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Salsa Bread

Now that we’re mostly over the flu we’re getting back in the kitchen. And we finally got to try making Rebecca’s salsa bread.

She came up with the idea last week when we were playing with the toy food/dishes.

I used a basic whole wheat bread recipe and adapted it to have salsa and cheese. Rebecca and Abram both helped make it.

I sometimes hesitate to post bread recipes since baking good yeast bread comes with experience. You have to adjust the flour/liquid ratio to get a good, elasticy dough. So I’ll give an approximate amount for each ingredient. But use your judgement to adjust if the dough doesn’t look right. I always err on the side of making the dough a little wetter. In my experience dry dough does not work.

This was seriously sooooo good. Soft and light. It smelled like pizza when it was in the oven. We all really enjoyed it.

Thanks, Rebecca, for such a wonderful recipe idea!! She was so proud of her bread. She talked about it all day. And was so happy to serve it with dinner. She kept asking Justin if he liked it.

This is great plain or with butter. It pairs well with most soups. And it would also work very well for grilled cheese and paninis. So versatile.

And now we’ve already got the creative juices flowing about what other bread flavors to try. Stay tuned 🙂

This bread does take time (as does any yeast bread). But there is very little hands on time. Most of the time is kneading the dough in a mixer or letting it rise. Just be sure to plan ahead if you want it with a meal.

Salsa Bread
makes 1 loaf 
prep time: 65 minutes   rise time: 2 – 2 1/2 hours   total time: 3 1/2 – 4 hours

3 cups organic whole wheat and/or all purpose flour, divided (I used a combination)
3/4 + 1/8 cup warm water
1/4 cup honey
1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast, room temperature
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/3 – 1/2 cup salsa with liquid
1 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter (or coconut oil or palm shortening)
1/3 – 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like) (this is optional but it does add great flavor)

Mix 1 1/2 cups of flour with 3/4 cups of warm water in a stand mixer bowl. Allow this to sit for about 30 minutes. This will break down the gluten and help the bread to rise better.

In a small bowl mix together 1/8 cup water, yeast and honey. Allow this to sit for about 10 minutes, or until the yeast is activated and mixture becomes bubbly (I let it sit until the flour/water was done resting).

In the meantime, melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool. You don’t want the hot butter to kill the yeast.

When the 30 minutes are up, add salt, melted butter, salsa and yeast mixture to the flour and water mixture. Add the remaining flour. Mix with a dough hook. Knead in the mixer for about 13 minutes. Add more flour if the dough is too wet. Add more salsa liquid if the dough is too try.

Once you’ve kneaded your dough, cover it with a cloth and let it rise for at least one hour or until it has risen to twice it’s starting size (be sure it’s in a warm place. I turn my oven to warm and place the bowl on top of the oven. Mine took about 1 1/2 hours to rise.).

While you’re waiting for your dough to rise, get your bread pan greased.
When the dough has doubled in size, give it a nice punch. Using a floured hand, pull the dough out of the bowl onto the counter. Knead for three or four minutes until the air bubbles are all gone.

 
Roll out the dough about the width of your bread pan and as long as you like. Sprinkle the cheese all over the dough. Roll it up, tuck the ends under and place in the prepared bread pan. Cover and allow 30 minutes to one hour to rise again. The dough will continue to rise when it bakes, so don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t totally fill the pan after this rising.
 
Bake the bread uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when you thump the top of it.
Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove it to finish cooling on a wire rack.

One Handed Honey Herb Chicken

My son and I stayed home from church on Sunday because he was sick. I still wanted to make a decent “Sunday dinner.” But he wanted to be held constantly.

I knew I was going to bake some chicken, but had no idea what kind. I knew it had to be simple…so simple that you can prepare it with one hand.

This is what I came up with. And it’s delicious!!

Put the chicken in the pan. Sprinkle a few things on top. And put it in the oven. In an hour you have moist, flavorful chicken. Perfect.

It’s a little sweet and a little savory. Just what I like.

One Handed Honey Herb Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 – 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs of choice (can be gluten free or substitute with seasoned almond or coconut flour for grain free)

Heat oven to 350. Butter/grease a small baking dish.

Place chicken in baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder. Drizzle eat breast with honey. Rub slightly to cover. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top.

Cover dish and bake for 40 minutes. Remove cover and turn heat up to 400. Bake another 20 minutes, until topping is crisp and chicken is cooked through.

Homemade Cocoa Puffs

Cereal. It’s one of the foods we gave up when we switched to a Real food diet. But I think it’s one of the foods my husband misses the most. And once in a while I do too. I used to be a cereal junky (seriously…I HAD to have it for breakfast every single day for about 10 years).

I’ve made soaked cereal (which I think tastes like Wheaties), granola and homemade golden grahams/cinnamon toast crunch. Yesterday I decided to try cocoa puffs.

I never liked cocoa puffs. So it’s not something I was missing. But my husband liked them. Especially for a bedtime snack.

The kids and I made a batch yesterday. They turned out pretty well. Little crunchy chocolaty bites. They aren’t little balls, but you still get the same effect. The butter gives some crunch, while the coconut oil gives the light/crispy texture.

I like to use them to make cookies and cream yogurt. Simply mix a handful into plain or slightly sweetened whole milk yogurt. A real treat.

**You can make this gluten free as well!!!

Do you still eat cereal? Did you give up cereal but miss it? What’s your favorite kind? Are there any real food versions of cereals you’d like to see?

Homemade Cocoa Puffs
makes about 4 cups

1 3/4 cups flour (organic whole wheat, all purpose or a combination)
1/3 cup organic cocoa powder
1/2 cup organic white and/or brown cane sugar or sucanat
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2-3 Tbsp. honey
1 – 2 tsp. organic chocolate extract
1 tsp. organic vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted (you can replace this with coconut oil or palm shortening to make it dairy free)
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

Heat oven to 350. Melt butter and coconut oil in sauce pan. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the liquids: honey, chocolate extract, vanilla, butter/oil. Stir well. Taste dough and adjust honey and chocolate extract to your liking. Mix until a nice ball of dough is formed.  The dough should not be crumbly.  If it is gradually a couple Tbsp. of water.  If it is still crumbly gradually add more honey.

Split dough into 2 equal parts. Cut 3 pieces of parchment paper the size of a cookie sheet. Lay one piece on table. Put 1/2 of dough on the paper. Lay a 2nd piece of parchment on top of dough. Squish the dough down a little with your hand. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough between the parchment paper. Roll until the dough is about 1/8″ – 1/4″ thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper. Cut into very small squares (with pizza cutter). Place on a baking sheet (on the parchment paper…just move the whole thing onto the baking sheet). Repeat for other half of dough.

Bake for 11-12 minutes. Turn off oven, but leave cereal in to get crisp. Remove after about 10 minutes (if some of the puffs are burning remove the pan). Let cool completely. Separate squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer.

Homemade Caramels

Last week I made an overnight french toast casserole. I’ve made it quite a few times now. The best part? The syrup you make to go in it. As I was making the syrup I thought it seemed a lot like caramel. Maybe I could use that same recipe (slightly tweaked) to just make caramel?

This week I gave it a try…success!! It really could not be any easier. No candy thermometer. No standing around with bubbling sugar and heavy cream. No artificial ingredients.

This caramel comes together in minutes and is so good. You can add extra salt to make it salted caramel. Or go with the traditional flavor. Either way you can’t go wrong.

Do you like caramels? Give this simple recipe a try. I promise, you’ll be glad you did.

Need an easy Christmas present? Wrap these individually in parchment paper or wax paper and bag them. Perfect.

Homemade Caramels

3 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown cane sugar or sucanat
1/4 – 1 tsp. sea salt (to taste)
In a pan on the stovetop, combine the honey, butter, salt and brown sugar. Simmer until all of the sugar is dissolved and the ingredients are well combined, about 5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste.

Pour into a parchment lined 8″ or 9″ pan. Allow caramel to cool in the refrigerator about 30 minutes.

Cut or break into small pieces. Return to the refrigerator to cool/harden completely (do not put pieces on top of each other or they will stick).

Store in a bag or glass jar in the refrigerator.

Easy Yeast Free Bread

In order to help with my gut issues I’ve been experimenting with avoiding food with yeast lately. Not to mention making food with yeast is a longer process.

Last week I needed a quick bread to go with our soup. I did a little searching and found a few recipes for yeast free bread. They were all very similar. So I kind of combined them to make my own.

The result was just what I wanted. Very slightly sweet. Not overly dense. No need to wait for rising. This was my kind of bread. It’s like a cross between a sweet bread and a yeast bread.

I mostly ate it spread with lots of butter and sprinkled with sea salt. I also used some of it to make croutons for my salad. A perfect grab and go snack when I need some carbohydrates.

Yeast Free Bread

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups liquid (water, milk, kefir or buttermilk…I used a combination)
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup maple syrup

Heat oven to 350 degress F.

Mix all ingredients.

Pour into a greased 9″ loaf pan.

Bake 45 – 55 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

After asking on facebook for some vegetable ideas I tried a new recipe for brussels sprouts from Eat, Live, Run. It’s so simple and so delicious! We all loved it.

Basically you saute brussels sprouts and add a little brown sugar at the end. Who knew that could make them taste so amazing? We already love brussels sprouts. This was a great way to change it up a bit.

I did not use the garlic or the nuts. But that would be good too. I will definitely be making these again. I might even turn them into a one dish meal by adding a starch and protein (quinoa and nuts?, rice and chicken?, couscous and salmon?). My mind is whirling with variations already 🙂

I’ll be trying this method of vegetable preparation with other vegetables as well. I already did broccoli and kohlrabi last week. Yum!! Cauliflower would be a great addition as well.

Do you like brussels sprouts? If not would a little brown sugar make you change your mind?

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

12-14 large brussels sprouts
1 Tbsp olive oil (I used about 2 Tbsp. of butter and coconut oil)
1 clove garlic, minced (I just used a sprinkle of garlic powder)
pinch sea salt (or a lot if you’re like me:)
2 Tbsp brown cane sugar (or honey or maple syrup)
1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (I’d use crispy nuts)

Slice each brussels sprout very thin until you have a mound of feathery brussels sprout ribbons. Heat the olive oil/butter/coconut oil over medium high in a large skillet and saute the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the brussels sprouts and continue sauteing for another 4-5 minutes, until bright green and tender (I saute them a bit longer…my family likes them plenty soft). Add the sea salt and brown sugar and toss together. Finish by adding the toasted nuts.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Grilled Cheese

On Sunday nights we eat fun, simple foods. We’ve got some ham lunch meat (locally made) that needs to be used up. So last night I figured we’d do grilled ham and cheese. Always delicious.

Then I remembered that recently Justin asked me to make chicken cordon bleu (I haven’t made it yet by the way). And we had roasted chicken for lunch…with leftovers. So I combined the two and made a chicken cordon bleu grilled cheese.

I didn’t taste it myself, but Justin said it was good 🙂  It sure looked good to me! Plus it’s always fun to have another variation of grilled cheese.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Grilled Cheese
serves one

2 slices bread of choice
2 slices ham lunch meat (nitrite/nitrate/HFCS/MSG free)
3 slices swiss cheese
1/4 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 – 2 Tbsp. homemade mayo (ours is sweeter like miracle whip)

Spread mayo on both slices of bread. On one slice layer cheese, ham, chicken, cheese, ham, cheese. Top with the other slice of bread.

Butter the bread and cook on a buttered griddle until both sides are golden and the cheese is melted.

Holiday Oreos®

A while back I made a homemade version of Oreos®. They were delicious!! These holiday Oroes® are a spin on the classic that is perfect for parties and family gatherings.

This week for our baking project Rebecca wanted to make a new batch with a twist. She came up with three filling flavors to try for a special holiday treat – mint, peanut butter and chocolate.

Wow!! The original was good. These are even better. Plus we had extra filling so we made mint, peanut butter and chocolate filled graham cracker sandwiches. Also very good.

If you want to really impress your guests this year try homemade holiday Oreos® with a special filling. They are sure to be a hit.
Rebecca is already planning our next batch. She said we need to make more the day after Thanksgiving to be ready for Christmas 🙂  We’re thinking chocolate mint, chocolate peanut butter and caramel next time.

And maybe we’ll go all out and dip them in chocolate. A chocolate covered caramel filled oreo made with all real ingredients? Yes, please!

The possibilities are endless…pumpkin, gingerbread, butterscotch, raspberry, orange…We’ll have to work on the inside out version sometime too. I’ll update this post each time we try a new flavor.

What is your favorite holiday Oreos® flavor?

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday and Real Food Wednesday and From the Archives Friday.

Holiday Oreos®

makes 17 – 20 cookie sandwiches (depending on the size of your cookie cutter and the thickness of your dough)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3-4 tsp. chocolate extract
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, room temp (you can substitute coconut oil or palm shortening)
6 – 8 Tbsp. honey

To make the cookies:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add cocoa and chocolate extract. Blend well (a hand mixer works well). Taste. Add more chocolate extract until strong enough. Add flour, baking soda, salt and honey. Blend well. If dough is still crumbly slowly add extra honey until dough will hold together when squeezed with your hand.

Place 1/3 of the dough onto parchment paper. Place another layer of parchment paper over top. Roll the dough between the parchment paper until it is 1/8 – 1/4″ thick. Remove top paper. Cut circles and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat this process until you have used all of the dough.
Bake the cookies for about 13 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
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Mint Filling:
1/4 cup organic palm shortening
5 – 6 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 – 2 tsp. peppermint extract
Peanut Butter Filling (you can make this a stiffer or softer filling):
1/4 cup organic palm shortening (reduce this to 3 Tbsp. for a stiffer filling)
5 – 6 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 – 4 Tbsp. natural creamy peanut butter
Chocolate Filling:
1/4 cup organic palm shortening
2 Tbsp. organic cocoa powder
4 Tbsp. organic all purpose flour (you can substitute corn starch or arrow root)
1/4 – 1/3 cup maple syrup
1 – 2 tsp. chocolate extract

To make the fillings*:

Cream the shortening, flour, maple syrup and cocoa/peanut butter/extracts in a small bowl. Add more flour for a stiffer cream (note that it will firm up/become solid when chilled). Add more maple syrup for a sweeter cream. You can prep the filling ahead and store it in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature before filling cookies.

*Note that if you make the full recipe of all of the fillings with one batch of cookies you will have leftover filling. You can use it on graham crackers or as frosting for cupcakes. One batch of filling is enough for 7 – 12 sandwich cookies depending on how big your cookies are and full you like them.

To assemble the cookies:

Place the cream filling in a small plastic bag. Cut off one of the corners of the bag for a pastry bag. Pipe some cream onto the center of one cookie, leaving space at the edge . Top with another cookie. Press together just until the cream reaches the edge. Repeat this process until all of the cookies are filled. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the cookies

Simple Chicken Nuggets

I’ve made chicken nuggets countless times. I’ve made them in a variety of ways. But I have always used chicken breast or roasted chicken.

Last week I put chicken nuggets on my menu…then went to the freezer to get chicken…and found I had no chicken breast. Hmmm.

I did have some ground chicken, so I figured I’d go with that. I had no recipe and not a lot of time to prepare dinner. And I had my usual little “helper” in the kitchen (Abram thinks he must be held whenever I’m cooking so he can watch and try to get his hands on whatever I’ll let him).

I came up with an easy, delicious chicken nugget recipe that we all loved.

This is a great recipe if you’re trying to get your kids to eat homemade chicken nuggets instead of a fast food version. By using ground chicken you can make them round…or whatever shape you want really 🙂  They look like the typical nugget, but they only have good stuff in them.

I used a combination of bread crumbs and freshly grated parmesan cheese for the breading. You can skip the cheese if you want. And you can sub wheat flour, coconut flour or almond flour for the bread crumbs.

I also used egg yolks for a binder. If you can’t eat eggs you can leave them out. They will still hold together.

One other bonus about this recipe – they are baked. Don’t get me wrong, I love to fry things in healthy fat like coconut oil, butter and lard. But it can be messy and you have to monitor the stove. I like it when I can prepare dinner, stick it in the oven and forget about it until it’s time to eat.

You can prepare a large batch and freeze them for quick lunches any time. They didn’t last long enough here to freeze any 🙂  Serve them with homemade ketchup, honey mustard or barbecue sauce.

This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday and Fat Tuesday.

Simple Chicken Nuggets
dairy free, nut free, grain free, gluten free, egg free options

1 lb. ground chicken (or turkey or pork)
2 egg yolks (optional)
seasoning (I used sea salt, garlic powder and seasoning salt)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

3/4 cup bread crumbs, wheat flour, coconut flour or almond flour
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet.

Mix the chicken, eggs, seasoning and cheese. In a separate bowl mix the breadcrumbs or flour and cheese.

Take a small scoop of the chicken mixture. Drop it into the breadcrumb mixture. Roll it around until it is coated. Place it on the baking sheet and press down until desired thickness. Repeat until all of the chicken mixture is used.

Bake the chicken nuggets for 30-35 minutes, flipping them over after 20 minutes.

Baked Apples

I’m always looking for new breakfast ideas. This week I came across Cara’s recipe for slow cooker baked apples.  It was just what I needed – grain and nut free and easy prep.

I was going to make them in the crockpot, but then I changed my  mind. Since I was only making a few I didn’t want to get my big crockpot dirty. So I just prepped them this morning and baked them in the oven.

So easy and so delicious! Justin said they were great. He had his topped with homemade vanilla yogurt.

I will definitely be making these again. Such a great idea for a healthy breakfast. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly since I was going from memory when I made it. It still turned out great.

The next time I make it I might modify things and just do a pan of sliced baked apples**. Then you don’t have to worry about the apples opening/the toppings falling out. And you can serve up as much or as little as you want. Plus I don’t have to worry about a picky eater complaining about apple peels 😛

Baked Apples

6 medium apples
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup honey (I also added a little organic cane sugar)
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. coconut oil, butter, or ghee (I forgot this…oops)
 
Core apples. To core, using an apple corer or paring knife, cut around the core (about ¼ inch from the stem all the way around) but leave about half an inch at the bottom. Use the knife to ‘drill out’ the core.
 
Divide raisins, honey, cinnamon, and coconut oil between the apples.
 
Place apples in a crock pot and add ½ inch of water. Cook on low overnight and enjoy a hot breakfast in the morning!
 
Alternatively, bake covered at 350 degrees in a glass dish for 45 minutes-1 hour in the morning.
 
**Next time I will try peeling and slicing the apples. Place them in a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon, honey and raisins. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Top with with cream, yogurt, coconut milk, or just eat plain.