Gourmet Tuna Wraps

So, what do you do with the leftover grilled veggies? Put them in a wrap, of course. YUMMO! It's easy, it's so tasty and nutritious, and the cat loves to lick out the tuna can. Hahahah

Tuna Salad


1 can water packed tuna
1 tb mayo
1/4 cup leftover grilled veggies (peppers, onions) chopped
1/4 cup grated cheese (optional)
Some sort of wrapper - tortilla, lettuce leaf, spring roll wrap

Drain the tuna. Add about a tablespoon of mayo and mix well. Dice up the leftover grilled onions and peppers and mix into the tuna. Add cheese if desired. Place a couple of tablespoons of the mixture on your wrapper and fold like a burrito. I got 2 from this recipe when I used a medium tortilla, and about 6 when I used lettuce leaves. Either way, off the charts tasty!

Gourmet Burgers

I know it's been a while since I've posted. We had a tornado go through our town over Memorial Day weekend, and everyone has been busy cleaning up. It's not that we've been eating fast food or anything, but mostly we've had grilled meat and a veggie every night, and leftovers for lunch. Kinda boring. So last night I fixed that. I ran to the farmers market and picked up eggs and a quarter beef, and while I was at the grocery I picked up interesting cheese (aged provolone, drunken goat) lettuce, tomato, red peppers and red onions.

So.......Fire up the grill!

Wash 2 red peppers and lightly brush with oil. Put on the hot grill, and turn frequently until the peppers develop a nice char.
Wash and slice a red onion into 1/4" slices, brush with oil.
Put 2 lbs of hamburger in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Mix well. Divide into 6 balls. Gently form into patties, and put a thumbprint in the center of each one to prevent the burgers from becoming meatballs. The indent in the center will keep the burger flat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place them on the grill. Also add the onion slices at this time. Cook the burgers and onions for about 4-6 minutes per side.
Remove the peppers from the grill using tongs. Cut out the core and remove the seeds, although a few left won't hurt anything. Slice the peppers into 1/2" rings.
Slice the tomato, wash and separate the lettuce leaves, slice the cheese, and set out any condiments you like. Put out the platter of grilled burgers & grilled veggies and let your friends and family create their own deluxe burger.
We don't do buns here. I used lettuce leaves to hold everything together. My son who is also wheat intolerant used corn tortillas, and my husband used a flour tortilla. He liked that he could add all the messy stuff, wrap it tightly, and not make a drippy mess.

Pancakes for Breakfast

Pancakes For Breakfast was one of my daughter's favorite books when she was little. She and her grandma read it as often as they were together. Ironically, pancakes were the first thing I realized I couldn't eat without problems. It's been years since I've eaten a buttermilk pancake. Then on my recent journey through gluten free and low-carb I discovered nut flours. I keep blanched and un-blanched raw almonds stocked so I can grind a few to make whatever recipe I'm working on. Sunday it was Pancakes For Breakfast. My family ate them with real maple syrup. I spread a little butter on mine, and had a few sliced strawberries with them. Sides of bacon, and you have heaven on a Sunday Brunch plate.

Almond Flax Pancakes
2 cups almond flour (I ground my own in the food processor from raw almonds, about 1/1/2 cups whole makes 2 cups ground)
1 cup flax meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
10 drops vanilla cream stevia (optional)
3 eggs
1/4-1/2 cup milk or half and half

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Slightly beat the eggs, add the stevia and mix into the dry ingredients. Add about a 1/4 cup milk and stir well. Should resemble a moderately thin batter. Bake 1/4 cup scoops of batter on a hot griddle (425 degrees) for 3-5 minutes per side. Add a tablespoon or more of milk to the 2nd batch if needed (the flax meal absorbs the milk while it sits). Makes about 16 4" pancakes. 105 calories each.

"Bran" Muffin Tops

I normally don't crave toast or muffins or cake, but once in a while I want something to put butter on besides green beans. Sunday I made the egg bake, and wanted something brunch-like to go with it. I created these muffin tops out of ground almonds, flax and eggs. They are not light and fluffy muffin tops. These are heavy, slightly sweet, slightly spicy, with a hint of a bran muffin. My family liked them, but they'll eat my weird concoctions. My processed-food-loving friends ate them, and they won't always see the beauty in some of my foods. Next time I'll make them smaller. They do keep a body filled up for a while!

"Bran" Muffins
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a muffin top pan, muffin tin or mini-muffin tin.

2 cups almond flour (I make my own in the food processor from blanched almonds)
1 cup flax meal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.

3 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup cream or half & half
25 drops vanilla cream stevia
2 tbs water

Mix wet ingredients together and add to the dry ingredients. Divide the batter into your pan: 6 muffin tops, 12 muffins or 24 mini muffins. Bake for 20-40 minutes, until slightly golden and the muffins pull away from the edges of the pan. Serve with butter, fruit spread, or cheddar cheese.

Happy Mother's Day!

It's a nice sunny Mother's Day here in Michigan. My friends and I have a tradition of going to a local greenhouse on Mother's Day and experiencing visual overload. K-Drive Greenhouse grows the most beautiful annuals, and the flats & baskets are pretty much the same price as the ones sold at Wal-mart. So late this morning I'll head out to blind my eyes with the amazing range of colors in the 2 acre greenhouse. I'll purchase some herb plants, which are the only thing I can seem to grow easily. Last year I bought an expensive potted tomato plant for the deck and it produced a whopping 2 tomatoes. Herbs I can do though.

For brunch I made an egg bake. I don't do a crust on my quiche. It's too time consuming. I did take the time to sweat the veggies. Without a crust to soak up some of the juice of the veggies and milk, you need to do this. Otherwise it gets all soggy on the plate. 

Egg Bake 1

4 slices low sodium nitrate-free bacon

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup diced peppers (I used mini sweets, but green or red work too)

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

dash nutmeg

4 oz hard cheese (I used Dubliner, but asiago or parm work well)

6 thin slices of tomato

Cut the bacon into 1/2" pieces and fry in a pan over medium heat until starting to brown. Add the veggies and cook until the bacon is almost crisp and the veggies are starting to become tender. Put into a buttered baking dish. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and seasonings. Grate in about 3 oz of the cheese and pour over the bacon  and veggies. Place the slices of tomato on top of the mixture and grate the rest of the cheese on top. Bake at 350 for about an hour, until the top is melty and golden and the mixture is pulling away from the sides of the pan. Allow to set for 10 minutes, then slice into 6 pieces and serve.

Is Spring Every Coming?

It's chilly this morning... 35 degrees. It is really May, right? So, the little sleeveless dress stays in the closet a bit longer, and the jackets stay out.

I made this dressing for salads, and then tried it on meatballs. Yummo!  I think it would be specially great on lamb meatballs, but it was so tasty on regular plain ones. I made a batch of each and ate them several days for lunch. Maybe if it's ever spring I'll eat it on salad.

Gluten Free Meatballs

1 lb ground meat
1 egg
1/4 cup finely minced onion
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove minced
1 tsp dried parsley

Mix all ingredients. Form into small balls. I use a 1 TBS cookie scoop for perfectly sized meatballs. Brown on all sides in a frying pan, then reduce heat and cook through. Serve with pasta sauce or the Asiago dressing.

Asiago Dressing


3 oz asiago cheese, crumbled into 1/8-1/4" pieces
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp finely minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp dried parsley (or 1-2 tsp chopped fresh parsley)
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Mix the yogurt and buttermilk. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Allow to chill for 3-6 hours before serving.

Cheese Crunchies

I love a crunchy salty snack, and in a former life I loved Cheetos. Those orange powder covered crunchy things were (are?) so addicting. I would eat the whole bag, and have orange stained fingers for days. These days I don't eat much processed food, but still.... sometimes I want something salty, crunchy and light.  The first time I saw this idea was on Maria's Nutritious & Delicious Journal. I've adapted her recipe a bit to suit my food needs, and when I'm faced with egg whites, like after I make mayo, I'm likely to make these. I only use cheese freshly grated by me to avoid any additives, like "food starch" added to keep the bits of cheese from sticking back together. And it makes a huge difference in the taste of food!

Cheese Crunchies
2 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tarter
1 oz fresh hard cheese (parm, asiago) grated

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 325. Beat the egg whites until frothy and add the cream of tarter. Continue to beat until the eggs are very stiff. Gently fold in the cheese and drop by scant teaspoonfuls onto the parchment. Bake for 20 minutes until light golden brown. Turn off the oven and let the crunchies sit another 30 minutes in the oven. Enjoy!