Zucchini Herb Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cup cooked brown rice (i cook mine with chicken broth for additional flavor)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound zucchini, cubed

1 cup sliced green onions

3 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons italian seasoning

1 teaspoon paprika

3 large roma tomatoes, chopped tomatoes

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese,

divided (optional)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet/wok over medium heat, and cook the zucchini, green onions, and garlic 5 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Mix in the cooked rice, tomatoes, and 1 cup cheese. Continue to cook and stir until heated through. 

I found this recipe on Allrecipes and followed the comments section recommendations by made a few tweaks so it would be faster to make. I served it with Costco Rotisserie chicken. Instead of making a casserole, I just served it right out of the pan. Also, I didn't have time to make rice, so I used 1 bag of Trader Joe's frozen brown rice and added 2 Trader Joe's liquid chicken bullion packets directly to the wok.

Gluten-Free Chicken Roll-ups

This is an adaptation from a recipe I loved before going gluten-free.

Filling Ingredients: 


2 cups cubed chicken (boiled)
1 8 oz package light cream cheese
1 stalk celery (finely chopped)
1 tsp poultry seasoning


Crescent Rolls Ingredients (I doubled the recipe): 


1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese, do not use low-fat
2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
4 teaspoons sugar


Bread-crumb topping: 

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup gluten-free Italian bread crumbs



Directions:

• Use an electric mixer or blender to mix together the butter and cottage or ricotta cheese. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix until a dough ball forms. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and chill for two to three hours.
• In medium bowl, mix together chicken, cream cheese, celery, and poultry seasoning until well combined.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle GF all-purpose or rice flour onto your work surface and roll half the dough into a 14 inch circle. You may find it easier to roll the dough between two layers of good quality baking paper or cling wrap. Cut the dough into 8 triangles.
• Divide filling into 16 servings. Place one serving of chicken at the widest part of the triangle and roll each triangle from the wide end to the tip. Roll crescent in butter and then Italian bread crumbs. Repeat for 2nd batch of dough. 
• Place the rolled crescents on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until golden. 

Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Hazelnut Crusted Salmon

I picked up fresh hazelnut salmon from Trader Joe's and pan fried it, sprinkled it with a little lemon juice and then served it with the squash.

Adapted from this recipe: 

Ingredients: 



4 small acorn squash, halved and seeds removed
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
4 oz herbed goat cheese, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup roasted, salted pistachios, chopped
1 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
Pinch red-pepper flakes


Directions: 

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Brush squash with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast cut side down on two baking sheets until tender and caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring quinoa and 2 cups water to a boil in a small pot. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until tender and water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then fluff with a fork. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, basil, goat cheese, pistachios, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and vinegar. Season with salt and red-pepper flakes. Divide filling among squash.

Corn Chowder

Now for the soup on the right. My roommate made this delicious summer corn chowder, but I wanted to find a way to make it allergy-free.

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice (1 c.)

2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch dice (3/4 c.)

8 sprigs thyme (FYI 1 sprig is not a leaf but an entire stem)

Salt and Pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups frozen corn 

5 small fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2 in. thick slices

1/2 poblano chile, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 can coconut milk

Directions: 

• Add oil, onions, celery, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste to stockpot. Cook over medium-low heat until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes.
• Add corn, potatoes, and chile; cook until potatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard thyme. Add coconut milk and simmer until soup is hot.

The recipe calls for crumbled bacon as a garnish, but I left it out because the soup was already so hearty.

Hydrangea Cupcakes

I found the idea for these cupcakes here. However, I found that her recipe was too soft and the frosting couldn't hold it's shape. Next time around I'll try this with standard butter cream frosting. 

Spicy Thai Soup

I stumbled upon this recipe on the Thai Cooking channel on my Roku. I made 2 soups at the same time, this is for the soup on the left. The recipe calls for chicken, but I used potatoes instead of chicken. 

Ingredients: 

3 lemongrass stalks, bottom two-thirds of tender inner bulbs only, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (4 inch) piece fresh ginger root, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

7 baby red potatoes quartered

12 ounces fresh white mushrooms, quartered

2 teaspoons red curry paste

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 lime, juiced

2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk

1 red onion, sliced

1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

1 fresh jalapeno pepper, sliced into rings

Directions:

• Stir lemon grass, garlic, and ginger together in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Strain chicken broth and set aside. Discard lemon grass, garlic, and ginger.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium heat; Stir in chicken; cook and stir for 5 minutes.
• Stir in mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Stir in red curry paste, fish sauce, and lime juice until combined. Stir in chicken broth and coconut milk; return to a simmer and cook on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Skim off any excess oil and fat that rises to the top and discard.
• Stir red onion into the chicken mixture; cook and stir until onion softens, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add about 1/2 the cilantro.
• Serve with plates of cilantro, lime wedges, and fresh sliced jalapenos.

This can easily be made vegan with the following substitutions: 

• potatoes for chicken
• vegetable broth for chicken broth
• soy sauce for fish sauce

Easy Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter

16oz powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon milk

blend it all together and walla!