Category Archives: Gluten-Free

Creamed Jalapeño Corn

Creamy, corny yum…

I normally make roasted corn with jalapeños as a side dish for any Mexican meal because it’s JP’s favorite. This time, I decided to change it up a bit and add a creamy, cheesy component. Ever since I discovered the joys of low-carb living, adding cheese to meals is a welcome indulgence! Corn isn’t exactly low-carb, but I consider it a culinary “accessory”– a little goes a long way.

Ingredients

4 ears of corn on the cob, kernels sliced off

1 fresh jalapeño diced

4 oz full fat cream cheese (half a box)

1/4 cup – 1/2 cup heavy cream (depending on what consistency you want)

Palmful of chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tb olive oil

Directions: Saute corn and jalapeño in olive oil on medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. I like to crank up the heat a bit and get the corn a little charred, but that’s just me. Then add the cream cheese and heavy cream and stir until melted and combined. Top with fresh cilantro.

Shaken Taters…AKA the best damn roasted potatoes. Ever.

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Shake Your Money Maker!

Yes, that is my messy, 1970’s drab chic kitchen. Notice the box of wine and my Goodwill microwave. That’s how I roll, y’all! I digress.

I like my martinis and my potatoes SHAKEN, not stirred.

I grew up with a New England family who served rich roasts like pot roast and roast chicken every Sunday and there were always roast potatoes with thick gravy on the plate. My Mom, her mother and her mother before her all made roast potatoes the same way: Peel, boil, roast. And they were delicious. But I add a step.

SHAKE, baby SHAKE! The potato slam displaces the starch, so the insides stay soft and the outside gets crispi-fied. (Sorry Mom, Grandma Ronnie and Great Grandma Nea, but mine are waaaaaay better!)

Here’s how to make them. Preheat oven to 400. Peel and slice Yukon gold potatoes lengthwise like this:

Peel then slice

Then toss them into a big pot of boiling water for exactly 5 minutes. You want them to get a little tender, but not soft enough to mash. I always put a timer on or my ADD brain will get distracted and I’ll overcook them. 5 minutes. That’s it! Drain immediately.

Drain your taters!

OK, the fun part is about to start. Are you ready? Put the taters BACK INTO THE POT WITH THE LID ON.

Hold onto the top and sides and shakebabyshakebabyshake!! Like the classic Cars song goes, Shake it up! You’re gonna make the taters a little messy– that’s the whole plan. Trust me. Do it for a solid 30 seconds. You’re making the best potatoes of your life and getting a bicep workout. Your welcome!

There should be little bits of tater all over your lid after the shake!

Now, drizzle some olive oil in the pan and stir to coat. I pour the shaken taters onto a greased wide rimmed cookie sheet and sprinkle with some Montreal Steak Seasoning. I love that stuff. Bake for 20-25 minutes and then turn over. Bake another 20-25 minutes until thoroughly crispi-fied.

They’ll look like this:

Shaken Taters, baked and ready to eat

Shaken Taters are good enough to serve alone. Warning: Carb coma may occur.

Gluten-free, Dairy Free Orange Zested Chocolate Mousse

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Gluten-Free and Full of DELISH

Ever since I started having gluten issues, I’ve been experimenting with new dessert recipes, cuz pie crust and cookies ain’t my friend! This mousse is so easy and all you need is a blender to whip it into frothy deliciousness.

Ingredients

1 bag chocolate chips (or 12 oz of your favorite dark chocolate)

Juice from 1/4 of an orange

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tb Grand Marnier

4 eggs

8 oz hot coffee

Directions: Put everything except the hot coffee in a blender and blend for one minute. Mixture will be frothy and chunky. Turn blender back on add the 8oz of hot coffee until everything melts and combines– another minute or so.

Pour into your fave mousse cups and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Top with whipped cream (if you can eat dairy!), grated orange zest and grated dark chocolate.

SCRUMPTIOUS!

Salsas “del Toro” and Celebrity Free Passes

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Refreshing and Delicious Mango Salsa

I posted these recipes on my Facebook page over the summer, but these are great year round! Mango salsa is da bomb on fish tacos and the black bean salsa packs a flavor punch to burritos. Think Benecio del Toro on a plate. Is it getting caliente in here, or is it just me?

Delicioso

Benecio is my ‘celebrity free pass,’ by the way…any hot, rugged man with a last name that means “of the bull” is hawt. I won’t go into my personal thoughts about JP’s celebrity free pass choice of Megan (can’t act but sure has cute fake boobs) Fox.

It’s prolly no coincidence that Benecio actually looks like a Latino version of JP– with those brooding, hooded green eyes and full luscious lips. *sigh.

Pretty boys just don’t do it for me.

What’s on Parker’s Plate….

Hungry yet? I am!

MANGO SALSA

2-3 mangos diced

2 pinches of fresh chopped cilantro

1 jalapeño chopped (no seeds)

2 Tb red onion

Squeeze ½ lime

Mix together and top on tacos or eat alone as a mango salad

BLACK BEAN SALSA

1 can of Black Beans drained

½ red bell pepper chopped

2 pinches of fresh chopped cilantro

1 jalapeño chopped (no seeds)

1-2 cloves fresh garlic

1 tsp chipotle chili powder

Sprinkle of sea salt or kosher salt

Mix together and serve hot as a side dish or cold as a salsa. Combine with mango salsa too, for double the delicious!

And Benecio, querido, cariño, lemme know if you ever need a homecooked meal….

Guilt-Free Lemon Cheesecake

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Guilt free, sugar free….and did I mention DELISH on a plate??

Stressed about holiday pounds? Fuhgeddaboutit….Try this lemony, creamy, guilt-free decadence. Gluten free, sugar free and NOT missing any delicious!

Crust

12 oz almonds ground up in food processor
4 Tb melted butter
Mix almonds with melted butter and press into a springform pan.

Filling

Blend in mixer:
Three 8oz blocks of full fat cream cheese
One pint sour cream
Juice from 2 lemons
Zest from one lemon
3 eggs
1/2 cup Truvia
1 Tb vanilla

Mix together until smooth and pour into pan over almond crust. Bake at 350 for one hour. Chill in fridge for several hours before you top with the lemon curd.

Lemon Curd

5 egg yolks
4 lemons juiced and zested
1/2 cup Truvia
1 stick full fat butter cut into pieces

Whisk together in a bowl over a pot of simmering water (or in a double boiler) until the mixture thickens– about 8 minutes. Whisk constantly during those 8 minutes! Turn heat down and add pieces of butter one at a time and stir until the whole stick has been melted and whisked in. Lay a piece of saran wrap ON the curd and chill for 2 hours.

Top chilled cheesecake with lemon curd just before serving.

I’ve served this many times at parties and people are shocked that it’s sugar free and gluten free!

Chili-laya

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Turn up the heat, baby!

This Culinary goddess has won a major award for her chili recipe. (I can’t help but think of one of my favorite scenes from A Christmas Story: “It’s a Major Award! I won!”

2 awards in fact! Let me brag on meeeeeeeee for a minute: I placed in the Roswell Chili Cook Off last spring and also won a Ford Owners competition a few months before that and took home, yes, A Major Award!

It’s a MAJOR AWARD!

It’s tough to mess with perfection, but the weekend was winding down and JP and I started talking about coming up with a new chili recipe. The weather is getting cooler and there’s nothing better than a pot of chili simmering on the stove on a Sunday afternoon. He had a brilliant suggestion: Chili Meets Jambalaya.

It’s Chili-laya, y’all!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chuck

1 pound ground sirloin

1 pound spicy ground sausage (like Jimmy Dean)

1 package of spicy smoke adouille sausage (I like Ragin’ Cajun brand) sliced

1 Tb Grade B Maple Syrup

1 Tb butter

1 Tb olive oil

1 can tomato sauce (15oz)

1 can drained kidney beans

1 can diced tomatoes

2 Tb brown sugar

1 Tb honey

2 cups Guinness beer

2 cups beef stock

2 jalapeños diced

1 poblano pepper diced

1 red bell pepper diced

1 habanero pepper diced (optional)

1 sweet onion chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

2 celery ribs chopped

3 Tb chili powder

1 Tb coriander

1 Tb paprika

1 Tb onion powder

1 Tb garlic powder

1 Tb black pepper

1 Tb basil

1 tsp kosher salt

2 Tb fresh thyme

Chopped cilantro for garnish

Smoked Gouda (this cheese is the shiznittabam) shredded for garnish

Sliced avocado for garnish

Directions:

In a large, wide rimmed frying pan, saute ground chuck, ground sirloin and spicy ground sausage on medium heat until browned. Do not drain. Put meat in a large soup pot and set aside. In the same frying pan, toss in 1 Tb butter and when butter gets bubbly, add the chopped andouille sausage and cook through. When andouille is browned, add 1 Tb Grade B maple syrup and stir to coat. Keep the heat on medium and let the syrup get caramelized on the sausage– try not to eat it all before you’re finished. It’s soooooo good. Add maple encrusted andouille to the rest of the meat.

Now, time to saute your veggies. I use the same pan, just add about 1 Tb olive oil and saute onion, garlic, celery, and all of the peppers. Be very careful when you’re chopping up the habanero and the jalapeños — get that hot stuff under your nails or in your eyeball and it’s not fun. I sometimes put on kitchen gloves– or just toss them in the food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Then scoop them into the mix. No need to brown the veggies– just soften them in the pan on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add veggie mix to your pile ‘o meat.

Next, add in all the canned yummies. The tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, the beans, the beer and the stock, sugar, honey, and all those spices. Mix it all together and keep on a low simmer for 1-2 hours (if you can wait that long!)

Spoon it out and top with chopped cilantro, smoked gouda and sliced avocado. Serve with Jalapeño Cornbread for maximum Chili-laya satisfaction.

Chili-laya and Cornbread “GetinmymouthRAWTnow”

It might be the best chili that has never won a Major Award….YET!

Thai Green Curry with Shrimp, Lime Zested Coconut Rice and Sesame Asparagus

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Light, creamy, spicy all in one bite…

JP and I love spicy food– the more heat, the better. You’ll often find us chowing down on 3-alarm dishes as we alternate between the slurp and the wipe….slurping down the goodness, wiping down the forehead! Make me sweat, baby, it’s goodferya!! Thai food is one of my favorites, and since there are no good delivery joints in our neck of the woods, I had to improvise at home when a Thai craving hit.

In this dish, I love the creamy smoothness of the coconut milk with the layers of flavor created with the ginger, garlic and lemon grass. I’m also including the recipes for coconut lime zested rice and sesame asparagus. It’s a great dinner that packs heart healthy flavor with all the heat! If you’re not into spice, omit the jalapeños.

Ingredients

Green Curry Sauce:

1 Tb olive oil

2 shallots chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

2 Tb Green Curry Paste

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 Tb fresh ginger

1 Tb fresh lemongrass (I use Gourmet Garden’s Lemongrass and Ginger Paste)

Super easy solutions so you don’t have to chop up ginger or lemon grass!

2 Tb soy sauce or Tamari

2 Tb brown sugar

1 Tb fish sauce

Juice of one lime

2 jalapeños chopped or Thai Chilis

2 cans of full fat Coconut Milk

Chopped fresh basil (about a large palmful)

Shrimp Seasoning

1 pound of medium sized shrimp

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp curry powder

1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil for sauteeing.

Once you peel the shrimp, toss in ginger and curry powder before sauteeing.

Coconut Lime Zested Rice

1 can full fat coconut milk

1 cup jasmine rice

1 Tb butter

Juice and zest from one lime

Sesame Asparagus

2-3 cups chopped asparagus

2 garlic cloves chopped

1 Tb sesame oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

Green Curry Sauce: Saute the chopped shallot and garlic in olive oil on medium heat in a wide rimmed frying pan or large sauce pan for one minute. Add in the curry paste and stir around to mix in with the shallots and garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the coconut milk and all of the other ingredients. Stir to combine and simmer on low/medium heat until ready to serve.

Rice: While sauce is simmering, make your rice. Bring the can of coconut milk to a boil and add in the 1 cup of jasmine rice with 1 Tb butter. Squeeze the lime in and bring back to a boil. Cover and turn down heat to low and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, zest the lime and stir the zest in to the cooked rice.

Asparagus: Chop off the woody ends of the asparagus (about 2 inches) and chop the rest of the stalks into bite size 1 inch pieces. Add sesame oil to a frying pan and heat up on med/high heat. Toss in the garlic and stir for a minute, then add in the asparagus and saute for 7 minutes stirring occasionally. Feel free to sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top– just stir them around in a dry pan for a couple minutes on medium heat to toast them up. Don’t ya hate soggy asparagus? Problem solved. Cutting it up into bite size pieces seals in the flavor and still keeps the crunch.

Shrimp: This should be your final step so the shrimp don’t sit out and get tough. Peel and clean your shrimp, dry them off with a paper towel and toss with the curry powder and ginger. Heat up 1 Tb butter and 1 Tb olive oil in a frying pan on medium/high heat and wait till butter is bubbling. Test out the temperature by putting one shrimp in the pan. If you don’t hear a *sizzle*, wait a bit longer. Don’t crowd the shrimp in the pan– cook in several batches. (You will need to add more butter and olive oil between batches).

Cook shrimp on 3 minutes on one side– DO NOT MOVE THE SHRIMP AROUND IN THE PAN! (YES, I’M YELLING!!) Just let them sit there in that buttery goodness and get seared. I always use my timer for this because it’s so easy to overcook them. Flip after 3 minutes and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. Why less time on the other side? Cuz they’ll be done by then. Trust me! Remove shrimp from the hot pan and put on a plate so the shrimp don’t continue cooking. I always toss on a small pinch of kosher salt to the shrimp when they’re done.

To serve, top coconut rice with green curry sauce and shrimp. Serve with asparagus. Then sprinkle some fresh basil on top and get ready for scrumptious…

The Ultimate Dude Dip

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: The Ultimate “Dude Dip”

I nicknamed this “Dude Dip” because it’s such a hit with my man and his buddies, but it’s too good to relegate to “Dude Only” status. I was catering a party a few years ago and my appetizer fell apart at the last minute, so I whipped together this dip, stuffed it into some mushrooms and called it GOURMET! The jet set guests went crazy for it…I just smiled and let their distinguished palates assume I had zested in some pricey imported truffle. No one has to know how easy (and cheap) it really is!

Only 3 ingredients….

1 package of Spicy sausage (I prefer Jimmy Dean)

1 can “Original” Rotel Tomatoes

1 8oz package of full fat cream cheese (Warning: If you use low-fat cream cheese, it gets watery and gross!)

Directions:

Saute sausage until browned. Drain and mix with cream cheese and entire can of Rotel (juice included). I put it all in a casserole dish, let the cream cheese melt and then pop it into the oven at 400 for about 10 minutes just before guests arrive so it’s hot. Serve with tortilla chips.

Dude-licious.

Sugar-free Green Goddess Dressing

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Dressing Fit for a Goddess

No sugar and no heavy oils for THIS goddess. The base of the dressing is made with coconut oil, which contains Medium Chain Triglycerides. Medium chain whaaaat, you ask? According to Wikipedia: “Medium Chain Triglycerides are generally considered a good biologically inert source of energy that is easy to metabolize. Some studies have shown that MCT’s can help in the process of excess calorie burning, and thus weight loss.”

Parker translation: It’ll keep your ass in your skinny jeans!

Green Goddess dressing
Mix in food processor:
2 garlic cloves
1 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 Tb Dijon mustard
2 Tb Truvia
Sprinkle of kosher salt

Melt 1/2 cup coconut oil in microwave for 35 seconds. At room temperature it is congealed, so you have to melt it to mix it. Pour into food processor to emulsify and mix till blended. I prefer the refined coconut oil because if doesn’t have a strong coconut taste like unrefined does. Toss dressing on salad and enjoy! The dressing will congeal again quickly, so if you don’t plan to serve it right away, you may have to melt it down again before serving.

Peach and Brandy Marscapone Cheesecake with Pecan Crust and a Sweet Balsamic Reduction

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Peach and Brandy Marscapone Cheesecake that won’t make your ass fat, I peeeeeromise!

Now before you get your panties in a bunch cuz I’m tempting you to cheat on your diet— relax. It’s Sugar Free! And it’s Gluten Free! Go ahead, let your friends think they’re indulging– no one has to know it’s goodferya!

Cheesecake filling:
1 Tb butter
3 peeled, pitted peaches
1/4 cup brandy
1 Tb vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
8oz marscapone cheese
2 1/2 blocks of cream cheese (two 8oz boxes and 1/2 of another) *bring to room temperature
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
3 eggs
1/2 cup Truvia

Crust:
2 cups of pecans ground up in the food processor until fine
3 Tb of melted butter

Topping:
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar reduced down to a sweet syrupy delish

In medium sauce pan, melt butter and stir in peeled, pitted peaches. Smash down peaches into the butter and let simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add 1/4 cup brandy, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and let the peaches macerate (fancy way of saying let them get mushy and absorb the booze and butter!) for another 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Put peach mixture into a food processor (or blender) and mix for 30 seconds. Add the marscapone and the cream cheese, lemon juice, truvia and eggs and blend for 1-2 minutes until combined without any lumps.

Combine pecans and melted butter and press down into a greased Springform pan. Pour in cheesecake filling and bake at 325 for one hour. Cool cheesecake in fridge for 3 hours before serving.

Immediately before serving, make balsamic topping. Pour 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce down on medium high heat until balsamic vinegar turns the consistency of syrup. Drizzle on top of cheesecake right before you serve it.