Wordless Wednesday

Family Approved Gluten Free Cookbook Winner Has Been Chosen!

I'm excited to announce that a winner has been chosen for the Family Approved Gluten Free Cookbook! This giveaway was a quick one, with only a week to answer, but the response was still incredible. Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. If you didn't win this time, no worries because I have another great giveaway in store for September's cookbook of the month. The post announcing September's cookbook went up this morning, and the giveaway will be posted later this month, so keep checking back!

The winner of the August cookbook of the month is Simran S. Check your email!

September's Cookbook: Naturally Sweet & Gluten Free by Ricki Heller

Naturally Sweet & Gluten-Free
Allergy-Friendly Vegan Desserts

Naturally Sweet & Gluten-Free will prove that you can have your cake and great health too! The desserts and other baked goods found in this book were inspired by the author’s decision, after decades of baking and indulging in unhealthy sweets, to radically heed her body’s wake-up call and radically alter her diet.
The book features:
- 100 dessert recipes all free of gluten, eggs, and dairy; many are also soy-free (or offer a soy-free option), corn-free (all but one!), and nut-free (or offer a nut-free option)
- Comprehensive introductory matter, including helpful information on: ingredients, tips & techniques, tools & bake ware, and an at-a glance pantry list
- The author’s first book, Sweet Freedom, is listed on Ellen
DeGeneres’s Web site as one of her top vegan cookbook picks

This is the first time I've chosen a dessert book for the cookbook of the month, but this one just looked too good to be true. I make no secret about the fact that this blog exists specifically because my son needs to be gluten free, and that's what I focus on, but he also has issues with dairy. I also know that many people who are gluten free also have other food restrictions to deal with, and this book offers desserts free from gluten, dairy, eggs, or refined sugar, which I think may be of interest to many of you who read the blog.

This book is being released this month, and I'm excited to announce that not only do I have an interview planned with the author, I will also have a physical copy of the book to give away to one of you! If you're interested in hearing Ricki Heller speak, she will be at the Toronto Gluten Free Expo this weekend.  

 

 

Recipe: Gluten Free Eggplant Cannelloni

Traditional cannelloni is made with pasta noodles, but I wanted to put a lighter spin on things and omit the pasta altogether for a naturally gluten free dish. I've mentioned before that my  husband took some convincing before he came around to enjoying eggplant, but now he's a convert! These are so easy to make, yet they look complicated and fancy. One large eggplant made 10 rolls, which is enough for my family. The recipe could easily be doubled or more. I use homemade tomato sauce, but if you're buying from a jar, one jar should be enough. Or, buy a jar of strained tomatoes, add some garlic, basil, olive oil and salt to the tomatoes in a sauce pot, and simmer until flavours are combined. A little bit of tomato paste can thicken things up.

Eggplant Cannelloni

Ingredients

1 jar tomato sauce, put aside

1 large eggplant
1 container (475g) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup good quality grated Parmesan cheese
1 bunch baby spinach, washed and stems trimmed, roughly chopped (or 1 box frozen spinach, thawed and well drained)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F


1- Thinly slice clean eggplant lengthwise (to get long strips, not rounds) and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and let stand 10 minutes. This draws out the bitter taste. Wipe off salt with a paper towel. Place eggplant in preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

2- While eggplants are baking, heat tomato sauce to a simmer.  In a frying pan, sauté spinach and garlic until spinach is wilted. Turn off heat. If there is any liquid in the pan, drain it.

3- Add ricotta, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper to spinach. Stir to combine.

4- Place about 2 tablespoons of spinach and ricotta mixture on a slice of eggplant, about a quarter of the way down from the top. Roll eggplant around mixture, and secure with a toothpick. Place in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining slices. When finished, ladle tomato sauce over eggplant rolls. Top with more grated parmesan, if desired.

5- Bake for 10 minutes, or until heated through. Serve immediately or place in fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.

Gluten Free Weekly Menu Plan

Monday: Vegetarian Eggplant Cannelloni 










Tuesday: Stir Fried Pork & Vegetables











Wednesday: Turkey Breast Roast & Roast Vegetables









Thursday: Roast Chicken & Vegetable Soup
















Friday: Roasted Vegetable Wraps w/Goat Cheese & Sundried Tomato Pesto in GF Corn Tortillas  

Recipe: Simple Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Last weekend we went apple picking as a family. We go to the same orchard every year, Pine Farms Orchard, because they have over 5000 dwarf trees, meaning that this kids can reach the apples all on their own, without the use of a ladder.

We always end up picking more apples than we need, but I don't mind. There are so many recipes to make with apples, and they keep well, so I don't feel the need to cook them all at once.

I make some homemade apple sauce every year, click HERE for the recipe. This year I wanted to make some apple butter too. If you're not familiar with apple butter, it's a thicker version of apple sauce, used as a spread or a fruit dip.

It takes a long time to make on the stove, involving a lot of stirring. Since it takes so long, I don't make it every year.

Then I thought about the slow cooker, and wondered if I could just make some apple butter in there.
Turns out the answer is yes. I will never make it on the stove again. I will probably make my apple sauce this way too.


Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Ingredients

20 apples (any apples will work, depending on whether you want the butter sweet, or tart, etc.)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup water (optional, but I find it helps get the cooking started)
1/2 cup agave nectar (maple syrup, sugar, honey all work well. Optional)
Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

Directions

1. Wash, core, and cut apples into slices or chunks. I didn't peel mine. Instead, I blended the apple butter later with a stick blender.

2. Place apples, lemon juice, water, and agave (if using) into the slow cooker and stir to mix. Turn temperature to high, and cover.

3. I cooked my apple butter for four hours on high. Check every 30 minutes or so, giving the mixture a stir. Once the apples break down and it looks like apple sauce, blend with a stick blender until smooth. If you don't have a stick blender, you can blend in a blender once cooked and cooled. Add desired amount of cinnamon and nutmeg.

4- After four hours on high, I was happy with the consistency and thickness. Continue cooking until the mix reaches the desired consistency. Adjust seasonings.  Turn off slow cooker and let mixture cool enough to handle. Place in jars or in re-sealable freezer bags to freeze.

Enjoy your apple butter! It makes a great spread for bread or crackers, a sauce for pork, a dip for fruit, or a dessert topping.

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of Kindergarten! Mommy had a little cry before he left the house, but he walked into his class like a big boy.  I hope this means good things to come! I took several photos, but this was the only one that doesn't show the school name on his uniform.

August Cookbook Review: Family Approved Gluten Free Recipes & A Giveaway

Family Approved Gluten Free Recipes
by Pam Jordan

This Gluten Free cookbook contains simple recipes your family will love. The book highlights breakfast, appetizer, main dishes, side dishes, slow cooker and dessert recipes. This cookbook contains over 50 timesaving recipes that kids of all ages will love.

Pam Jordan is a working mom to three young kids and a Gluten Free blogger. Only meals that were eaten by her picky eaters are in the book! Recipes include apple pie, onion rings, greek yogurt pancakes, slow cooker lasagna, shepherd's pie, cheesecake, meatloaf, cake balls, baked ziti, pumpkin whoopie pies, and strawberry cake. The recipes take help from store bought Gluten Free product and every day items found in your pantry.

PURCHASE


Review

The author of this cookbook is a mother of young children, and so am I, and I'm always excited to try kid-friendly recipes. This is a shorter cookbook than some of the really long ones out there, but it still offers a nice range of recipes from breakfast, to mains, one pot meals, desserts, and more. The recipes are designed to be quick and easy to prepare. Some recipes ask for boxed flour or baking mixes, and I'm ok with that because while I do prepare stuff from scratch from time to time, on a day to day basis I need to get food on the table, fast. That often means buying a GF pie crust rather than always making one myself. Nothing wrong with that, especially since I have two kids under the age of five who need to be fed.

From this cookbook, I prepared: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (which have now become a staple in my house), Sausage Breakfast Skillet, Chicken Fried Rice, Parmesan Pork Chops, BBQ Chicken, Summer Veggie Medley, Sausage and Peppers, and the One Dish Wonder. The Lemon Squares are on my husband's wish list, and there are a few desserts I need to try!

True to the title, these recipes are family approved. My four year old ate everything without any complaint, and that's pretty impressive. Everything was simple to prepare, and the ingredients were pretty straightforward to find, except for the Bisquick GF mix, which I'm not sure is available in Canada. It didn't hold me back, though. There's nothing super fancy here, just quick and easy to prepare meals that most kids will enjoy.

This cookbook is great for families, but would also be wonderful for someone new to gluten free who isn't a strong cook to begin with. I get a lot of questions from people who just never learned to cook much growing up, and now are faced with learning how to do it gluten free. They want to enjoy familiar foods, but aren't sure how to prepare them. This book would be a great start.

Guess What? Pam Jordan has graciously offered to give a copy away to 1 lucky reader! Open to residents of Canada and the United States. Enter below.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pizza Slice Spice Winner!

The Pizza Slice Spice Givaway was a HUGE success, thanks to every one of you who entered to win! Thank you so much for reading the blog! 

Unfortunately, there could only be one winner, but I have plenty of fun giveaways planned, so keep checking back!

Congratulations to Kim L.B.

Check your email!

Gluten Free Weekly Menu Plan

Monday: Gluten Free Pasta Bake 















Tuesday: Pork Chops with Roast Cauliflower
(toss desired amount of cauliflower w/olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, & a touch of nutmeg. Bake at 375F for 20 min. or until beginning to brown on top.) 











Wednesday: Red Lentil Soup











Thursday: Shepherd's Pie  (RECIPE)











Friday: Garden Fresh Quinoa Salad (RECIPE) and Crustless Quiche