Dairy and Wheat Free Orange "Chicken", Revisited

  When I first posted my recipe for orange...uh, turkey, it was before Jack's new allergies to chicken, rice, soy, and oats were discovered. So a few things needed to be tweaked to make this recipe again, but another thing that changed (and made everything 100% better!) was the use of my fancy new deep fryer rather than frying in batches on the stove top. Also, to save time, I left out the marinating part. This was fantastic prepared this way.

Allergy Friendly Orange Turkey

Orange sauce:
1 1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup Triple S
2/3 cup sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp celery seeds
1/3 cup water
2 Tbl cornstarch + 1/4 cup water, mixed well until lump free

Everything else:
1 1/2 lbs turkey breast cutlets, cut into 1 inch cubes
egg replacer for 2 eggs
2 cups cornstarch
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt

Heat deep fryer to 375, or heat one inch of oil in a large skillet to 375. In a small bowl, whisk egg replacer until foamy. In a medium bowl, mix 2 cups cornstarch, salt, and cayenne. Dredge turkey in egg replacer and then in cornstarch mixture. Fry half of the turkey at a time until crispy and golden, about 3 mins per side on stove or 5-6 minutes total in deep fryer. Drain turkey on a brown paper bag or paper towel.
Meanwhile, add all sauce ingredients except cornstarch to a medium sauce pan and mix well. Stirring often, bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and slowly stir in 2 Tbl cornstarch/water mixture. Stir constantly until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Serve turkey with sauce drizzled over the top, or mix half of the sauce in a bowl with the turkey peices, tossed to coat.

Turkey Taco Salad

  I'm ashamed to say I totally forgot it was Monday, so this recipe contains meat. :/ Lol but it was so good it really doesn't matter!
  The taco seasoning is something I have been meaning to post on here for a long time since most prepared taco seasonings contain milk and this one does not taste like it's missing anything. Let me list it here real quick:
dairy free taco seasoning
1 Tbl chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder*
1/4 tsp onion powder*
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp oregeno
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
Mix all ingredients well. You can keep this premade in a jar or ziploc baggy, however I make mine as I need it.
*In this recipe, I used actual onions and minced garlic in the skillet so I omitted these two.

Turkey Taco Salad

1 lb ground turkey
taco seasoning mix (it comes to about 2 Tbls)
1 can black beans, drained
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbl coconut oil
3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1/2 cup vegan ranch dressing
1/2 cup Daiya cheddar shreds
1 avocado, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup World Table brand Blue Corn and Sesame Tortilla chips
All your other favorite taco salad toppings; olives, jalepenos, salsa, etc)

In a medium skillet, heat coconut oil over medium until it is fully liquified. Add onions and garlic and sautee until slightly soft. Add turkey and break up with a spoon. Stir occasionally until browned. Add taco seasoning and vegetable broth and stir well. Reduce heat and let simmer until liquid has mostly evaporated. Stir in black beans, heat through.
Serve meat mixture on a bed of lettuce with avocado, tomato, ranch, and cheese. Add chips for garnish, or if you are like me, crumble them on top. Yum!

Dairy, Egg, and Wheat Free Italian Turkey Bake

  I love cooking from scratch! I love taking whole ingredients and turning them into something yummy. But I'm also a busy mom and often have to find something that can be made without much thought, time, or prep work. I thought I was on to something with chili until my darling dearest husband revealed that he actually doesn't care for chili all that much, so now he's sleeping on the couch (just kidding!) and I'm onto the next thing!
  As a side note, since finding out Jack is also allergic to rice, bread-type products (including cookies) have become even harder to find. We did find one great bread, Food For Life's White Rye. It's all of our allergies-free and while it's tougher than wheat breads, it had that 'gluteny' quality that gluten free rice based breads simply lack. Pasta wasn't quite so difficult, we found lots of corn based pastas and even some made from a quinoa/corn mix by Ancient Harvest that is very good. The only pasta that we haven't found is a non-wheat, non-rice lasagna noodle. We're still on a search for a good, non-crumbly cookie that travels well.

  Anyway, tonight was one of those nights where I was very uninspired and wanted to find something quick and comforting, and this meal definately fit the bill! There's nothing really 'from scratch' about this recipe, except the bread crumbs, but that was fine by me tonight. Everyone loved it, even Jack had seconds!

Italian Turkey Bake

1 lb ground turkey
2 cups dried corn/quinoa pasta (whatever shape you like except spaghetti)
1 can italian seasoned stewed tomatoes, drained
1 cup soy/dairy free pasta sauce (We used Bertolli garlic and mushroom)
1/2 cup baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella shreds
1 clove minced garlic
1 Tbl italian seasonings
6 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup wheat/dairy/egg free bread crumbs*

Preheat oven to 350.
Add 6 cups water and a shake or two of salt to medium saucepan and heat over medium high heat. Once boiling, add pasta, reduce heat and cook 6-8 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat garlic for 30 seconds and then add turkey meat, stirring frequently to break it up while it browns. Once brown, add stewed tomatoes, pasta sauce, and spinach. Stir well and cook over low heat until spinach is wilted. Add pasta to sauce/meat mixture and stir well. Place pasta in medium casserole dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs and mozzarella shreds. Bake 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

  Some sauteed onions and/or bell peppers would be nice thrown in here. I also sprinkled mine with red pepper flakes for some extra kick. I can't get enough of spicy food lately.

* I made bread crumbs by placing 2 slices of Food For Life brand White Rye bread into the food processor with 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp parsely, and 1 tsp onion powder, that I then processed until it was all evenly broken up, and then spread the crumbs onto a cookie sheet and put them in the oven while it preheated (10 mins or so).

Vegan Soy Free Quiche

 Obviously, quiche is not something we can eat in our household since it's made with tons of eggs. I found recipes for vegan quiches, but they all call for tofu (made from soy, a no no) and I am out of my homemade chickpea nofu. Oh, what to do? But then I found this recipe using mashed potatoes!The pictured crust was made of buckwheat and rye flour and was terrible, but I've made it since with the pie crust recipe below and it was great!

Vegan/Soy Free Quiche (filling) 

1 Tbl olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 leek, trimmed, sliced and washed
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1/2 cup diced red peppers
handful of spinach
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp black pepper
3 tsp sea salt
3 cups mashed potatoes (made with just water, Earth Balance soy free buttery spread, and salt)
2 Tbl nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 tsp turmeric

Pie crust
1/4 cup almond meal flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup melted soy free Earth Balance or coconut oil
2 tsp ice water
Oil or more melted Earth Balance to grease pie pan

For crust, combine almond flour and 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl. Stir in melted Earth Balance or coconut oil with a fork until well combined. Slowly add in  ice water and stir until dough forms a firm ball. Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can roll the dough out and put it in a 9 inch pie pan but I just greased my pie dish with olive oil and then pressed this dough onto it to form a crust.

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Add onion, garlic, leeks, peppers, and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 8-9 minutes. Add the spinach and half cup of vegetable broth. Stir well, then add thyme, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a separate pan or bowl, mix mashed potatoes with yeast flakes and turmeric, mixing thoroughly. Mix cooked vegetables and mashed potatoes together, mixing REALLY well. Pack filling inside your crust and smooth with a wet spatula. Bake 30 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving to allow filling to set, otherwise it will slowly melt onto your plate a bit.

Vegan and Wheat Free Fried Green Beans

  Our Farmer's Market didn't have a very big selection on Saturday, but they had some of the prettiest looking green beans I've seen in a long time. So I bought 3 lbs, which in hindsight might have been a tad excessive. Haha, anyway, so I wanted to find something to do with them other than roast them in olive oil and garlic, which is how we normally eat them. I remembered having fried green beans at Friday's waaay back when I got to eat whatever I wanted and they were so good. I found this recipe on FoodNetwork.com and the only thing I did to make it work for us was use Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour. The only beer we had around was Sam Adam's Winter Lager, but it worked perfectly, the flavor was wonderful! I made another bowl of vegan ranch dip to dunk these in and Chris said it literally tasted like it came from a restaurant! Score!

Fried Green Beans 

1 lb fresh green beans with ends trimmed
1 cup beer
1 cup gluten free all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
peanut oil for frying

Preheat oil to 375. Whisk beer, flour, salt, and pepper together until smooth. Dip green beans in batter, allow excess to drain off and fry in batches until crispy and golden. Place on a paper towel lined cookie sheet to drain. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Vegan Eggplant Garbonzo Curry Burgers

  It's Meatless Monday! I bought more eggplant yesterday because it's in season, cheap, and I just find the pretty purple to be so appealing in the produce isle. I'm pretty new at cooking with eggplant and I wanted to try something slightly different, so I searched around and found this recipe on a wonderful blog,  Gluten Free Soy Free Vegan. I made a few adjustments, like using soy free soy sauce and potato chips instead of bread crumbs. These were delicious, and we served them with homemade sweet potato chips and roasted green beans. Chris even had seconds, and he normally doesn't even finish his first serving. Woohoo!

Eggplant-Garbonzo Curry Burgers

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch thick rings
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely minced
2 tablespoons dried parsely
2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 1/4 cups GF bread crumbs (I actually used crushed ruffles because I had them laying around)
1 1/2 teaspoons Triple S Sauce (soy free soy sauce substitute)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch of cayenne

Preheat oven to 375.
Steam eggplant slices in 2 inches of water, covered, for 5-10 minutes until very soft. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat olive oil and add onion, celery, garlic, and parsley and saute 5 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add 2 Tbl water, stir, and set aside.
When soft, combine eggplant and garbonzo beans in food processor and pulse until coarsely pureed. Place in a bowl and stir in sauteed vegetables, bread crumbs, sesame seeds, lemon juice, cayenne, and Triple S. Mix until well blended. Form mixture into 8 patties and place them on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake 35 minutes, then flip and back another 10 minutes, until nicely browned and firm in the center.

This recipe produced a lot of dishes: the steamer insert, the pan, the skillet, the food processor, the mixing bowl, and the cookie sheet. So that was sort of a pain but these were so absolutely tasty that I will put them in the regular rotation for sure!!

Dairy and Wheat Free Ground Turkey Kheema

  Kheema (also spelled Qeema) is a South Asian curry dish usually made with ground lamb. It's also often cooked in ghee, which is clarified butter, and sometimes has yogurt mixed in. Of course we did none of that, and it still came out very tasty! Even the boys ate a ton of it, thank goodness. Sometimes I wonder how they survive on what little they eat. On that note, they had their very first grilled cheese sandwiches today on white rye (since Jack is not gluten intolerant but rather just allergic to wheat) and with Daiya cheddar cheese shreds and soy free Earth Balance. Man, were they goo-oood, but I'm really off topic! Back to the recipe!

Turkey Kheema 

1 lb ground turkey
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2-3 small green thai chilies, split lengthwise
  (for the tomatoes and chilies, I just used a can of hot Ro-tel tomatoes)
1 Tbl garam marsala
2 Tbl ground cumin
1 tsp coriander powder
1 large tsp tumeric
1 tsp red chili powder
2-3 tsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 cup green peas
3 Tbl olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (I added about 3 tsp sea salt and just a dash of pepper)

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute a few minutes, until slightly browned. Add ginger, garlic, and chilies and fry 2-3 minutes. Add in spices. I added a few tablespoons of water at this point as it was very dry and looked like it might burn to the pan. Saute 3 minutes. Add turkey and mix well. Stir until meat is broken up and cooked through. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and water. Reduce heat to low, cover, cook 5-6 minutes. Stir in peas and serve.

We had ours over cooked quinoa. I found two or three wheat free vegan naan recipes (naan is the traditional flat bread that you would scoop this up with) but they contained rice flour and I'm not confident enough to start trying to substitute flours. Hopefully I will get the hang of it!

Artichoke Hummus

  Mmmm, hummus. My weakness. I have been madly in love with all things garbonzo lately, and hummus is my favorite! I found this recipe in our local newspaper a week ago, but I didn't have tahini so I went out and bought my very first jar of it and whipped this up. It made a HUGE amount, so we nibbled today and there will still be plenty left over for the Super Bowl tomorrow. Woohoo!



 Artichoke Hummus 

1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained
1 can chickpeas (garbonzo beans), drained
2 Tbl tahini
3 Tbl lemon juice
1 Tbl minced garlic
1 Tbl olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp hot paprika (I did not have hot so I added a dash of cayenne)
Sea salt to taste
1 cup chopped fresh basil

Combine all ingredients except basil in food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste for salt, if needed, add more. Transfer to a serving bowl, stir in basil, and enjoy!

Flour Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

  Ok, so we were all in love with the oatmeal peanut butter cookies, but after finding out Jack is also allergic to both rice and oats, we were in desperate need of a new cookie! I tried several, including a cornmeal almond cookie that was god-awful. But I found several sites with flour free peanut butter cookies and I decided to give them a try. Boy am I glad I did!
  These were pretty crumbly the first day but the second day these were absolutely perfect! This recipe is ridiculously simple and so yummy...

Flour Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 Tbl flax meal + 3 Tbl hot water
1 tso baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegan chocolate chips (Enjoy Life)

Preheat oven to 350.
Stir together peanut butter, sugar, flaxgel, baking powder, and vanilla. Once well mixed, stir in chocolate chips. Roll into 1-1.5 inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten cookies as they will not spread. Bake for 12-17 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and allow to cool completely.