Cheese Steaks (Gluten-Free)

Cheese Steaks (Gluten-Free)

2 lbs of steak, thinly sliced
6 baked potatoes
1 onion
Cooking oil (we use bacon grease or coconut oil)
Salt and pepper

Other Toppings:
Cheese (Cheddar or Provolone)
Mushrooms
Red or yellow bell peppers

Bake the potatoes in the oven for about 1 hour or until they are soft.

Cook the onions, mushrooms and peppers in oil until they are soft. Remove from pan.
Cook the steak in the same pan until it is brown, using oil if needed.

Mix your steak and veggies together and place them on top of a split baked potato. Cover with the cheese of your choice.

We used the leftover steak and veggie mixture for a stir fry. Just place the mixture in a pan with white rice and some butter. 

Ginger Orange Chicken

Ginger Orange Chicken

2 cups of cooked rice
3-4 chicken breasts, chopped
salt and pepper
1 large onion
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder

1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
½ teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder


Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the coconut oil in a skillet. Brown the chicken and onion. Mix the cornstarch with a cup cold water and stir. Mix the other ingredients in a bowl and add to chicken, then add the cornstarch simmer for 15-20 minutes until chicken is tender.  Serve over rice. Serves 4

Gluten-Free Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Biscuits and gravy were a special treat in my home growing up. We only had it when my Aunt Doris came to visit about once or twice a year. When I was older, before I discovered the joy of cooking real food, I use to make them with refrigerator biscuits, powdered gravy and precooked sausage. Yuck! That just won't do anymore. This recipe is proof that you can still enjoy your favorite foods even if you do go gluten-free.

1. Start by baking your biscuits. You can make the gravy while they are baking. Click here for a great biscuit recipe form Elana's Pantry or try the one below. I am still working on making my own recipe.

Drop Biscuit Recipe

2 ½ cups almond flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup butter

2 eggs

1 tablespoon honey

Combine the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Combine both together and mix well. Use a spoon to scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet. Adjust the size according to how big or small you want your biscuits. Bake them (at 450 degrees F) for about 15 minutes or until brown.

2. Cook your sausage.

Homemade Sausage

We usually buy our ground pork in bulk at Costco and then make a large batch of the below recipe and freeze them in individual packages. 

1 lb ground pork

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sage

2/3 teaspoon marjoram

1/3 teaspoon savory

1/3 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, grounded

Place pork into a large bowl. Add all the spices. Combine together well. I usually use my hands to make sure that it is combined well.

Place sausage into frying pan. Cook until it is brown and crumbly.

3. Create Gluten-Free Gravy

Gluten-Free Gravy

1 lb cooked sausage

2 tablespoons white rice flour

2 cups of milk

When your sausage is cooked check how much oil you have in the pan. If you have less than 2 tablespoons add enough butter to make up for it. Add white rice flour and cook until the flour absorbs the oil. Add the milk 1/4 a cup at a time until it is the consistency that you want it.

4. Combining all items into biscuits and gravy

Place a crumbled biscuit in each bowl, top with sausage and then the gravy mixture.

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef

1 lb flank steak

¼ cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons coconut oil

½ teaspoon ginger (minced)

1 tablespoon garlic (minced)

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup water

½ cup coconut sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

2 green onions (sliced)

1 medium onion (sliced)

Coconut Oil (for frying)

Cut steak into ¼” thick slices and coat with cornstarch. It must sit for 10 minutes or the batter will not stick.

In a sauce pan, heat 2 teaspoons of oil. Add garlic and ginger, stir fry 10 seconds. Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, and water. Add coconut sugar and molasses and dissolve into the sauce. Add red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Heat up about a cup of oil in your wok to about medium heat. Add the beef slices to the wok and cook for 3 minutes (or use a deep fryer). 

Remove the meat from the wok with a slotted spoon. Add onions to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the steak back to the wok and pour in the sauce. Cook while stirring until the sauce began to bubble.

(Makes 2 Servings)

Garlic-Coconut Crispy Fried Chicken Gluten-Free

Garlic-Coconut Crispy Chicken

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons coconut oil

4 garlic cloves, minced, plus 6 cloves peeled and smashed

6 thin-cut, boneless chicken thighs

2 cups coconut flakes

1 cup white rice flour

3 eggs

2 tablespoon garlic powder

½ cup cornstarch

Salt and pepper

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 3 tablespoons oil, minced garlic, and chicken in a zip-lock bag and refrigerate while preparing remaining ingredients.

2. Spread rice flour in shallow dish. In another shallow dish, whisk egg whites until foamy. Combine coconut flakes, garlic powder, and cornstarch in third shallow dish.

3. Start mashed potatoes while the chicken is marinating.

4. Remove chicken from bag and season with salt and pepper. One at a time, coat chicken lightly with rice flour, dip in egg whites, and dredge in coconut mixture, pressing to adhere. Place chicken on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and let dry 5 minutes.

5. Heat ½ cup oil and 3 smashed garlic cloves in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until garlic is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Discard garlic and fry a pan full of chicken until crisp and deep golden, about 2 minutes per side. Be careful the coconut will burn easily. The chicken will finish cooking in the oven.  Transfer to a baking pan. Set aside oil, wipe out skillet, and repeat with remaining oil, garlic cloves, and chicken.

6. When all of the chicken is fried, bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the chicken is completely cooked.

Save the garlic oil for chicken gravy to go with the mashed potatoes. You can also throw the discarded garlic into the potato water for added flavor. 

Kitty Cat Pancakes minus the Kitty Cat Gluten-Free

Kitty Cat Pancakes minus the Kitty Cat

I decided that at 31 I was too mature for Kitty Cat Pancakes and that we should make them into regular circles. I loved how thick these were. They are the perfect texture for making shaped pancakes. They are best served with lots of butter and real maple syrup.

1¼ cups rice flour

¼ cup tapioca flour

¼ cup cornstarch

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

1 cup milk or milk alternative

2 eggs

3 tablespoons coconut oil

Juice of ½ a lemon (we guessed ½ tablespoon)

½ teaspoon of vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix in liquid ingredients. I enjoyed the thickness of the recipe, but you can add more milk if you want them thinner.

Pour ½ cup of batter onto a hot, greased pan or griddle.  Spread into a desired shape. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles form and then turn it over and cook for 30 more seconds, until it is brown.

Makes 5 very large, thick pancakes.

Serve with maple syrup, butter and lots of crispy bacon.

This recipe was adapted from The Gluten-Free Bible, page 114. 

Oriental Pork

Oriental Pork

4-6 tablespoons oil

2 lbs boneless pork, cut in 1 inch cubes

salt and pepper

1 small onions, chopped

2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic (or to taste)

1 teaspoon dried chili flakes (or to taste)

1 (20 ounce) cans pineapple chunks in juice (undrained)

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 tablespoon ketchup

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 red pepper, diced

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

hot cooked rice (any amount)

Directions

In a large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat.

Season the pork with salt and pepper, then brown on all sides.

Add in onions and garlic, stir for 2 minutes.

Add pineapple with juice, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce; bring to a boil reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally (about 25-30 minutes) or until pork is tender.

Add in chopped red pepper; cook for about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with water; stir into pork mixture; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, over medium heat; boil for 1 minute.

Serve with hot cooked rice.

Garam Masala Chicken

A friend gave us some whole garam masala. We didn't know what to do with it until we found this recipe. I think right now this is my new favorite spice. Since it came whole I processed it in my blender. My husband laughed because after it was ground it looked like dirt, but it sure tastes better than dirt!

Garam Masala Chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 (3 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons garam masala, divided

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken breasts in the hot oil and cook until browned on one side, about 3 minutes. Flip the chicken and add the onions; cook another 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic salt, and water to the chicken; stir and season with 1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir the remaining 1/2 teaspoon garam masala through the mixture. Raise heat to medium and bring mixture to a boil. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes more. 

Zucchini, Black Bean and Rice Skillet

This was so good the first time we made it that when it was gone and we discovered we had left over black beans we made it again the next day. You can use canned black beans, but I soaked dried black beans over night and then cooked them in the crock pot with an onion and season salt all day. We cook the rice in a rice cooker while we are waiting for the meal to cook or just use left over rice.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1/2 cup diced red and yellow bell peppers
1 can (15 oz) of black beans drained in rinsed or 2 cups of soaked dried black beans cooked in the crockpot over night.
1 can (15 oz) of diced tomatoes, un-drained
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of cooked rice
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook zucchini, bell pepper and garlic for 5 minutes, constantly stirring. Add beans, tomatoes, and rice. Stir until the rice is warm. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Rosemary Chicken

1 to 2 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon of rosemary, ground
1 teaspoon of season salt
1 bunch of broccoli, chopped
1 small onion, chopped

Place olive oil into a frying pan. Sprinkle the chicken with rosemary. Add to hot pan. Add broccoli and onions to the pan, sprinkle the vegetables with season salt. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink.

Indonesian Rice

Chris and I recently found this recipe when we were looking for something that is just different. I love the colors in this dish. The original recipe does not include meat. We added meat so that we could have it as a main dish instead of a side dish. 

Indonesian Rice

Ingredients

1 tbsp. butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 tsp. curry powder

1 cup rice

2 cups chicken broth + 1 cup water

1/4 cup honey

Salted peanuts

Currants

Minced scallions

Cut up pork or chicken pieces (optional)

Instructions

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add the onion and curry powder. Cook and stir until onion is softened. Add the rice, stir for 5 minutes and add the chicken broth and honey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Sprinkle with peanuts, currants and chopped scallions. Makes 6 servings.

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.

Chris’ Coconut, Butter Chicken Curry

Chris’ Coconut, Butter Chicken Curry

This is a combination of two different curry recipes that I have modified and tweaked repeatedly until I have a dish that is so good all I want to do is eat it all day.  Happily, I do have more self control than that!   In some cases there may be better ingredients (like pureed tomatoes instead of canned ones that you puree yourself), but in Korea you learn to make do with what you can find.  It should take about 40-60 minutes to cook.

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cut into small pieces

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp curry powder

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1-2 large sweet potatoes, diced into small pieces (1/2” or smaller)

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp finely chopped ginger root (I chop the whole thing up and freeze what I don’t use)

4 small hot peppers, sliced into small pieces (optional) (I use the Korean Kkwari gochu which are very hot)

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp curry powder

Pepper (to taste)

1 tsp salt (or more/less to taste)

2 tbsp butter

14.5 oz canned tomatoes (pureed in a blender)

½ can tomato paste (8 oz I think)

1 large can pineapple

2 14oz cans coconut milk

1 cup cream

In a medium bowl, place chicken pieces, lemon juice, 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tsp curry powder.  Mix well and let marinate.

In a heavy skillet or wok, cook onion, garlic, sweet potatoes and ginger in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter until fragrant, about 4 minutes.  Add curry powder, pepper, salt, tomato puree, tomato paste, butter, and pineapple with juice and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in marinated chicken and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 11-15 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Stir in the coconut milk and cream.  Cook on low heat until well heated, but do not bring to a boil.  Serve over hot cooked rice.

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!

Green Beans and Mushrooms

Chris and I are trying to add vegetables into our diet. He gave me a funny  look when I grabbed the giant bag of frozen green beans at Costco for Thanksgiving. Then one night he brilliantly came up with this simple recipe that we both love.

1 lb of frozen green beans
1 package of giant mushrooms, sliced into large chunks
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons of season salt

Heat oil in frying pan, add mushrooms and green beans. Heat on medium until mushrooms are done. Add season salt to taste.

This recipe is great served with Skillet Salmon

Skillet Ramen Noodles with Pork

2 packages of instant Ramen noodles of your choice
1 package paper thin sliced pork

1 package of mushrooms, chopped

1 egg

2 Tbs of butter

1.     Add the ramen noodles to a pot of water and the mushrooms, bring the water to the boil.

2.     After the noodles have cooked for about 5 minutes, drop in the pork.

3.     Cook for another two minutes.

4.     Drop the egg into the water and stir it.

5.     Drain the water.

6.     Add butter and the seasoning packets to the noodles.

7.     Serve warm. 

Skillet Beef Oriental

This is one of our favorite recepies. Chris' mom use to make if for him when he was a child. We enjoyed making it in college because it was quick, cheap and easy to clean up. One day I asked my mother-in-law why this recipie was called Beef Oriental when there was nothing oriental about it. She said that it was not the original recipe, she modified it to save money. I tried the original recipe. We liked it but still think the simple recipe is better. I will post both.


Simple Beef Oriental


1 lb ground beef
2 envelopes/cans of cream of mushroom soup
2 envelopes/cans of Milk
3 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cups of cooked rice*


*I often would forget to make the rice until the beef oriental was finished. To solve the problem I printed out the recipie and wrote "MAKE THE RICE FIRST" in large letters at the top of the page. It worked.


Cook ground beef, celery, and onion until done. Drain. Pour the soup envelopes over the meat mixture. Add milk to each envelope and then pour it over the soup. This is an easy way to measure with out using an extra dish and it gets all of the soup mix out of the envelope. Mix and simmer for 15 minutes.


Turn off the burner. Add the rice to the mixture. Stir and serve.

Chicken Gravy

Chicken Gravy

Oil from cooked chicken

Flour

Milk

Salt

Chicken bullion

When you are finished frying your chicken do not remove the oil or clean the pan. Instead take 2 table spoons of flour and mix it well with a cup of cold water. Pour this into the pan with the oil. Bring it to a boil. Add as much milk as you need to make the amount of gravy that you want.  Add one teaspoon of chicken bouillon (I use Better Than Bullion from Costco). The gravy should thicken as you stir it. Add salt to taste.  Serve over Crispy Garlic Chicken or Creamy Mashed Potatoes. 

Crispy Garlic Chicken Cutlets

Crispy Garlic Chicken Cutlets

Serves 3 to 4

Look for cutlets that are between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick or make your own by slicing 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in half horizontally.

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves , minced, plus 6 cloves peeled and smashed

6 thin-cut, boneless, skinless chicken cutlets (about 1 1/4 pounds), trimmed

3 slices hearty white sandwich bread , torn into large pieces

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 large egg whites

1 tablespoon garlic powder

4 tablespoons cornstarch

Salt and pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Combine 3 tablespoons oil, minced garlic, and cutlets in a zip-lock bag and

refrigerate while preparing remaining ingredients. Pulse bread in food

processor until coarsely ground. Bake bread crumbs on baking sheet until

dry, about 20 minutes.

2. Spread flour in shallow dish. In another shallow dish, whisk egg whites

until foamy. Combine bread crumbs, garlic powder, and cornstarch in third

shallow dish. Remove cutlets from bag and season with salt and pepper. One at a time, coat cutlets lightly with flour, dip in egg whites, and dredge in crumbs, pressing to adhere. Place cutlets on wire rack set over baking sheet and let dry 5 minutes.

3. Heat 1/2 cup oil and 3 smashed garlic cloves in large nonstick skillet

over medium heat until garlic is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Discard

garlic and fry 3 cutlets until crisp and deep golden, about 2 minutes per

side. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate and place in warm oven. Discard

oil, wipe out skillet, and repeat with remaining oil, garlic cloves, and

cutlets. Serve.

Save the garlic oil for chicken gravy.

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.