Slightly Sweet & Spicy Baked Beans

I threw this together, not wanting typical sweet baked beans, not quite wanting charro beans, but something in between.  We had it with our delicious barbecue pork!  (It was then somehow glutened, so, alas, I cannot eat the delicious leftovers.)

Ingredients:

6 oz. bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 15 oz. can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 t. yellow mustard
1 T. (or more) sriracha
3 T. fancy molasses
1 T. worcestershire sauce
3 T. red wine vinegar
Dash of liquid smoke
2 t. dried oregano

Instructions:

Stir all ingredients together!

Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed.  Uncover if it's not absorbing enough!  Taste and adjust any seasonings.

Eat the deliciousness!

Pomegranate-Glazed Salmon

Americans -- I hope everyone's Thanksgiving was good!  I'm sure you all gorged yourselves in glorious gluttony :).

This is a nice, light recipe for salmon that can help you lighten up your diet a bit for a few days!

I think you could even use some leftover cranberry sauce in place of the pomegranate molasses, hehe.

Ingredients:

4 6-ounce filets of salmon, skin-on (or adjust to however many people you are serving)

Rub:
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T. packed light brown sugar
2 t. corn or potato starch
1 t. lemon-garlic seasoning
1 t. coarse salt
1/2 t. black pepper

1/4 cup pomegranate molasses (recipe here)

Instructions:

Prepare the salmon rub in a small bowl.  Sprinkle over your salmon and rub into the flesh.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.

Heat a non-stick grill pan (or sautee-pan, make sure it's oven-safe) over medium-high heat.  Spray liberally with olive oil.  Sear salmon, skin-side-up first, for 2 minutes, until the rub has created a crisp, browned layer.  Carefully flip over and sear on the skin-side for 1 minute more.  Brush with pomegranate molasses and move into the preheated oven.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the salmon is done through.  Brush with pomegranate molasses a few times while baking.

Served with lemony leeks and green beens!

Old-Fashioned Sorghum Molasses Drop Cookies

I like these gluten-free cookies because they don't require three or four different kinds of gluten-free flour in the recipe, just one!  And they are delightfully chewy, like gingersnaps, only a bit less ginger.

I pulled this out of 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes by Carol Fenster--if you're gluten-intolerant/celiac/allergic, I highly recommend it!  Everything I've made out of it is fantastic.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened/room temperature
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
1/4 t. vanilla extract
2 cups sorghum flour
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
2 T. granulated sugar (for rolling)

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper/another non-stick element.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth.  Add in the egg and beat until combined.  Do the same with the molasses and the vanilla.

In another small bowl, combine the sorghum flour, cinnamon, ginger, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.

Add it in batches to the wet mixture, using an electric mixer.

When well-mixed, either immediately make your cookies, or refrigerate the dough until you are ready.

Take a small spoon, scoop out the dough, and roll 1-inch balls of dough between your hands, rolling them in the sugar once formed.

Place them on your baking sheet and flatten them slightly.  You should end up with 24-30 cookies.

Bake in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, until they are cracked and golden-brown all over.

Enjoy!