Gluten Free Pie Crust

 

I've made this gluten free crust several times now, and it's really delicious!  I've used it for quiches as well as pumpkin pies.  I got the original recipe on King Arthur's website.  I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour, and it works well.  I have read that not all gluten free flours work as well as others.  The first time I didn't add any water, and my crust fell apart.  The next few times I added 1 Tbsp of water and that seemed to work very well.  I might try adding 2 Tbsp of water and see if it holds even better next time.  It should be smooth like a regular crust and not crumbly. The original recipe does call for clearjel, but it's optional, so I haven't tried using it.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups gluten free flour (I chose Bob's Red Mill)

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

6 Tbsp butter, cold

1 large egg

2 tsp lemon juice

*For an egg free crust, the recipe states using 4 Tbsp cold water in place of the egg and lemon juice.

Directions

Spray/grease as 9" pie plate (I used deep dish).  Whisk together the flour, sugar, xanthan gum, and salt.  Cut the butter into several pats and work it into the flour mixture until it's crumbly (I use my stand mixer with a whisk for this but you can also use a pastry cutter or forks).  Whisk together the egg and lemon juice until frothy and mix into flour/butter mixture.  Mix until the crust holds together well and is smooth but not wet.  Add cold water if necessary, 1 Tbsp at a time.  Shape into a ball, wrap in saran wrap, and chill in the fridge for one hour or up to overnight.  Let dough rest on counter 10-15 minutes before rolling.  Roll out on saran wrap or a silicone mat that is sprinkled with gluten free flour.  Invert dough into pie plate.  Pinch edges in design if you like.  Fill with whatever fillings you desire and bake.

Green Chile Spinach Quiche with a Hash Brown Crust

 

I wanted to make my Green Chile Spinach Quiche with a gluten free crust, and I've made a crust, but I wanted to try something different, and I'm so glad I did.  I brought these to a ladies retreat, and they got rant and raved over.  Several people wanted the recipe, and all of it got devoured.  You can use regular all purpose flour if you do not need it to be gluten free.  This made a thick hash brown crust, so if you prefer your crust to be thinner and crispier, use only 1 bag of shredded hash browns.  You may need to reduce the cooking time of the crust, but let me know how it turns out!

Ingredients

2 - 26oz bags frozen shredded hash browns, thawed

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup all purpose flour (gluten free if needed)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

12 eggs

8oz Mexican blend cheese, shredded

2 cups cottage cheese

10-12oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed out

7oz can diced green chiles

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix together the butter and hash browns, and then press into bottom and sides of 2 deep dish pie plates. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until the edges are light brown.  Reduce heat to 400 degrees.  Mix together remaining ingredients (I use my stand mixer for this) until well blended.  Pour into crusts evenly between the pies.   Bake for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temp to 350, and bake an additional 35 minutes.  Store any leftovers in the fridge, or you can cover the them and freeze the quiches, and let thaw in fridge the night before you want to serve it.

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole (Keto)

I took the sauce from my Cauliflower Cheese "Potatoes" and mixed it with chicken and broccoli and it came out delicious!  Leftover chicken would be perfect in this dish.  Also, if you prefer to make this a vegetarian side dish, leave out the chicken and use an extra bag of broccoli.

Ingredients
1 lb chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 - 12oz bags of frozen broccoli, cooked and drained
1 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup butter
16oz sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions
After I cooked the broccoli, I roughly chopped up the larger pieces.  Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion until soft.  Add 2 cups cheese and let melt, stirring.  Blend in sour cream, salt, and pepper. Fold sauce in with broccoli and chicken.  Spray 9x13 casserole dish and add mixture.  Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.  Bake 350 for 30 minutes or more.

Cucumber Salad (Keto)

So yummy!  I got this recipe off of Wholesome Yum.  I brought this to a church potluck, and a lot of people said they really liked it and a few asked for the recipe.  Don't put the dressing on until you are ready to serve because over time it makes the salad watery.  Even making the dressing on the side as a dip for cucumbers or other vegetables would be yummy!

Ingredients
6 cups cucumbers, chopped (I used mini cucumbers)
1 small red onion, diced
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp dried dill (or 2 Tbsp fresh - I used dried because it's what I had)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions
Cut up cucumbers and onions.  Mix rest of the ingredients for the dressing and add right before serving.

Cauliflower Chicken Fried "Rice" (Keto)

This is delicious and easy cauliflower chicken fried rice.  I chose to use low-carb vegetables instead of the traditional starchy peas and carrots. You could always leave out the chicken and make this vegetarian if you like.

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken, cooked and chopped

2 frozen bags cauliflower rice, cooked (I used my microwave)

1 stick butter

4 eggs, scrambled and cooked but still wet (I used my microwave again)

1 red bell pepper, chopped

6 stalks celery, chopped

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

2 Tbsp garlic, minced

1 bag frozen broccoli, cooked and roughly chopped

1/2 cup liquid aminos or soy sauce

2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

Directions

Melt 1/2 stick of butter in saute pan.  Saute bell pepper & celery for a couple of minutes.  Add cauliflower rice, green onions, garlic, and the other half of the butter.  Cook 3-4 minutes or until celery and pepper are soft.  Add in cooked eggs, cooked chicken, liquid aminos, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.  Mix well and remove from heat and serve.

Cheddar Biscuits (Keto/Low carb)

I made these Keto Cheddar Muffins tonight, and they were delicious!  I got the original recipe from the I Breathe I'm Hungry website.  I changed the recipe a little bit, and they were delicious!  I will definitely be making these again!  They are similar to a muffin in texture than a biscuit.

Ingredients

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cup superfine blanched almond flour

3 Tbsp coconut flour (or you can use more almond flour)

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp xantham gum

2 eggs

1/3 unsweetened coconut milk (or almond milk)

1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease or line a standard muffin pan with 8 muffin cups.  Mix all ingredients together and mix well with a whisk or a fork.  Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, about 2/3 full.  Bake 22 minutes.

Net carbs: 2 grams

Broccoli Cheddar Soup (Keto)

I made this Broccoli Cheddar Soup tonight, and it was so delicious and comforting.  I made it in my Instant Pot, but I know you could make it on the stovetop or your crockpot.

Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, diced
36oz frozen broccoli florets (can use fresh if you prefer)
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tsp salt
8oz cream cheese
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Put onion, broccoli, chicken broth, and cream cheese into Instant Pot.  Put on high pressure for 15 minutes.  Quick release.  Turn Instant Pot onto saute for about 10 minutes.  Stir in heavy cream, salt, and cheddar, sprinkling a handful at a time and stirring it in good.  I used my whisk and then finished it off with the immersion blender but that's optional. 

Cauliflower Cheese "Potatoes"

These are my Nana's amazing cheese potatoes recipe but made with cauliflower instead of potatoes!  They are so yummy and great for those on low carb or gluten free diet!  Great as a side or a main dish!

Ingredients
3 frozen frozen cauliflower, cooked and drained well

3 cups shredded cheddar

1/4 cup butter
16oz sour cream
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions
Add cauliflower, one bag at a time, to your food processor and pulse until no big chunks remain. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion until soft.  Add 2 cups cheese and let melt, stirring.  Blend in sour cream, salt, and pepper. Fold sauce into cauliflower.  Spray 9x13 casserole dish and add mixture.  Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.  Bake 350 for 30 minutes or more.

Apple Craisin Salad

When I had my very first baby, Craig, one of the meals that was brought to us included this delicious apple salad.  I had to have the recipe.  Unfortunately she doesn't write down the amounts so I had to do it by taste.  I usually make this with walnuts as well, but it's delicious without them too.  You can add more sugar or less lemon juice to make it sweeter if you like, but I wanted to keep this lighter and with the sweet apples and craisins, it balances out well.  This recipe is for a single serving, but I have made it for a large group and everyone loves it.  You could use different apples as well.

Ingredients
1 apple (I like gala)
3 Tbsp craisins
1 -2 Tbsp walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup Kraft mayo made with Olive Oil (or another mayo if you prefer)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves

Directions
Cut up your apple into small chunks and put in a bowl.  Add craisins and walnuts.  In a jar or small bowl, mix together mayo, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and cloves.  Pour 1 Tbsp of mixture over apple salad and put the rest in the fridge.

WW points/Calories:  3 points for the whole salad or 174 calories (without walnuts)

Light Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

I set out to find a delicious light dressing.  I love my Nana's poppy seed dressing, but it is not really diet friendly.  I am doing Weight Watchers and needed to find a yummy dressing.  This is more than I could have hoped for.  I am not a huge salad person.  I like a good salad, but I'm not one to go order one at a restaurant usually or anything.  I LOVE this dressing!  I will eat this on a diet or not!  I have been eating it almost every day on a salad, sometimes twice a day.  My favorite combo so far is romaine, sunflower seeds, and craisins with this dressing.  I actually went to the store and bought 2 other light dressings that I found a website had rated as some of the top best light dressing.  I do not even want to touch those now due to this dressing.  It is a sweet and creamy, delicious dressing!  I know this would be wonderful on a spinach and strawberry salad.  I've also put grilled chicken on my salad and it's yummy that way too!  It is also super easy to make!

Ingredients
1/2 cup light mayo (I like to use the Kraft one made with Olive Oil)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk (1% or fat free)
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp poppy seeds

Directions
Combine all in a small jar, put on lid, shake vigorously until combined.  Store in fridge.

Weight Watcher Points/Calories: 2 Tbsp is only 1 point or 61 calories!

Delicious Broccoli Cheese Soup

So I've been playing around with my Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup, and I modified it a little bit to come up with this recipe, and it is absolutely delicious!  Best of all, it is only 1 Weight Watcher Point per cup and it doesn't taste like diet food.  My friend and her mom absolutely loved this soup and wanted the recipe.

Ingredients
6 cups chicken broth
2 lb frozen bags of broccoli florets or about 10 cups
cooking spray
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
8oz reduced fat velvetta cheese, cubed
1/4 cup cornstarch (leave out for low carb)
6 Tbsp light sour cream
1 cup water

Directions
Spray large stock pot with cooking spray.  Sautee onion on medium heat until tender.  Add chicken broth, broccoli, garlic powder, and salt to pot.  Bring a boil and then cook on medium, covered, 15-20 minutes. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, 1 cup water, and sour cream until completely blended. Add corn starch and sour cream mix and cubed cheese to soup. Bring to a low boil and then reduce immediately to a simmer. Stir constantly until all cheese is melted and soup thickens.  Makes about 12-14 cups.

Weight Watcher Points: 1 point per cup or about 99 calories

Crustless Green Chile Spinach Quiche

This is pretty much a gluten/wheat free version of my Green Chile Spinach Quiche which I absolutely love!  I wasn't sure how this would turn out since I love the crust so much in quiche, but this turned out really delicious!  This is also a great low carb option.  This makes 2 pies, but I couldn't find one of my pie plates, so I used 2 2-quart glass bowls.  I also only used 1 Tbsp of butter and I didn't miss the extra butter at all.

Ingredients
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
12 eggs
8oz Colby-Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (I like to use reduced fat if I can)
2 cups 2% low fat cottage cheese
10oz fresh or frozen spinach (if frozen, thaw and drain)
7oz can chopped green chilies
1 Tbsp butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter in a large skillet and sautee spinach until wilted.  Set aside.  Beat eggs in a large bowl until smooth.  Slowly add salt and baking powder and mix until no lumps remain.  Stir in shredded cheese, cottage cheese, spinach, and green chilies until blended.  Divide between 2 sprayed pie plates or 2-quart dishes.  Bake 35-40 minutes until the quiches are lightly browned and the center comes out clean when you insert a knife.

Baked Sweet Potatoes

I got this idea from my sister and also my friend Danila.  My friend Danila served something like this but with carrots and butternut squash in it as well.  It was so yummy!  It's super easy.  Unfortunately apparently I'm the only one who likes sweet potatoes in my family, but I just told them, more for me!  :-)

Ingredients
3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Directions
Mix all of the ingredients well with your hands in a 9x13 dish until potatoes are coated.  Cover with aluminum foil and cut a 2" slit in the top of the aluminum foil for steam to escape.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

Berry Green Smoothie

We love smoothies around here.  We really like them with peanut butter, but it really adds up in calories for me.  I love adding spinach to my smoothies because it so good for you, but you can't even taste it in a smoothie.  This one is packed full of nutrition and antioxidants, and it's not loaded with calories like many smoothies can be.

Ingredients
3/4 cup frozen sliced strawberries
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup vanilla low fat yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk (or you can use soy or cow's milk)
1 cup fresh spinach
1 packet of stevia or splenda

Directions
Add all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. 

Weight Watcher Points: 4 points for the whole thing, a nice tall glass

Hot Spinach Dip

I made this for a birthday party.  I wasn't sure if they would have something gluten free for me to eat, so I brought this with some corn tortilla chips, but you could serve it with veggies or some sort of crackers of bread if you don't need gluten free.  This reheats well too. 

Ingredients
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
10oz frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed out
1 cup sour cream, use light if you like
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp minced garlic
8oz cream cheese, softened

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all ingredients well and spread into sprayed 9x13 dish.  Bake 20-25 minutes until bubbly.

Cream of Chicken Soup

So I know this isn't the best picture in the world, but it's what I got.  I hope to replace it with a better picture in the future.  But for now, I wanted to get you the recipe.  Have you ever looked at how many added ingredients are in cream of "whatever" soups?  As I'm trying to eat less artificial stuff and now I actually cut gluten out of my diet due to some health issues, I needed to find a substitute for cream of chicken (or whichever kinds of soups).  I used this in my chicken pot pie, and it turned out great.  It is quite a bit thinner than the regular cream of chicken soup in a can, so just keep that in mind.  This recipe will replace one can of cream of chicken soup.  I did find this recipe on a gluten free website, but I left out the pepper.  Unlike the cream of chicken soup you buy in a can, this one is wheat free, gluten free, soy free, and artificial junk free.

Ingredients
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1 Tbsp butter or margarine
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cube chicken broth bullion (or 1 tsp granules) (make sure allergen free if needed) (you could also make this with vegetable broth to be totally vegetarian)
1/4 tsp pepper (optional, I left this out)

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a small pot and whisk together.  Bring to a boil, reduce to medium, and stir constantly!  This will suddenly thicken and will burn quick if you aren't stirring constantly.  When it thickens suddenly, remove from heat and use in place of a can of cream of chicken or put in fridge for later use.

Weight Watchers Points: only 5 points for the whole thing which is a lot better than the cans.

Cinnamon Craisin Granola

 I love granola and I love craisins.  Granola is so expensive though, so I set out to find a recipe I could make myself for cheaper and I know exactly what's going into it.  I found this recipe on allrecipes but I modifed it a little bit, using craisins instead of raisins, and I always use canola oil and not vegetable because it's better for you. It's wonderful over yogurt or even served as a cereal with milk.  I did read you could leave out the coconut if you don't like it.  I'm not sure if you would need to add more oats if you did that though.

Ingredients
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 -1/3* cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 - 1/3* cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup craisins (or raisins)

Directions
In a large bowl, combine oats and coconut.  In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, oil, honey, and cinnamon.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour over oat mixture and stir to coat well.  Spread in a shallow baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cool completely.  Add craisins.  Store in an airtight container.

*Updated 6/16/12: So after reading a couple comments on this recipe on the website I found it on, I decided to make a couple of changes the next time I made it.  I really like it either way, but the way I made it this time, it ends up with more of the few chunks stuck together and less flakey, if that makes sense.  Just up your brown sugar and honey to 1/3 cup each.  It does it make it sweeter as well.  Try it either way!  It's yummy!

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix Clone

We love Jiffy cornbread muffin mix around here, but it's got some ingredients in it that I wanted to avoid, so I decided to make my own, and I found this recipe online and it tastes just like Jiffy.  I don't think I will ever buy Jiffy again.  It's cheaper too.  I already read that you can combine all the dry ingredients and save them in baggies for later and just add oil, egg, and milk later.  On a side note...  I have been researching how to photograph food, so I'm hoping to start improving my photos and replacing some of the old photos I don't like as much.  This was my first "new" photo I took.  This recipe also works great with Mexican Corn Cake. (just leave out egg and milk for corn muffin mix)

Ingredients
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow corn meal
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp canola oil

1/3 cup milk
1 egg

Directions
Combine first 5 ingredients with a whisk.  Whisk in oil until smooth and all lumps are gone. 

To make corn muffins, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Add milk and egg to corn muffin mix.  Fill sprayed muffin tins half full.  Bake 15 minutes.  Makes 6-8 muffins.  Or, pour into a small casserole dish and bake 15-20 minutes.

Egg free: I've made jiffy corn bread in the past without eggs by using my flax seed substitute seen on the right side of the page.

Calories/WW points: 4 weight watcher points, 170 calories, .9g fiber, 6g fat, 25.7g carbs, 3.7g protein

100% Whole Wheat Rolls

I have been trying to find a good whole wheat roll recipe.  Most of the recipes I find have white flour in them, but this one is 100% whole wheat, and I really liked it.  I changed a couple of things, but not a whole lot.  I did find I had to let mine rise for quite a while, so I might need to add a little more yeast next time, or I just have to start them early enough.  I made this using my breadmaker on dough cycle, but if you don't have a bread machine, dissolve the yeast in warm milk or water first and then add your other ingredients.  Stir very well and kneed.  Then let sit for about an hour before making into rolls.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups milk (or water)
1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 Tbsp nonfat dry milk
2 Tbsp sugar or honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Directions
Combine all ingredients in your breadmaker.  Set on dough cycle.  Roll into 16 rolls on a cookie sheet.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake

I love zucchini!!!  It is one of my favorite vegetables.  Unfortunately no one else in my family seems to share my passion.  :-(  Then again, more for me!  My husband will eat it if I cook it right.  He prefers it grilled, and I like it anyway.  I made this and my husband actually said it was good.  :-)  I loved it!  The original recipe called for using yellow squash and zucchini, but I chose to do all zucchini.  Did I mention I love zucchini?  :-)

Ingredients
4 medium size zucchinis, cut into half moon slices (or half yellow squash, half zucchini)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp thinly sliced green onions
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup reduced fat white shredded cheese (I chose the Italian blend), divided
1/3 cup finely grated Parmsan cheese (if you use the freshly grated, use 1/2 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 8x8 baking dish.  Combine zucchini, basil, onions, thyme, garlic powder, 1/2 cup white shredded cheese, and Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper.  Mix everything well and add to casserole dish.  Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes.  Take casserole out and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup shredded white cheese.  Continue baking 10-15 minutes.