Rachel’s Recipe Box

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 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!

First of all, just to clarify, Ratatouille is a vegetable dish of Italian origins usually involving eggplant, tomato, and other vegetables. There is no rat involved. That was the first thing my children asked, so I wanted to declare it up front.

This recipe was inspired by a recipe in the wonderful The Silver Spoon cookbook. I’ve changed pretty significantly to fit with our family’s eating preferences and requirements. It isn’t a completely authentic Ratatouille, but as long as you have some zucchini, tomato, and eggplant in it, play with the other ingredients - whatever you can get your hands on!

This recipe turned out to be a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also 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 1 safe recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced (optional)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (optional)
• 2-3 zucchini or summer squash, cut into cubes
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 bell peppers, cut into slices (optional)
• 2 portabello mushrooms, cut into cubes (optional)
• 4 tomatoes, peeled, quartered, and seeded OR 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1-2 lbs chicken, cut off the bone and into cubes
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• olive or canola oil to coat bottom of pan
• Splash of wine (optional)
• pinches of kosher salt and grinds of pepper to taste

Method:
Prepare all the vegetables and chicken. Place the peeled and cubed eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let sit for about 30minutes while you do everything else.

Find a large skillet (I think mine’s 12-14 inches), and cover the bottom of the pan with your cooking oil of choice. Bring pan and oil to medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, shallot, and celery. Once that’s sizzling, add the chicken, and stir for a few minutes until it is browned.

Add the vegetables, except the tomatoes (be sure to rinse the salt off the eggplant first!) to the chicken & onion mixture. Stir to combine and sauté for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes and some of their juice. Splash in the wine, and add the salt, pepper, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, until vegetables have softened and meat is cooked through.

Serve with brown rice noodles (South Beach Phase 2) or spaghetti squash (South Beach Phase 1).

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!

These are surprisingly delicious - sweet and mouthwatering. You won’t believe how fast brussels sprouts disappear if you roast them!

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 safe recipe.

Ingredients
1-2 lbs brussels sprouts
kosher salt
olive oil

Method:
Preheat oven to 400

Rinse brussels sprouts, and cut the ends off, and then make an X in the bottoms.

Lightly oil a baking sheet, then toss the brussels sprouts with the olive oil and add a little kosher salt.

Roast for 10 min, then shake. Cook another 10 minutes, and eat. Make sure you sneak a few of the crispy leaves before someone else snags them!

Once you’ve wowed your family with these, don’t forget other roasted vegetables!

This is adapted from a recipe I clipped this past spring. It is gluten, dairy, soy, and egg free. It could easily be vegan/vegetarian and corn-free by checking ingredients.

Everyone in our house loves asparagus, but they love it as soup even more - they frequently have seconds (or thirds!) of this soup. It would double well if you were planning to serve a larger group.

Ingredients

• 4 TBS olive oil

• 1 large onion, chopped (ideally videlia or other sweet onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium parsnip, peeled and chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth) - you can also substitute half broth, half water if desired.
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 lbs asparagus

Method
Warm the oil in a soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, and parsnip. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Break the woody ends off the asparagus, and then chop roughly and set aside.

Add the broth and the thyme to the vegetables. Turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring to a boil.

Add the asparagus, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn the heat off. If you have an immersion blender (aka stick blender), use it to puree the soup, and then serve it. If you don’t have an immersion blender - let the soup cool, then puree in batches in a regular blender. Then go out and buy an immersion blender for next time.

This is a very pretty soup in white bowls, and a great way to get kids to eat lots of veggies! We serve it with a casserole, and dinner is happily complete.

My husband came up with this recipe, and the girls liked the squash a lot better than my “just steam it” veggie strategy. We scarf it down each time it’s made!

Ingredients:

• 3 yellow squash, sliced in circles (I’m sure zucchini would work too)

• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• splash olive oil
• pinch kosher salt
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

Steam squash in microwave for 2 min, until starting to get tender. Drain any liquid out, then toss with the cornmeal.

Begin sauteing the garlic in the olive oil. As it starts to cook, add the cornmeal/squash mixture, and add a pinch or two of salt.

Cook until the squash is tender and beginning to get golden brown

This recipe is a spin-off of one I remember loving when we were vegetarian. I have long since lost the original recipe, but I knew the taste in my mouth, so here’s my replica. I also want to say that I thought there would be problems with my children eating this hearty soup. However, I was wrong - they scarfed it down and asked for seconds!

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. It can easily be a vegan/vegetarian soup if you omit the ham.

This meal can be made in about 30 minutes, and it is wonderfully hearty. Other than the kale and the ham [if using] it’s all ingredients that are likely in your pantry. Usually people are willing to stop at the store for 1-2 things if you have everything else ready!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 TBS cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb ham, cubed [optional] (double check this - each brand has different ingredients!)
• 3 14 oz cans black beans, drained
• 1 large bunch kale, rinsed, stemmed, and ripped into bite size chunks
• 2 1/2 to 3 quarts liquid - 1 quart broth, 1 1/2 - 2 quarts water works well
• 1-3 tsp Tony Chacheres Cajun seasoning to taste, or 2 tsp Italian seasoning mix + 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 lb pasta (we like Tinkyada pasta or the Trader Joe’s rice pasta [also optional]

Method

Bring cooking oil (canola, olive, whatever) up to medium heat in a large soup pot. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender. When the onion and garlic start to get tender, add the ham [if using]. Let cook for a few minutes.

Add the kale that has been rinsed, peeled from the hard stems, and ripped into chunks. Stir with tongs, it will cook down pretty quickly. Once the kale has cooked down a bit, add the beans, seasonings, and broth/water.

Turn heat up to high, and bring soup to a low boil. If possible, let simmer for about 10 minutes. If you don’t have the time, it’s OK.

Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook for the amount of time on the packaging.

Serve in bowls with extra Tony Chacheres Cajun seasoning Yum! A wonderful filling, hearty soup for a chilly day.

This is my favorite. It’s an adaptation of a few recipes, plus some twists of my own. The basic concept of adding Ginger Ale came from Alton Brown of Good Eats. Brilliant. Adding a little fresh ginger boosts the taste a bit, and the sauce ends up very yummy, but it is incredibly easy.

This is gfcf, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, and wheat free. If you get the right brands, this could also be corn free. Cranberries (and blueberries) are in a different food family than strawberries, raspberries, and other berries, so they are safe for our berry-allergic child.

Ingredients

• 2 12 oz bags cranberries

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 cups ginger ale (check ingredients)
• 2 pinches kosher salt
• zest of 1 orange or 2 clementines (depending on what you have in the house)
• 1 cup brown sugar (check ingredients - some add caramel color)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 knuckle-sized piece of ginger, grated

Method
Put all ingredients into a large saucepan or small soup pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer about 30-45 minutes, until it is significantly reduced and pretty thick. Cool, and either refrigerate until needed or serve.

The cooking will mash the cranberries a bit. You may want to puree some or all using an immersion blender, depending on your tastes, and the willingness of your family members to eat things with lumps.