Archive for Salads
Avocado Salsa
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This naturally gluten-free recipe has been a family favorite for years. You may call it avocado dip or even avocado pico de gallo, but my family lovingly calls it “Ugly Dip.” Why ugly you ask? I’m not sure, but someone must have thought it was ugly at one time. This dip is best after chilling in the refrigerator for a few hours (or overnight) to allow the flavors to mingle. Of course, if left too long the pretty green and yellow avocado may start to turn brown. Maybe that’s where the “ugly” title got started. I’ve found that the vinegar in the recipe helps keep it all looking and tasting fresh for at least 24 hours if sealed tight in a plastic container.
It makes a perfect appetizer for a party. Make it the night before, or the morning before the party. It only takes about ten minutes to prepare, seal tightly and place in the refrigerator. A couple hours later, take it out and serve with some tortilla chips.
So, here’s another reason why I love this dip so much: You don’t have to wait for the avocado to be perfectly ripe. This tastes great with an almost ripe avocado. (You know, it has a dark skin, but it’s still firm — not really soft enough for guacamole.) So next time you think about making guacamole, but the avocados are too firm, try this instead. You won’t be disappointed.
Avocado Salsa (aka. Ugly Dip) Recipe
Ingredients:
1 firm avocado, seeded, peeled and chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1 small can (4 oz.) of chopped black olives
1 small can (4 oz.) of chopped green chiles
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients and mix well.
- Refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight.
- Serve with tortilla chips.
Additional Notes:
This is a mild dip. It has good flavor, but isn’t spicy. If you prefer something with a little more kick, add one or two finely chopped jalapeños.- This is also great served as a pico de gallo. Consider adding it to tacos, salads, or fajitas. Or, as I did here, on top of Cilantro Rice, slow-cooked Mexican Chicken, and shredded cheddar.
Related Links:
More gluten-free appetizer recipes at The Gluten-Free Homemaker’s “What Can I Eat That’s Gluten-Free?”
More gluten-free Super Bowl Party Foods at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.
For football party ideas, check out Celebrate-It!
Kids Make Fruit Kabobs
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I love to get the kids in the kitchen and have them help prepare meals. Well… that’s what I like to say. But honestly, when dinnertime comes around, I’m often rushing around to get it done. Instead of finding something the kids can do, I’m often scooting them out the kitchen, out of my way. With our summer activities finally slowing down this week, we were able to take our time and make something together. We decided to make something that’s always a kid favorite: Fruit Kabobs!
Fruit kabobs are a great activity for kids. You can use almost any fruit, they are in bite-size pieces, and the kids can put it together themselves (or with minimal help, depending on their ages). Melon is a perfect fruit to use on the kabobs because it is so easy to cut. I did the big cuts, and removed the rind from the fruit with the big, sharp knife. But then the kids could use a butter knife to easily cut the melon into bite-size pieces. They thought it was great. We had a cantaloupe, but watermelon and honey dew would be good additions. You can see from the picture that we used strawberries and grapes, too. Go ahead and use up whatever you have in the house. Of course, some fruit turns brown quickly, so if you’re making them in advance you’d probably want to avoid those.
Cutting the fruit. If your kids are older, consider letting them cut the fruit themselves with Rachael Ray’s Young Cooks Cutting Set
The Sticks. You can use a variety of sticks for skewering the fruit: toothpicks, bamboo skewers, coffee stirs, small skinny straws, or even chopsticks. But my favorite is plastic swizzle sticks, or Drink Stirrers
Good for kids and the family. This activity encourages kids to help out in the kitchen. Kids feel good about what they created. They get to pick the fruit they want, and then eat it! With the kids going back to school soon, I’m also thinking this activity is great for helping kids build fine motor skills.
Now that I got the kids back in the kitchen, I’m hoping to continue it more often. So, when I sit down to plan our meals for next week, I’m going to include one or two items that the kids can help prepare. Planning in advance will allow me to schedule around after-school activities and give us plenty of time to get it done. If you’re looking for some kid-friendly recipes, or maybe a little more inspiration, check out these online posts and articles:
Gluten-Free Kids in the Kitchen
Happy Kitchen Jam Tarts (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free)
Kids in the Kitchen: Spaghetti and (Gluten-Free) Meatballs
Other Online articles about Kids in the Kitchen:
Cooking with Kids Teaches About Simple Snacks
Dads and Kids Cooking Together
Why Invite Your Kids Into The Kitchen?
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Cantaloupe is the theme ingredient this week for Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. So check it out for more gluten-free recipes with cantaloupe.
Menu Plan for Non-GF Houseguests
Posted by: | CommentsDo you ever struggle to figure out what foods to serve to visiting friends and family who aren’t on a gluten-free diet? You want them to like what you’re serving, but you don’t buy or cook with gluten. Last week we had family come to town to stay with us while they toured the area. We added two adults and two small kids to our meal plans. None of our guests were gluten-free, so I thought I’d share with you what we did for meals.
I tried to fix meals that are naturally gluten-free. I also tried to keep meals simple enough to satisfy the kids‘ taste buds. And some days, we went sightseeing with them and got back late, so we needed meals that were quick to fix. I didn’t cook and bake as much as I wanted to for them. The kids probably wouldn’t appreciate more elaborate meals anyway. Instead, I spent more time catching up with family I don’t get to see very often.
Breakfast Items
- Cereal – We had a lot of varieties on hand: Koala Crisp, Panda Puffs, Honey Nut Chex, Rice Chex, Cinnamon Chex, Brown Rice Crisps, Brown Rice Crisps with Berries, Cocoa Pebbles, Fruity Pebbles.
- Waffles
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Yogurt
- Fruit – blueberries seemed to be the favorite, but we also had bananas, strawberries, cherries, and apples.
Lunch
- Sandwiches – My cousin bought regular bread for sandwiches, so we had to be careful about cross-contamination. My cousin used a clean spoon to scoop out the peanut butter and jelly to avoid getting bread crumbs in the jars. (Thanks for understanding, Lorie!) And, plates, utensils and preparation area were cleaned thoroughly. For more gluten-free sandwich ideas, check out my post on alternatives for bread.
- Cheese slices
- Pepperoni and bologna
- Hot dogs
- Crackers
- Fruit
- Chips: corn chips, tortilla chips, potato chips
Snacks & Desserts
- Fruit Snacks
- Pirate’s Booty
- Popcorn
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Ice pops
- Ice cream
- Brownies: The Gluten-Free Pantry Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix made it quick and easy to get a dessert on the table.
- Cookies – I made a new recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies that I’ll tell you about later. My cousin also brought some gluten-free cookies with her to share with us: Glutino Chocolate Wafers and Raisin and Spice quinoa cookies by Adean Dream.
Dinners
Monday – Boston Market
Yep, we cheated the first evening and picked up food at Boston Market on the way home from afternoon activities. Boston Market is a great place to find gluten-free meals. We ordered a chicken family meal with mashed potatoes, corn, and steamed vegetables. I also got an additional rotisserie chicken to make sure we had enough. (For a limited time, it’s only $1.99 to add on to your order!) It’s always great to have extra chicken to use in other meals later in the week, too. Check out their menu with gluten content indicated. If you don’t have a Boston Market located near you, check out some of these other restaurants with gluten-free menus.
Tuesday – Flank Steak
Flank steak marinated in a gluten-free soy sauce with ginger, garlic, and molasses was grilled and then thinly sliced. We served it with a tossed salad, corn-on-the-cob, and steak-cut french fries.
Wednesday – Chicken Tacos
Another day out sightseeing, so I put chicken in the slow-cooker in the morning and had Mexican chicken ready when we got home. We quickly heated corn tortillas and crispy shells to serve with chopped lettuce, tomato, onion, black olives, black beans, and shredded cheese.
Thursday – Bonefish Grill
Our family visitors generously offered to take us out for dinner. We talked about local restaurants that have gluten-free menus and they decided to try Bonefish Grill, since it was new to them. It’s my son’s favorite restaurant. The only GF item on the kids’ menu is grilled chicken, so that’s what he gets, along with steamed vegetables with no seasoning. He cleans his plate every time, which is saying a lot for my skinny little Celiac. 
My husband and I always start dinner with the Saucy Shrimp appetizer. For dinner, I had the Ahi Tuna with mango salsa served with jasmine rice and steamed vegetables (no seasoning). It was so good! Another favorite of mine on their gluten-free menu is Lily’s chicken (topped with spinach, artichoke and goat cheese) with garlic mashed potatoes.
Friday – Southwestern Chicken Salad
After eating so much at Thursday’s dinner at Bonefish, I was ready for a lighter meal. So, we used leftovers from Wednesday’s meal to build our own salads. The kids didn’t exactly eat salads, but they ate some of the ingredients separately. We also had some hot dogs to heat up for the kids. Hot dogs with cheese in a corn tortilla always works well.
Saturday – Hamburgers
I was told this was a favorite of my cousin’s daughter, so we decided to have hamburgers one night. I was a little concerned about serving gluten-free buns to those used to eating the glutenous ones, but it wasn’t a problem. The youngest kids didn’t want buns, one wanted bread instead of a bun, and the adults enjoyed our favorite GF rolls: Against the Grain. I made a red potato and green bean salad for the adults, and served steamed green beans and French fries for the kids. OK, the adults ate the fries, too.
Sunday – Leftovers
We had a great time with family, but their vacation time was over. With our guests gone, we tried to finish up the leftovers in the refrigerator.
Need more menu ideas?
For more Gluten-Free Menus, visit this week’s Gluten-Free Menu Swap, hosted by Manda at Aspargus Thin. Her theme this week is grapes. This weekend I made a very tasty Chicken Salad using grapes and leftover chicken from Boston Market. Thanks to Cheryl at Gluten Free Goodness for continuing to organize the Gluten-Free Menu Swap.
As always, there are hundreds more menu plans (not necessarily gluten-free) at OrgJunkie.com.
Not My Mom’s Chicken Salad
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In an effort to use up leftover chicken in the refrigerator, I decided to make a chicken salad. I intended to make my mom’s wonderful recipe, but found that I was missing some key ingredients from it. So, I started to modify the recipe to use up the ingredients I had in the kitchen and accommodate the gluten-free diet, too. By the time I was done tweaking, it was nothing like the salad my mom used to make. It turned out just as good, but with a completely different taste. It made a tasty chicken salad sandwich (on gluten-free bread, of course), but was also great just served on green leaf lettuce.
Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
Dressing:
3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
Salad:
2 Cups chicken, cooked and chopped
2 TBSP onion, finely chopped
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1/4 Cup sweet pickle relish
1 Cup red seedless grapes, each cut in half
1/2 Cup (about 3 oz.) pine nuts, lightly toasted
Directions:
- Mix dressing ingredients well and refrigerate.
- Combine all salad ingredients, except the pine nuts. Pour dressing over salad ingredients and mix well, but gently.
- Serve on gluten-free bread, rolls, or a bed of lettuce.
- Sprinkle toasted pine nuts on top.
Additional Notes:
- To toast the pine nuts, place in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat. Using a spoon or spatula, push them around in the skillet for about five minutes – just until they’re golden and fragrant. Don’t walk away, they can burn quickly if the heat gets too high.
- This is best after chilling in the refrigerator overnight, so go ahead and mix it all up the day before. However, to keep the pine nuts a little crispier, you may want to wait until just before serving to sprinkle on the pine nuts.
- Makes 4-6 sandwiches or salads.
Corn and Black Bean Salad
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Here’s another quick and easy recipe that’s great to make for parties, especially a Mexican fiesta. Everyone will love the fresh flavors and the bright colors. You can serve it as a dip with corn or tortilla chips, but I think it’s best as a side salad. It’s also great added to Southwestern Chicken Salads, rice bowls and even as a filler in tacos. I’ve made this salad with several variations. Here’s what I put in it the last time I made it:
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Corn and Black Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
4 Cups (about 16 oz.) frozen whole kernel corn
1 can (15.5 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 Cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 Cup (about 4 – 6) green onions, sliced
1/4 Cup red onion, finely chopped
Juice of 2-3 fresh limes
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 TBSP ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 medium tomato, chopped and added right before serving
Directions:
- In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except the tomato.
- Cover and chill the salad for a couple hours or even overnight.
- Add the tomatoes and stir gently right before serving.
Additional Notes:
- Adding the tomatoes right before serving, prevents the salad from getting too watery and the tomatoes from getting mushy.
- If you don’t want to bother with adding the tomatoes at the end: chop up a sweet red pepper instead and mix it in with all the other ingredients before you chill it.
For more gluten-free recipes with onions, check out this week’s Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.
