Browned Butter Broccoli

This is my little mock recipe make up of The Old Spaghetti Factory's divine broccoli side dish. Now, I opted to not use the mizithra cheese but I did use parmesan reggiano. It was cheaper and much easier to track down. Not to mention, I wouldn't be tempted to blow my grocery budget on the many amazing and delish cheese options at the cheese counter. Don't you just think we should have an all cheese tasting day? YUMMY.

Ok, so back to the broccoli thing. First, take your little green trees and give them a good rinsing. Sorry...mom to a 5 year old and broccoli is known as green trees in this house hehehe. After rinsing them up, cut them into chunks and steam them for 5-7 minutes until tender but still retaining a bit of a crunch.

Now, take a cube of this. (p.s. the salted variety)

Now do this to it. (on medium heat)

Now, the amount of the butter will vary depending on how much broccoli you are cooking up. A rule of thumb is 1-2 tablespoons of butter per head of broccoli. Cook butter on medium heat until the butter gets a nice toasty smell and turns a lovely brown color.

Like this.

Now take your block of cheese and shred it up. Once again...the amount is going to depend on how much broccoli you are cooking up. I like to use equal amounts of butter and cheese.

Now, here is the easy part. Spoon the browned butter over the broccoli then sprinkle the cheesey goodness on top.

Now add a dash of salt and pepper and voila :) A tasty side dish to accompany any main course you whip up in your kitchen.

Burnt Butter Broccoli

2-3 heads steamed broccoli (rinsed and chopped)

2-4 tablespoons salted butter

2-4 tablespoons parmesan reggiano cheese shredded

salt and pepper to taste

On medium heat melt the butter on medium heat. Stir constantly until butter starts to have a toasted smell and turns a golden brown. Spoon butter over broccoli, sprinkle with cheese, then dash with salt and pepper.



Blueberry Poppyseed Brunch Cake (gluten free of course)

Hi there everyone out there in computer land. I hope everyone had a great Easter and hopefully the crazed sugar high children were somewhat manageable. I have a fun and tasty treat in store for all of you. I made dinner for my friend and her family yesterday as she has been in the hospital and has not been able to make dinners for her family and is getting a bit tired of boxes and boxes of "yellow death" (mac & cheese) lol! Anyway, for dessert I had a bit of a quandary....my friend does not like CHOCOLATE. Is that even possible? How does one NOT like chocolate? Then to add to the dessert dilemma, one of her children is allergic to cinnamon. Soooooo that took out even MORE tasty treat options. So I opted for a blueberry poppyseed brunch cake. It's such a great recipe as you don't need fresh blueberries. Frozen works great and thanks to Costco I always have a nice big bag of em at all times.

Now starting out, preheat your oven to 350 then grease up a springform pan. If you are one of those unlucky souls like myself who does NOT own a springform...a large tart dish will do. Anyway, grease whatever baking pan you decide to use and set aside.

In a medium bowl, place 1/2 cup of the following flours:
white rice
sweet rice
tapioca flour
Then add 3/4 teaspoon xanthun gum, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 2 tablespoons poppyseed. Using a fork blend together all dry ingredients and set aside.

Next, cream together 1/2 cup butter and 2/3 cup sugar. Now...I did not have any room temperature butter. In fact I only had one frozen brick of butter...sooooooo I pulled out the handy dandy shredder and shredded up my butter which allowed it to quickly warm up to "creamable" status.

When the butter and sugar are nice and creamed add one egg and blend well. Then get yourself 1/2 cup of sour cream.

Now alternate adding the sour cream a tablespoon at a time with the flour scraping down the sides frequently. Once you have a lovely blended batter spoon into your greased pan and set aside. Now assemble the toppings. Mix together 1 1/2 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh), 2 teaspoons sweet rice flour, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

Mix that all up then spoon over the batter. Place in your preheated oven and bake for 55-65 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

While your cake is cooling, mix up your icing with 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1-2 tablespoons milk. Add just enough milk to make the icing pourable. Anyway, pour your icing over the cake then your done!

Blueberry Poppyseed Brunch Cake

1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3/4 teaspoon xanthun gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons poppyseeds
1/2 cup butter room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream

Topping
1 1/2 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons sweet rice flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk (enough to make icing pourable)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a springform pan and set aside. In a bowl combine flours, xanthun gum, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and poppyseeds. Using a fork, sift dry ingredients together then set aside. Cream together sugar and butter then add egg. When ingredients are blended nicely alternate adding sour cream and dry ingredients. Using a rubber scraper, scrape down the sides periodically to ensure all ingredients are blended well. Pour into your pan and set aside. Mix all ingredients in the topping mix together then spoon over batter. Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes or until an inserted fork comes out clean. Prepare icing ingredients then pour over the top after cake has cooled for about 10 minutes.

This recipe is featured on The Gluten Free Homemaker's Gluten Free Wednesdays

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

Want a vegetable side that is guaranteed to get your picky eaters to scarf down their vegetables? Want a recipe that has an ingredient list you can count with one hand? Want something that is a great side dish to almost any main course? Well...then keep reading :) Now...I just have to say....I love cauliflower. Love it steamed, raw, dipped in ranch, and most of all.....oven roasted. There is something about roasting a vegetable that brings out it's deepest and fullest flavors. Pair that with the simplicity of lemon juice, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and salt/pepper and you have a side that will sure to please even the pickiest of eaters.

Now, start out with a vintage bowl you thrifted from a local thrift store :) Oh, and you might want to cut up a whole head of cauliflower into 11/2" pieces too.

Oh and another thing....preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Please and Thank you. Then gather up your ingredients. Salt, pepper, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and lemon juice.

Now pour about 3 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup olive oil on top. Shake your salt and pepper on top then give it all a good tossing.

Now spoon cauliflower mix into an oven safe dish.....theeeeeen maybe sprinkle a bit more of that wonderful parmesan cheesey goodness on top.

Now at this point your oven should be preheated...if not, wait until it is 400. Place your dish UNCOVERED on the top shelf of the oven and bake your white cruciferous vegetable for 20-30 minutes or until it reaches the desired texture. I like mine to be slightly tender and have a bit of a crunch so I only leave mine in for 20 minutes. A fork should easily be inserted when ready. Remove from oven and allow to cool a minute or two before serving.

Oh the roasty toasty veggie goodness of it all :) 

Oven Roasted Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower cut into 1 1/2" pieces

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour lemon juice and olive oil on top of cauliflower. Then sprinkle parmesan cheese and sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Toss cauliflower to spread oil, juice, cheese, and salt/pepper on flourets. Spoon into an oven safe dish then place on the top rack of your oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cauliflower reaches desired doneness.

The Best Oven Roasted Chicken you will ever make.

Yep....when I say this is the best oven roasted chicken you'll ever make. I mean it :) What is amazing is the simplicity of the ingredients. Just a handful of items and a couple small steps and you will be the dinner making hero of all heroes. This recipe is a french version of oven roasted chicken. Now...I'm not necessarily the expert on french cuisine...but I can tell you this is one tasty pot o' chicken.

This recipe calls for a whole chicken, but I find it's easier and cheaper just to buy a 5lb package of either whole legs or split chicken breasts. Now take your chicken, rinse them off then rub salt and pepper all over and set aside.

Now gather up 1 celery stalk, 1 onion, 1 sprig rosemary, and 8 whole garlic cloves. Dice up the stalk of celery and 1 small onion then peel the garlic cloves.

 Now take an oven safe pot and heat it up on your stove. Drop 2 tablespoons of butter in the pot and once melted place the chicken inside. Cook the chicken on medium high heat for about 6-8 minutes each side. Then throw in the diced onion, celery, peeled garlic cloves, and rosemary.

Oooops, I forgot, you will also want to add a whole bay leaf to the pot as well.

Now cover your pot then place in the preheated oven. Bake for one and a half hours. That is all you gotta do folks :) Now this chicken will not have the lovely golden tones of other oven roasted birds, but do not let that deter you...go right ahead and sink your teeth into that tender juicy poultry.

Oh and don't forget to drizzle the amazing juicy saucey goodness liberally onto each piece of chicken. It's the bestest part hehehe.

French Oven Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion diced

1 celery stalk diced

1 sprig rosemary

1 bay leaf

8 whole garlic cloves

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large pot. When oil is hot, add chicken, onion, and garlic, rosemary, and garlic cloves. Brown chicken on one side, then brown on the other. (cook about 6-8 minutes). Cover then bake on 250 degrees for an hour and a half.

Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf

Meatloaf. Yummy yummy meatloaf. It's such a versatile and easy dinner...just mix all the ingredients, plop in a bread loaf, then stick it in the oven. What mom doesn't like a dinner like that? Plus, you can be so sneaky and get your kids to eat their veggies by sneaking them into the loaf. So back to meatloaf, do you ever get tired of the same ol' ground beef meatloaf? Want a leaner but just as flavorful version? Well...you'll have to take my word on this one. Turkey and quinoa make for a  most delish loaf of meat. There are a few steps, but trust me, it's not hard, and it's worth it.

So to start out, cook yourself up some quinoa. You will want 1/2 cup of already cooked quinoa for this recipe. I normally will cook up 2 cups then just freeze the amount that I do not use. Then when you want some, just un-thaw it. Ok, sorry to get off the subject....back to meatloaf. Then you will want 1/2 cup cooked carrots or if you are short on time, 1/2 cup drained canned carrots.

Once you have cooked carrots and cooked quinoa you are ready to begin. Preheat oven to 350. Then start out by placing the carrots and 1/2 cup milk in a blender and hit the puree button. Blend the carrots and milk until you have a nice salmon colored sauce. Then pour in the following ingredients to the saucey mix:
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (this ingredient is optional, but it will add a fresh zesty flavor to your loaf)

Blend mixture again then set aside.

Now dice up 1/2 of a medium sized onion and 1 celery stalk.

Now take 1 pound ground turkey burger and place in a large bowl. With your hands mix together the 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, celery, onion, and one egg. When mixture is well blended use a large spoon and mix in the carrot puree sauce. Then spoon meatloaf batter (have no clue what else to refer to the raw meat concoction other than batter) into a standard bread loaf pan. Place meatloaf in the center rack of your oven and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. You will know when the meatloaf is finished cooking when the sides of the meatloaf pull away from the pan and top has a nice browned look. Allow your meatloaf to cool then pour off the accumulated liquid.

Serioulsy, just trust me on this one. It sounds like quite the quirky recipe, but it's so tasty, moist, and lovely twist on your standard meatloaf.

Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf

½ cup cooked quinoa

½ cup cooked carrots

½ cup milk

1 lb ground turkey burger

½ cup diced onion

1 stalk celery diced (or ½ teaspoon celery seed)

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon parsley

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

Preheat oven to 350. Cook quinoa then set aside. Cook carrots until tender then place in a blender with the 1/2 cup milk. Puree until thoroughly blended. Add salt, parsley, celery seed, and garlic powder to the sauce and blend again. In a large bowl, using your hands, mix together turkey burger, egg, quinoa, celery and onion. Then using a large spoon stir in carrot puree mixture. Pour meatloaf batter into a regular bread loaf pan then place on the center rack in the oven. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until top is nicely golden brown and the meatloaf has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Pour off excess liquid then allow to rest 10 minutes before serving.

 

 

Perfectly Simple Mashed Potatoes

Happy Wednesday to everyone!

I apologize for the lack of posting on my part. I recently and unfortunately unknowingly ate food that had gluten in it and boy....have I ever been feeling the after effects. It's amazing how much such a simple food can really tear your body apart. Not to mention migraines, foggy brain syndrome (not to be confused with ditzy blonde syndrome), fatigue, ect...that it can cause. Anyway, I am once again up and running and can finally get some FOOD recipes posted :)

To start off. These are such simple potatoes to make. Not to mention easy, flavorful, and not near as messy as standard boiled potatoes. This has been my families favorite way to eat our taters. Plus, it's my favorite way to prepare them because they are so gosh darned easy to make.

Start out with your oven preheated to 350 degrees. Seeeeee I actually remembered to tell you to preheat your oven at the beginning of my post. I'm learning to be a more responsible blogger hehehe. Anyway, while your oven is preheating, wash off about 5 russet potatoes and cut off any dark spots or damaged skin. Now you do not want to peel the potatoes at this point. Me? I love the potato skins so I don't bother to peel them. In fact...I like the peel on most anything. I think I have a vegetable peeler somewhere in my kitchen drawers, but honestly couldn't tell you if I do for sure. Haven't used it in years. Anyway, pop your potatoes in the oven directly on the middle rack of the oven. That's it. Then walk away. This would be a good opportunity to finish up whatever your making for dinner or whatever you feel like doing. Bake your taters for about an hour. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. You will still want them warm when you start the "mashing". When the potatoes are cool enough to handle without burning your fingers, cut them up into about 1 inch slices and throw then into a large bowl (preferably a kitchen aid or other countertop mixer). At this point, you can remove the skins from the potatoes if you are not a peel fan. Just use your fingers to pull the skins off (the skin should have separated from the potato and they should be very easy to remove). Then add 1/4 cup butter (NOT margarine.....BUTTER) and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then turn your mixer on medium and let it do the work. Mix for about a minute or until the potatoes meet your desired consistency. If you like creamier mashed potatoes, pour in about 1/4-1/3 cup milk or half and half. Seriously, that is all there is to it. EASY isn't it? I love to make these with meatloaf as the potatoes can cook along with your loaf.

Recipe Breakdown:

Easy Mashed Potatoes

5 russet potatoes (medium sized)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/3 cup milk or half and half (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and cut off any damaged parts of the potatoes. Place potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake for about one hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. When the potatoes are cooled enough to be handled and not burn your fingers, cut into 1 inch chunks and place in a mixing bowl. Add butter and salt (and milk of desired). Blend for about a minute until potatoes are smooth and reach the desired consistency.

Sweet Curry Carrot Soup

Who doesn't love curry? Who doesn't like carrots? Ok, so maybe I'm a little over assuming and that maybe there is not as many curry or carrot fans out there. Anyway, for those of you who DO enjoy that little orange root vegetable and those who savor the flavor of curry powder, this recipe is for you. Not only is it very very easy, but it's quite tasty, and full of all sorts of vitamins and natural goodness.

Here is your sweet curry carrot soup recipe :)

In a medium saucepan warm up 2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter. Whatever suites your fancy. Let it get melty and warm. Throw the diced onion in the saucepan with the oil then sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt to the onion stirring well. Saute on medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the onions start to get tender. Now stir in 1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon of ground coriander and yellow curry powder. Now if you are a curry junky (not that I am admitting to anything hehehehe) sprinkle a little bit more of the wonderful yellow spice ;). Lower heat to a low/medium and allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes. While your onions, honey, and spices cooking, dice up 2 1/4 cups of carrots into 1/2 inch pieces. After the onions, honey, and spices have cooked for the 3-4 minutes, add the carrots and 2 1/2 cups gluten free chicken broth. Bring mixture to a boil then lower heat to a medium and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the carrots are tender. At that point, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Once mixture has cooled down a bit, transfer the contents of the pot into a blender and blend until soup is smooth. Next, whisk together 1 egg (or two egg whites), 1/4 cup milk, and 1/4 cup sweet rice flour. Don't worry about the mixture being a bit clumpy, just whisk it together lightly. Now pour mixture into blender and blend again. Pour soup blend back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for another 5-7 minutes and serve :)

Garnish with Greek yogurt or sour cream. I sprinkled a little bit of spicy red Indian curry to maximize the curriness of the soup *snickers*

Enjoy!

Sweet Curry Carrot Soup

2 tablespoon olive oil

½ diced onion

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon yellow curry powder

1 teaspoon coriander

1 tablespoon honey

2 ¼ cup chopped carrots

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup sweet rice flour

¼ cup milk

1 egg or 2 egg whites

In a medium saucepan, sauté onion and olive oil on medium heat until onion begins to become tender (roughly 5-7 minutes). Lower heat to low/medium then add curry powder, coriander, and honey and continue sautéing for another 3-4 minutes. Add broth and carrots.Increase burner temperature and bring to a boil, cover, lower heat to a simmer, and cook until carrots begin to soften (for about 20 minutes.). Remove from heat then allow to cool. Place contents of pot in a blender and puree well. Meanwhile, blend together milk, flour, and egg whites then pour into blender. Puree again, then transfer back into saucepan. Simmer another 5 minutes.

Gluten Free Strawberry Buttermilk Cake

Simple, light, flavorful, and of course....GLUTEN free strawberry buttermilk cake. So for my birthday, I was dubbed as the official "cake maker". I am fine with that. There is not really any other gluten free bakers/cooks in the family so I pretty much expected making my own cake. Now this left quite the quandry....what kind of cake did I want for my birthday?? Well, I will say, the fact that strawberries were on sale, DID have a bit of persuasion as to what I made. So I took a basic white cake mix and de-glutified it with a mixture of white rice, sweet rice, and tapioca flours. Normally I use brown rice with my cake flour blends, but the white rice I thought would ensure a nice fluffy lightness. I also LOVE a good strawberry shortcake, so I figured a strawberry bundt cake would be a great hybrid cake of sorts hehehe.

So here is the recipe for a delightfully simple and tasty bundt cake enhanced with the essence of fresh strawberries.

Buttermilk Strawberry Bundt cake

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter (room temp)
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup of the following flours:
white rice (finely ground)
sweet rice
tapioca flour
then 2 tablespoons sweet rice
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
1 tablespoon white rice flour
2 1/4 teaspoon guar or xanthun gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries


Grease and flour (using sweet rice flour) a regular bundt pan then preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, sift together the white rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, guar gum, salt, and baking powder then set aside. Then in a large bowl or mixer, cream together sugar and butter. Then beat in the eggs one at a time then add vanilla extract. Now alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk. Use a rubber scraper to scrape down any flour or butter and mix until batter is smooth. With a large spoon, gently fold in the diced strawberries. Pour into the bundt cake and bake for 40-50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from pan. Drizzle top with icing and garnish with fresh strawberries.

Icing

Approximately 1 cup powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoons milk (enough to make a smooth icing that can be poured over the top).
1/4 teaspoon orange extract

That's all there is to it! Enjoy!