Category: Meat

Herbed Spaghetti Meatsauce

Spaghetti is one of my easy meals, but sometimes I want to make it just a little bit fancier without adding a lot more work.  We have fresh herbs growing in our garden and I am trying to get them into as many of our meals as possible.  You could add in any Italian herbs, but I added basil and rosemary because that is what I had.  Oregano would go well also.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 red pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 jar of Classico spaghetti sauce (I think this was the Fire Roasted Garlic one, but any of the non meat or cheese ones will work)

Handful of basil, chopped

1 stem of rosemary, chopped

 

Directions:

Cook ground beef with pepper and onion.  Add the jar of spaghetti sauce along with herbs and cook until hot.  Serve over gluten free noodles.  The noodles shown are HEB’s gluten free spiral noodles.

IMG_5545.JPG
This is the meat sauce cooking.  The steam is fogging up my camera lens :-).

 

Hamburgers

I love hamburgers.  There is just something about chargrilled meat that reminds me of summers around a picnic table.  There are many complicated hamburger recipes out there, but personally I like when it is just beef.  That’s all.  It’s so ridiculously simple.  You can spice it up with your toppings.  You can always add more to your meat, but if you want a really simple recipe, this is it.

 

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

Directions:

Shape meat into round patties.  You can do 4-6 patties with this amount of meat.  Put a small dent in the middle with your thumb.  This helps the center to cook evenly.

Turn on your grill (I used gas).  Get the temperature up to 450 degrees (higher temperature seals in juices and makes a juicy burger).  Place the burgers on the grill being careful not to get licked by the flames if it flares.  Close the lid and cook for about 10 minutes or until the edges are browning and the center no longer looks bright red (should still be a little pink).  Flip burgers over carefully.  There will be a lot of juice on top so it may flare up.  Cook for another 5-10 minutes.  Check one of the larger burgers to make sure it is cooked inside.  Serve on a bun or in a lettuce wrap.  Add whatever toppings you desire.  I enjoy pickles, ketchup, bacon, lettuce and tomato.  Guacamole or avocado adds a nice touch.

IMG_4534

 

 

Green Bean Casserole

My sister introduced this to me.  It is starting to become a staple of our holiday dinners.  I can’t exactly say it’s good for you, but it’s yummy nonetheless.  The original name is Sweet and Sour Green Beans, but we have started calling it Green Bean Casserole.

Layer in 9×13 casserole dish in this order:

2 large cans of French cut green beans, drained

1 large can of sliced mushrooms (optional)

1 pound bacon, fried crisp and crumbled (save the grease)

1 large onion, sliced thin

1 large can Rotel (original)

 

Mix and bring to a boil, stirring constantly:

12 T sugar

12 T. red wine vinegar

all of the bacon grease from frying the bacon earlier (about 12 T.)

Pour boiled sauce over the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (or until bubbling and onions are done).

Notes:

Can be baked anywhere 300-450 degrees for up to 60 minutes, so you can cook it in the oven with other parts of the holiday meal.  We usually leave out the mushrooms and sometimes add an extra onion.  We never measure the bacon grease and just add it all.  If you don’t eat pork, turkey bacon may work. You may have to add a little extra grease if your turkey bacon isn’t very greasy.  Hope you enjoy this casserole as much as we do!

Recipe is compliments of Alberta Denham.

 

Mexican Lasagna

Sometimes corn tortillas misbehave.  They just don’t want to roll and they keep breaking, especially if they aren’t as fresh as they once were.  Out of the ashes of broken tortillas arose this recipe.  May your tortillas serve you well until the last day of their expiration! (Like many Tex-Mex dishes, this is the same list of ingredients, just in different proportions and repackaged.  This is really enchiladas.  Shhhh!!!)

 

Ingredients:

1 red pepper

1.5 pounds ground beef (omit if vegetarian and use more beans)

1 can enchilada sauce (Old El Paso)

1/2 to 1 can rotel (depending on your spice tolerance)

1/2 lime

3/4 bag spinach

1-2 cans refried beans or use my recipe

1 bag corn tortillas

Salsa, for topping

 

Directions:

Cook ground beef.  Add 1/2 can of enchilada sauce, rotel, and lime.  Grease a 9×13 pan.  Put in one layer of tortillas (6).  Layer in 1/3 of beef, 1/3 of spinach, and 1/3 of beans.  Repeat two more times- tortillas, beef, spinach, beans.  You can add in cheese if you can eat it.  After the last layer of tortillas, top with remaining enchilada sauce and brush on until all the visible tortillas are covered.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.  Top with salsa and serve with cilantro lime rice.

IMG_5442IMG_5448

Pineapple Fried Rice

My husband loves pineapple fried rice.  He orders it almost every time it’s on the menu.  Unfortunately, I haven’t found a gluten free one in a restaurant yet, hence this recipe.  If you want it to be vegetarian, just skip the chicken.  You could add scrambled eggs in too if you can eat eggs.

 

Ingredients:

1 T. coconut oil

1-1.5 pounds chicken, cubed

1 1/2 c. pineapple chunks

1 red pepper, diced in 1/2-inch pieces

2 T. brown sugar

1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 c. cashews

4 c. cooked rice

1/2 c. raisins

1 lime

1-2 tsp chili garlic sauce

2 T gluten free soy sauce

 

 

Directions:

Warm 1 T. coconut oil in a large wok.  Add chicken and cook until cooked through.  Set chicken aside in a bowl.  Leave 1 T. of the liquid in the pan.  Add pineapple, red peppers, and brown sugar and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the green onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes.  Add pineapple mixture into the bowl with the chicken.

Toast cashews in the pan for 30 seconds and then add in the cooked rice and cook for 2 minutes.  Add raisins and return the chicken and pineapple mixture to the pan and continue cooking until it is all warm again.  Add in the chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, and lime and stir.

I used to make this with three pounds of chicken and it was way too meat-centric.  I have now cut the meat down to 1-1.5 pounds which will help the other flavors shine.

Adapted from: http://cookieandkate.com/2015/thai-pineapple-fried-rice-recipe/

IMG_5561.JPG
I actually made this dish twice.  The main picture has cilantro in it, but I decided it was better without cilantro.  This is the second rendition and tasted much better.

Spinach Enchiladas

Sometimes I get so focused on the main dish that I forget to make vegetables, so this time I put the veggies IN our enchiladas.

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef, cooked

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 can Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce, 10 oz. can

1 can of rotel, 10 oz.

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 bag of spinach

1-2 cans refried beans- or you can follow my recipe listed below

1 bag of corn tortillas

Green onions, chopped

 

Directions:

Cook ground beef and red peppers.  Stir in 1/2 can of enchilada sauce, 1/2 can rotel, and lime juice.

Grease a 9×13 pan.  Scoop a spoonful of beef and a spoonful of beans into the tortilla.  Add in a handful of spinach and roll and place in pan.  Repeat until the pan is full.  Drizzle on the remaining enchilada sauce and use a brush to spread it over all the visible parts of the tortillas.

Cook at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Top with chopped green onions.  If you can have cheese, top with cheddar cheese.  Serve with a side of cilantro rice.

 

Refried bean recipe:

1.5-2 c. mashed beans (1 can of pinto beans)

1/8 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 a clove of garlic, minced

1/2 can of rotel with juice

1/2 lime, juiced

Combine all ingredients and mash thoroughly.

 

IMG_5430.JPG
My tortillas were near the expiration date, so they didn’t bend quite as easily as fresh ones would have.

Copycat Chick-Fil-A Chicken

I love Chick-Fil-A.  They have many gluten free options.  Unfortunately, none of their fried chicken is currently gluten free.  Therefore, we have to resort to more labor-intensive means to meet our craving for Chick-Fil-A fried chicken.

This is based on a copycat recipe I used while overseas.  I wrote it on a notecard and now have no idea what the source was.  I was wondering if I could adapt it to meet dietary restrictions.  The answer is yes!

Ingredients:

1 Ener-G egg

1 cup non-dairy milk

1.5 to 2 pounds chicken tenders (skinless, boneless)

1 c. Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour

2 1/2 tsp to 1 T. salt

2 1/2 tsp powdered sugar

1/2 tsp pepper

oil for frying

 

Directions:

Make Ener-G egg.  Combine with milk.  Soak raw chicken in egg/milk mixture for at least an hour.  Mix flour, salt, sugar, and pepper.  After chicken has soaked, coat it with the flour mixture and press the mixture on.  Let air dry a few minutes, and then quickly dip the chicken in the milk mixture (one piece at a time) and quickly remove and coat in flour a second time.  Do this until you run out of flour.  It’s ok if they don’t all get coated twice- it just adds extra flavor and crunch :-).

Heat oil in a frying pan (about 1/2 inch deep).  When it seems hot, drop in one drop of water and stand back.  If it pops, then the oil is hot enough.  Put chicken in the hot oil and allow to cook on one side for about 7-8 minutes or until the outer sides of the top side are starting to look white.  Carefully turn the pieces over and allow to cook for another 5-7 minutes.  When you think it is done, take out the thickest piece of meat and cut into it to make sure it is done (no pink, it looks like it would be easy to shred, etc.)  Remove each piece of chicken and allow oil to run off it into the pan.  Place on a plate, oily side up so it won’t get soggy on the plate.  After removing all of the cooked chicken, cook your second round of chicken until all the chicken is cooked.

 

To serve, I made Pamela’s Bread Mix bread and added pickles to my sandwich to make it authentic.  My husband added a tomato to his to make it more colorful.  Unfortunately we didn’t have any lettuce around, so we put asparagus on the plate to make it colorful.

IMG_5263.JPGIMG_5266.JPG

Cauliflower and Potato Indian Curry

Sometimes I buy produce because it’s a good deal and then I get it home and it just sits there.  Does this ever happen to you?  That’s why I typically buy frozen veggies, but sometimes the sale price is just too good to pass up.  Usually the problem is that I didn’t have a plan when I bought it.  The upside is that this habit has led to me finding several new recipes.  In this case, the cauliflower was a good price as well as the potatoes.  After they sat around for about a week I decided it was time to make something happen with them.  This is the result.  It has been labeled a keeper by my husband and me. 🙂  The best part?  It is naturally everything free!

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

2 T. coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans of diced tomatoes with juice, or fresh tomatoes, diced

1 c. water

1 can (14-oz) coconut milk

1 T. molasses

1 cinnamon stick

3 T. curry powder

2 T. ground coriander

 

1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets

1 large baking potato, unpeeled, diced into 1/2 inch cubes

1-2 tsp salt or more

1/2 tsp pepper

 

Directions:

Brown the ground beef.  Melt coconut oil in a large skillet (I used a wok).  Add onions and garlic and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add 2 cans of tomatoes with their juices and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes.  Add 1 c. water and can of coconut milk and stir.  Stir in molasses, cinnamon stick, curry powder, and coriander.  Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Add chopped cauliflower and potatoes and cooked ground beef.  Bring to a boil and stir occasionally until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork (at least 15-20 minutes).  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over rice.

 

I made the original recipe a long time ago, but this time I adapted it for the ingredients I had on hand.  Here is the original:

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/166485/coconut-curry-lentil-stew-served-over-quinoa

Chicken Fajitas

Last night we had company over and shared this meal with them.  Their little daughter kept requesting the chicken. There really is chicken in this fajita.  I was in a hurry while taking the photo and realized later it wasn’t really visible.

I remember my mom making this and everyone in the family enjoying it.  The marinade itself is easy and you can add as many sides as you want.  You can half everything in the recipe if you only want to use 1 1/2 pounds of chicken.

 

Marinade Ingredients:

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp cornstarch

juice of 2 limes or 6 T. bottled juice

4 T. vinegar

2 T. water

4 T. oil (I used canola)

3 pounds chicken

 

Optional toppings:

Red and Green Peppers and onions (recipe included), Black beans, Rice, Salsa, Lettuce/spinach, Cheese or a substitute cheese, Cilantro, Tomatoes, Guacamole

Tortillas or chips

 

Directions:

Cut chicken into thin strips.  Mix all ingredients in the marinade and pour over chicken.  Marinade for at least 15 minutes, but I marinated it for about 7 hours.

While chicken is marinating, prepare other toppings.

Slice one onions, one red pepper and one green pepper and saute them on the stovetop in 2-3 T. oil.  (I used 2 onions, 4 red peppers, and 2 green peppers because we had several people over for dinner and I wanted to have plenty.)

While those are cooking, cook chicken in a separate covered pan with marinade until chicken is cooked thoroughly (white all the way through- about 20-25 minutes).

 

Notes:  I put the rice in the rice cooker ahead of time and had the beans in the crockpot all day.  About an hour before serving, I added a dash of garlic powder, 1-2 tsp salt, and a handful of chopped cilantro to the beans and allowed it to continue cooking.

To make preparation faster in the evening, I chopped the spinach and vegetables and such in the morning so that all I had to do at the end was toss the onion/pepper mixture and the chicken mixture into their pans and cook them.

I toasted the corn tortillas in a pan for a few minutes to make them pliable.

 

A glimpse of the chicken.
With peppers and cheese.

Grilled Skewers

What to do with a lonely red pepper that you bought intending to use it in tacos but you forgot?  Buy lots of other colorful companions with it and make kabobs!  My siblings were coming over for dinner and I couldn’t think of what to make, but then I ran across this recipe.  It has been labeled a keeper by all three guys eating it.  You can mix and match the veggies as you please.  I intended to add tomatoes and mushrooms, but I ran out of room in my marinade bag, so I made a chicken salad with them instead!

 

Ingredients:

8-12 skewers, soaked in water for at least 2 hours

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes (omit for vegetarian option)

1 red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 zucchini, sliced in coins

1 onion, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 orange bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces

Marinade:

1/4 c. canola oil

1/3 c. honey

1/3 c. soy sauce (I used Kikkoman’s gluten free soy sauce)

2 minced cloves of garlic

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

 

Directions:

Begin soaking your skewers in water.  Cut all vegetables and chicken.  Combine marinade in small bowl and stir well.  Pour into a gall0n-sized bag.  Add cut vegetables and chicken.  Seal bag and turn several times until all pieces are coated with marinade.  Store in refrigerator 2-8 hours (I put the bag in a bowl to prevent leaks), turning several times to marinate all pieces.

Heat grill to medium heat.  Put vegetables and chicken on the soaked skewers.  Grill for 12-15 minutes.  At the very end we turned the heat up a little higher to give it that charred taste.  Make sure chicken is cooked (we cut a piece to see if it looked cooked).  If not, return it to the grill and continue cooking until it is cooked.  No salmonella, please!

IMG_5150

IMG_5155Original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8626/yummy-honey-chicken-kabobs/