Role Reboot Interview

I started this blog over a year ago to share gluten free/ cow dairy free recipes and to share my story of triumphs and struggles with living with food allergies. Since then life has been crazy, mostly in good ways. It has also left little time for me to focus on my blog, which brings me to why I am writing today.


A friend of mine asked me to participate in an interview series called Real Roles for the blog site Role Reboot. www.rolereboot.org Below is a link to my interview. It gives a little bit of back story on me, explains a bit about what I have been doing in the last year, and highlights what is truly important to me right now. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to share my story. Thanks Role Reboot, Tanene, and Nicole. Enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think.

http://www.rolereboot.org/real-roles/article/2012-05-real-roles-peggy-m

Grandma's Parmesan Chicken Recipe

Parmesan Chicken


1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (grandma uses more)
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs)
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs


Combine mayonnaise, cheese, and garlic powder. Spread chicken with mixture, then coat with bread crumbs. Grandma mixes extra parmesan and garlic in bread crumbs.


Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. Serves 4.


When I got married my Grandma threw me a Kitchen Shower. Everyone brought me a recipe and all kinds of goodies for my kitchen. The recipe above is the one my Grandma gave me. It has always been one of my husbands and my favorites.


After going Moo-Free, I replaced the parmesan with Trader Joe's grated Pecorino Romano cheese, made with sheep's milk. And now that my little man is GF I make my own bread crumbs. It's super easy. I put 6 slices of Rudi's GF multigrain bread on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes, flipping slices half way through. Remove from the oven. When they cool off, cut or rip into smaller pieces and pulse in a food processor or blender until they are the desired consistency. Any left overs can be kept in a jar in the fridge. To season them add italian seasoning or whatever you like.


This recipe is basically fool proof. I have gotten to the point where I don't measure any of it and I use lots of extra garlic, fresh or powdered or a garlic and herb seasoning mix, doesn't matter. It's always yummy. Last weekend I made a big batch of this with 12 Organic boneless, skinless Chicken thighs. I halved them to make smaller portions that the kids would like. It turned out wonderful as always and the kids LOVED it. My oldest keeps asking me when I'm going to make more.

Spanish Tortilla

Recently I was watching an episode of Tyler's Ultimate about making the Ultimate Omelette. Since I raise my own Organic Free Range Chickens I am always looking for new ways to cook eggs. The recipe that caught my attention from this episode was Maria Castillo's Spanish Tortilla. I made my own dairy free version right after watching the show.

Here is the link to Maria's recipe.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tylers-ultimate/spanish-tortilla-recipe/index.html

And here is my version.

5 large organic potatoes, diced
1 large organic onion, diced
2-4 cloves organic garlic, minced
2 tbsp evoo, plus 2 tbsp.
10 free-range, organic eggs
1/2 tsp salt, plus 1/2 tsp
1/4 cup organic rice milk (approx. I just eyeball it)
1/4 cup mayonnaise (approx. too, I'm not really into measuring)

Heat 2 tbsp. evoo in a large skillet, saute' onions and garlic till fragrant and soft. Add potatoes and salt, cook at med-high heat till soft and golden brown (about 10 minutes).

While potatoes are cooking, whisk eggs, milk, mayonnaise and remaining salt till frothy.

Add the remaining 2 tbsp evoo to the pan and then pour in egg mixture. This is where Maria's recipe made all the difference. You move the eggs around in the pan to help it rise. What I did was stir the center and ran a spatula around the edge of the eggs to make sure it wasn't sticking to the pan. When it was set on the bottom but still liquid on top I put it in the oven to broil for roughly 10 minutes until eggs set and the top was golden brown.

It turns out fluffy and delicious!!!

I made it again last night adding 2 stalks of celery (diced) when sauteing the onions and before putting it under the broiler I added 6 oz of soft fresh goat cheese to the top. And, then I had another piece for breakfast this morning.

10 gorgeous eggs from my beautiful chickens.

The finished product minus what we ate.

Broccoli Casserole

Since the discovery of my cow milk allergy, I have not been able to make Broccoli Casserole well. This is one of our favorite winter dishes so this has been a real problem. I couldn't figure out how to make the non-dairy equivalent of Cream of Mushroom Soup that was the right consistency. After 2 winters and mountains of beautiful Abundant Harvest Organics Broccoli I have finally figured it out. The finished product tastes just as wonderful as the original. So here it is. Bon Appetit!

Broccoli Casserole

4 Heads Organic Broccoli

EVOO (I never measure it)

3 Tbsp. Earth Balance Butter  

2 Organic Shallots

2-5 Cloves Organic Garlic

8 oz Baby Bella Mushrooms

1 pkg. Organic Mori-Nu Firm Tofu

1 pkg. Simply Organic Mushroom Sauce mix

1/2 cup Vegan Sour Cream 

2 -3 Tbsp. Organic Non-Dairy Milk (unsweetened)

1/2 Cup Pecorino Romano Cheese (Sheep’s milk)

1 Cup Goat’s Milk Cheddar Cheese

2 Cups cooked, chopped Organic Chicken (Optional)

2 Cups GF/DF Breadcrumbs

Paprika, Bragg Sprinkle, Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste (I never measure spices either)

Preheat oven to 350.

Wash and chop broccoli. Blanch and Drain.

Mince garlic and shallots. Coarsely chop mushrooms. 

Saute’ garlic in olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter for 1-2 minutes. Add shallots and cook till translucent. Add mushrooms and saute till lightly browned.

Blend tofu, sour cream, milk and mushroom sauce mix in food processor. Season if desired. Add mushrooms and pulse a couple times. (This mixture replaces Cream of Mushroom Soup in a traditional recipe.) Transfer to a saucepan or skillet, add cheeses and heat through until cheese is melted. 

Melt remaining Butter in a sauce pan. Stir in bread crumbs till coated.

In a large bowl mix broccoli, tofu/mushroom/cheese mixture, and chicken. Season with Paprika, Bragg Sprinkle, Sea Salt and Black Pepper. Pour into a 13x9 baking dish. Top with bread crumbs and, if you are like me, a little extra sprinkle of Pecorino Romano on top. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until browned on top and bubbling.

This is seriously fabulous. Even my 4 and 6 year old love it, which is a HUGE deal since they have hardly eaten any vegetables in the last two years. This recipe was the turning point for them and it makes this mama very proud.

Pancake Day

Every Sunday, for the past 3 years, has been Pancake Day at our house. It started off with pancakes made with freshly ground Organic Hard Red Winter Wheat. Then one Christmas morning I made my Grandma's Pumpkin Puff Pancakes which became a family favorite. My oldest son requested them for his birthday breakfast 6 months in advance. Then my little man was diagnosed with a wheat allergy. I tried about half the Gluten Free Pancake mixes out there and they all had what I call the "Gluten Free funk". I have yet to figure out what it is that gives them that weird "funky" after taste, but it is not good. I gave up on GF pancakes and started serving my youngest GF frozen waffles while we all ate pancakes. He didn't seem to mind but I always felt bad for him being left out. Last month, in a last ditch effort at making GF pancakes, I ordered the Gluten Free Mama's Pancake/Waffle Mix from Azure Standard. I'm so happy that I did! The mix is fabulous, no funk at all. I've used the mix for the last 3 weeks and everyone has loved them. Today I added 1/2 cup of Organic Pumpkin, 1 tsp. Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, and 1 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract to the recipe on the back of the package and once again our Pumpkin Pancakes are back.  Thank you Gluten Free Mama for making our Pancake Day enjoyable again.

http://www.glutenfreemama.com/

Quinoa, Beet Greens and Goat Cheese Frittata with Roasted Carrots

Tonight's dinner I just threw together with what I had and it ended up pretty fantastic. 

Quinoa, Beet Greens and Goat Cheese Frittata with Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

Frittata

11 organic, free range eggs

1/4 cup organic rice milk

2 tbsp. mayonnaise 

2 tbsp. evoo

3 cloves of organic garlic, minced

1 organic onion, chopped

Organic beet greens from 6 med.-lrg. beets, chopped

4 cups cooked organic quinoa

2/3 11oz log of Silver Goat Chevre, Garlic and Herb, crumbled or in small cubes

1/2 tbsp. Bragg Sprinkle

1/2 tbsp. Parsley

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Beat eggs, milk and mayo with a wire whisk until well blended and frothy on top. Set aside.

Using a large skillet, saute' garlic and onions in oil till the onions are translucent. Add beet greens and saute' till wilted. Stir in quinoa, half of the goat cheese, Bragg and S&P. When cheese is melted pour in the egg mixture and swirl the pan a few times to coat evenly. Cook on med. heat for 10-15 minutes or until the eggs are mostly firm. Mine were still runny on top. Sprinkle with remaining goat cheese and parsley. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes until eggs are cooked through and lightly browned on top. You can also broil it for about half the time.

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

Carrots

Parsnips

Bragg Sprinkle

Sea Salt and Pepper

Use desired amount and cut to desired size. Place in a shallow baking dish. Generously coat with evoo. Sprinkle with desired amount of Bragg and S&P.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-45 minutes depending on the size.

The picture isn't great and the parsnips resemble fingers but it was really very tasty.

Coconut Oil Popcorn

One of my oldest sons favorite foods is popcorn. Since we are "moo-free" store bought, pre-packaged buttered popcorn is no longer an option. Lately we have been getting organic popcorn, still on the cob, from our CSA, Abundant Harvest Organics (http://www.abundantharvestorganics.com/index.html).  Usually my husband pops it (because I tend to burn it) in a brown paper bag, pours it into a large bowl coated with EVOO and then tosses it with a little sea salt. Although it is fantastic that way, we changed it up this week by using Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. It's the best popcorn we have ever had. Here's the recipe.


Coconut Oil Popcorn
Dairy Free/ Gluten Free

1 Ear of Organic Popcorn or 1/4-1/3 cup Organic Popcorn Kernels
1-2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Sea Salt

Remove corn from the cob, pop popcorn, transfer to a bowl, mix with coconut oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. So simple, yet so amazing! Enjoy.