Easy Sausage Not-Pizza

Eating "Low Carb" has become more than just a trend these days.  The overabundance of starches and sugars in our American diet have plenty of us "going paleo" or sticking to some other sort of low carb diet.  I'm far from an exception to this.  With all of my health issues, getting rid of the junk from my menu is more than just vanity (although I won't deny that it's a factor).  Without counting a single calorie, I've lost about 9 pounds in the three weeks since getting rid of the sugary, starchy addiction.  While the weight is a nice plus, I'm really trying to rid myself of inflammation and allergies that go way beyond the realm of "normal".  I may just be starting to see the beginnings of a slight improvement, but my victory cry won't be sounded until I've gone at least a week since my last case of mild anaphylactic shock.  That's probably a long way off, but in the meantime, I'll share the recipes that are helping me along.

My household loves Italian.  Pizza, pasta... uh-oh, not so low starch friendly.  This recipe is one that my family has been eating with great pleasure. It's easier than real pizza, and tastes great.  I used cheap sausage this time, but have bought sausage straight from a farmer in the past.  You may also want to try taking your favorite ground meat and adding lots of garlic, onions, basil, oregano, cayenne, salt and fennel seed to make your own sausage. Here is everything we used:
24 oz bulk sausage
Italian seasoned tomato paste
Pesto
2 Sweet peppers, chopped
1/2 red onion, quartered and sliced
Olives, chopped
Italian Cheese
Chopped green onion to finish (I usually use fresh basil, but my plant died inexplicably)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and prep your sausage while you wait.  Just press it out flat onto a 9 x 13 inch nonstick baking sheet. (Don't use a completely flat one, or you'll drip grease in your oven.) Bake this for about 10 minutes, or until just barely cooked.  Remove it from the oven, and blot the top dry with a clean paper towel.  If you've used a sausage that is on the fatty side, you'll also need to drain the grease.  At this point, you also will want to make sure that your sausage "crust" is not stuck to the pan.
 
Now you can top it with your favorite veggie pizza toppings.  For normal pizza I usually thin my pesto and tomato paste combination, but for a sausage crust, I keep it nice and thick.  Just spread your sauces as though you're making a pizza, and sprinkle with cheese and other toppings.  If you like something other than what I used here, try it.

 Place your "pizza" back in the oven until the toppings look done.  If you want to, you can even use the broiler setting to get the cheese nice and bubbly. There really are no rules here.  After you've decided it's done, take it out of the oven and cut it like a pizza. Sprinkle on some sliced green onion or basil and enjoy your easy masterpiece.

Low Carb Gluten Free Granola

Yeah, gluten free and low carb doesn't sound like a good breakfast option, does it?  This granola, however, really satisfies that hearty, crunchy craving in the morning.  If I was worrying only about flavor, I'd leave out the pumpkin seed kernels. If I wanted it to be completely Paleo, I'd leave out the gluten free oats.  For me, this is a good compromise.

First, we make the temporarily gross looking mixture that you see here in this pot. It is:
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil
3/4 Cup Agave
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Molasses
1/2 tsp Cinnamon 
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Powdered Ginger (optional, but ginger is super good for you)
1/4 tsp Salt

Put all of this on a low heat, and let it melt together. Meanwhile mix together in a large bowl:
1 8oz pkg. Raw Pumpkin Seed Kernels (optional, as I mentioned before)
1 12oz pkg. Unsweetened Flaked Coconut
1 16oz pkg. Sliced Almonds
2 Cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats (Leave this out or replace it if you want Paleo.)
1/2 Cup Chia Seeds (Optional, super healthy. Tastes good but you may not like texture)

Pour your melted mixture over your "Granola Stuff".  I just mix this by hand until it's all wet.  Spread between two of your largest pans, and bake at about 265 degrees.  You can put both pans in your oven at the same time, but try to stagger them, so that the heat will circulate evenly.  Stir after the first 30-40 minutes.

Stir about every 20 minutes or so until your granola is a beautiful golden color.  Let it cool completely and add any dried fruit that you might like.  This goes great with milk, and also is a good base for crumb cheesecake crusts (if I do say so myself).  Actually I recommend messing with this recipe until it suits you.  You may find that you like some nuts and seeds better, or you may want more agave for sweetness.  Do it your way.

 

Gluten Free Pizza Recipe

This is my most requested recipe - by far. There have been a lot of advances with recipes for gluten free pizza crust, but I still like mine the best (there are a few downright awful ones out there... think sunflower seeds.). If you are missing or allergic to any of the flours in this, don't hesitate to switch them out with something that has similar characteristics (If you need help with this, just ask me.).

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice flour (white actually works even better, but is less healthy)
1 generous cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup corn starch
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
sprinkle of your favorite garlic & herb, and/or Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp yeast

Mix these dry ingredients together before adding wet ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup milk (may use alternatives)
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Mix in and then beat (I use a stand mixer) on high speed while you prepare your pans.  Yes, that's two full sized (16 inch, I think) pizza pans.  You may use nonstick spray or butter to prep your pans, but get them greased in some way.  By now your dough/batter should be smooth.  Simply divide it between your two pizza pans, and use a rubber scraper to begin spreading it out over the surface.  At this point I make the biggest divergence between other recipes that I've seen.  I've seen famous chefs on TV spray plastic wrap, cover their dough, roll it out, remove the plastic wrap, and then brush olive oil on the dough.  When I saw this I laughed aloud... Hold your hand over the partially spread dough, pour yourself a handful of olive oil, rub your palms together and gently slap out your dough.  That's it, no plastic wrap, no rolling pins and no awkwardly brushing oil on a dough that wants to stick to your brush.   At this point I place both pans into a barely warmed oven (turned off), and let it rise.

Let this rise for about 10 minutes or so and then remove them in order to preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Place one crust at a time in the oven to bake for about 12-16 minutes.  While the first one is in you can prepare your toppings. (Just as a note, I tend to dilute an Italian seasoned tomato paste and add fresh herbs for my sauce, and I always put mushrooms on right after the cheese, below the other toppings, so that they can absorb all of the other flavors.) This next photo is what my crust looks like when it is ready to be topped.

While you're topping your first pizza, you can bake the second crust.  The timing works out just about perfectly at my house. When the second crust comes out, it's time to slide your topped pizza directly onto the rack.  If you have discovered that your crust has stuck at all, just use a spatula to loosen it, and then gently support the pizza with your spatula as you tilt your pan over your pulled out oven rack and pull the pan away.  (This took me a little while to get really good at this, but if many of you complain about trouble with this step, I'll have to make a video or something.  Really I think you'll get it.)  Bake until your toppings are to your liking, and you're done... Well, bake your second pizza too, of course.  I cut my pizzas right away, and place the slices on a wire rack so that they don't sweat (This keeps the crust crisp instead of soggy).  My family would rather eat this than have purchased pizza any day.

I Used to Cry in the Grocery Store

Nuts and Berries for the rest of your life...

When I found out that I had to be strictly gluten free, fourteen years ago, I felt like I was destined to eat nothing but nuts and berries for the rest of my life.  The Allergen labeling hadn't started and this was long before being gluten free became a trend.  Going to restaurants was like playing russian roullette.  There were a few gluten free cookbooks... bad ones.  Did I mention that I've always been a picky eater?
Ok, so being gluten free is much easier now.  Scan the internet and find thousands of gluten free recipes that claim to be delicious. Well, some of them are good.  I can tell you that mine are.  I'll share my own gluten free pizza crust (I"ve never found one better), breads, cheesecake, and all sorts of advice about avoiding contamination at restaurants, potlucks and even your own kitchen. Maybe sometimes I'll even whine about my own food struggles, and we can help each other to be gluten free without resigning ourselves to eating just nuts and berries, or crying in the grocery store.