These French Onion Meatballs are a show stopper for any party or special occasion. You can easily make them vegan and/or gluten free with the ingredient substitutions. For vegetarians, you can use the regular egg and cheese options. 

For Gluten free options I like

• King Arthur GF Flour
• 4C Gluten free panko

For vegan options, I like

• Beyond or Impossible ground beef
• Earth balance for Butter sub
• Annie's Worcestershire
• Lamb Chopper Gouda or Daiya Mozzarella shreds
• Better than Bullion No Beef or Roasted vegetable 
• Flax or Chia eggs made with 1TBSP of ground flax or chia with 3 TBSP water. Mix well and allow to gel for 3-5 minutes

Onions: 

• 2 TBSP Oil
• 4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 Bay leaves
• 4 Sprigs Thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (or stock if not using wine)
• 2 TBSP butter (optional vegan)

Meatballs

• 1 lb  ground beef (optional vegan)
• 1 egg, beaten (optional vegan)
• 1/3 c panko (optional GF)
• salt and pepper to taste

Broth

• 1 TBSP Flour (optional GF)
• 2 cups beef or chicken stock (optional vegan)
• 1 tsp dijon mustard (I like French's chardonnay)
• 1 tsp Worchestershire (optional vegan)
• 1 c grated Gruyere

Instructions

1. In a cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan, add 2 TBSP of oil and heat pan over medium heat. Add in onions, garlic, bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes until onions are translucent and soft.
2. Reduce heat to low and allow onions to cook an additional 25-30 minutes, stiffing occasionally, until mixture is uniformly dark brown and soft. You may need to add 1-2 TBSP of water if onions start to stick.
3. Raise heat back to medium and add thyme sprigs and white wine. Allow the wine to cook off, stirring to remove any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Once wine has reduced, add 2 TBSP of butter and stir to coat. Turn off heat and allow onion mixture to cool.
4. In a large bowl, mix ground beef, egg, panko, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Once onion mixture is cool, remove Bay leaves and Thyme sprigs. Chop HALF the mixture on a large cutting board until you have small pieces. Reserve the other unchopped half for the broth step (step 11)
6. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
7. Add chopped half of onion mixture to meatball mix and mix well. Create 16 large meatballs that will fit comfortably into a 12 inch cast iron skillet or other large heavy bottomed (oven broiler proof) skillet. This skillet will hold the meatballs and the broth, so I recommend a 12’ cast iron.
8. Prepare meatball pan by coating with oil. Add the meatballs in and place into preheated oven for 20 minutes.
9. Remove meatball pan from oven and use a spatula to gently roll meatballs to make sure none are stuck.
10. Sprinkle pan with 1 TBSP flour and allow the residual heat from the pan to cook the flour 1-2 minutes.
11. Pour broth, remaining onions, mustard, and Worcestershire into the pan and gently mix, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Place pan back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes, until the broth is bubbly and has thickened from the flour.
12. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle with grated cheese, return pan to oven and broil on high (monitoring carefully!) until cheese has become a bubbly brown.
13. Remove from oven and serve.

​Serving options

• Serve in bowls sprinkled with additional thyme
• Lightly toast some bread (optional GF) and use bread to dip
• Make a French dip type sandwich by adding meatballs to the center of a split French loaf of bread (optional GF) and sprinkle with additional Gruyere. Bake sandwich cheese side up until cheese is melted, serve broth in a ramekin on the side to dip into.
• Make spaghetti noodles (optional GF) and nest into a bowl, add meatballs on top and ladle broth into bowl. 

Bahn Mi sandwiches are amazing. Full on, they are sweet, tangy, salty and spicy. A well balanced bahn mi will satisfy any craving. I've taken it for inspiration, and converted it to adjust for different diet types. The sandwich post is here. 

Vegan: Use tofu or seitan as the protein instead of pork or chicken, and sub the mayo in the sauce for vegan mayo. Excellent as a sandwich or a bowl. 

Low carb: sub the bun with cauliflower rice, or slice up some red or napa cabbage to make this a salad. Bonus points if you add the pickling juice to the salad for extra bite. Select a low sugar brand of sweet chili sauce and omit the added sugar in the stir fry sauce to further reduce carbohydrates. 

Gluten free: Sub the bun for a gluten free bread, or use rice or cauliflower rice to make it a bowl instead. Sub the soy sauce with tamari (gluten free) or coconut aminos (soy free). 

Ramen can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. The spread above has many options: vegan, gluten free, vegetarian, no carb, pescatarian, even keto! It's all about knowing what each component is comprised of. Look overwhelming? Pick two or three of these options that meet your needs and focus on those! 

General toppings: 

• Cilantro
• Spring onions
• Bean sprouts
• Sliced bell peppers
• Sliced red cabbage (can double as a no carb, keto noodle substitute!)
• Nori
• Sriracha

Cooked components: 

• Umami tomatoes (vegan, gluten free with tamari)
• Seared ​shiitake (vegan, gluten free with tamari)
• Smoked brisket slices
• Crispy tofu cubes (vegan, gluten free)
• Ramen eggs 

Noodle options: 

• Regular Ramen
• Millet noodles (vegan, gluten free)
• Forbidden rice noodles (vegan, gluten free)
• Jade pearl rice noodles (vegan, gluten free)

Broth options (not pictured): 

• Vegetable broth with spices (vegan, gluten free with tamari)
• Chicken bone broth with spices

​

Chicken Parmesan is an italian classic. The basics of it are:

• Noodles
• Marinara
• Breaded chicken
• Mozzerella cheese

Click the link above for a spicy chicken parm recipe!

This dish can be made vegetarian:
Sub out chicken for eggplant, tofu, paneer with same breading
Short on time? Premade breaded vegetarian protein of your choice (gardein nuggets)
Be mindful when breading eggplant, you want to do the eggplant before you bread the chicken so you don't accidentally cross contaminate the items 


This dish can be made gluten free:
Skip flour step in breading process, skip panko or use gluten free panko
Use gluten free noodles or use zucchini noodles/ spaghetti squash


This dish can be made vegan:
Use a firm eggplant or tofu 
Sub eggs in breading process for a light misting of oil
Omit parmesan in breading mix
Utilize cashew cream sauce for topping or premade vegan shreds
Feeling adventurous? Make your own vegan mozz 


This dish can be made low carb / keto:
Omit flour and panko in breading step. Egg wash protein and roll in herbed parm mixture
​Use zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash for the noodles

Ramen is a go to meal for me when I'm sick. It can also be for nights when I feel like flexing my culinary muscles. Ramen night, like taco night, is as simple or as complex as you wanna make it.


Classic:
Broth
Noodles
Egg
Meat
Vegetables
Herbs


Vegan:
Vegetable broth (Home-made or box)
Noodles
Tofu
Vegetables
Sprouts
Herbs


Gluten free:
Broth
Zucchini noodles, gluten free noodles
Egg
Meat
Vegetables
Herbs


Low carb:
Broth
Zucchini noodles
Meat


When hosting a ramen party, I have had great success with setting up a buffet type service, which allows guests to pick the toppings they prefer. I also like having cute index cards that let everyone know what each topping has or how it's cooked. The bonus of index cards is that if someone likes a recipe you can hand the card over!

Tacos are a great way to provide one meal in several different ways. Taco night has condiments for every diet type imaginable.


Classic Taco:
Corn tortilla
Seasoned Beef
Lettuce
Salsa
Sour cream
Cheese


Vegetarian:
Sub beef with vegetarian beef (Gardein or Morning Star), lentils, TVP, or black beans


Vegan:
Sub beef with vegan beef (Gardein), lentils, TVP, or black beans
Sub sour cream with tofu sour cream, cashew sour cream, or store bought vegan sour cream
Sub cheese with vegan cheese sauce, store bought, or omit and use a flavorful salsa


Gluten free:
You should be good to go as long as the ingredients validate gluten free! (check seasoning pack)


Low carb / Keto:
Sub taco shell with cheese shell, bibb lettuce wrap, or forgo the shell and make it a burrito bowl
​For burrito bowl, you can use cauliflower rice as the base

Cooking for everyone involves becoming flexible when there are dietary restrictions. Some common dietary restrictions include: 

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Pescatarian
• Flexitarian
• Allergies
• Dieting

Within each of these categories, people have different foods that they avoid. If in doubt about what is allowed in a dietary restriction, always ask! This blog is to help with general ideas and tweaks to fit general rules, and your guest at dinner may have more specific needs. With this in mind, here is a list of what the above restrictions can entail:

Vegan- no animal products or meat of any kind. Some sneaky animal products that are hidden in products include: lactose sugar (milk sugar), gelatin, fish sauce, oyster sauce, anchovies, some food dyes (red colored products may include cochineal extract which is derived from bugs). Most vegans avoid honey as well. It's not all bad though, Oreos are vegan! Your guest may or may not have a preference on fake meat substitutes such as tofu, seitan, tempeh and processed brands like Gardein, Morning Star, and Beyond meat depending on personal preference. Shredded unsweetened jackfruit can be an interesting sub for some meat products. 

Vegetarian- May or may not eat eggs and dairy products. Don't eat meat of any kind. Sub out chicken stock with vegetable stocks, beef broth with mushroom stock (or better than bouillon bases that are vegetarian). Look out for gelatin in unlikely places, such as yogurts and dips. Sub out lard for shortening, add some smoked paprika if you're subbing out bacon fat. Watch out for anchovies in condiments such as Worcestershire sauce. Also, rennet (an enzyme used in cheese production) can be sourced from cows and should be avoided. Most companies that source vegetarian rennet will state this on the label. Also look out for fish sauce and oyster sauce in condiments. 

Pescatarian- Someone who does not eat meat but does eat fish. Please consult with your pescatarian about sneaky food restrictions as mentioned in the vegan and vegetarian section. 

Flexitarian- Someone who may have a combination of the diets above, for instance I have a friend who eats mostly vegan but will eat some fish. Some flexitarians are also 80/20 split with a diet such as eating meatless during the week but loosening restrictions when out to eat or on special occasions. Always check with your flexitarian about specifics, I'm sure they're happy to hear you want to accommodate them. 

Allergies- Allergies are no joke and you should always take them seriously. The big 8 allergens, according to the FDA are: Milk, Wheat, Tree Nuts, Eggs, Peanuts, Shellfish, Fish and Soy beans. Others have a variety of allergies not covered by that list. All recipes posted here will have audibles to make something allergy compliant, but please check your labels before putting together a meal for someone with an allergy. Little things you can do to help prevent any issues: good housekeeping in the kitchen; use separate utensils when preparing a dish for someone with allergies; store allergens in a separate area in your fridge or pantry to prevent cross contamination; and run a meal plan by the person with allergies before you go to the store. People with allergies can have a wide variety of reactions, from discomfort to death so please take them seriously. Always check your labels when purchasing prepackaged items for people with allergies. The big 8 are listed on labels in bold by or in the ingredients list. 

Dieting- There are many fad diets and lifestyle changes that people adopt for health reasons. Many have specific limitations. I will cover specific diets in a separate post, but some hot ones right now are Keto, Paleo, and the Weight Watchers plans. Please ask your dieter if you don't know what is restricted. Don't worry, with flexible cooking we can make something for everyone! Most diets revolve around having fresh vegetables and some sort of carbohydrate restriction. Cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles and knowing when to use soy sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos will save the day in most situations!