Recipes

Pear and Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 green pear, cut into 1×1 inch pieces
  • 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/3-1/2 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into cubes*
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 2 tsp fresh basil, chopped
  • 2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

Simply prepare the pear, tomatoes and mozzarella by cutting them to the appropriate size and place in a salad bowl. In a separate smaller bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (olive oil, lemon juice, red pepper, basil and parsley). Mix throughly. Pour this mixture over the pear, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Stir well and serve!

Enjoy!

* The amount of cheese is honestly up to you. I would recommend using either half or one-third of the fresh cheese

Kale Chips

I finally jumped on the bandwagon and decided to try out kale chips! This is my first batch, so some adjustments will need to be made, but anyways here’s the prototype recipe…

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of fresh kale, washed
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the kale leaves and dry them completely. Cut the hard stem of the leaves. Then cut the leaves into small one by one inch pieces. Sprinkle olive oil over the pieces of kale. Bake in the oven for 7-8 minutes at 300°F, or until crispy (add an extra minute if need be). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Choco Banana Pie

“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.” -David Mamet

Ingredients:

  • 2 bananas, sliced
  • 8 oz. low-fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese
  • 2 6 oz. Chobani Greek Yogurt Vanilla Blended
  • 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1/3 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 Mi-Del GF Chocolate Snap Pie Crust

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Combine greek yogurt and cream cheese in mixing bowl. Mix with hand-held electric mixer. Add the vanilla extract and nutmeg while mixing. Place approximately half of the thinly sliced bananas to cover the base of the pie crust.

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Then evenly pour the greek yogurt and cream cheese filling on top of the bananas. Layer the top with the remaining sliced bananas. Put the pie in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of four hours. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cans of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin Puree
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
  • 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 loaf of GF cinnamon raisin bread, sliced*
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins

First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the sliced bread and raisins in a baking dish ( 11 by 7-inch should be fine). In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, eggs, brown sugar, spices, and vanilla and mix. Then, mix in the pumpkin puree. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the bread. Cover with foil and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until pumpkin pudding has set. Serve warm with ice cream (or just by itself) and enjoy!

Happy holidays!

*I recommend using Glutino’s Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/pumpkin-ginger-bread-pudding-recipe/index.html

Candied Sweet Potatoes (Yams)

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (29 oz.) Sweet Potatoes
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small slabs/pieces
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup gluten-free mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place sweet potatoes in a baking dish. Place the slabs of butter evenly over all of the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Evenly place mini marshmallows. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes (or until all of the marshmallows have melted and sweet potatoes are tender).

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

  • 2 (16 oz.) packages of French Cut Green Beans
  • 1 bottle (16 oz.) of Ragu Alfredo Sauce (or any other of your favorite Gluten-Free Alfredo Sauces)
  • 3/4 cup low-fat milk
  • 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 pound of sliced cheese (Velveeta, Kraft Singles, etc.)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Apply cooking spray to a casserole dish. In a bowl, combine Alfredo sauce, milk, and cheddar cheese and mix well. Layer the bottom half of the casserole dish with 1/2 of the green beans and pour half of the Alfredo mixture over it. Cover that with half of the sliced cheese. Repeat the layering (green beans, Alfredo mixture, and then remaining sliced cheese on top). Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Halloween Candy Popcorn

“Anything is good if it’s made of chocolate.” -Jo Brand

Looking for a way to use up some of the extra Halloween candy leftover from last night? This is a quick, easy, and delicious recipe for you!

Ingredients:

  • About 4-5 cups popped popcorn (original or kettlecorn)
  • 4 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (no seasonal shaped items)
  • 4-8 fun-sized Midnight Milky Way’s*

Directions:

Lay all the popcorn on a baking sheet. Spread it out evenly. Use two baking sheets or more if necessary.

In a small cooking pot, add the halloween chocolate. Use a rubber spatula to move the chocolate around as it melts and cut the chocolate into smaller pieces. Keep breaking the chocolate until it has melted, but not burned. Note: the chocolate will be thick because of the peanut butter filling in the Reese’s and the caramel or nutty filling of the fun-sized bars. After the chocolate has melted to its fullest potential, turn off the heat. Immediately pour the chocolate over the popcorn. Be sure to pour the chocolate sparingly so all the popcorn get’s some chocolate. Using the rubber spatulas carefully transfer the popcorn from the baking sheets to a large bowl (or two!). The chocolate will still be warm and not have dried as yet. Mix the popcorn well in the bowl as to keep spreading the chocolate to each piece. Enjoy!

*You may opt for an alternate, gluten-free, fun-sized chocolate such as Snickers or Three Musketeers. Just be sure to read the labels!

Tilapia Tortillas

Ingredients:

  • 4 pieces of tilapia
  • Taco Seasoning
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 GF tortillas
  • Romaine lettuce, chopped
  • Medium Taco Sauce
  • 3 ounces blend of Mexican cheeses

In a glass baking dish, line with aluminum foil and place four pieces of tilapia. Evenly coat the fish with olive oil. Then, sprinkle the taco seasoning on the front and back of the tilapia. Simply bake for 15 minutes at 350°.

Meanwhile, prepare your tortilla and toppings. Follow warming instructions on the packet of the GF tortilla. (I used Toufayan Bakeries Gluten-Free Wraps. One of the best GF tortilla substitutes!) Then add lettuce, cheese, and taco sauce on the warmed tortilla. When the tilapia is ready, just place it in the center of your wrap. You may wish to cut the fish into smaller pieces for eating convenience. Roll it up, stick in a toothpick, and enjoy!

Peppered Alfredo

Ingredients:

  • 6 ounces of GF Penne Pasta
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 bunch of asparagus, cut
  • 1 bunch of broccoli, cut
  • 2 chicken Jalapeño sausages, cut
  • 1/2 jar of GF Alfredo sauce
  • 1/2 grated mozzarella cheese
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Sprinkle with parsley, chopped

Boil a large pot of slightly salted water to boil. Add GF pasta and cook for about 8 to 10 minute, then drain. In a separate saucepan, put olive oil and onions on medium heat. Cook until onions are translucent. Stir in garlic, asparagus, and broccoli. Cook for two to three minutes. Then, add in sausage. After sausage is cooked, pour on the Alfredo sauce and mozzarella cheese. Bring to a simmer and stir constantly. Stop after five minutes and season the sauce with crushed red pepper, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir drained pasta into the sauce and sprinkle over with parsley.

Baked Camembert with Mango Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 1 8 oz. wheel of Camembert cheese
  • 1/3 cup mango chutney
  • A dash of cardamom powder

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut off one side of the rind. Bake the Camembert for 8 minutes. Take the cheese out and put all the mango chutney on the center of the Camembert. Bake again for 4-6 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!

*The baked Camembert is great with gluten-free crackers!