{Gluten-Free} Veggie Pesto Pizza

I love making pizza at home because there are so many variations plus they can be healthier than a restaurant version. This was a pre-made gluten-free crust I found in Whole Foods deli section. I topped it with homemade pesto, olives, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms and low fat mozzarella. Delicious meal ready in less than 10 minutes!



Enjoy!

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Need a side dish for a cookout this weekend? Then this dish is for you! Quinoa makes a perfect summer salad and is naturally gluten-free. Quinoa is also a complete protein and contains more protein than any other grain.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

2 cups quinoa

1 pint grape cherries, sliced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced

3/4 cup kalamta olives, pitted and sliced

1 pint crumbled feta cheese

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tbs oregano

1/2 tbs basil

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare quinoa to package direction. Then chill in fridge until cool. In a small bowl mix together vinegar, oil, and seasonings. Then mix all the ingredients together and enjoy! This recipe made a huge bowl. You can cut the recipe in half if you're not expecting a large.

Portabella Tikka Masala

Remember the gluten-free naan recipe I gave you a couple weeks ago? Well now I have the perfect pairing for an Indain delight meal. I really wanted some Tikka Masala but ever since I got sick from chicken a couple weeks back I've been eating less meat (I've never been a big meat eater to begin with) and even more vegetarian.

For this simple meal I sliced up a grilled portabello and warmed it in a skillet with 3/4 cup of Tikka Masala sauce. I loved using portabello because it's still flavorful and thick in texture. I found the sauce at Fresh and Easy but I've also seen jarred Masala sauce at Trader Joe's and Target. I served my Portabella Tikka Masala with sauteed spinach and a piece of garlic naan that I had previously made and frozen. Quick and easy meal in less than 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Grilled Goat Cheese Portabella with Zucchini

If it's too hot for burgers try grilling something on the lighter side. I was craving a hot, juicy burger but knew it would weight me down on such a scorching day. Instead I opted for something just as juicy and flavorful - grilled portabella topped with goat cheese, red onion and fresh avocado. Sided with spinach and grilled zucchini it made the perfect summer meal.

Enjoy!

Basil-Lime Skinny Gimlet

Everyone is talking about how hot it is! Well, sunny, intense and 110 degrees is normal around this time of year. But for those of you that need a break from the heat try this refreshing summer cocktail.

2 oz gin or vodka

4 oz club soda

2 lime wedges

6-10 basil leaves

1 packet of Splenda

Muddle lime, basil and Splenda in a tall glass. Add gin or vodka. I like both but prefer gin in this cocktail. Shake up ingredients and pour back in glass. Fill with ice and top off with club soda. Light, cool and refreshing.

Stay cool! I'm headed off with my cocktail for dip in the pool.

Thai Eggplant Salad

This perfect salad is light and refreshing for a hot summer evening. Plus it still tastes amazing chilled in the fridge and eaten the next day.

Thai Eggplant Salad modified from A Veggie Venture

1.5 lbs Japanese eggplant (long and skinny), roasted and peeled
1/2 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
5 stalks green onion, sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
2-3 Bird’s Eye chilies, thinly sliced – I used some red jalapenos from my garden
5 tbs fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
2 tsp brown sugar I was out of brown and used white
2-3 tbs fish sauce
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp Thai red chili sauce or spice to taste – I used Sriracha
.5 lbs Shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped - optional

Fire up the grill and allow to heat. Wash eggplant and pierce skin several times with a knife. Place eggplant whole on the grill at a medium-high temp for 35-40 mins. Option – you can also roast eggplant in oven but it was too hot to cook in doors this day. Use tongs to continually rotate eggplant until extremely soft. Skin will be slightly black. Allow eggplant to cool to touch and cut off tops and peel off skin. Note - I left the skin on some of my eggplant this time for more texture, color and taste. Cut eggplant into 1” chunks.

In a large bowl mix together lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, garlic and red chili sauce. Remember you can always add more chili sauce later for extra heat so start light and work your way up. Add all remaining ingredients in bowl and toss with large spoon.

This salad can be served warm or allowed to chill in fridge to absorb the marinade. I had some of this salad as soon as it was ready and also ate some chilled the next day for lunch. It’s great both ways.

Additional options – I have had this salad in Thai restaurants served with ground chicken. I have also had it served over mixed greens.

Chipotle-Black Bean Mexican Salad

I still have not found my camera cord. I think I'm gonna need to give in and buy one of those memory stick readers but that actually requires me to drive to the store and buy one. So for now I'm using my iPhone. When I saw this on She Wears Many Hats the other day, I knew what I was going to have for dinner. This was right up my alley, plus I already had most of the ingredients at home.

For this Chipotle-Black Bean Mexican salad I started with a bed of spinach and topped it with black beans, roasted corn, jicama, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, shrimp and tortilla crisps. I used this recipe for the Chipotle dressing only I added extra lemon juice instead of chicken stock. The dressing was good and spicy! If you don't like a lot of spice then try using just one pepper instead of three. Next time I think I'm gonna try this recipe and add a little vinegar so it's thick.

To make my tortilla crisps I used 4 corn tortillas and cut them in 1.5" x .5" pieces. Set the oven at 400, sprayed a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread out my tortilla strips. Then I gave the pan and strips another spray with cooking spray and sprinkled them with cayenne pepper and garlic salt. Cook them for about 10 mins or until crisp remembering to pull the cookie sheet from oven and move the crisps around with a spatula a couple times to make sure they don't burn.

Enjoy!

Simple Breakfast Potatoes

I have some really great recipes and photos I am really excited to share with you right now, but I've lost the cord to my camera so they're temporarily on hold. But here is a simple favorite of mine to hold you over until I can get my pictures uploaded.

I'm not a big breakfast person but on the weekends I sometimes enjoy breakfast on the patio with a cup of tea. I don't like a lot of sweets but I love potatoes. Add some onion, garlic and hot sauce and I'm a happy girl. These potatoes are super easy to make and only takes a couple minutes to prepare.

Take one large russet potato, scrub it well, and pierce with a fork. Place in microwave for 5 minutes remembering to turn it over half way. While potato is cooking chop up 1/4 of an onion and 2 cloves garlic and brown in a frying pan with some cooking spray. When potato is done in microwave, chop into chunks with skin on. Add a little more cooking spray to pan and mix potato with onion and garlic. Cook for about a minute till slightly brown and potato pick up flavors. Serve with a healthy dose of hot sauce or sriracha. Enjoy on your next morning off!

{Gluten-Free} Banana Nugget Cookies

Today I have a special treat for you. With a blog name like How the Cookies Crumble and also being gluten-free blogger, I get a lot of traffic for people looking for gluten-free cookies. I love baking but don't have much of a sweet tooth. One bite of a cookie and I'm good to part with sweets. I prefer taking in my "fun" calories in the form of chips & dips. So the only time I really bake is when I have a place to distribute my goodies. The two cookie recipes I have on my blog (here and here) both were in my pre gluten-free days.

I don't like disappointing my readers so today I bring you the best gluten-free cookie recipe ever! This is a family recipe which has always been a huge hit. The cookies are always soft and moist, and have an amazing flavor combo. Even people who claim to not like bananas like them! I modified the recipe to be a gluten-free version. I have found when baking GF it is best to use the metric system and weigh ingredients. GF flours tend to weigh more or less than typical white flour used in recipes. For this reason I will give you the weight, but if anyone is baking a non-GF version I have included the measurements in cups.

Gluten-Free Banana Nugget Cookies

201g (1 cup) sugar

142g (3/4 cup) shortening

1 egg

275g (1 cup) mashed banana (I usually use 2 large banana and add the extra)

175g (2 cup) Bob's GG Rolled Oats

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

260g (1.5 cups) Sof'ella GF All Purpose Flour

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together sugar and shortening. Then add egg and beat until fluffy. Add banana and then slowly begin to work oats into mix. Mix the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then slowly begin to add flour mixture to cookie mix. Once all ingredients are added, stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon cookies onto a silpit lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 mins at 375 or until cookies begin to golden. Cookies will be extremely soft and fragile upon removing from the oven. You can allow the cookies to cool on the sheet or carefully use a spatula to transfer to cooling rack.

Tips:

• These recipe is easy to make vegan by substituting egg for 1/2 cup banana or flax seed substitute.
• I usually freeze my banana when they begin to brown. When I'm ready to bake I pull 2 bananas from the freezer and place them on a dinner plate to allow them to defrost for 15 mins. Bananas will easily squeeze out of skins and use a fork to mash on plate.
• My next attempt will be to elimante the shortening from the cookies to make an even "healthier" version.

These are seriously the best cookies you will ever make! So stop reading and head to the kitchen!

Enjoy!

Shrimp Diablo Shiritaki

I just love a spicy red sauce and pasta. I have been on a shiritaki noodle kick lately. I just love that you can enjoy a huge bowl of pasta that is extremely low in calories, plus they are gluten-free. For this simple meal I used precooked frozen shrimp that I defrosted under running water. In a small pan I added 1 cup pasta sauce and added a healthy dose of crushed red pepper. Once shrimp are thawed, add them to the sauce and heat until warm. Cook the shiritaki noodles to package instructions. Pour the sauce over cooked noodles and garnish with fresh basil. A simple, delicious meal is ready in less than 5 minutes!

GF Overnight Oats

I might be the last food blogger in the world to get into overnight oats and I promise not to start posting daily bowls of oatmeal. I have never been an oatmeal fan. In fact, I'm not really even a breakfast fan unless it's this or this. Even in the mornings I like spicy and salt and usually avoid anything sweet. It's not uncommon for me to eat last night's leftover for breakfast and as long as your eating healthy and getting all your nutirents, I see nothing wrong with Roasted Veggie Enchiladas for your morning meal. But everynow and then I do have a sweet tooth and for todays breakfast I present gluten-free overnight oats.

For this simple recipe I used 1/3 cup Bob's Old Fashion Rolled Oats, 1/3 soy milk, 1 tablespoon chia seeds, and 2 tablespoons Chocolate PB2. Mix together these 4 ingredients and then add half a banana cut into slices. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, add sliced strawberries and you have your breakfast ready to go! I like the chilled oatmeal in the summer and it kind of reminds me of eating cookies. or maybe cookie dough.

Faux-fried Fish with Jalapeno Horseradish Remoulade

Since I became gluten-free, eating fried foods out is almost never an option. So when I get a craving for one of my old favorites, such as beer-battered fried fish (a double gluten whammy), I have to come up with a new version at home. Bonus is that I am able to bake at home instead of having fried food which is a lot less fat and still tons of flavors. However skipping the remoulade is not an option for me. :-)

For this meal I used swordfish and Glutino bread crumbs. Pat the fish dry with paper towel, dip in egg white, and coat in season bread crumbs. I like the taste and texture of the Glutino bread crumbs; however, once you mix some moisture such as egg into the equation it begins to clump which is how "hush puppies" showed up in the mix. Bake in oven at 375 until fish is thoroughly cooked. Highly recommended served with the Jalapeno Horseradish Remoulade.

Jalapeno Horseradish Remoulade

1/2 cup Mayo
3 tablespoon pickled Jalapenos, chopped
1 tablespoon Pickle Relish
1 teaspoon Horseradish (or more based on taste)
dash of Garlic Powder
dash of Ground Mustard
dash of Paprika

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!


Enjoy!