Thursday, November 17, 2011

Fabulous Thanksgiving Finds


Fabulous Find # 1 Cranberry Orange Apple Vinegarette from
Oh She Glows
IMG_4546
Photo property Oh She Glows one of my favorite blogs! Try it on salad , rice, quinoa, fruit etc.

Fabulous Find # 2  Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Carrots  
All vegetables taste better roasted. Brussels Sprouts are amazing roasted try this recipe. Easy Healthy DELICIOUS

Fabulous Find #3
4 ingredient Fabulous Vegan Pumpkin Pie ( no eggs, no dairy) from Healthy Happy Life another one of my favorite blogs.


Photograph is property of Healthy Happy Life

Fabulous Find #4 Mushroom Soup from Skinny Jeans Food
mushroom soup
Photograph property of Skinny Jeans Food

Fabulous Find #5 from marthastewart.com
Quinoa Vegetable Pie
Pinned Image
Photograph property of marthastewart.com


Have a healthy and happy Thanksgiving.

In Gratitude... Judee

Please leave a comment so I know you stopped by. Scroll down to the end of the post and click on comments.

Shared on :

Tuesday Night Supper Club; Tasty Tuesdays; Tempt My Tummy Tuesday ; Tuesdays At the Table; Made From Scratch Tuesday; What’s On Your Plate?; Delectable Tuesday ; Totally Tasty Tuesday; Naptime Creations Tasty Tuesday Link Party; Show Me What You Got  ; Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie  ; Tuesday To Do List; Tuesday Time Out Inspiration Party; Lil Luna Linky Party; Anti-Procrastination Tuesday;

 ; What’s Cooking Wednesday; Recipes I Can’t Wait To Try; What’s Cooking Wednesday; What’s For Dinner?; Works For Me Wednesday; Real Food Wednesday; Whatever Goes Wednesday; What’s On the Menu Wednesday; We Did It Wednesday; Penny Pinching Party; Friendly Wednesday; Passionately Artistic; Show Off Your Stuff; What I Whipped up Wednesday; Cast Party Wednesday; This Chick Cooks; Your Whims Wednesday; Show and Tell Linking Party Wednesday; Wow Me Wednesdays; Wild Wednesday Hop; Show and Share; Wow Me Wednesday; Sweet Tempatations; ; Success U-Wednesday Link-up ; The Mommy Club ; Create and Share ; Workshop Wednesday ; Healthy 2Day Wednesdays  Foodie Wednesday      Living Well Wednesday  Ducks in a Row  Frugal Ways, Sustainable Days  Gluten Free Recipe Roundup  Gluten Free Wednesday, Gold Star Wednesday,  What's on the Menu Wednesday, Welcome Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Gluten Free Roundup Works for me Wednesday

Friday, November 11, 2011

The Parchment Paper Cookbook

Wait until you hear about The Parchment Paper Cookbook.
I do a significant amount of cooking, so I am always looking for ways to reduce cleanup. Can you imagine how excited I was when I came across a cookbook that claimed you could cook with no pots, no pan, and no mess. Everything is cooked in parchment paper to eliminate or cut down on clean up! When I saw it, I thought the idea was ingenious, so I invited Brette Sember, the author, to be a guest blogger today to tell you about her new book, give you some ideas, and share a delicious root vegetable recipe which is perfect for this time of year.  Thanks Brette.
Parchment Paper Means No Clean Up! by Brette Sember
I love cooking, but sometimes the clean up gets to me. I set out to find a way to make dinner without having to do a sink full of dishes—and I found it in parchment paper! Parchment paper packet cooking is a wonderful, revolutionary method that decreases the amount of fat needed for cooking and locks in flavor and nutrients. Best of all, with parchment paper cooking, there is no mess to clean up– no pots and pans to scrub. The food cooks in a parchment paper packet in the oven, making this perfect for busy moms, people with small kitchens, and anyone tired of doing a sink full of dishes after dinner.

Parchment paper is recyclable and compostable. Cooking with parchment also means you can cook your entire meal in one oven without turning any burners or using lots of hot water to scrub pots and pans.

You can buy parchment paper in your grocery store next to the foil and plastic wrap, or online from sellers like Amazon. Wilton and Reynolds both make parchment. The secret of parchment paper is that it is coated with silicone, which keeps moisture and flavors in, and keeps food from sticking. You layer your food onto the paper (no pots, pans, or big mixing bowls needed), fold it and bake. It’s that simple!
Parchment paper packets are a snap to cook with. Cut off an 18-20 inch piece of parchment and place your food in the center. Leave at least 4 inches on the sides. Now, grab the long ends of the paper and have them meet in the air in the middle, then just fold them down until you get to the food. You’ll end up with a long package. Now all you have to do is simply twist each end. (You can see illustrations at: http://nopotcooking.com/index.php/technique/). Place the packets on a baking sheet or toaster oven tray for easy in moving them around.

Enjoy this simple and tasty root vegetable dish on a cold night. The recipe is designed to highlight the flavors of the vegetables, and not be a heavy, creamy dish.


Root Vegetable Tian
Serves 4
1 parsnip, peeled, thinly sliced
1/8 large sweet onion thinly sliced
15 baby carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 rutabaga, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Thyme (about ¾-1 teaspoon total)
Olive oil (about 4 tablespoons)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut a 24 inch piece of parchment. Make about a 9 inch circle with the parsnips, layering them over each other around the circle and in the middle. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle ¼ of the the onions on top. Layer carrots on top of this and repeat salt, pepper, thyme, oil, onion. Then layer rutabaga, repeating seasonings and toppings. Layer potato slices on top, repeating toppings again. Pour cream over the entire thing. Fold the parchment  - for this one I used the folded ends instead of the twisted ends. Bake at 350 for an hour.
For some variation, you could add 2 cloves chopped garlic to this, ½ cup grated cheese (Parmesan would be my pick, included in the layers), or 1/4 cup milk to boost the creaminess. You could also drizzle with melted butter instead of olive oil for a deeper flavor.

Judee's comments: Please note that The Parchment Paper Cookbook is not intended to be gluten free nor vegetarian. However, I felt it was such a great idea that it can be applied to any kind of cooking. Personally, I frequently use regular cookbooks for ideas and just adapt and substitute!

I would love to hear your comments. Please leave a comment by scrolling down to the end of the post and clicking on "comments" If you are reading this post in your email, you need to click on the title of the email that says, " click here to go to blog and then scroll down to the end of the post and click on "comments"


Sunday, November 6, 2011

Fabulous Finds Wk 4

Welcome to today's fabulous finds from Pinterest. The finds can be kitchen tips, frugal ideas, or just great how to's . Hope you find something of interest to you. 

Fabulous Find #1 is  from a blog called Homemade Serenity This is amazing. You know the green onions you get in the supermarket? You can snip them and keep them growing indefinitely! Click here to find out how easy this is.. Never run out  of green onions again..




Fabulous Find #2 is from a blog called Home With Real Food
This is such a great idea for lunch box snacks for kids ( or adults).
It keeps sliced apples from turning brown. Click here for a simple tutorial



Fabulous Find #3 is from Martha Stewart
I love this one. I can never get fitted sheets folded flat and neat. Martha shares how click here.

Picture from Martha Stewart


Fabulous Find # 4 from a blog called 2 Little Hooligans
Make ice cream in a bag with simple ingredients in just 10 minutes. This is a fun project to make with kids. Click here for directions







Fabulous Find #5 This was posted on Crafter
Fabulous idea! Here's what to do click here



If you are new to my blog, nice to meet you. I would love it if you became a follower, and I will follow back. If you are a retuning reader, nice to see you again. 

I love to know who visited today, so please leave a comment by scrolling down to the end of the post and clicking on comments.



Thursday, November 3, 2011

Turkish Pasta Casserole



Turkish Pasta Casserole GF


This is one of those recipes that created itself. I used gluten free pasta, chick peas, dried apricots, onions, and spices giving the recipe it's Turkish flare! When I looked in the refrigerator, I realized that I needed to use up my produce before it went bad. I had a batch of cooked chickpeas that I had made in my crock pot the day before, and a lot of  onions, garlic, and carrots.

I  remembered that my (Middle Eastern)  mother- in- law often uses " mish mish" ( dried apricots) when she cooks certain kinds of vegetables. Surprisingly, I had some sitting in my pantry . Interestingly, dried apricots do not taste real sweet after they are cooked.  I figured they would liven up what seemed to me an ordinary combination of ingredients.

This recipe is gluten free, vegan, loaded with antioxidants.( garlic, onion, carrots, turmeric)  Perfect to help build up your immune system just in time for winter.
I also like to try to use turmeric whenever I can because of its brain enhancing benefits! Turmeric is the yellow spice that is often in mustard. Studies show it is an excellent antioxidant that can help protect the brain from inflammation.


























I ended up with a recipe that looked plain, but tasted exceptionally delicious and soothing. It was kind of like an unusual comfort food. My husband liked it so much, he had a heaping bowl of seconds. It must have been the delicious taste of the caramelized onions!

Gluten Free, vegan, and real food make up this chick pea lover's colorful casserole.



Author: Judee Algazi @ Gluten Free A-Z Blog
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
1 large onion cut in 1/2 moon slices
4 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed
2 large organic carrots, sliced thin on an angle
6-7 whole dried apricots
1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained
2 cups cooked gluten free brown rice pasta ( I get mine at Trader Joe's or any health food store)
1 tsp. turmeric
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup water

Directions
Brown Rice Pasta ( I got mine from Trader Joe's)
Cook pasta according to package ( (I added 2 TBS olive oil to the boiling water and  allowed my pasta to cook a little longer so the noodles would be on the softer side), drain and set aside.

Instructions
In a large skillet begin to saute the pressed garlic and onions in olive oil spray on low until they begin to caramelize. Then add the carrots, raisins, apricots, cooked and drained chick peas, and turmeric. Stir well. Allow to cook for about two minutes with continuous stirring.  Add  the 1/2-3/4  cup of water. Reduce flame to a simmer, cover, and cook on low until carrots start to soften. Shut off flame, but allow mixture to stay in the covered skillet for about 15 minutes to soften more.
Add pasta, salt and pepper and mix well.




Printfriendly