Tag: Dairy Free (except butter)

Salmon (baked)

I thought about combining the two easy salmon recipes that we use and just calling it “Salmon Two Ways”–But then I thought I should just separate it. We used to make this one all the time in my teenage years and 20s. It’s nice and easy. Baked salmon is good if you’ve got a lot of people to feed, but the pan seared one is faster by a few minutes. Lemon pepper and dill are both great with seafood, and we generally use both. But if you’re not a fan of dill, it’s great with just lemon pepper. I’ve also made it with just salt, pepper, and garlic butter (like in the photo).

And of course this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Salmon (baked)

  • Servings: varies
  • Difficulty: easy
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Like basically all seafood recipes, try not to make leftovers with this one–it’s better fresh.

Ingredients

  • Salmon Filets
  • 1 Tbsp. melted Butter per filet
  • Lemon Pepper Seasoning
  • Dill Weed (optional)

Directions

If filets are frozen, place individual packaged filets in cold water to thaw for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°. Cover a cookie sheet in foil and spray with nonstick spray. Place paper towels under and on top of filets, then press out extra water. Then place filets on the cookie sheet and cover with melted butter. Sprinkle each filet generously with lemon pepper seasoning. Lightly sprinkle each with dill weed. Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes (depending on size of filet).


Roast Beef

For a Sunday dinner, nothing beats a simple roast beef with mashed potatoes. The house smells amazing, and everyone loves the meal. The bouillon cubes and water in the bottom of the pan are to make sure the drippings don’t burn for gravy. Also, the best way to cook the roast is to use a digital thermometer and cook until it reaches 145° for medium rare (time varies by weight).

If you’re making this one gluten free, the beef itself is of course gluten free. But if you’re making gravy, make sure to use Members Mark Beef Base or Better Than Bouillon instead of bouillon cubes (or use gluten free bouillon cubes if you can find them).

Make it a meal with:

Roast Beef

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Roast with a digital thermometer stuck in the middle, until it reaches 145° for medium rare.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 lb. Beef Roast
  • (Season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and/or garlic powder optional)
  • 2 Beef Bouillon Cubes (or use 2 tsp. Members Mark Beef Base in gravy, not in roaster pan)
  • 2 c. Water

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°. Place foil in bottom of broiler pan. In bottom, place bouillon cubes. On top pan (greased), place roast. Place pan in oven, then add water to bottom of pan. Cook for 2-3 hours at 325° or until internal temperature reaches 145°. Be sure to watch the temperature because sometimes it can get done faster than anticipated.


Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken

This recipe came from McCormick–they discontinued a line of spices in individual packets that you’d combine in a bowl for the final recipe. It was delicious, so I wrote it down for future use. I’ve made this using thighs, Cornish game hens, and leg quarters. It works well for all of them, but I’ll often double the recipe if I’m making it with the potatoes or if there’s tons of surface area to cover. And I’ll often just drizzle some oil on the chicken, then sprinkle the mixed seasoning on top and rub it all over. Also, to make it less fatty and easier on the digestive system, I’ll often remove the skin from the chicken thighs. It’s still nice and moist.

And this one is naturally gluten free! Just avoid using a pastry brush to cover with oil, if the pastry brush has ever touched bread or anything with gluten (gluten often gets stuck in the bristles).

Make it a meal with:

  • Fresh Fruit or Fruit Salad
  • Green Beans
  • Rolls

Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken

  • Servings: 3?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Just make sure to crush the rosemary leaves for best results. And double if you’re making with potatoes.

Ingredients

  • 2 tsp. Paprika
  • 1 ½ tsp. Crushed Rosemary Leaves
  • 1 tsp. Dried Minced Garlic
  • ½ tsp. Pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • About 6 bone-in Chicken Thighs or 2 Cornish game hens
  • (1 ½ lbs. Small red or Russet potatoes: 1” cubes) optional

Directions

Mix oil, spices, and salt in bowl. Mix in chicken (and potatoes) or brush on. Roast, uncovered at 425° for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165° (it may take longer if the chicken was still slightly frozen). (Cornish game hen = 350° for 1 hour.)


Prime Rib

When I was in my 20s, our family starting making Prime Rib every Christmas Eve, served with baked potatoes and cheesy broccoli. And maybe razzleberry pie or frozen cheesecake bites for dessert. My brothers like having the savory horseradish cream instead of straight up horseradish also. It’s such a wonderful tradition, and the one time of year when you can justify spending so much on meat for a meal.

We’ve tried a few different methods of cooking prime rib. Originally we used a method of turning the oven off for two hours, but sometimes it was extremely rare in the middle. And we’ve tried roasting it just like a roast beef. Lately we’ve been using the reverse searing method, which works pretty well. They suggest letting it dry out in your fridge overnight beforehand for a nicer crust, but I never remember to do that and it’s still delicious.

And of course this one is naturally gluten free.

This method comes from sweetandsavorybyshinee.com. This chart is helpful, haha, even though I’m realizing it has a typo that says “eastimated.”

Make it a meal with:

  • Baked Potatoes or Twice Baked Potatoes
  • Cheesy Broccoli
  • Mixed Berries or Fruit Salad
  • Razzleberry Pie or Cheesecake Bites

Prime Rib

  • Servings: 10?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Perfect for Christmas Eve. Remember to let it sit about 2 hours on your counter before roasting.

Ingredients

Roast

  • 6-8 lb. Boneless Beef Rib Roast
  • Generous salt and pepper
  • Onion Powder
  • Garlic Powder

Horseradish Cream

  • 2 c. Whipping Cream, whipped
  • ½ tsp. Salt
  • 6 Tbsp. grated Horseradish, pressed dry (squeeze all liquid out)

Directions

For the roast, place the unwrapped roast on a cookie sheet and generously salt all over, then place in the fridge overnight to dry it and create a nice crust (it’s ok if you forget this step). Then 1-2 hours before roasting (depending on roast size), take the roast out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Then season all over with pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Push a thermometer in the middle of the roast, place the roast fat side up on a greased roasting pan (with foil in the bottom for easier cleaning), and cook at 200° for about 3.5 hours (or according to time on the chart) or until the internal temperature reaches 120°. *Note: If you use a convection oven, the cook time is a little less, so keep an eye on your thermometer. Remove from oven, then cover with foil and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 500° and roast for 6-10 minutes until crisp and brown on the outside. The internal temperature should be 135° for medium rare. For easier slicing, cut off the bone before slicing.

For hoseradish cream, whip cream and fold in other ingredients. Taste for flavor and add salt as needed.


Porcupine Meatballs

Why do they call them porcupine meatballs? I think it’s because the rice makes it like little porcupine quills. In any case, on a fall evening, I love when the house is full of the warm smells of porcupine meatballs, hot blueberry muffins, and green beans. This is also a great pantry meal that you can make without needing any fresh or refrigerated ingredients. It’s not a hard recipe, but it does take time to make, with rolling the meatballs and then needing time to simmer. Also, FYI, you can include ground turkey or chicken for one pound of the meat, but don’t do the entire 2 lb. as poultry. I’ve tried that before, and the meatballs just fall apart. Maybe it needs the higher fat content to hold together better or something.

If you’re making this gluten free, you’ll need to make the replacement for the canned tomato soup (since most condensed soups have wheat in them).

Make it a meal with:

  • Blueberry Muffins or French bread
  • Green Beans
  • Jell-O

Porcupine Meatballs

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Perfect for fall evenings, especially with blueberry muffins.

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 2 small cans Tomato Soup
    • For gluten free, use:
    • 16 oz. Tomato Sauce
    • 1 Tbsp. Sugar
    • 2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
    • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 2 cans Water (or about 22 oz. water)
  • 2 Whole Cloves
  • ¼ tsp. Chili Powder
  • 1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • ¼ c. Minute Rice

Meatballs

  • 2 lbs. Hamburger
  • 1 c. Minute Rice
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion
  • 1 1/8 tsp. Salt
  • Pepper to taste

Directions

In a heavy pan, mix the sauce ingredients. Then in a large bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients with your hands. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and drop into the sauce. Simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard cloves before serving if you can find them.


Pea Soup

Pea soup always makes the house smell so amazing, with the warm aromas of ham, onion, and peas. But we usually only make it once a year or once every few years, with the leftover ham from New Year’s. Haha, mostly it turns into Ham Soup (with some peas) because the ham is what makes it so delicious. It’s best if you can find Hurst’s Ham Peas (like at Walmart) because it comes with an enclosed flavoring packet. I have made it with just straight up split peas because I couldn’t find one with a flavor packet at a different grocery store, but the flavors of course need more tinkering.

Also, I generally wait until the end to add the ham cubes. I’ve had the ham boil with the rest of the soup before, and the ham often kind of shrivels up and loses its flavor. So I prefer to wait to add the ham cubes until the end, just to warm them up in the soup before serving.

And this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

  • French Bread or Rolls
  • Fruit Salad

Pea Soup

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Great way to use your leftover ham bone.

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg. Hurst’s Split Peas
  • 12 c. Water
  • 1 medium Onion, chopped fine
  • 1 Carrot, diced
  • 4 Tbsp. Butter
  • 2 tsp. Salt
  • ½ tsp. Pepper
  • Enclosed packet of Ham Flavoring
  • Leftover Ham with bone (cut ham into cubes)

Directions

Rinse peas. Combine peas, water, onion, carrot, butter. Cover loosely, boil rapidly 30 minutes. Add ham flavoring, salt, pepper, and ham bone. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Then stir ham cubes in soup, to warm up before serving.


Mulligatawny Soup

The first time I tried mulligatawny was from the Harmons hot soup bar. Normally I’m not a fan of curry, but the soup was delicious, so I searched out a recipe from Food Network and found one from a restaurant owner in Massachusetts. I made a few modifications, like adding more chicken, potatoes, and curry powder. The additions make it more like a stew because it gets thicker, but I love it that way. And it’s even better if you serve it with naan and dip the naan in the soup.

This is naturally gluten free, and I’ve even made it dairy free before by using a can of coconut milk instead of cream (the picture below is made with coconut milk). You couldn’t taste coconut at all, probably because of the curry powder–I was delightfully surprised. And this freezes well in a gallon bag.

Make it a meal with:

Mulligatawny Soup

  • Servings: 8?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Indian flavors in a hearty soup, perfect with naan.

Ingredients

  • 1 c. Onion, diced
  • 4 – 6 Carrots, diced
  • 4 Celery stalks, diced
  • 4 Small Potatoes, diced
  • ½ c. Butter
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
  • 4 Tbsp. Curry Powder
  • 8 c. Chicken Stock
  • 2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and diced
  • 1/2 c. Uncooked rice (then cook)
  • 1 Rotisserie Chicken, broken down into bite size pieces
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1/4 tsp. Dried Thyme
  • 1/2 tsp. Pepper
  • 1 c. Cream, hot (or 1 can of coconut milk)

Directions

In a large stockpot over medium heat, add the onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, and butter. Cook until tender but do not burn. Stir in the cornstarch and curry powder, and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock and let simmer for 30 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients except the cream. Let simmer for 15 minutes, then add the cream. Add more spices or liquid as needed. Serve with naan.


Minestrone

Add chicken to this flavorful soup to make it more filling. This soup is a great way to get lots of veggies. It does take a lot of dicing but it requires very little cleanup–just a knife and cutting board besides the pot. I’ll often leave out the beans and add a yellow squash instead. You can kind of put in whatever veggies you’d like.

If you’re making it gluten free, you can easily add gluten free rotini instead of macaroni.

Make it a meal with:

  • Garlic Bread or Breadsticks
  • Jell-O or Fresh Fruit

Minestrone

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Nice garlicky soup with lots of veggies.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 – 2 lb. Chicken, cubed (optional) or rotisserie chicken
  • 1 can (16 oz.) Kidney Beans, drained (optional) or 1 yellow squash, diced
  • 1 clove Garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp. Salt
  • ¼ tsp. Pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
  • ¼ c. chopped fresh Parsley (optional)
  • 1 small, unpeeled Zucchini, diced
  • 2 ribs Celery with leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 small Carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 small Onion, minced
  • 1 can (14 ½ oz.) Diced Tomatoes
  • 3 Tbsp. Butter
  • 2 ½ c. Water
  • 1/3 c. uncooked Elbow Macaroni (or gluten free rotini)
  • ½ c. Beef Broth
  • Salt to taste
  • Parmesan cheese to top (optional)

Directions

If using the chicken, add a little oil to the bottom of the pot and cook the chicken. Then remove to a bowl. Mash beans slightly in pot. Stir in ingredients from garlic to parsley. Then add zucchini to water. Add back chicken. Boil, then reduce heat, cover, simmer 1 hour. Add more water if needed. Add macaroni and beef broth. Simmer 15 minutes until macaroni is tender. Top with parmesan cheese if desired.


Lemon Chicken

This recipe came from Aunt LaRee, and it’s wonderful for grilling. You can also broil it in your oven if you don’t want to fire up the grill. Take note that the chicken needs to marinate for 4 hours, though.

And this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Lemon Chicken

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Easy, flavorful, and great for grilling. Remember to marinate 4 hours.

Ingredients

  • ¾ c. Oil
  • ¾ c. Lemon Juice
  • 1 Tbsp. Garlic Salt
  • 2 tsp. Onion Powder
  • 2 tsp. Basil
  • Chicken Breasts or pieces

Directions

Mix all ingredients in gallon bag. Marinate 4 hours. Then place chicken on grill and heat until grill reaches 350°. Then reduce heat to low. Grill (or broil) for 3-6 minutes on each side (or more, depending on thickness of chicken) until internal temperature reaches 165°. 15-20 minutes for bone-in.


Kalua Pork

Michael got this recipe on his mission from a Hawaiian family, and we’ve made it a lot since then. It’s great and very easy for large gatherings, and your house smells delicious all day. Plus, pork shoulder is often on sale, even as low as 99 cents a pound. Kalua pork is a little greasy, though, so take note. We often serve it on rice, but it’s also great on hamburger buns or Hawaiian sweet rolls.

And good news, this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Kalua Pork

  • Servings: 12?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Very easy and great for large gatherings.

Ingredients

  • 5-6 lb. Pork Shoulder/Butt (boneless if possible, but bone-in is fine)
  • 1 Tbsp.+ Sea Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Liquid Smoke
  • 1 bottle Hawaiian BBQ Sauce (optional)

Directions

Combine ingredients and cook on low in oven at 200° or in crock pot on low for 14-20 hours. May season with more salt afterwards, if needed. After cooked, pull apart with fork and serve on rice with BBQ sauce (if desired). You can place the pork back in the crock pot to keep it warm, but remove most of the liquid or it will be very fatty.