Tomato Basil (Crust less) Quiche

I am reviewing the 21 Day Sugar Detox book that releases to the public October 29th and let me tell you....it is wonderful!!!!  I have been inspired to get back in that kitchen and cook again without wheat or sugar!  

The first thing I made was the Tomato-Basil Quiche with Bacon & Spinach (page 104-105).  It was wonderful!  The only modifications I made were I swapped out breakfast sausage for bacon (I was out of bacon :) I added broccoli, carrots and I topped it with shredded cheese.  You can't get any easier than this recipe and now I have breakfast for a couple of days all ready to go!!!!  

Keep watching for more posts.....I'm having a yummy time :)-

Tomato-Basil Quiche

Ingredients:

Picture of my breakfast :)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Vegan Cookies

Today I decided to try a sugar, wheat, and egg free cookie. What!?!?! Is that even possible....yeah and just because I can, I dipped them in chocolate :). Notice the picture at the end: the twins little hands kept grabbing more as I tried taking the picture. When I go near the fridge I hear "Please! Please! Please!" Like mini seagulls at the beach begging for bread! I think they were worth the effort :)

Cookie Ingredients:
2 mashed bananas
1 cup whole rolled oats
1/2 cup ground milled flax seed
1/3 cup natural peanut butter

Blend the ingredients and spoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool in the fridge. I sliced mine in half so they would be small enough to pop into your mouth after coated in chocolate.

Chocolate coating:

1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 Tbsp honey
Dash cinnamon

Melt oil, stir in rest if ingredients, dip cookie balls into chocolate and sit on waxed paper. Place in fridge to harden and store in container in fridge.

Noodle-less Lasagna

Ditching the wheat noodles has proved to be pretty easy. I didn't even have to give up lasagna, yay!

'Noodles'

3 med- large zucchini cut into strips

Cheese filling:

1/2 cup fresh chopped spinach
1 regular container cottage cheese
1 regular container ricotta cheese
2 eggs

Sauce:

1 lb ground beef
1 jar sugar free spaghetti sauce
1 diced onion
1 small jar tomato paste

Directions:

Slice the zucchini into strips and set on paper towels to dry out for a few hours. I sliced mine and went to church. By the time I came home, took a nap and felt like cooking they were prefect.

Mix the cheese filling ingredients into a bowl, set aside.

Brown the ground beef, drain. Add onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add sauce and tomato paste. Mix well.

Layer your ingredients as normal for a lasagna. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Swedish pancakes- gluten and sugar free

We love Swedish pancakes. It is a family tradition that my husband makes on the weekends for the kids. We haven't had them in a while and now that we are trying to eliminate wheat and sugar from our diets I decided to tackle this recipe next. Here is what I did:

Ingredients:

8 eggs
1/3 cup half n half
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup almonds

Toppings: fresh fruit, honey, fruit preserves, or peanut butter.

I put the almonds into my coffee grinder and chopped them as fine as possible. Then, blend everything on a blender. Pour into a frying pan and make as normal. Spread topping on and roll.

I think next time I will add a little bit of applesauce to them. I know you can buy gluten free flours, but I haven't gotten to that yet. I'm sure they would work just fine as well.

Stuffed Green Peppers

My husband helped me make 2 full weeks if meal ideas and this was one of his requests. I haven't made them but a few times in our 19 years together, and never without rice. They turned out really good! We didn't miss the rice and they stayed firm, not mushy.

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef
4 large green peppers
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 small onion
5-6 baby sweet peppers
1/2 cup shredded cheese

(Taco seasoning for ground beef)
1/4 tsp each: garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika
1/4 cup water

Brown ground beef, drain and add taco seasoning and water. Add onions, can of tomatoes (drained) and sweet peppers. Simmer for 10 minutes. Slice off tops of green peppers, set aside. Scoop out seeds and fill with ground beef mixture. Place in baking dish and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with cheese. Bake an additional 5-20 minutes. Serve with tops on.

Mexican Chicken chili

Ingredients:

1 baked chicken
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 can mild chili beans
1 can black beans
1 chopped jalapeño (for spicier)
3 cups chicken broth

Bake a whole chicken at 350 degrees for 2.5 hours. Remove from oven and let cool. Shred chicken. Add broth and chicken to soup pot.

(At this point I start a second pot of broth with onions and diced carrots for the kids who won't eat chili and can have noodles and add half the chicken.)

Add the other half of chicken and the rest of the ingredients to the chili pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and enjoy!!!

Chicken and broccoli casserole

I began by searching for a replacement for my old chicken and broccoli casserole, for one without the cream of chicken soup. I started making it with corn starch, broth and melted cheese for the sauce. After a while I learned to ditch the cornstarch and thicken the sauce with flour and butter (a classic roux). Now we are a non flour family so I had to adjust my recipe once again. So here it is: chicken and broccoli casserole- no wheat, corn starch or condensed processed soup!!!!

Ingredients:

Whole chicken
2 lbs cut broccoli
1 cup chicken stock/broth
1/2 cup water
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Bake the chicken in the oven (I use an iron skillet) at 350 for 1-2 hours, until the meat thermometer says its done or the legs pull off easily and juices run clear. Remove from oven and let cool on carving board.

Slice broccoli and arrange in bottom of baking dish (like you used to with noodles :). Pull apart chicken and layer on top. Using the skillet with the chicken droppings, add broth and water, bring to a boil scraping off the caramelized bits and stir them into the sauce. Add cheese and continue to stir until melted and the sauce starts to thicken. Pour over chicken and broccoli, bake for 20 minutes at 350. Serve warm.

I usually throw the chicken in the oven after breakfast and by lunchtime I am pulling the chicken apart. It works out nicely to have little hands grabbing chicken for lunch and I still have plenty of meat for the casserole that I put in the oven at dinner time! So I really get 2 meals out of this recipe. The first time I made this I wasn't home for dinner, but put the dish in the oven and went to a meeting when my husband got home. I returned to a completely empty pan and a very full family! Always a good sign.


Update: my mother in law tried this recipe last night and unlike my chicken that had very little drippings in the pan, their's had a ton. When she followed the recipe and added water and broth it ended up being too much liquid to ever thicken up. Although they loved the flavor and casserole anyway. So, you may want to see how much liquid to add depending on the drippings left. Remember you are not using anything but cheese to thicken this so adjust accordingly.

Bacon wrapped green beans....yes, please!!!

While on the 21 day sugar and wheat detox we were allowed bacon, so to keep my husband interested I tried to use bacon in everything! One night I wrapped green bean bundles in bacon and baked them in the oven. Duh, it was wonderful, why didn't I ever think of it before? My husband even took some leftovers in his lunch the next day. When was the last time he took green beans in his lunch.....uh never!!!!!

Ingredients:

Bacon
Green beans

Take a handful if green beans and wrap with a slice of bacon. It works best if you wrap in a spiral from top to bottom of the bunch. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, turning once. Serve warm.

I served them with grilled pork tenderloin, but think they would be an excellent side dish to fish, chicken, or beef.

Banana pancakes- flour less and sugar free!

Okay here is one of my favorite recipes we've discovered during our 21 day sugar detox. Who knew something so simple could be so amazing???? The ratio is 1 banana to 2 eggs, so multiply according to your crew. I make our's right in the blender and pour it straight into the skillet. They are great plain, with yogurt, or filled with berries. Sometimes I drizzle chocolate syrup on them for kids. The possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:

1 banana
2 eggs
1 Tbsp milk or half and half
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend well and make like regular pancakes in a buttered skillet. Serve warm. Makes about 4-6 medium sized thin pancakes.

Almond butter chocolate cups

I finally did it....I found a chocolate you can have while dieting and it doesn't stop your weight loss! I knew I could do it! I eat 2 of these a day and I have lost weight everyday! They have saved me (and my husband has grown to love them too) while on our 21 day sugar and wheat detox. We are on day 10 and knowing I have this yummy treat in the fridge ready to egg me on to keep up the good work helps me with cravings. I love chocolate and I really love these chocolate almond cups!

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup pure cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened natural cocoa)
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp half and half
1/3 cup pure Almond butter
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Whole Almonds (I put 5 in each cup)

Melt the coconut oil, butter and Almond butter together until combined and smooth. Mix in cocoa, honey, salt, vanilla and half and half. Put whole almonds into prepared cups. ( I used silicone muffin cups in a muffin tin and they pop out great). Pour chocolate into cups and refrigerate at least 1 hour. When set, pop out of molds and store in airtight container in the fridge. They do melt in your mouth and your hand, so don't plan on taking them to a 4th of July picnic this summer ;)