Super easy GF side salads

I thought I would share some of my easy, flavorful side salads.  Some are actual lettuce types of salads with some homemade dressing ideas, others are more veggie salads.

This first one is super duper simple.  It is beautiful and the flavors just pop in your mouth.

Slice avocados, sprinkle with salt, drizzle with lime juice and top with cilantro.  Be sure to make a lot, because everyone loved this one.

For the next one, quarter Roma tomatoes, chop fresh basil, cube fresh mozzarella, dress with 1 part olive oil, 3 parts red wine vinegar & salt & pepper. Very fresh

Another visually beautiful salad to share is this asparagus salad. 1 lb thin stalk asparagus cut into 1" pieces. Steam for 5 minutes until tender-crisp. Let cool and place in bowl with 1 cup chopped fresh basil and 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved. For the dressing, combine olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. I personally used 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp Dijon mustard and 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, but I prefer dressings on the vinegar side.

Sweet & spicy butternut squash

I based my recipe off of this one, but did things a little differently.

http://theshiksa.com/2013/10/08/maple-cinnamon-roasted-butternut-squash/

Basically, after the labor intensive peeling and dicing a butternut squash, I put the squash in a bowl. I lightly tossed with olive oil. I DOUBLED the seasonings called for and mixed them in the bowl, then put them on the cookie sheet.

It's really not too bad to peel your own butternut squash.  I will post photos next time.  I know there is pre-cut & peeled butternut squash for sale at the store.  Go for it if you are intimidated about doing it yourself.  I am very cheap (uh...I mean frugal)  Here is a good quick YouTube video of how to peel one on your own.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbecyb7TgDE

 Ingredients

• 8 cups cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded), about 3 lbs of peeled cubes
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 pinches cayenne

You will also need

• 2 baking sheets, foil (optional)

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 35 Minutes

Total Time: 40 Minutes

Servings: 6

Gluten free 4th of July birthday party!

My youngest son was born on the 4th of July, 14 years ago (1999). Every year we have a big family celebration.

This was the first year that  I was gluten free. I totally could have made desserts that had gluten, but my son is very thoughtful & wanted things GF so I could eat whatever I wanted. 

Red, White & Blue Deviled Eggs

We did some fun stuff this year. I made red, white & blue deviled eggs. Make hard boiled eggs the normal way. For best results peeling, buy your eggs 1 week before you boil them. Also add white vinegar to the water. 

After you peel the eggs, cut them in half lengthwise. Pop out the yolk into a bowl. Put food coloring in 1 cup of water. I used half a bottle of red coloring & a few squirts of blue. Place 1 half of egg whites in the dye. I know it is tempting to put in more than one, but if you do, they won't dye evenly. I only dyed the blue eggs for about 2 minutes & the red for 5. Don't forget to leave some white eggs!! Lay dyed eggs on paper towels, yolk side down to dry. Do not rub or pat dry. 

After they are dried, fill as normal. I took the time to use a pastry bag to make them pretty-ish!!

American Flag Chocolate Chip Cookie

Next we made a yummy flag cookie! I used Bob's Red Mill GF chocolate chip cookie mix. The mix ends up crumbly, which worked out well to form it into a rectangle on a cookie sheet. I didn't want to bake it all the way to the edge of the cookie sheet, because I thought it would be difficult to get out.

Bake it for 20-25 minutes at 350º

After cooled completely, the birthday boy & my older son's girlfriend set to decorating it. 

They frosted it with GF whipped cream cheese frosting. We had found bags of red, white & blue M&Ms. Buy 2 bags, because there weren't as many white ones!! 

It was very very tasty too! I may or may not have had a piece with breakfast the next day. 

GF Firecracker Cake Batter Cookies

Then I set about making "firecracker" cookies. Put GF vanilla cake mix into bowl, add 3 beaten eggs and 1/2 cup oil. (I used safflower) Blend with hand blender. Mixture will be thick. I added red, blue & silver sprinkles. On 1/2 the cookies I placed a few red & blue M&Ms leftover from previous project on top before baking. Use a tablespoon to drop dough on a oiled cookies sheet. They spread out a lot, so space them out. Bake at 350º for 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet right away. I found if I let them cool, they were hard to remove from the cookie sheet. 

Watermelon 4th of July Birthday Cake

My next project was a birthday cake. Isn't it beautiful??

This cake has a bit of a secret. It's a watermelon cake. No, not a watermelon flavored cake, it is actually a watermelon!

I had so much going on, I didn't have time to take photos of my steps. Next time I make this, I will update with photos. 

You will need:

1 seedless watermelon

2 bags flaked coconut

Fresh berries

Whipped cream topping

Food coloring 

1) Place 1 cup (each) flaked coconut into two zip sandwich bags. Fill shot glass (2 ounces) with water & add food coloring. I added about 1/2 a bottle of red & 1/4 of blue. A little bit at a time, pour the red food coloring into 1 of the bags, shaking & mixing as you go. Repeat with the blue. Zip the bags and shake to mix it completely. 

2) Cut the watermelon into cake shape. Cut ends off watermelon. Take a long, sharp knife & carefully cut the red part of the watermelon into a round shape, cutting off the rind. Our round "cake" was very tall, so we cut it in half & made 2 cakes. Take a knife and carefully trim up the melon to look nice and even. 

3) Let melon sit for 30 minutes so it is less juicy. Then pat dry with paper towels. Don't skip this step. It's tough to get wet whip cream to stick to wet melon! 

4) You will need your whipped cream soft. I put it on the counter for about an hour to thaw. Use a rubber spatula to cover the cake with whip cream. You will more pat it on than spread it on. I put it on fairly thick.

5) Mix together red, white & blue coconut. Using small handfuls, press coconut into sides of cake. 

6) Decorate top of cake with berries. We used strawberries & blueberries. Sprinkle with a little coconut on top. Either serve right away, or refrigerate.

We made a lot of BBQ style food. Homemade potato salad, coleslaw, burgers, sausage dogs, fruit platters. I got buns for everyone else, but I lettuce wrapped my burger. The dark lettuce holds my guacamole bacon cheeseburger. Yum!

The birthday boy helped out making a fruit platter and these fruit kabobs!

Happy happy 14th birthday Nolan! I hope you had a great day!!

Salsa Madness

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Salsa madness!

It's hard to give you any real directions on salsa. Here are my ingredients

 

Roma Tomatoes halved or Tomatillos peeled, washed and halved
Sweet Onions cut into sections
Jalapeños sliced
Lots of fresh cilantro
Fresh lime for lime juice
Salt

You can use a small chopper or a food processor. I like using my small chopper because it is easier to taste and make adjustments as you go along.

For the verde (green) salsa: husk the tomatillos, wash them, cut in half & place face down on a foil lined baking sheet. Put under broiler for 5-7 minutes.

Everything else you just adjust by taste. The reason you use Roma tomatoes over other varieties, is that they are less juicy.  No one likes watery salsa!  I wait till the end to add salt & lime juice. 

Serve with GF chips.  Our favorite is Juanita's

A hint I have from my salsa making experiences is to wear gloves when cutting jalapeños. You can get major finger burn from the capsaicin...not to mention accidentally rubbing your eyes. I especially have that problem, because I have long nails, so I don't get all of the capsaicin from under my nails. I often find the next day that my fingers feel like they are on fire. Gloves are always a good option, but in a pinch, I simply use a zip lock bag over my hand.