Win some cool bakeware!

Hey cooking friends, if you want some cool new bakeware to cook with, head on over to Yvonne's cooking blog www.triedandtasty.com and enter to win the set of two baking dishes. Way cool!

Bread Pudding

Ever since I have known that Roosters and Union Grill offers a tasty caramel bread pudding, I have wanted to try it. But, since I didn't try it before finding out I am a Celiac, I never had the chance to.

I decided to try a recipe for it at home, with gluten free bread of course, and I have to say it was pretty much delicious.
I used the recipe below, but like I said, just exchanged the regular bread for homemade gluten free bread, using Pamela's Wheat Free Bread Mix in a bread machine.
I am sure either one you decide to try will be just as good as the other :)

Recipe from www.momswhothink.com

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk (or 2 cups half & half)
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark, depending on taste preference)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups bread, torn into small pieces (french bread works best)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)


Directions:

1. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat milk (or half & half) just until film forms over top. Combine butter and milk, stirring until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm.

2. Combine sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed for 1 minute. Slowly add milk mixture.

3. Place bread in a lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.

4. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Pour batter on top of bread.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Serve warm.

If you make the sauce to put on top of your bread pudding, adjust the sugar in the bread pudding recipe, change it to 1/3 cups sugar (the sauce has the other 1/3 cup in it).
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Bread Pudding Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon flour
dash of salt

Directions:

Mix everything together and bring to a boil for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside for 5 minutes, then pour on warm bread pudding.

Barbecued Pork Chops and Sauteed Apples

We love this Cooking Light recipe and so do all the guests we've served it to. It's super easy and can be cooked on the grill in the summer or under the broiler in the fall and winter. We love to serve it with baked sweet potatoes.

Barbecued Pork Chops

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients

Sauce:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

Remaining ingredients:
6 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Cooking spray

Prepare grill or broiler.

To prepare sauce, combine the first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Place 1/4 cup sauce in a small bowl, and set aside.

Trim fat from pork. Combine the thyme, garlic salt, and pepper; sprinkle over pork. Place pork on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 6 minutes on each side, basting with remaining sauce. Serve pork chops with reserved 1/4 cup sauce.

Nutritional Information

Calories:244 (42% from fat)
Fat:11.3g (sat 3.9g,mono 5g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:24.6g
Carbohydrate:9.9g
Fiber:0.2g
Cholesterol:77mg
Iron:1.5mg
Sodium:649mg
Calcium:22mg

Sauteed Apples

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
6 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apples (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; sauté 6 minutes or until apples are just tender. Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Cook for 1 minute or until sugar melts.

Nutritional Information

Calories:137 (30% from fat)
Fat:4.6g (sat 2.7g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.2g)
Protein:0.2g
Carbohydrate:25.7g
Fiber:1.6g
Cholesterol:12mg

Creamy Shrimp and Tomato Chowder

(image provided from YahooShine/Better Homes and Gardens)

I didn't have any shirmp left to make this, because I had used it all the night before, but I tried it with cubed chicken pieces and thought it was tasty that way too :)

Source: Better Homes and Gardens, posted on Yahoo Shine Food

Ingredients

2 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained
8 oz. medium peeled cooked shrimp
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup water
Ground Black Pepper
Slivered fresh basil
Focaccia wedges (optional)

Directions

In a large saucepan cook celery and onion in hot oil just until tender. Stir in tomatoes; heat through. Add shrimp, whipping cream, and water. Cook over medium heat just until hot. Season to taste with pepper.
Ladle chowder into bowls; top with basil Serve with focaccia wedges. Serves 4 (1-1/2-cup servings).


Nutrition Facts * Calories245, * Total Fat (g)15, * Saturated Fat (g)8, * Monounsaturated Fat (g)6, * Polyunsaturated Fat (g)1, * Cholesterol (mg)152, * Sodium (mg)1056, * Carbohydrate (g)14, * Total Sugar (g)10, * Fiber (g)2, * Protein (g)15, * Vitamin A (DV%)0, * Vitamin C (DV%)40, * Calcium (DV%)12, * Iron (DV%)14

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

Photo courtesy of thepioneerwoman.com

This is my new go-to recipe for having company over for dinner. I got it from The Pioneer Woman and it is phenomenal. I've tried a few of her recipes now and they all have been amazing. Basically nothing she makes is low calorie/low fat/low sugar but I believe splurges are completely justified every now and then. I've made this dish a few times now and it has always been a hit. I like to serve it for company because A) It serves a lot of people, B) It is pretty easy to make and C) Makes for a good presentation and is family style so I don't have to plate up everyone's meal.

Marinating the chicken makes it SO tender and delicious so I highly recommend NOT skipping this step. Also, the original recipe calls for the juice of 4 lemons in the sauce but that is WAY too much. Makes it so sour it is almost unbearable, especially if you use a citrus reamer like me and 4 lemons gives you a whole cup of juice! So I only use 2 lemons. But please oh please make this sometime soon. It is amazing!

Ingredients:
- 4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced (marinade instructions below)
- 1 pound Penne Pasta, cooked until Al Dente
- ½ stick of Butter
- 2 whole Lemons, juiced (I go for 1/2 cup of juice so if you have small lemons, you may need more lemons)
- ½ cups Heavy Cream
- ½ cups Half-and-half
- 1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano) (fresh grated is better than store bought grated, just use your food processor)
- Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
- 20 whole fresh Basil Leaves, chopped

Preparation:

1. They day before, marinate chicken for 24 hours (I forgot to marinate them early one time so only did it for 10 hours and they were still good ... but 24 hours is better). Ree (The Pioneer Woman) didn't give exact amounts at all for each of the marinade ingredients so I'm estimating how much I used. Pour all the ingredients into a gallon sized ziplock bag then add chicken.

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1/4 c. Olive oil

Juice of four lemons

1-2 tablespoons Dijon

1 tablespoon honey

A dash of salt

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2. When you are ready to actually make the meal, cook pasta in a large pot, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander. Mean while, grill marinated chicken, set aside and keep warm.

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3. In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 2-3 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-half. Whisk until nice and hot. Dump in cheese and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper.

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4. Add pasta to sauce and stir until pasta is totally covered. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed. (You probably won't have to use the whole cup of water, I use maybe 1/4 cup max). Add half of the chopped basil and stir to combine.

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5. Pour pasta and sauce into a large, pre-warmed serving bowl/dish. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts on top. Serve immediately!

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If you want to see step by step pictures and instructions, you can look at the original post of this recipe here. Sometimes those pictures are very helpful!

Jerk Chicken with Cilantro Mango Salsa

While on our honeymoon, our boat was re-routed after a hurricane hit St. Maarten and we ended up going to Jamaica for half a day. While there, we ate at a tasty little local place called the Pork Pit. They had some of the best tasting Jamaican Jerk Pork/Chicken that either of us ever tasted.

In attempts to re-created the tasty memory of what we shared together, and, to complete my goal of making 3 gluten free receipes this month, I made this yummy Jerk Chicken recipe last night. It has a nice blend of the spices/brown sugar and enough punch to satisfy Chas' desire for fire hot food. The mango salsa was a nice touch because, for wimps like me, it tamed down the hotness of the jerk spices.



Enjoy!

Recipe from www.glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com

JERK CHICKEN WITH CILANTRO MANGO SALSA (from Karen Robertson's always-great Cooking Gluten-free!, p. 59):


2 whole chicken breasts
1/ 2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/4 cup brown sugar, tightly packed


Combine all the spices. Coat the chicken breasts in the spices. Ideally, you should grill them. But since I don't have a barbeque, or a place to keep it, I sauteed them in the pan with good olive oil. Damned juicy. Especially good if you top it with the cilantro/mango salsa:


2 cups peeled, chopped mango
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
juice from 1 lime.


BLACK BEAN SALAD (ALSO FROM COOKING GLUTEN-FREE!, p. 130)


2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
4 scallions, finely chopped (those are green onions, in case you are confused)
1 cup red and green peppers, finely chopped
1 cup of corn kernels
4 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro
2 jalapeno peppers, finely minced
juice of 2 limes
2 avocadoes, chopped
Mix it all together. Salt and pepper to taste. That's it.


Note: I ended up mixing both the ingredients from the black bean salad and the mango salsa together, and it wad delicious! I also used a vegetable mix since I didn't have just corn, and I think it still worked just fine.

Shrimp Salad

A friend of mine who is a personal trainer introduced me to http://www.skinnytaste.com/ and so far I have loved all the recipes I have tried from her blog. She even has a gluten free section, which makes it nice for people like me.

I found this tasty little appetizer and tried it a few weeks ago. I had to share since it really was so tasty. You can have it in a sandwich too, if you want.

As appetizer: Servings: 30 • Serving Size: 1 piece • Points: 0 pts
Calories: 15.7 • Fat: 0.4 g • Protein: 2.5 g • Carb: 0.5 g • Fiber: 0.1 g

As Lunch: Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1/4 lb salad plus 1/4 cucumber • Points: 2 pts
Calories: 117.5 • Fat: 2.8 g • Protein: 18.8 g • Carb: 3.7 g • Fiber: 1.0 g


3/4 lb cooked shrimp, peeled (weight after peeled)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 tbsp red onion, chopped
2 tbsp light mayonnaise (I used Hellmann's)
1 tbsp fat free Greek yogurt
Goya Adobo
salt and fresh ground pepper
30 thin slices cucumber (about 1 large)
chopped chives for garnish
Combine shrimp, celery, onion, mayonnaise, yogurt, and season to taste with adobo and pepper. Arrange cucumbers on a platter, season with salt and top each slice with a heaping tablespoon of shrimp salad. Top with chopped chives for garnish.