{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!