Rachel's Salsa

Rachel's Salsa

3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 jalapeno, seeded
1/2 onion
pepper, red, green. yellow, or arange.
1 qt. tomatoes
salt
 lime juice

Combine the first four ingredients.  Using a food processor to chop evenly.  Add the tomatoes, salt, and lime juice to the food processor and blend until smooth

Rachel's Chili

Rachel's Chili

1 lb. ground beef, browned
2 cans chili beans
1 can black chili beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 c. salsa
1 pint tomatoes
1/4 c. chili powder

Combine ingredients in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 adding water as needed.

Pool Gogi (Korean Fire Meat)

 Pool Gogi

1 1/2 T sesame seeds
1/4 c green onions, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1 T sesame oil
1/4 c soy sauce (to make gluten free use La Choy)
3 T sugar
1 lb. tender beef, sliced thin

Combine all of the ingredients and marinate for at least an hour.  Remove the meat and grill.  Cut the meat in bite size pieces (kitchen sheers work wonderfully).  Serve over hot rice or in romaine or iceberg lettuce with rice and roll. 

Pasta Fagioli (Copy Cat with my modifiations)

 

Pasta Fagioli

2 lbs. ground  beef (next time I will make it with sweet Italian sausage)
1 onion, chopped
3  carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 c. minced dry garlic (added for my own personal taste)
1 qt. canned tomatoes (the original called for 2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes), undrained
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (white kidney beans)
3 10 oz. cans beef broth
3 t. oregano
2 t. ground pepper
5 t. parsley
1/2 t. Tabasco sauce (originally called for a full teaspoon)
1 24 oz. Prego Traditional Spaghetti Sauce (my personal preference)
8 oz. small cut pasta

Brown beef and place in lined crock pot with everything but the pasta.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours or low 5-6 hours. (for my personal crock pot 4 hours was not long enough for the vegetables to be tender)  30 minutes before serving add the pasta. 

*This makes a large batch of soup in the future I will take 1/2 of the soup out before adding the pasta and freeze for another meal and add the pasta at that time.  To make it gluten free just make sure the beef stock is gluten free and use a gluten free pasta.  This is compared to Olive Garden in the original recipe but I don't think it is the same, but it is a keeper for me.

Mega Meal Day(s) New Dietary Challenges

I got the urge to make Chicken Pot Pie for dinner a week or so ago.  The recipe I have makes a huge batch, big enough that I always made two and froze one for another day.  Now that it is just the Gourmet Guy and I at home I usually cut it in half and still make two and freeze one for another day.  I decided that I would make the full recipe and freeze a couple for us and some small ones for my Mother-in-law.  Simply doing that put me in the mood to make some meals ahead and freeze them for my daughter in Idaho who is having a baby at the end of the month.  Since they don't live half way across the country anymore I can take them to her frozen and not have to do all of the work while I am there. Instead I and can play with the Grand kids and snuggle the newborn and not be in the kitchen all of the time, except for that days meals.  She will have eight meals for days when she just needs to pull one out of the freezer, and as mom of three small children and a newborn she will need them.

 

NEW DIETARY CHALLENGES

Over the years we have had favorite meals as a family. Recently we have had new challenges that have caused us to rethink some of our recipes.  We have a  dairy allergy, gluten intolerance, and most recently a severe nut allergy that gave us quite a scare, as well as diabetes!!!! Actually the nut allergy was one we were aware of but it was hidden in with another ingredient and caused a life threatening experience.  We have to read labels much better than we have ever before and she will have to stay away from bakeries in general from now on. Preparing meals for all twenty three, with the newest addition is going to be more and more of a challenge! As I had these mega cooking and days I had to alter some of the ingredients and my taste buds were put to the test.

 

 Using:

10 lbs of potatoes

1 med bag of carrots

4 stalks of celery

5 onions, diced

1 medium bag of frozen mixed vegetables

6 14.5 cans of beef broth

4 14.5 cans of chicken broth

3 4 oz. mushrooms

6 4 oz. cans tomato sauce (what I keep in my storage)

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

2 10 3/4 cans tomato soup

4 10 3/4 cans cream of chicken soup

1 quart tomatoes, home canned

1 pint tomatoes, home canned

3 sleeves of Ritz crackers

4 c. sour cream

1 lb. butter

 

After two days of cooking (I kind of went crazy)  I ended up with 20 meals, 7 mini meals and 

3 1/2 dozen cinnamon rolls. Part of the meals were non dairy. My Mother-in-law took home 9 mini meals this morning when she left our home.

 

After loading my freezer I realized I was able to share with some others in my neighborhood and took some of the warm cinnamon rolls to five families and three meals as well.  It was great fun!  Now to finish putting away Christmas decorations.  I would rather be cooking!!!!!!

Low Cal Tostadas - Pantry Staples

I have been watching recipes on Pinterest for new or improved recipes.  I have noticed a lot that are called Mexican Pizza's or Mediterranean Taco's or something similar.  I came up with something from my pantry.
I always have corn and flour tortillas in my fridge as well as salsa's or my own Pico.  In my freezer I have chicken breasts, chicken thighs, drumsticks, and whole chickens.  I also have cooked chicken, sometimes grilled, baked or boiled, cut up into pieces ready for certain recipes.  In food storage I have my home canned salsa, green chilie's, black beans, as well as frozen chilie's from my garden. so this is my version of Low Cal Tostada's

2-4 corn tortillias
olive or canola oil
black beans, warmed and drained of most liquid, mashed
1 c. cooked chicken, cubed
1/3 med. onion, chopped finely
1 t. cumin, more if desired
tomato, cut in pieces
1/2 half avocado, sliced

 Place tortillas on a foil lined baking sheet and brush with olive or canola oil.  Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes to turn crisp, a shorter time will make them tough.  Put black beans into a pan and heat thoroughly, drain leaving a small amount of the liquid to mash.  In a skillet place a small amount of oil and saute the onion until transparent, add the chicken, the green chilie's, and cumin and warm through.  Place the beans on top of the shell then the chicken, avocado, and tomatoes.  Additonal toppings if desired.



other possible ingredients: (this would add calories and no longer be dairy free)
sweet corn
cheese
sour cream
olives

Rotisserie Style Chicken in a crockpot

A great way to save money and make some really great meals is to use whole chickens. You can get whole chickens at Costco for $.99 a pound and if you watch the ads for your local grocery stores you can get them for around $.69 a pound, sometimes even cheaper. I used to only buy chicken breasts because they are easy, and I am grossed out by raw meat so the thought of pulling the bag of giblets out is so disgusting! HOWEVER, the price difference is huge! Chicken breasts are anywhere around $2.99 a pound! I looked into whole chickens a little more and found that it can be so easy, so good, so cheap, and there is so much more that you can get out of it!
Here is what you need:
Crockpot
Whole Chicken
Seasoning
That's it! You can use any seasoning you like. You could do lemon pepper, bbq style, the possibilities are endless! I used a steak rub which has: sea salt, crushed black peppercorns, dill seed, coriander, red pepper, garlic, and paprika. You do not need to add any water to this! The best part of this is the natural juices that come from this! It is so moist and so tasty!
Pull out the giblets and rinse your chicken in water. Place your chicken in the crockpot breast side up and tuck the wings underneath. Sprinkle your favorite seasonings on top.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Do not uncover it while it is cooking because that will lower the temperature and will make the cooking time longer. It is done when the internal temperature is 165 degrees F.

Notice all of the broth in the bottom! I didn't add any water at all!
Cut the chicken and serve. The left overs can be put in a bag in the freezer and can be used in all kinds of things!

Don't stop there! Make your own chicken stock*! Put the bones and skin back in the broth,

fill the rest of the crockpot with water, turn the crockpot on low and leave overnight. You can add carrot, onion, and celery for more flavor. A really frugal tip is to use carrot peels and the ends of onions and celery for the flavor but save the rest of the veggies for soups and other meals.

In the morning strain off the stock and run it through a cheese cloth to remove some of the fat. Let it cool and then put it in containers and freeze!

*Chicken stock is different than chicken broth. Chicken broth is made by boiling the meat. Stock is made by simmering the bones overnight and it releases the gelatin in the bones. When stock is refrigerated it becomes a thick jelly texture. I thought I had done something wrong the first time because I was expecting it to be like broth when cooled, turns out I made a good high quality stock my first try!

Peanut butter cups (dairy Free)

This is one of our families favorite desserts. They are easy to make, super yummy and we made it a tradition to make them and take them to the boys that we liked in high school and even in college! 

My mom has posted two varieties of them. The original recipe was the first post and a fun coconut variety was the second post.

I had to do a Dairy free variety because they are my favorite! I actually have two though because I loved the ones made with Coconut peanut butter. I cut the recipe in half because the original recipe makes so much!

Dairy Free Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 pkg. graham crackers (nabisco honey maid are dairy free)
1 c. peanut butter
2 c. powdered sugar

1/3 cup Earth Balance natural buttery spread

*1/3 pkg. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Mix together graham crackers, peanut butter, powdered sugar and softened spread, blend well. Form into balls or place in mini cupcake holders. Melt chocolate chips and spread over the peanut butter mixture.

Dairy Free Coconut Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 pkg. graham crackers (nabisco honey maid are dairy free)

1 c. peanut butter
2 c. powdered sugar

1/3 cup Coconut Oil

*1/3 pkg. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Mix together graham crackers, peanut butter, powdered sugar and coconut oil, blend well. Form into balls or place in mini cupcake holders. Melt chocolate chips and spread over the peanut butter mixture.

*Statement from Ghirardelli about dairy, "Thank you for contacting Ghirardelli Chocolate. In response to your inquiry, Ghirardelli does not consider any of our chocolate products to be vegan. Our Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips do not contain a dairy ingredient; however they do share a line with chocolate products which do contain either whole milk powder or a milk fat. Our lines are cleaned and flushed between the changing of one flavor to the next."  My son does not react to the Chocolate but you have to use your own discretion.

Dairy Free Thanksgiving (Turkey, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes)

We discovered that my little guy had a dairy sensitivity a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving. I was so bummed! I didn't think that I would be able to eat any of my favorite things. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll, mashed potatoes and gravy, traditional dressing (stuffing that isn't stuffed into the bird) yams (brown sugar, butter and marshmallows YUM!").  I had not done a big Thanksgiving dinner with everything yet and was determined to do it this year and I felt really let down. I started researching and found that I could make pretty much everything we normally have. Actually I could have made everything, but I didn't make Pumpkin roll; I'm not ready to jump on the tofu band wagon for the cream cheese substitute. I made everything that I knew I could make taste good and be dairy free. 

Turkey (Dairy, Soy and Gluten Free)-

I used the Alton Brown turkey recipe and I made my own vegetable stock the day before.

It is Dairy, soy and Gluten free. Make sure you use Canola oil not vegetable though because vegetable oil contains soy. 

Gravy (Dairy, soy and Gluten Free)-

Normally I use a gravy packet because I was always nervous that it would just taste like flour. All gravy packets have dairy proteins in them, so I had to make my own. 

Traditionally gravy is made with a roux(butter and flour) or you can use a cowboy roux(flour and water). With a roux the butter has to be a high heat to be melted and it releases the starch from the flour so you can't taste the flour. A cowboy roux on the other hand does not get as hot before it starts to thicken so the starch does not release and you are left with a flour taste. I used arrowroot instead which thickened the gravy but did not add a flour flavor.

drippings from the turkey pan 

2 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot

1 cup water

Mix arrowroot and cold water until it is smooth then add it to the hot drippings and heat until thickened. 

Arrowroot does not add flavor and it produces a clear thick gravy. You can use cornstarch instead but it calls for 1Tbsp per cup of cold water. These are great gluten free substitutions.

Mashed Potatoes (Dairy, soy and Gluten free)
When I made these I hadn't discovered the Earth balance spread. Grapeseed oil has a neutral flavor and adds the fat that butter normal does which makes the potatoes more fluffy. The earth balance works better because of the texture of it, but both are great alternatives to butter and are both soy free. 
Potatoes
Grapeseed oil or 
Earth Balance natural buttery spread
Salt
Pepper 
Cut peeled potatoes into cubes and boil until soft. Strain most of the water leaving a little bit of the potato water. Mash the potatoes and add grapeseed oil or Earth Balance natural buttery spread, salt and pepper to taste. 

Dairy

There is dairy in pretty much everything that we eat! My little guy has a dairy sensitivity so I can't eat any dairy. He isn't lactose intolerant; he has a sensitivity to the proteins in dairy. The proteins whey and casein are in everything! I was surprised to find dairy in somethings. For example Chicken bouillon, McDonalds french fries have an artificial beef flavoring that uses a dairy protein. Most store bought boxed foods have dairy proteins. PF Changes Mongolian beef has dairy; I say this because it is my favorite and I did not expect it to have dairy. It is everywhere and until you have to avoid it you don't realize how much dairy we consume in the US! Surprisingly enough most cereals are dairy free but you have to use a non dairy milk on them; a lot of them have coconut oil instead of butter. A lot of dairy free recipes are nasty, but just because you have to go dairy free does not mean you have to have nasty food! There are some awesome substitutions that make tasty food instead of nasty food!

Milk Substitutes:
Soy Milk
Rice Milk
Coconut Milk
Almond Milk

All of these can be substituted 1:1 for milk and work well in baked goods. Personally we use coconut milk and almond milk. We tried rice milk and soy milk and they are absolutely disgusting in my opinion! I am a pretty picky eater in that I won't eat gross food. I was very spoiled with parents that made home cooked meals and not nasty casseroles but really good food! I was picky with milk when I could drink it. It has to be very cold and it has to be certain brands because others taste weird to me. Like I said, I am very picky, so I won't substitute for something nasty; I would rather go without! Coconut milk and almond milk are both sweet and a little goes a long way on cereal.

Butter Substitutes:
Coconut oil my favorite but it will leave a coconut flavor.
Vegetable, Canola, or grapeseed oil these don't work well in things like cookies that call for soft but not melted butter. Avoid Vegetable oil if you have an allergy to soy.
Shortening but not the butter flavored it has dairy proteins, also check the label because it depends on the brand. Again avoid if you have an allergy to soy.
Earth Balance natural buttery spread soy and dairy free. We use this one the most. My husband hates the flavor of coconut so I use this to make frosting and things that are not baked because it doesn't add a different flavor. I will not spread it on my toast though because I don't love the flavor of it plain, instead I just use jam.
Fruit Puree This is one that is healthier because it takes away the fat but it also changes the recipe a lot! Most people substitute applesauce. It will change the texture and the taste of the recipe! We tried making brownies with applesauce instead of oil when I was on a diet but we didn't like the flavor at all and they were dense. I don't use this as a substitute but it is an option.

I will be posting some dairy free recipes, they will not use soy or rice milk because I don't like them.