Daiya also uses nutritional yeast for their cheese flavor, plus pea protein and binders. So, to save my food budget, I just stick with the nutritional yeast and use a combination of a few ingredients in the recipe below that should be accessible to most, if not all, dairy-free cooks.

A little word about the credibility of this recipe (as I always appreciate it when others tell me that they actually make their recipe and that other people like it):

My son remembers having Mac n’ Cheese for most of his pre-school time. It wasn’t until he was 5 years old that his body started completely rejecting gluten/wheat and also dairy. He came up positive for dairy allergy at the doctor’s office with a deduction of celiac with regard to the wheat/gluten. I was vexed by living without diary. We lived in NJ where Italian food is prevalent. We usually had bread and pasta with cheese almost every night. Parmesan cheese became a flavoring of choice for a lot of my dishes. I made ricotta stuffed shells at least once a week. And aside from the Italian food, we loved grilled cheese and mac n’ cheese…. and rice n’ cheese. Oh, how we loved our cheese.

Trying to find ways to have “cheesy” things again is quite a challenge. After all, I’m still working on the non-dairy cheesecake recipe. In the meantime, this recipe is a big winner at home. My son, who recalls the real thing, really loves this. My fiance thinks its great and especially loves it when I add a little bit of meat sauce to it to make it a cheesy mac n’ beef. It’s decadent and satisfies our cravings for a hearty meal.

Here’s how to make it:

Cook a 16-oz package of your favorite gluten-free pasta, be careful to not overcook (I usually set the timer for two minutes less than the minimum recommended time as it will still cook a little on the stove while you are adding ingredients).

Drain the pasta and put back in the pot and turn the heat down to medium-low.

Add:

1 cup of your favorite allergen-free chicken broth

1/2 cup of Earth Balance dairy-free margarine (or 1/4 cup of light olive oil)

1/4 to 1/3 cup of Nutritional Yeast depending on how much cheese flavor you want

1 teaspoon of onion powder

1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard

salt to taste (very necessary for cheese flavor. Remember, the cheese making process involves salt)

pepper to taste (optional)

 

Stir and serve!

And, if you want to make it like a Hamburger Helper, or a full one-pot meal, here are some variations on the Mac n’ Cheese theme:

Sausage.

Meat sauce.

Chili meat or beans.

Baby spinach and sauteed onions and mushrooms.

Cubed cooked chicken and diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning.

Tuna, peas and hot sauce such as Louisiana Hot Sauce or a milder Cholula (I’ve always loved this combination).

My fiance just suggested using gluten-free beer instead of chicken broth to make the sauce. Hmm. Interesting idea. I might have to try that.

I have a friend that just makes the sauce (without the pasta) and uses it for nachos.

Do you have any more ideas?

 

 

Chicken Shepherd’s Pie

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I hope this savory shepherd’s pie, free of the eight common food allergens, is something you find delicious, comforting and satisfying. I want to tell you a secret about the mashed potatoes: keep the colander in the cabinet and don’t pour out all of the potato water. Leave about an inch of the potato water in the bottom of your stockpot as your liquid for mashing. There is a lot of flavor in that water (and also nutrients). Also, it’s easier and less expensive than using a milk substitute. As you know, I’m a fan of spending as little of my money on special ingredients as I can, so I used olive oil instead of earth balance, at least for the potatoes. Many of these ingredients are from ALDI. I shop there for many things so that I can save my money for things like the special ingredients I can’t do without. Okay, enough chit-chat, here is the recipe:

Peel, wash and put your potatoes in a large stock pot with boiling water. You only need about 6-8 potatoes but I make a whole bunch to save for leftovers. Start boiling your potatoes (Idaho potatoes work best for mashing but feel free to use what you have on hand). While those are cooking, prepare your chicken filling.

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In a deep skillet add:

One package of chicken tenders (about 2 pounds) – you can even put them in frozen, they’ll just have to cook longer until done. I do this all the time since I’m not a fan of using the microwave. If you have only chicken thighs or legs, or you’d rather do this with beef, lamb or pork, go for it!

1 yellow or white onion, medium diced

1 green bell pepper, medium diced

8 fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 stalks celery, small diced

10-15 baby carrots

water for simmering (the water will pick up flavor of everything, no need for broth)

1 tsp dried sage

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp onion powder

1-2 tsp salt

fresh cracked pepper to taste

Cover and simmer over medium heat until your chicken is cooked all the way through and your carrots and celery are tender. Watch and add more water if needed as you don’t want it to burn. When done, lower temperature and add:

1/4 cup of earth balance or olive oil

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp yellow or dijon mustard

If you don’t have the earth balance or nutritional yeast, don’t fret, this will still taste good!

Stir and keep warm while you prepare the potatoes as follows:

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Drain the potato water until you are left with about 1 inch of water at the bottom. Keep the water in there. Add 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 Tbsp onion powder, 1-2 tsp salt and cracked pepper to taste. Always taste and be sure you like it.

Set your oven to broil (or 500 degrees Fahrenheit) and then assemble the pie. Add the filling to an 8-inch or 9-inch pie dish, top with enough mashed potatoes to cover and then sprinkle 1/4 cup rice flour or your favorite gluten free flour blend on top. Using a pastry brush, lightly drizzle 1/8 cup of olive or vegetable oil over the the flour, getting as much of the flour oiled up as you can. Dust with paprika, salt, pepper, and ground mustard. I found a spice grinder at ALDI for poultry and I love it for this application (it has all of the spices I just mentioned and no bad additives).

Put your oven rack to the top of your oven, put in your pie and broil for 5-15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Depending on the type of oil and flour you use for your topping, this time can vary so keep a close watch on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Serve with chopped fresh rosemary. If you don’t have fresh rosemary, dried rosemary or dried Italian seasoning would also work.

If you have any questions, let me know. Happy Eating!