Tag: Appetizers and Snacks

Shredded Pork Sliders with Cole Slaw (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free)

One of my more recent discoveries, pork sliders are so good as a meal if you eat several or as an appetizer for a party.  People love them.  I made these first last Christmas for a party I went to and they disappeared.  A large pork roast will make 30-36 sliders but for a meal for my husband and I, I use a smaller portion.  Great use of leftover pork roast.

Combine:

  • 1 cup shredded pork (I use my food processor to break up the pork)
  • 1/4 cup barbecue sauce (such as Organicsville Agave Barbecue Sauce or home-made)

Heat in a skillet for several minutes and place on gluten-free dinner rolls (or if you have a leftover bagel, that works as well).  Top with several tablespoons of cole slaw (see recipe under Soups and Salads).  The cole slaw adds a great crunch to the slider.

Savory or Sweet Seed Crackers (dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, egg-free)

Sometimes the best comfort food is something small, quick and within reach.  These seed crackers fit that need for me since I can’t have anything pre-made like store-bought cookies or crackers.  The savory crackers go well with hummus, guacamole, or other dips and even with some non-dairy cheeses.  The sweet ones are tasty by themselves or with some hemp cream.  And with both of them, you can vary the herbs and seasonings to fit your taste.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the savory or sweet crackers, put in your food processor:

  • 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup cooked brown rice
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup flaxseeds
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/3 cup water

Process until blended and the rice is broken down, adding small amounts of water as needed.  The amount of water used will depend on the moisture in your rice and quinoa. The mixture should have a dough consistency.  Remove half from the processor and form into a ball.  Make a hollow in them middle and add herbs such as:

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon dry parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Need herbs into the dough.  Place dough on a piece of greased parchment the size of your baking tray (preferably one without sides so you can slide the rolled out dough onto the sheet easily, before and after baking.  Place a second greased parchment sheet on top and using a rolling pin or heavy can, roll out dough until very thin.  The thinner you can make it, the crispier the crackers after baking.  Place on baking sheet, remove top layer of parchment and bake 20-25 minutes.  Remove from over, flip over (this is always difficult for me and I usually end up with some of the dough underneath so I have to pull it open again but if you’ve cooked it long enough, this is easily accomplished), and cut into cracker sized squares.  Put back into the oven for another 20-30 minutes until crackers are crispy and browned on the edges.  If you have some that are thinner than others (usually the middle of my crackers are slightly thicker), remove the thinner ones and continue cooking the thicker ones until they are dry and crispy.

For the sweet crackers, you should have left half the dough in the food processor.  Return the bowl to the processor and add:

  • 2 tablespoons carob or cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon monk fruit powder
  • 2 tablespoons hemp hulls

Process until well mixed; you shouldn’t need to add more water but if you do, add it by tablespoons being careful not to get mixture too wet.  Remove from processor, and follow rolling and baking directions above.

 

Turkey Bacon wrapped Dates with Sausage (dairy-free, gluten-free)

This is a very quick, delicious appetizer.  These take minutes to make and after you either broil them in the oven, or air fry, the dates get slightly gooey and just envelope the sausage.  The bacon gets crispy which adds the crunch needed to make this the perfect appetizer.  And its very easy to increase or decrease to fit your needs.

You’ll need:

  • 10 medjool dates, pitted
  • 5 slices of turkey bacon, cut in half (or any pork bacon)
  • 1 turkey Italian sausage (or any kind of sausage you like but it should be a little spicy), cooked and cut lengthwise into 5 pieces and then each piece cut in half to fit into the dates.  If you want more sausage in your dates, simply cook a second sausage and cut in bigger pieces.  I cut mine to fit snuggly into the date.
  • 10 toothpicks soaked in water

Slice open each date (remove seed if not pitted).  Insert a piece of the sausage and then wrap with the bacon.  Insert a toothpick so that it holds the ends of the bacon together.  Place each on a greased cookie sheet if you are going to broil them, or onto your air fry tray with the outside edge of the bacon facing downward.  Broil or air fry for 5-7 minutes then turn over and cook for another 5-7 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten, dairy, egg, and refined sugar free)

In fact, these cookies have no flour in them at all.  Here’s what you can do with the chickpeas you have left over when you use the agua fava (or aquafaba; bean water) in a recipe.  These are pretty good although not as chewy as the high calorie version and they can be quite soft.  Adding a nut butter, I use tahini since I’m allergic to nuts, gives them a great flavor.  I like to freeze them because they taste really good frozen; it adds the chewiness that you get in regular chocolate chip cookies.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees; cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and spray with a non-stick spray.

Put in your food processor

  • 12 oz can of garbonzo beans drained
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup nut butter or tahini
  • 2 scoops protein powder (I really like the Garden of Eden Vanilla in this recipe)
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates (Whole Foods has a store brand of chopped dates that are coated in oat flour instead of the traditional sugar)*
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder

Blend until the garbonzo beans and dates are pureed into the mixture.  I watch until I don’t see any more lumps and then blend it for  several more minutes since its not the most pleasant experience to bite into a large chunk of chickpea when eating a cookie!

Stir into mixture 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use Chatfield Carob Chips) [be sure to check the package for allergens such as dairy and sugar].  Drop by tablespoons (or 1/4 cup measure) onto the prepared cookie sheet and then, with the back of a wet spoon, flatten cookies.  Bake for approximately 12-18 minutes depending on how large or small you make the cookies.  Makes between 10 to 20 cookies depending on size.

*If you don’t like the taste of dates or they have too much sugar content, you can use 1/4 cup of agave, honey, or coconut nectar in this recipe or 1 tablespoon stevia.  If you add one of the nectars, be sure to decrease the water to 1/4 cup.

Tip:  I’m really bad about flattening cookies; these work as bars just as well so I usually spread the batter in a 9×9 or 8×10 greased pan and increase the baking time to 20-25 minutes.