Chocolate Nut Pie - Gluten and Dairy Free

As a native Kentuckian, a certain type of pie holds a special place in both my heart and stomach.  Upon moving north, I've introduced several folks to the pie--even winning a pie contest at a previous employer!  The thing is, I can no longer eat my own pie...  I've changed that though.  Recently my local grocery began carrying the new Pillsbury line of gluten free products.  I was thrilled to notice that the pie dough is also dairy free.  This was the kick I needed to adapt this pie.

For two pies:

Preheat your oven to 350.

You'll need:

One tub of Pillsbury Gluten-Free Pie Crust

One stick of melted Earth Balance

One cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons gluten-free flour mix

1 cup (or more) pecans or walnuts

2 cups Enjoy Life chocolate chips and/or chunks

BOURBON

Beet Burgers - vegan and gluten free

After receiving some lovely beets in my green bean delivery bin, I wanted to make some burgers.  No online recipes seemed quite right for the taste I was wanting so I created my own thrown-together recipe.

You'll need:

3 beets

1 can cannellini beans

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/2 bell pepper (I used orange)

1/2 onion (I used Vidalia)

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 chile en adobo

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 tablespoon sorghum

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon tamari or gluten free soy sauce

Gluten free oats

big handful of flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper to taste

First, peel and chop up your beets.  Throw into the food processor and chop up quite a bit.  I use a small processor so I do the process and dump in a big bowl method.  Next drain and rinse your beans and process until fairly smooth.  Process all the ingredients except the oats and parsley. 

Once the processed ingredients are in the bowl, mix well and stir in enough oats that it starts to resemble the texture of ground meat.  At this point mix in the parsley (chopped fine).  It will look like this:

Form into patties and bake in the oven at 425 until set.  I had great luck, texture wise, via baking, putting in the freezer for a bit, and then toasting or broiling for a nice crunch.

Serve however you like you like any other burger.

Berry Blood Orange Smoothie

My favorite combination at the moment.

Blend together:
One cup of frozen mixed berries
One banana
Add as much blood orange juice as needed to reach the consistency you like.

Greens blend fairly well into this mix.