Key Lime Pie - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free/Dairy Free

Key Lime Pie

I have always made traditional Key Lime Pie using Betty Crocker's recipe, which is the same as the one that is often on a can of sweetened condensed milk but it has large amounts of sugar and wheat so it's now off my list.  But after trying a recipe for sweetened condensed milk using coconut milk and Swerve (see here), I decided it was worth trying for a makeover.  I made both kinds, the regular key lime pie for family and friends, and a small key lime pie using the coconut milk and one of my miniature pie plates, just for me.

 First I broke up gluten free/sugar free cookie crumbs (recipe to come, but you can use any sugar free cookie such as the chocolate chip cookies, just leave out any chip bits) and mixed with just enough butter to hold together, to form the "crust" for the bottom of the pie shell.  I could have made enough to push up the sides as well, but I didn't want it to be too much crust.

1/2 C coconut "sweetened condensed milk" from the earlier recipe here
1 egg white or half of one of the eggs from the regular key lime pie recipe if you are making both recipes like I was.
1/4 C key lime juice

Mix sweetened coconut milk, lime juice and egg until smooth and pour over crust.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 min or until center is set.  It took a bit longer than the regular key lime pie that I baked at the same time.  Cool completely before eating.

 For those of you interested in the regular, full sugar, full dairy recipe, here it is:
1 graham cracker crumb pie shell
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 C key lime juice
3 1/2 - 4 eggs

Beat sweetened condensed milk with lime juice and eggs, pour into pie shell and bake at 350 15 minutes or until set.  Cool.  Typically served with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

Below is both pies before cooking.  Note the difference in color between the sugar free/dairy free version and the regular version.  This is due to the caramel color of the sweetened condensed milk.

Cauliflower Say Cheese - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free

Cauliflower Say Cheese

This is from an Alton Brown "Good Eats" episode which I saw after I had already made the earlier version of cheesy cauliflower.  I decided to try it with a bit of modification to make it gluten free.  Although I liked the earlier one, I have to admit, this one is better.  Alton Brown's stuff always seems to be.  Bear in mind this is not a saucy cauliflower cheese dish, it's drier than the earlier recipe, but still plenty yummy.

Served above with teriyaki pork chops, with a side of hummus (recipe to come) and Emeril's green bean salad.

1 large head cauliflower
4 1/2 oz Cheddar, grated
1/2 C almond flour
1 egg
1 t salt
1 t dry mustard powder
1/2 t paprika (I used smoked, and Alton Brown's recipe also calls for smoked, but I'm sure sweet or Hungarian will be fine)
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t cayenne
1/2 C cream or whole milk

 Cut the core out of the cauliflower and remove any green leaves, if it breaks the cauliflower into florets, that's fine, if not, that's fine too.  Stick it upside down (stem side up) in a bowl and cover.  Microwave 4-5 minutes depending on how high the voltage is on your microwave (longer for older models, 4 min should be fine on newer ones).
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees and combine half the cheese with the seasonings and almond flour, mix well.  Once the cauliflower is done cooking, remove from microwave but leave covered another 4 minutes.
Microwave the cream or milk 30 seconds and then combine with cheese mixture.  It should be just hot enough to slightly melt the cheese, but not so hot that it curdles the cream.
Once the cauliflower has set, it should be soft enough to easily break into florets, do so and toss with the cheese/cream mixture and put in a 9x13" baking pan.
Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees, remove and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Change the oven to broil setting and cook 5 minutes longer or until cheese just browns.
First picture is before going into the oven the first time, second picture is being taken out of the oven, just finished.

Makes about 5 servings:  177 calories, 10 grams carbohydrates, 4.5 grams fiber using cream, slightly less calories with whole milk but similar carb counts.

Pork and Sauerkraut - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free/Dairy Free

Pork and Sauerkraut - Crockpot

Traditionally this is a New Year's Day dish, it's supposed to bring you good luck if you eat it on New Year's.  But it's also an easy dish to do in the crock pot, so good for a summer evening when you don't want to heat up your kitchen by turning on the oven or working over a hot stove.  Also, I had some leftover sauerkraut from hot dogs I wanted to use up.

1 small pork roast, any cut
2 C sauerkraut
1 apple
1 T caraway seeds
Salt and Pepper

I also added two potatoes for my family to eat, I left them in the pot when taking out my portion.

You can leave the pork frozen when you start, just take it out of any packaging..  Rinse and drain the sauerkraut.  If you want a little more tartness to yours, you can leave it as is, and not rinse it.  Cut up the apple and potatoes if you are using them and throw everything into the slow cooker.  Top with the pork and sprinkle with the caraway seeds, salt and pepper.  Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8.  Remove the pork and cut into sections.  Mine practically fell apart while trying to cut it.

When done you can serve alone or with mustard sauce - combine equal portions of spicy brown mustard and mayonnaise and serve along side the pork.

Serves about 6:  200 calories, 7 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber.

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Emeril's Asian Green Bean Salad - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free/Dairy Free

Emeril's Asian Green Bean Salad

Looking for something nice and cool on a hot summer day?  Salads are always a hit and this one stands up to picnics in the summer heat really well.

1 pound long green beans

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 cups cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons crushed toasted peanuts

Salt and pepper

Trim the green beans, cut them into manageable sections and boil them until just done, but still retain a bit of crispness.  Rinse and cool.  Combine vinegar, garlic, olive and sesame oils and stir.  Pour over green beans in a salad bowl and top with cherry tomatoes and peanuts.  Toss.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Makes around 8 small servings if you have several other salads or side dishes:  160 calories, 7 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber.

Granola - wheat free/grain free/sugar free/dairy free

Granola  - or since there's no grain in it, Nutola?

Getting tired of eggs for breakfast?  This is a nice chance of pace.  A mixture of nuts held together with protein powder and you can pour milk (or almond milk, or coconut milk) on your breakfast again.

1 C pecans
1/2 C sliced almonds (the really thin sliced ones)
1/2 C sunflower seeds
3/4 C vanilla powder (either whey powder or egg protein powder will work
1/4 C sesame seeds
1/4 C swerve or other sugar free sweetener
1 t cinnamon
1/8 t salt
3/4 C coconut oil

Mix dry ingredients.  Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil until it's liquid, pour over the mixed ingredients and stir.  Spread out on parchment covered baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 20 min.

Mine turned out a little darker than I expected (see above - picture left is before baking), so maybe check at 15 minutes.

Break into pieces and keep in an air tight container

I expected this to be hard, but it was actually pretty crumbly, so be gentle with it or you might turn it into powder.

Makes around 10 servings:  300 calories, 4 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber

Pecan Crackers - Wheat Free/Grain Free/Sugar Free

Pecan Crackers

Have you tried grain free crackers like Flackers and just not found them all that appealing?  To me they are just too different from the crackers I am used to.  These crackers though are really pretty similar, not too crisp, so they don't fall apart when you touch them, but not to stiff.  They have just the right amount of crunch.  Unfortunately, these are not dairy free.  I may do some experimenting to see if I can get them diary free, but the Parmesan does seem to give them a crunch that I think would be missing without it.

1/4 C parmesan cheese

3/4 C almond flour

3/4 C pecan meal

1/8 t dried basil

1/8 t garlic powder

1/8 t onion powder

1 egg

1 1/2 T olive oil

salt

 

Mix all dry ingredients then beat in egg and olive oil until it forms a stiff dough.  Lay down one piece of parchment and put the dough on top.  Cover it with a layer of plastic wrap and roll out with a rolling pin to the thickness of a cracker similar to wheat thins.  Sprinkle liberally with salt.  Cut into squares using a pizza cutter and bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the edges start to brown.  If you want crisper crackers, separate the squares and bake them for another 5 min.

These even hold up to spreadable cheese!

Makes around 50 crackers, each serving of about 8 crackers has 200 calories, 4 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber.

Italian Sausage with Onion and Pepper - wheat free/grain free/sugar free/dairy free

Italian Sausage with Onion and Peppers

This is a popular dish in many northeast coast cities where they have heavy Italian populations.  Normally, this is made with bell peppers, but I'm not crazy about bell peppers, I much prefer canned cherry peppers.  This is a quick and easy lunch, and can be eaten by itself or leave the sausage whole and serve on wheat free buns, just make them into a hot dog bun shape.

1-2 Italian Sausages - look for kinds that are sugar free, typically the ones labeled "hot" rather than "sweet" will be sugar and wheat free.

1 small onion

3 cherry peppers (I would have used more, but that's all I had left in the jar)

Slice the sausages if you are planning to eat them without a bun, otherwise, keep whole.

Slice the onion and peppers.

Heat 1 t butter and 1 t olive oil (the combination keeps it from smoking as easily) in a hot pan on the stove and add the sausages, onion and peppers.  Add 1 T water and cover to steam the sausage until cooked through.  Add more water if it needs longer cooking.  Remove the cover and let the steam all escape, stirring to keep everything from sticking.  As soon as the water evaporates and things start to brown, it's ready to eat!

Serves 1 - Calories with 1 sausage:  312, 8.6 grams carbohydrates, .6 grams fiber

With 2 sausages:  580 calories, 8.6 grams carbohydrates, .6 grams fiber