No-Bake Granola Bars

This is one of my family’s favorite recipes. The original recipe can be found in my second book, Make It Allergy Free Too. These bars are great as a snack or treat. Make them with or without the chocolate drizzle on top or mix up the flavorings to your liking.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups plain granola
• 1 cup crispy rice cereal
• 1/4 cup sunflower kernels
• 1/4 cup raisins, dried fruit or chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup brown rice syrup or raw honey
• 1/2 cup sunbutter
• 1 tsp cinnamon, optional
• 1 tsp vanilla, optional
• pinch of sea salt

Glaze:

• 1 cup allergy friendly chocolate chips
• 1/4 tsp grapeseed oil

Directions:

In a large bowl combine granola, cereal, sunflower kernels and raisins. In a sauce pan heat syrup, sunbutter and salt. Heat and stir until smooth and pourable. Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon and vanilla if using. Pour syrup mixture over granola and stir with wooden spoon or spatula until granola is evenly coated. Turn mixture into a 9×13 or large brownie pan and press evenly into the pan using spoon or lightly dampened fingers. (For easy removal, you may line pan with non-stick foil first.)

For glaze, melt chips and oil together in microwave using short bursts or small sauce pan on stovetop. Be careful not to scorch. Stir thoroughly. Drizzle or pour over granola. Let bars cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut to desired size.

Note: You may also just use 4 1/2 cups of favorite prepared granola for this recipe.

Recipe ©2012 Michaela C. Jones. Get a printer friendly version here.

I recently shared this recipe in the Local Joe newspaper here in my home city. It’s getting to that time of year. Down here is Texas it starts to get hot, hot, hot about this time of year. Who wants to heat up the kitchen or stand over a grill or smoker all day to make a tasty meal. This recipe is one of my family’s favorites. The sauce was developed to accommodate my food allergy children. I’m a big believer in everyone eats the same thing. So, it has to not only be allergy friendly, but tasty as well. I generally use corn-free organic ketchup for this sauce, but please feel free to use whatever you have. This recipe is also so simple that you won’t believe how easy it is. Plus, you don’t have to stand over the stove all day to make it. This recipe makes a lot, so invite some friends over and have party! However, extras can be frozen and saved for later.

Ingredients:

2 lb boneless pork loin roast

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

1/2 ground black pepper

1 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

6 tbsp brown sugar

4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

4 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 med onion, sliced into thin rings

pickle slices

favorite buns or rolls for serving

Directions:

Place pork roast, 1 cup water, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until pork is tender. Drain liquid. Shred meat with two forks.

While pork is cooking, combine ketchup, 1/2 cup water, brown sugar, vinegar, celery seed, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper in saucepan. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add sauce to shredded pork in slow cooker. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low. Cover and continue cooking for 1 hour.

Serve on buns with onions and pickles.

*If you like saucier sandwiches or just like to have a little extra on the side, just double, or even triple the sauce ingredients. Stir some into the meat mixture for cooking and reserve the remainder for serving. You also may need more sauce for cooking if you have a bigger roast.

Get printer-friendly version here. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear from you.

© Copyright 2012. Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, repost or reprint without permission.

This tasty recipe was featured in an early April edition of Local Joe where I guest publish once a month. These beans feature authentic cuban flavor, but easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
1 cup dry black beans
Salt (see instructions)
2 cups water
2 cups vegetable or low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
4 strips uncooked thick-cut bacon, chopped, or salt pork
1 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 cups cooked long grain rice

Directions:

In large bowl or container, dissolve 4 1/2 teaspoons of salt in 8 cups of water. Add dried beans. Allow to soak at room temperature for least 8 hours or overnight. Rinse and drain.

In large dutch oven, heat olive oil, add bacon and cook until browned. Add bell pepper, onion, cumin and oregano. Cook until vegetables soften and begin to break down, about 10 minutes. Add garlic. Cook and stir 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in water and broth. Add beans, salt and bay leaves. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add vinegar near end of cook time. Adjust salt as needed. Serve over rice with toppings as desired. Delicious served topped with sliced scallions and a squeeze of lime.

*To make this dish vegetarian, omit bacon and add 1 teaspoon smoked paprika to the seasonings. Increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Makes 6-8 servings as a main course, 8-10 as side dish.

**You can also make this a one pot meal by cooking rice in with the beans. At about the 50-60 minute mark when beans are beginning to turn tender, pour beans through a strainer reserving liquid in large bowl. Return beans to the pot. Measure liquid and add enough broth or water to make 2 ½ cups. Pour liquid back into pot. Add ½ teaspoon salt and the vinegar. Add in 1 ½ cups uncooked rice. Bring back to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Get printer-friendly version here. If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear from you.

© Copyright 2012. Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, repost or reprint without permission.

This is another recipe I shared at Thriving With Celiac for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Soup is so comforting this time of year. Plus, this recipe is so easy. If you don’t have any turkey, try rotisserie chicken in this dish. It’s just as yummy and can be made any time of the year. Want to do an all veggie version? Omit meat and add a can of drained, rinsed, cannellini beans. Yum.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, chopped or shredded
1 cup frozen green beans, thawed and drained, or fresh cleaned and cut small
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice macaroni*

Method:

Sauté  onion, carrots, celery and garlic in dutch oven or large pot, stirring occasionally. When onion begins to turn translucent, sprinkle vegetables with seasoning and salt. Continue to cook until onion is soft and carrots and celery are crisp-tender. Add remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until macaroni is tender, stirring occasionally.

*Note: I love Tinkyada Pasta Joy pasta for this recipe. It cooks up well without turning mushy.

Get printer-friendly version here.

© Copyright 2011. Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, repost or reprint without permission.

This recipe was originally featured at Thriving With Celiac where I guest blog. I came up with this recipe as a way to utilize leftover Thanksgiving turkey, but this recipe is great year round. You can easily substitute rotisserie chicken for the turkey or use canned white turkey or chicken in a pinch. You can even leave out the potatoes and put the filling in a crust for great pot pie.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced carrots, about 2-3 large
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp gf oat flour, or other suitable flour*
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained, or one cup canned (frozen is better though)
2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, chopped
2 cups prepared mashed potatoes

Method:

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add carrots, onion and garlic. Sauté until onions are soft and carrots are tender. Sprinkle vegetables with oat flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir about 2 minutes, being careful not to burn the flour. Slowly stir in broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir until thickened, about one to two minutes. Reduce heat. Stir in peas and turkey. Heat just until hot. Pour into ungreased casserole dish and level. Top with prepared potatoes. Smooth top. Bake under broiler until lightly browned on top, about 4 to 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

* Note: for this recipe you need a flour with thickening properties. Some flours do not do as well as others. I have not had good results with rice flour for this, but tapioca works well if you do not have oat flour. Additionally, if you have leftover gravy, you can use that instead. Just omit flour and broth and use 1 cup prepared gravy.

Get printer-friendly version here.

© Copyright 2011. Michaela C. Jones. Please do not copy, repost or reprint without permission.