Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Gluten Free Pizza Crust

1½ cups almond flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (oregano, parsley and basil)

2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

Mix all ingredients together.  Press into the bottom of a baking sheet. If the dough sticks to your hands, moisten your fingertips with water.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes. Then add you favorite toppings and bake for another 10 or 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted. We like our pizza with spaghetti sauce, mushrooms, onions, and sausage, covered in Cheddar or Provolone cheese. 

Hint: To reheat left over pizza put it in a frying pan and cover with a lid, heat on low until the cheese it melted. The crust will come out crunchy and delicious   

Autumn Soup

I received this recipe in an email from my Aunt JoAnn. Chris and I loved it.

Autumn Soup

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 med. onion, chopped

1 lg. can of tomatoes (they can be crushed or whole, if whole you need to break them up)

1 can of water from the tomato can

2 potatoes, diced and peeled

1 1/2 cups of diced celery

1 - 2 tsp. of dried sweet basil

Salt and pepper to taste.

Brown the hamburger with the onion. Add it to a crock pot with all the other ingredients. Make sure that the liquids cover the raw vegetables. Put on low for 6 hrs. or less. Most of the stuff will be ready.

If your going to have company for dinner, add another potato, and some chopped celery.

Beef Pie with Creamed Mushrooms

Don't forget to defrost the beef and start cooking the rice!!

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 egg white
1 cup rice, cooked
1 onion, minced
2 carrots shredded
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1/2 cup milk
garlic

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients together. Press into a 9in pie pan. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.

While the crust is baking make the creamed mushrooms for the filling.


3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups milk
1 lb mushrooms, sliced

Brown the mushrooms in butter. Add the cornstarch and stir. Add milk slowly and stir until thickened. Poor mushroom mixture into beef crust.

Hearty Beef Stew

Stew is comfort food for me. I remember my grandmother making it when I was young and it brings back great memories.

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 lb stew meat

3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 medium carrots, cut into 1in pieces

1 large potato, cut into 1 1/2 in pieces

1/4 cup celery, cut into 1 in pieces

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 dried bay leaf

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Brown stew meat in coconut oil. Place all items in a baking dish. Bake for 2 1/2 hours.

Crockpot 7 Layer Dinner

4 potatoes sliced

1/3 cup rice

1 lb raw hamburger

1 onion, chopped

1 small carrot, sliced or chopped

1 lb mushrooms, sliced or chopped

1 tsp sugar

2 (14 oz ) cans of diced tomatoes, undrained

salt and pepper to taste

Mozzarella (or other) cheese. 

Layer each item item in the order listed. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours. Add cheese to individual plates.  

Last time we made this we forgot to add the salt and it still came out great. This is the perfect throw it all in the Crockpot and have dinner waiting for you when you get home from work meal. 

Taco Salad with Nachoes

Ingredients:

1 lb hamburger
1 can corn
1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (14oz) black beans
1 lb hamburger
1 med onion, diced
1 bag of tortilla chips
Beef and Steak seasoning
Season Salt

Brown the hamburger and add all the other ingredients. Eat with the tortilla chips.

Homemade Beef Stroganoff Hamburger Helper

I ate a lot of Hamburger Helper while growing up. I don't want to eat a lot of processed food, so I was very happy to find a homemade version of this boxed item. You can add vegetables to it and you will have a complete meal. I plan on making several variations and adding them to this blog.

Homemade Beef Stroganoff Hamburger Helper

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 ½ cups of pasta

1 cup of hot water

½ cup of milk

½ cup of sour cream

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

Step 1: Sauce Packet

1 tablespoon corn starch, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

The packet can be prepared ahead of time, also measure out 1 ½ cups of pasta. Place them in zip lock bags or Tupperware until ready to use.

Step Two: Brown one pound of ground beef. 

                            

Step Three: Add water, milk, sour cream, pasta, seasoning packet and chopped mushrooms. Simmer for 12 to 20 minutes.

Step Three: Turn off heat and uncover. Let stand to thicken at least 5 minutes before serving.

Pasta Bake

3 cups pasta 

1 cup cooked ground beef 

1 medium zucchini, diced

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

½ cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.

Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil and cook pasta until just slightly firmer than al dente. Do not overcook pasta, as it will continue cooking in the oven. Drain pasta. Return strained pasta to stockpot and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, onion, and zucchini. Sauté just until zucchini is just slightly firmer than al dente. Add precooked ground beef and combine well. Remove from heat.

Add spaghetti sauce to the stockpot with the cooked pasta. Then add the meat mixture to the stockpot and combine well. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Pour mixture into baking dish. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake uncovered for approximately 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through. Serves 4-5. Enjoy!

Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie

Meat, veggies, and bread. This is a whole meal in one. I love the fluffy biscuits on top and Chris loves the hearty filling. This is a great way to get a lot of vegetables into one meal.

Ingredients:

Filling:
4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 lbs mushrooms
Salt and Pepper
2 lbs ground beef
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas

Biscuit Topping:
2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon of baking powder
6 tablespoons of  butter
12 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup of milk


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cook all vegetables until soft in 4 tablespoons of butter.
Add ground beef, thyme, and rosemary. Cook on med. high heat until the meat is no longer pink and the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup of flour and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the milk and broth. Simmer until it thickens about 5 minutes.

Stir in salt and pepper and place in 9 x 13 baking dish.

Biscuit Topping:

In another bowl add the flour and cut in the butter until it resembles corn meal. Add the cheddar cheese. Stir in milk.
Place the dough in mounds over the meat and veggie mixture.

Bake for 40 minutes. If you have a broiler (we do not) you can broil the dish for 1 minute to brown the biscuits. Let the pot pie rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large Acorn Squash
4 cloves of garlic
1 med onion, chopped
1 lb hamburger
1 lb mushrooms
1 med zucchini
1/2 cup red peppers, diced
1 (15oz) can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon curry
pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a 9x9 pan add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Place squash skin side up. I sliced off a thin layer of the bottom of my squash so that it would sit flat when I stuffed it. Add 1 inch of water. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Stuffing:
While the squash is baking brown hamburger with garlic and onions.  When the hamburger is brown and the onions are translucent, add peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, thyme, curry and nutmeg. Cook down then add diced tomatoes.

When the squash is done, turn them face side up and stuff with stuffing. Place back in the oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the squash and vegetables are soft and ready to eat.

If you have left overs of the stuffing it is great over pasta for a second meal.

Skillet Spaghetti

Spaghetti is one of the easier items to make while you are in Korea. I found all of the ingredients at Lotte Mart. Here are some tips to save money. First decided which sauce you want to use. I didn't care for the flavor of the Korean spaghetti sauce so I bought the American one. The difference is about 3,000 won. So try the Korean sauce and see if you like it. I also tried Hines Original Spaghetti sauce in a packet and it was very plain. I tried it because it was only 1,000 won. I like the Rinaldi Sauce the best. I find it ironic that it is what I use in Korea, because I used to buy it in America and it was the cheapest jar. Now it is the most expensive. Another way so save money on sauce is to buy the Costco giant-sized plastic container of Prego Sauce. It is large enough for about three meals. This works if you have the freezer space for the left overs.

You can make your spaghetti right from the jar. Sometimes I use the jar and add some of my own seasonings like oregano and fennel. You can also make your own spaghetti sauce in the Crock pot. I will post a link when I decide to make that version of it. I only recently found canned tomatoes. They don't have them at Lotte Mart but I found them at Home Plus. I will have to check out the prices and see if it is worth making your own.

For the meat you can buy the hamburger at LotteMart or you can get it at Costco. It is cheaper to buy it at Costco. We buy a large pack sperate it into 1/2 lb servings, place them in individul zip lock bags, put all the smaller bags in a larger freezer zip lock and place them in the freezer.



1 jar of Spaghetti Sauce
1 package of spaghetti noodles
1/2 lb of hamburger
1 tbs oregano (optional)
1 tbs fennel (optional)
1 onion diced (optional)
1 tbs garlic minced (optional)
1/2 tbs salt (optional)
1 tbs olive oil (optional)

1.  Brown the hamburger until it is no longer pink
2. Add the onion and cook until soft
3. Add the jar of spaghetti sauce and the remaining ingredients. 
4. You can serve it right away over noodles or let it simmer for a whole day. The longer you let it simmer the better it will taste. If you don't add your own seasonings don't worry about simmering it.
5. To cook the pasta bring a large pot of water to a boil. 
6. Add the desired amount of noodles. You can break them in half to help them fit in your pan.
7. Cook until desired doneness. About 10 minutes.
8. You can add olive oil to the pot to keep the noodles from sticking. 
9. When the noodles are done serve them with the spaghetti sauce over it. 

Crockpot Lasagna

16 oz Prego spaghetti sauce

4 lasagna noodles *

½ lb hamburger

Mushrooms

Mozzarella cheese shredded

Cheddar cheese shredded

Fennel seed

1 onion chopped

1 tsp of sugar

2 bay leaves

Salt

Garlic

1. Brown hamburger in a frying pan. Add onion and garlic.

2. Cook until hamburger is no long pink.

3. Mix the sauce and hamburger mixture.

4. Pour a small layer spaghetti sauce in the Crockpot.

5. Add a layer of noodles. You will have to break them to make them fit.

6. Add a layer of cheese.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 until you run out of ingredients.

8. The top layer should be Cheese or sauce.

9. Cook on high for 1 hour (you can skip this step if you won’t be home)

10. Cook on low for 3 to 8 hours. The longer you cook it the better it will taste, but you really only need to cook it long enough to melt the cheese and cook the noodles.

I had lasagna noodles mailed to me from the U.S. Some on them broke in transit, but that is OK for this recipe since you have to break them to make them fit in the Crockpot.

I found my spaghetti sauce at Costco. I always add other ingredients to give it more flavor. I cooked it for 8 hours the week before and used some of the sauce for spaghetti and froze the rest to save for my lasagna. I added fennel seed, 1 onion chopped, 1 tsp of sugar, 2 bay leaves, salt, and garlic.