DF Coconut Tapioca Pudding -revised

O my!  I made this tonight so Vanessa would have a safe treat in her lunch tomorrow.  All I can say is Wow!!!  I love coconut, and I love Tapioca pudding...why I never thought to make the two as one I do not know...but this is a great way to do it!  It is easy and almost whole...just need to find a more "wholesome" way to sweeten this...

Ingredients:

        1/3 cup pearl tapioca

        2 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

        1/8 teaspoon salt (or just to taste)

        1/4 cup sucanat or turbanado sugar

         1 egg yolk

         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

         1/8 tsp. coconut extract

Directions:

     1.  Soak pearls in coconut milk for 30 min in a saucepan. 

     2.  Bring the tapioca, coconut milk, and salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat,

          stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.

     3.  In separate small bowl, beat egg yolk. Add a large spoonful, or two to egg and whisk fairly 

         quickly to keep egg from cooking in globs.  Add egg mix to the rest of the mix in the saucepan. 

     4.  Stir in sugar and mix well. 
     5.  Remove from heat and add flavorings.  Serve warm or chilled.

  

I actually made this with homemade coconut milk using 3 cups of the milk.  I tasted it without the egg and it kind of lacked body.  It seemed to thicken just fine without it, but that yolk kind of adds a depth or richness to it.  I also used less than the 1/4 c sugar and it seemed to be plenty sweet.  Without any sweetener it was again lacking depth.  Someday I hope to be able to enjoy this kind of stuff without sweeteners of any kind...  Not sure that I will ever like an unsweetened Tapioca pudding but I definitely like it less sweet than I used to!

Thai Peanut Sauce

I love Thai food...loooove it.  Most of it is lacking dairy and yet still tastes fabulous!  Peanut sauce I could eat by the spoonful.  This recipe is as good as it gets.  It gives me the peanut sauce flavor I crave from the restaurants and my DF kid loves it.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil ( I prefer coconut oil, but am currently out)
1 tsp. granulated garlic (or 2 cloves minced fresh garlic, fried in the oil)
2 Tbsp. Red Curry paste ( I used massaman curry paste from the Asian store)
1/2 Tbsp. Fish Sauce
1 1/4 c. Creamy Peanut butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. chili powder
2 cans Coconut Milk

Directions:
1.  In sauce pan or wok heat oil and fry garlic if fresh.  Add curry and heat slightly.
2.  Whisk in 1 can coconut milk and add rest of the ingredients.
3.  Bring to a boil and boil for about a minute.

4.  I just steam veggies and boil chopped up chicken to add on top of my Jasmine rice and then ladle the peanut sauce over it all and enjoy.

I need to figure out how the Asian 1 makes their peanut sauce into a salad dressing...I would eat salad forever with that sauce on it...

DF "Cream of Chicken Soup"

I never realized how much I used and depended on Cream of soup...whether chicken, mushroom...whichever...until I had to go Dairy Free for my child.  All of a sudden all those recipes were not an option until I found this...Bean Flour "Cream of Chicken Soup"...all of a sudden my recipes were once again an option and the best part...nobody knows the difference hehe...

Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup Recipe:

• Grind: 4 T of any white bean (lima, navy, etc.) to make 5 T bean flour (I just use 5 Tbsp of garbanzo bean flour or fava bean flour cuz I don't have a Wondermill yet...)
• Combine: 5 T bean flour, 1 ¾ c. water , 4 t chicken bouillon into a saucepan
• Cook: On stovetop at medium temperature until thick and delicious (whisk frequently).The soup should cook in 3 minutes! (this may be longer if your grinder makes a very coarse flour).
Use this with cooked veggies and or meat for a complete meal.  You can also add this to recipes calling for cream of chicken soup cans (I have found this replaces a can plus the water or milk in recipes).

This recipe is from one of my favorite Food Storage websites called Food Storage Made Easy

loove the effort these gals put into healthy and food storage.

Calzone Filling

Ingredients:
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. mozzarella cheese,  shredded
1/2 c.  cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
1 egg

Directions:
Add all ingredients and mix.  Fill your calzone crust with this mix plus pepperoni or canadian and bacon and pineapple or whatever you like to fill your calzone with.

We did ours with mushrooms, green peppers, pepperoni and olives. 

Serve with a reduced marinara.  I cheated and used a Kirkland brand marinara.

Chicken "Alfredo" - phase 1

3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
2 Tbsp. EVOO
1 Red Pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1-2 c. Broccoli Florets, cooked el dente
1 1/2 c. Chicken Stock
8 oz. Fat Free Cream Cheese
1/2 Packet Ranch dressing or dip powder
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Cut chicken to bite size pieces and cook until almost done.  Add veggies and saute using 3/4 c. of the broth to de-glaze the pan and cook the veggies until soft.
2. In a separate pan mix 3/4 c. broth, cream cheese and ranch powder mix until smooth.  Reduce until slightly thickened.  Add the veggies and chicken.
3. Serve hot with parmesan sprinkled over it.

I served this over steamed cauliflower instead of pasta.  Was very yummy and totally feels like a cheater meal.  Tastes like one too....Could probably use Spaghetti squash on a different phase but for phase one, cauli is my first choice.  I may have to try adding some dijon mustard to the mix and possibly some other veggies like spinach...I haven't even considered yet how to make this Dairy Free...not sure I care for the Substitute cream cheese.

Heather's Spaghetti Sauce-phase 1

1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. ground chicken Italian Sausage (i used Isernios)
1 c. diced onion
2 celery stalks, diced
1 c. sliced mushrooms
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 c. pureed pumpkin
2 Tbsp. dehydrated peppers (can use fresh, prob about a cup of dices)
5 Tbsp. Thrive Tomato powder (could sub with 2 cans tomato sauce)
1 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes, pureed
4 c. water
1 Tbsp. Granulated Garlic
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp. Parsley
1 Tbsp. Molasses

Directions:
1. Brown both meats together and cook until juices are cooked away.
2. Add diced vegetables and cook until onions are transparent and carrots are soft. 
3. Add pumpkin, peppers, spices, tomatoes, and water.
4. Cook at a slight boil or simmer until reduced to thicker sauce.  About 10-15 min or so.
5. Serve hot on a bed of noodles, spaghetti squash (my fav) or in cabbage lasagna.


I started making this sauce to get away from all the corn syrups and HFCS.  Its pretty hard to find a good canned sauce that doesn't have that stuff in it and its almost just as easy to make it myself.  I started with just the meats and Italian stewed tomatoes with the spices and really love the idea of "sneaking" more vegetables in wherever I can and with the savory flavor of the tomatoes, I can hide a lot of them.   Maybe someday I will get out of the restaurant industry and start bottling this for all of us HFCS boycotters!