Egg-free Tuna Fish Cakes Recipe (Gluten-free)

Richard and I love my Fantastic Shrimp Cakes Recipe, however, Sam doesn't. She's 8 years old and much more prefers my Tuna Fish Cakes. So on the nights I make shrimp cakes, Sam gets tuna instead. These tuna cakes are super easy to make using a few basic ingredients from your pantry. Sam has been eating these cakes off-and-on for years and it's the only way I can get her to eat tuna. It's a great kid recipe, and served with a green vegetable, it's a complete meal. The picture above shows the tuna cakes served with my Best Brussels Sprouts recipe on the side.

Tuna Fish Cakes Recipe

2/3 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1 can tuna packed in water
1 cup Rice Krispies cereal or Rice Chex cereal (divided)
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil for frying

First, make the mashed potatoes. In a small pot over High heat, add the water, 1 tbsp of olive oil, and salt. When boiling, add the potato flakes and mix it until you have firm mashed potatoes.

Put the mashed potatoes in a medium-size mixing bowl. Open a can of tuna and drain the water. Add the tuna to the bowl. Use a coffee grinder to grind the cereal into fine crumbs. Add 2 tbsp of the rice crumbs to the bowl and put the rest of the rice crumbs on a small plate. Mix the potatoes, tuna, and rice crumbs until well-combined. Divide the tuna cakes mixture into 4 pieces. Take each piece and roll them into balls in the palm of your hand, then flatten them into 1/2" thick patties. Gently press each side of each patty onto the rice crumbs on the plate to coat each side. Lightly salt and pepper each patty. You can make these ahead of time and refrigerate them for frying later.

In a medium skillet, add the cooking oil and heat the skillet to High heat. Wait for the oil to get hot enough to sizzle when you drop a small crumb in it. When a crumb sizzles, you can set the patties in. Let them fry for about 3 minutes per side until both sides are golden brown. When done, set them on a paper towel and blot off any excess oil. Makes 4 tuna cakes. Serves 1-2 people as a main course.

Egg-free Pumpkin Pie Recipe (Vegan)

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I decided this year I would come up with a vegan pumpkin pie recipe (no dairy, no eggs) so Sam can enjoy it more than one time. I thought that adding flour to the pumpkin mixture in lieu of eggs would stick it together and give it the right texture. The hard part was figuring out exactly how much flour to use. I'm happy to say I have it just right in this recipe and the texture is spot-on. Also, the spice blend I came up with works perfectly with the pumpkin. This pie is super easy to make, and it smells heavenly while baking. I'm thrilled with how this pie turned out, and am looking foward to making it again for Thanksgiving.

Egg-Free Pumpkin Pie Recipe

1 small can of 100% pure pumpkin (15 oz.)
1 cup of Hemp milk or vegan milk
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 1 cup of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the sugar, flour, spices, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin and milk and stir it all together until well-combined.

Make the pie crust dough. Lay a large piece of wax paper on your work surface, put the ball of dough in the middle, and lay another large piece of wax paper over the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a thin circle larger than the pie pan. Spray the pie pan with non-stick cooking spray. Peel the top piece of wax paper off, and invert the crust, centered, into the pie pan and remove the other piece of wax paper. Press the dough into place in the pie pan. Fold the edges of the dough that is hanging over back under itself along the edges of the pie pan and press the dough to the sides of the pie pan to make a nice crust.

Pour the pumpkin pie filling in the middle of the pie crust and use a spoon or spatula to move the filling to the sides of the crust.

Bake the pie for 1 hour. Let the pie cool for 2 hours before serving. Store the pie in the refrigerator.

Tuna Salad Recipe (No Mayo)

We haven't had mayonnaise in our house in years due to Sam's egg sensitivity. All of the no-egg mayos have oils or starches in them that she also can't have. So I gave up, and we eat our turkey sandwiches with a little olive oil and salt, or occasionally cream cheese, on the bread. The one thing I missed pretty quickly when we cut out mayo was tuna fish sandwiches. So I came up with a flavorful dressing for the tuna that completely replaces mayo for me. This recipe is great for anyone with an egg sensitivity or allergy.

Tuna Salad Recipe

For the dressing:

1/4 tsp dry yellow mustard
1/4 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the tuna:

1 can of chunk white tuna in water (5 oz.) - drained
1+ tbsp finely diced Mexican style hot chile peppers (optional)
1+ tbsp finely diced dill pickle (optional)

In a small bowl add the dry ingredients for the dressing and mix them together. Add the oil and vinegar and whisk it together until it is well combined.

Drain the tuna and put it in a bowl. Finely dice a few small hot chile peppers and a small dill pickle, or use whatever you want for a little crunch and flavor like celery or onions, and add them to the tuna.

Pour the dressing over the tuna mixture and stir it all together. You can eat the tuna salad by itself over some lettuce, or put it in a sandwich. Serves 1 to 2 people.

Egg-free Fried Rice Recipe

Richard and I love fried rice, but we can't order it at Chinese restaurants because of Sam's egg-white sensitivity. I decided to make my own egg-free version using ingredients I readily have in my fridge and pantry. The sesame oil and soy sauce flavor the rice beautifully, and the ham makes it extra tasty. This is a great side dish!

Egg-Free Fried Rice Recipe

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped sugar snap peas (a handful or so of whole snap peas)
1/2 cup diced carrot (1 - 2 carrots)
1/2 cup diced ham lunchmeat (5 or 6 slices stacked)
Olive oil

1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
Pepper to taste

First, cook the brown rice. In a medium pot add the rice and the water. Turn the heat up to High. When the mixture comes to a boil, put a lid on it, lower the heat to Low, and simmer it for 45 minutes. When the rice is done, add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the cooked rice and gently mix it in.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the peas, carrots and ham. Wash and dry the snap peas. Cut the ends off of each pea, then cut each pea into 4 or 5 pieces. Wash, dry and peel the carrot(s). Dice the carrot(s) into small pieces. Combine the peas and carrots into one bowl. Stack the ham slices and dice the ham into small pieces like the carrots. Keep the ham separate from the peas and carrots. Refrigerate the peas and carrots and ham until the rice is done and you're ready to make the fried rice.

To make the fried rice, spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat the skillet to Med. High and add the peas and carrots. Drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil and saute them for a few minutes. When they start to brown, add the ham and saute the ham with the peas and carrots for a couple of minutes. Next, drizzle the soy sauce and sesame oil over the vegetables and ham, then add the cooked brown rice and use a spatula to combine everything together. Pepper to taste. Fry the rice mixture in the pan for a few minutes, moving it with your spatula constantly, then turn the heat to Low until you're ready to serve it. Serves 4 - 6 as a side dish.

Egg-free Mini Meatballs Recipe

These eggless, mini, bite-sized, meatballs are a perfect addition to any pasta sauce or soup. They are so tasty, they can even be served alone, hot off the skillet, with toothpicks at a party. They are great for anyone with an egg sensitivity.

Egg-Free Mini Meatballs Recipe

3/4 lb extra lean ground beef
1/2 cup Rice Chex cereal
1/2 cup Wheat Chex cereal
1 tsp dried crushed basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Use a coffee grinder or food processor to grind the cereal into a fine meal (recipe will make 1/3 cup total cereal meal). Put the cereal in a medium size mixing bowl. Add the basil, salt, and pepper to the bowl and mix everything thoroughly. Now is a good time to remove your rings. Put the ground beef into the bowl and use your hands to mix it all together.

Take a small amount of meat in your hand and roll it into a 1/2" to 1", bite-sized, ball. Keep setting the meatballs aside until you have formed all of them. Heat a large skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to Medium-High heat and add all of the meatballs in a single layer. When the bottoms are browned, use a spatula to turn the meatballs and brown the other sides. Continue turning the meatballs until all sides are browned. Makes about 50 mini meatballs.