Antipasto Salad

This is a fresh summer side dish that you can adjust to the tastes of your family.

Antipasto Salad

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

*can be wheat free if you use wheat free pasta

*can be soy free if you make your own vinaigrette/dressing

*if you use pepperoni, make sure that it is not cross contaminated if cut in the deli (ask them to clean the machine for you)

Ingredients

16 oz. bow tie pasta (or something similar if using wheat free pasta), cooked

3/4 bottle of Kraft Italian Dressing (I like the one that says no artificial preservatives on the bottle...Kraft Seven Seas Viva Italian also only contains soy) *make your own dressing for soy free version

1 can of kidney beans, rinsed

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed

1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half (you could always use tomatoes from the garden also

small box of frozen green beans, cooked

1 can of pitted olives, drained and cut in half

1 green pepper, chopped

1 yellow or purple onion, chopped

4 oz of pepperoni (I bought Boarshead already prepackaged that did not have nitrites or nitrates), cut into small pieces *leave out pepperoni for a vegetarian version

Put all ingredients in a large bowl, stir and put in the refrigerator so the flavors come together.

Serve cold. Enjoy!

Orzo Salad

We went over to a friend's house the other night for dinner and they made this wonderful, fresh salad. It is perfect as a side dish or add grilled chicken and it could stand on its own.

Orzo Salad

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish
*can be free of wheat if you substitute wheat free pasta instead of orzo

Ingredients
Orzo (or wheat free pasta could be substituted)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
8 campari tomatoes, sliced (or whatever fresh tomatoes you have- if they don’t look good, just increase canned)
1 can water packed artichoke hearts, drained or can use frozen
2 Tbsp capers, drained
½ cup kalamata olives, halved
2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme (grow some in your garden, it can be used for tons of things)
¼ c chopped fresh parsley
¼ c dry white wine (could skip this)
Splash of red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Cook orzo (or wheat free pasta) according to pkg directions in salted water. Drain but reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid.

In large skillet, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté onion for 5 minutes till soft and caramelizing. Add garlic for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, artichokes, capers, olives and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes start to soften- about 8-10 minutes adding wine last 5 minutes and reduce. Add pasta, stirring in- add a generous drizzle of olive oil until it is a nice texture. Toss and add pasta water if it is too dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or room temp. Stir in parsley before serving to keep nice green color

*If you are going to serve a lot of people, go ahead and make the full pound of orzo, but for a small family, you could just use a cup of orzo and cut everything in half…

Summer Spinach Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing

The weather has been beautiful! Last night we had a barbecue out on our deck and we enjoyed this salad yummy salad with BBQ chicken, baked beans, corn on the cob and fruit tea.

Summer Spinach Salad

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Salad

1 bag of spinach leaves

1 container of fresh strawberries, sliced

2 ripe bananas, sliced

1 small can of mandarin oranges in their own juice, drained (I didn't have this on hand last night so you won't see it in the picture, but this is a great addition if you have it)

Directions

In a salad bowl, combine ingredients, serve dressing (below) on the side)

Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup onion

2 Tbsp + 2 tsp red wine vinegar

2 1/2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground mustard

1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Directions

Place ingredients in blender or food processor. Blend. Serve with salad.

Cilantro Lime Coleslaw

Here is an easy side that has lots of color and is full of flavor.

Cilantro Lime Coleslaw

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp lime juice (usually 1-2 limes)

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp crushed red pepper

a dash of coarse salt and pepper

1/2 bag of coleslaw

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

In a bowl combine first six ingredients and whisk together until blended. Add the coleslaw and cilantro and mix well.

*This can be made ahead and chilled in the refrigerator

*Most of the time, I double this recipe so we have leftovers (or if we are going to have guests for dinner)

Pasta Salad

I love pasta salad because it is so versatile (and can be personalized to satisfy your family's taste). It is also a great way to get those veggie servings in. You can throw in pretty much whatever you have on hand. It is perfect during the summer when you have excess from your garden and are trying to figure out what to do with it. This dish can also be a meal if you throw in grilled chicken.

Pasta Salad


This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish (the salad dressing contains soy)

Ingredients

Tri-colored pasta (Tinkyada Vegetable Spirals is a Gluten Free option)

Safe Italian Dressing (I have found that Kraft Italian only contains soy)

broccoli florets (raw or steamed)

onion, chopped (yellow or purple..purple adds color)

black olives (I cut mine in half for the kids)

*Other options

-cucumber, diced

-grape tomatoes or regular tomato seeded and diced

-sweet pepper (any color), diced

-squash, diced

-zucchini, diced

-fresh herbs-basil, dill, etc.

*optional
grilled chicken sliced, or diced


This is a great "all in one" meal to take to a picnic. Enjoy this beautiful weather!

Oven Fries

I don't feel as bad serving these homemade fries that are baked and still have the skin on them :)

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for drizzling)

4-5 medium potatoes (I used Russet potatoes), cleaned and cut into french fry size pieces

coarse salt and pepper

*Optional: other seasonings, I like Weber Grill Creations Roasted Garlic and Herb

Directions

Cut potato into french fry size pieces

drizzle with olive oil

Bake on 400 degrees until cooked through and crispy. Approximately 25-30 minutes.

These are great with Super Sloppy Joes! In my opinion, this is perfect "American Idol watching" food :) My 3 year old really looks forward to watching it.

Baked Beans

We are busy in the kitchen making all of our food for an early Christmas Eve. Baked beans might be a weird combination for most to have with Christmas dinner, but our tradition is to have the Honeybaked Ham, baked beans, pasta salad, my grandmother's potato salad (which is FULL of allergens), tons of appetizers, lots of sweets, Rudolph Slush and Apple Cider. We do not do a fancy sit down dinner, we just grab plates, fill them up and continue to pick and eat throughout the night (since we do our activities on Christmas Eve). On Christmas day, we open stockings and have all of the leftovers...which is great....one day of cooking, and the next day you are off. Hope your holiday cooking is going GREAT!

Baked Beans

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

3 31 oz cans of beans or you need about 90 oz beans

*I sometimes use Bush's Vegetarian beans

2/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup molasses (Grandma's molasses unsulphured original is Gluten Free)

2 Tbsp Worcestershire (this contains fish..so just omit if you need to)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

a squirt or two of ketchup

* optional: you can put a 3 slices of bacon on top



*just half recipe if you want to make an 8x8 pan of beans



Combine all ingredients, and put in a 13x9 pan. Lay bacon on top (if using) and bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Spiced Apples

This is a side that we love! It goes great with pork, baked chicken, you name it...it is GOOD! It is basically a homemade, chunky applesauce served warm (you could always serve it cold if you prefer). The kids love it and it is really yummy mixed into some oatmeal the next morning...that is, IF you have any leftover :)

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Spiced Apples

Ingredients
1/2 cup honey
1 cup water
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

4-6 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and sliced)

Directions

In a medium skillet, combine the first 6 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered until slightly thickened. Add the apples; simmer, uncovered until apples are just tender, stirring gently.

Corn Muffins

Corn Bread Muffins

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups corn meal

1 1/4 cups safe flour (you can use oat flour by grinding up old fashioned oats)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups rice (or soy milk)

3 tbsp. oil

1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Directions

Mix all of the dry ingredients. Add rice milk, oil, vinegar and mix well. In a greased muffin pan, (I used a mini muffin pan because my kids like the corn bread bite-sized) fill each cup full of corn bread batter. Bake at 400 for approximately 8 minutes.

*For regular sized corn muffins bake at 400 for 20 minutes

*For corn bread, pour into a greased 8x8 pan and bake at 400 for 25 minutes

*If you want moister corn muffins, throw in a 8.5 oz can of Golden Cream Style Sweet Corn (Ingredients: corn, water, sugar, modified corn starch, salt) and a few drizzels of unprocessed, all natural, local honey. These were REALLY good!

This recipe is from Sophie Safe Cooking

Sweet Potato Casserole

I wanted to share another recipe that has been part of our family tradition for as long as I can remember. We had to change the recipe a little bit to make it "safe" but it is still delicious!

My mom is helping me out again today :)

This recipe is from my best friend's (Connie) husband's (Harv) grandmother (old southern Georgia recipe!) Yeah, that is confusing! :) *This recipe has been tweaked to make it safe! A couple of ingredients like eggs & pecans have been left out; butter & milk have been replaced with safe substitutes! Yummy! :)

-Terri

Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

8 medium sweet potatoes

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 bag small marshmallows (Elyon mini marshmallows from Whole Foods are GF, but have fish gelatin in it)

1/2 stick Earth Balance butter (or 1/4 c. Smart Balance Light, vegan spread)*, melted

1 - 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits (drained or save to replace soy milk if you want)

5 oz. rice or soy milk/rice milk*

1 1/2 c. coconut (coconut is safe for people with tree nut allergies, read about it HERE) OR you don't have to use it

1 tsp. gluten free vanilla

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Topping

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 c. corn flakes (crushed)

1/2 stick Earth Balance butter melted

1/2 c. brown sugar

Boil sweet potatoes 20-30 minutes until fork tender. Drain and run cold water over them till cool enough to handle. Peel potatoes and put in a large bowl and mix with mixer till smooth. (If you want more of a pineapple taste, omit soy milk and add drained pineapple juice from tidbits instead) . Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Then add combined topping ingredients sprinkled on top and bake for 10 more minutes.

Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish

I asked my mom to share this recipe with you all, so here you go...It is always on our Thanksgiving table.

This recipe came from my grandmother (Mama-my dad's mom); although in her recipe, it was never cooked. In the last couple of years, I tweaked it by adding the cinnamon stick and cooking it (after stumbling upon another similar recipe). It seems that when you cook it, it takes out the bitterness of the berries and turns it into a sweet-tart beautiful ruby-colored dish that is oh so good!
-Terri

Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients
1 - bag (12 oz.) cranberries
1 - medium orange
1 - large Red Delicious Apple
1/2 cup natural sugar (less processed than regular, white sugar)
1 cinnamon stick

Directions
Rinse & drain fruit. Slice unpeeled orange into 1/8's; remove any seeds. Core apple and cut into 1/4's. Place 1/2 cranberries, 1/2 orange, and 1/2 apple into food processor. Pulse until the pieces of fruit are small; remove from processor and place in a medium bowl. Repeat process with the rest of the fruit; add to bowl. Add sugar stirring well. Now take all of the cranberry mixture and place it in a medium fry pan and spread it out and add the cinnamon stick. Cook on medium heat stirring constantly for about 10-15 minutes. It should have a ruby-red appearance! Now let it cool; place in a beautiful, small clear glass bowl to show it off! (Cool in refrigerator while you are cooking the rest of your Thanksgiving meal!) Serve & enjoy! (Serves 8-10)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This is another side dish that is great for Thanksgiving (this is one of the dishes, along with Green Bean Casserole that I will be bringing to my mom's on Thursday), but we also eat this with lots of dinner dishes (example: Chicken Marsala...I need to post this one soon, SO GOOD!). It's easy, yummy and the kiddos love it!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients
5 lbs of potatoes, peeled and cubed
4-6 cloves of garlic, pressed (depending on how much garlic flavor you want)
2 tablespoons of safe butter

splash of white wine

Rice milk (or Soy milk)..OR use chicken or vegetable broth...use what you need to get the consistency that you want
Coarse ground pepper (to taste)
Coarse ground salt (to taste)
I seasoned with Weber Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoning (ingredients: DEHYDRATED GARLIC, SALT, SWEET RED PEPPER, SPICES, NATURAL FLAVOR)
2 tablespoons snipped chives (optional)


Directions
Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, saute garlic in safe butter and a splash of white wine (let alcohol cook off).

Drain potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl; add the garlic. Beat until smooth (or if you prefer your mashed potatoes chunkier, just mash with a potato masher). Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Season to taste.

Safe Green Bean Casserole

My brother and cousin came into town this week and we did an early Thanksgiving (we will be doing it again next week also...my in-laws are coming in town). It was great because I got to try out a couple of safe recipes and see if they were good enough for next week. I normally make the Campbell's Green Bean Casserole, but couldn't this year because of the milk allergy (there is milk in the canned cream of mushroom), so I came across this recipe, changed it a little and it was AWESOME!

Green Bean Casserole

*This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Cream of Mushroom Soup
olive oil (to saute mushrooms in)
1 lb. sliced mushrooms (any kind you prefer)
6 Tablespoons safe butter (I use Earth's Balance)

2 cups safe chicken/vegetable broth

Splash of white wine (alcohol will cook off, but leave you a yummy flavor)
2 cups rice milk (I used soy..or sub whatever milk you can have)
6 Tablespoons flour (sweet rice flour preferably, but brown rice flour will work ok also) OR use regular unbleached flour if you can
1 teaspoon dry mustard
coarse ground salt (to taste)
coarse ground pepper (to taste)

1 Tablespoon Organic Tamari Wheat Free Soy Sauce

Approximately 2 lbs of fresh green beans, cleaned and cut into 2 inch pieces (I used frozen green beans)

Homemade Gluten Free French Fried Onions (I used Trader Joe's Gourmet Fried Onion Pieces...they contain wheat OR French's French Fried Onion Original...they have wheat and soy)

Directions

To start this recipe, I would prepare the french fried onions. It would be smart to prepare these in advance and store them in an air-tight container, so you are not stuck in the kitchen for longer than you have to be.

First, saute your mushrooms in olive oil and set aside. Next, prepare your cream of mushroom soup. Start by melting your butter in a large saucepan and once the butter starts to bubble, add your flour. Then add your spices- I chose dry mustard, salt and pepper. Once the roux has cooked/bubbled for a few minutes, add your milk and chicken/vegetable broth and splash of white wine. Whisk until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, add your mushrooms back in.
At this point, cook your green beans for 4-5 minutes until bright green (if using frozen, cook them partially). Strain the water from the green beans. Once they are done, put the green beans in a 13x9 casserole dish.

Top with the French Fried Onions.

Bake for about 35 minutes on 350 degrees or until bubbly.

*If using French Fried Onions, mix some in with the casserole and then sprinkle some more on the top for the last 5 minutes of baking.

This will make a huge 13x9 casserole!

I prefered this recipe over the Campbells!

Recipe Adapted From Gluten Free Mommy