-
Easy no-breadcrumb meatballs
My family loves meatballs! But my stomach hates the hidden breadcrumbs. This recipe is a super simple, versatile version of the Italian favorite—and its gluten-free.
Ingredients (makes 15 two-inch meatballs):
- One pound grassfed ground beef
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (I use parsley, but basil or oregano or a combo would work well)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl (I find it’s best to mix with my hands). Roll the meat mixture out into 15 balls. Bake for 25 minutes, let cool five minutes before serving. These go well with any gluten free pasta and Marcella Hazan’s simple marinara.
-
Herb and garlic savory sweet potatoes
This sweet potato dish goes perfectly with a roast chicken, but would also be great for breakfast with an egg. It’s versatile and easy and if you prefer your sweet potatoes savory can make an excellent holiday dish too.
Ingredients (makes about four large servings):
- 3 medium to large sweet potatoes
- Four tablespoons avocado oil or duck fat
- About a half a cup finely chopped herbs, your preference. I used sage, parsley, marjoram and oregano.
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic or a tablespoon of garlic paste
Instructions:
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into bite sized cubes. Add the oil, garlic, herbs and spices and mix well. Prepare a baking dish with parchment paper if cooking these by themselves. Place them into the oven, preheated to 400, for about 20-30 minutes, depending on how soft you like them. I added these to a chicken I had roasting for the last 30 minutes.
-
Stuffed poblano peppers
These are easy, not too hot, and pair perfectly with any Mexican food leftovers you may need to use. We had some pinto beans that I wanted to use creatively and with some leftover pozole my mom made the night before that we served on the side of this. The combo was perfect.
I made enough for two of us to each have one half, and another half to fry an egg on in the morning. You could easily double or even triple this recipe for a larger family meal.
Ingredients:
- Two medium sized poblano peppers
- About a half to 3/4 cup of cooked pinto beans
- Four tablespoons creme fraiche (sour cream will work)
- About a half cup shredded goat cheese cheddar, plus some to toast on top
- A handful of cilantro, chopped
- Two green onions, chopped
- About a cup of finely chopped fresh spinach
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. chili powder
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the poblanos in half lengthwise and remove the tops, seeds and pith. Lie them face up on the pan and bake for about ten minutes to soften.
While they cook, mix all of the other ingredients together. Pull the peppers out of the oven and divide the mixture evenly between them. Top with additional goat cheese cheddar, or other cheese of choice.
Bake for 18 minutes. Let stand about five minutes before serving.
-
Gluten free oat flour pancakes
Pancakes are a holiday staple around our house, but they always make me feel a bit sluggish—even gluten free ones. I discovered that oat flour doesn’t have that effect on us and this recipe is a little bit indulgent with the almond extract and salted butter.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups oat flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 1/4 tsp. Sea salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Salted butter (for the griddle)
- Pure maple syrup (for serving)
Directions. Combine all of the dry ingredients thoroughly in a batter bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour four-inch circles of batter onto a hot griddle or pan, flip when batter becomes bubbly. These will cook just a minute or two, depending on your pan. I used a cast iron griddle and biscuit forms to make these perfectly round, but any pan will do.
-
Air Fryer Rosemary Duck Fat Fries
A couple of weeks ago on Instagram I asked a question in my stories, “do I need an air fryer?” Well, my mom had one she didn’t use so she brought it over. I’ll admit I’m not a fan of the cabinet space it hoards, but there is no question that our fry game got better that day. So I came up with a very simple recipe for duck fat fries. I also recently became accepted as an affiliate for Fatworks, so the timing couldn’t be better!
Ingredients:
- Four to five medium sized yukon gold potatoes (I always go for organic potatoes if I can find them), chopped into french fry sized pieces
- Two tablespoons Fatworks Duck Fat
- Two sprigs rosemary, plus about a tablespoon of finely chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon (or more to taste) fine pink Himalayan sea salt
Add the chopped potatoes, oil, chopped rosemary and sea salt to a bowl and mix, coating all of the potatoes with the fat. Place them in the air fryer’s basket (we have one similar to this, and love it). Place the rosemary sprigs on top, gently. I cooked these for about 25 minutes at 400 degrees and they came out perfectly! Different fryers have different cooking directions, so pay attention to that.
This was a version I made without rosemary, but they were definitely better with it. 
Kid approved! -
The easiest and best paleo chili
Years ago my husband and I owned a CrossFit gym. We decided to host a “paleo challenge” for our clients, which means, everyone basically cuts out processed foods and follows the paleo diet for 30 days and at the end we hosted a big potluck and handed out prizes. This was when I first discovered how food makes us feel, and that I have a pretty significant sensitivity to gluten. We’ve since added lots of foods back into our diet, especially since we had kids, but we’ve kept many of those clean recipes in our rotation. One of them is a good, classic and easy sweet potato chili. Below is a very easy way to prepare this dish, which has enough for two or three family dinners during the week. This takes less than 15 minutes to prep and can simmer for as little as 30 minutes and as much as 3 hours.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 lbs grass fed ground beef
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons (more or less to taste) sea salt. I start with one teaspoon and work up after that.
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- cracked pepper, to taste
- 2 large cans Italian Style tomatoes, either whole or diced (with the juice)
- 1 small can of green chilis, diced (heat level is up to you, I use hot!)
- 1 bag of cubed sweet potatoes (16 oz). You can dice your own, but this makes it so easy.
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, but only if you don’t care if it’s paleo! If you are a paleo person this can be omitted.
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Chopped red or green onion, for garnish
Heat the oil in a large pan or dutch oven. Add the onion and saute until soft, about two to three minutes. Add the beef and chop it down to small chunks. Add the spices, and stir for three to four minutes, chopping the meat to small chunks all the while. Add the tomatoes, green chilis and sweet potatoes and let simmer about ten minutes on medium. Taste and correct for salt and pepper. If you don’t care if it’s paleo, you can add about a half a cup of brown sugar at this point for extra richness. Cover the pot and simmer on low for at least 30 minutes and up to three hours. Serve in bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and onions of your choice. I also like to add a little bit of goat cheese cheddar.
This chili topped with crispy roasted Brussels sprouts -
Rosemary Gin Fizz
This cocktail was light and fresh and one of my first home cocktail-making experiences with gin (and you can see I like to use rosemary).
Ingredients (serves two):
- 1 mini bottle (or a 2 oz shot) The Gin Factory Rosemary Gin
- 1/4 cup Sauvignon Blanc
- 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 oz lime juice
- Two tablespoons raw honey
- About six or seven mint leaves
- A rough tablespoon of rosemary
- Two sprigs of rosemary for garnish
- Ice for the shaker
- Topo Chico
- Two small coupe glasses
Muddle the cranberries and herbs until the cranberries pop and you can smell them mixing with the rosemary and mint. Add the honey and muddle to mix. Add the gin, wine and lime juice and shake vigorously.
Pour equal amounts in to the glasses (they will be about half full). Top off with Topo Chico and add rosemary for garnish.
-
Christmas Sangria
I love making fancy cocktails. I got especially enthusiastic about cocktails when I realized I can put herb sprigs from my garden in them and smell all that goodness while having a nice drink. Here’s a little something I concocted last night—I’m calling it Christmas Sangria.
Ingredients:
- 4-5 oz dry red wine (I used a zin. You could use a sweeter wine or an actual sangria but I prefer my drinks on the dryer side).
- 1 oz bourbon (you don’t need much, the combo of bourbon and wine gives this one a punch)
- A tablespoon simple syrup or honey, to taste
- A dash of cinnamon
- 1 oz lemon juice
- A squeeze of orange juice
- A few fresh cranberries and a sprig of rosemary for garnish
- Topo Chico or sparkling water, to taste (to top off)
- A pretty glass full of ice
- A cocktail shaker
Pour all ingredients Except the cranberries, sparkling water and rosemary into the shaker. Shake vigorously. Pour over ice. Top off with as much sparkling water as you’d like. Serves 1.
-
Broccoli and pancetta frittata: the easiest and best breakfast
Frittatas are so easy and so good. Recently I discovered that you can cook them in one pan too, which is a game changer over here (I’m all about less cleanup). I use a seasoned cast iron skillet similar to this one for this recipe. I used broccoli, pancetta and goat cheese for this because that’s what I had on hand. You can use any veggie and meat combo, though (bacon and potatoes? Ham and bell peppers? The options are endless). This will make four to five small servings or two to three larger breakfasts.
Ingredients:
- 5 eggs
- One onion, chopped
- About a cup of broccoli florets, chopped
- One 4 oz package of diced pancetta
- Three tablespoons of grass fed butter
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Two cloves of garlic or a half teaspoon of garlic powder (optional)
- About 1/4-1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles (optional)
Melt the butter in the pan, then sauté the onion until it is soft. Add the pancetta, then the broccoli, and cook about three minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, if you are using it, and let it cook for about a minute. Whisk the eggs with the salt and pepper, and pour the mixture over the veggies in the pan. Allow the pan to sit on medium heat for about 90 seconds, then add the cheese evenly on top. Place the whole pan in the oven (preheated to 350) for ten minutes. Allow to cool for about five minutes before serving.
-
Gluten free cranberry dark chocolate oatmeal cookies
So I definitely missed National Cookie Day last week. For a food blogger, this is kind of a crime. But never fear, I am making it up to you! We baked these a few days ago and are still enjoying them.
- Six tablespoons butter (unsalted)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup gluten free flour (I used this kind)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups gluten free rolled oats
- 1/2 (or more) cup dark chocolate chunks
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Preheat your oven to 350. Cream together the two sugars, the butter and the egg. Sift the dry ingredients in one by one, mixing as you go. Fold in the oats, cranberries, and chocolate. Take large rounded tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Place them on the prepared cookie sheet (I use parchment paper but no stick coconut oil spray will do, too).
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the tops start to turn golden. They will still be a little raw when you take them out, but leave them to finish cooking on the hot cookie sheet for ten minutes or so.
Modern Hippie Kitchen
Recipes and Kitchen Blog
Modern Hippie Kitchen 