Pao de Queijo

We’ve been in love with these little balls of cheesy bread since we had them at a Brazilian steakhouse. I’ve made them many times but never saved the recipe. Jeff declared this batch to be the best, so I am saving it this time. 

What I had:

1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated cheese (I used a mix of Parmigiano Reggiano & Fontina)

What I did:

• Heated milk, salt, and oil on stove till bubbling.
• Poured this liquid into the tapioca flour and mixed till a sticky dough was formed.
• Mixed in the egg; felt hard at the beginning but took a minute and it was easier done than I thought.
• Mixed in the grated cheese.
• Baked at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, turned the oven off, and let them sit for another 5 to get the exterior crispy.

Ate way too many of them right out of the oven - they are bite sized and delicious and very easy to keep eating till you feel sick. So beware!

Gluten free garlic cheesey biscuits

What I had:

• 1 cup Bisquik gluten free pancake & baking mix
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp hard butter
• 1/3 cup 2% milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup shredded jalapeno cheddar cheese

What I did:

• Preheated the oven to 400 degrees
• Mixed the baking mix, garlic powder and butter using a pastry blender
• Added the rest of the ingredients and mixed till dough formed
• Dropped onto baking mat using a spoon, it gave me 6 large biscuits
•  Baked for 10 minutes, turned the oven off and left them in there for another 5 minutes

Verdict? Delicious, loved by all gluten loving and gluten free folks in the house!

Chicken balls

Do you know how many chickens you have to chase to get enough to serve 20 people ... ;-)

I joke, I joke, these are appetizers using chicken sausage, cheese, Pillsbury baking mix and some extras I threw in this time. They were delicious and gone quickly so I decided to save the recipe.

What I had:

• 2.5 lbs chicken sausage - it came in long links at Costco, no flavor, remember to remove the casing
• 1 1/2 cup Bisquick Gluten Free Baking & Pancake mix
• 3 cup your favorite shredded cheese (I used a mix of Mexican & mozzarella)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large red onion, chopped finely
• a 7 oz can of Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, chopped finely
• garlic powder, salt, paprika, all to taste

 What I did:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
• Throw all ingredients into a large mixing bowl
• Put on gloves
• Mix it well
• Make balls around an inch round
• Bake them for 25 minutes
• Serve them with a sweet mustard dipping sauce
• Hide some to eat later because they'll be gone faster than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Gluten free sausage cheese balls

What I had:

• 3/4 cup Bisquick Gluten Free Baking & Pancake mix
• 16 oz hot Italian sausage, raw
• 1 1/2 cup your favorite shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, all to taste

What I did:

• Pre-heat oven to 350
• Mix all ingredients in a bowl by hand
• Rolled 1 inch balls and placed on baking sheet (I got 30 balls by the end)
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Serve with dipping sauce of choice

This was a hit at a party!

Winter day soup

I had some leeks needing to be used up, some cauliflower that had sat in the fridge too long and some sweet potatoes that I was too tired of making chips from. So what does one do? Make a soup that's perfect for an evening that threw an unexpected winters mix at us.

What I had:

• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 medium sweet potatoes cut into inch pieces
• 2 leeks, all the whites and an inch of the green parts chopped
• Coconut oil
• Cumin, salt and paprika to taste
• Parsley for garnish
• 4 chicken bullion cubes, in 4 cups boiling water
• 2 cups coconut water
• 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

What I did:

• Heat up 2 tbsp coconut oil in a heavy skillet, add leeks till soft
• Add the cauliflower and sweet potato and pour the chicken broth in
• Let it simmer for 5 minutes, then add coconut milk and flakes
• Let this cook for 10 minutes till the vegetables are soft
• Transfer the entire thing to a blender and blend till almost liquid (I like some pieces in my soup for texture)
• Transfer back to skillet, add the spices to taste
• Serve with some cilantro 

When the 3 year old eats something without complaint, it's a big win for me!

Turkey hamburger soup

This soup is delicious and oh so good for you. It's filled with all kinds of vegetables and turkey, which is a great low fat meat. I got the original recipe form my nutritionist but tweaked it a little to our taste.

What I had:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, coarsely grated
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch circles
• 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 6 baby bok choy heads, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup cabbage, chopped
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp coconut amino acids (soy free gluten free soy sauce)
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste
• Sriracha

What I did:

•  In a large pot, heated the coconut oil till melted.
• Added the onions and garlic, cooked till onions were translucent.
• Added ground turkey and let it cook.
• Added the sweet potato, carrots and mushrooms with half the broth and let it cook for 15 minutes on medium heat.
• Added the remaining broth, bok choy, cabbage and the dry spices and give it a good mixing.
• Add the vinegar and amino acids and simmer for as long as you want till the vegetables are falling apart.
• Serve with a splash of Sriracha in each bowl.

It is sweet and fragrant and very good for you on a cold evening :)

I have also cooked it in the crock pot. After the turkey is cooked, I mixed all the ingredients and threw it in the crock pot, on low for 10 hrs. It was great that way too.

Gluten free sweet potato cookies

Adapted from here.

What I had:

• 1/2 cup of almond Butter
• 1/2 cup of pureed sweet potato (I threw it in the microwave for 6 minutes, then peeled it)
• 1/4 cup local wild honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla 
• 1/2 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of real salt
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup mixed chopped pecans and macadamia nuts

What I did:

• Turned the oven on at 350 degrees
• Mixed all ingredients till well integrated
• Threw a heaping tablespoon mix each on a silicone baking mat
• Baked for 15 minutes
• Burnt my tongue tasting one
• Let the rest cool

They are pretty good, dense, chewy, crunchy, sweet without any sugar in them.

Bacon dip

Oh, this is so good on your tongue! Eat it on a biscuit, eat it on a chip, eat it with a spoon, ...

What I had:

• 1 lb thick center cut bacon, cut into inch pieces and browned
• 1 medium yellow onions, diced small
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• 3 ounces strong brewed coffee

What I did:

• Poured out most of the bacon grease and cook the garlic and onions in the rest, on medium high heat.
• Added all the other ingredients and cooked till boiling.
• Added the bacon back in, cooked for 10 minutes.
• Put the entire thing in a food processor and ground it for a few seconds.
• Ate the entire thing with a spoon.

Ok, I wanted to but I employed great self control and did not eat the entire thing. But, it is so delicious. Sweet, savory, crunchy, it's like your mouth goes on a perfect vacation.

Cheesy bacon potatoes

What you need:

• Some number of red potatoes, sliced about a quarter inch thick
• Your favorite cheese, shredded, enough to cover all the potato slices
• Crumbled bacon, as much as you want
• Your favorite butter or butter like product

What to do:

• Brush the butter on both sides of the potato slices, I used Country Crock.
• Lay them on an untreated pan, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn them over, bake for another 10 minutes.
• Cover each slice with shredded cheese and then some bacon.
• Bake for another 10 minutes.
• Let cool or burn your mouth and enjoy.

Pardon my dirty baking sheet but they were going way to fast to wait for a plate. And they were a perfect accompaniment to our steak tonight.

Slow cooker cashew chicken

Adapted from here.

What I had:

• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 16 oz frozen broccoli florets
• 16 oz sliced mushrooms
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced thin
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 cup cashews 

What I did:

• Put chicken breasts on the bottom of a 7 quart slow cooker
• Layered the vegetables on top - broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, ginger, and garlic
• Poured the soy sauce, ketchup, and vinegar over the vegetables
• Sprinkled the brown sugar over everything
• Cooked on low for 5 hrs
• Shredded the chicken breasts, added the cashews, and mixed everything together
• Served over thin spaghetti noodles with some hot sauce, added some crushed cashews on top for garnish

Verdict:

Delicious! Could be spicier but since I was feeding the toddler, I just added the hot sauce to my plate. It's got the perfect level of sweet ad spicy, with a lot of vegetable servings.

Indian chili chicken

What I had:

• 1.5 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Marinade:

• 4 green chillies
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 tsp gluten free soy sauce
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp lemon juice

For the chicken:

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp corn flour

Sauce:

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium whie onions, sliced thick
• 2 orange bell peppers, sliced thinly
• 6 green and red chillis, cut into small rounds
• 3/4 warm water 
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Maggi hot 'n sweet sauce

What I did:

• Ground the garlic and chilies for the marinade.
• Added that to the chicken pieces, along with the soy sauce, vinegar and lemon juice in a small container.
• Left it in the fridge overnight.
• Next evening, added 1 beaten egg to the chicken pieces, coating them completely. Repeated with the corn flour.
• Cooked the chicken pieces in olive oil in a 12 inch deep skillet till lightly browned and cooked through. Pulled them out and put aside.
• Removed all except 2 tbsp oil from the skillet. Added garlic to the pan till fragrant.
• Added onions till soft, then added both peppers.
• Mixed the 3/4 cup warm water with the 2 tbsp corn starch; added to the skillet till it comes to boiling.
• Added the chicken pieces to the pan and heated it well.
• Served it with yogurt to cut the heat and roti.

Slow cooker coconut chicken

Recipe adapted from here

What I had:

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large red onion
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 very large tomato
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp paprika

What I did:

• Put the chicken in the crock pot
• Put everything else in a blender and mixed till pulverized
• Poured the sauce over the chicken
• Cooked on high for 5 hours
• Shredded the chicken in the sauce
• Served over rice, with a side of steamed veggies

This was toddler approved, he ate a big bowl of rice and the curry without a single complaint!

the red flecks are tomato skin, I didn't have any paste

Vegetable Tian

What I had:

• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 yellow squash, sliced thin
• 1 zucchini. sliced thin
• 2 medium white potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
• 1 large tomato, sliced thin
• variety of spices, I used salt, paprika, garlic, parsley
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• olive oil

What I did:

• Cooked garlic and onions in olive oil till soft
• Sprayed an 8X8 glass baking pan
• Layered garlic and onions on the bottom
• Created rows of sliced vegetables, alternating them for beauty
• Sprinkled spices over the vegetables
• Covered with aluminum foil and cooked at 400 degrees for 30 minutes
• Removed the foil, sprinkled cheese over everything and cooked for another 15 minutes

It was delicious! One note, for next time, I would put spices on all vegetables before lining them up in the pan to more evenly distribute the flavor.