Category: Gluten-free

Thai Coconut Chicken Casserole

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This is a great quick supper. It’s delicious and so colorful. Red Curry Paste is available at Asian Markets, and online. It may even be in some regular grocery stores.

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 can light coconut milk
1 1/2 cups chicken broth, heated in a small pan or a microwave until just boiling.
1 – 2 tsp Thai Red Curry Paste. (I use Mae Ploy.)
1 cup jasmine rice (regular rice is fine, too.)
2 red bell peppers, chopped and sauteed
8 oz. green beans, trimmed and sauteed

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add oil to a saute pan and saute chicken until browned on both sides. Cut into smaller pieces and place in an oven proof pot. Add all other ingredients except for peppers and beans. Cover and cook 25 minutes at low heat.

While chicken and rice are cooking, add more oil to the saute pan and cook veggies for a few minutes until soft, but not mushy.

Remove chicken and rice from oven, top with peppers and beans, and serve.

Kumy’s Spicy Rustic Spaghetti Sauce

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Kumy first made this Spaghetti sauce in August of 2011 and he’s made variations ever since.  It’s a spicy, rustic sauce that’s delicious on pasta.

1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
5 small tomatoes, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper seeded, and cut into four pieces
pinch of Sage
1/4 tsp Rosemary
1/4 tsp Thyme
3/4 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Parsley

Heat oil, and add garlic in. Saute garlic for a couple minutes and add the chopped tomatoes and all the rest of the spices. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve over pasta sauce with Parmesan cheese.

Ronneburg Cottage Cheese

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A surprisingly tasty variation of cottage cheese from a restaurant in Iowa.

1 16-ounce container of cottage cheese
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp buttermilk
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper

Blend all ingredients. Yum.

Bean, Corn & Tortilla Salad

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A great vegetarian main dish salad with the crunch of Doritos, sweet bite of lettuce and veggies and a warm element of beans and corn. On July 12, 2011 Kumy rated this an A+!

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn (I love Trader Joe’s Roasted Corn)
1/4 cup medium salsa

Heat in a small saucepan until corn is softened. Remove from heat.

1 cup chopped scallions
1 ripe avocado, diced
3 plum tomatoes, cut in chunks
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/8 tsp Black pepper

Toss together gently in a big bowl.

12 oz romaine or iceberg letter, cut for salad
3 cups broken “cool ranch” Doritos
3/4 cup grated pepper-jack cheese

Add lettuce to the big bowl, along with the pinto bean mixture. Top with Doritos and cheese, and toss gently. Serve with extra salsa.

Baby Kale & Carrot Salad with Citrus Dressing

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baby kale and carrot saladThis one hasn’t made it into the book yet, but I’m skipping that since it was so good. Le Quartier Bakery in Omaha sells sandwiches and a side salad with Kale and carrots in a citrus dressing. I’ve been hungry for that salad for days, and bought some baby kale, and a bottle of fresh orange juice to concoct something similar.

I was thinking of making it for supper tonight. And I started to pull it together, when the usual happened. Someone drank the orange juice and I can’t really remember what else was in the salad. No matter, I googled Citrus Salad Dressing and found Ree Drummond’s recipe. I punted and made something similar and it was amazing!!!  We have had this three nights in a row, since we had lots of leftover dressing.

1 box baby kale
1 carrot, grated

Salad Dressing:

In a mason jar, add

1/8 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp marmalade (I used Orange-Apricot Marmalade)
1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic, grated
Splash of white wine vinegar. (Cider vinegar would be fine, too.)
2 Tbsp sour cream.

Close with a lid and shake well (violently, according to Ree.) 🙂

Dump baby kale into a nice bowl, add the grated carrot on top, and add some of the salad dressing. It was actually amazing. We practically licked the bowl!

Spanish Tortilla with Bell Pepper

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First made this on March 27, 2010 and noted that it was great for a Sunday brunch.

1/3 package of turkey or real bacon, sliced into 1″ pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper
1 onions
1 lb. yukon gold potatoes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp tabasco or other hot sauce
8 eggs
2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375. Slice pepper, onion and potatoes into 1/2″ thick slices.

Heat oil in a large oven proof frying pan. Add bacon, peppers and onion and saute for several minutes until the bacon is cooked and the onions are soft and translucent. Add potatoes,cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then. Remove from heat.

Beat eggs with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Pour eggs over potatoes and sprinkle with parsley. Bake 15 minutes and serve warm. Delish.

Easy Fajitas

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1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs, cut thin

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chipotle pepper powder (can use more if you like it spicier)
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp olive oil

4 red, yellow or green peppers, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, cut into thin strips
1 red onion, cut into thin strips

Tortillas
Sour Cream
Salsa
Fresh Limes
Guacamole

Mix all spices, cornstarch and water in a medium bowl. Add in chicken, peppers and onions and stir to coat thoroughly. (You can use any kind of pepper or onion – it’s just fun to use different colors.)

Heat more olive oil in a large frying pan. Add everything and saute on pretty high heat for several minutes, until the chicken is cooked and the peppers and onions are soft and starting to brown a bit. You can grill it – which is more traditional, but the chipotle pepper lends a nice smokey flavor even if you just pan fry it.

Serve it with warm tortillas, with fresh lime juice squeezed over it. Top with sour cream, salsa, and guacamole.

Kumy’s Hindu Aloo (Potatoes)

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This is a wonderful, tangy, spicy golden potato dish with fresh cilantro and jalapenos. Really quick and amazingly good – one of Kumy’s specialties.

Kumy’s auntie, Shirin Auntie was an especially good cook, and such a lovely person. So was her husband, Chotu Uncle, and I miss them. (Story about them below.)  She taught Kumy how to make this dish.

When I asked him about the name, he said Shirin Auntie grew up in Bombay and learned this vegan dish from  a Hindu neighbor.  Aloo means potato, and anyone who has had these potatoes says they are “Kamal!”  (Amazing!)

4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cubed in 1″ cubes (we like Yukon Gold)
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
fresh ginger, peeled with a spoon and sliced very thinly (about 1.5 tsp)
3/4 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1 jalapeno, sliced in half, seeds removed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 lemons, juiced
4 jalapenos, held by stem, and cut twice from bottom
1 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Boil potatoes in salted water until they are soft. Drain and squeeze lemon juice over them. Heat oil in a frying pan, and add garlic, ginger and mustard seed, frying for 2 minutes. Add cumin seed, 1 sliced jalapeno, turmeric and salt and saute for just a few moments. Add the boiled potatoes and lemon juice and stir gently. You want to blend everything nicely without crushing the potatoes. Take the 4 jalapenos which have been partially cut and gently push them into the potatoes. Garnish with the cilantro. Serve with extra lemon juice.

Chotu Uncle and Shirin Auntie lived in a house with a beautiful garden – filled with beautiful plants in enormous sizes, and they loved cats and kept one as a pet, which was quite unusual. I always loved visiting them and seeing their garden.  

Later, they moved into a very nice apartment in the Royal Apartments.  One of my favorite memories was when they’d left the laundry room window open one day, and a mother bird began to build her nest just inside the window.  

They were so enchanted that they let her build the nest and raise her babies there – watching the progress with bated breathed, and tip-toeing in and out so as not to disturb them.  How could you not love someone like that?

Vanna’s Steak and Onions

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My friend Vanna is my dream cook – everything she makes comes out perfect and delicious whether it’s Pho or fried chicken or a dessert. She comes from a family of wonderful cooks and we look forward to the block party every year, just to see what Vanna’s bringing! I wrote this recipe down very quickly and with cryptic instructions, but it was delicious.

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 lbs. of steak
2 Tbsp Oyster sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 chopped onions

Mix sauces, salt, pepper and garlic and marinade steak in it for at least 10 minutes. Heat butter and oil in a big skillet. Add steak and brown for several minutes, turning over half way. Add chopped onions and cook until brown. Add any leftover marinade and cook for a minute or two. If the sauces get too dry, just add a little water.

Oaxacan Rice & Beans

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Made this for the 2009 block party.  It’s a good dish for a picnic or outdoor gathering, because it’s good warm or at room temperature.

1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 4 oz. can diced green chillies
1 jalapeno, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil

Heat oil in a medium-sized pan. Saute veggies for 7-8 minutes or until carrots and onions are softened.

1 cup rice, washed and drained
2 1/4 cups chicken broth (use veggie broth for a vegan version)
1 tsp salt
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1″ diagonal slices (frozen is fine, too.)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained.

Add rice to the veggie mix and cook 3-4 minutes. Add salt and chicken stock, cover and reduce heat. Cook 15 minutes. Add in green beans and black beans, cover and cook another 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat and blend gently.