Crock-Pot Pork tenderloin with acorn squash and apples

Sometimes I jest that I feel like every night in my kitchen is an episode of "Chopped." I have 30 minutes, a can of tuna, box of quinoa, and an orange. Now go! I actually enjoy those opportunities to be creative with what I have on hand. Although I seem to have to stop at a store nearly every day to pick up something (deodorant for the boy, conditioner for the girl, milk for everyone), I really don't like running out to get a specific item just for dinner. Sometimes that's just not possible: I may really have only 15 minutes between the time I get home and the time I have to leave to take the kids somewhere, and I need to start something that will be edible by the time I get home.

Last night was a Chopped night. I had a pork tenderloin, but I was out of my usual accompaniments: gluten free soy sauce and onions. I took a look around the kitchen and I spotted an acorn squash and a few apples that were a little too mature for lunch boxes, but still perfectly edible. If you don't have an acorn squash, you could substitute any winter squash (butternut, turban, etc.) or even sweet potatoes. And if you don't have fresh apples, I think dried apples would work well with a little extra water.

So, in about 15 minutes, dinner was in the crock pot. I didn't measure things out to create a real recipe. What I have here is more of a general idea. This should probably serve three, if you do not make total pigs of yourselves like my husband and I did.

1 tsp olive oil
1 pork tenderloin
1 acorn squash, washed, seeded, cut into wedges. leave the skin on.
3 tart apples (preferably the firm kind that hold up to cooking, like Jazz). Peeled, cored & sliced.
2 tbsp Craisins
1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/8 tsp. Cardamom
Dusting of Black Pepper

Set your crock pot to low.
Use a paper towel to rub the olive oil around the inside of the crock pot.
Place the pork tenderloin on the bottom.
Top with the squash, sliced apples and Craisins.
Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and honey.
Add about 1/4 cup water.
Sprinkle cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper on top.
Cook in the Crock on low for about 4-5 hours while you are out running errands and attending PTO meetings.
Return home to find a delicious pork dinner waiting for you.

5 Swingin' Ways to Eat Spinach, in honor of Julia Lee

In 1949, Julia Lee did a song with her band, the Boyfriends, called "The Spinach Song," or "I didn't like it the first time." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax4tVzuN52U)

Not only is this song fun to dance to, but it is a cunning extended metaphor for either marijuana or sex, depending on how you interpret the lyrics:

Spinach has vitamin A, B and D, but spinach never appealed to me

But one day while having dinner with a guy, I decided to give it a try

I didn’t like it the first time, it was so new to me

I didn’t like it the first time, I was so young, you see


I used to run away from the stuff, but now somehow I can’t get enough


I didn’t like it the first time, oh, how it grew on me!

I didn’t like it the first time, I had it on a date 


Although the first was the worst time, right now I think it’s great


Somehow, it’s always hittin’ the spot, especially when they bring it in hot


I didn’t like it the first time, but oh, how it grew on me 

I didn't like it the first time, I thought it was so strange

I wasn't getting much younger, so I just made the change

No longer is the stuff on the shelf, ‘cause now I make a pig of myself

I didn't like it the first time, but oh how it grew on me 

I didn't like it the first time, when I was just sixteen

I didn't like it the first time, guess I was mighty green

But I stocked up, cause I've gotten wise, I've got enough for two dozen guys

I didn't like it the first time, but oh how it grew on me

I didn't like it the first time, but oh how it grew on me!

In honor of the clever Miss Lee, I have put together a few of my favorite ways to eat actual, garden-variety spinach. I hope you will enjoy them while dancing to this song in your kitchen.

• Spinach salad: Best with baby spinach leaves slightly chopped up. I like mine with some kind of fruit, like dried cranberries and/or sectioned oranges and pecans.
• Wilted, with bacon: Don’t tell my fitness friends about this one, but when I am feeling rather naughty, I chop up a few slices of real, authentic pig bacon, cook it until crispy, then dump an entire bag of spinach into the skillet right on top of all that bacon fat. I wilt the leaves, tossing them carelessly around in the pan for about a minute, then add a half-teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and a sprinkling of black pepper.
• Wilted, healthier-style: This is the recipe I do tell my fitness friends about. In a nonstick skillet, I heat up about a tablespoon of low-sodium, gluten-free tamari mixed with about ¼ cup of water. Then, over medium heat, I stir-boil one clove of crushed garlic, and then add a bag of spinach and a dusting of red pepper flakes, stirring until wilted, about one minute.
• Spinach omelet: First, I chop up about a half an onion and sautee that in a nonstick skillet until it is translucent. Then I add some chopped sun-dried tomatoes and a handful of chopped fresh spinach, stir long enough to wilt, and then pour in two scrambled eggs (or egg whites if you are being very virtuous). After a minute or two, I stir the eggs to break up the curds and add about a tablespoon of crumbled feta cheese, then allow the omelet to finish cooking.
• Spinach in tacos. I wouldn’t really want an all-spinach taco/burrito, but we do use spinach instead of lettuce sometimes. It adds that extra boost of dark green leafies.

You can sautee a little spinach right along with your eggs for breakfast.

Gluten-free pancakes

Gluten-free pancakes with peanut butter and maple syrup

People who know my love for breakfast carbohydrates, and especially for post-dance pancakes, often ask which gluten-free pancake and waffle mix I use. My personal preference is to never use a GF mix if I can avoid it. They are rather expensive considering you only get one use out of them, and I feel like I have no control over the ingredients. I prefer to work with a GF flour blend and use a traditional pancake/waffle recipe.

When I do this, my favorite flour blend is Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose GF flour, because I feel that it substitutes fairly evenly for regular flour. Some of the other GF blends I’ve tried must have too much xanthan gum, because they get way too thick to pour, and I either have to remember to use less flour than the normal recipe calls for, or add more liquid at the end (which is undesirable because you are wasting the precious time during which the baking soda/powder is burning up its leavening action).

I have previously posted recipes for paleo pancakes and gluten-free waffles (which you can also use for pancakes), but here is another batter option.

This recipe serves two, and is what I prefer to use for late-night breakfasting. Sometimes I add in about a teaspoon unsweetened, dehydrated coconut for a more tropical flavor.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet

Blend together and set aside:

1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

Sprinkling of cinnamon

In a large bowl, beat

2 eggs

Blend in to eggs

2 tsp sugar, honey, or agave nectar

2 tbs melted butter, coconut oil or vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk (or a ½ cup plain yogurt + ½ cup milk)

¼ tsp gluten-free vanilla extract

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring just long enough to mix together. Bake on a lightly greased griddle at 375-degrees, or in a skillet over medium-low heat. Turn each cake once, when the bubbles that pop on the top no longer refill.

Top as desired. I like mine with sliced bananas, agave nectar and chopped pecans. Or as in the picture above, with peanut butter and pure maple syrup.

Gluten-free batter, mixed and ready to pour

The large bubbles on the surface will
stay open when the pancake is ready to flip

Finished gluten-free pancake

Winter’s day chili

It is a snow day for us today, which means the kids haven’t changed out of pajamas for two days and we are all stuck around the house because the roads are slushy and icy.

Ground-chicken chili topped with
greek yogurt and cheddar cheese

When this kind of weather rolls around, it is chili, soup and stew time. Today, I’m making chili and I am sharing one rendition of our chili recipe here. One great thing about this dish is that the only actual requirement of chili is that it contain chili powder. Anything else is optional. It can be made with chicken, beef, vegetables, beans, pork—although there are always purists who will argue that their concoction is the only thing that really deserves to be called chili. For me, it’s all about not having to go to the grocery store on an ugly day, so I like to make do with whatever I have on hand.

In general, we serve this chili with cornbread. I like mine with a bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and perhaps a few dices of raw onion on top. Some folks enjoy their chili over rice and others, who I will never understand, put it on top of spaghetti noodles. It’s also very nice atop white or (especially) sweet potatoes. Unconventional, yes, but the combination of sweet and spicy is delicious.

Recipe

1 lb ground chicken (or leftover cut-up chicken, or ground beef)

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper (or green or yellow)

Brown the meat, onion and pepper in a large soup pot over medium-high heat until the meat is cooked though and the onions begin to soften. If you are using ground meat, break up the meat chunks as you stir.

Add to the meat/onion/pepper mixture in the soup pot:

1 clove fresh garlic, minced, or ¼ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp Chili powder

¼ tsp dried ground Chipotle Chili Pepper

¼ tsp black pepper
28 oz can crushed tomatoes

Stir until combined. Add one 28-oz can crushed tomatoes and one 28-oz can full of water to the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, or pour the chili into a slow cooker on low.

If you are cooking on the stovetop, allow the chili to simmer for about 30 minutes. If in the slow cooker, you can let it simmer on low for 4-5 hours (or longer).

Luscious GF Quiche

Spinach, red pepper, onion and feta quiche

This is a luscious, crumbly-crust, whole-egg, cheesy and satisfying quiche that works great with a wide variety of fillings, is very forgiving of mistreatment, and can be cooked ahead of time. It's a nice dish to take for a lunch, brunch, breakfast or tea. It holds up relatively well, but the exposed parts of the crust will shatter easily, so pack it protectively in a pie box if you are taking it somewhere.

I strongly recommend using the food processor for this crust, but you can also use a pastry blender to cut in the fat.

For the crust
You can use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pie crust mix OR, you can make your own pie crust with the following recipe (makes two pie crusts. If you are only making one quiche, halve the recipe).

2 1/2 cups white rice flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
15 tablespoons cold butter (that's two sticks minus one tablespoon). Cut each stick of butter into about 16 cubes

6 tablespoons ice water

In the bowl of a food processor with the cutting blade at the bottom, combine the rice flour, salt and butter cubes. Pulse about 10-15 times until the mixture takes on the texture of small pebbles or coarse sand.

Pour 6 tablespoons of ice water into the food processor bowl, one tablespoon at a time.

Pulse the mixture until it comes together in a ball.

Turn out the ball of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper. Wrap the dough tightly and refrigerate for half an hour.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Shape each into a disk about five inches in diameter. Working with one disk at a time, place the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and roll it out until it's about 10 inches in diameter, or large enough to cover your pie plate.

Peel off one sheet of plastic wrap, and place the dough exposed-side down in a pie plate. Remove the other sheet of plastic wrap and fit the crust into the pan. Flute the edges with your fingers. Prick the bottom of the crust about 15 times with a fork, and precook the crust in a 425F oven for about 15 minutes. (Note: I would ordinarily line the pie shells with tin foil and fill with pie weights or beans when I pre bake, but the foil tends to stick to a GF crust. If you do line the crust with foil, be sure to grease it first)

For the quiche
You can fill a quiche with just about anything, but below are a few suggestions. If you are using fresh vegetables, be sure to cook them first or they will shed their water into the egg mixture, preventing it from setting properly.

Lay the filling in the bottom of the crust, then pour the egg mixture on top.

• Spinach, red pepper, onion and feta cheese: Sautee one small diced onion and a small diced red pepper until the onions turn translucent. Add about 1 cup fresh chopped spinach and cook until the spinach wilts. Pour the vegetables into the bottom of the crust. Add about 1/8-1/4 cup feta cheese.



Ham & Cheese Quiche

• Ham and cheddar: dice about 1/3 cup ham and place in the bottom of the crust. Sprinkle on about 1/8-1/4 cup cheddar.

For the egg filling:

In a large bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 2 cups of milk (or half and half, or cream) and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the filling in the pie crust.

Bake

Pop the quiche into a 350F oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Picky party planning

My family is a haven for picky eaters. My niece and brother-in-law are lactose intolerant. She and my daughter are vegetarians. My sister and I are gluten-free. My husband is salt-sensitive and my daughter eats almost nothing. Trying to figure out what everyone can eat is sort of like a logic puzzle: Mary has twice as many apples as John, and John has three more apples than Jim, but Troy can't work on Saturdays and Betty Lou is afraid of trains. What is the square root of the number of Suzanne's music collection?

Over the years, I have learned a few things about planning for picky parties and I would like to share these tips with you. (By the way, I do not mean to disparage people with food allergies, sensitivities or preferences by calling them "picky." It's a term of affection, and I use it for myself as well as anyone else--so please don't think I am making light of a serious food condition.)

Picky party planning

• Offer a variety. This is generally true for any party, but especially where you know your guests have food preferences or allergies. I have heard of parties where the whole theme is "bacon," and every dish, including dessert, incorporates salty pork in some way. Although that's fine in certain circumstances (and when your guests know what to expect), in general, it is a good practice to plan a range of flavors, textures and ingredients. Offer something meaty, something vegetabley (I just made that word up) and something fruity.
• Encourage guests to bring a dish to share. Chances are, your guests understand their food preferences better than you do. Encourage your guests to bring something to share with others, especially if they have stringent dietary needs. A vegan, for example, can bring a lovely bean salad that everyone can sample. This not only allows the guest to rest assured they will be able to eat at least one thing at the party, they will also be able to share their vegan cooking prowess with others, and educate people that being vegan does not require eating tree bark exclusively for the rest of your life.
• List ingredients on a card. Here’s a tip I learned from working at a hotel event center: Take a few minutes to print up cards that not only say what the dish is, but also what is in it. You don’t have to list every trace ingredient, but definitely call out the big-ticket food preference/allergy items like meat, dairy, egg, wheat and nuts. For example you can type up a label that reads, "Baked Stuffed Shells: Wheat pasta, ricotta and mozzarella cheese, egg, tomato, salt, pepper, ground red pepper." Our hotel used to print these up on card stock in a big, flowy font. Then we would fold them like place cards and set them in front of the dish. The cards can also help you arrange your buffet before guests arrive: if you set out the cards first, you know that you have a place for everything and you can see if you forgot to set out the cranberry sauce because there will be a card without a corresponding dish.
• Keep food simple and separate. Although glossy food magazines and TV shows may make us feel like we need to spend hours and lots of money making complicated dishes, simple foods are less expensive and easier to prepare. Fresh foods taste better.  For example, our appetizers are usually cheese and crackers, grapes and apple slices, tangerine sections, carrots and celery with dip, and other simple items. For a main course, we offer something like a ham or a turkey and simple side dishes.

If you have tips for planning parties for picky people, I’d love to hear them. Please share in the comments!

Gluten-Free Cornbread Dressing

My mom’s stuffing is one of my favorite memories of childhood holidays. She always used bakery Italian bread, which she would pull apart into cubes. I have yet to find a suitable GF yeast bread replacement, so I have adapted her famous recipe to use cornbread.

When I was a child, we always used to add a small can of water chestnuts to this dressing. I think that at some point far back in my family tree, someone had seen a dressing recipe that called for chestnuts and, lacking those, they found a can of water chestnuts in the back of a cabinet, figured it was close enough, and went with it. We all loved it. However, many “outsiders” just can’t get used to the idea, so I didn’t list it here. If you aren’t opposed to the crunchy little chestnuts, I highly recommend them. Just add them to the mixing bowl along with the seasonings.

Other additions to this dressing include diced pepper (red and/or green), green chilies, chili powder, frozen corn, or dried cranberries. It is pretty adaptable to whatever stuffing additions you normally enjoy!

Just in case you were wondering: this is technically a dressing, not a stuffing, because it isn’t “stuffed” into the bird. It is cooked in a separate dish. If you intend to stuff your bird, omit the eggs.

Grease one casserole pan and set aside.

Prepare

1 recipe gluten-free cornbread

Break up the cornbread into cubes. Place in a large roasting pan and toast in a 400°F oven until golden brown. About 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown in a nonstick skillet over medium heat:

1 lb bulk mild sausage, breaking into small pieces with a mixing spoon.

1 large onion

2 ribs celery

When the sausage is cooked and the onions and celery are translucent, move them to a large mixing bowl.

Add the toasted bread cubes to the mixing bowl.

Chop

½ cup parsley leaves

1 small handful sage (optional)

1 tsp fresh or dried rosemary

Add the herbs to the stuffing mix

Season with

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste, depending on the saltiness of the broth you use)

½ tsp ground black pepper

Stir to mix.

Add

½ to 1 cup chicken or turkey stock or broth – just enough so that the stuffing sticks together, but not so much that it’s saturated and compressed.

For a firm stuffing, add

2 beaten eggs

Stir to mix

Transfer the mixture into the prepared casserole pan.

Bake at 350°F for about 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Gluten-free coconut banana bread with nuts or chocolate chips

A few weeks ago, I made a banana bread that did not manage to bake all the way before the kids were scheduled to leave for an overnight trip. The next morning, at 7am, all three of them were plowing through the front door to get to the banana-ey goodness. My husband and I had eaten some while they were away, but they ate the remainder of the loaf in about four minutes.

Left: Chocolate chip/coconut
Right: Walnut/coconut

Due to everyone’s conflicting food aversions and preferences in my house, I like to make a double-batch of banana bread (two loaves), and make one banana-nut and the other banana-chocolate chip. (The kids will not eat nuts. My husband claims he doesn’t like chocolate)

I made this recipe with gluten-free flour, and I added a little unsweetened dehydrated shredded coconut. (Not the sugar-coated shredded coconut you usually see atop coconut cream pies.) It gives the bread a slightly tropical flavor without being overly sweet. If you don’t like coconut, skip that step. It still works.

I have made this with both butter and coconut oil. Both are delicious. If you use coconut oil, it should be in its solid form (not liquid). The oil liquefies at warmer temperatures. To get liquid oil to harden up again, measure the desired quantity and put it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

At the last step of this recipe, you decide whether to add nuts or chocolate chips, or both. 

This recipe makes one loaf. To make two, double all ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 350F

Grease the bottom of one loaf pan

>These are the dry ingredients

In a medium bowl, mix together

1 ½ cups Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free baking flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ tsp xanthan gum (optional)

>These are the wet ingredients

In another medium bowl, combine

2 mashed bananas

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp gluten free vanilla

Using a mixer (or your really strong arms), beat together until creamy

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter (3/4 stick) or solid coconut oil

Take turns adding wet and dry ingredients to the sugar/butter mixture, using about 1/3 of each at a time until everything is well blended.

Add

½ cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts or pecans in this)

or

½ cup dark chocolate chips

or both

Stir just long enough to combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Finished GF banana breads. Left: chocolate chip. Right: walnut.
I did not split the batter quite evenly on these,
so the one on the left took longer to cook.

Bake at 350F for about an hour, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Allow the finished bread to cool for about 10 minutes (Very important. Hot bread tends to give you trouble coming out of the pan. And it’s hard to manage a 350-degree pan).

Run a metal spatula between the sides of the loaf and the interior of the pan.

Turn the pan out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool as long as the other people in your house will let you before they climb over you to get to the bread. (The cooler it is, the more cleanly it will slice).