The Best Apple Pie - Crumble!

This gluten free apple pie is sooo good! I borrowed this recipe from Ottawa's nutritional expert Kathy Smart
"Best Apple Pie With Roasted Almond Crust"    (www.livethesmartway.com). In my version, I added a crumbled buttery topping!

Pie Filling:

• 10 large apples, cored and sliced about 1cm in thickness
• 1-2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup
• approx 1/2 cup of water

Crust:

• 4 tsp canola oil
• 4 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups ground almonds

Crumble topping

• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 1 cup ground almonds
• 4 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cold butter 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the Crust:
Combine oil, honey/ maple syrup, rice flour, cinnamon and ground almonds. Pack ingredients evenly along the bottom and edges of a 9 inch pie pan or a similar sized casserole dish. Bake pie crust for 3-5 minutes at 350. You will smell a nice almond smell in the oven. Let cool for 3-10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare the Crumble:
Combine the rice flour, almonds, honey or maple syrup, cinnamon, and cold crumbled butter. Set aside in the fridge until you need it.

Filling:
Simmer apples in less than 1/2 cup of water for 8 -10 minutes until the apples are tender but not too soft. Drain the water from the apples and transfer the water to a small saucepan. Add the cornstarch and a couple more tbsp of water and heat until the desired thickness is achieved. Add liquid back into the apples along with the honey/ maple syrup, and cinnamon.
Add the filling into the pie crust.  Pack on the crumble topping. Bake for 25-40 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream

Potato Latkes

You will need:

• 4 large white potatoes, peeled and grated
• 1 small yellow onion, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp seasoned flour (or rice flour)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Canola Oil

Place the grated potato onto a cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Combine the grated potato and the onion. Add the flour and egg. Mix well. Heat a non stick pan to medium. Add about a tbsp of oil and scoop about 3/4 cup of mixture for each patty. Be sure not to over crowd the pan. Make them in batches.  Spread the mixture out evenly. Wait till each side is dark golden brown before flipping. When both sides are golden and crunchy, they're ready.

Serve with either bacon or any kind of sausage, sour cream, and chives.

Veggie Dip

There's so many ways to make a veggie dip. I just made this one up.

You will need:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
• 1 tbsp chopped green onion
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• salt and pepper

Tartar sauce

You will need: 

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard 
• 3-4 baby dill pickles diced small.
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients and enjoy alongside some delicious Fish and Chips!

Pollo al Chilindron

This is a really popular Spanish dish. You can play around with the ingredients and make it your own, there are so many variations. I like it because of the richness of flavor and the rustic style of one-pot cooking. 

This is one of those dishes  you can tell by looking at the ingredients, it's gotta be good!

You will need:

• A heavy cast iron pot or any heavy large pot that you can transfer from stove top to oven. And a cover or tin foil.
• 4 chicken legs separated from the bone. You can use other varieties of chicken like breasts, but it won't have the same "falling off the bone" goodness. plus the dark meat is great in this recipe.
• Most Chilindron recipes call for Jamon Serrano, which is an Italian thinly sliced cured ham similar to prosciutto. But you can exchange it for chorizo sausage. About 2 cups (or 2 sausages) cut lengthwise then in quarters then diced.
• a few glugs of olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 heaping spoon-fulls of sweet-smoked Spanish Paprika. Note: if you find your paprika doesn't have any smell or taste, it's not a great paprika, it should really have a smokiness to it.
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 lemon (juice and zest)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• a splash of dry white wine (or I would use whatever white I have)
• 2 tbsp of fresh parsley
• salt & pepper, to taste

Fist you're going to start off by making the sauce. It's easy if you start off by prepping all the ingredients before hand. 
Heat the pot to medium, add some olive oil, put in the onion and bell peppers. stir occasionally and let that sit for about ten minutes. Then add the garlic, stir and wait a couple minutes. Then throw in the rest of the ingredients except for the chicken and the tomatoes and the wine...and save 1/2 of the parsley. Stir this mixture and wait a few more minutes. Then when all the flavors combined deglaze the pot with the white wine and then add the diced tomatoes. Simmer a few minutes, then carefully remove the sauce from the pot and put aside. 
Now keeping the temperature at medium, put the chicken into the pot skinside down until browned then flip them over to seal the meat. Remove the chicken from the pot and put the sauce back in then place the chicken on top of the sauce skin side up. With a lid or tin foil over the pot, place in the pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Then remove the cover and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. Let cool a bit.  Garnish with the remaining parsley.

Serve with rice, salad, baguette, white wine. 

Chicken Jalfrezi

I have so much love for Indian food I don't even know where to start.  The Indian style of cooking is exactly what I crave. Sauces with a variety of perfectly blended spices, unique tastes, a range of colours, sweetness, and heat. Made with either beef, lamb, chicken, veggies, etc. Served with rice and Naan bread. I love a dish with lots of fixings so I prefer to have some pickled chilies (or pickled mangoes) as a side. You really have to cook from the heart when making Indian food, it can't be rushed, it's all about FLAVOR! ..and for me SPICE!

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breast (cubed and made into Tandoori Chicken Skewers)

a few glugs of olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 inch piece of minced fresh ginger

1 green bell pepper cut into strips

1 red bell pepper cut into strips

1 green chili (whole)

2 cardamom pods

1/2 jar of "Patak's Mild, Medium or Hot Curry Paste"

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp paprika

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup of whipping cream

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

salt & pepper

Directions:

Prepare Tandoori Chicken (see link above).

Heat a large pot to medium heat.  Add a good amount of olive oil.  When the oil is heated add the onion, bell peppers, ginger and cardamom pods and a dash of salt. Once the onions are translucent and the peppers soften, add the garlic. 

Continue cooking for another minute then add the curry paste, turmeric, garam masala, paprika and the green chili pepper. Mix together and let the oils release from the curry paste and the spices blend together.

 

Cook for a few minutes then add the diced tomatoes, some salt and pepper.  Wait for the sauce to start bubbling then turn the heat down low and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Stir in the whipping cream, add the BBQ Tandoori Chicken, wait a few minutes then turn the heat off. Stir in the cilantro.

Serve with Basmati Rice and/ or 

Naan Bread with a side of "Patak's Chilli Pickle" (my absolute favorite)

 

Tandoori Chicken Skewers

It's Summer so I'm going to get as much use out of that BBQ as I can!  I'm on my way to making my Chicken Jalfrezi, and I've decided to pull out all the stops. I've grilled some Tandoori Chicken and will use that later to add to my sauce!  Although this is obviously great on it's own.. even add some peppers to the skewer or marinate different chicken parts like legs or full breast or even rotisserie chicken would be amazing! Either way my version is very simple, I've opted to use the "Patak's Tandoori Paste" and followed the recipe on the back.  I may be cutting corners but it tastes great and works just fine for me Jalfrezi (saves me some time as well).

Ingredients:
3 large chicken breast cut into cubes
4 tbsp of "Patak's Tandoori Paste"
2 tbsp of plain yogourt

Directions:
Mix the ingredients together and put the chicken and the tandoori sauce into a zip-lock bag and marinate for 3 hours or over night for best results.

String the chicken onto some skewers and throw them on a low heated BBQ turning every so often and brushing on some of the leftover marinade until cooked through.

Samantha's African Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe

I got this recipe from my sister Samantha, and now I think I make it more than she does. It's so good and so simple.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 diced onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp of chili flakes (approx.)
2 cups of water
1 can of diced tomatoes
about 1 cup of peanut butter
salt & pepper to taste

Cut the chicken into cubes, season with salt and pepper. Put the chicken into a large pot heated to medium. Once the chicken is cooked on all sides, throw in the onions. Once the onions are translucent, add the garlic, cumin, cayenne, and chilies. After about a minute put in the 2 cups of water. Put the heat down to low and simmer for 5 minutes.  You can use chicken stalk instead of water for a more concentrated flavor, I know my sister does, but the water will also turn into chicken stalk after simmering in the chicken.
Add the can of diced tomatoes, simmer again for another 10 minutes or so.
Add the peanut butter, stir well, the sauce should be thick and creamy...if it's not thick enough add more peanut butter. Simmer again for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper, maybe add more chilies or cayenne if it needs it (the peanut butter takes away a lot of the spice).
Serve over rice.

Here it is! My All Time Favorite Pasta Sauce!!

I really have to force myself to make some other pasta at times because this really is my favorite, and also a huge hit every time I share it. I really don't even know what to call it. It's a Rose sauce with lots of fresh herbs and every time I make it, it's different. I guess the crazy thing about it is that is has cilantro in it, which I've personally never seen in a pasta sauce but works really well in this one.  You definitely have to try it!

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast seasoned (it's great with Cajun spice or just salt and fresh ground pepper) 
2 Sausages, any kind really like spicy Italian, or Mediterranean, or Andouille, etc.

few tbsp olive oil
1 diced onion
5 cloves of minced or chopped garlic
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 jar (approx. 2 cups) of Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce , bought or home made.
1 small handful of  fresh chopped Basil
1 small handful of fresh chopped Cilantro
1 tsp of Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce

*Try adding red wine to the sauce
*Try Gluten free rice noodles or I prefer some kind of Fusilli pasta because it keeps in all the thick sauce!

In one pan cook the seasoned chicken breast until fully cooked then slice the chicken thinly on an angle and put it back in the pan with a dash more seasoning then put aside.
If the sausage is precooked then slice it thin and on an angle and put into a large heated pot then once a little browned add the onions. If your sausages aren't yet cooked then before slicing them, put them in the heated pan until cooked all the way through then slice them and add them to the pot ...then add the onions.

Once the onions have softened, add the garlic, cook for a couple more minutes. Then once the sausage is cooked and the garlic is soft then add the can of chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer on low for 10 minutes.

Now I put the water on for my pasta. Once the water's boiling and the pasta is in the pot, and the tomatoes has simmered, I mix the Alfredo sauce in with the tomatoes. Simmer on low until the pasta noodles are ready. Drain the pasta. Stir the basil and cilantro into the sauce. Add the Sriracha..salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Serve!

Grilled Pear, Walnut & Goat's Cheese Salad with a Citrus Vinaigrette

I could eat a huge bowl of this Salad! It's sweet from the pears and crunchy from the walnuts..a great side!

For the Salad toss together:
2 Bosc Pears, peeled sliced and grilled in a pan on medium heat until golden and soft.
Baby Spinach, washed and dried
Goats cheese (or try feta, or blue cheese)
Walnuts

For the Dressing whisk together:
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of 1 large Orange
Salt & Pepper to taste

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Baking Mixes! (And My own Icing Recipe)

My boyfriend has Celiac Disease, and each time his mother travels to the States she picks up a bunch of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cakes and Brownies.

Unfortunately not sold here in Canada yet so if you know anyone going to the States..this is really a great find!

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Baking Mixes

Easy Thick Buttery Icing! 
I'm really not a trained professional when it comes to cooking. I just do what works and what my instincts and greedy taste buds desire. And when it comes to baking, I rely on good directions.
But I really think i have this icing thing down! It's easy here is:

4 cups of icing sugar (whenever I try to half it, it turns runny)
2/3 cup of melted butter
1 tbsp vanilla
and just a couple tbsp of milk until you get a nice thick yet spreadable consistency

For Chocolate Icing:
add 1/3 cup of cocoa for light chocolate, 1/2 cup of cocoa for medium chocolate, and 3/4 cup for dark chocolate.

(you want it a little shiny from the butter -that's how much butter you need, and you want to taste the vanilla)

Pad Thai

Pad Thai is sooo delicious and good for you! Lots of protein too!
I cheat, I buy the sauce, whatever sauce looks the best. I use the VH Thai Market Pad Thai sauce because it's Gluten Free.

Ingredients:
1 large Chicken Breast
1 bottle of Pad Thai Sauce
LEE KUM KEE Chili Garlic Sauce
1 whole package of Firm Tofu
2 scrambled Eggs
small handful of chopped Peanuts
small handful of chopped Basil and Cilantro
lime slices

First I thinly sliced 1 large chicken breast and put it in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat.
Once the chicken is cooked on the outside I added 1-2 tsp of LEE KUM KEE Chili Garlic Sauce. And a thinly sliced green chili pepper. Cook on medium-low until the chicken is done.
Then heat another non-stick pan to medium-high heat while the chicken is cooking. Add to the pan one whole package of Firm Tofu (diced into even cubes).
While all that is cooking away, start to boil some water for you noodles (One pack of Thai rice noodles..they only take a minute or so, once they're in the hot water)
And then...once the tofu has browned a bit put it into the pan with the chicken and use the empty heated pan to scramble two eggs. Then put the scrambled egg into the chicken and tofu, pour the whole bottle of Pad Thai Sauce into the mix. Add some chopped peanuts and chopped fresh Cilantro and Basil. Top it off with a squeeze of lime!

HOT BBQ Chicken Wings

This time I just combined three types of hot sauces together..tossed it with the chicken wings and put them on the BBQ on low heat flipping them over consistently and brushing on more of the hot sauce blend each time (whenever they get dry). Doing this for about 30-40 minutes until the wings are tender and no longer pink inside. Then, take them off the grill, put them in a bowl and toss them in the sauce blend again.

*I used President's Choice Mild Buffalo Wing Sauce,
A great Hot Sauce I picked up in Key West, Florida, at this great place where you can sample over 100 different hot sauces! It's called "Peppers of Key West" And the hot sauce is called "Hot Sauce #1" it really is one of the best hot sauces I've ever tried! It's an aged red pepper sauce with lots of GARLIC! it's one of those "put it on everything" type of sauce. Like Tobasco, but better!..also gluten free.
The last thing I used was LEE KUM KEE Chili Garlic Sauce (only a couple tbsp, to taste)


Serve with Homemade Blue Cheese Dip:
Just combine 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of sour cream, 1/2 tbsp of white wine vinegar, 2-3 tbsp of squeezed lemon juice, and a few big pieces of whatever blue cheese you want, whisk it all together for a few minutes until the cheese has fully softened into the rest of the ingredients. Add a tbsp of fresh or dry parsley.

Potato and Sweet Potato Cajun Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees c. Slice 3 Potato's and 3 Sweet Potato's thin like your usual potato chips and bake them on a non-stick tray for 15-20 minutes on each side until crispy and golden brown. As soon as you take them out of the oven toss evenly in Cajun spice and serve with Sour Cream and Chipotle Dip (sour cream mixed with 1 mashed Chipotle pepper and 2 tsp of Adobo sauce!)

Hummus and Crackers

To make the Hummus, blend together in a food processor: 1 can of chick peas (rinsed), 1/2 cup of tahini paste, about 1/4 cup olive oil, 4-5 roasted garlic cloves, juice of two lemons, 1 tsp cumin, salt and pepper.

You can add roasted vegetables like red peppers or jalapenos, or even add any hot sauce.

Eat with Crackers or Pita bread or even put it in a sandwich.

Chili Corn on the Cob

Boil corn for about 2-3 minutes or until bright yellow. Drain them and dress them with butter, salt, Chili powder or Chipotle powder, Parmesan cheese and a squeeze of lime.

Or put the corn on the BBQ and it would be even better!

Double Baked BIG Potatoes

First: Wash four large baking potatoes. Place them onto a tray. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 350ºF for 60 minutes.

Once you take the potatoes out of the oven, let cool for a couple minutes then cut a slit down the center of each potato, squeeze the sides inward and gently scoop out the potato (as much as you can) and place the potato into a bowl along with: 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 1/2 cups of old cheddar cheese, 1 tsp cumin, 2 cloves of garlic minced, 1 tbsp Dijon or honey Dijon mustard, chopped chives or green onion, and either 6-8 strips of bacon (fried and chopped into bits) or one Spicy Sausage/ Spicy Chorizo Sausage squeezed out of it's casing and cooked in a heated pan and chopped up with a wooden spoon.. add it to the bowl with some salt and pepper and a bit of whatever hot sauce or a charred jalapeno pepper (diced and seeded). Mix all the ingredients until smooth and creamy add more sour cream if you need to. And shove it back into the potato skins gently. Then sprinkle the tops with a bit more cheese and put them back into the oven for about 10 more minutes. Until the cheese on top is golden and bubbly.

Spicy Scalloped Potatoes

heat oven to 325ºF
Slice about 6 large red potatoes (skin on).
Finely chop 1 onion and 3 cloves of garlic, and 1-2 sprigs of Rosemary
Squeeze one spicy chorizo sausage found at your local butcher , from it's casing into a pan heated at medium heat. Break up the sausage, set it aside. Grate 2 cups of a nice old cheddar, either white or orange.
In a large rectangular glass casserole dish, start layering: One even layer of sliced potatoes, sprinkle 1 1/2 tbsp of almond flower or rice flower, salt and pepper, half the onions, half the garlic, half the sausage, half the rosemary, and half the cheese. Then layer the other half of the ingredients, adding a couple pats of butter over the top. Then pour in 2 cups of warm milk.

Put it into the oven for about 45 minutes. The cheese will start to get golden brown and the potatoes will be soft, let it cool and settle for about 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream and chives.





*Gluten free

Chicken Mole ("Mole-eh!")

This recipe is for one of the most authentic and complicated Mexican dishes you can find. Chances are, if you haven't traveled to Mexico...and really experienced the true Mexican lifestyle, you probably have never heard of a Mexican Mole. A Mole is basically a sauce with a crazy amount of ingredients, including dark Mexican chocolate. It can be used in a variety of dishes, but traditionally served over chicken pieces, with rice or beans.
There's a lot of preparation, I was always really intimidated by this recipe. It's pretty complex. Finally I decided to just go for it, test my skills! I found a great version online, translated it from Spanish to English and made a couple additions and subtractions, just to make it my own. It took a few hours, but the result was perrrrfect! Don't shy away from the amount of chili's that are used here, these types of chilies are more for flavor and don't hold much heat. In fact if you wanted it to be spicy you should add something else to it like Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce.


Ingredients:

2 kilos of chicken pieces (skin on)
white rice or re-fried brown beans with cooked with minced garlic, as a side.

For the Mole:

7-9 Mulato Chilies
5-7 Pasilla Chilies
4-6 Ancho Chilies
1 cup plus 9 tbsp Vegetable oil
4-5 Tomatillos (mexican green tomatoes)...I prefer the canned version, otherwise you will need to remove the husks and boil them until soft.
4 cloves of Garlic
20 Black Pepper Corns
5 Cloves
1 Cinnamon stick
1 tsp roasted Chili seeds (use the seeds that will be removed from the Ancho, Pasilla and Mulato Chilies in this recipe)
3 tbsp of Raisins
1/4 cup Pumpkin Seeds (look for the seeds without the shells)
1/4 cup Almonds (sliced or whole)
2 dried-out Corn Tortillas , torn into pieces.
6-7 cups of Chicken Broth (saved from when you boil the chicken pieces from this recipe)
50 grams (or more to taste) of Mexican Chocolate


Directions:

First, season chicken with salt and pepper.
Second, Cook the chicken in about 10 cups of water.
Third, prepare the mole:

step 1: Cook the chilies in 2 tbsp of oil until crispy, not burned. make sure to flip them. They will start to puff a bit.
step 2: While the chilies are soft after cooking on the stove, remove the seeds and stems (reserve 1 tbsp of the seeds)
step 3: Soak the chilies in warm water for 30 minutes
step 4: Make a paste with the chilies using some of the water they soaked in with either a mortar and pestle or a food processor.
step 5: Grind the pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and chilies together, and set aside in a separate bowl.
step 6: Blend tomatillos with garlic, add the ground spices and set aside.
step 7: Heat a non-stick frying pan. Add the following ingredients (without mixing) and until: raisin are puffed, almonds are golden, pumpkin seeds slightly golden, broken-up tortilla piece slightly heated. Add a bit of oil if needed.
step 8: (Except for the chili paste) Add all the mole ingredients (the raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds, tortilla and tomatillo sauce with the spices together in a food processor. Use some of the chicken stock to keep the right saucy consistency.
step 9: Heat a large pot to medium heat. Cook the chili paste for about 15 minutes in the remaining oil. This will really bring out the flavor and smokiness of the chilies. Mix frequently. Lower the heat.
step 10: Add the rest of the blended ingredients into the pot with the chili paste and the rest of the vegetable oil (it seems like a lot of oil but it gives the sauce a great texture and shine). Add the chocolate and cook for 15 minutes over high heat.
step 11: Add the remaining chicken broth and simmer for an additional 45 minutes.
step 12: In the last 15 minutes add the chicken pieces to the pot.

Serve with fresh corn tortillas, rice, and re-fried beans or rice.


*Gluten free

Chicken & Rice Cajun Soup

This is one of my newest creations! It's a thick and hearty feel good soup that won't last long around the house!

Ingredients:
2 full chicken legs
3-4 tbsp Cajun seasoning (or Essence by Emeril Lagasse)
1 large yellow onion (chopped)
2 large organic carrots (peeled and chopped lengthwise then diced, to make half moons)
2 large organic celery sticks (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1 organic red pepper
3/4 cup white rice
1/4 cup wild black rice
1/2 cup red lentils (rinsed and drained)
8-10 cups water or chicken stalk


Directions:

Set a cast iron pan to medium to medium-high heat. Season chicken legs with 2 tbsp of Cajun Seasoning. Grill each side of the chicken in the pan until golden brown on both sides. Set chicken aside. With the pan still medium to med-high heat, throw all the veggie's in except the garlic. Season veggies with 1 tbsp of Cajun. When veggies are soft yet still firm, mix in the garlic, rice, and lentils. Let the mixture fry for about one more minute.

Heat a dutch oven, or a slow cooker to medium heat. Put in the chicken and all the grilled veggies and rice mixture. Add half the water or stalk and the remaining Cajun seasoning to the pot. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. Then add the remaining water, and simmer for another 45 minutes to an hour. Until chicken pulls apart easily. Remove the chicken and place it in a bowl. With two forks shred the chicken and discard the bones. Put the chicken back into the soup. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.


Serve it up!



*Gluten free