Summer Pasta Salad

5 oz. spiral pasta (I used GF rice pasta)

1/3 c sundried tomatoes (sliced into strips)

2 Tbsp. capers, drained

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

salt & pepper

2 Tbsp. freshly shaved parmagiana-reggiano

1 cup spinach leaves

1 cup sliced grape tomatoes

 

1. Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.

2. Mix sundried tomatoes, capers, balsamic vinegar & olive oil in a container.

3. When ready to serve, pour dressing over pasta and toss. Season with salt & pepper. Add spinach leaves and grape tomatoes and serve.


Note: Eat all of the salad on the same day. We discovered that putting the leftovers in the fridge made the GF pasta hard. I don't know whether heating it up would have softened the pasta -- we just dumped the leftovers.



Garlic Dijon Herb Salmon

 

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp Herbs de Provence

1 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

2 Tbsp dijon mustard

4 (6 oz) salmon pieces/ fillets

Salt & fresh ground pepper

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

2. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil. Place salmon pieces on pan, and salt and pepper them.

 

3. Mix garlic, Herbs de Provence, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and dijon mustard in a small bowl. Spoon one teaspoon of mixture on each salmon piece, and spread it over the top.

 

4. Bake salmon in oven for 15 - 18 minutes or until done to your satisfaction. Serve hot.

 





Granola, Oh, Granola

 

 

 

3 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup honey

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries

salt

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

 

2. In a large bowl mix oats, vegetable oil, honey & brown sugar. It's easier if you use your hand.

 

3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread oat mixture on parchment paper evenly.

 

4. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes. When 15 minutes are up, add sliced almonds to oat mixture and return to pan for another 7 - 10 minutes, making sure to stir every five minutes. Make sure that you do not allow the granola to brown too much.

 

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before you add the dried fruit and stir. Sprinkle some sea salt or pinch of cinnamon.

 

 

Note: This is a great snack. Wonderful on yogurt and sprinkled over ice cream as well.

 

 





Cauliflower Cheesy Bread

This is good. Experiment with seasonings to jazz it up.

 

1 cup cauliflower, grated

1 egg, beaten

1 cup shredded fresh mozzarella

1/2 cup cheddar or any other cheese

 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.

 

2. In a medium bowl mix the grated cauliflower, egg and shredded mozzarella until well blended.

 

3. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and spray lightly with vegetable spray. Pour the cauliflower mixture into the lined pan and spread out into a rectangle shape.

 

4. Bake for 30 minutes. Once time is up, remove from oven, and flip the cheesy bread. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the bread. Sprinkle your seasonings over the cheese (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder & rosemary), return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

 

5. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing into quarters. You can serve with marinara sauce or eat it on its own.



Balsamic Chicken and Roasted Vegetables

 

2 boneless chicken breasts, each sliced in half to make four breasts

3 medium carrot, sliced

2 cups of broccoli florets

1 medium sweet potato, sliced

10 spears of asparagus

1/2 red onion, quartered

salt & pepper

 

Marinade:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

2 Tbsp. thyme or oregano

4 leaves sage, chopped or 1/2 tsp. dried sage

 

 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 365 degrees. Salt and pepper both sides of chicken breasts and place in a baking dish. Arrange onions around dish and set aside.

 

2. Drizzle some olive oil in a large baking dish. Arrange vegetables in the dish -- I kept the vegetables separate. Sprinkle salt & pepper and tosh vegetables.

 

3. Mix marinade ingredients together. Spoon half of marinade over chicken breasts, making sure to coat both sides. Spoon the other half of marinade over the vegetables, making sure to coat all sides.

 

4. Place both dishes in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.



Flourless Chocolate Cake

Yes, you can eat cake when you go wheatfree. This flourless chocolate cake that I made for Easter dinner got the two thumbs up from the family. Need a chocolate cake fix? This did it for us.

 

 

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 7-inch spring form pan and line bottom with parchment paper and grease that too.

 

2. Melt butter and chocolate on double boiler until all chocolate is melted. Add sugar and salt and cook for 1 minute.

 

3. Remove from heat. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and whisk well. Blend cocoa into mixture and whisk to combine.

 

4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in oven for 22 - 25 minutes until center is just set but still shiny.

 

5. Cool on wire rack. Do not be alarmed because the cake will collapse. Once completely cool, wrap tightly and store at room temperature or store in fridge. If you store it in the fridge, microwave for 8 seconds before serving with strawberries and whipped cream.



Cloud Bread

Sarah and I are exploring new ways of eating healthy --- there will be all kinds of recipes on this blog that no one would ever associate with us, but it's a commitment to a different way of life. This cloud bread is my first wheat free bread. I made myself a sandwich at lunch today and it works for me! Even with the first batch I had already started experimenting with seasonings.

 

3 eggs, room temperature, and separated

3 Tbsp. whole milk small curd cottage cheese

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 (1 g) artificial sweetener

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

 

2. Separate the eggs carefully. Place the egg whites in a glass or metal bowl.

 

3. Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat on high speed until soft peaks form.

 

4. To the bowl with the egg yolks, add the cottage cheese and sweetener, and mix well. Fold one third of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Fold the egg whites gently so they remain fluffy. Continue folding in the egg whites in thirds until all is mixed in.

 

5. Spray a large cookie sheet with a vegetable cooking spray.

 

6. With a large spoon, scoop and mound the mixture into 10 even rounds on the baking sheet.

 

7. Bake on the middle rack for 22 - 30 minutes. Keep watching to make sure that the rounds get to a nice golden brown.

 

8. Remove the pan from the oven. Let the rounds cool for 2 minutes in the pan and then gently remove them from the pan and place them on a wire rack to cool completely.

 

9. When they are cooled completely, place them in a ziplock storage bag or a plastic container. This will give them the soft chewing texture of bread.

 



My pecorino, rosemary and garlic crusted cloud bread sandwich

 

 

Note: I grated some pecorino-romano cheese, mixed it with a pinch of dried rosemary and garlic powder and used that as a topping on five of the rounds. It was an excellent choice.