Giveaway: Glutino Corn Bread Stuffing

A fun, new giveaway!

Who doesn't like free stuff, and really...who doesn't like stuffing...especially corn bread stuffing! It doesn't need to be a holiday, stuffing can be a fun side anytime. Gosh, I could probably eat an entire bowl of it for lunch, or who am I kidding, I could eat an entire bowl just because any time of the day, any time of the year.

So, when Glutino sent me a box of their gluten-free corn bread to sample, I made it immediately.  The stuffing is already formed into bread crumbs, and includes all of the herbs and seasonings needed. All you need to add is oil, onion, celery, broth and 2 eggs.  I served it as a side with our dinner and gravy, it has a great homemade flavor, and was hit with my family

Corn bread stuffing makes a perfect side for the holidays, especially when you don't have time to make corn bread from scratch. This is a quick and tasty solution, and you can easily serve this to your friends and family that don't eat gluten-free, and I bet they won't know the difference.

This also makes a great solution if you are traveling for the holidays, or spending the holidays at someone's who is not gluten-free, and you want to be able to prepare something away from home without making a mess or needing many ingredients, or having to look for gluten-free flours in a place where you are not familiar.

The stuffing is only available seasonally, so supplies are limited, and is available anywhere Glutino is sold.

Glutino and I would love to give 2 winners a box of their very own cornbread stuffing to try.

Please leave a comment below and tell about your favorite side at Thanksgiving.  Also, and very important, please leave your email (this is important, otherwise, I an unable to contact you and let you know that you won).

This giveaway will be open until Friday, November 8th, and I will draw 2 random winners and announce them that night.

Good luck!

Parmesan Parsnip Fries

We all like French fries, who are we trying to kid, but sometimes it is nice to mix it up a bit, and maybe be a bit healthier.  Sure, we miss the days when we could go through the drive-thru and eat our favorite fast food fries, but really, homemade is so much tastier.  These are baked and not fried.

If you have never had a parsnip before, think a carrot on steroids.  They are a root vegetable, and located near the carrots or the turnips in the produce section.  They look like a bigger carrot, but they are white, and a little tougher to cut.  They have a nice sweet, earthly flavor.  In addition to making parsnip fries, I also like mashing them with some potatoes for some extra pizazz!

I use parsley in this version, but feel free to play around, and add whatever you have around or in your garden.  You can also leave off the parmesan for a vegan version.

These are pretty easy to pull together, and make a great side dish with just about anything.  Last night, I served this with our Summery Pea Soup with Fresh Herbs.

Parmesan Parsnip Fries

2 lbs of parsnips, cleaned, peeled and sliced into "fries" (see photo above)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground sea salt (regular salt will do too)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat Italian parsley

Pre-heat oven to 425'

In a large mixing bowl, toss the sliced parsnips with the olive oil, salt and pepper;

Place parsnips in a roasting pan, in a single layer;

Cook for 20 minutes;

Sprinkle the parmesan on the parsnips, toss the parsnips and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until done;

Take roasting pan from oven and sprinkle parsnips with chopped parsley, toss again;

Eat while warm. You won't even need ketchup!

Enjoy!

Review: del Carmen Cuban-style gluten-free black beans

Recently, I was given some samples of del Carmen Cuban-style gluten-free black beans, and gluten-free black bean soup to try.  I love black beans, so this was definitely a welcome product to sample!

First, I tried the gluten-free black beans.  They are stored frozen, so I defrosted them, and then heated them in the microwave in a glass dish according to directions.  I served them with steamed brown rice, and roasted salmon with Cuban seasoning.  M is not usually the biggest fan of beans...unless they are baked beans from his homeland, so I was assuming I would be eating most of these beans myself.  Much to my surprise, M and Z couldn't get enough.  They both ate up all their beans and asked for seconds!  M even made sure we had more in the freezer, so we could have them again.

Score!  A healthy side dish that was easy and quick to prepare!

I decided to serve the gluten-free black bean soup in a similar way, with steamed cilantro, lime rice and fish tacos.  Again, a huge hit in my house! I was just missing the mojito.

The gluten-free black beans and gluten-free black bean soup are extremely flavorful, but not hot, which I really appreciate, so they could be enjoyed by all of us equally.  And for a busy family, on days when I have little time to prepare meals, they are a great side dish.

Both black beans dishes are slow-cooked, and contain all-natural ingredients without preservatives and scary to pronounce words hidden in their ingredient list.

The gluten-free black beans and black bean soup are vegetarian and both contain:
Black Beans, Water, Carrots, Peppers, Celery, Onions, Orange Juice, Lime Juice, Garlic, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Sea Salt, Shallots, Sugar, Natural Spices

del Carmen also produces black beans and black bean soup that contain beer that are not gluten-free, so be sure to choose the beans that say 'gluten-free' on the label, near the ingredients.  They also produce gluten-free vegetable broth and gluten-free black beans and rice.

My only negative comment about these black beans are that they are currently only located in the St. Louis, MO metro area.  For those who live locally, you are in for a treat!  For the rest of us, let's keep our fingers crossed that they expand distribution so we can enjoy these tasty beans as part of our weekly meals!

Pasta and chick pea salad with mint

This is great as something to bring to a summer party to pass around. And the gluten eaters will not not even be able to tell the pasta is any different from what they eat.

1 package of fusilli, I like using Tinkyada
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1/4 cup fresh chopped mint
2 T lemon juice
2 T white wine vinegar
1 T chopped garlic
2 t lemon peel
6 T olive oil
2 C chopped cherry tomatoes
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1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
4 oz. feta

Cook the pasta.

Combine 2nd set of ingredients, gradually whisk in oil, let sit.

Drain pasta, rinse.

Add pasta, beans and feta.

Let stand 1 hour for flavors to combine.

Potato, arugula & blue cheese cheese salad

Again, a great summer salad, but also good any time of the year. I stole this one from my friend Dawn, and then completely bastardized it.

As many red potatoes as you want (I never counted, I just keep peeling), peeled to get all the icky stuff off, and chopped into 1-inch pieces.

1 bag of arugula, washed
4 oz blue cheese (goat cheese and feta work well too)
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

3 T olive oil
3 T white balsamic vinegar
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 shallot, finely chopped

Chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces, and toss them in a large bowl with the salt, pepper and olive oil;

Place potatoes on an oiled cookie sheet (or 2), and bake at 400' until they are tender...turning them every 20 min;

Place cooked potatoes in a large bowl, and let them cool at room temperature;

In the meantime, whisk the last 4 ingredients, and blend well.

Once ready to serve, toss the potatoes with the goat cheese, arugula and dressing.

Viola!! This makes a great dish to bring to a picnic to share with a group, or as a side dish for a family dinner.

Quinoa & edamame salad

This has become one of my absolute favorite dishes. It is perfect for summer, or anytime of year. A great side dish to bring to a BBQ. And super healthy!

I stole this one from my friend Dawn. She always makes the yummiest things.

1 C quinoa
2 C broth (I use veggie broth by Celifibr)
2 C frozen edamame (already shelled)
1 t. lemon zest
2 T lemon juice
3 T olive oil
2 T fresh chopped tarragon
3 oz. jarred diced roasted red peppers

1. Toast quinoa over medium heat in a pan, stir often until crackles, darkens and becomes aromatic...about 5 min. Then put in a colander and rinse with water thoroughly.

2. Meanwhile, bring broth to a boil, add cleaned quinoa, return to a boil, simmer covered for 8 minutes.

3. Remove lid without disturbing the quinoa, and add the edamame. Cover and continue for another 8 min.

4. While that is cooking, whisk the lemon zest, juice, oil and tarragon in a bowl.

5. Add dressing to quinoa once it is done, and toss in red peppers.

My friend also adds some chopped walnuts, but I prefer my food nut-free. Enjoy!

Lebanese lentils and rice & tsatsiki

This is a quick and tasty side. I like having it with falafel, and tsatsiki*.

I realized I had to figure out how to make yummy lentils and rice because I am such a huge fan of it at Sultan's Market.

I have been making the following recipe, and really enjoying it. I am still working on the "perfect" falafel, so I am not ready to post that one just yet :)

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground garam masala
28 oz. vegetable broth
3/4 cup dried green lentils, rinsed, picked over
3/4 cup long-grain white rice

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and next 3 ingredients; sauté , about 3 minutes. Add broth and lentils; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Stir in rice; return to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook until liquid is absorbed and rice and lentils are tender, about 15 minutes longer.

* Tsatsiki

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Toss cucumber with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a colander and drain 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mince and mash garlic to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon salt, then whisk together with olive oil, yogurt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Squeeze out any excess water from cucumbers with your hands, then stir cucumbers into yogurt mixture. Season with salt.