Simple Peach Cobbler

I will use the excuse that I'm pregnant when I say I've made a cobbler every week for a month now. Monday's indulgence was my husband's simple peach cobbler. He cooked for me often when we were dating in college, and this was usually the dessert of choice. Below I linked to my favorite cobbler from scratch, but I want to make sure everyone has this SIMPLE and great tasting recipe! (I did end up marrying him...so it obviously impressed me). This recipe is traditionally made in a dutch oven. Because it only has 3 ingredients, it's perfect for camping trips. You can also just use a 9X13 pan and do it at home like I did.

Here is my favorite apple cobbler made from scratch. Just substitute soy milk and dariy free margarine in place of the milk and butter and I promise-nobody will ever know it's dairy free!

Sidenote: I have found both Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix and Cherrybrook Kitchen Cake Mixes to be dairy free. Click on the names for the online ingredients.

Simple Peach Cobbler

Recipe from Kevin aka "hubby"

1 box of dairy free yellow cake mix

2 small cans or 1 big can peaches with juices (about 1 quart)

1 cube dairy free margarine (or butter if no allergies)

Spray a 9 by 13 casserole dish with nonstick spray. Pour the peaches into the casserole along with their juices. (If you bought halved peaches you may want to cut them down to smaller slices.) Dump out the cake mix on top of the peaches and spread it out so that there's even coverage. Slice the cube of margarine/butter into thin slices and cover the top of the cake. You want to cut them pretty thin so that each area will be covered and get moist in the oven. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes. Serve as is or with some soy, rice or regular ice cream and enjoy!

"Mock" Krispie Treats

"Mock" Krispie Treats

I love making traditional Rice Krispie treats, but this is a fun version that uses Cheerios instead of Rice Krispies. I don't have a source on this recipe, but I know it was given to me when I was expecting my first baby from a nutritionist for a healthy treat. I was suprised at how many great things Cheerios has to offer compared to Rice Krispies. (Plain Cheerios pack in more potassium, protein and fiber than Rice Krispies, plus they have calcium and less sugar.) Even if this recipe calls for chocolate chips, at least you are giving your kids calcium, fiber and protein along with it!

Cheerio-Marshmellow Treats

3 Tablespoons dairy free margarine
4 packed cups mini marshmellows
1 Tablespoon water
4 cups regular Cheerios
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Dairy Free Chips)

In a large pot melt the margarine and rub with a spatula against the sides. Throw in the marshmellows and water and cook on low heat until all the marshmellows are melted. Remove from heat, add the Cheerios and mix. Carefully stir in the chocolate chips. Tranfer into a lightly oiled 8 by 8, or 9 by 9 dish. Spray your hands or wax paper and press down into the dish. After they set up cut into squares and serve.

Saucy Stuffed Shells

 I have always wanted to try stuffed shells, but generally every recipe I have found has been filled to the brim with cottage cheese or cheese of some sort. I was thrilled to find this recipe, and I was so glad I splurged on a new spice addition - fennel seeds. The fennel seeds are the secret to this delicious flavor, so don't substitute! This was sooo delicious, I will be making it again and again for sure. The recipe said it serves 4, but I don't think it would serve 4 adults. 2 adults and 2 children or maybe 3 adults, so keep that in mind. Also if your kids go crazy over noodles, throw in a few extra noodles. Even if they don't get stuffed they will still devour them! (I cooked 16 and ended up stuffing 13)

Saucy Stuffed Shells

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

Serves 2-4

12 dried jumbo shell macaroni

12 ounces ground beef or ground pork

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (or red works great too)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 15-16 ounce jar meatless spaghetti sauce


Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain again.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook ground meat, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown. Drain.

In a medium bowl combine egg, bread crumbs, fennel seeds, salt, and black pepper. Add the meat mixture and 1/4 cup of the spaghetti sauce; mix well. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture into each macaroni shell. Arrange the filled shells in a 2-quart baking dish. Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce over the filled shells. Cover the dish with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.
*Note: I have frozen this dish before- just cover with plastic wrap and tinfoil after arranging them in the dish and freeze. Thaw in the fridge overnight or all day, take off the plastic wrap and tinfoil, replace tinfoil on top and bake as above.

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs

When I first started cooking dairy free I threw out all of my recipes that had breadcrumbs in them, because I couldn't find any breadcrumbs at the store that didn't contain dairy. I'm sure most of you are laughing at me right now, but for those who actually didn't know you can make your own breadcrumbs (I'm with you!) here's the easy how to.

For soft fluffy breadcrumbs, use a blender or food processor. One slice makes about 3/4 cup crumbs.

For fine dry breadcrumbs, cut bread slices into 1 inch cubes (a pizza cutter works great here if you have one). Arrange the 1/2 inch cubes in a single layer on a baking pan. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until dry, stirring twice. Let cool. Place in a food processor or blender; cover and process or blend into fine crumbs. One slice makes about 1/4 cup fine dry crumbs.

You can add Italian spices or any other spices to the crumbs if you would like to.

Raspberry Sorbet

I am definitely obsessive compulsive cautious when it comes to watching out for potential food allergens. So I guess you can call me stupid and naive for taking my son to an ice cream shop this past Saturday evening for a mother-son date. I found out that they serve dairy free sorbets at Cold Stone, and I had the preparer wash the serving spoon and put the sorbet right from the tub into a bowl so that it wouldn't touch any of the counter tops that had ice cream remains. I was really excited about their willingness to do all of this for us and we sat and enjoyed our ice cream. Well 5 minutes after my son finished he started hacking up a lung, so obviously there was still a tiny trace amount of dairy in the sorbet. Luckily it was just a small trace amount and 4 MLs of benadryl did the trick. Now I know not to do that again!

I've been making sorbets at home ever since my friend Mel let me borrow her ice cream maker almost 2 years ago. Since then I've purchased my own and made lots and lots of sorbet. I usually keep my freezer heavily stocked. Sure the process is a little longer than I would like it to be, but it's all worth it to ensure the safety of a child with food allergies right? Plus I think this sorbet is so much more divine than regular ice cream anyways! Everyone devours it!

Raspberry Sorbet

Recipe from Cuisinart

makes 8 (1/2 cup) servings

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

12 ounce bag frozen raspberries, pureed and strained (about 1 cup)
4 teaspoons lemon juice

*To puree the raspberries you can either thaw them out and puree with the juices, or you might need to add up to 1/4 cup of water if you use frozen. You can use a food processor or blender. (I'm not going to lie, a food processor is much easier)

*Once pureed use a fine metal strainer to strain out the berries. Use a spatula to mash the berries to the metal strainer and then use a butter knife or another spatula to scrape off the bottom into a bowl. Trust me it is worth the effort for smooth sorbet!

*Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sugar dissolves, about 3-4 minutes. Cool completely (either covered overnight in the fridge or by chilling over an ice bath for 30 minutes).
*Once the sugar water is cooled, add raspberries and lemon juice and stir to combine. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions. Mine takes 30 minutes to thicken (pictured below)

*Transfer to an airtight container and place in the freezer until firm, about 2 hours. You can store in your freezer just like you would any frozen treat- until it gets eaten up!