I love butternut squash and I love leeks. Need I say more?
Ingredients:
1 (2) pound butternut squash
Cooking Spray
1 tsp butter
1 tsp coconut oil
4 cups finely chopped leeks (about 6 leeks)
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
dash of nutmeg
4 large eggs
1/4 Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cut squash in half lengthwise, remove seeds, place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray cut side down. Bake for about 45-60 minutes until soft. Allow to cool then scoop out the flesh and put into a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher until smooth.
Meanwhile prepare he leeks buy cutting off only the white part, slicing them lengthwise and then submerging into cold water to rinse well. Leeks can be incredibly dirty to make sure you pull them apart and wash very well. Dry and chop finely.
In a large skillet over med heat, add the butter, coconut oil and leeks and saute for about 20 minutes until they are brown and somewhat caramelized.
To the bowl with the squash add the sugar, salt and pepper, nutmeg, egg, leeks, half the cheese and mix well.
Pour into six 6 oz ramekins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Place ramekins into large baking dish and fill with water about half way up the sides. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, use the rest of the cheese over the top of the ramekins, then place under the broiler for a few minutes until brown.
Who does not love some mushrooms with a steak at dinner? When I've made mushrooms in the past I always sauteed them. The idea of being able to throw everything into a pan and put it in the oven sounded appealing. No standing there stirrring the pot, no watching to see what's happening. Put it in the oven, set the timer, and go have a glass of wine. Sound good?
Ingredients:
1 pound mushrooms
2 tbsp capers
3 large garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper
zest and juice from one half lemon
2 to 3 tbsp chopped parsley
In a heavy saute pan, preferrable cast iron, add the cleaned mushrooms.
Rinse the capers, dry them then chop and put in the pan.
Mince the garlic and add it to the pan.
Add the olive oil and butter, some salt and pepper to taste, and toss it all together.
Cook in a preheated 450 degree oven for 20 minutes.
When it come out hit it with some lemon zest and a good squeese of lemon juice.
Add the parsley and serve hot.
Now that I am dealing with gluten sensitivity I can't eat bread, or baked goods, or multigrain pancakes, one of my weekend pleasures, boo hoo! And it's been months without any kind of starchy carb. It's been easier than I first imagined, and I finally got used to the idea and adjusted my diet accordingly. But now that I have mastered this I find I just want something familiar. You know, a baked good of some kind, similar to a cookie or a piece of cake. Is that too much to ask? That being said, I am on the hunt for recipes that allow me to eat something that looks and feels like a wheat product.
I have to say that now days there are so many more recipes that are gluten free it's actually easy to find things to make. I've tried many different prepared products from the store and most of them leave much to be desired. I've discovered that when it comes to gluten free it really is best to make my own.
This recipe is one of first I tried and I thought it came out pretty well. It is nice to have a healthy snack around that I can have mid afternoon or that my husband can take with him to work.
One of the nice things about this recipe is that it's quite simple to change up. You can add cranberry's instead of raisins. You can use different nuts and seeds, some dried fruits, flax seed. I've tried this with some soy flour and it works well so experiment with different combinations of flours. You can use honey instead of agave. As you can see, this is a good base recipe that you can have fun with.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup almond slivers
1/4 cup raisins
In a small bowl combine the almond flour, salt and baking soda.
In a large bowl combine the grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla.
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds and raisins.
Grease a 8 x 8 inch Pyrex baking dish with grapeseed oil.
Press dough into the baking dish, patting down evenly.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool completely.
Cut into 12 bars.
