Wheat-Free Blueberry Scones

I've really been craving scones lately, and since I had some fresh blueberries on hand, I decided to experiment with wheat-free blueberry scones. The recipe (from Petit Foodie)  that I followed sounded good, but I added a few of my own twists. With the addition of quinoa flour, oat flour, vanilla bean paste, and greek yogurt, I think I found a winner. Mind you, because I used spelt flour these are wheat-free, but not totally free of gluten. You can try using just oat flour in place of the spelt flour for gluten-free.


 


Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free oat flour
1/3 cup quinoa flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp agave nectar
1/4 cup baking truvia sugar (or you can use 1/2 cup white sugar, or omit completely)
8 tbsp cold butter (1 stick, chopped)
3/4 cup almond milk (or any milk you like)
1/4 cup greek yogurt
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp lemon
1 egg white (for glazing)
raw sugar for sprinkling
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter (or process in food processor) until pea-sized lumps form. Add in lemon juice, vanilla bean paste, greek yogurt, and milk, and mix until just incorporated. Fold in blueberries and move dough onto a floured surface and pat down to an 8-10 inch circle. Cut into 8 triangles and place onto baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly baste beaten egg white on each scone and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake 15 min, until golden.

Italian Wedding Soup

This soup is our new favorite. After making spaghetti and meatballs, I like to save half of the meatballs and make this Italian wedding soup the next day. I like to add a bit of lemon, to give it a little bit of tanginess. I also break up the meatballs so I can get a bit in each bite of soup. This soup can be made gluten free if you use gluten free pasta. Sprinkle freshly grated parmesan on top and this soup can make a perfect end to a cold day.

 


Ingredients:

 leftover meatballs , cut into fourths
1 box of organic chicken broth
1 can of organic diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup chopped organic carrots
1/4 cup chopped organic onions
1 cup dry whole wheat orzo pasta (or quinoa pasta)
1 tbsp chopped basil
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp dry basil juice of half a lemon
2 cups organic fresh spinach
fresh parmesan cheese

Saute chopped carrots and onions on medium-low heat, until onions are translucent. Add box of chicken broth and water, garlic, dry and fresh basil, parsley, and allow to gently cook one medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add in pasta and continue to cook on medium heat until the pasta is al dente. Turn heat to low, add drained diced tomatoes, spinach, chopped meatballs, and lemon juice. Allow to cook until spinach is wilted, and serve with parmesan cheese on top.

Spaghetti Squash and Turkey Meatballs (GF)

This is one of my go-to comfort food meals, and the best part: it's super healthy. It's so delicious that my husband (the man who doesn't eat healthy foods) loves it. This could fool even the most skeptical critic. The marinara sauce covers the taste of the spaghetti squash so that it tastes exactly like pasta. One of my favorite secrets to making jarred spaghetti sauce taste better is to add a splash of red wine while heating it on the stove. Then I toss it on the spaghetti squash, throw some mozzarella cheese on top, and bake it in the oven so it's cheesy and delicious. The best part is that you can save half the meatballs for another meal later on in the week, like Italian Wedding Soup or as meat in greek gyros.


 


Ingredients:

 FOR MEATBALLS:

1 package lean ground turkey (20 oz.)
2 egg whites 2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup finely diced white onion (I used 1 tsp. onion powder because the husband hates onions)
1 tbsp. fresh chopped basil (you can use dried if you like)
1 tsp. garlic granules
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
dash of cayenne or red pepper flakes

1 whole spaghetti squash
1 jar of organic spaghetti sauce (homemade recipe coming soon)
1/4-1/2 cup fresh cubed or grated mozzarella cheese

 Whisk egg whites and chopped garlic together in a bowl and allow to sit for 15 minutes. In another bowl add turkey, parmesan cheese, almond meal, onion, basil, garlic granules, salt, pepper, cayenne, and egg mixture. Gently mix until just incorporated (you may have to use your hands). Be careful not to over mix, you don't want the turkey to be tough after cooked. You can also add more almond meal if the mixture is too wet.

Roll turkey into 1 1/2 inch balls and set in fridge for an hour. (I do this to allow the ingredients to stick together better, though it's not necessary).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Carefully cut spaghetti squash in half, drizzle with olive oil or spray with cooking spray, place on baking sheet (cut side facing down), and bake for 30 minutes or until it's tender. Remove and allow to cool.

When the meatballs have set for an hour, cook them on medium heat in a sauté pan, turning every minute or so to ensure that all sides get brown. This should take about 15 minutes or so.

Once the meatballs are cooked through, carefully (and on low heat, to avoid splatter) add the spaghetti sauce, making sure to scrape up any turkey bits from the bottom of the pan - this will make the sauce even tastier. Then, take a fork to the spaghetti squash and scrape away the insides. The squash will start to come apart, thus looking like "spaghetti noodles".

Place the squash noodles in a baking dish, and top with the meatballs and spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese (maybe even more parmesan and basil!) and bake at 400 until cheese is melted.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is not for the faint of heart-it contains two sticks of butter. Two, deliciously melted (and browned!) sticks of butter that make these cookies taste unreal. I followed this recipe with a few changes of my own. I used spelt flour instead of unbleached flour, and I used two Ghirardelli chocolate bars (chopped up into little bits) in place of the chocolate chips, and I added the hot browned butter straight to the sugars to create a caramelized taste. I also allowed the dough to sit in the fridge for a few hours, so that the flavors could marinate. These cookies are best eaten straight out of the oven, or within a day of baking (in my opinion!).

 


Ingredients:

 1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or any flour you wish)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 chopped Ghirardelli chocolate bars

 Add sugars to a heat proof bowl. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat, stirring frequently for 5-7 minutesuntil it just starts to brown and changes to an amber color. Once butter browns, transfer to bowl of sugars, mix and let cool completely.
Once cooled, add eggs and vanilla to butter and sugar, mixing well. In a separate bowl add flour, baking soda, and salt, mixing well. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mix until dough forms. Fold in chopped chocolate, cover bowl, and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.
 Preheat oven to 350 and roll dough into 1 - 1 1/2 inch balls. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies just barely begin to brown. You want them to look a bit undercooked, so that they're perfectly chewy once cooled.

Mini Quiches with Veggies

One of my biggest problems when I'm in a hurry in the morning is grabbing something sufficient enough for breakfast. Fruit doesn't hold me over, though grabbing a banana on the go sounds tempting. I came across the idea of baking eggs in a muffin tin on Pinterest and decided to add my own spin to it. These are great for making ahead, you can refrigerate them or even freeze them until you're ready to heat them up. Plus, it holds you over and you get a bit of nutrients from the veggies. You can add any vegetables/herbs you have on hand. I happened to have spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, and green onions. I also add parmesan cheese and feta on top for extra flavor.

 

 Ingredients:

 5 eggs, beaten (I sometimes do 3 eggs with yolks and 3 egg whites)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/8 cup parmesan cheese
1/8 cup feta cheese (crumbled)
Use a 12 muffin baking tin

 Preheat oven to 350, beat the eggs in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside. Generously spray a muffin tin with cooking spray so the eggs don't stick. Evenly separate all veggies into each muffin tin. Evenly disperse egg mixture into tins and sprinkle parmesan and feta atop each one. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until eggs are no longer jiggly.
You don't want to overcook! Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before taking quiches out of tin. Enjoy with avocado toast (with whole wheat or gluten free bread) or fresh fruit.

 

Kale and Spinach Salad

This salad is super simple, high in vitamins, and delicious. I usually combine whatever salad ingredients I have on-hand, this salad in particular containing organic kale, organic spinach, thinly sliced red onion, toasted pine nuts, crumbled feta, fresh basil, and organic cherry tomatoes. I made an easy lemon vinaigrette to go with the salad, making sure to allow the kale to sit in the vinaigrette for at least 30 minutes (raw kale can be very tough, and allowing it to marinate tenderizes the kale). This salad would also be very delicious with homemade croutons and/or parmesan cheese.






Ingredients: (per serving)

1 cup chopped kale leaves (washed and dried)
1 cup chopped spinach leaves (washed and dried)
1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1-2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1-2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

 For Vinaigrette:

 Juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped basil
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of granulated garlic (or fresh chopped garlic)

 Add all vinaigrette ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Wash and chop kale leaves and add to a bowl. Add chopped cherry tomatoes and vinaigrette, toss and allow to marinate for 30 minutes. Then add chopped spinach, onions, pine nuts, and feta cheese, toss and add salt and pepper as needed. That's it!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza (GF)

I decided to try making cauliflower crust pizza a few weeks ago and loved it. This time around, I added my own spin to the recipe I had followed. To my surprise, my husband even liked it. Don't get me wrong, it definitely doesn't make an exact substitute for regular, yeasty and yummy pizza crust. But it's a great low carb and gluten free alternative if you're watching your waist line. For the pizza toppings, I made two completely different flavors. One pizza had pesto sauce, mozzarella, fresh sliced tomatoes, and basil. The other had olive oil, mozzarella, onions, spinach, and I drizzled it with truffle oil right out of the oven. I actually preferred the taste of the pesto and tomato pizza with the cauliflower crust, which is surprising because I LOVE truffle oil. Nonetheless, both pizzas were delicious and I will be making this pizza crust WAY more often.



Ingredients for crust:

1/2 a head of cauliflower, chopped
2 egg whites
1 clove of minced garlic (or 1 tsp garlic granules)
1 tablespoon finely chopped basil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup almond meal
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper

 In a pot steam the 1/2 head of chopped cauliflower until it's soft. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher until it reaches "riced" consistency (the cauliflower will look like white rice). Carefully put the rices cauliflower in a thin towel or cheese cloth, and wrap up, twisting and squeezing out excess water. Squeeze hard, you want the cauliflower to be dry.

Once cooled, add in clove of chopped garlic, egg whites, parmesan, almond meal, basil, salt, and pepper. (You can add in any seasonings you like, oregano, cayenne, etc). If the 'dough' is too sticky, you can add more almond meal or parmesan, but it should be fairly wet so that you can mold it into crust. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if you have pizza stone, place in oven as it's heating to ensure that it's nice and hot when the dough is ready to bake.

 On a piece of WELL greased (or  sprayed with cooking spray) parchment paper, mold the 'dough' into 5-6 inch rounds and place onto baking sheet or pizza stone. Bake about 20-30 minutes, or until the crust is starting to brown around the edges. It will look burned, but the outside needs to get dark for the inner part of the pizzas to be crunchy. Remove from oven and cover with pizza toppings. Return to oven until cheese is melted and enjoy.