Black Bean Smothered Yams

Ingredients:

3 small-to-medium yams (or sweet potatoes)
2 cans black beans, drained
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
pinch kosher salt
sour cream
cilantro

Directions:

1. Wash yams and place into crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Or, pierce yams with a fork and microwave on high for about 12-15 minutes, until cooked all the way through (microwave ovens cook differently, so add or subtract time based on your microwave).
2. In a medium saucepan, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt. Heat through on medium-high, stirring frequently.
3. Slash each yam and smother with black bean mixture.
4. Top with sour cream and garnish with a sprinkle of cilantro.

Sweet and Savory Quinoa Side-dish

This is a dish I often serve with pork tenderloin that has been lightly seasoned with a little olive oil, Kosher salt, and pepper and cooked on my stove in a skillet. It provides a little bit of sweet and a little bit of savory

Ingredients:
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup gluten-free chicken broth (I use 1 cup of water and 1 tsp. Herb-Ox Chicken Bouillon)
2 cloves fresh minced garlic
1 medium to large apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1/3 cup raisins, soaked in water until plump
2 TBSP butter, margarine, or oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp basil

Directions:

1. Rinse quinoa and drain. Covered, and on high, bring chicken broth and quinoa to a boil. Reduce heat to low and allow quinoa to absorb all liquid.

2. While quinoa is cooking, saute garlic, apple, and drained raisins in butter/margarine/oil. Add cinnamon, cumin, and basil (adjust amounts to flavor preferences).

3. Add apples/raisin mixture to cooked quinoa and serve as a side dish.

Chicken Stew

I made this on Christmas Eve for a nice comfort-food meal before our Christmas Eve church events. It was also a way to make an Americanized version of a Ghanaian Christmas tradition (my daughter researched Ghana's Christmas traditions because friends of hers just had their new brother and sister adopted from Ghana arrive home on the morning of Christmas Eve this year and my daughter wanted to make something that was a Ghana tradition). I looked up a traditional Ghana Chicken Stew recipe and it did not look appetizing. So, I looked for an American chicken stew instead. Here's an adaptation of what I found.

• 3 cups red potatoes, cubed
• 3 cups carrots, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
• 4 celery stalks, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces.
• 1 cup freshly chopped onion
• 1 tsp. fresh minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme  
•  4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 recipe of condensed cream soup
• salt & pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. Place all items into crockpot, stir until everything is coated with the cream soup. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

**It will seem very thick initially, but as the chicken cooks, its juices will render out and create a little bit of liquid. This creates about 6 servings.

Adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/crockpot-chicken-stew-422135#ixzz1hUibHMGC

Mint Squares

This can be made either with chocolate or with carob.

Mint Squares

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

4 eggs

1 cup Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3-4 TBSP carob powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder) - I used Chatfield's carob powder

1 tsp. vanilla

***

3 cups confectioner's sugar

3/4 cup melted butter or margarine

4 TBSP peppermint extract (I used Simply Organic)

3-4 drops green food coloring

***

2 -12oz. bags GF chocolate chips (or white chocolate chips if doing cocoa/chocolate-free)

7 TBSP butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.

2. Mix sweetened condensed milk and carob/cocoa powder in a small bowl.

3. Mix sugar, butter, eggs, baking mix, carob/cocoa mixture, and vanilla with an electric hand mixer until mixed well.

4. Bake for 33-35 minutes.

***

5. Once cake portion has cooled, mix confectioner's sugar, melted butter, peppermint extract, and green food coloring.

6. Spread over cooled cake.

7. Put into freezer for about 15 minutes until layer has firmed up.

***

8. Melt chips and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

9. Spread over mint layer. Chill before cutting and serving.

Tilapia Packets with Garlic Cheese Sauce for Crockpot

3-4 Tilapia fillets or other white fish
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Hellmann's is gluten-free)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 Tbs. of lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Stir the sauce together (all ingredients except the fish).


2. Put a little sauce on the foil, place fillet on top and then top fillet with more sauce. Then wrap into a foil packet. Repeat with remaining tilapia and sauce.

3. Place all the packets in the crockpot, stacking them on top of each other. If using frozen tilapia, heat on high for about 30 minutes before lowering the temperature to your crockpot's low setting. Cook for an additional 4 hours until fish is flaky.

4. Since you are doing this in packets, you can also add small potatoes to your crock pot to cook, if you have room and would like potatoes with your meal. I'm choosing to serve brown rice with our fish.

Crock Pot Lasagna

Crock Pot Lasagna

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 jar (24 oz) of your favorite gluten-free spaghetti sauce
1 cup ricotta cheese (I think most kinds are GF, but this one says so right on their website)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
6 Tinkyada lasagna noodle sheets
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I use Kraft in the canister)

1. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Add tomatoes and spaghetti sauce. Simmer 5 minutes and allow flavors to mix.

2. Mix ricotta cheese and one cup of mozzarella cheese in a small bowl.

3. Combine remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella with parmesan cheese.

4. Spoon 1/3 of ground beef mixture into a 5 Qt. crock pot. Break 3 dry lasagna noodles in half (or into smaller pieces if necessary) and arrange them over the beef mixture. Top with half of the ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer of beef, noodles, and ricotta. Finish with the remaining 1/3 of beef mixture and top with the mozzarella/parmesan mixture.

5. Cover crock pot and cook on low for about 4-5 hours.

**I have found that if I cook it longer than 4-5 hours, the noodles get kind of mushy, but 4 hours is usually perfect and 5 hours is still OK; 6 hours is really kind of pushing it, though.

Corn bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup stick butter or margarine, softened
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix
2/3 cup GF yellow cornmeal - Hodgson Mills is one brand
2 tsp GF Baking Powder (I use Clabber Girl)
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in sour cream and milk.

2. On low speed, beat in all remaining ingredients, just until mixed.

3. Pour batter into a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.