Nut Meal/Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

I may have to change the name of this blog soon, for various reasons. One is that I'm going to need to remake EVERY one of these meals soon without using any plastic of any kind.

[soapbox]We just found out that my son has nearly toxic levels of plastic in his blood, which comes from all the use of plastic in not only freezer meals (leaching into the food when it defrosts or is WARM in the bag) but various other sources in the house (like shampoo, plastic cups, paper products, etc). So, I'm going to start using glass storage and see where it takes me.[/soapbox]

Also, I'm branching out to lots of grain and dairy free recipes for health reasons. So when I find a great recipe, I'm waffling on where to post it! So I might change the blog name and hope you followers come along! :)  It's going to have to be something to do with Healthy Eating and Freezer Meals. I dunno, the name is in the works.

ANYHOW, I made some fantastic SERIOUSLY cookies last night. I actually ate them for breakfast this morning they were THAT good. You can make these dairy free (using ghee) and you also might be able to make them egg free (with flax), but I made them with butter and eggs. So delish.

The original recipe called for almond flour, but I am allergic to almonds (darnit!) so I gave this a whirl with walnuts! And best thing ever, you don't even have to buy special walnut meal to make this. I purchased a bag of walnuts from Trader Joe's (walnut baking pieces) and stuck them in my food processor until I liked the consistency. Then voilà! I have meal/flour. I've also done it with sunflower seeds, halzenuts, and almonds (for my sons). It works great and is more than half the price of already ground meals/flours.

So here is what you need:

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened (not melted! You can use ghee)
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar (or coconut palm sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs (or flax meal mix)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups walnut or almond meal/flour
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips of choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar. I'll note here that you can use 100% butter/ghee instead of some coconut oil. Makes the cookies a slightly different flavor, but so good all the same.

Add the vanilla and eggs and mix well.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Add the meal/flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

If you have ground your own meal, pay attention to the consistency. Sometimes my ground stuff has more air pockets when I measure, so add more if the batter looks too runny. You want it to hold up to heat for a little while ;)

Fold in the chocolate chips.

If you refrigerate for 30 minutes before you bake, they won't spread as much. And trust me when I tell you, these bad boys SPREAD. These pictures are NON-CHILLED. So you can see they are flat, but oh so yummy.

Using two spoons, put dough balls onto the lined baking sheet and make sure they are a good 3 inches apart. Because they WILL spread (especially if you have not refrigerated the dough).

Bake for 11-13 minutes. Allow to cool on the pan then transfer to a baking rack (to make more!).

Eat way too many, but love every second of it ;)

Gluten Free Bread Machine Recipe – Oat Bread

Tried and tested... the kids and I approve.

A great tasting gluten free bread machine recipe made with oat flour, perfect for sandwiches!

Ingredients:
1 1/8 cup water
1/4 cup light extra virgin olive oil (or oil of choice)
1 teaspoon gluten-free apple cider vinegar (I used Heinz)
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups + 3 1/2 Tablespoons gluten-free oat flour (4 oz.)
1 cup + 1 1/2 Tablespoon potato starch (5.2 oz.)
1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon tapioca flour/starch (3.0 oz.)
1 Tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (use corn-free brand or guar gum, if needed)
1/4 cup non-fat instant dry milk (or use non-fat milk instead of water)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast

Instructions:
1. Add the ingredients above in the order listed to the bowl of your bread machine (while removed
from the machine).

2. For programmable bread machines without a gluten free setting, set the machine to the following
settings: Crust: Medium; Keep Warm: 0; 1st Knead: 5; 2nd Knead: 10; 1st Rise: 40; Punch: 10; 2nd
Rise: 10; Shape: 5; 3rd Rise: 40 (35 is what I'll try next); Bake: 65 minutes (or longer).

(I used Basic 1 program on my Oster Machine)

3. After about 1 minute mid the first kneading, help remove the flour from the sides of the machine by
scraping them with a rubber spatula. This take about 15 seconds. Let the machine do the rest.

4. Once baked, remove the kneading peddle, if still in bottom of bread, transfer to cooling rack to cool
completely, about 2 hours.

Amazing Gluten Free Oatmeal Waffles

My kids were really starting to hate this wheat free/rice free life, so when I found this recipe (and tweaked it) for waffles I had to try. And when we loved it, I had to share.

I make three separate batches and cook them all up in an evening. Then I freeze them in ziplocks until the kids want to eat them. In the toaster oven they go and they are perfect in just a couple minutes.

It's homemade, it's healthy, and it's freezer friendly! Winning!

3 cups GF oat flour 
1 teaspoon xanthan gum 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
3 eggs 
1/2 cup sour cream (or yogurt)
1 1/4 cups milk, plus more if necessary 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
1/2 cup sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Mix all dry ingredients together. 

Put all the wet ingredients in a mixer and mix until well blended. 

Add in the dry mix and then allow to sit 5 minutes. 

If the batter is too thick (it really varies depending on the day) then add some more milk and remix.

Cook on well oiled waffle iron until done.

Cool completely before bagging for the freezer.

Gluten Free Chocolate Muffins

If you have been missing chocolate cake, you MUST try these... MUST! (pics coming soon)

Ingredients

3/4 cup (2 1/2 ounces) gluten-free oat flour

1/2 cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (1 1/4 ounces) potato starch or tapioca starch

1/4 cup (3/4 ounce) cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

6 tablespoons sour cream

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup (or so) Mini Chocolate chips

nonstick cooking spray

 Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk together oat flour, granulated sugar, potato starch, cocoa powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum in a medium bowl. Add egg, sour cream, vanilla, milk, and vegetable oil. Whisk until batter is smooth. Add mini chocolate chips. Allow batter to stand for five minutes. Lightly coat tins with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake until the cake springs back to the touch, about ten minutes.

Perfect Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Wheat free)

As some of you know, I've been cataloging good wheat free recipes (that don't have much to do with a freezer) on this blog for a while. Mostly because I don't want to lose these recipes and know the best place to share them is on the website. This is so when I go to a friend's house and want to make wheat free treats, I know exactly where to get the recipe.

Today's wheat free treat is a Chocolate Chip Cookie that holds up to the chocolate chip cookies of old. These even gives nestle tollhouse a run for its money! No really!

The original recipe is from Pampered Chef's Gluten Free cook book. Haven't seen it? You should really check it out and it's only $8! Such a good deal. But I digress!

So this recipe called for Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour blend... Blech. No thanks. I've tried this on numerous occasions and it's horrid. I mean really horrid! So, like a good recipe crasher, I decided to hack it up and see if I could make it FABULOUS without ruining my appetite!

The result? The perfect Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie! No like really. I've eaten three.

Yields 36 regular sized cookies

Dry Ingredients:
3 cups Oat Flour
3 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together and set aside.

Wet Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups of packed brown sugar
1 cup of butter (two sticks)

Cream together in a large mixing bowl with hand mixer.

More wet ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tsps of Vanilla

Add eggs and vanilla with hand mixer and blend well. Now add dry mix to bowl and beat until the dough looks like your joe average cookie dough!

Now add in one WHOLE package of semi sweet morsels and stir with bamboo/wooden spoon. Stir until combined.

Parchment line your cookie sheets (Makes for easier clean-up) and I used the pampered chef medium scoop (2 tablespoons worth scoop) to make perfect rounded balls. I love my scoops!

Place in preheated oven at 350 for 14 minutes. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before you move them. This was the tip from the original recipe and since I know GF recipes can be tricky (because they don't bind well) I wanted to make sure I obeyed! But after waiting, I believe this cookie could have been moved a lot earlier and cooled on the wire rack. But it didn't change the cookie process.

Seriously. Seriously. These are the best GF cookies I've ever eaten. PERIOD. Even my Oatmeal cookie recipe I love more then life itself might have to get a hack to see if it will come out as thick and delicious as this. Seriously.

(For those asking, I'm not a Pampered Chef consultant, nor have I ever been one. But everything I use in my kitchen is Pampered Chef. So when I refer to a product, I will try to use a link to help you purchase. The products used in this recipe are as follows: Stainless Mixing Bowls, Medium Scoop, Easy Read Measuring cups, Bamboo Spoons, Adjustable Measuring Spoons, Large Sheet Pans, and Stackable Cooling Rack. )

New England Clam Chowder

I'll be honest, I was a bit worried about this recipe. Mostly because the potatoes in my last recipe turned out like crud. I mean like, serious crud. Something about the russet variety didn't freeze well, nor did it taste good either.
It was completely horrid.

You don't get that recipe.

But this one... you get. Because, thank goodness, red potatoes freeze VERY well and this recipe turned out amazing! Even fooled my seafood-hating-children into eating it. They asked what was in it and I said, "Bacon, Potatoes, and Cheese... you like cheese." I just left out the clams part. And boy am I glad I did. They ate it! Didn't complain either(Though the kid that knew there was clams, only ate what she 'had' to, but she cleaned her plate. So she couldn't have believed it to be that bad!).

And I really wasn't sure how this would be coming out of the freezer, but it was fabulous. I'm so glad I made a double batch! So, if you'd like to make your own (and yes, it tastes like New England Clam Chowder!) here is the recipe.

 Put the following ingredients in a gallon ziplock:
1/2 pound bacon diced as small as possible, raw
1 (6.5-ounce) can minced clams, drained and chopped again small (if you have picky eaters)
5 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (I didn't peel mine, because I love color in my food)
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 cup sliced celery
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 cups chicken broth

Write on the outside of the bag Cook 6-8 hours on low. Blend some of the soup to naturally thicken. Then add 2 cups half-and-half and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

I served ours with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread (Added 2 tablespoons of sugar to the mix) and it was just the touch it desired! So definitely serve with cornbread.

Beef Quinoa Stew

Sometimes a recipe comes to me quite by mistake. I stick something in the crockpot and when I test it out half way through the cooking process, I think, "wow, this could really be good in THIS." That is when a recipe is born. And not only was it born, but it was devoured. Mostly by the adults, but the kids tolerated it. See it has the two deadly sins.

Mushrooms and Onions

At least the kids think so anyway. But we all know better.

So here is the fabulous recipe that I will surely make again and again.

And again.

Put the following ingredients in a gallon sized ziplock bag and seal:
2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into thin slices (about 1/2 inch thick and 3 inches long)
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound mushrooms trimmed and quartered

Write on the outside of this bag: Low 8 hrs - high 6. Add second bag at hour 4.

In another gallon sized ziplock add the following:

16oz mixed frozen veggies (carrots, corn, beans, etc)
15oz canned diced potatoes (or fresh, make sure they are diced small)
1.5 cups of Quinoa
1  teaspoons of pepper

On the outside of this bag, write: Add to crockpot at hour 4 with 4-5 cups of beef broth.

This soup is hearty and seriously delicious. If you use a low sodium beef broth, be sure to add some salt, but I didn't and it didn't need any.

Beef Stroganoff

I absolutely love beef. However, it doesn't love me. It's so sad. I just end up turning it into dust, usually. The last recipe was a beef recipe that turned out rather nicely, so when tonight's dinner defrosted in the frig (From the freezer - 24 hours of defrost) I had high hopes for another savory keeper!

And a keeper it is! Hurrah!

What I like about this recipe is that it's pretty simple for the freezer. Trim your meat, throw your veggies and broth in, then seal and freeze!

Now when I found this recipe, I was a little worried about the post prep, after the crockpot. I don't like dirtying pans in addition to a crockpot not to mention it looked like it had a lot of steps to get to the sauce, so I almost didn't make it. I'm glad I took a chance. Just one extra pot. Then back in the crock.

So here we go. 

For freezer - Ingredients in your ziplock:
2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and cut into slices
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound cut mushrooms
1 cup beef broth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

I know what you are thinking, "Really, that is it?" And yes, that is it. And let me just say right now, before I made the sauce this had an AMAZING flavor and I could have eaten the whole crock without the noff.

Once your ziplock is sealed stick it in your freezer with the following label:

Cook on high 4 hours or low 6 

Needed for day of prep:
4 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour (I used quinoa flour)
Broth ladled out of the crockpot2 cups sour cream
1-3 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
Salt Pepper to taste

After the meat is done: Melt butter in sauce pan. Add flour. mix well. Add broth and mix well. Bring to boil just for a second, add sour cream and Dijon. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add to crock and turn crock to warm until you are ready to eat.

Serve over a starch. We will use quinoa or corn noodles. Oh so good. Sooo good. I'm so glad I made a second meal of this. So glad.

Curry Beef with Quinoa

I've always steered clear of curry. I'm not sure why, maybe the other ingredients that you put WITH the curry made me nervous. I mean it's not every day I'm asked to add a spice in a foreign language to my crockpot. Nor anything resembling elmers glue! So, I'm sad to say I'd never tried to make curry anything until today.

Now I'm happy to report that it was not only a successful dinner, but a successful freezer meal as well! Hooray! Which means, of course, it will be chronicled here. So I can make it again and again.

Ingredients:

3lbs of tri-tip cut into large chunks (or some other meat you want to curry. I'm quite certain this will work splendid with chicken, which I will try!)
1 1/2 tablespoons curry
1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
Lots of garlic. I used about 1/4 cup of chopped garlic (or one WHOLE large head of garlic chopped or pressed thru a garlic press) It looks like too much, really it does. But it's not.
1 large onion, diced
1 (13.5oz) can coconut milk
2 Gallon sized freezer bags

Freezer Directions:


Add coconut milk (everything in the can! Even the glue stuff-- lol) to one gallon sized zip lock bag. Smoosh it up with your hands and mix up all the yummy milk.

Add to the same bag all the onions and garlic and smoosh it up good. See the theme here? No dirty dishes!

Next add some cut meat then some of the spices. Then more meat, more spices, until you are done with all the meat and all the spices.

Immediately press the air from the bag and seal it up. Place in additional zip lock (to prevent leaks when it defrosts).

Cooking:

The day before you want to stick it in your crockpot, take it out and allow it to thaw in your refrigerator. Just before you stick it in your crockpot, run the bag under some warm water to get the hardened coconut paste off the sides of the bag then pour it into the crockpot. If you still feel like you were cheated on bits sticking to the sides of the bag, run the closed bag under hot water again until they all shake free. Then cut a tip in your bag and pour the bits into the crock.

Note, it won't look very good. But it will smell and taste amazing.

Cook on low 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.


I made beef Quinoa with my Curry Beef, which also tuned out delish! So here is that recipe.

1 cup quinoa
2 cups beef broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Rinse quinoa well. Heat sauce pan on med-high with olive oil. Dry out the quinoa in the olive oil as best you can. This gives it a little more nuttier of a flavor and my kids said they loved it far more then plain quinoa. Add beef broth and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on medium about 15 minutes or until most of the broth is absorbed. Take off the burner and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Cinnamon Roll Oven Pancakes

I'm always looking for pancake recipes I can bake in the oven because, let's face the music here, I dislike standing in the kitchen flipping pancakes for 60minutes (I have a husband, two boys and a girl with a hollow leg, I am not kidding when I tell you I'm flipping for 60 minutes!).

So when a recipe comes across my radar for oven pancakes, I must peek. Even though we are wheat free, I try them out anyway. I just use alternate flours and try my best to adjust.

I'm happy to report, my most recent find for oven pancakes turned out fantastic! But I did have to make some adjustments for the oat flour I used. You should REALLY try these out!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups warm milk
4 T. melted butter
2 large eggs
2 T. sugar
2 cups oat flour + 1tsp xanthan gum (0r 2cups wheat flour)
4 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter an 11x17 cookie sheet and set aside.

Combine melted butter and warm milk (not hot, you don't want to precook your eggs but you want to keep your butter melted). Add in the eggs and mix/beat well. Now add in all the dry ingredients and mix well. At this point I watch the batter for consistency. At first it was really thick, so I added more milk (recipe above reflects that). So you may have to add a bit more milk but it's important to note these are going to be MUCH thicker then frying pan/griddle cakes.

Spread into prepared pan.

Time to make the cinnamon roll innerds.

Innerd Ingredients:
4 T. melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 T. cinnamon

Combine well and if you are feeling adventureous, try to swirl this over the top. But, this didn't work at all. So I generously sprinkled it on top (using my hands) until it was almost completely covered.

Bake 8-12 minutes (depending on oven and moisture in your air) until they rise a bit and a toothpick comes out clean. They won't brown like regular pancakes, they will stay pale, just check your toothpick.

Slice like bar cookies (big bar cookies LOL) and enjoy! Two kids ate theirs with syrup (SOOO GOOD!) and one just plain. Excellent!

This is an excellent recipe for the freezer too. Just make ahead and put completely cooled cakes between wax paper in a freezer bag. To reheat, stick two on a plate and microwave 30-45 seconds until hot.

Original recipe found on: Big Red Kitchen

Stork Meal 8: Sausage, Peppers, and Tatery Goodness

I was trying to think of a name for this epic meal of deliciousness, but I can't seem to find one that does it justice. And to call it Parika/Rosemary-EVOO-Kielbasa-Roasted-Red-Pepper-Potato-peperoncini-onion mix... just doesn't work. So, if you have any ideas... I'm all ears.

I actually found the original recipe on pinterest, but I never follow recipes. They are more like general guidelines. And this time, I'm glad I didn't follow it. Because in one pan I did exactly what the "recipe" said and in the other I did what I'm posting here.

And the score: pinterest zero, me epic win! ;)

(**I've made this meal many times now due to it's popularity among my household. I've begun to add anything and everything to the veggie mix with exceptional results! A cup of mushrooms, roasted red peppers AND fresh bell peppers, whatever I have fresh on hand that is in dire need of being cooked before I think it goes bad, Bam, I slap it in. Be brave and throw those bad boys in as extra color and flavor. You won't be disappointed.**)

Ingredients:
Polish Kielbasa (cut into slices)
4-5 red potatoes (1 inch cubes)
1 onion (sliced thin)
1-2 jars of roasted red peppers (diced)
       Alternately you could use 2-3 fresh bell peppers (pick something besides green)
2 tsps of rosemary (if you can, chop it up into smaller sticks ;))
3 tsps of smoked paprika
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

AND, you need 1 jar of peperoncini peppers... or mild banana peppers but keep those in their jar until you serve!

To make the mix:
Mix sausage, potatoes, onion, red peppers, rosemary, smoked paprika, salt/pepper and EVOO all together in a large mixing bowl. Put the whole mix into a freezer bag and seal.

Write on the outside:
Defrost. Roast on 400 for 30-40 minutes. Top with peperoncinis and enjoy.

SOOO delish!



To see the other Stork Meals, click here.