Gluten-Free Banana Bread

This bread was made with quinoa flour and almond meal. You can easily replace the quinoa with rice flour if desired.
The butter used here can also be replaced with vegetable oil, if you want to make this dairy-free.

Dry ingredients:
1 cup quinoa flour (I just grind quinoa in the coffee grinder. This is much cheaper than buying the pre-ground flour)
1 cup ground almonds or almond meal
2 tsp (gluten-free) baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamon

a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:
3 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter, or vegetable oil

1/4 cup applesauce

Heat oven to 340F/170C.

Grease a bread pan and sprinkle some almond meal, or just line it with baking paper. This will make it easier to take the bread out of the pan.

Mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients together.
Combine these two without over mixing them.
Bake for approximately 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.
The bread is edible right away, but it will be firmer after cooling.

* Serve with Honey.

Shrimp with Garlic Sauce

Tastes much better than it looks:) I'm thinking about taking a food photography class:)

1 stick butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t. oregano
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 lb. shrimp (I buy mine cooked, deveined, etc.)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
dash lemon juice
Melt butter in 3 qt. pan. Remove from heat. Add all ingredients with shrimp. Toss well. Set aside for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Place over low heat. Allow gentle buggling. Stir. Coer and cook shrimp for 5 minutes (if they were raw to begin with) until they are pink.
I added broccoli to ours over whole wheat pasta.

Zucchini Fritters

4 Zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds total)

Salt (i omit)

2 Large Eggs

Pepper

1/2 Cup Flour

* I remove the skin of the zucchini with a potato peeler

Using large holes on a box type grater, grate the zucchini into a large colander. Toss with 1/2 tsp salt and let stand for 10 minutes. Place the colander in the sink and press the zucchini firmly with paper towels to remove all the excess moisture.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper until light and frothy. Using a whisk, stir in the zucchini, then the flour. Mix.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoons into the pan and gently flatten with the back of the spoon, cook, turning once until fritters are browned, about 1.5 to 2 minutes per side.

Optional Red Pepper Sauce:

In a food processor:

Puree a 12 oz jar of red peppers with 1 garlic clove (smashed and peeled), 1 tbsp of olive oil & hot pepper sauce to taste.

Serve with warm fritters.

Chimichangas... Arizona Specialty:)

It seems like since we've moved here our "local" friends all have a good recipe for Chimichangas, so we've given it our best shot, and here is our 3rd attempt... All have been yummy and are pretty much not good for you at all, but we had to try:)

1 lb. pork, beef or chicken roast
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 large can chopped green chilies
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. refried beans
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 T chili powder
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1 C (4 oz) jack cheese

Add roast (or chicken), onion, pepper, chilies garlic and spices in crockpot on high for 4-6hrs (until easily shreds). Fold in refried beans and cheese. Set aside to cool.
Place 1/4 c. filling in center of large tortilla (we get ours at Carolina's 12/$3- hot and fresh and huge!) Fold into square and fasten with toothpicks, if necessary. Fry in 3/4 inches oil, turning until brown (about 1 1/2 minutes).
*To reheat frozen, bake uncovered in pan for 25 minutes

Southern Crab Cakes

10 oz. fresh crabmeat (we use imitation)
1 c. fresh whole wheat bread crumbs, divided
1/4 c. chopped green onions
1/2 c. nonfat mayo
2 T. spicy brown mustard
1/4 t. hot pepper sauce
1 egg white, lightly beaten (I used the whole egg...)
2 t. olive oil
lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine crabmeat, breadcrumbs, and green onions. Add 1/4 c. mayo, 1 T. mustard, 1/2 t. pepper sauce and egg; mix well. Using 1/4 c. mixture per cake, shape eight 1/2 inch cakes.
You can either heat in a large skillet over medium heat with a little oil, or I baked them in the oven (they stay together much nicer) until crisp.
Dipping Sauce: combine remaining 1/4 c. mayo, 1 T. mustard and 1/4 t. pepper sauce in a small bowl.
Serve crab cakes warm with lemon wedges and dipping sauce.
Yum!

Peanut Butter Cookies

These are so Yummy (and ridiculously easy)- no reindeer accessories required:) We make these when we're in a pinch and need something to take...

1 egg
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanut butter
Can you believe that's it? You mix it all together and throw it in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes (or so...) You'll be surprised how good they are for what they are! A little undercooked is best.

Pizza Cobbler

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• One 8- to 10-ounce package sliced mushrooms
• 1½ cups tomato sauce
• ½ cup sliced black olives
• 2/3 cup sliced pepperoni
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• One 7.5-ounce can refrigerated biscuits, separated and cut into quarters

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large skillet, combine the oil, onion and garlic and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and olives and bring to a simmer.
2. Spread the sauce mixture in a greased 2-quart baking dish. Arrange the pepperoni in a single layer on top and sprinkle with the cheese. Top with the biscuit pieces. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and the biscuits are browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Variations:
Swap sausage for the pepperoni and red peppers for the mushrooms
Add 1/2 lb. beef, and some real bacon bits and use pizza sauce instead of tomato sauce
Veg out:
Replace the pepperoni with thawed frozen broccoli.