Fearless Bread

This is an adaptation from a recipe by Ann Staheli who prepared the original recipe live on Seattle's KCTS 9 Cooks viewer cooking show. This version can be made with or without meat or dairy and is loaded full of flavor. It is very versatile so you can add jalapenos, chilis, chopped bacon, and many other items to make it your very own signature dish. If you are using dairy free cheese, I recommend "Daiya" brand vegan cheese. It actually will melt without having to use a blow torch!


Ingredients:
1 TBSP olive oil
24 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms
¾ tsp. salt plus 2 tsp. salt
1 lb. ground turkey or chicken sausage
1 ½ cup minced onion
3 TBSP dried sage                                         
Two 15 oz. cans pureed pumpkin (read label-don't use pumpkin pie puree!)
1 cup regular or dairy free milk
½ TBSP pepper
1 TBSP cider vinegar
9-12 gluten free lasagna noodles – cooked
3-4 cups combination of shredded parmesan, mozzarella, cheddar cheese

Directions:
1.  In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms and ¾ tsp. of salt over medium heat approx. 7-10 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

2.  In same pan, brown the sausage until well cooked. Remove from pan and set aside leaving a small amount of drippings in the pan.

3.  In same pan, sauté onions for approx. 5 minutes, add sage and continue to cook until onions are somewhat transparent.

4.  In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, milk, 2 tsp. of salt, pepper, and vinegar. Add onion mixture to the pumpkin. Reserve some of this mixture in a small bowl and set aside for final topping.

5.  In a separate bowl, mix sausage and mushrooms together.

6.  Spread 1/4 cup pumpkin mixture over bottom of greased 13 x 9 baking dish and cover with 1 layer of noodles. Spread half of remaining pumpkin mixture over noodles. Layer with mushroom mixture and sprinkle with cheeses. Repeat layering with noodles, pumpkin, mushroom mixture, and cheeses. Put on one more layer of noodles to top the lasagna and cover with reserved pumpkin. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

7.  Cover and bake at 375F for 25 minutes, then for additional 15-20 minutes uncovered until hot and bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This is a gluten and dairy free version of a salad featured on KCTS9 Cooks viewer cooking show. Substitute non dairy cheese with feta, cheddar, or your favorite if you are not sensitive to dairy. Omit pecans if you are sensitive to nuts. If you're nuts about nuts, feel free to swap or mix with macadamia, pine, cashews, etc.

Ingredients:
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup pecans
1 head romaine lettuce in bite sized pieces
3 medium pears (peeled, cored, & thinly sliced)
5 oz. dairy free cheese – crumbled or shredded
1 avocado – peeled and diced
½ cup sliced scallions

Dijon Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup olive oil
5 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 garlic clove minced
fresh ground black pepper to your taste


Directions:
1.  In heavy skillet over medium heat, gently stir ½ cup sugar with pecans until sugar melts and caramelizes them, remove from pan and let cool on wax paper, break in small pieces.

2.  For the vinaigrette, add all ingredients except oil to a large mixing bowl, pour olive oil in a thin stream while vigorously whisking ingredients together until well blended.

3. In a large serving bowl, layer lettuce pieces, then pear slices, cheese, avocado, and scallions.

4.  Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and sprinkle with pecans.

This is yet another very versatile salad with a sweet and savory vinaigrette that you can pick and choose items to add or remove according to your own taste or tolerance. It is very satisfying with or without meat, with or without cheese, and with or without nuts. This is an excellent salad to serve with traditional or gluten free breadsticks.

Vinaigrette
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
3 TBSP honey
½ chopped red onion
1 TBSP chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup canola, olive, or grapeseed oil

Salad
1 head romaine lettuce
One 10 oz. can mandarin orange slices drained
Crumbled bacon bits
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds or pine nuts
Fresh ground pepper


Directions:
1.  Place vinegar, honey, onion, parsley, mustard, and salt in a blender or food processor and puree on high until mixture is smooth.

2.  Drop blender speed to medium and slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream until the mixture is creamy.

3.  In a large salad bowl, tear the romaine lettuce into bite sized pieces. Toss with mandarin oranges and crumbled bacon bits. Moisten with enough dressing for your taste and divide among individual salad bowls. Sprinkle with toasted almonds or pine nuts and serve.

Tip:
If you prefer a traditional texture for the vinaigrette, simply omit using the blender and add the first 6 ingredients together in a bowl. Use a sturdy kitchen towel to prop up and tilt the bowl toward you slightly. Briskly whisk the ingredients as you pour the oil in a thin stream into to bowl.

This is a very versatile compliment to round off a gluten free feast. I used GF brown rice noodles in this dish and you could not tell the difference from wheat flour noodles in taste or texture. Experiment with different dressings or use your own favorite recipe.

 
Ingredients:
1 pound of your faavorite GF pasta (prepared and cooled)
2 grilled or smoked chicken breasts cubed or chopped
2 stalks of chopped celery
½ red bell pepper chopped
½ yellow bell pepper chopped
½ cup chopped black olives
 ¼ cup chopped green onion
1 TBSP minced red onion
1 tsp. minced roasted garlic
½ cup GF mayonnaise
½ cup or more GF Italian dressing (I used Annie's Naturals)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated cheese


Directions:
1.  Add pasta to large salad bowl.

2.  Add chicken, celery, bell peppers, olives, green onion, red onion, and garlic.

3.  In a separate bowl, combine mayonnaise with Italian dressing and add salt and pepper if desired. You may add more Italian dressing if you prefer a zestier pasta salad.

4.  Toss all the ingredients together until well coated. Serve in individual bowls and grate your favorite cheese over pasta salad to garnish.

This is a gluten free version of a southern favorite for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Sunday afternoon supper. This dish can be made with or without meat, eggs, or dairy according to your dietary needs. The directions are for baking this as a side dish but you can also use this recipe to stuff poultry. Make sure you wait until it is time to roast the bird before you stuff it to prevent the stuffing from spoiling.  

Ingredients:
5 cups GF cornbread crumbs     (click here for recipe)
1 TBSP GF baking powder
1 tsp. ground sage
2 tsp. poultry seasoning
¼ tsp. dried basil
1¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 clove minced garlic (regular or roasted)
¼ stalk minced celery
¼ minced onion
¼ cup cooked & chopped giblets, sausage, or chicken thigh meat (optional)
1 egg, slightly beaten or 1 TBSP Ener-G mixed with 2 TBSP water
¼ cup regular or non dairy milk
1 TBSP canola oil
1 TBSP butter or non dairy Earth Balance Spread
1 ¼ cup chicken stock or GF chicken broth
 
 
 Directions:
1.  Sauté garlic, onions, and celery in 1 TBSP of butter and set aside.
 
2.  Add cornbread crumbs to large mixing bowl along with baking powder and toss until evenly combined. Add sage, poultry seasoning, basil, salt, pepper, and toss until evenly combined.
 
3.  Add garlic, celery, onion, chopped meat, and toss until evenly combined.
 
4.  In separate bowl, combine egg, milk, and oil.  Add egg mixture to cornbread mixture, add chicken broth and toss until combined. You may use more or less chicken broth depending on how dry you prefer your stuffing.
 
6.  Transfer stuffing to a lightly greased 9 x 9 baking pan and spread evenly with a spatula.
 
7.  Bake uncovered at 350F for 25-35 minutes or until desired texture. Cover with foil during last 15 minutes if browning too quickly.

Tip:  you may also add in other favorite stuffing items such as oysters, chestnuts, apples, cranberries, etc, to tailor this recipe to your family tradition.