So I have decided to do a search for new recipes that I can try, I will post the ones I am going to attempt.
I have yet to try any of the below recipes but am excited especillay about the chicken sausage with butternut squash and brussuel sprouts. All recipes come from http://gluten-dairy-sugarfree.com/?cat=15
What a useful blog that was, check it out.
Simply because I love squash:
Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans & Spinach
Sunday, 4 October 2009
- Spaghetti Squash with Black Beans & Spinach
First off let me say that I recently dropped my camera and ever since it has been hit or miss getting it to focus. Sometimes it turns out great and others not. I plan to get a new, better camera sometime this fall. Until then I will do the best I can and hopefully the descriptions of my recipes will be more appealing than the pictures!
My chiropractor gave me some fresh black beans from his garden the other day, so I decided I had to come up with a new idea for preparing them. When I was at the farmers’ market last week I discovered they had spaghetti squash. I LOVE spaghetti squash and was happy to see it come back in season. It is so tasty and also absorbs all the flavors of whatever you cook with it. It can be a little time consuming to prepare, but not if you time it right. Slow-cooking the beans and the squash was actually quite easy and added a nice warmth to the apartment as the air outside was beginning to chill.
Basic Slow-Cooked Beans
You can use canned black beans for this recipe of course, but slow-cooked from dry beans taste so much better and have a moist texture. If you have a crockpot
, this is super easy. All you have to do is plan ahead for a few easy steps. First soak the beans overnight in 3 parts water to 1 part beans. Then in the morning, drain the water and put the beans in the crock pot with again 3 parts water to 1 part beans. They will have expanded overnight, so you will need more water this time. Usually I just measure by eye level. If I add enough water to bring the level to at least twice as high as the beans, that is usually enough. Turn the pot on low and allow it to cook for 8-10 hours while you go about your day. I have read that crockpots use only $0.02 of electricity per hour, so it is a very energy-efficient way of cooking and low-maintenance as well. In the last hour or so of cooking, add 1 tsp salt per cup of dry beans to the crockpot.Spaghetti Squash
The spaghetti squash I prepared ahead of time too. Take a sturdy knife and carefully cut the squash in half. With a spoon, remove the seeds and inner pulp. Drizzle the insides with olive oil and rub with a sprinkle of salt and black pepper. Wrap each half in aluminum foil. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the squash, testing with a fork for softness. It should be easily pierced with a fork but not mushy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When it is cool enough to touch, take a fork and scrape out the insides. They will look like thin strands of spaghetti. Store in a container in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook with it. You can do this the night before, when you start soaking the beans. That way when you are ready to cook dinner the next night, your squash and your beans will both be ready and you can throw the meal together in less than 10 minutes.
Spaghetti Squash With Black Beans & Spinach
2 cups spaghetti squash, prepared above
1 cup cooked or canned black beans
1 small bunch fresh spinach
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cippolini onion (these are in season right now, and are very flavorful)
3 cloves garlic
2-3 T olive oil or reserved bacon fat
2-3 T stock
sea salt & cracked pepper
If you are not a vegetarian and don’t have a cholesterol problem, I highly recommend cooking this dish in bacon fat. I know it sounds really unhealthy but if you eat well regularly, a little animal fat in moderation can be good for you. We make bacon once a week for breakfast. We eat meat on average for 1 meal or less per day, and not very much at that, so we enjoy the good stuff - like Niman Ranch nitrate-free uncured bacon. When we make it for breakfast we skim off some of the fat and keep it in a little glass jar on the counter top and then cook pancakes right in the pan with the remaining fat, adding a little oil if necessary. Then I use the reserved fat for cooking when the idea strikes me, like for this recipe. It really adds a lot of flavor. But of course, a good olive oil will do just fine, and makes it completely vegan. Or try using a combination of both.
Heat the oil and/or bacon fat in a large skillet and saute the onion & garlic for a few minutes. Add the prepared squash, black beans and spinach and saute for about 5 minutes, adding a little chicken or vegetable stock to steam the spinach. When the spinach becomes bright green and tender, toss in the fresh basil leaves, stir, and remove from heat. Season with salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste and serve. How’s that for a quick, easy meal?
Makes 2 servings.
Sesame-Tamari Turkey Meatballs
1/2 lb. ground turkey (thigh meat)
2 T gluten-free cracker crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp wheat-free low-sodium tamari soy sauce, or more to taste
2-3 green onions
2 T toasted sesame oil
Black pepper to taste
In a mixing bowl, beat the egg and combine with the ground turkey, cracker crumbs, tamari, and the white parts of chopped green onion (save the green scallions for later). Sprinkle with a few cranks of a fresh pepper grinder. Tamari is usually loaded with salt, even the low-sodium kind, so there’s no need to add any. Mix well and form into 2-inch meatballs; you may need to use your hands, just wash them with hot soapy water afterward. Heat the sesame oil in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. Drop the meatballs one by one into the hot skillet, sprinkling with the remaining green scallions and a drizzling of tamari for more flavor. Cook for about 4-5 minutes and then flip them over, browning each side until thoroughly cooked in the center. Add more oil if necessary. Serve over a bed of brown rice or buckwheat with some stir-fried braising greens.
Gluten Free Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili
Gluten Free Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons gluten free chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 1/2 cups butternut squash, cooked & cubed
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2-4 cups vegetable broth (depending on how thick or thin you like your stew/soup)
1 (14 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes in juice
2-3 cups fresh kale, washed, patted dry, and cut or torn into bite size pieces
1 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
In a large dutch oven heat olive oil. Saute onions and garlic until soft. Add chili powder and cumin and cook for 1-2 minutes to release the aroma of the spices. Add butternut squash, black beans, and can of tomatoes. Add 2 cups of vegetable broth. If you want the chili a bit more thin, add additional vegetable broth. Cook on low heat for 30-40 minutes. About 10 minutes before serving add the fresh kale. After simmering for 6-8 minutes the kale will be a beautiful bright green. Taste the chili. Add salt if needed, along with freshly ground pepper.
Ladle the soup into bowl into bowls and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh gluten
Notes:
- This chili would work really well in a slow cooker. Simply saute the garlic and onions, and then add all ingredients (except kale) to your slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours and high for 2-3 hours. Add the kale, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker about 10 minutes before serving.
- We don't use a lot of salt in our cooking for health reasons. If you need more, feel free to add it! I've learned that if you add salt at the end of the cooking process you'll be less likely to over salt your food.
- Any type of cooked, cubed squash would work well in this chili
Stuffed Pumpkins With Italian Sausage (or sub for sausage as I will)
2 small kabocha squash or mini-pumpkins
1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage (going to substitute something else, not sure what yet).
1/4 cup crumbs from crushed Mary’s Gone Crackers (or your other favorite gluten-free cracker)
1 egg
1 small diced tomato
handful fresh basil leaves (or your other favorite herbs)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 small roasted pepper, chopped
1/4 tsp sea salt
cracked black pepper
Cut the tops off the squash, remove the seeds and scrape out the insides. Poke a few holes in the inside with a fork. Crush the cracker crumbs and beat the egg. Add all the other ingredients and mix well in a big bowl. You may need to use your hands to work it together. Fill the pumpkins with the stuffing mixture and place them in a baking dish. You may have extra stuffing, in which case just spoon it into the baking dish alongside the pumpkins. Put the tops of the pumpkins in the dish also, if you have saved them.
Chicken Sausage with Butternut Squash and Brussel Sprouts
Chicken Sausage With Butternut Squash & Brussels Sprouts
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 pork sausages (or chicken if you prefer)
2 cups chopped Brussels sprouts
1/2 a red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 cup chicken stock
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt & fresh cracked pepper
Peel, cut and bake the squash for an hour at 350 degrees F, with a drizzling of extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle of salt & pepper. Simmer the sausages and Brussels sprouts together on the stove top in a little homemade chicken stock with chopped onion for about 10 minutes. When the liquid is nearly gone, remove the sausages and slice them up. Then toss them back in the pan along with a touch more olive oil, minced garlic and the cooked butternut squash. Saute everything for a few minutes, just until the flavors mix and the garlic is fragrant, then season it with sea salt & fresh cracked pepper and serve.
Makes 2 servings
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