Our Best Bites' Sausage and Egg Overnight Casserole--gf,cf

I really love breakfast.  Anyone else with me on that?  There's just something about coming out of an overnight fast that makes me hungry...
My favorite breakfasts are savory dishes because they don't cause my blood sugar to spike like other yummy things can.  My daughter has now added eggs in once a week (YAY!), so we get to have baked dishes like this more often. 
This is another of those recipes that my family loves for special ocassions like birthdays and Christmas morning.  Mama loves them because the work is done the night before and not with a hungry toddler attached to my hip, hehe.

So here it is.  My version of Our Best Bites Sausage and Egg Overnight Casserole--gf,cf

Here's what you need:

one loaf gluten free bread (home made or store)
1 lb. gf turkey sausage, browned
1/4-1/2 c. green chiles (your preference)
1 dozen eggs
1 can coconut milk (I prefer thai kitchen whole fat)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp hot sauce
1 c daiya cheese, optional

Grease a 9x13" baking dish.  Cut the bread into 1" cubes.  If you are using any type of cheese, sprinkle it over the bread.  Add sausage on top, then the green chiles.
In a bowl, whisk eggs, seasonings, milk, and hot sauce together.  Pour over the bread/sausage mixture. 
Cover and refrigerate overnight. 
when ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes or until egg is set and is golden brown. 
Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

This is one of our family's favorites for Special Breakfasts like birthdays or Christmas morning. 

before baking

before eating...note the gorgeous dinnerware

What you'll need:

One loaf GF bread (homemade or not, it all works)

1 dozen eggs

1 can whole fat coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen)

1/3 c. maple syrup

1 c. blueberries

Sauce:

1/4 c. maple syrup

1/4 c. agave nectar

2 tbsp. tapioca starch

1 c. water

1 tsbp. coconut oil or butter

1 c. blueberries

The night before, cut bread into 1" cubes; place into a greased 9x13" dish.  Top with blueberries.  In a large bowl, beat eggs. add milk and syrup and mix well.  Pour over bread and cover.  Chill over night.  Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake another 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and eggs are set. 

Fod the sauce:  In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except blueberries and whisk well.  Bring to a boil on medium heat.  Stirring constantly, allow sauce to boil for about 3 minutes.  Add blueberries and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for another 7-10 minutes or until berries have burst.  Serve over French toast.

Hoppin' Johns {BLACK EYED PEAS}

 We eat a lot of legumes around here--black beans, kidney, white, pinto, anasazi, lentils, and black eyed peas.  Aside from the lentils and BEP's (black eyed peas) I soak them all overnight and then let them cook away on the stove til they're ready--usually three hours.  I throw in a couple of garlic cloves and bay leaves.  That's it while they're cookin'.  Did you know that salt makes legumes hard?  I learned this the "hard" way,  pun intended.  So throw your salt in at the end. 
Now lentils and BEP's don't take that long to cook at all (about an hour) and would fall apart if soaked overnight.  When I remember, I soak them for an hour before cooking.  The salt rule doesn't seem to apply to either of these.  Hoppin' Johns usually have rice in them, but we prefer them without.

HOPPIN' JOHNS

1 cup turkey bacon or turkey ham
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 c. black eyed peas
2 tbsp. cold pressed olive oil
1 bay leaf
1/2-1 tsp. chili pepper flakes
2 tsp. sea salt
6-7 c. water

In a large pot, saute bacon, onion, and red pepper in olive oil for about ten minutes.  Add garlic, bay leaf, and chili pepper flakes.  Saute another minute.  Add black eyed peas, water, and salt.  Simmer on med-low for about an hour, adding a bit more water if necessary, til BEP's are cooked through. 

Spaghetti with Mushrooms, Kidney Beans, and Roasted Red Peppers

With a name like that, do I even have to add a recipe???  Another quick post while sitting home from church with the baby.  This is a fast and easy meal, if you have everything on hand.  It is good alone with just a salad, or with chicken as well.

Spaghetti with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1 lb. gf brown rice pasta ( i like tinkyada's or trader joe's)
2 c. kidney beans
1 c. mushrooms
1 c. roasted red peppers
4 cloves garlic
2 c. spinach, coarsely chopped
1/4 c. cold pressed olive oil
1/4 c. water

• cook pasta
• saute garlic gently in olive oil
• in a blender, blend together on low:  garlic in olive oil, 1/4 c. water, 1/2 c. roasted peppers (retaining other half for dish)
• saute mushrooms
• add kidney beans, pasta, remaining peppers, and spinach
• heat through
• salt ans pepper to taste
• serve

Lemon Thyme Roasted Winter Vegetables

I love love when the weather finally {really, truly} begins to cool off.  And we are there!  YAY!  We actually pulled out the portable heater this morning.  And wore socks to bed.  So it's time for lots of winter squash, sweet potatoes and yams, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and onions.  These are all cozy winter (or cooler weather) favorites around here.  My favorite way to prepare these is to roast them.  (Mostly because I'm lazy).  I love thyme.  It goes so well with lemon.  Or cumin.  I switch out the lemon with cumin for a change now and then...

Lemon Thyme Roasted Winter Veggies

{I have to add:  This is my kind of recipe as well; you just choose which veggies you want, and how many, and go from there!}

Your choice:
carrots
parsnips
yams
sweet potatoes
potatoes
acorn squash
butternut squash
pie pumpkin
red or sweet onions
ect
ect
ect
cold pressed olive oil
juice of half lemon
1 tsp thyme or cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Wash and cut veggies into roughly the same sized portions, about 4" chunks.  Place in a large baking dish.  Toss in some olive oil.  Sprinkle the thyme, sea salt and pepper over the veggies and mix it around a bit.  Squeeze half a lemon over the veggies.  Add the rest of the lemon to some water to go with the meal, if you like (or double recipe for left overs for lunch tomorrow!).  Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.  Take covering off and bake another 20-30 minutes, checking so as to not over bake. 
I add skinless chicken thighs into the mix for a one dish meal on ocassion.  I have also roasted a chook at the same time, tho it may need a bit longer.  Just use the remaining lemon half with some more olive oil and seasonings on it.  I think I may have dinner planned for tomorrow...

Mexican Pasta Skillet

Life throws some crazy days at you every now and then and we've had more than a share of them recently, it seems. My son got stung by a bee one day and then my youngest daughter got her pinkie slammed in the hinge of a door--practically a decapitated digit, as it were--which culminated in our first ever visit to the ER.
I got home wishing that I had this dish prepared--comfort food at it's finest. (You'll soon note that my definition of "comfort food" is usually Mexican food.)

Mexican Pasta Skillet

1 lb GF brown rice rotini pasta
1 lb ground beef, browned, drained
2 c. black beans
1 small onion, diced
2 zucchini, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
one medium heat green chili, diced (can omit if spicy isn't your thing)
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 tbsp cold pressed olive oil
1-14 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 c. cilantro
Cook pasta al dente (not too done, or it won't hold up). Drain, rinse in cold water, drain, and set aside. Meanwhile, brown ground beef. Set aside. In a 12" skillet, saute veggies (leaving out garlic til the end) in the olive oil til tender crisp. Add garlic and saute one minute more. Add tomatoes, spices, salt, ground beef, pasta and black beans, and cilantro. Simmer on on med low for 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to mesh and ingredients to heat through. Serve with a green salad.

Chicken Cottage Pie

Okay, so I made shepherd's pie for the first time a few weeks ago and my family really liked it. Last night we had a roast chicken and I saved a portion before setting it before the little savages--and it's a good thing, too! I think they picked the bones, lol. However, I did have leftovers--mashed potatoes. So what is the natural conclusion? A cross between chicken pot pie and shepherd's pie. We'll just call it a hybrid. And those little savages, er, children of mine? They loved it. I had to fight them for a portion for daddy, who was working late.

Chicken Cottage Pie

2 tbsp cold pressed olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 bag frozen mixed veggies (or your choice fresh--think celery, carrots, green beans, and peas)
1 c. chicken broth (make your own, so much better!)
1/2 c. coconut or safe milk
1 tbsp potato flour or other thickener
1 tsp poultry seasoning
sea salt and pepper to taste
4-6 c. mashed potatoes, depending on how thick you like your "crust"

In an oven-safe 12" skillet, saute the onion in olive oil til translucent. Add your veggies, chicken, broth, milk, and seasonings. Sprinkle in potato flour while stirring (if you seem to be lump-prone, add it to the cool chicken broth first). Simmer til heated through. Top with mashed potatoes and bake @375 degrees for 20 minutes or until your crust is browned.

Oh, Paella!

There are so many versions of paella out there. Some have shrimp, others chorizo, but I've found my family likes it plain and simple. It has become a favorite. I serve it with black beans and shredded red cabbage. It reminds my husband of simple Venezuelan fare.

4 tsbp cold pressed olive oil
6-8 chicken thighs, skin removed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
*one roasted red pepper, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, diced
2 c. brown rice
1/2 c. crushed tomatoes
3 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp chili powder

*Can use jarred roasted red peppers in a pinch, or plain ol' red pepper, too!

In a deep 12" skillet or wok, heat oil over medium high heat until hot. Add chicken and brown, about 6 minutes each side. Remove from skillet, leaving drippings in the pan. Reduce heat to medium and add the onion and red pepper. Stir frequently until onion is tender. Add garlic, rice, and spices. Cook, stirring, for one minute. Add crushed tomatoes and water. Let heat to a simmer and tuck chicken into rice. Cover and simmer 40 minutes. The rice and chicken should both be done; if not, cook another ten minutes or so. (It sometimes takes longer if the chicken pieces are large.) Remove from heat and let stand five minutes. Serve with black beans and cabbage.