Cranberry Roast with roasted potatoes and salad

I made cranberry sauce in a crock pot:

1 bag cranberries, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup O.J., 1/2 cup water, cook for a couple of hours until cranberries are all squishy and soft.

To that I added chuck roast, 1 onion and 2 Tbsp Bragg's (the recipe called for soy sauce but I used this instead)

The potatoes I sliced up in my brand new handy dandy slicer on my stand mixer I got for Christmas and stuck them in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Salad, I just always love the combo of mixed greens and baby spinach, so we have that with some edamame and tomatoes!

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Easy! Saute the ckicken, cook the pasta and then mix it all together with pesto sauce (jar from HEB) and parmesan cheese.
You could also saute with garlic or onions or add veggies and pine nuts.

Lentil Stew, cornbread

1 T olive oil
1 1/4 c chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped carrot
1 garlic clove, sliced
4 c chicken broth
1 c water
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 c dried lentils
3/4 c instant brown rice
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper

Heat oil in a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; saute 8 min. or unitl tender. Add broth, water, and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Stir in lentils; simmer 25 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice; simmer 20 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in red pepper, salt, and black pepper.

Cornbread:

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (or non-dairy alternative)
1 egg
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (dairy or soy)
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 -- 3/4 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the liquid ingredients then stir in the other ingredients, mixing until the lumps are removed. The batter will be thin, but not watery.

Pour the batter into an oiled 8 x 8 baking pan, and iron skillet, or into oiled or lined muffin pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes for the cornbread, less for the muffins, according to your oven.

The bread will be done when the top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick in the center of the bread is clean; do not over cook!

From www.easilyglutenfree.wordpress.com (my sister's blog)

Mediterranean Meatballs, Baba Ganoush, and Fake Tabouli

Baba Ganoush
4 large eggplant
5-6 small cloves garlic
1/8-1/4 cup tahini (to taste)
little fresh lemon juice (if you have it)
salt
1/8 cup olive oil

Rinse eggplant, pierce skin a few times to release steam, place on foil-lined cookie sheet. Roast Eggplant at 450 for 40 minutes or so. Remove from oven, let cool a bit, slice open, and put all the soupy innards into a bowl or directly into your food processor. add other ingredients and blend well. Modify amounts of everything to taste.

Fake Tabouli (Quinoa replaces gluten-full couscous.)
3 cups Quinoa cooked, salted
1 small red onion, diced
3 tomatoes diced
1 bunch flat leaf parsley finely chopped
1 cucumber diced
add to taste:
salt
olive oil
white wine vinegar
fresh lemon would be nice here also
optional: fresh peppermint, green onions, green bell pepper, cook quinoa with some broth as part of the liquid

after Quinoa has cooled down, dump in other ingredients, stir, taste

Mediterranean Meatballs
makes 25-30 balls, 3-4 balls per serving
3 lbs ground beef of choice
1 medium onion (i used some white and some purple) - diced
1 large clove garlic -chopped
handful of chopped flat leave parsley and mint
1 cup gluten free bread crumbs (I used pecan rice crackers and oats)
3-4 tsp salt
tsp black pepper
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp cilantro (or fresh!)
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp tarragon
1 tsp allspice or clove

cook onion and garlic in a pan with a touch of olive oil until translucent. Mix meat and all spices and crumbs together in large bowl. (not all spices are required. I recommended at least having cinnamon, cloves, allspice, or tarragon to create a unique flavor.) Add onions. Mix, press into golf-sized balls. You can also roll them flatter into tubes. cook on high heat rotating 1/4 turn when each side is browned.

Shepherds Pie and steamed veggies with cheese

• (Although I read that it is only really a shepherd's pie if you use lamb meat... since I am using beef I guess it is really a cottage pie!)
• 
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound ground lamb (or substitute half with another ground meat)
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk (any fat content)
• Kosher salt to taste

print a shopping list for this recipe

preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil, then add the onion, carrot, and meat. Cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Drain the fat and add the broth, tomato paste, and herbs. Simmer until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes, then add the peas.

4. Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish; set aside.

5. Meanwhile, bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes; drain.

6. Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, and salt.

7. Spread them over the meat mixture, then crosshatch the top with a fork.

8. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Chicken and Peaches

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 large firm-ripe peaches, cut into 1/4-inch slices, or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peaches, (about 4 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and orange juice in a small bowl and set aside. When the chicken is browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, the soy sauce mixture, and the peaches to the pan. Turn the heat up to high and cook, uncovered, for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is nicely thickened and the peaches soften. Add the chicken back to the pan with the sauce, turn the heat down to moderate-low, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

In the meantime, toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Serve the chicken topped with the sauce and sprinkled with the toasted almonds.

Tex Mex Chicken and Dumplings

Tex-Mex chicken and dumplings
For the chicken:
1 four-pound chicken
16 cups of water (1 gallon)
1 onion
9 cloves of garlic, divided
2 carrots, peeled and cut into quarters
4 celery stalks, cut into quarters
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried or 1 stalk fresh epazote (optional)
1 leafy stem of cilantro (optional) plus 1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
1 can of Ro-Tel
2 jalapenos, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup of cream
Salt, black pepper, cayenne and cumin to taste

For the cornmeal dumplings:
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 jalapeno, finely diced
2 tablespoons of minced cilantro

Method:
Clean and rinse your chicken and place in a large stock pot. Add water, onion, 8 cloves of garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaves, epazote and whole cilantro stem. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour and a half, occasionally skimming the foamy scum off the surface.

Remove chicken from pot and turn off the heat. After it’s cooled, remove fat and pick the meat off the bones and either shred or cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste.

Take cooled broth and strain and throw out the vegetables as they’ve done their duty. Now you need to remove the fat from the broth. If you don’t have a preferred way of getting rid of the fat or lack a gravy separator, you can try the plastic bag method. Take a quart-sized plastic storage bag, pour some broth into it. You will see the fat rise to the top. Snip a bottom corner of the bag and drain the broth, stopping when you get to the fat layer. (You will probably have to do this in batches).

Place the broth back into the pot and add the shredded chicken and lime juice. In a blender, add the can of Ro-Tel, sliced jalapenos, chopped cilantro and garlic and blend. Add puree to the pot. Now add the cream. Add salt, black pepper, cayenne and cumin to taste. Bring to a boil. And while the soup is coming to a boil, make the cornmeal dumplings.

Sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the milk with the eggs and add to the dry ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, cilantro and jalapenos.

When soup is boiling, turn heat down to low and gently drop the dumpling batter into the pot, one tablespoon or so at a time. Do not stir. Place lid on top and steam dumplings for 20 minutes.

Ladle the chicken and dumplings into bowls and sprinkle cilantro on top. Serves six to eight.

Notes: If you want a thicker broth, feel free to add some flour. I'd add it slowly, a quarter cup at a time

Taco Soup, Cornbread

1 pound ground beef, cooked
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can mild chili beans
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Mix all ingredients in a crock-pot. Cook on low for 4 hours, or however long you need to. Or cook on stove until heated through.

Southern Cornbread (this is the BEST CORNBREAD I have ever had -- gluten-free or not!!)

It's from julesglutenfree.com

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (or non-dairy alternative)
1 egg
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (dairy or soy)
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 -- 3/4 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the liquid ingredients then stir in the other ingredients, mixing until the lumps are removed. The batter will be thin, but not watery.

Pour the batter into an oiled 8 x 8 baking pan, and iron skillet, or into oiled or lined muffin pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes for the cornbread, less for the muffins, according to your oven.

The bread will be done when the top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick in the center of the bread is clean; do not over cook!

From www.easilyglutenfree.wordpress.com (my sister's blog)

Spaghetti, Salad

I hope this is self-explanatory! Instead of using ground beef, I like to use sausage to add more flavor. I used original Jimmy Dean sausage.

Broccoli Rice Chicken Casserole

From www.cooks.com

1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 stick butter
1 (3 lb.) chicken, stewed and cut up
1 (10 oz.) pkg. chopped broccoli or chopped spinach, cooked and drained
1 c. quick cooking rice, uncooked
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/4 c. water
2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 c. water

Saute onion in butter until transparent. Add chicken, broccoli or spinach, rice, soup, water, milk, and cheese. Mix well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole and bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Served with fruit