Recipe: Flourless Blender Pancakes with Blueberries

Blender pancakes are my JAM. 

One of my most favoritest perks of working from home is being able to cook up something delicious for lunch. (Secondary only to not having to shower/look like a presentable human/change out of sweats/etc.) 

If you don't work from  home, you a) are more qualified as a functioning member of society, and b) can totally make these pancakes for breakfast or dinner. After all, blender pancakes are, as Rachael Ray would coin them, a BLD (breakfast, lunch or dinner). 

Essentially you just throw a handful of ingredients in the blender to make the batter, then create one giant pancake in a skillet and add whatever toppings/mix-ins your little heart desires. Though lately I'm extremely partial to fresh blueberries or chocolate chips. 

Best part? These face-sized flapjacks are naturally gluten free and require a total of zero obscure flours. Hip hip hooray! 

Recipe: Gluten Free, Flourless Blender Pancakes 

with Blueberries

Notes

-I don't even measure any more when I make these, except for the oats. After you make them once you can pretty much eyeball all the other ingredients. 

-Topping/Mix-In Ideas: fresh fruit (blueberries, sliced strawberries), nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans), chocolate chips 

Ingredients (serves 1)

1 ripe banana 

2 egg whites (or 1 whole egg, 1 egg white if you'd like)

1/3 cup gluten free, quick-cooking oats (I use Bob's Red Mill)

1 tbsp apple sauce (sweetened or plain, whatever you have)

1 tsp ground flax seed (optional)

splash of vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg 

fresh blueberries (or other mix-ins) 

Instructions

Add banana and egg whites to the blender and blend for about 15 seconds, until they're completely combined and a little frothy. 

Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the blueberries. This includes: oats, apple sauce, flax seed, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Blend for another 10 seconds or so until the ingredients form a consistent batter, and the oats are broken up a bit. (You may need to jostle the blender a few times to make sure nothing gets stuck at the bottom.)

Place a small, non-stick skillet over medium heat and coat with cooking spray. Once skillet is hot, pour in the pancake batter and, if necessary, evenly spread out the batter with a rubber spatula. Immediately add blueberries and/or any other mix-ins (see suggestions above). 

Immediately reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for 5 minutes. Once the bottom of the pancake is nicely browned and the top is set, carefully flip the pancake and cook for an additional 30 seconds or so. 

Slide the pancake onto a plate, add your favorite toppings (I go for a light drizzle of pure maple syrup), and dig in!   

GIVEAWAY + 2 Easy Recipes: Cappello's Gluten Free Pasta

Things I stupidly didn't eat pre-Celiac diagnosis: fresh pasta, gnocchi, more crescent rolls. Thank you, Cappello's for taking care of those first two! (Now in your spare time please focus all R&D efforts on gluten free crescent rolls. C'mon, can't be that hard.)

The lovely folks over at Cappello's were kind enough to send me a sampler pack of their FRESH gluten free pasta, which includes fettuccine, gnocchi, and lasagna sheets. That's right - fresh. gluten free. pasta. It's a real thing. And not only does it happen to be grain free and Paleo-friendly, but all of Cappello's pasta is made partially with almond flour, so there's lots of good protein and stuff. 

So far I've tried the gnocchi and fettuccine, and my, my was I impressed. They both taste like 'special occasion' food, even though they take no time at all to cook up. You'll find two super simple recipes down below for how I prepared the two pasta types. (Oh, and if you're using Cappello's, make extra. Because somehow the leftovers tasted even better after being refrigerated. No gluten free noodle block here!)

On to the best part of all... Cappello's wants to send one of YOU a gluten free pasta sampler pack! You'll get two packs of fettuccine, and one pack each of gnocchi and lasagna sheets. The Rafflecopter widget below will tell you exactly what to do - but the bare minimum is liking Cappello's on Facebook. There are a few other fun things for additional entries. If I could enter, I'd be all over this shit. So do me proud, kids.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
(PS - If you don't win, you can order online here. Your pasta will arrive in an eco-cooler with ice packs, and is absolutely freezable if you can resist the urge to cook it all up at once. Alternatively, if you're in Colorado, find out where to buy here.)

Recipe: Gluten Free Gnocchi with 

Kale Pesto + Chicken Sausage

Notes

-If the kale pesto is frozen (like mine was), you can add it to the pan frozen. Just heat until the pesto is defrosted. 

Ingredients

gluten free gnocchi 

gluten free, fully-cooked chicken sausage, any flavor (I used Trader Joe's Spinach, Fontina & Roasted Garlic), sliced

olive oil

kale pesto (recipe here)

fresh lemon juice + zest

parmesan cheese 

Instructions

Boil the gnocchi according to package directions. Before draining, reserve a mug-full of the cooking liquid. 

While the gnocchi is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil. Add the chicken sausage and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping slices halfway through. Squeeze half a lemon over the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits. Add the kale pesto and extra lemon zest (optional). Add the drained gnocchi and as much of the gnocchi cooking liquid as you need to in order to create a sauce. 

Serve warm and garnish with grated Parmesan. 

Recipe: Gluten Free Fettuccine with 

Squash + Tomato Sauce

Notes

-Before heating up leftovers I added some crumbled goat cheese. RIDICULOUS. Do it.

Ingredients

gluten free fettuccine 

olive oil

a couple of green and yellow squash, sliced into half-moons

dried Italian seasoning (optional)

a couple cloves of garlic, minced

good marinara sauce (I used a container of fresh sauce from Whole Foods)

handful fresh basil leaves, torn

parmesan cheese

Instructions

Boil the fettuccine according to package directions. 

While the fettuccine is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil. Add the zucchini and Italian seasoning (if using), and cook for about 8 minutes until tender and slightly browned. Add garlic and cook for additional 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce and the torn basil leaves. Cook until sauce is heated through. Add the cooked fettuccine and toss well to combine. 

Serve warm and garnish with chunks of Parmesan (or crumbled goat cheese) and additional torn basil.  

Gluten Free; Will Stop for Posters

Man, I just love me some New Jersey sometimes. I had the most lovely weekend at home celebrating my dad's birthday (and getting out-partied by a bunch of 50-somethings) on Saturday, then adventuring on Sunday with the family. 

We spent the beautiful afternoon walking the trails at Natirar Park (where I creeped on any and every dog in sight, as usual). That was followed by a slow, scenic drive through the hills, and then.... and then... that PINK. POSTER-BOARD. One illegal u-turn later we were parked at Paesan's Pizzeria in Chester, NJ. Excellent life decision, as it turns out. They have a crazy-big gluten free menu (written on poster-board, of course) with everything from lasagna to stuffed shells. 

The owner completely sold me on the pizza, though, which is made on a gluten free crust shipped in from Staten Island. Holy moly. I don't have to tell you it was good - just look at those pictures. I wolfed all but two slices, which slid into a to-go box. And then were promptly devoured as soon as we got in the car. Who am I kidding, really? I also snagged a box of gluten free fettucine straight off the boat from Italy. (If you haven't learned yet, Italians know what's UP when it comes to gluten free pasta. And all pasta, I guess.)

Paesan's doesn't seem to have a website, but there's some location/contact info here. Worth a stop if you happen to be in the Chester, NJ area!