Tag Archives: vegatable

Food

Gluten Free Cauliflower Puffs

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I love cauliflower but the rest of my family are not such fans. But I was thinking about how people often use cauliflower in things like mash as a substitute for potatoes…So I was thinking about how much I miss things like tater tots because I am not sure what it in them so I decided to try something new!

Cauliflower puffs! I wouldn’t say they are healthy but I do think they are a very reasonable alternative to french fries and tater tots! Pretty easy too.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 heads of cauliflower florets, microwaved with garlic salt until tender
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend
1/4 tsp paprika
4 tablespoons real bacon bits (or cut up bacon)
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion

Process:

Cut the florets off the heads of cauliflower. I cut them into to small pieces so they cook quickly, you are going to mash them up anyway. Season it well with garlic salt and microwave them. Then take a mash potato masher or a stick blended to the cauliflower. Don’t puree the cauliflower but leave it with a little texture. Then mix everything else in! Heat up your frying oil to medium. Drop the batter into the oil by the tablespoon full (the smallest scoop that Pampered Chef makes;). Let it cook until it is all golden brown and delicious!

I tried to make them larger about cookie scoop size but they tend to be doughy in the middle. Making them smaller helps them to be crispy and delicious!!!!

This are a huge hit with the whole family and go great with burgers.

Food

Gluten Free Spinach Fritters

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Ok I admit it, I am bored to death of rice and potatoes. I needed a new side dish. One of my favorites were fritters before we went gluten free. So I started thinking, why not figure out a gluten free fritter recipe?

I went with spinach because then I wouldn’t need as much breading. This was pretty easy and came together super quick. I think it is decently healthy. Next time we will have to make a double batch. While it is plenty for a family of 4 for a family of 6…my kids would have had more.

Ingredients:

1 10 ounce box of chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp pepper
2/3 cup shredded cheese
2/3 my gluten free flour blend

Process:

Mix all the ingredients together. Then fry tablespoon sized dollops in a skillet with a moderate veil of oil. Fry on both sides until it is crispy. Drain it on some paper towel (there isn’t much oil). And devour! That is it!!!

Food

A Delicious Creation with #GourmetCreations

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So we have given up wheat recently but at the same time we are not a family that can really live on salads (well, I could but NerdDad would starve to death;). So I am exploring some other options for delicious meals that will please and this dish was a huge hit!

Looks delish eh? I am having a hard time coming up with a name so please, give me your suggestions!!!

Ingredients:

1 Spaghetti Squash
1 package of Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Sausage in Beef and Bacon
1 package chopped frozen spinach: thawed and drained
1/2 stick of butter
2 heaping teaspoons of minced garlic
2 teaspoons sea salt +extra for squash
1 teaspoon pepper +extra for squash
1/2 teaspoon paprika +extra for squash
Sprinkling of queso fresco
Olive Oil or Veg Oil

Cooked Spaghetti Squash

Process:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Sprinkle the inside of the squash generously with sea salt, paprika, pepper and oil. Give it a rub to make sure the inside is all covered. Place cut side up on a cookie sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes until it is tender.  When it is done just us a fork to pull the flesh from the skin and it will shred like spaghetti!

Take your Hillshire Farm Gourmet Creations Sausage and cut it in half length wise both ways to create 4 equal sticks. Do this to all 4 sausages and then dice. Melt a 1/2 stick of butter in a skillet. Once melted toss in your sausage, garlic and all your seasonings. Once the sausage browns up and you can smell the garlic just toss in your thawed and drained spinach and heat the spinach through. Then just toss it all with your spaghetti squash and serve!

Now this is strongly seasoned  so you can back off the pepper and paprika  but my kids all love it! This served my family of 6 (with kids 10-4) with no leftovers but no one was hungry either!

So what should I call it?

Want to see the shopping trip that got me to the kitchen? Pop over to Google + to see the trip!

(This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. But while they gave me the subject, all words and recipes are mine!)

Food

Sweet Potato Empanadas

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Yummy looking, eh? I got to participate in a Holiday Recipe Exchange over at Collective Bias. I got this wonderful recipe from Yoly over at Cuponeado! I was looking for a new appetizer and I think this super easy recipe fit the bill!
Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato
½ cup cream cheese
2 tablespoons Parkay
½ teaspoon of ground cinammon
2 pie crusts (or puff pastry)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preparation:

Thaw out the pie crusts.
Meanwhile, cut potato in half and place unpeeled in a pot and cover with water.
Bring water to a boil and cook until tender, about 20-30 minutes.
Drain and rinse under cold water. Rub with towel to peel skin off.
Mash potato with the butter. Add cream cheese and cinnamon and mix well.
Pre-heat oven to 400F degrees.
Lightly flour a cutting board, to make handling the dough easier.
Using a rolling pin, roll it out thin (about 1/16 inch).
Cut circles in the dough approximately 3 to 3 ½ inches across, using a wide
mouth jar or glass.
Add a spoonful of the mixture in the center and fold over dough. Use a fork to
crimp edge.
Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Brush the top of each empanada with beaten egg.
Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the turnovers turn golden.
Remove and allow to cool on a rack for approximately 10 minutes.

The only change I made is that I sprinkled Cinnamon Sugar over the empanadas before I put them in the oven! They were quite tasty and a hit at my Sunday School table;).

(Disclosure: While I was compensated by Collective Bias to write this post, all the opinions are mine and mine alone!)

Food

Grilled Corn 2 Ways

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Corn is king! Well, at least during the summer. You can pretend it is a veggie or serve it as the grain it is. It is fresh, it is cheap and it is yummy! So why should you heat up your kitchen by boiling water when the grill is already on?

You have a couple of options when it comes to grilling your corn.

The first way is to grill it in the husk. This gives you more of a boiled taste that isn’t at all smoky. The process is quite simple. Pull back your husks and remove all the silks or they will burn and turn to ash. Then I brush some of my chili butter on it and pull the husks back up. Then I place it on the cool part (on low) for 15 to 20 minutes. Turning occasionally. Then just pull it off and brush more butter on them.

The second way gives you more of that charred grilled taste. I think it gives more flavor but NerdDad prefers the first way;). First you pull everything off the cobs, that means all the silks and the husks. Then throw it down on a medium high grill. Make sure you keep turning the cobs and monitor the color. You want some grill marks but if it has good color and isn’t fully cooked, just pull it to a cool spot on the grill and let it finish. This usually takes me10-15 minutes but closer to 10. Then when you pull it off brush with butter;).

How do you know if your corn is done? Well, with yellow corn it is easy because the kernels deepen greatly in color. But while will also change color a little. But one of the other indicators is that the kernel will plump and become softer. If you have had corn before just go for what you know;).

Leftovers are great in many recipes and also do great in the freezer. I would go ahead and cut the kernels off the cob for storage. Enjoy!

Food

Fried Zucchini

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Yummy Fried ZucchiniFried Zucchini is a super easy and very yummy too! It is a great way to get your kids to eat more veggies. This, like many of my recipes, is more process than recipe.

Basic Ingredients:

Egg and milk: eggs lightly scrambled with just a splash of milk, I like to lightly salt and pepper this mixture too.

So seasoned bread crumbs are a must! While I am a huge panko bread crumb fan, this is not the right application for in it (at least not for me).

Zucchini cut into rounds. Yes, I am aware that a lot of people cut their zucchini in wedges but… I find that the kids can handle it better. From a cooking stand point, you are less likely to over cook the outside with rounds. You tend to have to cook thick wedges a bit longer to make sure that they are cooked all the way through.

Cooking oil: pick a low/no flavor oil like canola

Process:

First, wash and thoroughly dry your zucchini. Then cut it into rounds between 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch, depending on how cooked you like your zucchini (my kids don’t want any crisp;). Then drag your rounds through your egg and milk mixture. Then plop them right into your seasoned bread crumbs. You can see if your oil is hot enough by dropping a couple of bread crumbs and if they sizzle you are ready! Then drop your breaded rounds in your oil that is heated to medium high. Make sure that you flip them over and cook them until they are GBD (golden brown and delicious)! Then you will take the zucchini out and place it on a paper towel to dry, sprinkle with a little salt (I use sea salt) and sit for a couple of minutes. You do not want to eat these seconds out of the oil, you will burn yourself with steam!

Then enjoy!

(I listed this in Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday!)

Food

Zucchini Corn Cakes

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Who doesn’t want a yummy way to get veggies into your diet? I need to get more serving myself not to mention teaching my kids to eat and like them. I saw a recipe for these in a magazine and tweaked it a little bit.

Zucchini Corn Cakes
Ingredients:
1 box of Jiffy cornbread mix
1 cup of shredded zucchini, microwaved and drained or frozen and drained
1/2 cup + splash of milk
1 egg
1/8 tsp of pepper
Procedure:
Mix all the ingredients together. Let sit for 3-5 minutes. Then fry up like pancakes with a touch of oil. You can fry it in more oil and it is delicious but not as good for you.
How easy is that?!?!

Food

Freezer Friday: Zucchini Carrot Muffins

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Welcome to Freezer Friday. The goal here is to make our lives easier. Due to the fact I have 4 little ones and homeschool, I need all the help I can find. Simply post a recipe that can be made, frozen and then later reheated(thawed, etc) and consumed. Make sure that you include freezing and reheating instructions in your post. Then come here and add you post (not your blog) into Mr. Linky.
Now for some disclaimers:
If it isn’t a recipe, I will delete it.
If it can’t be made ahead, I will delete it.
If you don’t have a family friendly site, I will delete it.
Now onto the food fun!

Zucchini Carrot Muffins

This is a great way to get more vegetable servings into your kids and your own diet. The zucchini is also a great ingredient for moist baked good. This recipe can be double, quadrupled, etc without a change to proportion. The recipe as written makes 1 dozen muffins (And I never make only a dozen). I also highly recommend freshly grated nutmeg over the jarred stuff. I tend to use regular (vs unsweetened) applesauce only because that is what I have on hand. If you don’t have room for oodles and oodles of muffins, just use you frozen shredded zucchini.

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup plain or vanilla nonfat yogurt
1 egg
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded carrot
1 tsp vanilla

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Now the original recipe says to use paper liners but I usually just put my muffins into free standing silicone muffin tins on big cookie sheets (I do 48 at a time). Then mix all dry ingredients (Flour through salt). Then add the remaining ingredients until combined but not smooth. Fill muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full and bake for 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Then you just allow to cool and then I put all the muffins in the freezer on a cookie sheet. When they are frozen you just put them in zip top bag. Make sure they are labeled. Then to enjoy you can thaw or just pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Zucchini, Freezer Friday, Make Ahead

Food

Freezer Friday: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Loaf

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Welcome to Freezer Friday. The goal here is to make our lives easier. Due to the fact I have 4 little ones and homeschool, I need all the help I can find. Simply post a recipe that can be made, frozen and then later reheated(thawed, etc) and consumed. Make sure that you include freezing and reheating instructions in your post. Then come here and add you post (not your blog) into Mr. Linky.
Now for some disclaimers:
If it isn’t a recipe, I will delete it.
If it can’t be made ahead, I will delete it.
If you don’t have a family friendly site, I will delete it.
Now onto the food fun!


Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Now that spring is on its way so is all the fresh produce. Here is a good way to enjoy it and hold on to it for the future. This recipe is very easy to double, triple or more.

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup AP Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Wet Ingredients:
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Oil
1/4 cup Applesauce
1 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 cup Grated Zucchini (unpeeled; if frozen do not drain)

Process:
Mix all dry ingredients together. Then beat eggs until frothy and mix in all remaining wet ingredients. Mix in dry ingredients. Dump batter into greased loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry (except chocolate chips). Let stand in loaf pan for 10 minutes and then cool the rest of the way on a rack.

Make ahead directions:
You can just wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum and place in the freezer. Then just sit out to thaw. If your freezer is full you can store the dry ingredients in a freezer bag on the shelf and freeze shredded zucchini.

Technorati Tags: zucchini, Freezer Friday, Make Ahead