Turkey Sausage Breakfast Gravy - Dairy, Soy Free with Wheat Free Option

  I've done a few different breakfast gravy recipes that were decent, but after a recent trip to Penzeys Spices and finding this breakfast sausage seasoning, our lives have been changed for the better! I now can make turkey breakfast sausage anytime with the ground turkey of my choosing rather than having to use the ultra watery Jenni-O tube of ground turkey sausage we had been relying on. I HIGHLY recommend you pick yourself up some of this seasoning mix. Seriously. Also, using coconut milk instead of almond milk really improved the flavor and made the gravy whiter than the previous versions. To boot, this recipe is a lot simpler in that you make it all in the same skillet without having to remove the meat. This is really good stuff, we had it for breakfast one day and then for dinner two days later because we loved it so much!

Turkey Sausage Breakfast Gravy 

 
1.25 lb lean ground turkey
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 Tbl Penzeys Breakfast Sausage Seasoning*
2 Tbl Bisquick, GF Bisquick, or other GF flour of your choice
1 cup unsweetened plain coconut milk, plus more if needed
1/2 tsp sea salt
a few cracks of fresh ground black pepper

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add turkey and sausage seasoning. Break meat up with wooden spoon and stir until completely browned, about 5 minutes. Push all of the turkey meat to the back of the skillet, allowing the juices to come to the front. Add the flour to the juices and stir quickly to form a paste. Whisk the coconut milk into the flour paste until there are no lumps, then incorporate the turkey into the flour/milk mixture. If it is very thick, add more coconut milk. Remember that the gravy will thicken slightly as it cools so try to get it just slightly thinner than you'd like. Stir in salt and pepper and taste, adjust seasonings as desired. (For spicier gravy, add a pinch more of sausage seasoning). Serve over hot biscuits or toast.


 * The ingredients are:  salt, sugar, paprika, black pepper, dextrose (a simple sugar), nutmeg, cayenne pepper, sage, and thyme. I do not know the exact amounts of each, but you could try to make your own seasoning (and store in a small mason jar or other air tight container). Here is my best guess at the measurements for an 4-6oz jar:

4 Tbsp salt
4 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp black pepper
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tsp sage
1 tsp thyme 
  

Turkey Fried Orzo - Soy, Rice, Egg Free

 The first Saturday of every month, Chris and I leave the kids at Parents Night Out and go to a Chinese buffet. The place we go to isn't extravagant or anything, but I love going because I can get my fill of fried rice that otherwise is totally off limits to us. We've done fried quinoa at home and while it's good, it just doesn't hit the spot the same way.
  Maybe I'm the last person on earth to know about orzo, but I had no idea what it was until I was walking down a grocery store isle this morning and noticed a box of what looked like rice in well known pasta brand box. Intrigued, I bought a box and then went home and Googled "What to do with orzo" and found that most people used it in place of rice in recipes. (For those like me who don't know, orzo is tiny rice shaped pasta. The brand I found was made entirely out of wheat, no eggs or other ingredients.)
 I decided to try to make fried 'rice' with the orzo and it was great! Of course, with no real traditional soy sauce and without the egg, it still isn't spot on, but it's much closer than fried quinoa!

Turkey Fried Orzo

1 package turkey cutlets, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 Tbl olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
several cracks of fresh ground black pepper
1 Tb olive oil
half white onion, diced
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups cooked orzo, drained
2 Tbl coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute)
1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
3 stalks green onion, diced

In a wok or large skillet, 1/2 Tbl heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add turkey to wok, sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir fry until completely cooked. Remove from wok and set aside.
Add 1 Tbl olive oil and fry onions until transparent. Pour vegetable broth into wok and cook until it is reduced by about half. Add in cooked orzo and stir constantly, scraping the bottom to avoid sticking, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add coconut aminos, peas and carrots, and stir rapidly, about 5 minutes. Return turkey to wok and stir until heated through. Stir green onions is just before serving.

Apple Sage Turkey Chops

  Turkey breast cutlets. I wish there was something nice I could say about them, but I can't. They are dry, filled with gristle, and generally awful. Around here it's very easy to find turkey breast cutlets, but finding their delicious cousins, turkey breast tenderloins, is a whole different thing. We have to go 40 miles into Fort Worth and even then the only place we can find them is the Joint Reserve Military Base which has limited to no access to the general public, especially not for grocery shopping. Needless to say, we don't get a hold of them often,so I'm trying to find more things to make with the dreaded cutlets.
  In the past, we've always tried to use cutlets in the place of chicken breast in recipes, but I mentioned to my husband that they seem more like a pork chop than a chicken breast when *LIGHT BULB* it hit me! What if I prepare them like pork chops? Maybe I could find a way to make them more edible and to be honest, I do miss pork chops. So I tried my favorite pork chop recipe and it came out really great. My husband even said if we fed them to someone who didn't know, they wouldn't be able to tell they weren't pork chops. The meat was moist and juicy and I did not notice much gristle, at least in my piece. I'd like to try breading them at some point, but for now, here is my recipe!

Apple Sage Turkey Chops

1 package turkey breast cutlets (usually 3 large 'chops')
1 1/2  tsp sage
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 Tbl GF all purpose flour OR whole wheat flour
2 Tbl olive oil
1 medium white onion, sliced
2 red apples, cored and sliced thinly
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbl brown sugar

Mix flour and seasonings in a small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of each cutlet with seasoning mix, retaining about 1/2 for later in the recipe.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet (use a skillet you have a lid for) over medium high heat. Once just barely smoking, add chops and brown, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove cutlets and set aside. (Turkey will still be uncooked in the middle.) Add onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add apple slices and cook another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Stir in vegetable broth, brown sugar, and remaining flour mixture. Bring to a boil. Return cutlets to the skillet. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 6-8 minutes.

Serve cutlets with apples and onion on the side and sauce from the pan drizzled over the top.

Always look on the bright side of life.

Have you ever seen Monty Python's The Life of Brian? It's great. I've been singing the song "Always look on the bright side of life" all day today.  When dealing with a serious and life long condition as in the case of multiple food allergies and EoE, it's obviously very important to take it seriously and always be on alert. But with that said, I think it's equally as important to have a sense of humor and be able to laugh at the situation just a little, or you will spend your life in a miserable state. I found this video about dealing with multiple food allergies that had my husband and I cracking up that I just have to share. Being a big fan of Les Miserables since I saw the play as a teenager and since I own or have owned every single product shown, this video is right up my alley! I hope you all enjoy it and no one gets offended. Remember, it's not making fun of people with food allergies, just poking fun at all the hoops we must jump through to prepare safe versions of foods.

Crock Pot Corned Turkey and Cabbage - Soy, Wheat, Dairy Free

  Corned beef and cabbage is traditional St. Patrick's Day food, and some people (my family included) eat it on New Year's Day to represent wealth and health in the coming year.

  The term 'corned' really means cured or pickled with salt rocks (or corns). You can buy beef brisket already seasoned and ready to be cooked, but to my knowledge there is no such turkey product. Thankfully pickling a turkey roast at home was very easy, only requiring time to cure, and because I cooked this in a crock pot it basically made itself!
This had a very similar flavor to corned beef, and it was moist and juicy thanks to the brining.This was a fabulous substitute for corned beef!

Remember when making this that it takes 3-5 days to cure the meat. This is NOT something you can rush, it just won't be the same.

Corned Turkey 

brine:
4 cups water
1/2 cup kosher salt
2 Tbl brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbl pickling spice
2 cloves minced garlic

1 3lb boneless turkey roast, thawed and gravy packet removed (We use Butterball roasts with white and dark meat)
1 small bag baby carrots, or 3-5 medium carrots peeled and chopped
1 large yellow onion, cut into 8ths
1 medium head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
6 oz beer (Gluten free, if necessary. Dark stout is the best, in my opinion)
 2 large russet potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup water
1 Tbl pickling spice

In a medium sauce pan, heat brine ingredients until sugar and salt are fully dissolved. Allow mixture to completely cool. Place turkey roast (netting still on but all other packaging removed) in a large Ziploc bag (we doubled up our Ziplocs just in case there was a leak!) and pour cooled brine mixture over turkey. Try to remove as much air as possible from the bag before zipping, then place in your refrigerator for 3-5 days, turning turkey twice a day to ensure an even brine.

Once ready to cook, place carrots, onions, and potatoes in crock pot. Pour one cup water over veggies. If desired, lightly sprinkle with salt. Discard brining fluid and place the turkey roast on top of the veggies. Pour beer over roast, then sprinkle the top of roast with pickling spice. Cook, covered, on high for 3 hours, then add cabbage to crock pot, recover, and continue to cook another hour.

Remove roast from crock pot and allow to rest on a plate for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with veggies and sour kraut, mustard, or whatever your family likes with it!

Vegan Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Fried Onions - Soy and Wheat Free

  Our first Thanksgiving eating allergy-friendly, the green bean casserole recipe came from Living Without magazine... and it totally sucked. It wasn't their fault of course. Something I've figured out while eating allergen free is that recipes are just starting points, you have to tweak things to your own tastes in almost every case. But at the time, I did not know that.

  With that said, you may want to add or remove some items from this recipe, but this was really very good. And easy enough to make for Sunday dinner, nothing that has to be saved just for Thanksgiving or Christmas for sure.
 

Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Fried Onions

For Onions:
1 onion sliced into thin rings
1 cup GF all purpose flour (or original or GF Bisquick!)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk or other non dairy milk
peanut or other oil for frying

For Green Beans and Sauce:
2 cans french cut green beans, drained
10 oz button mushrooms
1/2 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbl coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute)
2 Tbl GF all purpose flour (or whole wheat, if not gluten intolerant)
3/4 cup vegetable broth
3/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk or non dairy milk of choice




In a shallow bowl, pour 1 cup non dairy milk and add onion rings, allow to soak 5 or more minutes.
In another shallow bowl or pie pan, stir together flour and salt and pepper. Heat peanut oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Dredge onion rings through flour mixture, making sure to evenly coat all of the onion surface. Pan fry them, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until brown and crispy. Remove to a brown paper bag, patting with a paper towel to remove any excess oil. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425.
Pop stems out of mushrooms and discard. Dice mushroom caps into small pieces. 
Heat olive oil in small pot over medium-high heat until hot. Add mushrooms, garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until mushrooms become dark and release their juices. In a small bowl, whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and then add it to the mushroom pot along with the coconut aminos. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add in almond milk and simmer another 5-10 minutes until thick again. Taste and add more salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in green beans.

Pour green bean mixture into small greased casserole dish and top with green beans.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Taco Pie - Dairy, Egg, Soy Free with gluten free option

  Now that we've got our new computer up and running, I will be updating more often again! I had some yummy recipes from Thanksgiving that I want to share, but first I had to share this taco pie because it is soooo good. It is similar to the cheeseburger pie recipe I posted in October, but easier and more flavorful. This is our new family favorite!

Turkey Taco Pie with Cashew Sour Cream

1 lb lean ground turkey
1/2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbl chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup gluten free or original Bisquick
1 cup vegetable broth
EnerG egg replacer for 1 egg
1/2 cup Diaya cheddar and/or pepper jack shreds
Earth Balance Soy Free buttery spread to grease pie plate
 Sour cream: 
1 cup raw cashews
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 Tbl lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425.
Take a small pat of Earth Balance and spread it using your fingers over entire inner surface of a 9 inch pie plate.
In a medium skillet, heat olive oil until hot. Saute onions until transparent. Add turkey and brown over medium high, breaking up into small pieces. Once turkey is just browned, add in seasonings and 1/4 cup vegetable broth. Stir and simmer until liquid is completely evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix Bisquick, 1 cup vegetable broth, and EnerG egg replacer until smooth. Set aside.
Scoop turkey into pie plate, trying to get mixture mostly level but not hard packed. Pour Bisquick mixture over turkey, shaking the pie plate slightly to evenly distribute among turkey. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese shreds. Return to oven and cook for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is hot and bubbly. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place 1 cup raw cashews in high powered blender. Add approximately 1/4 cup water, just enough to cover the cashews. Add salt and lemon juice and blend 3-5 minutes, until smooth.

Store left over sour cream in refrigerator in an air tight container for up to a week. It will thicken when refrigerated until almost the texture of cream cheese. It makes a fabulous base for dips!

We love our taco pie served with salsa and cashew sour cream. You can also add shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, olives, whatever your family enjoys on tacos. Enjoy!