Category Archives: Nut Free

Grandma’s Green Beans

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

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Growing up, my paternal grandmother often made a particular green bean recipe for dinners at her house, usually served with meatloaf or roast beef. I always loved them and couldn’t get enough of them. When I was old enough to be out on my own, I asked her for the recipe. She told me it was just hot German potato salad made with green beans instead of potatoes. She often would use artificial sweetener for the sugar which doesn’t happen at my house, and she always used canned green beans whereas I use fresh or frozen. Still, they are called Grandma’s Green Beans at my house and are a favorite. Anything with bacon and onions has to be good! I will often make a double batch using a whole package of bacon just so that I can have leftovers.

Grandma's Green Beans by Naturally Elizabeth

Grandma’s Green Beans

Grandma’s Green Beans

5 slices nitrate-free bacon
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced (1/2-3/4 cup)
1 pound fresh or frozen organic green beans (or 2 cans of drained green beans)
1 tablespoon organic cornstarch
1 tablespoon organic sugar or 2-3 drops of stevia extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon organic celery seed
1/8 teaspoon organic black pepper
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup organic white vinegar

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the cornstarch, sugar/stevia, salt, celery seed, black pepper, water and vinegar. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon and set aside. (Keeping household members from eating the cooked bacon is always a challenge for me at this point.)

Remove half of the bacon grease from the pan and dispose of in a responsible manner.

In the remaining bacon grease, saute the diced onions until almost cooked over medium heat. Add in the green beans. Cook until green beans are done. Add in the liquid mixture and cook for a minute or two longer, allowing it to form a thicker sauce that coats everything in the pan.

Remove from heat. Crumble the bacon on top. Serve warm, but leftovers taste great cold or warm.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

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Roasted Squash Seeds

16 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Other, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

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raw organic butternut squash seeds

raw organic butternut squash seeds

Credit for this recipe goes to Kim Lane of Austinmamas fame. I’ve adapted it a bit to meet allergy needs, but the heart of it is the same. The most important thing she taught me was that you don’t wash the seeds. You leave the goop on them. It makes them much more flavorful and is a lot less of a pain!

This recipe works with seeds of any kind from the squash family which includes melons. You can use butternut, acorn, pumpkin, honeydew or cantaloupe. I generally stick to the more vegetable seeds.

Roasted Squash Seeds

Ingredients

Seeds from one or more squash (do not clean!)
A few teaspoons of oil that is safe for you or melted butter
A few shakes of salt of your choice (flavored salts work, too)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250F.

Take the seeds out of the squash. Remove any huge chunks of squash strings from the seeds, but do not wash or remove little bits. They add flavor! Place the seeds in a pan that will hold them all in a single layer, and lightly coat the seeds with the oil or butter of your choice. Shake a bit of salt over them. Stir until all are relatively coated.

Bake the seeds for one hour, pulling them out every 15 minutes and stirring, pushing them back into a flat layer every time.

Allow to cool and then eat. They can be stored in a sealed bag or container on the counter for a short amount of time, but I rarely have any left since we tend to eat them all while they are warm!

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

roasted and salted organic butternut squash seeds

roasted and salted organic butternut squash seeds

Apple Raspberry Crisp

15 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by in Egg Free, Nut Free, Other, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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organic apple raspberry crisp

organic apple raspberry crisp

A lot of people are very picky about which apples they bake with. I am not. I use whatever is on the counter which is a variety of what my kids like and what is on sale. I will vary what I put into apple recipes based on what’s in the house.

Adapted from here.

Apple Raspberry Crisp

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons organic cornstarch
  • 5 medium organic apples (about 6 cups), peeled, cored and thinly sliced ( I used 2 Granny Smith, 2 Honeycrisp, and 1 Gala for the pictured crisp)
  • 6 oz fresh organic raspberries

Topping

  • 1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup organic old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup organic all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons organic ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons organic unsalted butter, softened

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9×9 inch or 8×8 inch square baking dish with the oil of your choice. (I use organic canola or organic sunflower oil.)
  2. In a large bowl, mix sliced apples and raspberries with 1/2 a cup of brown sugar and cornstarch. It will not be completely evenly coated, and that’s ok. Spoon into the prepared baking dish. In the bowl, now mix together the other 1/2 cup of brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apple mixture.
  3. Put the baking dish on a cookie sheet in case it bubbles over. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned and apples are soft. Serve warm.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

 

Carne Guisada (Mexican Beef Stew)

10 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Nut Free, Soy Free

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Carne Guisada

Carne Guisada with white rice

Ingredients

1 pound organic or grass-fed beef stew meat in bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons organic cornstarch
2 tablespoons organic olive oil or oil of your choice
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves organic garlic, minced
2 organic jalapeno peppers, minced (or only 1 if you are a Yankee who doesn’t like it hot!)
1.5 cups organic beef broth (I use Pacific or Imagine brand)
1/2 cup organic enchilada sauce or salsa
1 teaspoon organic chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Coat meat pieces with cornstarch, then brown in olive oil in an ovenproof Dutch oven. You’re not fully cooking the meat but are just putting a little color on it.
  3. Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, beef stock, enchilada sauce, salt and chili powder; warm on the stove just until you can see steam coming off of the top of it.
  4. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven, baking for about 2 hours, until meat is extremely tender. The sauce will thicken quite a bit as it cooks, too.
  5. Serve with rice, veggies, or with gluten-free tortillas.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Mardi Gras Muffins

18 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Cakes, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Sweet Breads, Vegetarian

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Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins on a blue Fiestaware plate

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

At one point, my daughter sent me a recipe, swearing they were the best pancakes ever. I had every intention of making them for Mardi Gras this year, but bronchitis has me worn down. It’s far easier to make muffins than pancakes because I don’t have to stand over the stove, so I converted the recipe to muffins for my son to enjoy.

Of course, after doing this, I figured out that Mardi Gras isn’t until next week. Doh!

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup organic light brown sugar
2 cups organic white or whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons organic cinnamon

1 cup organic vanilla coconut milk (or milk substitute of your choice)*
2 large organic eggs
1 Tablespoon organic vanilla extract

1.5 cups organic white chocolate chips (contain dairy)**
2 large or 3 small ripe organic bananas, mashed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line about 21 muffin tins with liners or grease.

Mix together the sugar, flour, sea salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix “milk”, eggs, and vanilla. In a third bowl, mash bananas and mix chocolate chips. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. Stir in banana and chocolate chip mixture.

Scoop muffin mix 2/3 full into tins. Bake at 350 for 20-24 minutes. Cool and eat.

*To make this recipe nut free, use rice milk, oat milk, or soy milk.

**To make this recipe dairy free, use dairy free dark chocolate chips.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup

22 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soups, Soy Free

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I’m currently eating a very low nightshade diet to help reduce inflammation. Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems to be helping a lot. When I try to eat peppers, my pain levels go up rapidly. Tomatoes don’t seem to bother me as much, and eggplant is easy to avoid. So I’m having to redo a lot of my recipes to try to reduce nightshades and still retain taste because I generally depend highly on peppers for flavor. This is tonight’s successful and delicious effort.

**

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup Recipe GFDF

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup

2 cups diced all-natural ham
2 cans (14 ounce) Great Northern organic beans (or other beans of your choice), drained
1 medium yellow or white organic onion, diced
2 medium organic carrots, sliced very thin
4 cloves organic garlic, minced
1 bunch organic chard, stems sliced thinly and leaves shredded in bite size pieces
4 cups (1 box) organic low sodium chicken broth (I used Pacific brand)
3 teaspoons organic dried thyme
2 teaspoons organic dried mustard (not prepared mustard)
2 teaspoons organic ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
several tablespoons organic olive oil (or other cooking oil of your choice)

In a soup pot, pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Saute onion, chard stems, and carrots over medium heat until onions are almost fully translucent. Add garlic. Saute for another few minutes. Add broth, ham, beans, thyme, mustard, black pepper, and sea salt. Cook until all has warmed through, broth is bubbling and carrots are fully cooked. Add chard leaves to the pot and stir until they have wilted. Remove from heat and serve.

©2019 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Crockpot Italian Meatloaf

17 Friday May 2019

Posted by in Crockpot, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Nut Free, Soy Free

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photo of crockpot Italian meatloaf

crockpot Italian meatloaf

This recipe is very forgiving in terms of allergens. You can omit or substitute several things and still have it come out incredibly well. Possible adaptions are listed below in the ingredients list.

Please note that my crockpot is from 1994, so it doesn’t cook as fast as more modern ones. You may need to shorten the cooking times to work with your crockpot.

Crockpot Italian Meatloaf

  • 2 pounds extra lean organic or grass-fed beef
  • 1.5 cups bread or cracker crumbs (use gluten free crumbs for a GF recipe)
  • 1 organic egg (omit for egg free option)
  • 3/4 cup organic pasta sauce of your choice
  • 2 tablespoons organic minced dried onion
  • 1 teaspoon organic garlic powder
  • 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon organic ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon organic Italian seasoning
  • another 3/4 cup organic pasta sauce
  • 3 slices or 3 ounces (give or take) organic mozzarella or 3/4 cup organic parmesan cheese (omit for dairy free option)

In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except the last two. Using your hands is easiest. Form the mixture into a large ball and then place in the bottom of the crockpot. Gently flatten the ball to the bottom of the crockpot though not all the way to the edges of the pot; do not tightly compact the loaf. Spread the remaining 3/4 cup organic pasta over the top. Put the lid on the crockpot.

Plug in and turn on. Cook for 2.5-3 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.

About 15 minutes (high) or 30 minute (low) before being done, sprinkle the cheese (if using) across the top of the meatloaf. Cover again and let finish cooking.

To serve, cut into wedges. Tastes great when served with leafy greens, a salad, or steamed broccoli.

©2019 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Dairy Free Peach Cupcakes

11 Saturday May 2019

Posted by in Cakes, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Sweet Breads, Vegetarian

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a freshly baked dairy free peach cupcake

a freshly baked dairy free peach cupcake

These are somewhere in between a muffin and a cupcake. The original recipe had a frosting on them, but they really don’t need it.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

  • 2.5 cups organic all purpose flour
  • 2 t baking powder
  • ½ t sea salt
  • 2/3 c organic rice milk
  • 2 t organic pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ c organic palm shortening
  • 1.5 c organic evaporated cane juice
  • 4 large organic eggs
  • 4 medium-large organic peaches, peeled, pitted, and finely chopped (~1.5 cups) (nectarines, plums, apricots, or any stone fruit will work)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together all of the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sea salt).  Set aside.
  2. Stir vanilla extract into the rice milk in a liquid measuring cup.
  3. In another bowl, beat palm shortening and evaporated cane juice with a mixer on medium speed.  Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating twice with milk mixture.
  4. Line a standard muffin tin with baking cups. This recipe will not work right without paper baking cups! Fill each with 3 layers: 1 tablespoon batter, 1 tablespoon chopped peaches, and an additional 1 tablespoon batter. Bake until edges begin to turn golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool in tin.

Makes about 18-20 cupcakes.

picture of dairy free peach cupcakes

dairy free peach cupcakes

Gluten Free Meatballs

09 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Nut Free, Soy Free

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Gluten Free MeatballsMy father mentioned to me that my extended family was having homemade meatballs and spaghetti for Christmas Eve dinner a few weeks ago. I immediately started craving spaghetti and meatballs. I wanted a baked recipe so I found this one and adapted to work with my food sensitivities. We’ve now made it several times, and it’s delicious. My kids who eat gluten can’t tell these meatballs are gluten-free.

To make this recipe dairy free, omit the parmesan cheese. To make this recipe soy free, omit the Worcestershire sauce.

Gluten Free Meatballs

  • 2 pounds lean organic ground beef (I use 90 or 95%)
  • 1/2 cup organic parmesan cheese, grated (omit for dairy free option)
  • 1 box (4.5 oz) gluten free cracked black pepper crackers (I used Simple Mills brand)
  • 1 teaspoon dried organic garlic powder
  • 4 teaspoons dried organic Italian seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon crushed organic red pepper flakes
  • 4 tablespoons gluten free organic Worcestershire sauce (I used Wa Ja Shan brand) (omit for soy free option)
  • 2 large organic eggs
  • olive oil for pans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil two 9 x 13 pans with olive oil.
In a food processor using an S blade, crush and combine crackers with parmesan cheese and seasonings.
Whisk eggs together in a small bowl.
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly until ingredients are evenly distributed.
Shape into 1.5 inch balls. Making sure they are all about the same size for even cooking.
Bake for 30-35 minutes. For extra crispiness, add another 10 minutes.
Serve with the pasta sauce of your choice and gluten free pasta, or you can use pasta sauce and gluten free buns for meatball sandwiches.
©2019 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Gluten Free Latkes

02 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by in Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Side Dishes, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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While we aren’t Jewish, my family loves latkes. We enjoy them so much that we bought a potato ricer which is essential to getting crispy latkes. We also use a Cuisinart to shred potatoes because it makes life much easier. We sometimes double the recipe; leftovers aren’t as good as fresh, but if you warm them up in a toaster oven or oven rather than a microwave, they’re still pretty good.

Latkes are a lot of work, so we save them for special events like Christmas and Easter. My argument is that Jesus was Jewish, so we’re just celebrating his heritage. Granted, Jesus probably never ate a potato in his entire life, but still, it’s the thought that counts.

gluten free latkes

gluten free latkes

Gluten Free Latkes

Yield About 2 dozen
Time 60 minutes

4 large Russet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and rinsed
1 large white or yellow onion, minced
3 large eggs
1/3 cup millet flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup brown rice flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Safflower, canola or other oil, for frying

Using a food processor with a coarse grating disc, grate the potatoes.

Using a potato ricer, squeeze the grated potatoes over the sink to release all liquids. Do the same with the minced onions. Put drained potatoes and onions in a large bowl with a dry towel to help absorb any other liquid.

Remove the towel, and place the onions and potatoes into the bowl. Add the eggs, millet flour, rice flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and pepper, and mix until it is well-blended.

In a medium pan over medium heat, pour in about 1/4 inch of the oil. Once the oil is hot (a drop of batter placed in the pan should sizzle), use a slotted spoon to drop 3” very loose balls of the mixture into the oil, cooking in batches. When the edges of the latkes are brown and crispy, about 3-5 minutes, flip. Cook until the second side is deeply browned, about another 3-5 minutes. Transfer the latkes to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan as necessary.

©2019 NaturallyElizabeth.com