Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas

I've convinced Reagan to have one vegetarian day in our house. It doesn't normally end up as Meatless Monday, but we have Meatless Whatever-Day. This is a HUGE deal since Reagan didn't eat anything but beef until we met. Baby steps, people.

I got the idea for these enchiladas from the cooking bible, but I changed it up to use what vegetables I had on hand.  Enjoy our meatless meal from last week!

Black Bean Veggie Enchiladas (adapted from Taste of Home)
serves 2

1 small onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 medium zucchini squash, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chopped green chilies
2 Tablespoons taco seasoning mix
1 teaspoon cilantro
8 small corn tortillas, warmed
1 can enchilada sauce
3/4 cup shredded cheese

1. Saute the onion, pepper, and squash in oil until vegetables are crisp-tender.  Add garlic and cook for one mintute more.  Add the beans, chilies, seasoning, and cilantro.  Cook until heated through, 2-3 more minutes.

2.  Spoon the bean mixture into the warmed tortillas. Roll up and place them into a 9x13 in. greased baking dish, seam side down.  Top with enchilada sauce and cheese.

3. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until heated through. 

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Back to the Normal

It's August. You know what that means? School is right around the corner....

With me working for a university and Reagan being a student, the beginning of the school year brings a lot of schedule changes. First, can I get an "Amen!" that Reagan is starting his 3L (i.e. LAST) year of law school?! *Supposedly,* 3L year is the easiest. When we are talking about law school, easy is a relative term. Easier means law students have figured out how to study 24/7 without wanting to pull their hair out. I digress.

Since summer is ending, I figured I would wrap up my summer adventures via Instagram.

(1) Packed up my office and started a new job in June. (2) Spent a couple of weekends with this little guy. I even saw him get his first haircut! (3) Grilled peaches (4) Surprise flowers from RM (5) Took StrengthsFinder at work - is it weird to anyone else how accurate those can be? (6) Went to a wedding in Dallas. The ONLY wedding of the summer. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. (7) FINALLY hung up the last thing in our apartment (8) Spent a weekend at the lake with friends and watched RM feed deer. (9) Homemade pickles from Reagan's dad & step-mom. To. Die.


This year, Reagan will be exceptionally busy with school and extracurricular activities. I'm starting a new work schedule next week so that we can be at work/school at the same time. Thank goodness for flexible bosses!

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On the Menu: Fourth of July

Reagan and I spent our holiday hosting friends for a barbeque.  Reagan manned the protein portion of the meal with our new grill, and I of course handled all the (mostly gluten-free) sides.

Our Fourth of July menu included: slow cooked ribs, BBQ chicken, pepperslaw, baked beans, rolls, and skinny margaritas.

I tried out a new coleslaw recipe from Cooking with Paula Deen, and it received rave reviews! To be exact, it was described as "fresh and not swimming in mayonnaise." Can I get an amen?

Pepper Slaw (from Cooking with Paula Deen)
makes 6 servings

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups thinly sliced bell peppers (about 4)
3 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cups matchstick carrots
1/4 thinly sliced sweet onion
**I used one pre-packaged bag of coleslaw instead of the cabbage and carrots.
In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and salts.

Stir in bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, and onion. Toss to coat.  Cover and chill at least one hour, or until ready to serve.


Like any good barbeque, we had to have baked beans. These came straight from D'Ann Wiley's recipe book.  Although, I think most southern moms have their version of this recipe!


Mom's BBQ Baked Beans
makes 8 servings

1/2 onion, chopped
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 can kidney beans, drainded and rinsed
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red pinto beans OR pork 'n' beans, undrained
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Saute the onion (in the bacon drippings if you're brave!) Stir in the other ingredients. Spoon into a baking dish and bake for one hour.

Since Reagan was using the oven to cook his ribs, I put the beans in the crockpot on low for about three hours, and they still turned out great. 

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It Doesn't Have to be That Hard

I would most definitely say that the lack of to-die-for desserts is worst part of having to become a gluten-free eater.  Notice, I said to-die-for.  I can eat a decent gluten-free cookie, but it just isn't the same.  As a sweets lover (i.e. I can eat icing with a spoon...), you can see how this would be a problem for me.

Or so I thought.  My mom, and my mother in-law coincidentally, recently found a recipe online for peanut butter cookies with no flour. {Insert happy dance here.}

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (from the Food Network)
makes 18 cookies
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.

In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined. Spoon 1 tablespoon of mixture about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle coarse salt on top of the cookies.

Bake until golden around edges, about 10 minutes, switching the position of the pans halfway thorough baking. Transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.

**Sidenote: to make the cookies extra doughy and awesome, cook them only 8 minutes. They won't look cooked all the way, but believe me, it's worth it.


Also, I stumbled across these coconut oatmeal squares from How Sweet It Is last week. Oatmeal? Coconut? Chocolate? I'll be darned, I can eat all of that.  See, it doesn't have to be that hard.

Thin + Chewy Chocolate Drenched Coconut Oatmeal Squares (from How Sweet It Is)
makes one 9×9 pan (about 16 squares)
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut
1/4 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
pinch of salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup coconut oil (measured solid)
1/4 cup honey

Spray a 9×9 pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, brown sugar and salt. Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add butter and coconut oil, stirring until melted. Add the butter and oil to the oat mixture, then add the honey and stir very thoroughly until the entire mix is moistened. Press it into the pan and stick in the fridge for 15 minutes.

chocolate layer
8 ounces good-quality chocolate, chocolate
2 tablespoons coconut oil (measured solid)
Using the same saucepan that you melted the butter and oil in, add the chocolate and oil and stir over low heat until melted. Remove the pan from the fridge and pour the chocolate evenly over top, spreading with a spatula or spoon. Place back in the fridge for about 30 minutes. When ready to eat, either cut the squares in the pan, or gently lift the square out and place on a cutting board to cut. It helps if the bars somewhat come to room temp before cutting, as they will slightly crumble a bit if super cold!

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Tortilla Soup

It was 103 degrees in Lubbock yesterday. The heat, however, didn't slow me down, and I made soup for dinner! Soup is generally a fall/winter meal, but I just love it too much to not make it in the summer.

Before I moved into an apartment, my Nana wrote off a ton of recipes and made me a cookbook. It has everything from soup and salad, to desserts and casseroles. (My personal favorite recipe in the cookbook is Texas Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Cream frosting. Nana has managed to create a gluten-free version. Yuuuuum. Ok, moving on.)

Reagan had a meeting last night, so I pulled out Nana's cookbook and made this tortilla soup before he left. It only takes about 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to simmer. Delicious!

Saute corn tortillas, cut into strips, with an onion and cilantro in oil.

Add your other ingredients,

simmer for 30 minutes,

and feed your hungry husband.

Nana's Tortilla Soup

serves 6

Ingredients

8 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tablespoons cilantro

3 Tablespoons oil (of your choice)

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken

2 qt. chicken broth

1 can diced tomoatoes

1 can Rotel

1 Tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

Saute the tortillas, onion, garlic and cilantro in oil. Add other ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with grated cheese, avocado slices, lime slices, and crisp fried tortilla strips!

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What's for Dinner?

Thanks to my mother in-law, we have a new grill! She had been saying for a while we needed to pick one out for a wedding gift, and we finally did it last week. After assembling the grill for 3 hours... we were finally ready to put it to use.

He was excited, can't you tell?

I'm planning on using the grill for dinner every night, because that means Reagan cooks! :)

I planned all of our meals this week around the grill. Which leads me to my next point...

The first question I always get asked when people find out that I am now on a gluten and lactose free diet is, "Oh my gosh! What does your husband eat?? Do you cook two dinners every night?? That must be so hard!"

No, Reagan doesn't starve.  No, I don't cook two dinners every night. Yes, it can be challenging. Thankfully, Reagan is not picky at all, and tries anything I cook. (Black bean brownies included!)  He also understands that happy (not sick from gluten) wife = happy life. But, really.

What it basically comes down to is meal planning. I have to research, read, and plan for our meals each week.  All of this takes some time, especially if I have to find ingredient substitutes for recipes. We eat at home 90% of the time, since finding gluten free options at a restaurant can be difficult. We also have a Sprouts here in Lubbock where I can find lots of gluten free goodness. 

So, what do we eat for dinner? Protein, vegetables, and some type of GF starch (quinoa, brown rice, corn tortillas, etc.) Reagan still eats regular bread/rolls, cheese, and milk. He still has pizza every Sunday night, and I just eat something different or make myself a GF pizza.  Basically, we eat a lot less processed food than normal.

We have some good meals planned for this week, so I thought I'd share.


Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Mozzarella and Pesto
serves 4
Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups balsamic vinegar
1 large ball fresh mozzarella, cut into four slices (I used regular slices)
Pesto (homemade or store bought)

Directions
1. Place chicken and one cup balsamic vinegar in a large plastic bag. Seal bag tightly and place in fridge to marinate for one hour.  (Don't marinate overnight or for a long period of time, the acid in the vinegar may break down the chicken breast, forming a mushy texture.)

2. Place the other cup of balsamic vinegar in a small pot on the stove and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering for about 15 minutes, until vinegar has reduced and is thick like syrup.  Take off stove and let cool while you cook the chicken breasts.

3. After the chicken has finished marinating, preheat the grill (or a grill pan). Grill chicken breasts until cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Put one slice of cheese on each chicken breast and leave on grill until it melts.  Remove chicken and place on a plate. 

4. Top each chicken breast with a dollop of pesto and drizzle balsamic reduction over top.

*This fits into my restrictions except the cheese. I just leave it off!


Spicy Crockpot Sweet Potatoes
serves 6
Adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen

Ingredients
3 lbs. sweet potatoes (3 or 4 large)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Non-stick spray for crockpot
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons ground coriander
1 Tablespoon ground fennel (this is a powerful spice, so I use a little less)
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 Tablespoon cayenne pepper (use more or less, depending on how spicy you want your potatoes)

Directions
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Put sweet potatoes in a large plastic bag, add 2 T olive oil and spices.  Seal bag and distribute oil and spices until the potatoes are coated.

2. Spray inside of crockpot with non-stick spray. Put sweet potatoes in crockpot and cook on high for 3 hours. Stir occaisonally to prevent burning on the bottom.

3. Mash slightly if desired, and season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

*Sweet potatoes can be cut and mixed with oil and spices earlier in the day. Cooked sweet potatoes can be kept in the crockpot on low or keep warm for a few hours if needed.


These recipes are proof that gluten free doesn't have to be terrible. I would make both of these regardless of being on a gluten free diet!

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