Today, when I went to the grocery store, I was inspired by the produce. I didn’t really have a plan; I just put it all in my cart. I also grabbed a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs as my kids love this as a protein.

I think that it’s great to have a stack of recipes on hand but at the same time, so much of it is just cooking. Can you guess all of cooking methods I used in the photo? They are shredding, marinating and grilling, steaming and roasting. Each item didn’t take very long so if you can multi-task, it’s easy to put together a dinner like this. Here’s how I did it:

BBQ Chicken- I placed the chicken breasts in a glass pan and added bbq sauce. The marinating time is quick so you can leave the chicken out for 20 minutes while you prepare the other dishes. My favorite is Read More »

When the weather turns cool, I think comfort foods. With a busy day ahead, I knew my crock pot would come in handy. Once again, it delivered, even with a power outage toward the end of its cycle!

Here’s a delicious recipe for beef stew which I have converted to gluten-free. To make it “with gluten”, use regular flour instead of the white rice and potato starch. The process and seasonings are the same.

We are very lucky to have quality beef right down the road, from Markegard Family Grass-Fed. The test is in the taste which truly delivered. It wasn’t too greasy, either, and was very tender. Read More »

If you think making homemade gravy is harder than the SAT’s, think again.

Instead of using a gluten-based roux (butter and flour), start using slurries.

A slurry is a combination of a starch and cold water (equal parts) which are mixed into a hot liquid like chicken or turkey broth.

The ratio that I use which seems to work well is: Read More »

It’s easy to make your own fresh cranberry sauce with just a few ingredients. This version has much less sugar than what you would find in a can. Give it a try. If you don’t think you’ll use all of the cranberries, cut the recipe in half and use the berries in a muffin or loaf.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup water or orange juice (use less sugar if using the juice)

1/3 c organic white sugar or sucanat

1/3 c agave nectar (optionally use honey or all sugar)

4 cups (1 12-oz package) fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed

Optional ingredients:  1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped; orange zest from 1/2 of an orange; Read More »

I don’t know about you but when I smell Belgium waffles at those kiosks, I really wish I could eat gluten. Last year I vowed to find a replacement and I must say, I nailed it. I have made it two ways; with the caramelized sugar and without. Both are still delicious and my children are very appreciative of the effort I have made (read: this is not a quick recipe but worth the wait).

This New Year’s day, I thought it would be fun to make them as a treat. The crowd (both gluten-free and not) agreed it was a winner. Read through the Read More »

When you’re craving a burrito, is it really that gluten-containing tortilla  you’re after?  My guess is that it’s actually the hearty combination of fillings–the rice, beans, cheese, meat, etc. that got your mouth watering in the first place. Sure you could always make or buy gluten-free tortillas, but why not take a twist on the classic and ditch the burrito shell all together?

This recipe comes straight from my cookbook, The Warm Kitchen. This recipe is versatile, family-friendly and cooks up in about 20 minutes. Dinner is served!

 

Gluten-Free Burrito Casserole

Serves 4-6

Ingredients Read More »

A few years ago, I made a version of tamale pie where I made tamale dough and put something in the middle (honest, I can’t remember; it might have been chili inside). I’m not sure why that went out of my rotation. More recently, I made a tamale pie as more of an experiment with black beans and salsa on the bottom and tamale dough on top. That was a huge hit. Read More »

Instead of opening a jar of olive tapenade or a dip from the refrigerated section of the market, consider making your own. If you keep some key ingredients on hand and have a small food processor or blender, you are in business!

The olive tapenade is so easy and so much better when made fresh. The beauty of it is that you can make a small amount if you are just having a few friends or more for a party. It can be used on top of chicken or even in a sandwich. And when you make it yourself, you can control the salt, garlic and rosemary (or even omit one of these).

The white bean spread is a great starter and really healthy. This recipe calls for Read More »

I was sitting at the table, reviewing one of my recipes which had not been tested yet for my cookbook. Ranch dressing is one of those items you would assume would be gluten-free until you look at the label. Then you also might see all of the other ingredients that aren’t so appealing.

My kids are big fans of ranch dressing so I thought, why not try it right now?  I normally don’t make everything from scratch but I was curious to see if it was worth it to make my own.

Assuming you have the ingredients in your kitchen (which I usually do), this can be whipped up in less than 5 minutes. It’s always better if it sets but if you can’t wait, don’t worry, it’s still great.

When I made it, I called the kids over for a taste test. They grabbed some carrots from the fridge and dug in. My son then announced Read More »