Shepherd's Pie, Gluten Free

So I guess you can say I am truly a meat and potatoes kinda gal.  I know this is a typical St. Patty's Day dish but I think you will agree that this gluten free, dairy free dish can be enjoyed any time of the year. There's something about the combination of hearty beef and mashed potatoes that warms my body and soul especially when it's as cold as it is outside. 
The servings are full and hearty and trust me very satisfying. I thought about making the recipe lower in fat by using chopped turkey instead but this is what I had in my freezer and truthfully it's what I secretly wanted anyway.  However, I think it would be equally delicious if you wanted to use the turkey to reduce the point value. 

Corn Muffins, Gluten Free & Dairy Free

These Corn Muffins will have you jumping up and down with happiness! They are gluten free and dairy free. They are also delicious, buttery, moist and so corny!!! no pun intended. This was my 4th try in making corn muffins.  My feeling is, that if I can't make them taste like the corn muffins I remember having before I was gluten free, they are not worth posting. 

These Corn muffins are just as good as I remember them to be.  So I will give you a little background on my inspiration.  My husband is not gluten free and loves anything cake, especially muffins.  So every now and then he comes home with these amazing cakes/muffins.  I'm sure you'll are thinking, "that's so cruel" and I agree! lol but I just think some people just don't get how difficult it is to be gluten free.  I don't get upset.....anymore. In fact, I feel inspired. 

He came home one day with these amazing mini corn cakes.  The smell permeated my kitchen.  Every time I entered the kitchen, the smell of sweet corn would tantalize my senses.  Imagine how happy I was when they finally finished.  A day later there on my counter was a brand new box of sweet corn cakes.....&#%@?!  Are you kidding me!!  I went to sleep that night and I had a dream with, wait, are you ready for this?,  yes, you guessed it, CORN MUFFINS!!!  I woke up that morning and started baking.  These corn muffins are the result of my desire to eat real corn muffins and they so did it for me, I hope they do it for you too. 

Yellow Jasmine Rice

Just looking at this picture makes my mouth water. I love rice and I love jasmine rice even more.  So I figured why not combine the foods I love the most with the flavors I love the most. So I cooked this pot of rice with rich Latin flavors and colors and the result was spectacular! I used Achiote/Annanto these terms are used interchangeably. It is a culinary spice used as a colorant but in larger amounts it imparts an earthy, peppery flavor with a little bitterness.  It can be used in place of saffron and it's a who;e lot cheaper. I personally prefer this over saffron because I believe the saffron imparts too much of a musty flavor. Traditionally it was used for much more then cooking. They also used it as cosmetics, fabric dye, body paint, sunscreen, insect repellent, and as medicine.  Interestingly enough it was also used to treat Diabetes, snakebites and epilepsy.  However,  I use it because it taste good. 

Oven Fried Cod Fish in Creolle Sauce, Gluten Free

WEPA!!!! pronounced weh pah, is a term many Puertoricans use to express excitement. It can mean many things but it is basically our way of saying, WooHoo!, Yea Baby! or Wow! This low fat, gluten free, savory fish dish will be a winner on any day.  If you accidentally let out a "WEPA"  don't worry it's natural and expected.  I made this with a side of yellow jasmine rice. Yes I did.  I used jasmine rice and seasoned it with Latin flavors and the result was, well the best way to describe it is.....WEPA!!!!

Chocolate Flan, Dairy Free

  

Valentine's Day is here and nothing says, "I love you" like an allergy free desert, especially if it's homemade.

Yes, believe it or not this adorable little chocolate decadent heart is dairy free as well as gluten free.

 I took my traditional coconut flan (I will post later) which I make with cream cheese and converted it to dairy free by substituting the cream cheese with silken tofu. The result was fabulous!  Just recently my daughter has been diagnosed with a dairy allergy, as though being gluten free is not difficult enough!  She was very disappointed but I told her I would experiment dairy free substitutes with many of her favorite recipes. 

This was one of her favorites but I did it in chocolate to mask the tofu flavor and it was perfect!  Trust me we don't do tofu so it was pretty daring for us.  The flavor is rich, creamy and chocolaty and the chili powder adds just the right amount spice.  My daughter was thrilled!