Butternut Squash Enchiladas

A new year is always a good time to think about change and taking steps to achieve goals.  I usually think about eating better due to the gluttony of the holidays. 

Sun Setting on 2015

Recently, one of my favorite authors, Michael Pollan, had a television show based on his book, “Food Rules”.  It captured my attention and gave me some inspiration for eating, cooking, and making change for 2016 because the rules were simple and funny.

In 2016, I will share in this blog, the rules set forth in his book, and how I try to apply them to my daily life with a job, family, and other responsibilities. 

Michael Pollan is not a scientist or a nutritionist, but a regular person like you and me, who just wants to know how to eat better.  As a parent of a child with food allergies, shopping and cooking safe, healthy, and nutritionally packed food is a daily focus.

Michael Pollan suggests in his book, “Food Rules” that how to approach eating and nutrition can be boiled down to these seven words:

“Eat Food, not too much, mostly plants”

Eat Food:  Early on in managing food allergies, most people discover that the best option for eating is real, whole food.  My son’s packed lunches have always garnered the attention of his daycare providers, teachers, and other parents with comments like: “He has the healthiest lunch” and “You are lucky he eats vegetables”.  Trust me, there were many mornings that I wished he could just eat something from the store shelf, but in the end, I am thankful that we were pushed into eating more whole foods and less processed foods.

A sample of my recent order

Mostly Plants: I thought that I was doing a good job of providing vegetables and fruits in our diet, but realized that I depended on mostly broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cucumbers, apples, bananas, beans, and potatoes.  I have been influenced over the last two year to add more variety in our vegetables and eating more of them on a daily basis.  We recently subscribed to a home delivery for organic fruits and vegetables.   Everyone in the house looks forward to our weekly box of veggies and now I hear my family say things like kiwi, squash, and kale.  Let me know if you want more information about home delivery as I can help you save $$$ on your first order.

Not too much: Admittedly, pregnancy had a big influence on me for “not too much” as I couldn’t handle larger meals and switched to smaller portions with healthy snacks.  The following recipe incorporates all of these rules.  This meal feeds my family of five for two dinners. 

Butternut Squash Chicken Enchiladas

1 butternut squash

¾ cup of chicken stock

12 corn tortillas

1 can of white beans

2 chicken thighs

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Shredded Cheese (optional)

Chopped Cilantro (optional)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Prepare the butternut squash by slicing in half, lengthwise and removing seeds.  Place in a casserole dish with ¼ cup water and salt and pepper. Salt and pepper chicken thighs and place in dish with squash.

-Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove chicken and continue to bake squash for another 20 minutes or until it can be easily pierced with a fork.

-While the squash is finishing, sauté onions and garlic with 1 tablespoon of oil.  Divide onions and garlic into two equal portions.

-Remove skin and meat from chicken thighs.  Discard the skin and bones and cut the meat into small bite sized pieces.  Remove the rough skin from the squash and mash squash.  Divide the chicken and squash into two equal portions.

-In a large casserole dish, pour ¼ cup of chicken broth on bottom of pan. Layer 6 corn tortillas on bottom of dish.  Next, place a layer of squash, chicken, beans, onions, and garlic. Pour ¼ cup of chicken stock over dish.  Repeat sequence of tortillas, squash, chicken, beans, onions, and garlic.  Once more, pour ¼ cup of chicken stock over dish. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve with shredded cheese and cilantro and a bountiful salad.

Cashew Cream and Pumpkin Butter Pies

Everyone has traditional foods that define the holiday for their family.  Traditional pumpkin pie and whipped cream are a typical part of the Thanksgiving tradition, but food allergies to eggs and milk often remove this dish from the menu. 

An alternative is to make pumpkin butter and a cream based sauce made from cashews. 

Pumpkin Butter

Pumpkin pie is loaded with eggs, dairy, and wheat.  This option is vegan and wheat-free. 

Two 15 ounce cans of unsweetened pumpkin puree

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup apple cider

3/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees   Place all ingredients a large casserole dish and stir to blend.  Place casserole dish into the oven.  Stir every 15 minutes until the pumpkin butter has thickened over a period of 1 1/2 hours.  Allow the pumpkin butter to cool and place in an airtight container.  Refrigerate.

Cashew Cream

1 cup of raw cashews

½ cup of water

1/8 teaspoon of sea salt

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 tablespoons of white, granulated sugar

Place raw cashews in a bowl and cover with water for about 3 hours.  Drain water from cashews.  Place cashews in a food processor with water, salt, vanilla, and sugar.  Process until smooth, scraping the sides periodically. 

The left over pumpkin butter and cream will be a great addition to oatmeal in the morning.

Enchilada, Hold the Cheese: Add Shaken Slaw and Pickled Onions

Enchilada with Pickled Onion

At one point in my life, I was making two meals each night, one specifically for my child with multiple food allergies and the other for the rest of us.  We were not quite ready to give up wheat and dairy, especially in foods like enchiladas.  Over a year ago, I finally said enough and started making one meal that everyone could enjoy, including enchiladas.

Since necessity is the driving force of change, I adapted my methods for making enchiladas and excluded cheese.  I added canned squash, beans, and tomatoes and topped it with a flavorful mix of vegetables and herbs.  If someone wants cheese, they can add it later.

I do not have endless time (who does?) so I just layer the corn tortillas in a large baking dish and skip the frying and rolling that are typical with an enchilada.  I will just call mine Enchilada Casserole.

Frontera is generally allergen friendly

 Here is how it goes:

Enchilada Casserole

½ to 1 large onion diced

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of red chile powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 pound of ground beef (optional)

1-2 cans of pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed.

1 can of pureed squash (pumpkin, butternut, or sweet potato)

1 can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 package of Frontera Red Chile sauce

12 corn tortillas

• Chopped cilantro and green onion
• Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
• Brown the ground beef (if using), then add onion and garlic, spices and salt.  Sauté onions until soft.  Add the beans, squash, and tomatoes and cook over medium heat while you prepare the baking dish.
• Lightly oil the bottom of a 9x12 inch baking dish.  Layer 6 corn tortillas so the entire bottom of the dish is covered.  Spoon one half of the bean and squash mixture over the tortillas and spread evenly.  Add half of the red chile sauce to cover.  Repeat layer of corn tortillas, beans and squash, and chile sauce.
• Bake at 350 degrees, covered, for 45 minutes.  Allow dish to rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes prior to serving.  Top with cilantro and onions.

Suggested Side Dishes:  Who needs cheese when you have these?

Shaken Cole Slaw

My son loves this cole slaw…even after he found out it was cabbage and not lettuce that he was eating!

1 package of precut cabbage for slaw
½ cup Vidalia Onion Dressing from Sam’s Club (GF, Dairy Free, Egg Free)

Place half of the cabbage in a large Tupperware type container, pour ¼ cup of the dressing over cabbage.  Place the remaining cabbage in the container and top with the remaining dressing.  Place lid on container and shake vigorously.  Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and shake well one more time prior to serving.

Quick Pickled Red Onion

Shaken Slaw

• 1 large red onion sliced thinly
• 1 cup of hot water
• ½ cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt

Combine water, vinegar, sugar, and salt and stir until dissolved.  Place sliced onion in a glass mason jar or a container with a lid.  Pour liquid mixture over onions.  Chill for one hour prior to serving.  Onions should last about one week in the refrigerator.

Smoked Salmon, Broccoli, and Pasta

I first read about this dish from my relative and fellow food writer, Silvia Todesco. She is an Italian living in the US and she has a beautiful and most inspiring website dedicated to authentic Italian cooking.  Her website is http://italiangoodness.net/. 

Recently, she had a post about smoked salmon and pasta.  I was intrigued because my son can eat smoked salmon and it is generally well received by all at the dinner table.  Her recipe was very simple and easy to make.  To make it my own, I added some garlic, broccoli, and fresh parsley and modified the recipe to make it dairy and gluten free.  Even with the substitutions and additions, this meal is very easy to make and is a crowd pleaser for all ages.

Smoked Salmon, Broccoli, and Pasta

1, 16 ounce package of smoked salmon

1 package cooked gluten free pasta or pasta of choice

½ yellow onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

2-3 teaspoons of olive oil

1, 16 ounce package of premium frozen broccoli flowerets

1 container of cream cheese (Daiya brand for dairy free or Philly for full dairy diets)

½ cup to 1 cup of broth or pasta water

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta as directed, reserving pasta water.

Sauté onions and garlic, in olive oil, until softened.  Add broccoli, cover and steam until broccoli is mostly cooked.  Add smoked salmon and crumble in the pan into bite sized pieces.  Add ½ cup of pasta water or broth with cream cheese to the pan.  Stir continuously until cream cheese softens.  Continue to add pasta water until desired consistency of the cream sauce is obtained.

Serve with pasta and top with fresh parsley.

Ice Cream Pie

Madeline and Maggie

My daughter had a birthday over the weekend and her only request was to have ice cream pie instead of cake.  Ice Cream Pie is a dessert that it is in the family.  My mother in law made it for my husband’s birthday, and my daughter has been looking forward to making her own for months.

She has an allergy to eggs and food made with eggs, so ice cream pie is a great alternative to cake.  We just made sure to buy ice cream without egg in the ingredients.  It is also gluten free and nut-free.  

Her ice cream pie was made in a deep, round, 8 inch casserole dish with a layer of vanilla ice cream, followed by an entire 5 ounce jar of hot fudge sauce, and topped with a layer of sea salt caramel truffle ice cream, topped with whipped cream. 

This clearly was not going to work for my son with a dairy allergy, but I wanted for him to enjoy ice cream pie along with the rest of the family.  I made a version for him that is dairy free and made entirely of coconut ice cream.  I purchased the chocolate coconut ice cream from the store, but decided to make a vanilla version at home.  His ice cream pie was made in a similar fashion, but on a smaller scale and with Hershey’s chocolate syrup rather than hot fudge sauce.  It goes a little like this:

Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream

Cream of Coconut 

1 can of cream of coconut
½ cup of sugar

1 cup rice milk

½ cup coconut yogurt (optional)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Combine sugar and rice milk over low heat, stir until dissolved.  Add cream of coconut, yogurt, and vanilla.  Chill in freezer for 30-60 minutes. 

Pour contents into an ice cream machine and follow instructions for churning ice cream.  The machine will need to run for about 30-45 minutes.

Coconut Ice Cream Pie

Ice Cream Pie-Deep Dish

2    cups ice cream-your choice

One, 5 ounce of hot fudge sauce

2    cups of a different flavor ice cream

Whipped cream

Place a layer of ice cream in the bottom of a round 8 or 9 inch casserole dish.  Pour a layer of hot fudge sauce over ice cream.  Chill in freezer for 30-60 minutes.  Once the pie is chilled, place another layer of ice cream on top of the fudge.  Chill in freezer until ready to serve.  Add whipped topping and serve. 

10-12 servings.

Follow the same directions for the coconut ice cream pie.  I layered mine with vanilla, Hershey’s, then chocolate coconut ice cream.

Vintage Fruit Salad - Somewhere in Middle America...

                

Lake Pueblo in January...No Ice!

Winter finally decided to show up this week where I live.  Prior to this week, the weather was so mild, warm, and dry that we found ourselves outside hiking, biking, and playing tennis.   My trees were even starting to bud out. 

Due to snow days from school, I ended up with loads of extra fruit that I had purchased as a snack for the after school chess club.  Fearful that I would have a freezer full of bananas and a countertop full of rotting fruit, I turned to a new fruit salad recipe that was given to me by a friend.  This salad is a great mix of canned and fresh fruit with a creamy sauce made from instant vanilla pudding.  Yes, you read correctly, Jell-O Instant Pudding.  It is a bit out of character for me to recommend it, but sometimes it feels good to buy something from the mainstream.  Typically, pudding mix is off limits for a dairy allergy because it requires cow milk if you use it as intended.  The mix itself is dairy free and is dissolved into the fruit juices to make a creamy fruit sauce.  I think this would be a great treat for any occasion.

SAGE Art Academy Painting Plus a Cup of Vintage Fruit Salad

Vintage Fruit Salad

1    15-ounce can of peach slices, drained, reserving juice

1    20-ounce can of pineapple chunks, drained, reserving juice

1    3 1/8 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding

2    bananas, sliced

½   cup of blueberries

1½ cups of halved grapes

Add fruit like a cup of quartered strawberries, grapefruit, mango, apples, or orange slices.

• Combine fruit juices and pudding with a whisk until dissolved.
• Add the canned fruit to the fresh fruit and pour the pudding mixture over fruit and stir gently to combine.
• Chill and serve.

Gorp

Monarch Mountain

When I came into the “circle of trust” of my husband’s family and was introduced to Gorp.  Gorp was a snack that made its way on hikes, ski trips, or basically anything that involved the outdoors.  I didn’t mind the snack as it always contained chocolate.  

Campsite

As with any good relationship, the family snack started to rub off on me and I began packing it as a snack for my children.  It has turned out to be a great resource for a nutritious, easy, packable snack for all of our adventures, however great or small.

Above Tree Line Hike Cottonwood Pass

             

Gorp is basically trail mix.  The acronym is “good, ol’, raisins, and peanuts” and gorp is also a verb meaning to “eat greedily” per Wikipedia.  Due to allergies, my gorp does not contain nuts or milk chocolate, but plenty of sweet and salty favorites.

Gorp

The Sweet and Salty

1 cup gluten free pretzels

¼ cup chocolate chips-Enjoy Life chips or mega chunks

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup dried cherries

¼ cup salted sunflower seeds

Colorful Shrimp Salad

Last week was all about simplification, but life does need celebration!  This week’s recipe is a very festive and colorful dish to bring to any celebration.  The recipe is at least 20 years old and was given to my mom by a very fun loving person.  To my amazement, this recipe is perfectly acceptable for my children and their food allergies and is also gluten free.  They ate it and they loved it!

I also couldn't help but notice the striking similarity of shapes and colors of this salad with another recent celebration.  To celebrate my parent’s birthdays, my sister and I indulged them with an art adventure at SAGE Art Academy in Pueblo, Colorado.

Shrimp Salad Appetizer

2 pounds medium raw shrimp

1 lemon thinly sliced to maintain the cross section

1 orange, thinly sliced to maintain the cross section

1 cup pitted black olives, well drained

1 medium red onion thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped pimento

Marinade

¼ cup canola oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf, crumbled
Dash of cayenne pepper
¼ cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Shell and devein shrimp.  Bring 1 quart of water to a boil and add shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes, drain at once, rinse in cold water, drain again, and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine lemon slices, onion, black olives, and pimento and toss well. 

In a smaller bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade, canola oil through mustard seeds.  After dressing ingredients are combined, add them to the bowl with the citrus slices.

Combine shrimp with the marinade and cover and chill for no more than 3 hours. 

Serve with toothpicks and arrange on a large platter atop a bed of fresh, clean, dry leaf lettuce.

Oh Thank Heaven

It was a hot week in Pueblo.  My boys spent the week at a sports camp at the university and my daughter was away at a mountain camp.  We wrapped up the week with a family bike ride on the river trail.  A first for our family.  Our youngest is finally able to ride a bike, by himself, in a straight line, using his brakes, and taking off by himself.  We celebrated with a Slurpee from 7-11.  

Why a Slurpee?  A Slurpee is dairy free, nut free, gluten free, egg free.  Free of most anything associated with food, I will admit.  It is a great treat for a child who has never, ever gone out for an ice cream cone due to multiple food allergies.

Oh Thank Heaven for 7-11...

Cincinnati Style Chili

Sounds Good 

I thought that I had just about as much as I could handle with two children with food allergies, then I became pregnant with a third child.  I prayed nearly every day of my pregnancy that our newest baby would not have food allergies.  The good news was that the prayer worked, my new baby could eat anything!   The bad news, he had a benign tumor in his pelvis. 

His condition was a bit of a mystery; we did not actually know he had a tumor until he was 18 months old.  He spent his first week of life in the intensive care unit.  We took him home with a possible diagnosis and a prescription for ‘wait and see’.  He continued to have issues with chronic constipation and we felt like we needed better answers.   After a series physicians, exams, tests, scans, and biopsies, it was determined that whatever was ailing my son, needed expert surgical intervention.  We were referred to the world’s leading expert and pioneer in pediatric bowel surgery: a surgeon in Cincinnati, Ohio by the name of Alberto Pena. 

Dr. Pena took one look at an x-ray of his pelvis and diagnosed his condition over the phone and recommended surgery.   It turns out, he had a rare condition.  A tumor had formed in his pelvis in utero and caused damage to his bones, spinal cord, and intestines.

First meal in 10 days

It was exactly 4 years ago this week that our son underwent an extensive surgery to repair the damage caused by the tumor and to have the tumor removed.  The surgery did not erase all of the damage, but it was a complete success.  He has a normal life of 5 year old boy.   He skips to school every day, loves Legos, and eats anything and everything.  His favorite is spaghetti.

We spent nearly three weeks in Cincinnati for his surgery and recovery and became acquainted with the local cuisine.  In honor of Sebastian, Dr. Pena, and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, I offer a recipe for Cincinnati Style Chili.  It’s allergy friendly, gluten free, and full of fiber!

Cincinnati Style Chili

It's all about the noodles

1 box of gluten free pasta, break noodles in half and cook according to directions.

1 pound of ground beef or turkey (optional)

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, mined

1-3 teaspoons red chili powder

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 can of hot chili beans

1 can of black beans

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of diced tomatoes (optional)

Brown the ground meat, add onion and garlic.  Sauté for 5 minutes.  Add spices, beans, and tomatoes.   Cook at medium heat for at least 30 minutes.  

Serve chili over a bed of noodles.  Top with cheese and diced red onion.

A toothless kindergarten smile

We continue to be so thankful for the people at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Dr. Alberto Pena. His life's work has helped so many families around the world.

Indian Curry, Garbanzo Bean Flat bread, and Quick Chutneys

Spice it up!

This is an oldie, but goodie.  It originally asked for plain yogurt, but I substituted coconut milk for the yogurt with great results, thus making it dairy free!

Just recently, I started making socca.  It is flat bread made from garbanzo bean flour.  I have used a variety of methods, and I find the broiler method to be the best (and so does my son!).

Indian Chicken Curry

This recipe is dairy free, gluten free and can be made vegetarian but substituting chickpeas, carrots, and other vegetables of choice for the chicken. 

2 tsp. curry powder

1-2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 TBSP canola oil

1 cup of chopped yellow onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3-4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 can of light coconut milk

1 small can of tomato paste

5 cups of peeled baking potato (about 7 medium sized potatoes)

About 4 cups of water

-Combine the first 8 ingredients.
-Heat oil in a 5 quart Dutch oven, sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes, stir in spice mixture and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add chicken and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
-Add coconut milk, tomato paste, potato and enough water to cover everything in your pot. 
-Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour or until potatoes are cooked.  Stir occasionally.
-Serve over hot basmati rice or brown rice.

-Top with fresh cut tomato, Quick Tomato Chutney, or Quick Mango Chutney.  Recipes follow. 

Socca

Use equal parts garbanzo bean flour and water. This recipe will make about 3, 8-10 inch flatbreads.

1 cup of garbanzo bean flour

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon of salt

Combine ingredients and let it rest for at least one hour, up to 3 hours.  The rest time allows for the flour to absorb the water.

Recommended method:

Socca with Mango Chutney

Preheat the oven and your pan (cast iron or skillet) at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  After it is preheated, fire up the broiler!

Arrange the top rack in your oven to be about 6 inches from the broiler coils.  Add a small amount of canola oil in your skillet and then add 1/3 of your batter to the skillet.   Place in the oven on the top rack.  Broil for 3-4 minutes.  Watch closely in the case your oven is hotter than mine.  Repeat for the remaining batter.

Cut into 2x2 sections and serve with chutney and curry.

You can also cook the batter in a skillet on the stove on high heat.  Cook for 3-4 minutes on one side, then flip and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Quick Tomato Chutney

A good friend of mine introduced me to this easy sauce to serve with Indian food…she was even from India!

2 TBSP of finely chopped yellow onion (reserve some from when you cut the onion for the curry)

3 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 TBSP water

2 TBSP olive oil

1/4 cup fresh chopped tomato

1 tsp. of chili powder

1 tsp. to 1 TBSP of red pepper flakes (choose amount for level of heat)

1/2 tsp. sea salt

Combine all ingredients and serve with curry or socca. 

Quick Mango Chutney

One mango, diced into small pieces

2 tablespoons finely minced onion

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped (optional)

Combine the ingredients and serve with curry or socca.