Summer corn salad

Super-simple fresh salad.

Ingredients:
1 can of corn (or a few ears of fresh corn
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1 bunch green onions, diced
splash of vinegar
splash of lime juice

Directions: 
Mix!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

One of the things I've been craving the most since going GF is Chinese food. We have the best neighborhood Chinese restaurant ever. The Cleveland Wok. I miss it sooo much. I've learned that La Choy brand sauces are all GF, so I've used some of those. Here is my Sweet and Sour Chicken:

 

Ingredients:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 jar of La Choy Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 can of diced pineapple

2 green peppers, chopped in large pieces

1/2 large white onion, chopped in large pieces

cooked white rice

Directions:
Fry the chicken in a little oil until almost cooked through. Add the veggies, pineapple and the sauce. Heat through and cook until veggies are desired consistency (I like them still crunchy).

Serve on top of white rice.

Chicken Stir-Fry

Since going GF, I've really missed Chinese food. Rice, veggies and meat are all GF....but a lot of times the sauces (including soy sauce) contain gluten. I discovered that La Choy sauces are gluten-free! Here is a listing of the available sauces. This meal was so easy, I used the Stir-Fry sauce for this one, I have also tried the Teriyaki and Sweet and Sour sauces.

Ingredients:
2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bottle La Choy Stir Fry sauce
2 cups cooked rice
assorted chopped veggies (I used onion, broccoli, green pepper, mushrooms, and carrots)

Directions:
Cut up the chicken and cook in a large fry pan with a little oil. When chicken is done, add the veggies and sauce and heat until veggies are soft and hot. Cook rice (I use a rice cooker - best invention ever). Eat!

Semi-homemade tortellini with red sauce

I had never tried any of the Buitoni fresh pastas, and decided to give it a try. I purchased the Sweet Italian Sausage Tortelloni (http://www.buitoni.com/products/#/tortelloni/sweet-italian-sausage-tortelloni) and made a semi-homemade sauce for it.

I sauteed diced green and red pepper and onion in EVOO and added a clove of garlic. I added a can of diced tomatoes, 1 tsp. of sugar, a pinch of salt and some Italian Seasoning.

Serve atop the cooked tortelloni with fresh Parmesan cheese. Deliciouso!

Teriyaki Pork Chops with Pineapple and Peppers

I originally got this recipe from Rachael Ray, but I've modified it a little. I love pineapple and this recipe really has a great, unique flavor. 

Ingredients:
1 cup of gluten-free chicken broth
EVOO
4 boneless pork chops
S/P
1 large can of pineapple rings, quartered
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 orange pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
juice of 2 limes
few dashes of tabasco or spicy sauce
3 Tbsp. honey

Directions:
Heat some EVOO in a large saute pan, season the pork chops with S/P and add to the skillet. Cook until done. Transfer to a plate. Add a little more EVOO to the skillet, add the pineapple and bell peppers and cook until crisp-tender and the pineapple is browning at the edges, 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer the peppers and pineapple to the pork plate. Lower the heat under the skillet to medium high heat and add 1 cup chicken stock, teriyaki sauce, lime juice, tabasco, and honey. Cook until reduced by about half. Add the pork and peppers and pineapple back to the pan to reheat through. Simmer for 5 minutes.

I served it with couscous with scallions (for GF I'd recommend quinoa or rice)

Greek Lemon Chicken

Luke and I were lucky enough to travel to Greece for our honeymoon - it's the most beautiful place on earth, with the best food I've ever had. I love fresh Greek salads, lemons, herbs, vinegar - all of it.  My sister made this recipe a while back and posted pictures of it - it looked so good I had to try it. The recipe is from Pampered Chef and is fairly simple.  

 Greek Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 large cloves of garlic, pressed

2-3 tsp. dried oregano leaves

3/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

2 medium baking potatoes

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces

1 medium red onion, cut into wedges

8 oz. fresh whole mushrooms

4 split chicken breast halves (I used boneless, could use bone-in)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 1 qt. bowl, combine lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil. Press garlic into lemon mixture. Add oregano, salt, black pepper and set aside. Cut each potato lengthwise into 8 wedges; place in a 9 x 13 baker. Add bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, half of the lemon juice mix, toss to coat. Place chicken on top of vegetables; brush with the remaining lemon juice mixture. Bake 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through, basting chicken and vegetables with pan juices after 30 minutes.

Pepper steak

This is one of my absolute favorites, it's my mom's recipe and I make it all the time. You can use stew meat - which is already cut in small pieces, but I usually buy round eye steak and slice it myself. You can brown in by itself....but I generally brown it in 2 Tbsp. of butter - it really adds a great flavor.

Pepper Steak

3 cups cooked rice
1 pound round steak, sliced
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic, pressed or crushed
1 1/2 cups gluten-free beef broth
1 cup sliced green onions
2 green peppers, cut into strips
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce (or Bragg's Liquid Aminos if GF)
1 can diced tomatoes (or two large tomatoes, diced)

Cut steak into thin strips, sprinkle meat with paprika, let stand. Brown meat in butter. Add garlic and beef broth.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in onions and peppers, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Blend cornstarch, water and soy sauce. Stir into pan until thickened. Add tomatoes, heat through. Serve over rice.

Sausage & Peppers

Sausage and peppers....or sausage and peepers - as Joe and Luke call it. This has become one of my all time favorite meals. This recipe is excellent - it's fairly easy and quick. The blend of spicy and sweet make it unique and the aroma is really enticing.

Recipe:
1 lb. Italian sausage links (Johnsonville Italian Sausage is gluten-free)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1 yellow pepper, cut in thin strips
1 orange pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 white onion, cut in thin strips
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes


Slice sausage, brown in olive oil. Add pressed garlic and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir until sugar melts. Add peppers and onions and salt and pepper. Saute until veggies are limp. Add tomatoes and remaining sugar and red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 more minutes. Serve over GF rigatoni with Parmesan cheese.