Friday, May 27, 2011

Recipes 1.0-Cauliflower Cream Sauce, Chex Mix, Lemon Soy Marinade

I, as only a true control freak would, have spent HOURS of time and hundreds of dollars experimenting with a wide variety of recipes in a short period of time. One reason was that I didn't want to feel deprived of anything I NEED to have.  The other is that my children (Princess is VERY PICKY) are both on an elimination diet to address ADD and ADHD. I will have more on this later, when the results are in...

So, I have tired tons of things.  I have altered recipes, and come up with some yummy alternatives. Also, I regularly feed my parents, and they (along with a patient husband and hungry brother) don't mind being my guinea pigs.

Also, bear in mind that I am on Weight Watchers, and I am looking for very low "Points Plus" values for my food items.

I hope you find something new, or steal an idea and tweak it to please your brood.

Cauliflower “Cream” Sauce
·         I head cauliflower
·         Half cup (about) FF chicken broth (or veggie broth, or water)-plus about 1 cup for sauce, and 2 cups (or more) for later if you make in advance to thin sauce
·         About half cup coconut non-dairy creamer (or FF Half and half)-use as much or as little as you like to get creamy consistency
·         1 tbl minced garlic
·         ¼ c minced onion
·         8 leaves fresh basil, minced fine

1.       Steam cauliflower until soft. Allow to cool enough to handle. Put into food processor and puree with chicken broth (or other liquid) until smooth and creamy, like the consistency of thick soup
2.       Sauté basil, onions and garlic in small amount of chicken broth until soft
3.       Add creamy cauliflower mixture, stir well.
4.       Add coconut creamer until consistency is creamy (you will need to taste it)
5.       Add 1 cup or so chicken broth until desired consistency.
6.       You can add up to 2 cups more of the broth until the sauce is the consistency you like. I made the sauce a day before to test it, then had to add a lot of chicken broth the next day to thin the sauce and stretch it.

Serve with any pasta as well as steamed veggies and cooked chicken breast

GFCF Chex Mix
8 c GF Chex Cereal-Rice, Corn, etc.
1 1/2 c GF Pretzels (I use Glutino)
2 GF bagels, made into "chips" *more on this, below
1 c nuts (I used peanuts, cause they are cheap!)
6 tbl Olive Oil (I didn't skimp on this, because it was for my kids-I might have been able to drop this a bit, and up the yummy salty stuff!)
3 tbl GF Worchestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrin's is GF)
2 tsp GF Seasoned Salt
1 tsp GF Garlic Powder 
1 tsp GF Onion Powder

Oven, preheated to 250

Put wet ingredients and seasonings into large roasting pan, blend.
Add all items, stir to coat. 
Put in oven, bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes to coat

Put in zipper bag-enjoy!

*For GF bagel chips-I used 2 Udi's bagels. I sliced them into thin chips and separated them onto a pan. I sprayed them with baking spray (I use the Misto, with canola or olive oil), then generously sprinkle them with seasoned salt. I then bake them in a low oven (250 or so), until crispy and dry, stirring every 10 minutes or so.  I tried to model these after the yummy salty "toasts" you find in Gardetto's and Chex Mix.

Lemon-Soy Marinade
This is a great marinade for chicken, especially boneless skinless thighs.  It is best to marinate at least half a day, more if possible. I have gotten by with 1 hour of marinating, but it just doesn't permeate as much as I like.
3 lemons, quartered
3 bottles 10 oz GF Soy Sauce-I like San-J
1 onion, cut in half, then sliced
1 bottle GF beer-I am not a beer connoisseur, so I grabbed the cheapest
2 c water or so-this helps to cut the excessive saltiness, if that is an issue for you

Put it all together in a big bowl (or 2 gallon zipper bag---or even two 1 gallon zipper bags, separating marinade in half), separating the onion slices and squeezing the lemons (but don't dry 'em out completely, and make sure to throw the whole thing in the bowl) then add your chicken-up to 15 pieces or so. Cover or seal, put back in fridge until time to grill.


I will have more delish concoctions soon-bear with me though-I tend to just throw stuff together, and I am a bit scattered with the measurements.  Trust yourself, don't stray too far from the recipe, and above all, have a backup in the freezer.

Bon Appetit!







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