Mar 14, 2017 | Allergen Alert, Appetizers, Egg Free, Nut Free, Recipes
It may be no surprise to people that I got my love of food, or the kind of food in particular, from my family. My father likely had the most influence as I would definitely not be a chilihead if it weren’t for him. I’m working on passing that passion on down to my own son.
And one of those passions beyond the taste factor includes what kinds of food I like. While breakfast may be my all-time favorite meal of the day, I would gnaw down on some apps any day of the week. It was not uncommon in my household to see us eating the insanely good cheese dip. However on truly special occasions, my Mom would pull out the sausage balls.
Her recipe was very similar to this recipe, but I want to say she used Velveeta in that recipe as well. And I had not even thought about the recipe until someone posted a similar recipe elsewhere. Like the dip, this is my version of a classic appetizer that dates back to the 70s. Not everything ancient has to be bad for you or contain Gluten – cause we can make almost anything GF! #GFNotTasteFree!
Sausage Balls – On Fire
1 lb (450 g) raw pork sausage
10 oz (300 g) Jalapeno Jack cheese
2 C Gluten Free Bisquick
Milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (convection or none) while you cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine your sausage, cheese and Bisquick in a large bowl. Note: I like to use Johsonville Hot Italian Sausage. And as always shred your own cheese to remove the possibility of Gluten contamination from the factory’s shredding process. Add a little milk to the mixture to get it to combine into one big ball. The last time I did this I added close to a quarter cup of milk.
- Now comes the fun – you could use a scoop to get the size consistent, but you will need to roll them into balls about the size of a loonie (or Susan B. Anthony!) Put em on your baking sheet with a little bit of space – they won’t spread out that much.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. I liked doing mine for about 25 minutes on convection and it makes them a little crispy.
Apr 2, 2016 | Egg Free, Entrees, Nut Free
With Easter just behind us and Thanksgiving just a few months away (hey a guy can hope!), I was thinking about what to do with leftover turkey. Typically, I would just make a sandwich pre-CD, But as we all know GF bread is a bit small and does not necessarily the best sandwiches make. Otherwise I would normally do something along the lines of a turkey burrito or quesadilla. And since I’ve shown you a few recipes for those already, I decided to try something new.
This recipe happens to be very, very close to a simple Alfredo. And it’s a great fusion of Mexican and that Alfredo hence the name fusion!
Turkey Con Arroz Y Salsa
1 red onion
4 jalapenos
2 tbsp (30 g) butter
1 tbsp (15 g) Cumin
1 tsp (5 g) Cilantro
1 tsp (5 g) Garlic
1 small jar Guy Fieri 7 pepper salsa
227 g Garlic & Herb cream cheese
1 lb. turkey, cooked and diced
- Saute the onions and jalapenos together with the butter and spices. While the base is cooking, make a recipe of Quick Mexi Rice.
- Once the onions are soft, add in the cream cheese and salsa making the sauce.
- After the sauce has started to thicken, you can add the turkey.
- Plate some rice and pour some of the sauce over the top – serve immediately!
Apr 2, 2016 | Dairy Free, Egg Free, Nut Free, Side Dishes
This simple rice is a great side for almost any Tex-Mex dish.
1.5 cups rice
2 tbsp (30 ml) chicken bouillon
1 tbsp (15 g) cilantro
1 tbsp (15 g) red pepper flakes
1 cup (225 g) frozen corn
Combine the ingredients and cook the rice how you would normally.
Feb 7, 2016 | Allergen Alert, Egg Free, Nut Free, Sauces & Seasonings
Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting
1 1/4 cups (280 g) semisweet chocolate chips
5 tbsp (75 g) butter
1/2 cup (125 ml) sour cream
1 tbsp (15 ml) vanilla extract
1/4 tsp (4 g) salt
2 3/4 cups (620 g) powdered sugar
- Melt the chocolate and butter together.
- Let it cool and blend in the sour cream, vanilla and salt.
- Gradually add the sugar beating well until it thickens enough to spread.
Oct 6, 2015 | Appetizers, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Nut Free
Ever since CD, it has been harder and harder to find food that does not have gluten. And not all GF products are of the same quality. So finding something to snack on is not as simple as just walking down the chip aisle.
That said there are a ton of GF products out there. And there are more hitting the market every day. But with my penchant for the spicy, they are few and much, much farther between. I had to take matters into my own hands.
I’ve always been intrigued by the recipes featuring flavoured pretzels. This is my version featuring GF pretzels and my Cajun seasoning.
Cajun Pretzels
8 0z. GF pretzels (Glutino)
1/3 cup veggie oil
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
- Mix all the ingredients except the pretzels in a freezer bag. Ensure the oil and seasoning are mixed well before pouring over the pretzels.
- Bake at 200 degrees for an hour, turning every 20 minutes.
Sep 2, 2015 | Dairy Free, Egg Free, Nut Free, Side Dishes
As someone with Celiac Disease, you know that it’s extremely hard to find suitable sides that are quick, easy and don’t cost an arm and a leg. Sure, you can do rice or a baked potato for your starch and there are a ton of veggies.
But I have to admit I really am a meat and potatoes kind of guy, when I’m not scarfin’ on nachos! So it really cooks my corn when a restaurant can’t have a dedicated fryer for their fries when they have GF buns for their burgers. Seriously!? And I digress …
I recently came across a different way to cook a baked tater that’s a bit more labour intensive but just as addictive as the chips out of a bag. And they go great for a new breakfast bake that I will be featuring next week, which showcases how GF does not mean Taste Free!
Italian Baked Potato Chips
3-4 medium russets
olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Oregano
chili pepper flakes
- As your oven preheats to 475 degrees, wash your bakers. Then slice them into chips at about 1/4-1/8 inch thick. You could use a mandolin if you could get the D!*#$%( thing to work!
- Lay them out on a foiled cookie sheet 1 layer deep and brush olive oil all over the top sides.
- Sprinkle on your Parmesan, Oregano and chili pepper flakes. I didn’t put measurements because it’s completely up to you as to how much zing you want in your chips.
- Bake for about 10 minutes on each side. If you’re doing convection, I found 7.5 minutes top side and about 10 on the bottom. That really depends on how thick you cut your chips.
- Serve hot!
