Creme Brulee French Toast

This recipe has a delicious caramel flavor and is a crowd pleaser. The best part -  you have to make it at least the night before you serve it, so the morning of all you have to do is throw it in the oven. So easy! I got the recipe from my mom and adapted it to be gf/df.

Ingredients

1/4 pound Earth Balance
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoon corn syrup
**french bread
5 eggs
1.5 cups Rich Whip
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon Grand Mariner
1/2 teaspoon salt

**For the french bread I used Gluten-Free Pantry French Bread & Pizza Mix and made it in my bread maker following my bread makers instructions for basic bread. When I made this recipe I halved it and used 3 quarters of that loaf. For the full recipe I'd make 2 loaves and use enough to fill the pan.

Directions

In a heavy bottom pan melt the Earth Balance with brown sugar and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Spray 11x13 baking dish with Pam and pour the caramel sauce into the bottom.

Trim off the end pieces of the bread and cut into one inch thick pieces. Arrange the bread in one layer in the baking dish, squeezing rightly to fit.

In a bowl wisk together eggs, Rich Whip, vanilla, Grand Mariner, and salt. Pour over the bread.

Chill for at least 8 hours up to 1 day.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Cook until puffed and pale golden around the edges.

For a fancy serving, turn the pan upside down on a rectangular platter and garnish with fresh fruit around the edges.

Creamy Wild Rice Soup

I pinned this recipe a few weeks ago and I intended to leave it until we had turkey leftovers, but when we had just enough rotisserie chicken leftover, I knew I had to try it out.  It did not disappoint!  I have been experimenting, with great success, using canned coconut milk and a cornstarch based thickener when savory recipes call for heavy cream.  It has been very very successful.

I adapted this easy crockpot recipe from Pinterest, it originally came from Taste of Home.

Ingredients
8-10 cups turkey or chicken stock, divided
8 oz. uncooked wild rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 clove of minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chicken soup base
4 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
4 Tablespoons Cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup of cold water
1 Can of Coconut milk-stirred well! I ended up using about 3/4 of the can
2 cups diced cooked turkey or diced chicken
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or one tablespoon dried parsley flakes)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
    Add eight cups of stock and the uncooked wild rice to a crock pot set to high. In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil and sauté onion, celery and carrots until onion is transparent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic for the last 1 minute and stir consistently making sure not to burn the garlic.  Season with the black pepper and salt, and add the sautéed veggies to the crock pot.
     Stir in the chicken soup base. Cook on high for 3-4 hours (or on low for 6-8 hours) until the wild rice and veggies are tender.
    In a small saucepan melt the butter and add about 1/2 cup of broth. Whisk in cornstarch and water mixture, and cook for a minute or two. At this point you will have a thick and creamy rue.  Gradually add the coconut milk, whisking constantly. When it is all incorporated and completely smooth, add the white sauce to the crock pot and stir to combine.
     Add the turkey/chicken and the parsley (and perhaps another cup of stock if you prefer a thinner soup), and cook on high for another 15-20 minutes until heated through.  
   I like my wild rice soup thick and creamy so I actually skipped the extra broth, waited about 15 minutes and added another round of cornstarch dissolved in water to the crock.  I then cooked it another 10 minutes and served.  It was delicious!

Vegan Grated “Parmesan”

    In making recipes that called for grated parmesan cheese, my go to brand was always Parma!.  Over the course of the last several months, Parma! has been incredibly difficult to find.  I’ve been omitting parmesan from recipes all together because I could never find it on the shelves.  I was making artichoke dip for a party and for this recipe I knew the parmesan was one of the ingredients that made a big difference in flavor so I called Whole Foods and asked if they carried any other vegan parmesan cheese. (I find asking if an item is “vegan” is a much easier way to get an absolute answer that the product is dairy free.) 
I was quickly routed to this gem:

Image courtesy of galaxyfoods.com

    When I brought it home and cracked the seal, I knew it was going to be good.  It smelled exactly like grated parmesan cheese.  Tasting on my finger was even better.  It had the texture and flavor of dairy-full parmesan cheese.  If any of you have tried Parma! you know that tasting that stuff on your finger just doesn’t taste the same as the regular stuff.  I added it to my appetizer recipe and it gave the parmesan flavor that was called for.  I think this little jar is ready to shake-shake over my spaghetti!

Cucumber Greek Salad

(Image courtesy of Google Images)

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet. It's my go to recipe every summer when my garden is going nuts with cucumbers. I haven't take a picture of it yet, but the one above is close to what it looks like. It's so light and refreshing on a hot summer day. I love it. The original recipe came from Eating Well and I adapted it to my tastes from there.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

4 cups peeled and diced cucumbers
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 red or green bell pepper
1 can black olives
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional for the dairy free)
1/4 cup red onion (optional, I usually leave it off)

Directions
Wisk together olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to coat. Eat immediately or chill and serve later.

Korean Beef

Another recipe I found from a blog and didn't have to adjust to make it gluten or dairy free! I love that. The meat is great on it's own but also delicious over rice. I would recommend making 1.5 portions of the marinade and set aside the extra half a recipe. Warm it up before serving and then pour it on top of the meat and rice. I also had a friend who pan fried the meat instead of grilling it and said it was great that way too.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs steak, cut into thin (about 1/4 inch) strips
1/2 cup pear juice (small bottles are found in the baby food aisle)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Sriracha chili sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions

Combine everything but the steak in a large bowl. Add the steak and marinate overnight (8+ hours).

Preheat the grill or pan. Cook over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes per side being careful not to overcook the meat. Serve immediately!

Salsa

Since pickle canning was so easy Kristie and I decided to tackle salsa. This recipe came from Kristie's Aunt Barbra and we tweaked it a tiny bit. It makes about 28 pints so you can half or double depending on how many tomatoes you have to process. Corn and beans are completely optional - we didn't add them for the first try, which results in a few less pints of salsa. I also added a handful of habanero peppers to my recipe since my house likes spicy food. This recipe is awesome and it was pretty easy to make.

Ingredients

25 ½ cups tomatoes, chopped and cored (some people blanch and peel, we didn't)

2 ¾ cups jalapeno peppers

6 cups peppers, green/red

8 ½ cups onions, chopped

½ cup garlic, minced

2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped

6 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

¼ cup salt

1 ½ tablespoons cumin

2-2 cups cider vinegar 

optional

30 oz canned black beans rinsed 

6 cobs of fresh corn, grilled 

habenaro peppers

tomato paste

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot, starting with 2 cups of cider vinegar. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until it thickens to a proper consistency. Taste along the way and adjust spices/heat to your liking. Add up to 2 more cups cider vinegar if needed. If it is too runny, add a small can or two of tomato paste

Ladle and divide salsa evenly into jars. Warm up the flat part of the jar cover in pan of simmering water. Once the tops are warm, place them on the jars and screw the lid on tightly. Put the jars in boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove and they will seal themselves.

Keep one jar out to enjoy right away!

Pickles

Canning has always scared me. Something about having to boil the jars and making sure they seal turned me off from it. Until my sister-in-law found this really easy recipe where you bake the jars instead. It seemed simple enough, so I thought I would try it with some extra cucumbers I had in my garden.

Ingredients
Cucumbers - enough to fill 7 quarts
3 quarts water
1 quart vinegar
1/2 cup salt

sprinkle of alum/jar
1 teaspoon dill/jar
garlic cloves
onion

Directions
Heat the water, vinegar, and salt until salt has dissolved.

Sprinkle the alum at the bottom of each jar. Add the dill, garlic, onion, and cucumbers. I did a sprinkle of garlic and onion per jar. Add as much of each to your own taste. Pour the brine mixture into the jars. Seal tightly.

Put all the jars on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour at 250 degrees.

Note: I found alum in the spice aisle at the store.