Grilled Tilapia With Pineapple Salsa

This is one of my favorite fish dishes.  It is SO flavorful and delicious, and the presentation is great too, so it's perfect for serving to company!  I don't make this one for my kids though because it's pretty spicy, but if you wanted to make this for dinner and you have little ones, you could just make theirs plain with just a little garlic salt and butter.  You could also use another whitefish of your choosing for this dish.  I don't recommend buying tilapia that is farmed in Asia, you can read more about tilapia in my post "Tilapia, is it good for you?" in the Information Station tab.

Enjoy!
Kirsten

PS: This recipe comes from The Pampered Chef 29 minutes to dinner cookbook.

GRILLED TILAPIA WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA

Pineapple Salsa
1/2 medium pineapple
1/4 small red onion
1 Serrano pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 lime

Tilapia
1 packet (1.25 oz) taco seasoning
3 tablespoons garlic oil or olive oil
4 boneless, skinless tilapia fillets (about 4 oz. each)

1)  Heat grill pan over medium-high heat 5 minutes.  As pan heats, peel pineapple half; cut lengthwise into two pieces and remove core.  Slice each pineapple piece lengthwise into three strips.  Arrange strips in a single layer over grill pan; cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear.  Set aside.

2)  While pineapple cooks, chop onion.  Cut Serrano pepper lengthwise in half; remove and discard seeds.  Chop Serrano pepper and cilantro.  Combine onion, Serrano pepper, cilantro and salt in a small bowl.  Zest lime to measure 1 teaspoon zest.  Juice lime to measure 1 tablespoon juice.  Add zest and juice to bowl; mix well.

3)  Whisk taco seasoning mix and oil in mixing bowl.  Add tilapia; turn to coat.  Place two tilapia fillets onto grill pan.  Cook 2 minutes or until grill marks appear.  Turn tilapia over and cook 2 minutes or until tilapia flakes easily with a fork.  Remove tilapia from pan.   Wipe out pan and repeat with remaining fillets.

4)  As tilapia cooks, chop pineapple and add to onion mixture in small mixing bowl; mix well.  To serve, top tilapia with pineapple salsa.

NOTES:

~I wouldn't recommend using canned pineapple, fresh is much better!

~I use olive oil because I don't keep garlic oil on hand.

~You could also do this on your outdoor grill if you don't have a grill pan.  I'm sure a frying pan would work too, but you won't have the nice grill marks.

~I spray my grill pan with a non-stick cooking spray before cooking the fish.

 

Pamela's Biscuit & Scone Mix

My take on PAMELA'S BISCUIT & SCONE MIX:

Tried making the Country Biscuit recipe on the bag and they turned out great.  They'd better be good, seeing that you add 12 tablespoons of butter!!  They are gluten and dairy-free.  I am still searching for an AWESOME biscuit recipe or mix.  This one is definitely good, but it's doesn't meet my expectations for the perfect biscuit.  I will probably use this mix for now, until I find a good recipe.  To me, this mix tastes a little sweet; I could almost see it making better scones than biscuits.  My oldest son loved these biscuits though, maybe because of that sweetness?  So, overall, I would recommend this mix.  Try it, you will probably like it.  I think I am picky when it comes to biscuits.  ; )

Happy Biscuit Making!

Kirsten

Teriyaki Pork Roast

Got a slow cooker cook book from the library and found this recipe in it.  I made it last night for dinner and it was awesome!!  It's also gluten and dairy-free!

Enjoy!
Kirsten

PS: The recipe comes from the Taste of Home - The New Slow Cooker cook book.

TERIYAKI PORK ROAST

3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 boneless pork loin roast (about 3 pounds), halved
7 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cold water

1)  Combine the first seven ingredients in a greased slow cooker.  Add roast and turn to coat.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until a thermometer inserted into the roast reads 160F.  Remove roast and keep warm.

2)  In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in cooking juices.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Serve with the roast.

NOTES:

~My roast was a little smaller and I did not cut it in half, and it was still moist, juicy and delicious.

~I used apple cider because I happened to have some in the pantry.

~I used white wine vinegar, again, because it was easier to grab than the white vinegar.

~I used gluten-free tamari soy sauce.

~I served it with rice and put the sauce over the rice and the meat, it was awesome!

Gluten-Free Waffles

Absolutely delicious waffles!!  You are going to love them and you'll never know they are gluten-free!  You could easily make them dairy-free by using an egg substitute, coconut milk yogurt, almond milk (or another milk substitute) and dairy-free margarine.  I used vanilla coconut milk yogurt and almond milk, but we can have butter and eggs, so I used those instead of the substitutes.

Enjoy!
Kirsten

PS: This recipe comes from the Recipes for Gluten-Free Kids cookbook and also uses the Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend from the same cookbook.  You will find it on my blog under "Gluten-Free Flour Blends", just make sure you match up the cookbook name and DO NOT use the one for breads!

GLUTEN-FREE WAFFLES

2 eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend (not for bread)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1)  Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

2)  Beat eggs in large bowl until light and fluffy.  Whisk in yogurt and milk.

3)  Combine flour blend, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.

4)  Gradually whisk yogurt mixture into flour mixture until smooth.  Whisk in melted butter.

5)  Add batter to waffle iron by 1/2 cupfuls for 6-inch waffles (or adjust amount depending on waffle iron).  Bake until crisp and browned.  Serve with butter and syrup.

6)  Refrigerate o freeze leftover waffles and reheat in toaster or toaster oven until crisp.

Makes 5 (6-inch) waffles

NOTES:

~I always spray my waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray to avoid sticking.

~You could alter this recipe to suit your taste by adding a little cinnamon to the batter, or adding some crushed pecans or walnuts.  That is one of my favorite ways to make waffles!

Sandwich Bread

This bread is absolutely amazing!!!  You are going to be addicted to it and I guarantee it will become your favorite.  It is by far the best gluten-free bread I have ever tried!  Move over Udi's and Canyon Bakehouse!!

Happy Bread Baking!
Kirsten

PS: This recipe comes from the Recipes for Gluten-Free Kids cookbook and uses the Gluten-Free Flour Blend (for breads) recipe from the same cookbook.  You'll find that under "Gluten-Free Flour Blends", but MAKE SURE you use the one that says FOR BREADS!!

SANDWICH BREAD

3 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend for Breads
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water, plus additional as needed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1)  Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with foil, dull side out.  (Do not use a glass loaf pan.)  Extend sides of foil 3 inches up from top of pan.  Spray with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with flour blend.

2)  Mix 3 cups flour blend, yeast, xanthan gum and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk 1 cup water, oil, eggs, honey and vinegar together in medium bowl.  Beat into dry ingredients with electric mixer at low speed until batter is smooth, shiny and thick.  Add more water by tablespoonfuls if needed.  Turn mixer to medium-high.  Beat batter 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

3)  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place 30 minutes or until batter reaches top of pan.

4)  Preheat oven to 375F.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when tapped and internal temperature is 200F.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Makes 1 loaf

NOTES:

~I did have to add extra tablespoonfuls of water, I'm guessing about 5 or 6, I didn't count, but the dough was so thick initially, it was "crawling" up the beaters and just sticking there!

~I used grapeseed oil.  I used to use Canola for everything, until I learned that most Canola oil is GMO!  No thanks!!

~Do not use cold eggs, it will make a difference.  The yeast needs to have warmth to "do it's thing".

~Mine was done after 30 minutes.  The crust was nice and golden brown and it did sound hollow, so I didn't even check the internal temp, and sure enough, it was perfect!

Gluten-Free Flour Blend For Breads

The Recipes for Gluten-Free Kids cookbook is quickly becoming my favorite!  I made my very first loaf of white sandwich bread using a recipe from this book and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!  The smell in the house while it was baking was heavenly.  My seven year old kept commenting about how good it smelled.  Today he tried the bread for the first time, plain, no butter or anything and he said it was delicious!  He said he likes it just plain for a snack!  Anyway, this flour blend is for that bread recipe, as well as others from that cook book.  I will specify this blend in any recipes that use it.

Happy Bread Making!
Kirsten

PS: This flour blend is from the Recipes for Gluten-Free Kids cookbook.

1 cup (158 grams) brown rice flour
1 cup (127 grams) sorghum flour
3/4 cup (90 grams) millet flour
1 cup (125 grams) tapioca flour
1 cup (128 grams) cornstarch
1/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes

1)  Combine in large bowl and whisk thoroughly; store in airtight container in refrigerator.

NOTES:

~I used Idahoan Original Mashed Potato Flakes.  They are gluten-free and do not show dairy in the ingredient list, but dairy may be used in their "natural flavoring", so if you are dairy-free, I would avoid this recipe, or maybe try it without that ingredient.