Pumpkin pie, dairy free

For years I have happily made my pumpkin pie using the directions on the can, which calls for evaporated milk. This year, at the start of pumpkin season, I am still avoiding dairy (with great results). Which means this recipe had to be re-thought. 

Good thing it was easy. I used a little bit of almond milk in place of the evaporated milk, and added a little extra sugar and spice to the crust.

The crust:

1/2 c. gf flour mix

1/2 c. almond flour

1/8 t. salt

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp turbinado sugar
3 Tbsp olive oil

Mix everything up and press it into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan, or an 8-inch cake pan.

The filling:
1/2 c. loosely packed brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger

1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. cloves
2 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1/2 c. plain unsweetened almond milk

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix in everything else really well and pour the filling into the prepared crust. Bake it at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 and bake it for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center is clean. Cool to room temperature and then stick it in the fridge. 

No noticeable difference in taste or texture from the dairy version. 

Between the 2 of us it was gone in 24 hours.

Breaded baked white fish

This fish was so delicious. We both kept going back for a little bit more.

All it is, is fish + cornmeal + seasonings:

1 c. cornmeal

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

Mix that all up on a plate. Take a piece of white fish (tilapia, sea bass, cod, whatever is on sale at the grocery store) and lay it on top of the mixture, flipping it and patting the cornmeal onto each side with your hands. Place the fish on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Serve with carrots and a simple cabbage/ zucchini slaw. 

Shrimp Scampi with mussels

This is such a good, simple dish. Shrimp, mussels, garlic, wine, and parsley. A few sweet peppers for a flavor boost, and some peas because that's how I like it. Served with some GF pasta. 

Ingredients:

12 frozen mussels

1/4 lb raw shrimp

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. olive oil

3 small sweet peppers, chopped

1 tsp red pepper flakes

white wine (I don't drink a lot of white wine so I used those little single serving bottles of pinot grigio)

1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

1 lemon, juiced

salt and pepper

1/4 c. frozen peas

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. In the meantime, heat a pan to medium-high heat. Sautee the peppers and oil until they are soft and have a little char. Add in the garlic and heat that for a minute. 

At this point the pasta water should be boiling. Add your favorite GF spaghetti noodles. 

Pour the bottle of wine in the pan with the peppers and add in the mussels. Cover the pan. Set a timer for 10 minutes. When 3-4 minutes are left, add the shrimp and leave the lid off. Stir in the red pepper flakes, parsley, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When the timer goes off, it's done. At this point I like to add frozen peas. Drain the noodles and toss them into the pan with everything else. 

Discard any mussels that did not open. 

Serves 2.