Dairy Free Soups

Its been awhile since I have posted about Dairy Free food to make. I think I am over due.
I have 2 classic soups that most people love and you can normally find in most restaurants. Knowing that dairy free is a hard choice because of healthy or allergy.

Tomato Bisque. Now I know a few readers are allergic to tomatoes, so that being said; tomatoes can be substituted with Roasted Red Peppers. It will have more of a smoky flavor because of the roasting but still good.

Tomato Bisque
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper chopped
1 tbsp milk free margarine
3 med tomatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 cup of water
1 cube chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/4 salt ( taste before adding salt, bouillon can be salty)
1 1/2 cup tomato juice ( in substituting you would add more  water with chicken flavoring and add more red pepper)
*corn starch slurry to thicken if desired

Saute onion and pepper in margarine. Add tomatoes, water, bouillon cube, dill and salt. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Then let cool. Beat in blender until thoroughly combined. Add juice and blend one minute more. Pour in bowls. If using cornstarch to thicken, return to pot on stove and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch and boil for 2 minutes or until soup thickens.

Makes 4 servings

Most people like a good Clam Chowder. Dairy Free people can't have it. I found a way so that they can have a good Chowder..

First you need the Potato Soup base for all chowder recipe
3 medium potatoes, peeled and dice
2 cup chicken bouillon or chicken stock
Add potatoes to bouillon/ stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 25 minutes. Blend on high until it liquefy.


Clam Chowder
1 cup Potato Soup Base
Clam Juice
1 6.5 oz can clams, drain and rinse ( fresh is good too)
2-3 med potatoes, peeled, diced and par baked. ( meaning you cook them so they still have a little crunch left
Salt
Pepper
 1/2 lb bacon
1 bundle of thyme
2 bay leaves
* if using fresh clams 4 dozen little neck or cherry stone clams scrubbed
1 large onion cut into 1/4 " dice
2 tbsp flour*****

In a large skillet render you bacon down, slow and low heat. Just as it starts to get crispy pull it out and put your onion in there and saute until translucent. Add potato cubes and cook another 5 minutes.Sprinkle flour over potato onion mixture and stir to combine. Add clam juice. At this point add your Potato Soup Base, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are cooked. About 10-15 minutes. Add clams. Taste and re season if needed. Add hot sauce if desired.
*** For Fresh Clams****
Place the clams and 1 cup of water in a pot  and cover. Cook over high heat and cook for 6-7 minutes. Uncover and remove open clams and continue to cook unopened clams.. Strain liquid through a coffee filter and reserve.

***** If there is a gluten allergy, follow all steps except flour and then if the chowder is too thin, add cornstarch to thicken

Happy Eating

Keep Moving Forward

"Keep moving forward" is a quote from Walt Disney. I love that quote and from time to time I have to remind myself that  everything happens for a reason. Having set backs and  a lot of them are life. Especially being a Military wife and mom.

Most recently, I had an amazing job interview lined up. Restaurant was everything that I have trained for in my culinary career. Downfall, it was 80 miles away, and that was just in one direction. I would have been driving 160 miles a day to and from work. Add that to a 12 hour work day and there is no time left for the kids and barely enough time to sleep. I was pretty upset. I had taken time and planned out the perfect courses of food to knock their socks off right down to the minute details.

Mom had always told me when one door closes there are bound to be more that open, I just have to look for them. After my pitty party last night, I started looking at other options. I found a few. I still have a couple local interviews to attend, I still have a few places I can call to look into renting for my make shift bakery. I also decided that maybe its time I finish my degree.

I have an associates degree in cooking, but looking at the growing job market, more and more people want a Bachelor's Degree. So I have decided to  go back and get my Culinary Management Degree. Then I can start working on becoming a Certified Pastry Chef. I needed to start setting goals for my self again.

I found that we are here another year in Wisconsin. So I must set goals not loose sight of why I became a chef or the goals. I became a chef because I love to cook, I love to share my experiences with people and I like to see people happy when they eat my food. I am proud of what I have cooked and created.

I wish my mom could be here to share the ever growing experiences I have. I know that she is watching me from above and supporting my choices.

Thank you all for listening.

Fettuccine with Bacon

In our house hold we have a pasta night. Trying different dishes all the time. There are so many ways to eat pasta. Also there are so many different kinds of pasta. I usually try to make the pasta from scratch but that doesn't always happen. Bacon is another favorite in the house so this recipe is a perfect mix.

1 (7oz) bottle roasted red bell pepper, drained
2 bacon slices, raw chopped
1 cup sliced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup chicken broth
4 cups cooked fettuccine about 8 oz
2tbps grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Cut bell peppers into  1/4 in wides strips
Cook bacon in a large skillet. Cook until crisp. Then add onion and garlic, saute 1minute. Add bell pepper, peas and broth. Simmer 1 min. Stir in pasta, cheese, salt and pepper.

Serves 4 : serving size is 1 1/3 cup.

Happy Eating

5 ingredient fix dinner

Ever want a dinner that looks fancy but don't have the time to follow all the steps? I found  these chicken bundles look fancy but they are only 5 ingredients. When I make them, people always think I took a lot of time and put a lot of work into it. They take about 15 minutes to prepare and 20 to cook so if you have company coming over, this is a quick dish that you can put together and it looks good.

Chicken Bundles
4 chicken tenderloins
1/8 tsp each of salt and pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup spreadable spinach and artichoke cream cheese
4 slices Muenster cheese, halved
1 egg
1tbsp water

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, set aside. On a lightly floured surface roll puff pastry into a 14 in sq. Cut into 4 squares.
Spoon 2 tbsp of cream cheese mix in the center of each square, top with Muenster cheese and chicken
Whisk egg and water, lightly brush over edges. Bring opposite corners of pastry over each bundle, pinch seams to seal.  Place seam side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Brush with remaining egg mixture.
 Bake at 400 for 22 minutes until golden brown.
If you worried about the chicken temp it out.. Temperature for chicken should be 160 degrees. F

Happy Eating

Fish Friday

Midwest in known for its Friday night fish fry. I thought a fish recipe would be great for today. Taken from a West African themed menu. In West Africa these are called  boulettes de poisson. Fish balls can be made a head a time and then pulled out to cook.

2tbsp water
3/4 tsp chili powder divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 lrg. eggs slight beaten
1 slice white bread
1lb cod or white fish chopped
1tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
2tsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocktail sauce

combine water, 1/4 tsp chili powder, salt, pepper and eggs in small bowl. Stirring well with a whisk.
Place bread in food processor,pulse until coarse and measures 1/2 cup.  Add 2tbsp egg mixture, fish, parsley and garlic. process until a thick dough forms. Shape into 16 (1in ) balls.

Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. dredge fish balls in flour and dip in remaining egg mixture. Add fish balls to pan and saute for 10 min, or until brown on all sides.
Combine 1/2 tsp chili powder and cocktail sauce. Serve with cooked fish.

Happy Friday and Enjoy your food.

Dinner in a Packet

As August is upon us, so draws the near end of Summer. Although if you ask the people around here, summer just showed up.  With days that its perfect weather for grilling. Why not have dinner in packet and be able to enjoy the outdoors while food cooks.

I found a couple recipes that are great for the grill. Most people love Chinese favorite Sweet and Sour Chicken. Now here is a healthy way to cook it and enjoy summer..

4- (6oz) Skinless boneless chicken breasts halves, or cut smaller
2 cups teriyaki marinade, divided
2 cups cubed pineapple
2 cups vertically sliced vidalia or sweet onion
1 1/2 cup yellow or orange bell pepper strips
1 1/2 cup red bell pepper
2 cup cherry tomatoes
 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place the chicken in a large zip lock bag, add 1 cup marinade. Seal bag and gently toss to coat. Place pineapple, onion, and bell peppers  in another large zip lock bag and add 1 cup marinade, seal and gently toss. Refrigerate  for 2 hours.

Prepare grill

Remove pineapple from bag, discard mixture. Place pineapple mixture and tomatoes in a large foil cooking bag or pouch. Remove chicken from bag, discard marinade. Place chicken on top of pineapple mixture. Seal and cut 6 1/2 in slits  in top of cooking bag. Place bag on grill. Cook for 25 minutes or until chicken is done. Cut bag open and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve.

You can serve with a variety of sides. I would recommend a cold Asian pasta salad.

Stuffed Peppers

This recipe takes me back to being a kid. It was a dish that was served in my house at least once a week. Brings back memories of everyone sitting down at dinner time around the table with out TV or cell phones, having a normal conversation. Grant it, that it was mostly my mom and dad talking since I was the only kid but it still was happy memories for me. This would be one of my comfort foods that takes me back to a simpler time.

This dish is great because you can make them ahead and freeze them for future meals or you can make them a few hours a head and serve them for dinner that night. Its all contained in one.

I have found a way to make this vegetarian besides the meat. For a husband that is a meat and potatoe guy, he actually prefers the vegetarian version of this when I make it.

1- (3.5oz) bag boil in bag rice
4 red bell peppers
3/4 lb ground sirloin
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp all spice
2 cups tomato sauce divide. can use pasta sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry red wine
 cooking spray

Pre heat oven to 450F
Cook rice according to package. Do not salt or add butter to it and set aside.
While rice cooks, cut the tops off bell peppers, reserve the tops. Discard the seeds and membranes. Place peppers cut side down in an 8 in square baking dish, cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the dish is microwave safe. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Peppers should be a little tender but still crisp.
 Heat a large non stick skillet over med-high heat. Add beef and next 5 ingredients, cook 4 minutes or until beef is lightly browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from heat. Add rice, 1/2 cup pasta sauce and cheese to beef mixture and combine.
While beef cooks, combine 1 1/2 cups pasta sauce and wine in small sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Spoon about 3/4 cup of beef mixture into peppers. Place peppers in a 2qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray, add wine mixture to dish. Cover with foil.
Bake for 20 minutes , uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
Garnish with Pepper tops



For the Veggie version, I substituted the meat with black beans, garbanzo beans and corn. I used more cheese in the mix to hold it better. I also used bread crumbs and mushrooms. I would pulse all the veggies in a food processor so that they are a little chopped up. Using the spices of garlic, Salt and pepper to taste, and a little of Italian seasoning. If your going Vegan. Use Vegan cheese. I can't give you exact measurements for this because at the time I came up with the version I didn't measure. I just added until it tasted good.

Happy Eating.