Fresh Cucumber Asian Salad

"Look what I have created! I have made fire! *I* have made fire!!!" - 'Castaway' with Tom Hanks

To celebrate Labor Day (or Memorial Day, as I kept accidentally calling it), we had friends and family over for grilling and to try out our new fire pit.  It was great fun.

During our festivities, our sweet neighbor, who speaks zero English, stopped by and gave us a GIANT bowl of cucumbers to serve to our guests.Confession: I know zero cucumber recipes.

So I cut up some of the cucumbers and served them with salad dressing, when one of our friends said she usually eats them with vinegar and splenda (or sugar, as I didn’t have splenda). 

It was really good, and I still had about 10 cucumbers left, so I made it again this week, marinated it, and jazzed it up a bit.  Its very similar to the salad a lot of asian restaurants serve.

 

Ingredients:

3 cucumbers
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper 

Directions:

Step 1:  Cut the fresh cucumbers into thin slices. The thinner the slice, the more vinegary they will be!

Step 2: In a small bowl combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir. 

Step 3: In a large bowl, toss cucumbers, onion, and carrots. Pour vinegar mixture over the top and stir, ensuring every piece of cucumber is coated. 

Step 4: Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably over night, before serving. 

Serves 4-5 sides.

 

Citrus Baked Salmon

"Luck affects everything. Let your hook always be cast; in the stream where you least expect it there will be a fish." - Ovid

 

Ingredients: 

1 salmon filet (1/2-1 pound)

½ orange

½ lime

½ lemon

3 tablespoons honey

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

Instructions:

Step 1: Place the salmon, skin down, in a greased oven safe baking dish. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2: In a small bowl, squeeze the juices from the lime, lemon, and orange. Mix with honey, salt, pepper, and oil.  Pour onto the salmon.

Step 3: Bake the salmon for 6 minutes, then baste again with the sauce in the pan.  Cook an additional 6-10 minutes until done (flaky).

Serves 2.

Throwing My First Party Since Going Gluten-Free

"Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life." - Mark Twain

Last night I had girlfriends over. We exchanged books, drank wine, and caught up on each other’s lives. Very relaxing and fun. 

This was the first event I’ve hosted since going gluten-free. I debated whether I wanted to serve all gluten-free foods, a mix of devil food and gluten-free, or what. My main worry was that people who weren’t gluten-free wouldn’t like the snacks, and I live to please--so I was feeling wary.

Since there were two other potential gluten-free friends coming, I decided to try to make everything gluten-free. I also wanted to make things relatively healthy, so this would be a real challenge!

To my delight, at the end of the night every plate was sparkling clean! Well, maybe one or two carrot sticks remained.   

Here’s a quick list of what I served, if you want to throw your own easy gluten-free snacks!

Plate 1: Fresh veggie plate: baby carrots, snap peas, and cherry tomatoes. This combo makes for an eye pleasing mix of colors, and they are super easy to eat and dip. The tomatoes were fresh from my garden, which always motivates people to try one!

Plate 2: Veggie Octopus. Green and yellow bell pepper, cut in slices, with a cherry tomato in the center. Cute, fun, and tasty!

Plate 3: Cracker plate. Two lines of Archer Farms Brown Rice Sesame Rice Crackers (note: they have a warning label that they are made in a factory that uses wheat), one line of Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins, and one line of Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins Cheddar Cheese.

(click the picture for the amazon link)

Plate 4: Annie’s Snickerdoodle Bunny Cookies. (for dipping in the Wildtree chocolate cheesecake dip—not pictured since it was in the fridge until the guests came!)

(click the picture for the amazon link)

Plate 5: Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

(click the picture for the amazon link)

Bowl 1: Tastefully Simple Garlic, Garlic dip. (used light mayo and light sour cream) Used for dipping both crackers and veggies.  Made in a facility that processes wheat.

(click the picture for the amazon link)

Bowl 2: Tastefully Simple Sweet Bell Pepper Mix. (used light mayo and light sour cream) Used for dipping both crackers and veggies.  Made in a facility that processes wheat.

Total prep time was 1 hour. Super fast and easy, and all the foods went over great. You certainly don’t have to use these products to serve gluten-free, these are just some suggestions and ideas. If you can’t find the dips, ranch dressing (just make sure its gluten-free) is also a easy and popular dipping sauce. 

And remember friends, almost all wines are gluten-free!

Served 8. 

 (my sister Michelle, left, Me, right)

Honey-Orange Glazed Carrots

“I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.” - Oscar Wilde

I was about to squeeze lemon juice on my carrots, making myself a traditional parsley carrot dish, when I thought waaaiiiitt...I have half an orange in the fridge. I wonder how that would taste on carrots? The answer...sweet and wonderful. I hope you enjoy it too. 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups water

1 lb baby carrots
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 fresh orange
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
dash of pepper

Directions:

Step 1: Bring the water to a boil in a medium sized pan and cook the carrots on medium-high heat, covered, for 10-15 minutes or until they are tender. Drain the excess water.

Step 2: To the pan add butter or margarine, honey,  juice from ½ orange, seasoned salt, and dash of pepper. Simmer on low an additional 2-5 minutes before serving.

Serves 3-4 sides.

Roasted Red Parsley Potatoes

“Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers.” - William Shakespeare

I love potatoes. Love love love them. If I could marry a potato, well...I probably wouldn't, but the fact that I would consider it says something. Here is one of many potato recipes to come!

Ingredients:

6-8 medium red potatoes, chopped
2+1 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dry parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
Sprinkle with pepper

Directions:

Step 1: Use 1 tbsp of the oil to coat the bottom of the a tin foil covered baking sheet. Preheat your oven to 400F.

Step 2:  In a medium sized bowl combine potatoes, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, paprika, onion powder, parsley, salt, and pepper. Toss the potatoes in the mixture until thoroughly covered.

Step 3: Lay the potatoes on the baking sheet. Cook for 30 minutes.

Serves 3-4 sides.

"Just Like Mom's" Spaghetti

"There's no place like home." - The Wizard of Oz

I think it's a universal truth that everyone believes that their mom makes the best spaghetti in the world. It just so happens that, in my case, it's true! I can't even order spaghetti in restaurants because my mom's has ruined me for any other pasta. I remember when I was a little kid and I would smell the sauce slow cooking all day, and I would sneak pieces of sausage when my parent's weren't looking. When I made this last night, I was tempted to just eat the sauce plain, it's that good! I hope you enjoy it, too. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 package Sweet Italian Sausage

1 green bell pepper

1 package gluten-free spaghetti noodles

1 cup sliced carrots

Sauce:

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1 can tomato paste (12 oz)

I jar traditional Prego spaghetti sauce

Meatballs:

1 lb lean hamburger

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

2 eggs

2 slices white gluten-free bread (I used Udis)

Directions:

Step 1: Create your meatballs by combining in a large bowl the hamburger, eggs, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, and bread (toasted and crushed into crumbs).  Roll 1-2 ounces of mixture into a ball to form meatballs.

Step 2: Cut Italian sausage into fourths. Add olive oil to a large pan. Cook on medium heat, covered, the meatballs and Italian sausage for 10 minutes or until done. 

Step 3: To create the sauce mix prego, tomato paste, basil, garlic powder, and sugar in a large pot. Cover and set on low. If the sauce begins to boil, set to simmer. 

Step 4: Chop the green pepper in large slices. Add the carrots, green pepper to the sauce.  Add the contents of the large pan (meatballs, sausage) to the sauce, including excess oil.

Step 5: Set sauce to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally (the longer it cooks, the tastier it gets! Just be sure not to scorch the sauce) 

Step 6: Cook gluten-free spaghetti noodles according to package instructions. Be careful not to overcook!

Step 7: Ladle sauce onto noodles and enjoy!

Serves 4-6. 

Sweet Basil and Garlic Chicken

“A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.” - Elsa Schiaparelli

I was about to make sweet and sour chicken when I realized that I didn't have pineapple juice. Crap! I had someone coming over for dinner and I didn't have time to run out to the store for that essential item. So I tore through my cupboards, threw ingredients into the pan, and hoped for the best. And the best is what I got! I made this exact same chicken for my fiance the next day, it was that good.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast strips
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon dried sweet basil
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 chopped green onions (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: In a large pan, sautee the garlic and grapeseed oil for 2 minutes on medium-high heat.

Step 2: Add chicken broth, onion powder, crushed garlic, butter, basil, and seasoned salt to the pan. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Add  the chicken to the pan and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, turning twice.

Step 3: Turn heat to simmer and cook an additional 10 minutes so the chicken can fully absorb the flavor. (Add optional green onions here).  If your sauce is runny at this point, cook on high an additional 2-3 minutes to thicken, but make sure you take the chicken out first so you don't overcook.

Note: If you use full chicken breasts and not strips be sure to adjust the cook time accordingly. Also, the first time I made this I added chopped green onions, which tasted really good, but I ran out for the second batch. I think I prefer it without only because it didn't change the flavor significantly and it was extra work--but it does look prettier, so not a bad ingredient to add when serving guests! (2 scallions, chopped, added during the simmer step)

Serves 2.