Pad Thai for Beginners- New Food Friday

I have always been a big fan of pad thai- I love all the noodley goodness, the sauce, the sprouts and the sriracha! But buying pad thai all the time can get pretty expensive. Several months ago I found this "recipe" that is more like an in detail explanation of how to make authentic Pad Thai.

It took me almost 2 months to procure the ingredients and build up the courage to try it myself.

I followed the procedure close to what Chez Pim recommended, but there are a lot of options of ingredients listed.

What I used with mine was carrots, onions, garlic, shrimp, sprouts, rice noodles, one egg and the sauce as recommended by the recipe. 

It turned out delicious and I have made it a couple times since then!

So I dare you- give it a try! You will be glad you did!!

Thanks for stopping by!

I will be linking with some of these parties!

Tortilla Soup- New Food Friday

During my search for gluten free main dishes I happened upon a yummy gluten, dairy and soy free recipe that is so delicious that you won't feel you are missing out on anything. I used this recipe from Simply Recipes as my inspiration. 

There are a few things I love about this recipe:

It uses shredded chicken so it is super easy to bake a whole chicken in a crockpot, serve it for dinner and then use the leftovers for this soup the next day!

Most of the ingredients I grow in my garden (cilantro, tomatoes, peppers) so I will definitely be making it this spring and summer!

The flavors of the soup just get better and better as they sit- so leftovers are even better than the day before!

Tortilla Soup

6 corn tortillas (best if they are dried out)

olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 jalapeno peppers, diced (if you don't like spice you can add anaheim or sweet bell peppers)

4 slices roasted red peppers (I use the Marzetto's kind) diced

1 small can diced green chilies

1- 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

4 cups chicken broth or stock

3 cups cooked shredded chicken

salt and pepper to taste

For garnish:

limes

cilantro

avocadoes

sour cream

cheese

Directions:

If your tortillas aren't dried out you can put them in the oven for about 10 minutes at 200 degrees to get them dried. Once they are dried warm them on an ungreased skillet for about 30-45 seconds each. Use pizza cutter to cut into strips. Set aside.

Add olive oil to large stockpot and heat to medium. Add diced onions and diced peppers. Cook until soft and then add garlic. Saute for a minute or two.

Add crushed tomatoes, diced green chilies, roasted red peppers, chicken broth and shredded chicken. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Simmer for about 20 minutes to let flavors combine.

Sample and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add tortilla strips to soup just before serving.

Serve with garnish of cilantro, freshly squeezed lime juice, and fresh avocado.

Enjoy!!

 

I will be linking up with some of these parties!

Have a great day!!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus- New Food Friday

With my new restrictions in my diet I have been searching for snack foods that I like that are dairy, gluten and soy free. Hummus is one of those snack foods I love. But I could go broke buying it at $5 a tub. Also some hummus that you find in the store are made with soybean oil. So my coworker gave me this basic recipe for making yummy yummy hummus. I have made it twice so far and I love it!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1- 15 oz can of cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp garlic cloves

3 Tbsp lemon juice (I like mine pretty tart, so you can start with 1-2 Tbsp and add more at the end if you think it needs it)

4 slices Roasted Red Bell Peppers

2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

(After I prepared this for the first time my coworker told me that it should also have tahini in it, I didn't add any because I liked it so much the first time)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Taste and add additional lemon juice, salt, pepper or olive oil to taste.

Chill and serve with crackers or pita bread.

I like mine with Almond Nut Thins because they are gluten free.

I will be linking up with some of these parties!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Gluten Free Breadsticks- New Food Friday

Last week I posted about my dietary changes due to a suspected food allergy. I am avoiding dairy, soy and gluten. This recipe is for gluten free breadsticks. They are also dairy and soy free, but if you don't have to avoid dairy adding cheese to these breadsticks would be amazing.

This recipe turned out pretty good- not as good as regular breadsticks, but for a gluten free product it was amazing.

Gluten Free Breadsticks

Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix

1 medium Onion

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp minced Garlic

Basil

Oregeno

Garlic Powder

Parmesan Cheese (optional, I didn't use this)

Marinara Sauce

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

2  Tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp basil

2 tsp oregeno

2 Tbsp sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Mix Pizza Crust according to package directions.

While you are letting your pizza crust rise heat olive oil in medium skillet.

Saute onions until they are clear.

Once Pizza Crust has risen add sauted onions and minced garlic to crust.

Press onto greased baking sheet. This is a little bit difficult because the dough will be more sticky than a regular pizza dough. Mine didn't turn out the prettiest but it worked.

Sprinkle with garlic powder, basil, oregeno and parmesan (optional).

Bake according to directions on Pizza Crust package.

While breadsticks are baking combine all ingredients for marinara sauce on the stove. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Cut breadsticks into pieces and enjoy!

I will be linking up with some of These Parties!

  

Thanks for stopping by!

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake- New Food Friday

Due to a suspected food allergy I have removed gluten, soy and dairy from my diet. The hardest part for me so far has been desserts. So for the Super Bowl I decided I wanted to make a dessert that I can enjoy to. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and I followed it to the letter.

I was really surprised at how well this turned out. The texture was a little more dense than regular chocolate cake, almost more brownie-like. The flavor was wonderful though. One of my coworkers suggested adding some cherry pie filling on top to make it like a black forest cake and that sounded amazing too!

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (I got the kind that were dairy and soy free)
1 (19 oz) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
powdered sugar for dusting
or cherry pie filling for topping

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 9-inch round cake pan.

Put chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir every 20 seconds after the first minute, until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Combine beans and eggs in food processor. Process until smooth then add the sugar and baking powder. Pour in the chocolate and blend until well mixed. Scrape sides and blend again.

Put batter in the greased cake pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean. Cool in pan. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Enjoy!

I will be linking up with some of These Parties!

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Breakfast Hot Pockets- New Food Friday

I have said it before and I probably will say it again- finding a variety of breakfast recipes is the hardest for me (well especially because my husband doesn't really like breakfast). But I came up with something that he does like! Breakfast Hot Pockets.

I got the idea to try these last time I made Bierocks. Normally I would have made the dough from scratch like in the bierock recipe but I had leftover pizza crust in a tube from making the Stuffed Pizza Bites so I just used that.

Breakfast Hot Pockets

1 roll pizza dough (or dough made from scratch)

6 eggs

milk

salt and pepper

1 lb sausage

Vegetables of choice (I used onions, mushrooms and spinach)

grated cheddar cheese (2 cups should be enough)

Cook the breakfast sausage first, once browned drain and set aside.

Saute vegetables in small amount of olive oil.

Mix eggs and 1-2 Tbsp milk in a separate boil.

Add to skillet and scramble until fully cooked.

Add scrambled egg mixture to the sausage and combine well. 

Let cool until room temperature and while it is cooling preheat the oven to the temperature on the pizza dough- mine was 425 F.

Roll Pizza dough out onto floured surface and cut into about 24 squares.

Add cheese to each square and then add egg/sausage mixture. Pull up all corners of the dough to make a little pocket.

Place on greased cookie sheet with smooth side up.

Place in preheated oven and bake the amount of time it specifies on the pizza crust. About 10-12 minutes. You want the tops to be golden brown.

Enjoy!!

I made a whole batch and froze some to reheat later!

I will be linking up with some of These Parties!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Valentine's Candy Coated Trail Mix- New Food Friday

Want to make a sweet treat for your loved ones this Valentine's Day? I have got a great recipe for you. This candy coated trail mix is delicious and has some healthy aspects to it too!

Almost any ingredients that you use in trailmix would work with this but this is what I used:

Candy Coated Trail Mix

1/2 box Wheat Chex

1/2 bag pretzel twists

1 small container peanuts

1 bag Valentine's M&M (milk chocolate)

1 standard package of Candy Quick coating- vanilla flavored

red food coloring

Mix all the ingredients except the Candy coating and food coloring in large bowl.

Melt Candy Coating per instructions on package and add food coloring to make it pink.

I added the candy coating in two batches- just dump melted coating on top of trail mix and stir until it is evenly coated. Lay flat on aluminum foil or wax paper coated cookie sheets to let dry.

Once it is dried you can enjoy!!

Place in cute Valentine's baggies or serve out of the bowl.

After I did this I thought some dried cranberries or raisins would have been delicious in this too! Might have to try it again!

I will be linking to some of these parties!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuffed Pizza Bites- New Food Friday

I am always looking for yummy appetizers to bring to parties and gatherings. I pinned this recipe from Give Me Some Oven via Our Best Bites and I got to try it out this week!

I had wanted to make the pizza crust from scratch and I found this great recipe for half whole wheat pizza dough on Smitten Kitchen here but then I ran out of time so I ended up using refrigerated dough from the store. They were still good and my husband loved them!

Here they are:

Stuffed Pizza Bites

1 tube refrigerated pizza dough

Marinara or pizza sauce

2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

olive oil

garlic powder

Italian Seasonings

mozzarella cheese

toppings of your choice (I just used mini pepperonis, I had planned to do some veggies but I ran short on time!)

Preheat oven to directions on pizza dough- usually about 425 degrees F.

Roll out dough until it is at least 12" X 8". Cut into about 24 squares.

Place cheese and toppings on each square and then bring edges together and seal toppings in.

Place together in greased pie or cake pan.

Brush with olive oil, top with garlic powder, parmesan cheese and italian seasonings.

Bake for length of time on pizza dough package (Usually 12-15 minutes) until tops is golden brown.

Dip in warmed marinara to serve.

Enjoy and try not to eat too many!

I will be linking up with some of these parties!

Thanks for stopping by!