Simply . . . Gluten-Free Quick Meals: More Than 100 Great-Tasting Recipes for Good Food Fast (4 page)
Authors: Carol Kicinski
2 cups
Whole Grain Pancake and Biscuit Mix
2 large eggs
1 cup liquid (milk, dairy-free milk,
etc.)
4 tablespoons (
1/2
stick) unsalted
butter, melted, or another fat
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup standard muffin pan with paper baking liners. For quick breads, spray a 9 × 5-inch loaf pan with gluten-free, nonstick cooking spray and line with a piece of parchment paper that hangs over the long sides of the pan. Spray the parchment paper lightly with cooking spray.
Put the Whole Grain Pancake and Biscuit Mix in a large mixing bowl. Break the eggs into another mixing bowl and whisk lightly. Add the remaining ingredients to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the Whole Grain Pancake and Biscuit Mix and stir to combine. If you want to add fruit or other flavorings, do so after the batter has been whisked together. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean and the muffins are lightly browned. Muffins made with this mixture may not get as brown as those made with the Basic Pancake and Biscuit Mix. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Makes 12 muffins or one 9 × 5-inch loaf
For a quick bread, pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is lightly browned. Run a knife around the edges when it comes out of the oven. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Note:
For ideas of variations, see
Basic Muffins and Quick Breads
recipe.
• Dairy-Free Adaptable
• Vegetarian/ Vegan Adaptable
Healthy biscuits, dumplings, and shortcakes take just a few moments to prepare and have a wonderful, hearty flavor when prepared with the Whole Grain Pancake and Biscuit Mix. As with the Basic Biscuit dough, you want to work it as little as possible, and cold, solid fat is preferred to liquid (such as oil), but oil or other liquid fat will work in a pinch.
1
1/2
cups
Whole Grain Pancake and Biscuit Mix
4 tablespoons (
1/2
stick) cold,
unsalted butter or another fat
1/2
cup liquid (milk, dairy-free
milk, etc.)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Put the Whole Grain Pancake and Biscuit Mix in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter or other fat and cut the fat into the mix with a pastry cutter, two knives, or even your hands until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some larger pieces of butter or fat. Add the liquid and stir with a fork just until combined.
For rolled biscuits, dust a work surface with some more baking mix, dump the dough on top, and knead 4 or 5 times. Flatten the dough with your hands into a disk about ¾ inch thick. Cut into circles with a 2-inch cookie cutter. Gather the dough scraps up, working the dough as little as possible, reshape into a disk, and cut the remaining dough. Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned, firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For drop biscuits, simply spoon equal mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned, firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Time will depend on the size of the biscuits.
Makes 4 to 6 biscuits
VARIATIONS
Dumplings:
Prepare as for biscuits, drop spoonfuls of the batter on top of simmering stew or soup, cover the pan, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Shortcakes:
Add ¼ cup sugar to the dough, prepare as for drop biscuits, and sprinkle a little more sugar on top of each shortcake. Bake as for biscuits. When done, cut in half, top with fruit and whipped cream, if desired.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST challenges we face in these busy times is getting food on the table fast that is both tasty and nutritious.
When my boys were growing up, I worked full-time. They had school and activities, and we would often arrive home at 6:00 p.m. The children were hungry and cranky, needed to be fed, get their homework done, bathe, and get to bed. I didn’t have the luxury of taking hours to prepare dinner.
Yet as hectic as life was, we always sat down for dinner at the table and ate together as a family. It was often the only time we had to connect during the day. The best way I can think to get everyone to the table is to offer a variety of delicious food.
These simple suppers are simple in the sense that they are easy and quick to prepare, most using readily available ingredients, but they certainly are not simple in flavor. We can circle the globe with these weekday meals.
These are full dinners that are designed to be ready in about half an hour. I say “about half an hour” because everyone has different skill levels, uses different kitchen equipment, and works at different speeds. And, of course, necessity plays a role; I know I work a whole lot faster when I have crabby kids screaming for dinner than when I am all alone on a Sunday afternoon preparing a meal.
In this chapter, I give you weekday dinners with quick-cooking strategies to get the whole meal on the table at the same time. You can apply many of these same principles to other menus. As with all my menus and recipes, my hope is to not just give you a set menu that must be followed to the letter but also one that you can use as a springboard. By adapting the menus to include your own personal favorites, you add your own creativity and flair, making these recipes your own.
• Dairy-Free
MENU
Mini Meat Loaves
Dairy-Free, Ranch-Style Smashed Potatoes
Broccoli with Garlic Chips
Dairy-Free Chocolate Ganache with Fruit
M
eat loaf just cries out “home-cooked comfort” to me. By baking the meat loaves in muffin pans, the baking time decreases from 1 hour to about 20 minutes. And what goes better with meat loaf than mashed potatoes and broccoli? The potato recipe has the flavor of buttermilk ranch dressing without the dairy. The dairy-free dressing adds a little zing to plain old mashed potatoes and is great as a salad dressing all on its own. The broccoli is ready in just a few minutes and the garlic slivers give it a little panache.
To my mind, there is not much in this world better than chocolate—except maybe something dipped in chocolate. This quick, dairy-free chocolate ganache makes a fun dessert. Serve it in individual bowls with whatever fruit you have on hand for dipping: strawberries, apples, bananas, and even orange segments make great dippers.
Serves 4
Quick-Cook Strategy
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and start the potatoes boiling in a large pot of water on the stovetop.
• Grating the onion and carrot on a box grater for the meat loaves is faster than chopping them and has the added benefit of making the meat loaves moister. If you have a microplane grater, grate the garlic for the meat loaves on that instead of mincing. Grate the garlic for the potatoes at the same time.
• Use Yukon Gold potatoes. They have thin skins, so you can skip peeling them, which not only makes the meal come together faster, it also makes it more nutritious as many nutrients are contained in the skins. And remember, a covered pot will boil faster.
• While the meat loaves are in the oven and the potatoes are boiling, you will have a little pocket of time to prepare the sauce for the potatoes and make the ganache.
• The ganache will thicken as it cools. To speed this process up, just pop it into the freezer for about 10 minutes.
• The Broccoli with Garlic Chips only takes a few minutes so make that last.
• Using bags of broccoli florets saves tons of time.
Mini Meat Loaves
1
1/2
pounds lean ground sirloin
1 small or
1/2
large white onion
1 carrot
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
1/2
teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
sauce, plus a couple of dashes
for the glaze
1 cup gluten-free bread
crumbs
1 large egg
1/3
cup ketchup
Dash of hot sauce
2 teaspoons honey
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray a standard muffin pan with gluten-free, nonstick cooking spray.
Put the ground sirloin in a large mixing bowl. Grate in the onion, carrot, and garlic. Add the salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, and egg. Mix with your hands to combine. Do not overmix the ingredients. Portion the mixture into the prepared muffin pan; an ice cream scoop works well for this, or just lightly roll the meat mixture into balls with your hands.
In a small bowl, combine the ketchup with a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce, the hot sauce, and the honey. Spoon some on top of each mini meat loaf. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. To make sure they are cooked through, cut into one mini loaf; the meat should no longer be pink.
Dairy-Free, Ranch-Style Smashed Potatoes
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2
cup coconut milk (or dairy-free milk of your choice)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 small garlic clove, minced or
grated
1 teaspoon finely chopped
flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
or scallion
1/2
teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
2 tablespoons good-quality,
dairy-free butter substitute
(such as Earth Balance)
Kosher or fine sea salt
Scrub the potatoes and cut them roughly into 1-inch pieces. Add to a large pot of salted water, cover, and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
While the potatoes are boiling, make the ranch dressing. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the coconut milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes; if it becomes a little curdled, that is fine. Add the garlic, parsley, chives, and black pepper and stir to combine.
When the potatoes are tender, drain and return them to the hot pot. Smash with a potato masher or handheld mixer. Add the dairy-free butter and stir to melt and combine. Mix in the dressing. Taste and add more salt, if needed.