Simply . . . Gluten-Free Quick Meals: More Than 100 Great-Tasting Recipes for Good Food Fast (14 page)

Place 1¼ cups of the coconut on a rimmed baking sheet and spread it into an even layer. Set the remaining
1/2
cup aside. Toast the coconut in the oven until it is fragrant and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once or twice during the toasting for even browning. Reserve ¼ cup of the toasted coconut for the garnish.

In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup of the toasted coconut with the graham-style crumbs and the coconut oil. Press into a 9-inch pie plate, making sure to press the mixture up the sides as well as on the bottom. Place in the freezer to cool and harden while preparing the filling.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk, brown sugar, tapioca starch or cornstarch, and salt. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens, about 3 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. You can press the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer if you like to make sure there are no lumps. Stir in the reserved
1/2
cup of the untoasted coconut flakes. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate. Let the tart cool in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Garnish with the reserved toasted coconut flakes.

Lazy Summer Afternoon Party

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Oven-Fried Chicken
Chipotle Potato Salad
Roasted Corn with Chili-Lime Butter
Creamy Coleslaw
Cookies and Cream No-Bake Cheesecakes

T
his is a great menu for the Fourth of July, Labor Day, or any summer day when you want to have family and friends over for a casual, no-stress party.

Toss in some lemonade, iced tea, and maybe some gluten-free beer and you have an old-fashioned Sunday dinner with a few new twists.

Serves 6

Quick-Cook Strategy

• Have the butcher cut the chicken for you or buy one already cut into 8 or 9 pieces.

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

• Take the butter for the corn out of the refrigerator and let it soften at room temperature.

• If you don’t have time to let the cream cheese soften at room temperature, microwave it at 30 percent power in 10-second intervals, but be careful to check it after each interval, microwaves heat from the inside out. It should take about 30 seconds to soften.

• Make the cheesecakes first and refrigerate them. Using a handheld mixer will save some time, and if you whip the cream first you don’t have to clean the beaters before beating the cheese and sugar.

• Bring the potatoes to a boil on the stovetop. As always, a covered pot will boil faster. Keep the pot covered while cooking the potatoes.

• I blend an entire can of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce in the blender until pureed and then store them in a clean, sterilized jar in the refrigerator for when I want to add chipotle to a recipe. This way I can always spoon a little into a recipe when I need to without having to chop or blend the individual chipotles. Also, since I rarely use a whole can at one time, this extends the shelf life.

• Put the chicken and corn in the oven at the same time. Place the chicken on the top shelf of the oven and the corn directly on the oven racks. Make the coleslaw and chili-lime butter while the chicken and corn are baking.

Oven-Fried Chicken

2 cups dried onion flakes
(dehydrated onions)
6 ounces shredded or grated
Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher or fine sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 large eggs
2 to 3 dashes of hot sauce
One 3- to 4-pound whole broilerfryer
chicken, cut into 8 or 9
pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with gluten-free, nonstick cooking spray.

Place the onion flakes, cheese, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process for 1 minute. Pour the mixture into a large freezer storage bag.

Beat the eggs lightly with the hot sauce. Dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then drop them into the bag with the coating mix, a few pieces at a time. Place on the prepared baking sheet and spray lightly with more cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with a sharp knife. Serve the chicken hot, cold, or at room temperature.

Chipotle Potato Salad

2
1/2
pounds baby red potatoes,
cut into 1
1/2
-inch pieces
1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce
with 1
1/2
teaspoons sauce (or 1
tablespoon pureed chipotle)
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2
teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1/3
cup olive oil
1/2
cup fresh cilantro leaves,
roughly chopped or torn

Place the potatoes in a large pot of generously salted cold water, cover, and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

While the potatoes are boiling, make the dressing. Place the chipotle pepper and sauce in a blender with the honey, vinegar, salt, and black pepper. Blend until smooth. Remove the plastic insert from the blender top and, with the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the hot pot. Add the dressing and stir to combine. Set aside to cool. Just before serving, add the cilantro and stir to combine. This salad is best served warm.

Roasted Corn with Chili-Lime Butter

6 ears of corn in the husks
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted
butter, softened
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons chili powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the corn directly on the oven rack and roast for 30 minutes.

While the corn is roasting, prepare the butter. Mix the butter with the lime zest and chili powder. When the corn is done, peel back the husks, remove the strings, and serve hot with the butter.

Creamy Coleslaw

1/2
cup good-quality mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey, agave
nectar, or sugar
1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
1/2
teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
16 ounces preshredded coleslaw
mix with cabbage and carrots

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper until smooth.

Add the coleslaw mix and stir to combine. Refrigerate until serving time.

Cookies and Cream No-Bake Cheesecakes

21 gluten-free, chocolate sandwich creme cookies (such as
KinniToos)
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2
cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place paper liners in the cups of a 12-cup standard muffin pan.

Take 3 of the cookies, cut them in quarters, and set aside for garnish. Place 12 cookies in a plastic freezer bag and pound them with a rolling pin until they turn into fine crumbs. Combine the crumbs with the melted butter and divide the mixture equally among the muffin cups and press down firmly and evenly. Place the remaining cookies in the bag and break them up so that there are bigger pieces of cookie as well as some crumbs.

Using a handheld mixer, whip the cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Place the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and well blended. Fold in the whipped cream and the crushed cookie pieces. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups. Place one of the quartered cookies on top of each cheesecake. Refrigerate until serving time.

Quick Thanksgiving

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Roasted Cornish Game Hens
Skillet Dressing
Cranberry Gravy
Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Oven-Roasted Balsamic Onion Green Beans
Pumpkin Mousse Pie

S
ometimes it just doesn’t make sense to prepare a huge Thanksgiving feast. When there is only a handful of guests at the table, a huge turkey seems extravagant and wasteful. In this instance, a smaller, more manageable dinner is more appropriate. This is also a great meal for other times of the year when you crave all the flavors of Thanksgiving without all the fuss.

I got the idea of serving Roasted Cornish Game Hens for Thanksgiving from my father. One year it was just the two of us but he still wanted the day to seem special. The best thing about the game hens is that each diner gets their own drumstick!

• Serves 6

Quick-Cook Strategy

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees for the pie crust. Prepare the crust and while it is in the oven, make the filling. Once the crust has baked, crank the oven up to 450 degrees.

• Get all your vegetables prepped, chopped, minced, and sliced for the entire menu; this will make the flow of cooking go so much better.

• Cut up the game hens and season and brown them so they are ready to go in the oven.

• Get the sweet potatoes cooking on the stovetop. If they are done before you are ready to mash them, they can wait for you off the heat in the hot water.

• The green beans and game hens can go into the oven at the same time.

• Use the same skillet you browned the game hens in to make the Cranberry Gravy. Just drain the oil and wipe it clean with a paper towel. This saves time with cleanup later.