In my opinion, life gets really boring when you don’t ‘shake it up’. And for me, a busy single person, food is an affordable and fun way to do that. Plus, anyone can go down to the store and buy something. That’s not enough for me anymore. I have to feel challenged in the kitchen or I notice the rest of my life tends to get mundane and boring.

Translation: I decided to get creative with some leftover produce; zucchini from the CSA box (this crazy stuff just keeps coming!!!) and some sweet potato. It’s not even that exciting, but it’s juuuuust different enough from other baked goods I’ve made to keep my creative juices happy. For now. And they taste great!

Gluten Free and Vegan Sweet Potato

Zucchini Bites

Ingredients:

1 cup finely grated zucchini
1/4 cup finely grated sweet potato
1/2 cup extra ripe banana (about 1 medium)
2 tablespoons flax seed ground with 4 tablespoons water
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I did just a little less than a 1/4 tsp)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia (I did just a little less than a 1/4 tsp)
Optional topping: Pecans

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grate the zucchini and sweet potato into a medium mixing bowl. I used a fine cheese grater and did it by hand. It was easier than I thought it was going to be; zucchini is especially easy to grate! Mix in the banana. Set the bowl aside.

Next grind the flax seed with water. I used a mini electric coffee grinder. In the past I’ve just used a blender on high for about 30 seconds. The goal is to get a gelatinous liquid; so grind/mix/blend until you reach that consistency. Add the mixture to the mixing bowl. Mix in the oil as well.

In a small mix together the flours, cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and xanthan gum. Combine with the batter. Finally add the vanilla extract and stevia.

Spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick spray. I used a tablespoon to scoop the batter into the individual cups. It filled the 24 cups perfectly. I added a pecan to each of the bites for extra awesomeness :)

Bake them for about 20 minutes. Let them cool for equally as long. I recommend that once you remove them from the pan, you put them into storage containers and put them right into the refrigerator. They’re very good cold!

These weren’t as light and fluffy like muffins as I was hoping; I think its primarily because of the banana to flour ratio. Next time I’ll try using a little more flour and a little less oil. But even though they didn’t have the texture I was hoping for, they’re still fun and they taste great. They’re perfect for a snack and carry well in my bag. More like a sweet treat than a muffin :)

This recipe is linked to My Meatless Mondays, Mouthwatering Mondays, and Just Another Meatless Monday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tuesday at the Table, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.

It’s a cheesy name, I know. But all I could think of while I was making it was this MAY be intended as a spaghetti sauce… but you don’t even need the spaghetti to eat it. It’s sort of like, “Would you like some spaghetti with your sauce?”

Why yes… yes I would. Gluten free spaghetti that is ;)

Big Boy Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil
3 drops of lemon juice
1 large green onion, chopped (foliage and all – just no roots)
1 chicken breast, cut into thin strips (optional)
7 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 springs fresh oregano (no stems)
3 larges leaves of red lettuce
1 handful of fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup chickpea’s, precooked
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1 tsp crushed parsley
1 tsp crushed sweet basil leaves
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
Optional: Gluten Free Pasta or Spaghetti

Instructions:

It’s a pretty simple dish really. Start by putting the oil and lemon juice in a large skillet or wok; I LOVE my wok. It’s perfect for a messy cook :). Put it to medium high heat and as it warms up, chop the green onion, chicken, and mushrooms to add the pan as soon as they’re cut. De-leaf the oregano sprigs and throw up the stems. Add the leaves to the wok. I took the three large red lettuce leaves and simply ripped them up with my hands (after it was properly washed of course). The spinach I added as it was.

Then add the chickpea’s, tomato sauce, parsley, sweet basil, onion powder, and salt. Cook all together until the chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes in total).

Have some gluten free pasta all ready cooked and serve immediately. (But seriously, you don’t need the pasta :))

This recipe is linked to Pennywise Platter, Food on Friday, The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap, Mom Trends Recipe Roundup, Fight Back Friday, Food Friday, and Friday Favorites.

This month the theme for Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten Free is Barbecue Bash by Chandice of Gluten Free Frenzy. I’m just barely sneaking this recipe in, as the deadline is today. That’s how my life has been lately, it’s such a challenge to keep up with things!

This recipe is pretty tasty. I had a hard time not eating the whole batch right when it came out of the oven. I love tofu already but this takes the cake! I typically don’t cook/bake with much processed food, but my mom had given me a bottle of gluten and sugar free ketchup and figured this would be a great opportunity to use it!

Honey BBQ’d Tofu

Ingredients:
1 package of extra firm tofu
1/4 cup Organicville brand ketchup (gluten and sugar free)
2 tbs honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tbs salt
1/4 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs minced chili pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the tofu from its package, drain it, and pat dry off any extra moisture with a paper towel. On a cutting board, slice the tofu block in half (longways). Then slice the two halves by about a 1/4 inch or less. I basically tried to cut the strips as thinly as possible. The thinner the pieces of tofu are, the crispier they will be after baking them.

In a medium mixing bowl combine the ketchup, honey, apple cider vinegar, onion powder, salt, and garlic powder. On a cutting board, take your fresh chili pepper, strip the seeds from it, and chop as finely as you can. You want it be minced, in a sense. Add the chili pepper to the ketchup sauce. Mix well.

On a large baking sheet (with edges) add 2 tablespoons of oil and spread evenly. Dip the tofu strips into the sauce and lay each onto the pan. Careful not to rip the tofu, I did that with a few of them. Doesn’t change the taste though! :)

Bake the tofu strips for 15 minutes at 350, then turn over and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Although the pan needs to be scraped off once the tofu is removed (I think it’s because of the honey…), it was worth it! These strips are a mix of sweet and savory, plus they’re crispy on the edges!

This recipe is linked to My Meatless Mondays, Mouthwatering Monday, Just Another Meatless Monday, Delicious Dishes, Tuesday Twister, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, and Vegetarian Foodie Fridays.

This past week I was faced with a dilemma. What to do with no time, no money, lots of apples and a few random leftover CSA ingredients? Buy a can of chicken and use the crockpot!

I made this soup out of pure necessity. I didn’t want my green beans, apples, or onion to go bad, but I didn’t have any time to cook. I also needed to eat (I hear that’s good for your health). So I experimented with combining them all and adding chicken, quinoa and some spices that I normally wouldn’t combine together. I wasn’t going to post it on the blog because I didn’t think it was note worthy. But as soon as I tasted it, I pulled out the camera to take a picture. It was too good not to share…

Green Apple Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
2 medium green apples
2 cups water
1 can chicken breast w/’juice’
1/2 large onion (approx 1/3 cup)
1 cup chopped green beans
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 cup red quinoa
salt to taste

Instructions:

Peel and core the apples. Chop them into 1/2″ cubes or smaller. Add them to the crockpot with the 2 cups water. Turn it on high.

Chop the onion and green beans, adding them and the can of chicken to the crockpot. Mix in the ginger, cinnamon, and onion powder.

Leave covered on high for 6 hours.

At the end of the 6 hours, soak your red quinoa and rinse well (to remove the bitter outer layer). Add the soaked quinoa to the crockpot and continue it (now uncovered) on low for 2 hours.

It was perfect because the apples baked softly away into the water, forming a soupy texture. The onion and green beans also softened up perfectly. The chicken turned a lovely reddish brown color because the seasonings cooked into it. I gobbled this soup up! I had it for lunch a few days last week, and I even had it one day when there wasn’t a microwave. The verdict: just as tasty cold!

This recipe is linked to Pennywise Platter, Friday Favorites, Fight Back Friday, Foodie Friday, Friday Feasts, the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap, Wholesome Whole Foods, and Food On Fridays.