Posts Tagged: gluten-free

Caramel Flan, Taste-of-Home Style (+ 200-serving Recipe)

Flan for 200?!

We were knee-deep in flan this past week, making 210 servings for our church’s annual Women’s Christmas Dinner. We learned: do NOT let 2 1/2 lb. of sugar get to the golden stage- it’ll be too late! (Turns out, the sugar gets to critical mass, continuing right past the golden stage, right on to the stinky brown stage, before you can even get it out of the pan and into the baking dish…) But hey, a single recipe of this should turn out just fine 🙂

Chia Pudding, Healthy, Super-fast, Eco-Friendly

Fast Easy Chia Pudding w/OUTBoxed Almond Milk!

Whip up batches of this pudding fast, using “coconut honey butter” as a base. It’s a concentrated “milk” you make yourself. It replaces that box of watered-down (& possibly rancid?) nut milk. No big carbon footprint from producing, packaging, and transporting that box of nut milk (that’s like, 85% water). See- you can eat this yummy pudding and feel like you’re saving the planet, haha!

Coconut Honey Butter- For Smoothies, Chia Pudding, Etc.

Nut Milk Concentrate- Greener than Cartons!

Have you ever wondered- why almond milk in a box? It’s convenient. But, it’s not very green. Companies are basically shipping a box of mostly water… not a great carbon footprint.
Plus, once nuts are ground, they’re not as stable. (And rancid oils are death!) Why not just make this recipe?! Throw a few nuts into the coconut/butter mix if desired, and process with your own free water!

Strawberry Mousse in Chocolate Cups

Strawberry Mousse in Homemade Chocolate Cups

This is one elegant dessert, but pretty easy to make. And… OMG- gluten-free!
I usually have frozen berries on hand, and even some gelatin, since I like using it in morning drinks to get the anti-inflammatory benefits.
What I’m saying is… You can probably pull this dessert together (if you’re like me, haha…). And everyone’s tummy will thank you. Nom nom…

Chocolate Mousse w/ Raspberry Bark

Chocolate Mousse- So Light, w/eggs, cream, & tad o' gelatin

Had a reason to celebrate- my friend came off her 30-day cleansing diet. Now we needed a yummy chocolate dessert, gluten-free. nicely garnished. Tricky part: there are no good strawberries in winter to garnish this stuff! Solution: I made a raspberry chocolate bark by boiling down frozen raspberries, spreading on melted chocolate, chilling, and breaking into pieces. YuM!

Chocolate Mousse in Meringue Crust (aka Pavlova)

Chocolate Mousse in Meringue Crust, Gluten-Free!

This is a take on the traditional “Pavlova”, which typically has fresh fruits garnishing a meringue crust, with plenty of whipped cream in between. I wanted to use the egg yolks though, so the chocolate mousse gave me a way to work those in. I guess you could also call this “Gluten-free Chocolate Dessert”, since that’s trendy. Or maybe, “Healthy Chocolate Pie”, since it uses bittersweet chocolate and not very much sugar. Oh, who am I kidding?! I just love meringue, and take any excuse to eat it!

Mashed Potatoes w/ Rosemary

This past year, I came up with a new recipe for mashed potatoes, and I’ll do it this way forever now. I cooked the potatoes whole, adding a few inches of boiling water to the pot, essentially steaming them. They take longer to cook than peeled, cubed potatoes, but oh. My. They were so good!

Chicken Cacciatore- Hunter’s Stew

Easy Chicken Stew, Fancy Name, Chicken Cacciatore

“Cacciatore” literally means “Hunter”. And while there have been a few hunters in the family, most of my hunting will be in the grocery aisle! But I think it’ll be cool, especially if I announce we’re having “Chicken Cacciatore” with an Italian accent!

Persian Rice (AKA “Jeweled Rice”)

Rice_Salad_Pilaf_Persian_Style

Amazing colors (pistachios, cranberries, saffron) work together with other spices to make a rice dish that’s not boring! I served this with a roasted chicken, brushed with ground foenogreek,

Risotto Plus Variations (+ Make-Ahead Tip)

Aborio Rice + Mushrooms, Peas, Herbs, Garlic

I took a picture showing all the possibilities for risotto–a perfect vehicle for mushrooms, peas, garlic, herbs, etc. After I took the picture, I made husband Tom and I a batch, adding all the pictured ingredients. He asked the question you want to hear: “What makes this so creamy?” (Since he knew it was “just rice”…) I could tell him about how it’s the special way you cook this special rice. So good!