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Pug and Tater's

From Home With Love

gluten free

Guacamole

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This guacamole always gets rave reviews. I end up making it several times a week as an easy appetizer to serve guests, to eat with any Mexican meal, or just to enjoy it myself for a quick lunch.

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Guacamole
Prep Time
5 mins
Total Time
5 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 3 avocados
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • freshly ground pepper
Instructions

  1. Scoop avocados into a small bowl.

  2. Add lime juice, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

  3. Mash with a fork until reach desired consistency. Taste for seasonings and add more, if desired.

  4. Add any optional ingredients and stir to mix. Enjoy immediately.

Recipe Notes

Optional ingredients: diced red onion, diced tomatoes, chopped fresh cilantro, diced jalepeno peppers (seeded)

Mushroom Wild Rice

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Mushroom Wild Rice
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
 
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small yellow or while onion chopped
  • 8 oz. crimini (baby bella) mushrooms sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup wild rice
  • 1 3/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground pepper
Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook for several minutes until they begin to soften.

  2. Add garlic and cook for another minute.

  3. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cover and cook for 45 minutes over low heat.

  4. Remove from heat and let steam for 10 minutes with the lid on.

  5. Fluff with a fork and enjoy.

Roasted Eggplant Dip

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My cousin Sarah gave me this recipe. A super healthy and delicious appetizer to serve, especially to any vegan or dairy free eaters.

Stir any leftovers into your favorite pasta sauce for an extra boost of flavor and veggies.

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Roasted Eggplant Dip
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 1 eggplant peeled
  • 2 red peppers
  • 1 red onion
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  2. Roughly chop the eggplant, red peppers and red onion.

  3. Place the vegetables and garlic on a baking sheet and toss liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  4. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring once.

  5. Put the vegetables and tomato paste in a food processor.

  6. Pulse quickly about 4 times to blend. 

  7. Taste for seasonings and add more salt and pepper, if desired. Serve with crackers.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

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This popular, yummy appetizer has only 5 ingredients. I like to serve it in a hollowed out sourdough bread round loaf and cut up the bread for dipping.

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Spinach Artichoke Dip
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 1 9 oz. package frozen chopped spinach
  • 1 14 oz. can artichokes drained and chopped
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 4 oz. feta cheese crumbled
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Defrost the spinach and squeeze out the water.

  3. Put everything into an oven proof bowl or casserole dish and mix well.

  4. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm with chips or bread.

Turkey Chili

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Now that we’re into fall, my kids are requesting chili even though the weather still feels like summer. I love one pot meals like this, especially when I can get more than one meal out of it. Less work and less cleanup for me makes me happy.

I use mild Rotel and add the crushed red pepper individually to my bowl so this isn’t too spicy for the kids. They love eating this with Fritos Scoops.

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Turkey Chili
Ingredients
  • 1 20 oz. package ground turkey
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow or white onion chopped
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 28 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 oz. can light red kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1 10 oz. can diced tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel)
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon basil
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
  • shredded cheese and sour cream for topping
Instructions

  1. In a large saucepan, brown the ground turkey over medium heat. Drain well and put turkey on a plate lined with paper towels.

  2. Add the olive oil and onion and green pepper to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat for several minutes until the onions and peppers begin to soften.

  3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

  4. Add the turkey back in along with all the remaining ingredients, except for the toppings.

  5. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for an hour.

  6. Enjoy with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Parmesan Garlic Quinoa

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We call this “Connor’s favorite quinoa” because my son devours this dish. Quinoa is full of protein and this makes a nice gluten free alternative to mac and cheese.

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Parmesan Garlic Quinoa
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
  • 2 teaspoons basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground pepper
Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

  2. Add onions and cook for a few minutes until softened.

  3. Add garlic and cook for another minute.

  4. Add quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.

  5. Cook covered for 15 minutes.

  6. Add parmesan cheese, basil, salt and pepper and stir well to mix.

Sautéed Cannellini Beans

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These beans make a great protein packed side dish or a meatless main dish. My daughter is not usually a fan of beans, but will eat these because she loves shallots.

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Sautéed Cannellini Beans
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced thin
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
  • 2 shallots sliced thin
  • 1 14 oz. can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
  • salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Instructions

  1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

  2. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to turn brown, stirring occasionally.

  3. Add the thyme and shallots and cook 1 minute.

  4. Add the beans and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

  5. Add salt, pepper and red wine vinegar and cook for a few more minutes so the flavors can blend.

  6. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.

Adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow’s It’s All  Good cookbook.

Classic Hummus

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Hummus is so easy to make yourself and it’s a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen – they love to push the processor. Double this recipe if you have a lot of hummus lovers.

I use a light tasting olive oil in this because I’m not a huge fan of olives. To cut down on the oil, you can substitute water for some of it.

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Classic Hummus
Prep Time
5 mins
Total Time
5 mins
 
Ingredients
  • 1 15 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained
  • 2 tablespoons tahini
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • olive oil
Instructions

  1. Put everything except the olive oil into a food processor and blend.

  2. With the processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until hummus reaches desired consistency.

  3. Enjoy immediately and/or store in the refrigerator.

Balsamic Dressing

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Homemade salad dressings not only taste better than store bought ones, they are also healthier without preservatives and ingredients that you can’t pronounce. You are also able to control the amount of sugar and sodium when you make it yourself. If you eat salad frequently, I would double or triple this recipe to have on hand for the week. Try it over arugula with roasted beets and goat cheese.

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Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Instructions

  1. Put all ingredients into a lidded glass jar. Shake well to mix. Store any unused dressing in the refrigerator.

Pizza Sauce

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Fridays are made for pizza, at least at our house. And now that school is back in session and we aren’t living at the pool, I’m back to making pizza on Friday nights rather than ordering it. My kids love helping me make pizza. This simple sauce is super easy for them to assemble and stir together. Use it on any pizza dough and top with your favorite toppings.

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Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
  • 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground pepper
Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, stir everything together.

  2. Spread it on pizza dough. Top with cheese and toppings.

  3. Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes if using raw pizza dough. Otherwise, follow the instructions of the pizza crust.