Lasanga

{I have a handful of friends that happen to be amazing cooks. This week my dear friend Zack Martin made us some Gluten Free Lasagna! It was delicious especially since I was not a fan of lasagna before having tried his recipe. It was so good that I asked him to be a guest blogger this week. Story and recipe are below, enjoy!!}

Gluten-Free Lasagna 

I'm a picky eater and despise a common ingredient crappy chefs over-use to mask their piss-poor cooking: ONIONS.  Red-eyed and addicted to the food network I began improving traditional classic by removing/replacing the aforementioned tear jerking bulbs.  I learned that if you use good ingredients, put in some patience and care, no on ingredient is necessary.  Nancy, though she loves onions, has always been remarkably considerate to remove them when cooking for me.  My limitations are a spoiled preference; however, her dietary restrictions are medical.  I set out to cook her some gluten packed favorites in a gluten-free form.  This is cooking for my gluttonous glu-tard friends life.

History of Lasagna

According to wikipedia, the Italian's stole this dish from the Greeks. The name Lasagna is either derived from their f'd up word for pasta or pot (who cares).  They claim it was invented around ~1500, but I feel like it was stolen from the Chinese.  Since then many cultures get drunk, start throwing stuff in a dish, and pretend they made something new.  Later, in Mexico, Juan Picante got hammered on tequilla and dreamed up Sombrero Lasagna. He replaced pasta with tortillas, mozzarella with cheddar, used some left over rolled taco meat, and smothered it in a suicide mixture of hot sauce: Enchiladas were born.  Next, some redneck got messed up on American piss beer, wondered out of their local K-mart set out to make confederate flag lasagna.  They tossed in gross frozen green beans, some ground up mystery meet, used the favorite Campbells cream soup, and covered it up with crap-tastic funions (fake onions): Enter Casserole.  Last night I drank a coors light, sipped some tequilla, swirled some pinot, and set out to make the next version of this classic... the onion-less, gluten-free lasagna.       

Glu-Tard Lasagna: 

Pasta (Below)

Sauce (Again, Below)

Ricotta (Pesto Recipe is... guess? Below)

Basil 

Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella

Directions: You're stacking sauce, noodles, and cheese... this isn't rocket surgery. 

- Put a layer of sauce, cover 100% edge to edge with gluten free pasta

- Spread Ricotta over pasta and make it even and flat so the next payer of pasta will lay flat

- Do a big layer of sauce, sprinkle another big layer of parmesan on top

- Slice Mozzarella and spread evenly, then roll a couple basil leaves and cut... you should get cool ribbons... 

- Cook at ~350 degrees for 30mins, then broil for the last 10 to get a good browned top

- Let it rest for a minum of 10 minutes before serving so it can set back up.   

BONUS: Crispy Prosciutto topping... get the good stuff (Parma), lay flat in a toaster over and give it a fast toast...crumble it on top.    

{Pasta: Don't believe the label, this stuff kinda sucks... but we will make due.  Another alternative may be large slices of Eggplant. After my second attempt... here is what I've learned with this style of faux pasta}

- Bring a large pot of water to a boil

- Add enough sea salt so it tastes like the ocean.  Then put in olive oil so it doesn't stick together.  Reduce to light boil/simmer as it will fall apart

- Whatever the time says on the box, subtract 2-4min.  The goo i used said 8 min, I cooked it for 4min as this stuff will turn to mush easily... you just want it malleable

- Don't cool on a rack... made for a cool picture, but it was a stupid experiment (noodles slide off into sink).  Move quickly to strains water, then separate as fast as you can by laying large strips on paper towels, don't burn yourself.  Let them cool

- Sprinkle light olive oil on top. 

Meat Sauce: I make my own to avoid onions... you can easily brown meat and add your favorite Jar.  Take into consideration this is the bulk of your flavor.

Two Cans Tomato Sauce

2 Garlic Cloves

1 Teaspoon Fennel Seed

1 Teaspoon Chopped Hot Peppers (Neon Yellow in fermented jar)

Chili Flakes (a pinch will do - more if you like it spicy)

Fresh Basil (1/4 cup chopped, fresh)

1 Tablespoon Thyme 

Prepared Italian Sausage 

1/2 lb veal

Sea Salt & Pepper

Good Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Celery Salt

Directions: I don't have time to stew tomatoes (yet amazing) so i used organic canned tomato sauce  

- Brown Veal with salt, pepper, and a little bit of olive oil on high heat

- Remove meat and drain some of the fat, on low heat put an super thin layer of olive oil in the pan and brown (don't burn) the garlic and fennel seeds, try to scrape the brown'd meat from the bottom

- Chop the sausage as small as you can get it, add that back in the pan with veal... brown for no longer than 2 min as you don't want to burn the garlic

 - Add in Sauce, remaining spices, finely chopped fresh basil (maybe 1 or 2 leaves) and do a swirl of olive oil.  Cook on low to medium heat so it simmers but doesn't boil so flavors mix together for 5-10mins than let it rest/cool

Remember, its going to cook in the oven so don't over cook your meat here. 

Pesto Ricotta: Make your own pesto.  It takes 2 minutes and tastes 50x better.  If you don't have 2 minutes, get the jar crap.    

Small Tub Ricotta Cheese

2 eggs

Basil (2-3 handfuls)

Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

More Garlic (2-3 cloves)

Pine Nuts (optional)

Fresh Parmesan (1 cup grated)

Directions: 

- Pesto - In a food processor add 2-3 handfuls of basil (5 if you have mini carni hands you freak), olive oil, garlic cloves, cup of Parmesan, pine nuts and blend.  That is it.  Taste and adjust. 

- Mix pesto with ricotta, eggs, and another cup of Parmesan... it should have the consistency of puddy 

Potato Salmon Hash Topped with Poached Eggs

This meal came about because we had so much leftovers from the last few days. I'll admit that this isn't my most creative idea ever, but it is one of best dishes I've created with leftovers by far! We had some roasted potatoes and salmon leftover from my "fan favorite" dinner and it had been untouched in the fridge for two days so I knew that something had to be done and I was STARVING as I skipped breakfast that morning. So I skimmed the fridge to see if I could find a few extra ingredients to tie a meal together ..... I saw eggs, bacon, and onions and immediately knew I had the makings of a really good brunch for one!

At first I thought about doing a scramble that included everything but that just didn't sound all that exciting. Then I realized that I wanted something that was "sauce-like" and knew the answer was to poach some eggs. The richness of the runny yolk is a great addition to the potato salmon hash!

What makes this dish so great is that the salmon was already marinated and cooked and the potatoes were roasted with great seasonings from the previous day. So both ingredients had great flavor to begin with. The bacon and egg yolk take it to a whole new level though! Try your own variation the next time you have some leftovers and have a hunger for a great meal!

Ready to eat.

Had to cut into the poached egg to show you what a perfectly poached egg should look like ;)

I topped it with a little bit of siracha sauce for a spicy kick. 

Potato Salmon Hash Topped with Poached Eggs

Ingredients:

- 4 ounces of cooked salmon, cut into smaller pieces

- 1/4 cup of onion, chopped

- 2 slices of cooked bacon, chopped

- 1 cup of diced up roasted potatoes

- 2 eggs

- siracha (if you like a little spice)

Directions:

1. Fry up two slices of bacon that have been cut up into smaller pieces. After they have reached a crispy  state, remove from pan with a slotted spoon to a paper towel liked plate. Set aside.

2. Bring a medium pot of water with a splash of lemon or vinegar to a boil.

3. Remove most of the bacon grease from pan and add the chopped onion and saute until browned. Should only take about 5 minutes on medium and then add the diced roasted potatoes and saute until warm. 

4. Crack both eggs carefully into a cup without breaking the yolk.

5. Return to boiling pot of water, turn down to medium after it reaches a boil. Use a whisk and create a whirl pool effect and add one egg at a time to pot of water and cook for 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon and remove poached eggs once it is cooked. 

6. Add cut up pieces of salmon and bacon into pan with potatoes and onions. Continue to cook on medium until both eggs are ready. 

7. Remove hash from pan to a serving plate. Top with both of the poached eggs. Salt and pepper to taste and drizzle siracha sauce if you like a little spice! Enjoy!

If the directions are a little confusing, let me know and I will find a better way to explain it!! Thanks! 

Everyday Lemon Bars

The gluttonous side of me came out this week as I made these lemon bars TWICE this week. In my defense we had friends over for dinner so I only had a piece from the first batch. One square just isn't enough, therefore I had to make another batch the next day, and well I had more of that batch myself.... 

You'll find that the crust is SUPER easy to make, just add all the dry crust ingredients into a food processor (we have a mini food processor and that worked just fine) pulse until blended, then add the butter and two tablespoons of water, pulse some more and viola you're done! It's THAT easy.

After the crust has chilled in the fridge and then baked for 40 minutes you can combine the filling and pour on top of the crust and bake for 12 minutes. Done.

This will soon be a favorite for gluten and non-gluten people everywhere!

*Make sure to use parchment paper as this will help with getting the lemon bars out nicely. 

** Use GF flour that you like, I tend to use tapioca flour and sorghum sweet because I have that on hand, but I will soon be testing out almond flour more. 

Everyday Lemon Bars

Ingredients:
(Crust)
- 1/2 cup of sorghum sweet flour (you can use white rice flour or almond flour or any flour really)
- 1/4 cup of tapioca flour
- 1/4 cup of corn starch
- 1/3 cup of powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of xantham gum (not needed if you use GF all purpose flour)
- 1 stick of cold butter (cut up into smaller pieces)
(lemon goodness filling)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon of lemon zest
- 2 large eggs (I like to have them at room temp)
- 2 tablespoons of gf flour (I used tapioca flour, but you can use all purpose or almond or rice)
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice (1lemon)
- powdered sugar for decorative dusting.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9inch baking pan with parchment paper. You'll need two pieces that hang over about an inch or two. Place them criss cross in the pan for easy removal.
1. Mix all the flour, powered sugar, corn starch, and xantham gum in the food processor. After it is blended well, add cut up cold pieces of butter. Pulse until there are no longer any large pieces of butter.
2. Add two tablespoons of water and pulse for another minute until the dough starts to form.
3. Take dough out of the food processor and roll into a ball. Place in pan and use fingers to push the dough as evenly as possible to the sides.
4. Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
5. After the 15 minutes, place in oven and bake for 40 minutes.
6. While the crust is baking. Add the 3/4 granulated sugar with the 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and mix together in a bowl. Set aside.
7. After the crust is done baking, remove from oven, and set aside to cool as you combine the filling.
8. Whisk eggs, lemon juice, and the 2 tablespoons of flour into the bowl that contains the sugar and lemon zest.
9. Whisk until completely smooth. Pour over crust.
10. Bake for another 14 minutes, gently shake the pan to make sure the filling does not jiggle anymore.
11. Set aside to cool. Then chill for 2 hours.
12. Dust with powdered sugar and ENJOY!!!

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Brussels Spout Slaw with Walnuts

I'm determine to incorporate brussels sprouts into my weekly menu! Why? The answer is simple, I read somewhere that brussels sprouts help with cancer prevention. While I'm not the type of person to be SUPER careful about what I eat and don't always eat healthy foods, I will try my best to keep my meals nice and balanced. 


We've been eating a lot of asparagus lately so switching it up with brussels sprouts was a change I was ready to embrace. This slaw was surprisingly tasty for a cold dish. My brussels sprouts are usually sauteed or roasted so I didn't know what to expect. I think many of you will be surprised as well with this tasty version that I found in Bon Appetit. I changed it up a little and used walnuts instead of pecans and I sliced it thinly as I didn't have a food processor to slice the sprouts for me. 


This is also another dish you can make ahead of time to take to a dinner party or when you're hosting one at home as the longer it sits in the dressing, the better it tastes!! So go to the store and pick some up and start fighting cancer!!

Brussels sprout slaw with walnuts

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of walnuts

- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup

- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus additional for seasoning

- 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper

- 1/4 cup whole grain dijon mustard (regular dijon mustard was just fine)

- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

- 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

- 1 tablespoon of sugar

- 1/4 cup of vegetable oil

- 1.5 lbs of brussels sprouts, trimmed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. 

2. Whisk maple syrup, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Add walnuts, toss and coat well.

3. Spread in a single layer on a piece of parchment paper (or foil) lined baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, stir. Continue to make for another 6 minutes until the glaze is bubbly. Take the nuts out of the oven and let cook completely. This can be done ahead of time. 

4. Whisk mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper. 

5. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous about of salt. Add brussels sprouts. Cook until they are crisp but tender (about 5 minutes). Drain. Rinse with cold water. Cool on paper towels.

6. Slice into 1/4 inch disks and transfer to a large serving bowl. Cover and let chill in refrigerator. 

7. An hour before you are about read to serve, toss brussels sprouts with enough dressing to coat (not all is needed). Let marinate for 30-60 minutes. Mix in nuts. Enjoy!!

Quinoa with Corn and Green Onions

For those that don't know what PINTEREST is you should consider yourself a lucky fool. Lucky cause you aren't wasting hours on end like the rest of us pinning things to boards (you'll get what I mean soon). Or a fool because it's a great site to get ideas and inspiration. As I stole the corn and green onion quinoa salad recipe right from someones food board.

The combination of the corn, green onion, and the lemon butter dressing totally brings it all together. We've been eating a lot of quinoa lately and I have to say this is by far my favorite combination for a side dish. This will now be my "go to" salad when people come over as it's easy to make and you can make it ahead of time!

Quinoa with Corn and Green Onion


Ingredients:
- 4 ears of corn, shucked
- 1 tablespoon of grated fresh lemon zest
- 2 table of fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup of melted unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 cups of uncooked quinoa
- 4 green onions, chopped


Directions:
1. Cook quinoa. 2 cups of uncooked quinoa to 4 cups of water. (Rinse before hand). Place into large pot and bring to a boil. After it reaches a boil, cover, and bring temp to a simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes.
2. Place corn in a glass microwaveable safe dish and cover with saran wrap and cook for 3:33 minutes.
3. Once the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob.
4. Cut up green onions
5. Prepare the dressing. Whisk together lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, honey, salt and pepper in large bowl.
6. Toss quinoa, corn, green onion, and dressing together and serve. Enjoy!

Quinoa chicken salad

This is easily the tastiest salads I've ever made! Did I also mention that this is healthy too???


You can make this salad ahead of time and it should hold for a few days ( 3 days max) as long as you don't dress it until you're ready to eat. Perfect for those that are trying to stay healthy and are tired of going out to lunch everyday. 

I came across this recipe when I couldn't figure out what to make for dinner and searched for qunioa, butter lettuce, goat cheese, chicken, and came across this recipe and decided to add my version of lemon pepper chicken to it. Just imagine the picture below with slices of chicken on it... YUM. 

Quinoa chicken salad with apples, goat cheese, and almonds

- 1 apple sliced or chopped

- 1/4 cup of chopped or sliced almonds ( I used the smoke almonds that we had in the pantry)

- 2 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled

- 2 chicken breast ( I butterflied the chicken so they would cook quicker)

- 3 cups of shredded butter lettuce (any lettuce will do)

- 1 cup of uncooked quinoa

Salad dressing:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoon of lemon (half of a lemon)


Lemon pepper chicken recipe (approx 30 minutes):
- Preheat oven to 350
- Place butterflied chicken breast on lightly greased baking vessel (I drizzled some olive oil)
- Season with salt, pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
- Squeeze 1/2 of a lemon over the chicken. 
- Bake for 15 minutes, flip chicken over and bake for another 15 minutes
- Remove from baking vessel and set on cutting board to rest for a few minutes before slicing. 


Directions:
1. Bake chicken.
2. Cook quinoa (directions usually on package)
3. Whisk together salad dressing and set aside. 
4. Place lettuce, chopped almonds, crumbled goat cheese and cooled quinoa in serving bowl. 
5. Topped with baked chicken. 
6. Add desired amount of dressing to salad, mix, and enjoy!

Cake pops, cake pops, and more cake pops!

Did you need some inspiration for some valentines day treats?!?!? Well you're in luck because yesterday I whipped out some cake pops to send to some lucky friends and family!

All I can say is ONCE A CHEATER ALWAYS A CHEATER. Not words you expect to hear as we are quickly approaching Valentines day but for me this sentence rings true as I used Betty Crocker's gluten free cake mixes to save on time.

I've been dying to test out my new cake pop maker that arrived two weeks ago and figured Valentines day was the perfect reason to use it! Although the cake mixes are good as is, I ended up adding an ingredient to each. I added 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and the juice of one lemon to the the yellow cake mix and 1/3 cup of greek yogurt to the devils food mix. 

Each batter yields about 50 cake pops a piece, so you'll have leftovers unless you plan to decorate 100 cake pops. After an hour of baking I set all the cake balls to completely cool before decorating. 

I had fully intended to use white, pink, and red candy melts to coat the cake pops but they didn't arrive in the mail in time :( Luckily we had a huge Lindt chocolate bar that I chopped up and melted over a double broiler. 

* If you do not have a double broiler you can get the same effect by simmering some water in a small pot and placing the chocolate in a heat safe bowl on top of the pot of water. 

Once the chocolate has melted, take a lollipop stick and dip it into the chocolate so 1/4 of an inch of the stick is covered with chocolate (this will help the cake pops stay on the stick) and then dip the ball into melted chocolate until it is fully covered. Make sure to tap off excess chocolate as you don't want it to drip down when cooling. Then sprinkle and/or decorate. Place decorated cake pops in cooling stand to set and place in refrigerator so the chocolate hardens a bit. 

After the chocolate and decorations have set, I topped the cake pops with some mini cupcake holders so it was easier to package. 

* I got most of my supplies from Amazon.com and it was actually pretty inexpensive overall. Placing them on mini cupcake holders makes it easier to transport as well :)

Packaged and all ready to be mailed!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please don't be discouraged if you don't have a cake pop maker, please check out Bakerella's video as she will give you a step by step on how to make the cake balls. Super easy and you'll be glad you took the time to watch the video as it has some very helpful tips!!

Also I hope not to always be a "cheater" and use boxed cake mix as I plan to share some of my baking recipes with you that were made from scratch, stay tuned!

Shortbread cookie

This was truly a labor of LOVE.


This year I was hoping to send some home made treats home to some family and friends since I moved away last summer. So I came up with a few treat ideas for Valentines day and this one definitely needed to be shared!


What I loved most of this shortbread cookie recipe was that it had a LEMONY hint to it. I also loved that it had a little crunch but was still flaky on the inside (and not dry)! This recipe didn't require too many different GF ingredients and you're "preferred" flours can easily be added in place of the ones listed.


I also wanted to note that I am a HUGE fan of bite size anything! So I got small cookie cutters and it turned out perfect, one bite cookies!

Baked for 12 minutes until slightly brown on top.

Decorated! Dipped in frosting and coated with sugar sprinkles.

Packaged and all ready to be mailed!!!

Shortbread Cookies 

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups of gluten free all purpose baking flour (I tend to use red mills or pamelas)

- 1/2 cup of tapioca flour

- 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar

- 1/8 teaspoon of salt

- 1 cup of COLD butter, cut into smaller pieces

- 1 egg

- 1+ tablespoon of milk (any milk will do I used coconut milk)

- 1 cup of powdered sugar (make sure it's GF)

- 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 1 tablespoon of FRESHLY grated lemon peel

Icing: 

- 2 cups of powdered sugar

- 1 tablespoon of milk

- 1/2 teaspoon of honey or light corn syrup

- food coloring of your choice, if any. 

* Colored sugar sprinkles are optional.

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Put all dry ingredients into bowl and mix for 30 second until thoroughly blended.

2. Add cold butter pieces and mix on high for 1 minute.

3. Add egg, milk, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and mix for 5 minutes. The dough will go from really sticky to a lesser sticky / dough consistency. 

4. Wrap up dough in wax or parchment paper and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

5. Lightly flour your working area and rolling pin. If the dough is slightly sticky to the touch just add a little flour to it, you're on the right track! Roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. 

6. Use cookie cutter of choice and dip into flour before pressing into dough. 

7. Bake for 12 minutes, until the edges turn brown. 

8. Transfer to cooling rack. 

9. Mix together ingredients while cookies are cooling.

10. Once they are completely cooled, lightly dip cookies faced down into frosting and then gently press into colored sugar sprinkles. 

11. Share with friends and family, enjoy!