Thanksgiving {Egg-free}

Ah... Thanksgiving week!  Are you getting ready to cook your feast?  It can be a little stressful, especially when food allergies are involved.  Here is a list of some of the holiday favorites you can find on our egg-free Thanksgiving Menu.

Herb Turkey Breast {Slow-cooker} (EF, DF, GF)

Cornbread Dressing (EF, DF)

Cinnamon Jello Salad (EF, DF, GF)

Pumpkin Pie (EF, GF)

Shrimp Green Bean Stir Fry

This recipe is really just a variation of my other stir fry recipes also found on this blog:  Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry (EF, DF, GF) and Chicken Asparugus and Mushroom Stir Fry (EF, DF, GF).  Stir Fry is so good and allergy friendly.  I think it is worth reposting in numerous variations.

Both of my kids love shrimp, especially my oldest.  So, this was a big hit at my house tonight!

Shrimp and Green Bean Stir Fry  

1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed and halved

1 lb shrimp, deveined and peeled

1 T olive oil         

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ t ground ginger

½ t freshly ground black pepper

1 t cornstarch

¼ c water

¼ c reduced-sodium soy sauce*

2 T honey

Steam green beans in a steamer pan for about 10 min or until tender when pricked with a fork.  While the green beans are steaming, preheat skillet and add oil, shrimp and garlic to hot skillet and sprinkle with ginger and pepper.  Sauté, until shrimp are pink and slightly curled, about 3-5 minutes.  Add steamed green beans to skillet.  Mix water, cornstarch and soy sauce.  Pour over shrimp and green beans.  Add honey and stir until incorporated and sauce starts to thicken.  Serve over your favorite rice.  

Serves 4

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

Beef and Green Beans

I  have been so surprised by how popular my recipe for Meat Potatoes and Green Beans (EF, DF, GF) has been on my blog.  I guess I am not the only one that needs a quick, easy meal for a busy weeknight that the kids will eat!  This recipe is my attempt to recreate a recipe a friend's mother made for us growing up.  So, simple but tasty!

I like to have ingredients for recipes like this one on hand for those times when groceries get low before I have a chance to get back to the store.  I keep ground beef in my freezer and almost always have the other ingredients on hand.  To make it a meal solely from the pantry and freezer, you could substitute garlic powder and onion powder for the fresh onion and garlic.  I may try that next time, as my oldest child picks out any visible onion pieces.

Beef and Green Beans

1 pounds lean ground beef 
1 clove garlic, minced 
½ onion, diced 
2 can green beans, drained 
2 8 oz can tomato sauce 
½ t dried oregano 
pepper to taste

Cook the ground beef with onion and garlic until the beef is no longer pink. Drain.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve over cooked rice.

Serves 6

Vegetable Beef Soup {Slow-Cooker}

It has been two years since I started this blog!  By the end of 2012, my blog was up to about 2,000 page views a month.  At that time, I was hoping it would get to 5,000 page views a month by the end of 2013.  As of the end of 2013, I have been getting 7,000 page views a month!  Thanks to you all for following my blog!  My hope it is helping some with food allergies cook and enjoy somewhat normal foods.

Here is a recipe for Vegetable Beef Soup.  It is inspired by the recipe for Amazing Beef Vegetable Soup from The Vintage Mom's food blog.  The recipe says to simmer all day.  Anytime I read this, I think slow-cooker.  That is how I cooked mine.  I also made a few ingredient adjustments and additions, as you can see below.  I love that this warm, comforting soup is so full of so many yummy veggies!

Note:  This recipe makes a lot of soup!!  You need a BIG slow-cooker.  I cooked Mine in a 6 quart capacity slow-cooker and it was almost filled to the brim.  We shared half of the soup with friends and still had enough for two meals for our family.  I even froze a couple of containers for lunches.  

If you like this recipe, you may also like Taco Soup (EF, GF).

Vegetable Beef Soup

Inspired by The Vintage Mom’s Amazing Beef Vegetable Soup

1 medium onion, diced

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

1 lb ground beef

1 carton low-sodium beef broth

1 large 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

½ head of cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 c frozen corn

1 c baby carrots, chopped

1 c frozen peas

1 c fresh or frozen green beans*

5 medium yellow potatoes, cubed

1 packet of Lipton Beefy Onion Soup mix

2 T celery flakes

2 T Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

1 T ground black pepper

1 T dried parsley

In a skillet, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil.  Move onion and garlic to slow-cooker.  In same skillet brown the beef.  Drain beef and place in slow-cooker.  Add broth, tomatoes, vegetables and all remaining spices.  Cook on low for about 8 hours.  Remove bay leaves prior to serving.

*I used canned green beans, adding them about half way through the cook time because that is what I had on hand.  I also think you could put canned green beans in for the entire cook time.  They may just be more likely to come apart.