Slow cooker beef stew

Slow cooker beef stew ready to roll.

Nothing fancy to see here.
And I'm unashamedly a cheapskate.

$5 casserole steak diced plus whatever veggies were floating around in the pantry & fridge (potato, sweet potato, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, celery, peas & corn and onion).
A litre or so of a veggie stock (I'm fussy because I like the taste of this one, and no, I didn't make it myself - couldn't be bothered), some garlic, a generous helping of lentils and lots of black pepper.
I do put quinoa in because it thickens everything so nicely and the flavour is gorgeous in a stew. 





Disclaimer. I've been using quinoa since before it was 'cool' and a 'superfood'. It's a staple in our house because it's a great gluten-free alternative that my kids and husband love.
Dealing with Coeliac Disease when the boy was a little munchkin meant I got creative quickly.
When a friend introduced me to quinoa while looking for an oats alternative, I haven't looked back.

And dinner is served... :) 

 

Avocado, Mango & Corn Salsa

My girl can’t eat a lot of tomatoes. Because of the high amine content, if she gets a build up in her system, it leads to migraines and other not-so-fun reactions that leave her feeling really miserable.
So I’m always on the lookout to adjust everyday meals to be tomato-free so she doesn’t feel so left out.

Nachos are a huge favourite in our house. During winter I make up a savoury mince, add a lot of lactose-free cheese and it’s a really nice warm pick-me-up meal on a cool day. But during Summer, that’s all just a little too heavy on the stomach.

Enter all the gorgeous fresh fruit and vegies that we are so lucky to have here in Australia. Particularly mangoes. And avocado. Sooooooo good. I fiddled around and came up with this really lovely salsa that you can either use on nachos (as we did in the above picture, corn chips, shredded bbq chicken and salsa on top) or as a fresh tasting dip.

Avocado, Mango & Corn Salsa
1 mango, peeled, seeded & diced
1/2 red capsicum, seeded & diced
1-2 green onions, chopped finely
125g tin corn kernels, drained
1 lime, juiced
1 avocado, peeled, pitted & diced

Toss together mango, capsicum, onion, corn & lime juice in a bowl. Fold through avocado just before serving.
Eat and enjoy

Flourless Berry Muffins (gluten-free and dairy-free)

The small boy child and I made these gorgeous muffins this afternoon. Completely gluten and dairy free and so easy that my 7 year old could whip them up – and he did!

Flourless berry muffins

1/2 cup Natvia
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cup almond meal
4 eggs (lightly whisked)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
12+ berries (whatever you like, we used blueberries, raspberries and blackberries)

1. Preheat oven to 200’C (180’C fan forced).
2. Line 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.
3. Combine natvia, baking powder, and almond meal in a bowl.
4. Add eggs and vanilla essence and stir to combine.
5. Distribute mixture between prepared muffin cases.
6. Top each with a berry or two of your choice.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
8. Cool in tray for 5 minutes and the transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cheesecake balls, gluten-free & lactose-free

Every Saturday we bake something. Mostly so that the kids have something special for their lunch boxes through the week, and also so there is a backup stash of food on hand for emergencies (like no safe food at church on Sunday, or a last minute ‘bring a plate’ afternoon tea).

I saw a recipe doing the rounds on Facebook the other day for Tim Tam balls. We can’t eat Tim Tams, and we can’t have condensed milk, but the recipe made a suggestion right at the bottom that cream cheese could be substituted.

That gave me an idea, and that’s how our Cheesecake Balls came about this afternoon.
Thank you so much to Liddells for making a lactose-free cream cheese. I love you so much (really, totally, honestly).

Cheesecake balls

1 pkt Leda Golden Crunch cookies (gluten & dairy-free)
2 tbsp carob powder (you can use cocoa/cacao, but my girl is allergic, so carob it is for us!)
1 tub Liddells lactose free cream cheese
Desiccated coconut

Process cookies and carob powder together until fine.
Mix cookie mixture and cream cheese together in a bowl. I did this by hand, but if you have a big enough food processor, you could do it all in one go.
Roll heaped tsp size of mixture into balls and cover in coconut.
Chill in fridge until firm.

Then try to stop your kids from eating them all in one go.
Simple, easy, quick and so very, very delicious!