hands of love #19...

Oooooh, get your grocery lists out, because have I found some good ones for you! With summer rapidly approaching, it's so exciting to see our local produce stands back in business again! I'm sure you'll see more and more of it showing up in upcoming hands of love's.

(and thank you, guys, again for your wonderful feedback on our last "hands of love" post! It is so cool to know that some of you are actually trying and liking these recipes!)

So without further ado, made for my sweet little family with hands of love...


Green beans from the produce stand. Up until now I was always steaming them. (which is good for nutrition) But these, my friends, were the BEST green beans I've ever tasted. Taste as if they were grilled, but they aren't. Look as if they were difficult, but they weren't. You'll definitely want this recipe. (and don't worry-- I didn't have any fresh thyme, so I just used dried thyme & it was still amazing)


Speaking of fresh produce... salad! I know... I show a salad picture practically every time, but they're just so beautiful and delicious, I can't help it! This time I baked some fish really quick and put it on top. When you cook gluten free like we do, we say goodbye to the croutons (though maybe for next time I'll make my own from gluten free bread!) and substitute walnuts or almonds for the crunch instead.


And for those of you who are gluten free, THIS IS your gluten free zucchini bread recipe from scratch. (Perfect to make with the zucchini from your garden this summer.) This one rivals the regular gluten-filled stuff. That's when you know it's good. Yummmm...


For those of you who are NOT gluten-free, here's a super easy & delicious weeknight dinner that we've had to adapt since going gluten free: swedish meatballs. For those of you don't consider yourself a cook, it's as easy as making spaghetti.

Buy a package of frozen meatballs (italian, plain, whatever) from the grocery store & cook in the oven according to directions. (many of these contain gluten, so I had to make my own meatballs here) In a skillet, heat one can of cream of chicken soup, (regular cans of this are not gluten free, fyi) 1 cup of sour cream, & a generous splash of pickle juice. (trust me- that's the yummy kick!) Throw in the meatballs and let simmer for say, 10 minutes or so? Serve over a bed of pasta (rice pasta if you're GF) and enjoy!

And now.... I saved the best 'til last!!!

For gluten free folks, this recipe will likely be invaluable to you. (Aren't GF eaters always on the lookout for a good GF pizza??) For those of you who aren't GF, you should still try this out for fun because it is surprisingly DELICIOUS! (a former student told me about this recipe and she is not GF!) Best homemade pizza I've ever made... and you'll never guess what the crust is made of...


...a cauliflower pizza crust!! (I know. I know. It sounds wierd and gross. You've gotta trust me.) Here's how you do it: take some raw, UNCOOKED, fresh (not frozen) cauliflower and grate it (or put it in a food processor, but I don't even own one!). You'll need 1 cup of cauliflower for a small pizza. (I doubled all of these measurements to make this large pizza) Mix the grated cauliflower in a medium sized bowl with 1 egg, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1 tsp. of oregano, 1 tsp. of parsley or other italian seasoning, and a little salt & pepper. Then pat it evenly down on a greased pizza stone or baking sheet.


Bake the "dough" at 450 for 10-15 minutes. (or up to 20 if you double the recipe) It comes out looking like this. Then top with your pizza sauce (I used Trader Joe's pizza sauce), the toppings of your choice, and mozzarella cheese. Put back in the oven on the broil setting (low) until the cheese melts. (just a few minutes)


And maybe it doesn't look as good as you'd hoped, but it TASTES AMAZING! No joke. Totally shocked us. And Caroline gobbled it DOWN even moreso than a regular pizza! So all you parents sneaking veggies into your kids' food, here ya go! (and if you like it, you could actually make more crusts individually & freeze them to use later, assuming you don't pat them too thin that they'd break apart.)

Yummy hands of love.... Now which one will YOU try?