Corn Salsa

 3 cups corn, freshly cut off the cob or frozen

1/2 cup chopped sweet or red onion

1-2 finely diced jalapenos, remove seeds and membranes for less heat, leave some for heat

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, or if you are cilantro opposed, use parsley

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice, about two small limes

1 TBS vinegar, I use garlic rice wine

1/2 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper, if desired

Stir all ingredients together. Adjust seasonings as desired. Can add chopped avocado. Refrigerate a couple of hours before serving for best flavor.

Caesar Wedge Salad

3 Romaine Hearts
2 TBS chopped chives (optional)

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Sour Cream
1 lemon, zest 1/2 tsp., juice 1 TBS 
2 TBS + more for serving Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1-2 TBS water
a small garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper

Slice romaine hearts in half lengthwise. Zest lemon. Finely chop 2 TBS parmesan cheese.Stir in Mayonnaise, sour cream, 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, 1 TBS lemon juice squeeze, mustard and 1 TBS water.  Mix well. If consistency is thick and hard to drizzle add another 1 TBS water. Season with salt and pepper. Serve romaine halves with dressing, parmesan cheese, and chives.

Simple GF Stuffing

8 cups cubed GF bread (I cut up bread, put in the the oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes or so to crust it up.)

1/4-1/2 cup chopped onion

1-2 ribs celery, chopped

1 grated carrot

1-2 TBS melted butter

1/4 cup chicken broth

Mix bread and veggies. Mix broth and butter together. Pour and mix over the bread cubes. Stuff in turkey. Any that doesn’t fit, I put in the oven with the turkey for the last 30 minutes then mix it altogether.

Green Beans w/Roasted Veggies

I wanted to try roasting green beans with some veggies. I wasn't sure how well they'd hold up, so instead roasted onions and peppers and mixed with steamed/boiled green beans. They were a hit.

1 lb. Green Beans (I used string beans)
1 onion, slivered
1-2 Bell Peppers, sliced (Red, Orange, or Yellow or any combination)
2 TBS Olive Oil
Coarse Ground Salt & Pepper

Toss onions and peppers with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. While these are cooking, bring a pot of water to boiling.  Add a tad of salt and green beans. Boil 4 minutes. Drain.

Mix the green beans with the roasted vegetables, adding more salt and pepper if necessary.

Easy GF Green Bean Casserole

2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 cup sour cream
3 cans French style green beans, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onions in butter until soft. Add the salt, sugar, onion, and sour cream. Heat gently until sour cream is melted smooth. Mix in green beans until they are coated with the sauce.

Transfer the mixture to a buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese and crushed chips over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot.

Cucumber Tomato Salad w/Avocado

This is a twist on Tomato Cucumber Salad

1 french cucumber, sliced or chopped

1-2 chopped tomatoes

1/2-3/4 cup sliced peppers, green, red, orange, yellow whatever you decide

1-2 stalks celery, sliced 

1 avocado, chopped

Dressing:

3 TBS white wine vinegar 

1 TBS olive oil

1/2 TBS sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Cut up vegetables, except avocado. Mix dressing ingredients and blend into vegetables.  Cut up avocado and gently blend.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Caprese Salad

1 1/2 cups balsamic vinegar
1 lb sliced mozzarella cheese (or slice it yourself
3-4 tomatoes, sliced
Fresh basil leaves
salt & pepper
olive oil

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In a small pan, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil over medium-low heat. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes, or until balsamic vinegar is reduced to a thick glaze. Remove from heat and cool. 

Arrange alternating slices of tomato, cheese, and basil leaves. Drizzle with balsamic reduction, olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden make this a wonderful summer salad.

PW's Olive Cheese Bread-GF

1 loaf gluten free french bread (you can make your own if you can't find a GF Bakery)

1 6 oz. can Pimiento-stuffed Green Olives

1 6 oz. can Black Olives
2 green onions, chopped

1 stick Butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Mayonnaise

3/4 lb. Monterey Jack Cheese, grated

Roughly chop both black and green olives. Slice onions. Combine butter and mayonnaise until well blended. Add cheese, olives and green onions. Stir together. Spread mixture onto French bread that has been sliced lengthwise. 

Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Original Recipe can be found here.

Carrot Salad

2-3 cups carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/3 cup mayonnaise, or to taste
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
1/2 apple, diced or grated (optional)

Put grated carrots in a large bowl; toss with remaining ingredients. Chill thoroughly before serving.

Carrot Salad serves 4 to 6.

Asparagus with Vinaigrette

1 bunch asparagus
1/2 onion, sliced
1 egg, hard boiled and chopped 
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 tsp. course ground salt
1-2 TBS basil, chiffonade

Vinaigrette:
1 TBS red wine or rice wine
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Dash of salt

Toss onions and asparagus with oil. Sprinkle with course salt. Can grill in a grill pan over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Or place on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Mix vinaigrette. Place asparagus and onions on a serving platter and pour vinaigrette over. Top with egg and basil.

Bruschetta Fail

(Before putting them in the oven.)

I have never made bruschetta before, most likely because I had never heard of it until we went gluten free. Having an abundance of homegrown tomatoes caused me to remember the Bruschetta Lauren made this summer for Eisabeth's bachelorette party. She found some amazing bread at a local GF Bakery. I bought 3 GF baguettes and immediately texted Lauren to find out the recipe. Tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella were the main ingredients.  Perfect!

1 GF Baguette
Tomatoes, chopped (I used a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes but equaled about 2 cups)
1 Garlic Clove, minced
Fresh Mozzarella Ball
1 TBS Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp. Apple Cider Balsamic Vinegar (I didn't have plain balsamic vinegar)

Chop tomatoes.  Add remaining ingredients, except mozzarella, and let sit about an hour. Slice baguette. Top with a slice of mozzarella (this will keep the bread from becoming soggy.) Add tomato mixture.  Broil for a few minutes until edges of bread crisp and cheese is soft/melts.

Everything went beautifully, until I had this idea. To toast the bread nicely, I decided to place the bread atop a rack. Just when it looked perfectly done, I pulled the rack out and all of the bread tipped and dropped off the back of my oven, toppling off and dropping to the bottom of my oven.  Wish I could say the bottom of my oven was sparkling clean.  It wasn't. I couldn't bear to get a picture of the mess I made.

Michael suggested I just scoop the mess up and the bread and plop it back on the bread and serve it.  Thankfully, I wasn't having company and it was just the two of us.  We were able to ignore the black flecks that stuck to the mozzarella from the bottom of the oven and ate it anyway.  He declared it one of his top 5 (well, that and I served it with steak.)

Pasta Salad

I made PW's Spicy Pasta salad w/smoked Gouda several times with great success. Recently, my pregnant daughter is very sensitive to spicy foods and last time she ate this salad declared it too spicy.  Since we had her and her hubby over for dinner tonight,  I attempted to make a similar salad that wasn't spicy.

12 oz. Gluten Free Pasta
1 cup Smoked Gouda Cheese, cubed
1 cup Grape Tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup black olives, cut in half
1/2 cup Basil Leaves, (approximately) sliced thinly
2 slices Turkey Pastrami, chopped (optional)

Dressing:
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Wine Vinegar, garlic flavored
1 seeded and chopped Pepperocini
1/2 tsp. Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Rinse in cold water and drain well. Mix dressing ingredients. Place pasta in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and dressing. Mix gently. Add additional salt, pepper, or basil according to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

GF Panzanella Salad

I had never heard of panzanella salad, but with all of these lovely tomatoes from my garden, I went in search of a tomato salad recipe.  I was a bit disheartened to find recipes with french bread when we are gluten free.  That is until I realized I had a loaf of GF bread that was going to get moldy if I didn't eat it up quick.  Now that two more daughters and my mother-in-law has moved out, it wasn't very likely that the two of us left would finish the loaf. so I used PW's recipe for Panzanella (with a few obvious and not so obvious changes) to make a bread salad that was also gluten free.

So here is my version:

• 1 loaf Gluten Free Bread
• A variety of  Tomatoes, Cut or sliced (I used about 3-4 cups)
• 1 cup Basil Leaves, sliced or gently torn
• 1/2 cup smoked Gouda Cheese, cubed
• 1/2 sweet onion, slivered
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• Salt And Pepper
• Olive Oil, For Drizzling

Because I didn't have french bread, I cubed the bread and spread it on a cookie sheet. I warmed it in the oven at 275 degrees for about 20 minutes so it was more like croutons, then cooled.

Place the bread in a bowl.  Add onion and tomatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Add cheese and basil and mix gently. Cover and allow to sit until ready to serve. (If it's going to be more than a couple of hours, you may refrigerate but tomatoes lose flavor and texture very quickly when chilled. My advice is never to chill/refrigerate tomatoes.)

Enjoy!

Tomato Salad

Am excited to harvest a variety of tomatoes this year.  We have Roma, grape, yellow pear, and regular but I don't remember the exact varieties of these that we have. Having just returned from a week long trip to Phoenix and trying to cook something from what I had on hand, I picked these tomatoes and made a salad.

About 2 cups Tomatoes, sliced or cut up
1/4 cup sliced Kalamata Olives
About 1/4 Fresh Basil Leaves
Fresh Ground Pepper

Dressing:
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 TBS Rice Wine Vinegar, garlic flavored

Place sliced/chopped tomatoes into a bowl. Add olives and basil.  Mix dressing and drizzle over salad. Grind some fresh pepper on top.

P.S. Don't refrigerate tomatoes.  They lose flavor and texture.

Three Bean Salad

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained 

1 1/2 cups cooked green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces

3/4 cup smoked Gouda Cheese, cut in cubes

1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced

Dressing:

2 TBS honey

1 TBS rice wine vinegar (I like the garlic flavored)

1 TBS dijon mustard
1 TBS olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper 

Mix dressing ingredients.  I find that if I warm the honey slightly, it is easier to mix. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Add dressing, coating all. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes or more. Mix gently before serving. 

Creamy Potato Salad

In May, I was in New Orleans to celebrate my son's graduation from Tulane Law School. The graduation was spectacular, but ran nearly 3 hours.

 My daughter-in-law and son had planned to prepare Jambalaya for lunch, but since that afternoon was the smaller law school ceremony they picked up BBQ. Lauren mentioned the potato salad at this restaurant was her absolute favorite.  Instead of the usual mustard potato salad I'm familiar with this was made with a sour cream base. 

On Monday, I attempted this type of potato salad.  Did I mention it has bacon in it? I had planned to start with this recipe, and make changes based on my own taste.   Unfortunately, I bought what I thought were red potatoes, but they turned to mush while boiling.  At that point, I was so frustrated I didn't bother trying to mix and taste.  The more I mixed or stirred, the more mashed the potatoes became.

I had two helpings.  I think it was the bacon.  Who doesn't love bacon???

Potato Salad

3 lbs. Red Potatoes
3/4 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Mayonnaise (Original recipe uses light sour cream and light mayo, which I did NOT do.)
6 Green Onions, Sliced
4 Slices Bacon, cooked and chopped
Coarse salt and pepper

Cut up potatoes and boil in salted water until just tender. Mix sour cream and mayo. Drain potatoes and fold in mayo mixture.  Add green onions and bacon. Can be served warm or chilled.  If chilling, add bacon right before serving.

It's funny, as I'm looking at the original recipe, the potatoes look kind of mashed.  I guess if I'd garnished my salad for the picture, the two wouldn't look that different.

Menu for Tuesday & Wednesday:

Tuesday: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Toasted garlic bagels, Salad
Actual: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Garlic Toast, Green Salad, Watermelon & Blueberries
Wednesday: Grilled Salmon, 3 bean salad w/smoked Gouda, Baked Potatoes
Actual: I stuck to the menu!

Edamame & Quinoa

1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes 
1 bunch chopped green onions 
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/4 cups water, divided 
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa 
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add edamame, red pepper, and garlic; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in water, basil, chickpeas, and tomatoes; simmer 15 minutes or until quinoa is cooked.  Stir in onions and feta; toss well.

This makes a nice side dish or a vegetarian main dish. (The original recipe comes from Cooking Light, but is made with couscous.  Not being gluten free, I changed it up and used quinoa instead.)

Quinoa Salad

 1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup spinach, sliced thin
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 carrot, peeled, then use potato peeler for very thin slices
2 TBS pumpkin seeds (can use pine nuts, if desired)

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. dijon mustard, can use honey mustard
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cook quinoa according to pkg. directions.  Let cool.  Mix dressing.  Chop/slice vegetables and mix into quinoa.  Stir in dressing.  Fold in cranberries, topping with pumpkin seeds.  Chill before serving, unless you are in a hurry.

Mango Cucumber Salsa

 

1 mango, cut into small chunks
1/4 cup  onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped (I used orange)
1 TBS  jicama, diced
1 TBS fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno, diced (remove seeds and membranes if you don't want it hot)
1/2 lime, juiced
3/4 cup cucumber, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp. salt

Chop and mix all ingredients.  I served this with carnitas and it was well liked by everyone.

Korean Daikon Radish

1 1/2 lbs. daikon radish
1 TBS thin matchsticks of peeled ginger
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
3 TBS sugar
1 TBS kosher salt
1/4 tsp. turmeric

Peel radish and slice in quarter inch pieces.  If radishes are large, slice in half lengthwise before cutting half circles.  Place in a colander.  Sprinkle with salt and mix well so salt coats each piece.    Place colander over another bowl, as vegetables will sweat.  Let sit for an hour, stirring occasionally to release moisture and making sure salt is evenly distributed.

Mix vinegar, sugar and turmeric.  Drain radishes and dry a bit with paper towels.  Place into glass jar with ginger, and pour marinade over.  Store in refrigerator overnight, shaking and mixing occasionally.  Since the salt acts as a preservative, should keep in refrigerator up to two weeks if needed.