Casseroles, Mmmmmm!

I know, I haven't blogged in a while.  Well, you know about the knee surgery, so there's that and then I have been making arrangements to go to CA in a week and got myself all busy :)
It's funny, as soon as it gets cold out, all I want to make are soups and casseroles.  Have not started the soup making quite yet but have made a few "pop-in-the-oven" one bake wonders.  Tonight I made an Italian version of my Shredded Chicken Bake recipe.  Instead of making a béchamel sauce, I just sauteed some onions with shredded chicken, tomato sauce and white wine... a touch of parmesan cheese and fresh homemade italian breadcrumbs and you have a winner folks.  I was running around and did not have time to think about dinner so I just boiled the chicken in... sadly enough, water.  BUT, the chicken got super tender and I got to cook it and walk away.  All together the actual "cooking" part took me about 12 minutes.  Super.

Over the weekend I also made a new gluten-free macaroni and cheese with fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheese, tossed with spinach and broccoli and topped with, yes, thats right- homemade Italian breadcrumbs. As my bro would say, Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice.  ;)  I should be getting these recipes up and more in a few weeks, after my trip to LA.

Chicken Pot Pie

I am working on  a recipe makeover for someone who wanted to make an easy but healthier version of the traditional chicken pot pie.  Due to my lack of ability to get to the grocery store, I could not fully accomplish the new version that I wanted to try, but this one turned out awfully tasty so I thought I would share :)
I diced organic carrots, celery, and zucchini and sauteed them in a touch of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat with some frozen pearl onions.  I seasoned them with salt and pepper, nutmeg, sage and a bit of parsley.  The night before I had made two roasted chickens (which I always do, if you are bothering to do one, its no extra effort to make two!)... they make the BEST leftovers.  The chicken was cooked so all I had to do was shred it up into the dutch oven with my softening veggies- pretty sweet deal!

Now here comes the slightly odd part.  I did not have chicken stock, so I added sugar-free almond milk and water and thickened it up with a slurry of brown rice flour, a bit of organic butter and a touch of almond milk.  Once I added all the liquid and the slurry, I let the mixture simmer together for about 15 minutes to allow the liquid to thicken slightly and the veggies and chicken to absorb some of the flavor.
In the meantime, I made a quick gluten-free pie crust using equal parts brown rice and tapioca flour, a pinch of salt, butter and COLD water.  I only made enough for a top crust because I wanted to cut down on calories and unnecessary fat... plus, I have always felt that the real taste of the crust comes from the top layer anyway, the bottom and sides are just soggy and not all that necessary.

Using a pie pan (or in my case a round cake pan... it was closer and I was still on crutches!), spoon the chicken pot pie filling into the bottom of the pan and let it be completely full if not a little heeping.  Gently lift your pie crust over the top of the pie, brush with an egg wash (1 beaten egg and a dash of water or milk), poke a couple slits in the top so the steam does not make your pie explode and pop it into a pre-heated 325 degree oven for about 35 minutes.  I filled my pie up to the very top so I placed the pie pan on a baking sheet so the overflow did not destroy my oven!  No one likes to clean an oven unnecessarily!

My next try is going to involve butternut squash and cornbread... Mmmmmm ;)

"NO COOKING"

...say my discharge papers :(  Are you crazy, oxycodone or not, I can handle my way around the kitchen!  Ok, maybe thats not the most brilliant idea but as soon as the pain dies down and I kick these crutches to the curb I am back in business!

As for now, I am going to be hanging out, leg up, watching movies and maybe getting back into my art for a few days...  how could I not when I know how therapeutic it can be?  (MA in Art Therapy, I know, quite the deviation from home cook!).  Well, this whole typing on the computer stuff is making me want to hurl so I am going to post a couple gory pictures for you- I did make them black and white so you don't have to have the FULL affect ;)  I'm so sweet. ;)

Organic Buffalo Anyone?

I picked up some organic buffalo ground beef at Whole Foods the other day and made some burgers last night.  Sorry for fuzzy picture... anyone interested in sponsoring a souped up camera to Nourish This??! ;)  Anyway, the burger was a little bit sweeter tasting than regular beef and was pretty tender.  I just added salt and pepper to the meat and grilled it on my grill pan, topped it with asiago cheese, caramelized onions and fresh basil.  It would have been perfected by a slice of a giant garden (or heirloom) tomato, but no such luck.  I didn't think of it in the moment!
As you can probably see, I had it with steamed broccoli and sweet potato fries.  The sweet potato fries are a synch.  Just dice them into whatever shape you like (shoe string, rounds, squares, etc.) just make sure they are fairly uniform in size so they cook evenly.  Sprinkle them with a bit of olive oil, just to lightly coat the potatoes and then a dash of large grain sea salt, fresh nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon.  I cook them in the oven at 375 for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the pieces).  They are so simple but definitely one of those things you literally can't stop eating because they are so good!  Don't worry though- they're sweet potatoes so go to town!

Farm Fresh Omelet Wrap

I felt badly about not taking a pic of my pretty fish dinner the other night so I figured the least I could do is use that tasty basil oil on my eggs and remember to take a picture of that this time!
Breakfast was definitely my favorite.  I have a few things in my fridge that helped me make it so good so quickly, but this might give you a few ideas.  My grandma emailed me a week or so ago about asparagus and all of its healing powers.  The email gave a few examples of how people used asparagus puree (2 tsp.s 2x/day) to help cure themselves of all kinds of illnesses.  It came from a fairly reliable source, so I thought I would give it a try... my feeling is, its asparagus, what's the risk?!
Long story short, that is why I had a glass pyrex full of asparagus puree in my fridge!  So, I scrambled 2 tsp.s of the puree with one egg and one egg white and a splash of water, salt and pepper.  In the meantime, I also sauteed a few slices of zucchini in olive oil.  When the eggs were done, I heated my gluten-free brown rice wrap (well half of one anyway) on my skillet for just a second, topped it with the asparagus scramble a pinch of parmesan cheese, clearly the basil oil and my zucchini slices.  Wow was that good.  I am not kidding that the whole thing took me about 5 minutes to throw together.  I had organic eggs, wrap, asparagus and zucchini and basil straight from my garden, how can you beat a breakfast like that?!

Baked Halibut with Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Basil Oil

I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of this last night.  Seriously.  This recipe is so unbelievably easy and makes a gorgeous presentation.  I have no excuses for not taking a photo either, I was just plain lazy!  I told myself it was because my knee was hurting and I didn't want to go down and then back up the stairs to get the camera... to me that is just screaming "I want to sit on my rump instead!"  Anyway, I will absolutely have to make this again, take a picture of it and re-post this because after you see it, you won't be able to not make it for dinner!

Alright so what you do is: In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Wash and slice organic cherry tomatoes in half and add to the skillet when it is hot.  I used two bunches of tomatoes because I wanted leftovers for pizza (I love to make something that I can split in half and use for two different recipes).  Dice 1/2 cup of red onion and saute with the cherry tomatoes.  The tomatoes will start to get juicy, thats ok, just turn the heat up to medium high.  You want to cook the tomatoes until the liquid reduces and you are left with a chunky thick tomato sauce.  Ok, so add about 1 TBS of tomato paste (helps to thicken it up), 1/2 TBS dried oregano and a dash of large grain sea salt.  Stir to combine.  Lastly, add 2 tsp. of maple syrup.  I know it sounds weird, but it cuts the bitterness from the tomatoes and makes them taste incredibly rich.  Ok, your sauce is done!  

I let my sauce cool a bit and  then spooned it on top of a piece of halibut, popped it into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for ummmmm about 35 minutes (it was a thick piece!).  While it cooked, I washed about 1/4 cup of basil leaves and tossed them into my mini chop with a pinch of large grain sea salt and whirred it together with about 1/2 cup of olive oil.  You could be fancy and strain out the finely chopped basil leaves, but quite honestly, I like the extra flavor.

When the fish comes out of the oven, serve and drizzle with the basil oil.  

I made this recipe with sauteed kale and parmesan quinoa.  Loved it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yeah, so it is nothing short of a comfort food day for me today.  In the past two hours I have made the crumble topping apple pie (see below), chocolate chip cookies and a pizza pie crust.  Clearly I am in an eating (and/or stuffing my face) mood!

The chocolate chip cookies were a new recipe and I think they came out much better than I expected.  Mostly because I am so tired today I feel like I am not actually functioning despite all of the cooking that seems to be happening!  Anyway, they taste nothing like G-F cookies you normally find, which makes me so happy.  Here is the recipe:

Dry Ingredients:

1 cup Brown Rice Flour

3/4 cup Tapioca Flour

2 tsp. Baking powder (low sodium)

1 tsp. Baking soda (low sodium)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 TBS flaxseed

Wet Ingredients:

1 tsp. vanilla

2 TBS applesauce (organic)

1 egg yolk

2 egg whites

4 TBS butter, melted and cooled (organic)

1/3 cup honey

chocolate chips (I used the allergy-free mini ones, about 1/2 cup)

Here's how its done:

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, vanilla, honey and butter just until combined.  

Mix your chocolate chips with the flour mixture first so they get evenly distributed.

Next, add your wet ingredients to the flour and chip mixture and stir just to combine.  

Lastly, beat the egg whites into stiff peaks and fold into the cookie dough 1/3 at a time.  

Spoon out 1 TBS of cookie dough onto your baking sheet (I line mine with recycled parchment paper) and bake for about 10 minutes.

Eat warm for the best taste or cool and freeze for up to a month!!