Gluten Free Blueberry Crisp

      I don't know about you, but in my opinion crisps are better than pies. Don't get me wrong, I love that flaky pastry crust, but nothing can beat a brown sugar, crunchy crumbly topping. This is such a simple recipe and it is super sweet and delicious. It really couldn't be any easier.

   This time I made it I threw in two peaches, just because I love the warmth they bring. The blueberries have the tart kind of sweetness, and the bite of peach here and there is really nice.

  The recipe below just has blueberries, but it's very flexible so add in basically anything, just keep the amount of fruit to about 4-5 cups.

The recipe below has a little extra crisp topping than the recipe I based it off of, because who doesn't love a little extra crunchy topping!

Best served warm with ice cream :)
(Market Basket ice cream for that matter... How we all miss their good prices!!)

Gluten Free Blueberry Crisp
Ingredients:
4-5 cups fresh bluberries (or 3 cups and 4 peeled and chopped peaches)
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup gluten free flour
1 cup gluten free oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
5 tbsp softened butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Grease an approx. 10 inch baking dish
Combine fruit, sugar, lemon zest, juice and cornstarch in bowl. Pour into dish.
Combine brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon and salt. Mix in butter, with your hands if necessary, until crumbly. Top fruit mixture.
Bake in preheated oven and bake 40 minutes or until top is browned and blueberries and bubbling.

Homemade Blueberry Granola Bars

     During the school year or for work I'm always looking for a quick grab and go breakfast or snack, and it's a plus if it's healthy. My mom had gone blueberry picking and we had copious amounts, so I needed to think of a couple new recipes.

These bars are perfect for breakfast because they aren't very sweet and go great with a nice cup of coffee!

    It's a really versatile recipe because you can alter which nuts, seeds and fruits you use based on what you have on hand.


Just mix the dry ingredients

Melt the peanut butter and bananas over the stove to create this sloppy goop - cook a little more to break down those banana chunks!

Mix the two together

Fold in the berries and press into parchment lined pan

Bake and chop!

Then eat them all in one sitting!

Jussttt kidding. Store in the fridge!



PS- Consider the addition of coconut - I have a feeling that would be good :)


Homemade Blueberry Granola Bars
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup oats (gluten free)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dried fruit (figs, dates, crasins - no need to chop smaller fruits)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds or other
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mashed banana (about 2 large)
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp honey
2 large egg whites, whisked
Approx 2/3 cup fresh blueberries
Seasalt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 8x8 (ish) baking ban with parchment paper.
In bowl combine oats, fruit, nuts and seeds in bowl.
In small pot stir together bananas, peanut butter and honey over medium low until its melted together and well mixed.
Add small amount of peanut butter mixture to egg whites and whisk to bring up to temperature. Add back to pot and stir to combine.
Pour in batter to dry ingredients and mix to combine. Fold in blueberries.
Spread batter into pan and sprinkle top with coarse seasalt.
Bake about 30 minutes or until browned, and let cool completely before cutting.







Original recipe modified from http://www.christinamarsigliese.com/

Watermelon Feta Salad

    I had heard of this salad before and was kind of intimidated by the combination of ingredients. Watermelon...cheese....olives...mint....what? How can that be good?!

Well, I was proved ooooh so wrong by Stonewall Kitchen's Cooking School. They made for us the most delicious watermelon salad and completely changed my mind.

   It's a great side dish for a summer meal, or a perfect afternoon snack to have on a hot afternoon.

  The original recipe from the cooking school had only watermelon, feta, olives and some lightly pickled onions, which was delicious. Coincidentally, a day or so after I told my mom about the salad, we were out to lunch at a restaurant that served it, too! We loved it so much that we decided to make it ourselves.

   I like the addition of cucumber because it adds a good crunch element, and the flavor is fresh but mild. Also, it is an important step to pickle the onions a bit, because if not they can be too harsh, at least for my taste!



Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad
Ingredients:
1 watermelon, cut into bite sized chunks
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/3-1/2 cup thin sliced red onion
1 cucumber, quartered and chopped
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
2 tbsp fresh mint, chiffonade
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chiffonade
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Drizzle olive oil
Salt to taste

Directions:
Put onion and lime juice in a bowl and let sit for at least 30 minutes to let them pickle a bit.
Toss all ingredients gently in a large bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil optional, and add salt to taste - alter ingredients to preference.

Soy Glazed Salmon

     I was inspired to make my own soy glazed salmon after being introduced to it's delicious simplicity in a cooking class at Stonewall Kitchen. It's sweet and salty - but it doesn't take away from the flavor of the fish.... If anything, it enhances it.

    The flavor can pair well with so many different sides (come on, what doesn't soy sauce go with?!), making it a go-to recipe when you're eating a bunch of random leftovers with it. This happens very often in my house, and if it does not in yours, you are either wasteful or I'm impressed...

     Just looking at the photo makes my mouth water. Sticky, sweet, savory, tender, flaky.... and basically all good descriptive words you could think of....  It's simple enough for a quick weeknight meal, but it's also great for company.

     My mom and I had a date night and we treated ourselves to the salmon with some broccoli and steamed mussels.

(Recipe coming soon for the mussels!)



Soy Glazed Salmon
Ingredients:
1 lb salmon filets
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp minced shallots
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce/tamari
1 tbsp fresh lime/lemon juice
2 tbsp water
Pinch of ground ginger
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat broiler
Heat oil over medium heat in skillet. Add garlic and shallots, stir about 30 seconds.
In small bowl, mix together honey, soy sauce, juice, water and ginger. Carefully pour into skillet and stir to combine. Reduce heat if necessary, and let simmer lightly to thicken slightly.
Meanwhile - place salmon filets on a lightly greased, rimmed baking sheet.
Broil 2-3 minutes, then remove from oven, and brush generously with glaze.
Return to oven for another 5 minutes or until desired doneness.

Versatile Blackened Seasoning

    I find that in the summertime, it's easy to fall into a trap of grilling and smothering barbecue sauce on EVERYTHING. Of course, I am never one to complain about tender grilled meat doused in Sweet Baby Ray's, but there are other options!

    This seasoning is my go to when I'm looking for something simple, but trying to change it up a bit. It is extremely versatile and tastes great on anything from pork to chicken to seafood, adding wonderful spice and flavor.

(Keep in mind you can make this seasoning ahead of time and store it for every day use!)

     I served this chicken with a simple homemade salsa - fresh tomatoes, black beans, onion, green pepper and pineapple. The sweet freshness of it paired great with the spiced chicken, and it is soooo easy! Just chop the veggies, drain the cans and toss together with the salt, pepper and lemon/lime juice. You could add jalapeno or cayenne pepper to heat it up as well. It's so worth taking a few extra minutes to toss something like this together because it really rounds out the dish!

      The chicken topped the salsa and a creamy chunk of avocado is literally the perfect bite! Plus, this dish is naturally gluten free, loaded with nutritional value and it's a crowd pleaser.

I recommend eating the leftover chicken over a salad with a creamy dressing like ranch to balance out the spice. It's super delicious!


 

Versatile Blackened Seasoning 
Ingredients:
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp kosher salt (or to taste)
1 tsp black pepper

Directions:
Mix ingredients together. Generously season chicken, pork or seafood.

Asian Cabbage Salad

     Summer clearly isn't my peak blogging season. (I recall a post-less month or two last year this time, too), but although physical posts aren't there to prove it, I promise you I've been eating plenty of delicious foods and I have a handful of new favorites to add to my repertoire!

    Before I get into this cabbage salad (which by the way we've made it about 15 times this summer already), here's a little recap of what I've been up to/my excuses for not blogging....

 

Jazz Brunch on my second home, The Oar House restaurant in Portsmouth, NH

 

Stonewall Kitchen, my home 3 days of the week, where I am fortunate enough to take cooking classes, get a discount on amazing products....oh yeah and learn a lot about marketing! ;)

Much needed vacation at camp on Lake Winnipesaukee with the family!

Plenty of drinks and dinner dates with this guy 

And lots of fun with friends!

     So now you see why I didn't have much time to blog! But as I sit here on my couch watching Chopped (I got called out of work because of rain - perks of working on a deck), I found a perfect opportunity.

     I've been meaning to share this Asian Cabbage Salad recipe because it is just so delicious. When I say we've made it more than a dozen times this summer, it's no exaggeration. This seems to happen every summer with my mom and I, where we obsess over a recipe and make it literally once a week. One summer it was the Mexican Bean Salad, and another was the Spicy Peanut Noodles. We still make both of these monthly.

This cabbage dish is wicked simple and a perfect side dish for a summer BBQ. Plus it holds up great in the fridge for days, so it's very convenient for a busy schedule, as well!

It's the perfect substitute for a traditional cole slaw that is loaded with flavor. Plus, cabbage is totally healthy for you, and very low on the glycemic index - not to mention it's super crunchy and delicious!

The nuts and seeds add some goodness too, of course!

  You can substitute other nuts or seeds based on whatever you have on hand. I definitely recommend toasting the nuts though, so don't skip that part! It really enhances the flavor and you will notice a difference.

   There are variations of this recipe that include toasted ramen noodles that adds a great crunch element, but being gluten free, I decided to omit that! If you do decide to add ramen, keep in mind that they will get soggy if they sit in the salad in the fridge for long, so I would add them just as you eat it.




 
Asian Cabbage Salad
Ingredients:
1 head cabbage, shredded (We double the recipe and use one green and one red cabbage)
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
     For dressing:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Directions:
Mix dressing ingredients and set aside.
Toast slivered almonds over medium heat on stovetop until golden.
Combine cabbage, green onions, nuts and seeds in large bowl and toss with dressing.
Let sit in the fridge for a couple hours before serving to let flavors blend.

Mango Chutney Chicken Salad

       Before about a week ago, I didn't know exactly what a chutney was. I had heard of it, but I had never used one cooking so I was unaware of its magical powers.

In case you don't know, a chutney is a "spicy condiment made with fruits or vegetables with vinegar, spices and sugar, originating in India." Stonewall makes a hell of a good one, and I was lucky enough to snatch a free one off the employee rack. It was a perfect opportunity!

     Because I hadn't used one before, I didn't really know what to do with it, so I checked out their website and found This Recipe.


It was absolutely delicious.

        The mango chutney makes it simple to create such a well flavored, unique chicken salad that's sweet and spiced with cumin and curry - two of my favorites. I ended up eating nearly half the bowl before I could physically force myself to put it away in the fridge......It's that good.


       I altered the recipe slightly because I didn't have all the ingredients it called for. I used walnuts instead of pecans, I added a little handful of scallions, and I didn't add any dried cranberries or raisins because I didn't have any. It was still out of this world, so I'm pretty sure whatever you do with the mango chutney will be juuuuuust fine.

   I'm sure some of their other chutneys would make a delicious chicken salad as well, such as these ones:

(head over to Stonewall Kitchen's Website to look at their whole collection!)



I plan on making it again and again, and I might have to bring like 10 jars back to school with me in the fall so I can make more during the year....and I think a similar situation is going to end up happening with many other products of theirs.

I'm okay with that :)





Click here for the link to the recipe! 

Cilantro Lime Fish Tacos

        So it's clearly been a while since I posted. With finals, moving home, working two jobs and a summer class (and mainly just exercising my new 21 year old privileges), I've been very busy. I can't even say I've made a good home cooked meal in a few weeks! Shame on me!

         I wish I could say I'll have more time to cook and blog this summer, but with 50 hour work weeks, it's not looking like it. I promise to try, though, because I don't want to forget about my trusty blog that always reminds me of the good recipes I've made, and how much I love cooking.

         Before I get into a rant about how delicious these fish tacos were, I first want to talk a bit about Stonewall Kitchen, because that's where I am fortunate enough to have a marketing internship this summer. (Totally in my interest category, right?!) It's such a great company and the corporate culture is extremely friendly and welcoming, which definitely gives me some hope about my future in the business world! So because of this internship and my employee discount, when I do have time to blog, it's likely I will be featuring some great Stonewall Kitchen products I have come to love!

Which brings me to this.....

 Hellllooooo Cilantro Lime Dressing. 

(PS I didn't take that photo. Clearly it's too professional for my crappy iphone, so I hope they don't mind me stealing it from their website. I think it'll make up for it if I send you to this link to buy the product though :) So Click Here!)

     Anyways, it should've been nice out but instead it was 50 degrees and rainy and I was contemplating putting on wool socks and a winter jacket in my own house and/or moving out of Maine forever, so needless to say I needed something Summery (if that's a word?).....and QUICK. Luckily, a solution popped in my brain as I saw some tilapia in the fridge and thought of the Cilantro Lime Dressing I had brought home from work the other day. 

BOOM. Fish Tacos!

       My mom and I ate dinner together and completely loved this dish. She also was testing out a crunchy Asian cabbage salad recipe, which didn't necessarily "go" with the taco, but neither of us cared because they were both so good. 

       Of course we loaded on the avocado, (because God forbid I go a day without eating any), and I used Stonewall Kitchen Mango Lime Salsa. The zesty-ness of it paired so nicely with the cilantro and cumin in the fish, so I definitely recommend a citrus salsa. 

      This recipe is a great kickstart to summer, and writing another blog post reminded me of how much I enjoy doing it. You can expect to see more delicious recipes, and many Stonewall Kitchen products! 

We'll have to see how much of my paycheck I can actually keep......   ;) 

Cilantro Lime Fish Tacos

Ingredients: 

4-6 Tilapia filets

3/4 cup Stonewall Kitchen Cilantro Lime Dressing

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4-1/2 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

For tacos:

Taco shells

Shredded lettuce

Sliced avocado (squirt a lil lemon juice to prevent browning)

Stonewall Kitchen Mango Lime Salsa or other citrus salsa

Sour cream

Directions:

- Put fish in large resealable plastic bag, pour in dressing and marinate for a half hour to an hour. (You may whisk in cumin and chili powder to the dressing before marinating, but I prefer to season afterwards to get more of a blackened style)

- Remove fish from bag and remove excess marinade. Season both sides with cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper

- Heat olive oil in pan over medium high heat. Add fish and cook on both sides for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until fish flakes easily with fork. 

- Serve fish in taco shell, topped with salsa, lettuce, avocado and sour cream.

(PS - If you get corn hard shell tacos, this recipe is gluten free!) 

Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers

    This recipe is a great way to curb a Philly cheesesteak craving while sticking to a gluten free diet. It's pretty healthy and low carb, and really doesn't lack any flavor without the bun. Not to mention it's really easy!

    Shaved steak can be fairly cheap, especially if you catch a good sale, and it tends to go a long way. I really liked this recipe because I made two stuffed peppers for myself, ate one for dinner and wrapped the other in foil to save it for later. All you do is stick it in the microwave or oven to warm it up, and it's just as good as the first!

     It's very filling so you don't feel like you're missing out on a bun or anything, but you could always add some rice or quinoa to the stuffing or serve it on the side.

    The melted cheese on the top is the best part :) And when you roast the peppers they get so soft and tender, which is really delicious. 

Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

Approx. 1 lb shaved steak

1 medium onion

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 tsp garlic

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup BBQ sauce

Shredded cheddar (or other) cheese to top

2 large bell peppers, cut open at top and hollowed

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Heat Tbsp of oil over medium high heat in pan

- Add steak, onions, mushrooms and garlic, and cook until steak is cooked through

- Season with salt and pepper (etc)

- Stuff peppers full with steak mixture

- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, remove from oven, top with cheese and bake for 20/30 minutes more