Sunday, March 20, 2016

Easter Recipe Roundup from "The Gluten-Free Slow Cooker"

Are you already thinking about what you're going to make for Easter?  I know, I know, you're probably making a ham, but have you thought about what you're going to serve for breakfast?  How about for dessert?

Well, your day is about to get a little brighter because I'm bringing you 3 of my recipes from The Gluten-Free Slow Cooker to help make Easter day go just a little bit smoother!  The Gluten-Free Slow Cooker is my newest cookbook and was released on October 2.  It's FULL of all sorts of recipes, from appetizers, breakfast food, main courses, side dishes and desserts!  If you need more suggestions beyond the 3 recipes listed below, I highly suggest you pick up a copy of my book and make it the easiest Easter EV-AH! ;)  How about some Lasagna Roll-Ups or Apple and Onion Pork Loin for your Easter Main course instead of the usual Ham?  The recipes are in the book!  Or, how about making some Black-Eyed Pea and Ham Soup with those leftovers?  The recipe is in the book and it's one of my FAVORITE soups ever!  You'll love it!  You can purchase it here.

Photography by JNV

So, let's talk the recipes I am giving you right now.  How about starting Easter morning off with some delicious Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal?  YUM!  It's like dessert for breakfast!  Seriously, you have to have some!  You'll thank me later!

Moving on, I'm going to suggest serving my Brown Sugar Mashed Potatoes as a healthier alternative to the traditional mashed potatoes you may usually serve.  Your family will love this new twist!  

Let's end Easter dinner on a VERY good note!  How about my Hazelnut and Chocolate Cheesecakes?!  YES, PLEASE!!!!!!!  Seriously.  You'll get brownie points for the cute individualized jar presentation!  Everyone will leave happy ;)

Alright....I'm going to get on with it now!  Here are the recipes:


Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal

Finding gluten-free cinnamon rolls can be difficult. Making gluten-free cinnamon rolls takes way too much time. Making Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal is simple and quick! Drizzle your oatmeal with a delicious cinnamon frosting, and you’ve got a decadent dessert-like oatmeal for breakfast.

1½ cups (120 g) steel cut oats
½ cup (115 g) brown sugar
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
6 cups (1.4 L) almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (115 g) cinnamon frosting, storebought, or follow the frosting recipe on page 159, substituting cinnamon for the pumpkin pie spice.

» Spray your crock with nonstick cooking spray. Pour in the oats, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour the milk and vanilla over the top and give a quick stir.
» Cover the crock and cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.
» When you are ready to serve this, swirl in the cinnamon frosting.

RECOMMENDED SLOW COOKER SIZE:
3 quart (3 L)
YIELD: 6 servings
RECIPE NOTE
You can easily make this recipe dairyfree by replacing the cinnamon frosting with the following alternative: Mix together 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) almond milk, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.

TIPS & SUGGESTIONS
>> If you don’t like the thickness of your oatmeal in the morning, you can thin it out by adding a bit of milk when serving.
» You can change the flavor of this oatmeal by experimenting with different types of milk. Try coconut, cashew, vanilla-almond, or soy milk to change things up.


Brown Sugar Mashed Sweet Potatoes 
5 INGREDIENTS OR LESS

This recipe provides all the goodness of mashed potatoes, but it’s sweet and delicious instead of savory. You won’t need dessert after eating these amazingly easy sweet potatoes.

6 cups (660 g) ½-inch (1 cm) peeled sweet potato cubes
1⁄3 cup (75 g) brown sugar
6 tablespoons (85 g) butter
½ cup (120 ml) vegetable stock

» Spray your crock with nonstick cooking spray.
» Place the sweet potatoes into the crock and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Place the butter on top, and then pour the stock over the top as well.
» Cover the crock and cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours, or until the potatoes are very tender and pierce easily with a fork. Mash the potatoes right in the crock.

RECOMMENDED SLOW COOKER SIZE:
2 to 3 quart (2 to 3 L)
YIELD: 6 to 8 servings
TIPS & SUGGESTIONS
This dish pairs well with the Apple and Onion Pork Loin on page 92, the Cranberry-Glazed Turkey Breast on page 102, and the Honey Garlic Pork Chops on page 106.


Hazelnut and Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

These individual cheesecakes are decadent, smooth, creamy, hazelnutty, chocolaty, and delicious. They are incredibly charming, served in individual mason jars, which makes for a beautiful presentation for your guests.

1 box (8 ounces, or 225 g) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup (230 g) nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1⁄3 cup (60 g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
¾ cup (195 g) chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella
6 mason jars (6 ounces, or 175 ml, each)
» Using a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, and vanilla on mediumlow speed. (You may use a hand mixer if you do not have a stand mixer.) When it is well mixed, add the eggs, one at a time. When this is well combined, add the chocolate-hazelnut spread.
Continue to mix and scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
» When the mixture is well combined, pour or spoon the batter evenly into the 6 jars. Leaving the lid off of the jars, place them into your crock. Carefully pour water into the crock around the outside of the jars, until the water level is about halfway up the outside of the mason jars. (Be careful not to get any water in your cheesecakes.)
» Cover the crock and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or on HIGH for 2 to 2½ hours.
» When the cook time is up, wearing an oven mitt, carefully remove the mason jars from the water bath and place them on a cooling rack.

RECOMMENDED SLOW COOKER SIZE:
5 quart (5 L) or larger
YIELD: 6 servings
TIPS & SUGGESTIONS
» Tie a ribbon around each jar, correlating to whatever theme or holiday you’re celebrating.
» For serving, top each cheesecake with a dollop of whipped cream and some mini chocolate chips.
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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Rice

Recently, I had some stomach virus, which caused me to not feel so hot for 3 days.  Anytime I tried to eat something, it didn't settle well.  When I was younger, my parents would serve me either a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, or Mrs. Grass' Chicken Broth with Noodles.  I don't eat that kind of stuff anymore...it's not good for me and it's definitely not gluten-free.  So, when I want some chicken soup, I make some!

I have to say, this soup turned out PERFECTLY! When my son walked in from daycare, he said "Wow, mom!  What smells so good?!"  When I told him it was Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Rice he said he couldn't wait to try it!  This came as a huge shock to me.  
First of all, he has never liked soup.
I don't know if it's a consistency thing or what, but he just never gives it much of a chance!  This time, he did.  He proclaimed he would not eat the carrots (he's going through a "thing") but he CLEANED his bowl!!!!  Score 1 point for team mom!  

Me?  I managed to eat a bowl.  It felt great going down.  My stomach wasn't ready. LOL  However, my husband finished every last drop of that soup!  It was a definite win and a recipe we'll make over and over again.  I almost can't wait for one of my neighbors to get sick so I can bring some over!!!  (Is that bad?!!!)


Servings: 4-6 (Use a 3-4 Quart Slow Cooker for this Recipe)

Ingredients:
1.5-2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1.5 cups chopped carrots
1.5 cups chopped red onion
1 cup green beans (to add later)
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
8 cups no-salt chicken stock (you can omit the salt if you're using regular stock)
Cooked rice.

Directions:
Place your chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock.

Add in your chopped carrots,

 onion,

garlic powder, onion powder, salt, celery seed, paprika, pepper and bay leaf.

Pour in the chicken stock.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours, or on HIGH for 3-3.5 hours.

 Take the chicken out and cut it into very small cubes.

 Stir the chicken back into the soup and add in your green beans.

Cook for an additional 30 minutes or so, or until the green beans are tender.
During this 30 minutes, prepare your rice.

When your rice and soup are both ready, it's time to serve.  Place 1/4-1/2 cup of rice in each bowl and spoon the chicken and vegetable soup over the top.

Enjoy!
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Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Basil and Garlic Salmon

First of all, sorry for the delay in posting!  I've been super preoccupied with, well....LIFE!  I'm sure you can all relate.  There are BIG, exciting things happening in my life...which I'll share with all of you as I'm able.  Your support and loyalty over the years has meant the world to me!  Thank you all for continuing to cook my recipes and view my blog!  You're the best!

So...onto this Salmon!!
This recipe came from me needing to make something for dinner because my inlaws were coming! I do some of my best work under pressure ;)  Little did I know, they wouldn't be staying for dinner, but that just gave us delicious leftovers.  LOL  

I've been completely OBSESSED with Basil and Garlic paste.  If you haven't tried it yet, you need this in your life.  It's in the produce section in little plastic tubes.  We put it in our eggs, meatloaf, hamburgers, etc.  It's SO extremely flavorful and fresh!  LOVE how convenient it is for us to use.  So, I've been using it a TON in my cooking.  It's really the perfect consistency for a nice rub, so that's what I did with it.  Mixed it with a few spices and rubbed it on the salmon!  Easy peasy!  I don't have time for complicated ;)

The result?  Delicious, flaky salmnon, packed with incredible flavor.  You're going to love it!

Servings: 5-6 Servings (Use a 3-4 quart slow cooker for this recipe)

Ingredients:
5-6 single size portions of salmon (we buy the frozen salmon at Costco)
1 Tbsp. garlic paste
1 Tbsp. basil paste
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
foil
non-stick spray

Directions:
Lay out a piece of foil for each piece of salmon you are cooking.  Spray each with non-stick spray and place a piece of salmon on each sheet.

In a small bowl, mix together the garlic paste, basil paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

With a brush, brush each piece of salmon with the paste you made.


Close each piece up like a cute little package.

Make sure they're sealed good...you want them to steam inside.  Place all your little packets inside your crock.


Cook on LOW for 1-2 hours.  Depending on the thickness of your salmon, time will vary greatly.  My suggestion is to check it and go by "feel." You will want your salmon to flake easily with a fork.

Enjoy!



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