Cole Slaw {Egg-free}

Cooking out is a great way to spend the last warm days of the year, especially on a game day!  Last weekend, my husband smoked a delicious brisket.  I wanted some authentic barbecue sides.  I made cole slaw, these slow cooker pinto beans and this cornbread.  Most cole slaw recipes have mayonnaise, which contains eggs or at least egg whites.  You can buy vegan/egg-free varieties but they aren't always easy to find and tend to be a little expensive.  So, I decided I would make a vinegar based dressing for my cole slaw.  This recipe was the result.  Do note that as it sets, the cabbage releases a lot of liquid so it needs to be drained prior to serving.

 

Cole Slaw {Egg-free}

16 oz package cole slaw (shredded green cabbage with carrots)

1 bunch green onion, chopped

½ c canola oil

½ c vinegar *

1 c sugar

1 t ground mustard

1 t celery seed

1 t salt

½ t black pepper

The night before, toss green onion with cole slaw in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix all remaining ingredients and whisk until well combined.  Pour dressing over cole slaw.  Gently stir until cabbage is evenly coated with dressing.  Cover and refrigerate cole slaw overnight.  Drain excess liquid and stir prior to serving.  Serves 8

*Make sure the vinegar you use is gluten-free.  Most of the white distilled vinegars are at risk of having gluten in them.  I recently made this rice wine vinegar.  Becuase the rice vinegar has a milder taste than the distilled white, I found the cole slaw to be sweeter.  I thought it was a good subsitution but I would recommend reducing the sugar to 2/3 cup or 3/4 cup.  {Update 1/3/15}  

Sloppy Joes

Here is a quick dinner recipe that the kids will love.  I adapted a Rachel Ray recipe to our tastes and increased the ground beef to make sure we would have leftovers!  We like to serve our sloppy joes with these sweet potato fries (EF, DF, GF).

Sloppy Joes 

Adapted from Rachel Ray’s Super Sloppy Joes 

2 pounds lean ground beef

¼ c brown sugar

1 t garlic powder

½ t freshly ground black pepper

½ t seasoned salt

¼ - ½ t ground mustard

½ onion, diced

1 T red wine vinegar*

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

2 T tomato paste

Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender.  Drain.  Stir in all remaining ingredients and simmer about 10 minutes.  Serve on hamburger buns or your favorite gluten-free bread.  Serves 8-10 

* According to Celiac-Disease.com red wine vinegar should be gluten-free but please omit, if there is a concern.  

Apple Pie with Streusel Topping

Today is the first day of my favorite season!  I really love almost everything about Fall, especially the delicious fall flavors.  So, to start off the season right, I thought I would share a recipe for the best apple pie you will ever put in your mouth!! 

Apple Pie with Walnut Streusel is a little time consuming but so worth it!  I found this recipe about five years ago on the Food Network website, courtesy of Gourmet Magazine.  That link is no longer available.  But I did find a recent post for the same recipe on Epicurious.com (ignore the accompanying ice cream recipe).  I made it as written but omitted the walnuts.  I LOVE nuts, but I seem to have several people in my life who do not eat them.  Because I enjoy sharing my kitchen creations, I often leave out nuts.  Considering that this is a food allergy blog, I think it is a safe assumption that many of you omit nuts in your cooking as well!

Apple Pie with Walnut Streusel - Please click to link to the recipe.

Notes:  I used Fuji apples in the pie pictured.  I have used all kinds of baking apples and sometimes a mixture of two or three.  The recipe suggests using a deep dish pie plate.  In the picture, I am using a regular glass pie plate.  It does bubble over so I put a cookie sheet under it during the last 30 mintues of baking.  I think I will invest in a deep dish pie plate soon . . . 

Betty Crocker Cinnabon Muffins {made egg-free}

Here is another egg-free recipe using a mix!  My post for Betty Crocker Muffins {made egg-free} was so popular that I wanted to share this one as well.   I have only seen this mix at Sam’s Club.  Two mixes come in a box.  I hope it is available in other stores.  I decided to share them on my blog regardless because they were such a big hit with the family. I am not trying to promote any particular brand of mix.  I am just sharing what we have found to work from trial and error.  I don't know how often I will buy these since I have eaten way too many!

 

Betty Crocker Cinnabon Muffins {made egg-free}

1 box Betty Crocker Cinnabon Bakery mix
3/4 c + 2 T water

6 T margarine, melted

2 t baking powder

Preheat the oven to 390^o.  Line muffin tins with paper muffin cups.  Stir baking mix, water, melted margarine and baking powder together until combined.  Sprinkle cinnamon swirl mix over batter and lightly fold into batter without fully mixing.  Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full.  Sprinkle streusel topping over batter in cups.  Bake for about 17 minutes.  Cool muffins in pan for about 10 minutes.  Kneed glaze packet for about 10 seconds.   Cut off a corner of the packet and drizzle over muffins before serving.

Makes 18 muffins.

Notes:   The box says to use paper liners for best results.  We tried it both ways and the muffins baked in the paper liners did turn out better.  The box also said to use a margarine with more than 65% vegetable oil.  We used Land O Lakes margarine with 80% vegetable oil. 

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

This is another recipe that seems too simple to share but again we all need easy dinner ideas from time to time.  Plus, this is another great use for the shredded chicken recipe I shared several months ago.  Every time split breasts are on special, I buy four large ones.  I usually use half of the chicken to make shredded chicken tacos and freeze the other half to make these enchiladas later in the month. 

I have made my own green sauce in the past, which can be a little time consuming.  Honestly, the canned sauce is really pretty good.  So, I have a hard time getting motivated to make it from scratch.  I usually buy a 28 oz can of the green chili enchilada sauce and use half and freeze half for a later batch.  The frozen sauce works best if you thaw it and then simmer it for a few minutes on the stove top.  If you don't do that, it will be a little lumpy and will make your enchiladas too soggy.  Enchiladas almost always have cheese.  If you or your family are allergic to dairy, I think these would still be really good without the cheese.

If you like this recipe, you may also enjoy Mexican Chicken Casserole (EF, GF).

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

2 split chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 t ground cumin
1 14-15 oz green chili enchilada sauce*
12 soft corn tortillas
2 c shredded cheddar jack cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350^o.  Sprinkle chicken with cumin and stir to incorporate.  If you are not using my recipe for shredded chicken, you may want to add some garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste.  Warm both sides of each corn tortilla on a griddle over medium heat.  This will help the tortillas roll without breaking.  Dip the warmed tortilla in green sauce, fill with chicken, roll and place seam down into a baking pan.  Repeat for each enchilada.  Once the pan is full, pour remaining green sauce over the enchiladas.  Top with shredded cheese (omit cheese if allergic).  Bake enchiladas in preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Makes 12 enchiladas

*  The enchilada sauce I linked to above, contains wheat.  Let me know if anyone knows of a good gluten-free variety.     

Chili & Pepper Grilled Shrimp

About four months ago, I posted this recipe for Spicy Grilled Shrimp.  We wanted to make this recipe again but we did not have all of the ingredients we needed.  Rather than run to the store, we adapted the recipe for what we had and for what we thought went well together.  The result was delicious!  I am not sure which variation I like the most!!

Chili & Pepper Grilled Shrimp  

Adapted from Spicy GrilledShrimp by AZRP February 2008

2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 T garlic powder

2 t salt

2 t chili powder

2 t black pepper

1 t cayenne pepper

3 t lime juice

4 T olive oil

Rinse and drain shrimp set aside.  Mix all remaining ingredients.  Add shrimp to the marinade, stirring to coat shrimp evenly.  Put shrimp on skewers.  Grill over direct heat for about 2 minutes on the first side.  When they start to curl up, flip them and watch until they curl fairly tight and remove immediately.  Some of the shrimp won't curl tight but you can pretty much tell when they are done.  Don't overcook!  Let them rest for a few minutes before serving.

Steamed and Sautéed Green Beans

Here is a quick vegetable recipe.  I have found that fresh green beans sauté much better when steamed first.  Steam the green beans until they are almost to your desired texture.  Enjoy!

 

Steamed and Sautéed Green Beans

1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed and halved

1 T reduced-sodium soy sauce*

½ T butter, margarine or non-dairy substitute

½ t garlic powder

½ t onion powder

¼ t freshly ground black pepper

Steam green beans in a steamer pan for about 10 min or until tender when pricked with a fork.  Once steamed, put in a large sauce pan or skillet and add remaining ingredients.  Sautee on high heat and gently stir until green beans are evenly coated.  Serves 8

* For those on a gluten-free diet, be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce.

Grilled Greek Chicken

Here is another great Pinterest find!  We used the marinade exactly as described in the recipe and it gave the grilled chicken excellent flavor.  While the cucumber relish sounds awesome, we served our chicken on warmed pitas with hummus and cucumber slices.  It was delicious and our kids loved it!  For those on a gluten-free diet, serve the chicken on your favorite gluten-free bread or wrap.

Grilled Greek Chicken - The chicken pictured above, was made as described in this recipe.  Please click to link to the recipe.