Tag: Egg Free

Steaks

Of course the real answer when cooking steaks is to cook them until their internal temperature reaches your target temperature (like 135 for medium rare because the temperature will raise another 5-10 degrees as it sits). We’ve tried marinating steaks, but really when you have good beef, you don’t want the amazing beef flavor being overwhelmed by marinade. Save the marinade for a cheap cut of beef, and just stick with Canadian steak seasoning.

And of course these are naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Steaks

  • Servings: varies
  • Difficulty: easy
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Nice and simple.

Ingredients

  • Beef or pork steaks (almost any variety)
  • Canadian steak seasoning

Directions

Preheat the grill on medium high. For diamond pattern, grill 2 minutes, then turn 45 degrees. Then grill 2 more minutes and flip over. Do the same thing on the other side–grill 2 minutes, then turn 45 degrees and grill 2 more minutes. The target temperature for medium rare for beef is 135, and pork should reach 145. Let rest 5-10 minutes before serving.


Spaghetti Sauce

I love this sauce, and it has a special place in my heart. I feel that this sauce was a springboard to my love of cooking and learning how to taste and adjust flavors while cooking. When I was 14 and Mom would let me try to make the sauce on my own, I felt so grown up. My mom was patient and helped me learn how to taste and adjust, adding more sugar if the sauce was acidic or more basil if it needed more seasoning. She perfected this spaghetti sauce. It’s a little sweet, and it’s got so much more flavor than most pasta sauces. Even Olive Garden is disappointing after we’ve had such a nice sauce. Of course like most recipes that use dried spices, the flavor gets stronger as it sits.

We use this spaghetti sauce for so many Italian dishes, like your standard spaghetti, lasagna, and manicotti. We just leave out the Italian sausage pieces for the lasagna and manicotti. Growing up, Mom would always use a jar of homemade, home-jarred pureed tomatoes and add some tomato paste to thicken it. But nowadays we usually make it with a jar of commercial pasta sauce and add extra stuff, but you can make it using a jar of unflavored tomato sauce also. So you might as well get the cheap sauce if you’re going to be doctoring it up anyway.

And luckily this one is naturally gluten free, as long as you choose a gluten free sauce (which  most are).

Make it a meal with:

  • Almost any pasta
  • Garlic Bread
  • Green Salad
  • Grapes
  • Corn

Spaghetti Sauce

  • Servings: 6?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Flavorful and great to use in several Italian dishes.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. extra lean Hamburger
  • 1 Onion, minced
  • 2 heaping tsp. Minced Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tsp. Sweet Basil Leaf
  • 1 qt. homemade Tomato Sauce, 32 oz. can crushed tomatoes, or jar of pasta sauce
  • 1 (6 oz.) can Tomato Paste (optional, to make thicker)
  • 2-2 ½ tsp. Salt (to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp. Sugar
  • 1-2 pkg. Mild Italian Sausage (optional), sliced

Directions

Brown hamburger and add onion and garlic to cook. Add a little salt and pepper, then mix in Italian seasoning and basil. Add sauce, tomato paste, salt, and sugar. Check for flavor and adjust seasonings as needed.

For Italian sausage, slice each sausage in about 5 pieces and boil in a separate pot for 5 minutes. Drain and add to sauce.


Salmon (pan seared)

Pan-seared salmon is great if you’d like a little bit of crust on your salmon or if you’re trying to make it really fast. The baked one goes pretty fast too, but we generally opt for the pan-seared one lately. Just make sure to press out extra water from the salmon so it sears better.

And of course this one is naturally gluten free. Just make sure that your garlic butter hasn’t been contaminated with bread crumbs from previous uses.

Make it a meal with:

Salmon (pan seared)

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

Ingredients

  • Salmon Filets
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Olive Oil
  • Garlic Butter (for gluten free, make sure it’s a new tub or not contaminated with old bread crumbs)
  • Lemon Juice (optional)

Directions

Place paper towels under and on top of filets, then press out extra water. Season the salmon filets with salt and pepper. Heat a small amount of oil in a heavy pan on medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the salmon filets. Brown the salmon for 2-3 minutes (even with a crust if desired), then flip the salmon. Place a dollop of garlic butter on each salmon filet and let it melt. Squeeze in a little lemon juice over the fish, and spoon the melted butter and lemon juice over each filet before serving.


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).


Shrimp or Chicken Alfredo

I originally found this listed as a Red Lobster copycat recipe. I’m not sure it’s a copycat, but it’s very delicious. I did double it from the original recipe because it originally called for 8 oz. of pasta, and generally linguine or alfredo noodles come in 16 oz. packages. The leftovers don’t reheat the best, though–(it gets really oily when you microwave it)–so you might just want this as a one-time meal without leftovers, or add less oil at the beginning to help.

Here’s a picture of the shrimp version using linguine:

Now we mostly make this as chicken alfredo because chicken is cheaper and more popular with several family members. And of course I just use chicken broth instead of clam juice.

If you’re making this gluten free, I’ve made it with gluten free rotini and once I actually used zoodles, and it has turned out well. Of course with the zoodles, the sauce doesn’t cling as well to the noodles so it’s soupier, but it still tastes nice and is a low carb option.

Make it a meal with:

Shrimp or Chicken Alfredo

  • Servings: 6-8?
  • Difficulty: medium
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Flavors of Red Lobster–just try to eat it all in one sitting instead of having leftovers (it doesn’t reheat amazingly).

Ingredients

  • 1/3 c. Olive Oil
  • 6 cloves Garlic, minced (2 Tbsp. minced)
  • 2 lb. raw Shrimp (peeled, deveined, no tails) or chicken, cubed
  • 1 1/3 c. Clam Juice or chicken broth
  • 2 c. Heavy Cream
  • 1 c. Parmesan Cheese
  • 1/2 tsp. dried Basil
  • 1/2 tsp. dried Oregano
  • 1 package Linguine or Fettucine (16 oz.) cooked and drained (or gluten free pasta or zoodles, lightly sauteed so they keep some crunch)

Directions

(If making chicken version, cook chicken first, then place in a separate bowl.) Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; reduce heat to low. Simmer until garlic is tender. Add shrimp and cook until opaque. Remove; reserve liquid in pan. Add clam juice or chicken broth, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; add cream, then cheese. Cook until thickened. Add shrimp or chicken to sauce and remaining except pasta. Pour over pasta in large bowl; toss gently to coat.


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.


Pork Chops

These pork chops are amazing for Sunday dinner or a special occasion. They’re probably more appropriately called “Smothered Pork Chops”, but whenever my family referred to pork chops, we always knew this is what we meant. I think these may have been Grandma’s delicious oven pork chops. The absolute star of this dish is the gravy, sweet and savory. It’s like no other gravy I’ve ever had. I can’t get enough, spooned over mashed potatoes. I have altered the recipe a little, with the change over the years in the size of cream of mushroom cans.

The longer you can let the pork go in the oven, the more tender it will be. I’ve used regular pork chops, bone in or boneless, and even pork sirloin chops. They all turn out quite delicious. I’ve also tried these pork chops without the flour on the outside, or just flouring and not browning. If you’re going to flour them, make sure to brown them–otherwise, the flavor is a little off. Without the flour is also delicious, but the most delicious is flouring and then browning. Just make sure to fish out the cloves before serving if you can–it’s always a little hard since they kind of blend in with the mushrooms from the cream of mushroom soup.

If you’re making this gluten free, you’ll either want to leave off the flour entirely or coat with gluten free flour or corn starch before browning. I find that it tastes better if I do actually coat it and brown it. And make sure to use the gluten free cream of mushroom soup because cream soups usually have wheat in them.

Make it a meal with:

Pork Chops

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: medium
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Smothered in a sweet and savory gravy, and amazing for special occasions.

Ingredients

  • 6-8 Pork Chops with fat trimmed away
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Flour (or gluten free flour)
  • Paprika
  • 2 Tbsp. Dried Minced Onion
  • 1 large can Cream of Mushroom Soup (or 3 small cans) (or gluten free cream of mushroom soup)
  • 1/3 can Water (or 1/3 can from each small can)
  • 3-4 shakes Worcestershire Sauce
  • 4 whole Cloves
  • 4 heaping Tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions

Salt and pepper the chops, then place in a gallon bag with flour and shake until coated. Heat a small amount of oil in a thick-bottomed pan and brown the chops on each side. Place chops in a large greased glass pan. Sprinkle paprika and onion flakes over chops. Then mix together remaining ingredients in a large bowl and pour over chops. Cover and bake for 1 ½ – 2 hours at 325° until chops reach desired tenderness. Remove 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.