Rachel’s Recipe Box

Kitchen Sink Soup

Have you ever started to make a recipe, only to find out that you are inexplicably out of half of the ingredients? Of course, we make do, but sometimes the “making do” recipes are wretched, and sometimes they taste better than the original. Here’s our “everything but the kitchen sink” soup that can help you clear out your crisper and pantry, and please your family all at once! It will also please you, because it’s as quick as it is fabulous.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and South Beach phase 2 safe recipe. This can easily be a vegan and vegetarian recipe if you omit the meat. This is also a yummy recipe that will be ready in less than 45 minutes!

Ingredients:

• Splash olive or canola oil

• 1 onion, diced
• 3+ cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 lbs ground or chopped meat (if using meat)
• Seasonings to taste - Italian seasoning, cumin & chili powder, or cajun seasoning
• 2 pinches kosher salt, couple grinds fresh pepper
• splash wine (alcohol will carry flavors, but this can easily be omitted)
• • 3 yellow squash or zucchini, cut into half-moons AND/OR

  • 2 carrots, cut into half-moons AND/OR
  • 1 box frozen/bag fresh spinach AND/OR
  • 1 cup frozen peas AND/OR
  • 1-2 cups sliced okra (frozen or fresh) AND/OR
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms AND/OR
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes (or not)
• 1 can beans of choice (or not)
• 1/2 lb noodles or 1/2 cup rice or 1/2 cup lentils
• (approximately) 2 quarts stock or water (amount will vary depending on ingredients chosen)

Method
In a soup pot, warm the oil to medium heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pot. Stir, and when they start to soften, add the meat. (if using meat)

Add the spices to the onion, & garlic mixture. As the meat (if using) starts to brown, add any fresh vegetables you have chosen. Stir until meat has browned and vegetables have softened. Deglaze the pan with the splash of wine, if using.

Add canned tomatoes, beans, and stock/water. Add 1 quart stock/water, then add 1 cup at a time until it looks soupy. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil.

Add rice/noodles/lentils and any frozen veggies. Simmer 15-20 minutes (depending on directions on your dried good), test and alter seasonings, and serve. Yum!

Last week I had the opportunity to review a new juice called Froose. It’s a mix of whole grain brown rice and juice, and is gluten-free, kosher pareve, dairy-free, soy-free, and sweetened with brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup or sugar. Please check out our review and check out Froose for yourself. We really like the peach!

We were also lucky enough to receive a sample of some new gluten-free and dairy-free treats from Amy’s Kitchen! They sent us my favorite enchiladas, plus the new gluten & dairy-free pizza, ziti, cream-of-rice.  Yum!  They’ve added a delicious-sounding tamale, and a ziti kid’s meal to their product line, too. Check out the labeling at Amy’s Kitchen - it’s really easy to see what items will fit with your dietary restrictions.

I haven’t seen my kids looking forward to lunch this much for a while!  However, I doubt that when Amy’s Kitchen created their vegan and gluten-free pizza they intended for kids to dream of adding meat-filled pepperoni!

I feel like I’ve been making marinara almost my whole life (my grandmother’s family is from Sicily). I’ve changed it a bit as I’ve grown older and changed myself. At this stage in my life I’ve tried to make it as easy as possible, while still retaining good flavor. I play somewhat fast and loose with seasonings, so be sure to taste test along the way! This amount makes enough to feed a family of 5 with some left over. It’s easy to half or double as needed.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, vegan, vegetarian, and South Beach safe recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes, or 1 crushed, one petite diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2+ tsp basil
• 2+ tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 shake red pepper flakes
• 2 pinches Kosher or Sea salt
• a few grinds pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• splash white wine

Method:
Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Sauté the onion and garlic, watching that the garlic doesn’t brown or burn. Sprinkle the spices over the onion and garlic, stirring them together. (Dried herbs will intensify their flavor if warmed like this)

Add a splash of wine, and after the wine has sizzled, add the 2 cans of tomatoes. Add salt and pepper and a bay leaf. (The wine is, of course, optional. However, flavors can be carried by fat (oil), water, acid (tomatoes), and alcohol. My best sauces are always the ones with a splash of wine.)

Turn the heat up to High, and stir occasionally, waiting for the sauce to come to a boil. When it boils, turn it down to low or medium-low, allowing it to simmer.

Let the sauce simmer for at least an hour to let the flavors develop.

Make some polenta or pasta (we like Tinkyada Spaghetti), and serve with a nice salad for a delicious dinner!

If you have leftover sauce, it freezes very well! I will sometimes make a double batch just to have some in the freezer for a quick and easy meal later.

Variations:

• Pizza Sauce: Add about 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes with the other spices. Let boil a few minutes longer to reduce (concentrate) the sauce. If you cook off some of the extra liquid, it won’t make the pizza crust. Another option is to use 1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained, in addition to the 1 can crushed tomatoes - then there is less liquid in the sauce.
• Vegetable Sauce (or, not-quite-rattatouille): peel and dice 1 small eggplant, slice a handful of mushrooms, and dice a summer squash and a zucchini. Add the vegetables after the onion and garlic have started to soften. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have started to soften. Return to the above directions, starting with adding the wine.
• Meat Sauce: After the onions start to soften, add 1.5 lbs ground meat. Cook until meat is browned, then follow other steps.
• Sauce with Sausages: Before you begin cooking, cut 1.5 lbs uncooked Italian sausages into circles. (Choose sweet or hot sausage as desired) Add sausages after onions begin to soften. Stir and cook until browned, then follow the other steps.

We, like everyone else we know, are finding ourselves on a tighter budget because of the cost of gas and heating oil. My daughters love polenta, and while I am Italian, I always thought it was too tricky to make from scratch. I mean really, would they be selling it in rolls at the store for $3 or more if it was easy?

Yes.

Polenta is incredibly easy to make, and while it requires a bit of time, it’s done in under an hour. You need to simmer your marinara for a while anyway, so let it simmer while the polenta bakes. There’s very little work involved after the first few minutes other than being in the house while the oven’s on. I have adapted a recipe for polenta from The Silver Spoon, a fabulous cookbook for anything and everything Italian. I bought the cookbook for everyone at Christmas a couple years ago, and we’re all still cooking our way through it!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups water
• 3 cups cornmeal (I use fine-ground, but a courser grind is more traditional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• (optional)2-3 shakes basil or oregano or Italian seasoning
• olive oil

Method:
Preheat oven to 400F

Bring the water and salt (and spices if using) to a boil in a large saucepan or medium-sized soup pot. Make sure you have enough room in the pot to add the cornmeal.

While the water is boiling, drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a 9×13 pan or two smaller pans.

When the water boils, sprinkle in the cornmeal with one hand, and whisk it into the water with the other hand. Whisk carefully so there aren’t too many lumps, and watch out for spitting cornmeal, it can burn. (You may want to don your Kevlar® gloves for this part!)

Once all the cornmeal has been whisked into the water, you will have a nice cornmeal mush. Pat it into the oiled pan(s) with a spatula, then drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Slide it into the oven, and set the timer for 45 minutes.

Check the polenta - the top should be a bit crisp, and the edges golden brown. Slice and serve with a sauce. You’ll never buy the other stuff again!

Serve this with a lovely side salad and marinara and sausages (if not vegetarian). Mmmm… One of my daughters prefers the polenta plain, then eats the red sauce and sausages with a spoon!

My family loves my tomato-based curry, and I vastly prefer coconut milk-based curries. I tried to mix a few ingredients they love in the tomato curry, but using coconut milk. It seemed to work - everyone ate it happily! Any meal where people finish without an argument is one that is worth repeating a few times!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and South Beach phase 2 safe recipe. The recipe can served vegetarian and vegan, or with meat.

Ingredients:

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBS Patak’s curry paste
• 1 head cauliflower, or 1 16oz bag frozen cauliflower
• 1 cup water
• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 2 handfuls red or brown lentils
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 14oz can chickpeas, drained
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1-2 lbs pork cutlets, pork loin, or just pork, cubed (optional)
• Cooked rice or cooked lentils on the side

Method

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan or pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions soften.

Add the pork (if using) and brown, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.

Stir in the curry paste. Add lentils, coconut milk, and water.

Turn the heat up, and add vegetables. Break the cauliflower into florets directly into the pot, or pour bag of frozen cauliflower into pot. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. If needed, add more liquid - the vegetables and meat should be somewhat submerged.

When the sauce begins to boil, cover loosely. Lower the heat slightly, and cook at a low boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn.

After 20 minutes, the sauce should be somewhat thickened, the pork tender, and the cauliflower will have broken into small pieces.

Serve this with lentils or brown rice beneath to absorb the sauce. Delicious!

This is a delicious, family-friendly gfcf, gluten free recipe! It is also wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, corn free, vegetarian & vegan recipe. It could be OK for South Beach phase 1 by serving the filling as a side-dish. If you use whole-grain pasta, this should be OK as is for South Beach phase 2.

We serve this with a side of Italian sausages, as there’s no meat in it. You could probably put ground turkey in with the vegetables, but I like it being Vegan, as then I can serve it to vegetarian friends. We all love this recipe, and it takes care of my need for something creamy and Italian without eating dairy.

Ingredients

• 1 batch White sauce
• 2-3+ cups marinara sauce (how much you use depends on how soupy you want it)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
• 1 bag baby spinach (10 oz) (or 1 lb of regular spinach that has been cleaned, de-stemmed, and torn into pieces)
• 1 package crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced (7-10 oz)
• 1 package GF lasagna noodles (we like Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagne)
• olive oil

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F

Heat olive oil in skillet over low heat and let garlic simmer for a few minutes - watch to make sure it doesn’t brown.

Turn heat up to medium and add eggplant and mushrooms. Cover and cook until eggplant is very tender (almost mushy), stirring occasionally. This takes about 5-10 minutes.

Make the white sauce while the eggplant & mushrooms are cooking.

Add spinach to the skillet, stir and take off heat once spinach has just wilted. Add 1/2 of the white sauce to this mixture, and stir to combine.

Barely cover the bottom of a 9×13 (or so) baking pan with marinara sauce. Lay 3 uncooked lasagna noodles across the bottom of the pan. Spoon half the spinach/eggplant/mushroom mixture over the noodles. Ladle some marinara on top of the vegetables. Top with 3 more lasagna noodles. Repeat with another layer, and top with 3 more lasagna noodles.

You will have now used 9 lasagna noodles. Put the rest away for something else - sometimes we break them up for use in soup.

Pour white sauce on top of the final layer of noodles.

Cover tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Take off cover, and bake additional 10-15 minutes until everything is browned and bubbly (I sometimes turn on the broiler for the last 2 minutes to brown the top).

This ends up tasting like it has cheese in it. YUM. No one ever even notices that there’s eggplant in it or that it is gluten & dairy-free. Serve with a side of some sort of protein (we like turkey Italian sausages), and you’re ready to eat!

This Recipe Contains Peanuts!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and vegan recipe.

My grandmother makes a recipe similar to this, but hers has graham cracker crumbs in it. I adore hers, and these are pretty darn good, and without the gluten or dairy!

Ingredients

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 1 stick margarine (aka 1/2 cup), melted
• 2 cups (or 1 18 oz container) chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (use the thick part from a chilled can)
• 1 TBS vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 bags (12 oz size) chocolate chips/chunks (aka 3 cups)
• 3 TBS shortening (we use Spectrum)
• several lightly salted peanuts

Method
Combine ingredients through salt. Mix well.

Scoop into walnut-sized balls, and place on waxed paper. Chill in refrigerator (or back porch in winter) for at least an hour.

Melt the chocolate & shortening together, and use a fork or spoon to dip the peanut butter balls in the chocolate.

Decorate each one with a peanut on top. Chill again, then eat! Mmmm….

These are vegan & vegetarian, as well as gfcf, egg, dairy, gluten, nut, and corn free. They are also yummy and amazingly easy. They make a great banana bread, too - just cook it longer.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup banana – mashed (about medium 2 bananas)

• 1/3 cup maple syrup (or brown sugar)
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 2 cups gf flour mix - 1 1/3 c flour, 2/3 c starch (if not gluten-free, use 2 cups “regular” flour and omit the xanthan gum)
• 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 12 cup muffin pan, or use muffin cups. Keep a 6-cup muffin tin ready, sometimes this works out to be 18 muffins. Mini-muffins work great with this recipe, too.

In a blender, combine banana, juice, syrup, oil.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Add banana mixture and combine, using as few strokes as possible so that you do not overmix the batter.

Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling each one 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 - 25 minutes.

Let muffins cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.

If you are OK with nuts, you can replace some of the flour with a nut meal/nut flour. Or add 1/2 cup chopped nuts to the batter at the end.

This is a delicious, family-friendly gfcf, gluten free recipe! It is also wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, corn free, vegetarian & vegan recipe. It could be OK for South Beach phase 1 by serving the filling as a side-dish. If you use whole-grain pasta, this should be OK as is for South Beach phase 2.

We serve this with a side of italian sausages, as there’s no meat in it. You could probably put ground turkey in with the vegetables, but I like it being Vegan, as then I can serve it to vegetarian friends. We all love this recipe, and it fills my creamy, Italian goodness spot.

Ingredients

• 1 batch White sauce (if you’re doing South Beach, you might want to use 1/2 coconut milk and 1/2 broth (or just Lite coconut milk, which is simply watered down coconut milk)

• 2-3+ cups marinara sauce (how much you use depends on how soupy you want it)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
• 1 bag baby spinach (10 oz) (or 1 lb of regular spinach that has been cleaned, de-stemmed, and torn into pieces)
• 1 package crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced (7-10 oz)
• 1 package GF pasta shells for stuffing (we like Tinkyada)
• olive oil

Method

Heat olive oil in skillet over low heat and let garlic simmer for a few minutes - watch to make sure it doesn’t brown.

Turn heat up to medium and add eggplant and mushrooms. Cover and cook until eggplant is very tender (almost mushy), stirring occasionally. This takes about 5-10 minutes.

Make the white sauce while the eggplant & mushrooms are cooking.

Add spinach to the skillet, stir and take off heat once spinach has just wilted. Add 1/2 of the white sauce to this mixture, and stir to combine.

Barely cover the bottom of a 9×13 (or so) baking pan with marinara sauce. Take the uncooked pasta shells and stuff them with the veggie mixture. Sometimes this is easy when the shells are open, but sometimes it requires creatively poking filling through openings. You can boil the shells for a couple minutes to make this easier if you want, but then they are wiggly.

Fill each shell until overflowing until you run out of shells, placing them in a rows of 3 across. I piled some broken shells in the corner of baking dish and heaped the remainder of the filling on top. Cover with a scant layer of marinara sauce, then drizzle the second half of the white sauce on top - it will look remarkably like melted cheese!

Cover tightly and bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Take off cover, pour white sauce on top, and bake additional 10-15 minutes until everything is browned and bubbly (I sometimes turn on the broiler for the last 2 minutes to brown the top).

This ends up tasting like it has cheese in it. YUM. No one ever even notices that there’s eggplant in it or that it is gluten & dairy-free. Serve with a side of some sort of protein (we like turkey italian sausages), and you are ready to eat.

Being gluten & dairy free (and whatever else free) doesn’t have to be traumatic - look how good it can be!

This recipe contains peanuts! You could easily substitute pea butter, sunbutter, or soynut butter for the peanut butter, though. Do not despair! The top 8 allergen I can’t avoid in this recipe is soy, as the soy sauce is integral to the taste. If you have a good soy sauce substitute you use, though, try it - and let me know!

One day when we were having lunch with friends, my oldest daughter tried this salad, and promptly scarfed down the entire container! I was quite excited, as cold dishes aren’t a big hit in our family, so my friend sent me the recipe. This is what I’ve created from the original.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also a wheat free, dairy free, egg free, tree nut free, fish free, shellfish free, and corn free recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked short grain brown rice

• 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
• 1-2 carrots, diced
• 1 1/2 TBS sesame seeds
• 3 TBS peanut butter or substitute
• 2 TBS rice vinegar (cider vinegar works fine)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 TBS soy sauce (LaChoy is GF, Braggs is GF and corn free too)
• 1 tsp sesame oil (toasted is ideal)
• 1 small clove garlic, minced

Method
While the rice is cooking, combine everything else in a large bowl. Mix together well.

Add rice to the rest of the ingredients while still warm - this will help the rice soak up the flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning (it might need more soy sauce or vinegar).

Chill, then serve. This makes a great dinner with some stir-fry; or in summer serve it along side some cole slaw and something off the grill!