What's for Dinner? - Chili

Look out the window...one of those days you want to just sit inside and cover up with a blanket. Brr! It's a comfort food kind of day. How about a big bowl of chili with some garlic toast?

Yum!

And even better, this one is turkey chili. With the recent beef issues here, turkey is a good substitute. I buy mine at Costco, it's from Lilydale, 4 trays in a package for about $20. I used half of one of those 4 trays for this meal. Ground turkey is a lean meat and a good alternative I use often to replace ground beef. If you think you don't like the taste of ground turkey, think again. With all the spices in the chili, you won't even notice it's not beef. I promise!

You may have your favourite chili recipe but here's mine. I won't brag, but I've won a few chili cook-offs back in the day. I'm always tweaking my recipe, and no two pots turn out the same since I don't measure ingredients when I'm cooking. Baking, yes. You have to. Cooking is your chance to go crazy and try anything! :)

Mama Shak's Chili

Approx 250g ground meat or you can use the whole 500g (I used turkey for this one, but do also use beef) 

Spices (I don't measure, but I'll give you approximate, and you'll probably want to add these to taste anyways)

   3 tbsp chili powder

   1 tbsp ground cumin

   1 tbsp Club House Tex Mex spice mix

   1 tbsp Club House Cajun spice mix

   1 tsp oregano

   1 tsp sea salt

   1 tsp ground pepper

796ml can of diced tomatoes and liquid

398ml can of kidney beans (or whatever size it is, don't have one here, but I think there's just the one size anyways?)

398ml can of pork & beans (I use Heinz, any flavour I have on hand, this pot I used the new larger can and it worked out good too!)

156ml can of tomatoe paste

Half a medium-sized white onion, diced

3 large stalks celery, sliced

10 white mushrooms, sliced (optional, I know some people don't like them)

4 large carrots, finely grated

Brown the meat in a large pot over high-medium heat. Drain if necessary. Add all the spices and stir. Add the tomatoes and beans and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in tomatoe paste.

You may have seen my speedy tip about cooking the onion and celery. I do this while the meat is browning. Have a look at this previous post. Once the onion and celery are almost cooked through add the mushrooms to the pan. Once all three are soft, add them to the chili. You can add in the grated carrot at this time too. Extra veggies, no one will even know it's there if it's finely grated!

Let the whole thing cook for a few hours if you can. I often make the chili the night before and then put it in the fridge. Reheat it the next day for a quick dinner. Pop the leftovers in the freezer for another day.

I'm going to guess this serves 4-6. We're 2.5 and there's always lots leftover.

Add your favourite cheese on top. I shredded some cheddar for mine, and serve with garlic toast and/or a side salad.

Garlic toast

I just used Udi's gluten free bread, toasted two slices in the toaster and spread on my homemade garlic butter. It's a secret Shak family recipe. But I'll share it with you 'cause you're nice and read all the way to the bottom of my post :)

Garlic Butter

Half a block of butter, softened

1 tbsp seasoning salt

1 tbsp Club House Italian seasoning

1 tbsp Club House Roasted Garlic & Peppers seasoning

2 tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)

2 tsp onion powder (not onion salt)

In a small bowl mix together the softened butter and spices. I suppose this is more of a seasoned butter. I do sometimes mix 8 cloves of crushed garlic with just the softened butter and a bit of dried parsley. This is really good too!

Spread on your toast. Keep leftovers in the fridge, soften slightly to spread next time. You can also use this the slow way, spread on the bread, then toast in oven. But I'm too impatient for that :)

Things that make you go hmmm.....

Not really a post about gluten free, more a general allergy post. Always, always read the label. Every time you buy something, please read the label. So, I was wine shopping today and picked up a new one to try. Didn't read the label. It's wine. What could be in there besides fermented grape juice??

Ingredient list....Contains sulphites (yeah, that's in all the wine), EGG, MILK and FISH. Say what?!?!

Yeah, I don't know if this is trace amounts or what. I assure you I bought a bottle of wine. It's not egg nog with omega 3 or anything. Plain old wine. But there's a warning for those of you with allergies. So please make sure you read the label. EVERY TIME!!! You never know what is lurking where you least expect it. I'm kinda excited to try this wine though....what could it possibly taste like? :)

Gluten free beer trials - Part 3

Up today for your consideration...Estrella Daura.

I really only have one word. Bitter. It has a stronger taste than I prefer. BUT, if you add a lime wedge, it does taste better. I've bought this one a few times. Not sure why. I keep forgetting that I don't really like it as my fav, or maybe because the label is red? Dunno. Comes in a 4-pack for about $14. This is one of those "gluten reduced" numbers...not true GF, but if you can handle it, give it a try! :)

What's for Dinner? - Gluten Free Manicotti

Okay. So DH is away for work this week. Again. And DD just wants pasta for dinner. Again. No point in cooking something fancy just for me. I either graze on stuff from the pantry or heat up something leftover from the freezer. But I did that all last week. Time for something different....

Found this at my local Save On Foods in the freezer section. I used to eat stuff like this every now and then when I was working. Quick lunch or dinner when you have to hurry back to your desk to finish the piles of work. So I have not had a "frozen dinner" meal in about 4.5 years. Today was as good as any day to try one out, since it was gluten free and I didn't feel like buying the frozen GF pizza sitting beside this box in the freezer case.

Open box. Poke hole in plastic. Cook in microwave 7 minutes. Send a few emails while waiting. Peel plastic and eat. Simple. My tired brain can certainly handle that tonight! I don't really like the whole plastic film thing, but I couldn't be bothered tonight to transfer it to a real container with lid. Next time.

Well. Doesn't look like the picture on the box.....but smells great! Tastes - AWESOME!! Ricotta filling was a bit on the dry side (almost more like a dry curd cottage cheese), but I have not had filled pasta in a loooong time and overall this was goooood! I couldn't tell the pasta wasn't GF at all!! Worth the $7 and the 7 minute wait! It was gone in record time for sure. I love it when a spur of the moment decision is worthwhile. I will be buying this one again :)

Gluten free chocolate zucchini muffins

Um, hello. YUMMY!

These are perfect! Not too crumbly or dry. Not flat like a hockey puck. Nicely risen just like a muffin should be and they have a silky smooth texture. I did try the original recipe about a year ago as a loaf, and decided to change it up a bit. Sooo good! And all to myself! I made "regular" chocolate zucchini muffins for DH & DD. My house smelled like a chocolate factory :)

Original recipe from Your Homebased Mom. One of her daughters is GF, and I've tried some of her other recipes. She hasn't failed me yet! Great craft and decorating ideas too. Here's my twist on her recipe:

Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar (next time will try 3/4 cup, see if I can get away with less)
2 tsp pure vanilla (some extracts are not GF)
1.5 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups gluten free flour mix (see below)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup cocoa powder (watch that it is GF, I used Fry's which is from what I can tell)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Add zucchini and stir to combine. On top of liquid add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, and cocoa powder. Again stir to combine.

Scoop into greased 12 cup muffin tin. Batter is a bit on the thin side. I filled the cups almost full (half way between 3/4 and full, haha) and they did not overflow. Batter overflowing is a major stressor since setting my oven on fire a few years back. Whoops.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Yields 12 muffins.

I think the only thing that could make these better would be some chocolate chunks or chips :)

Gluten free flour mix
2 cup white rice flour (I used brown rice this time around, same results if not better!)
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup cornstarch

Mix ingredients slowly in large bowl (kinda dusty). Use what you need for this recipe and store the rest in a container (I use a glass bowl with sealing lid).

Alternatively, Kinnickinnick sells an all-purpose flour substitute that I have had excellent results with for other recipes. For this muffin recipe you would use 1.5 cups of it and omit the xanthan gum (since their blend already includes it). It is a bit on the pricey side at about $5 for a 454 gram box. For the rice and tapioca flours I use Bob's Red Mill brand, and try to only buy it when it's on sale.

What's for Dinner? - Mexican Soup

When we were in Banff, we stopped for lunch at Melissa's Missteak. Soup of the day was a Mexican Soup. Sounded tasty so I ordered it as part of my meal. Let's just say it was gone in record time and I dreamed about eating that soup all day every day for a week, lol! :)

Luckily I'm good a dissecting a recipe as I eat it, in case the need should arise to recreate it. And it did!! Mine was as close to the real thing as I could remember! Here's my knock-off of Melissa's Mexican Soup:

Mama's Mexican Soup:

-approximately 300g of ground beef (that's what I used, and ratio of meat to veggies was good)
-1 package of Taco seasoning (I used the Old El Paso reduced sodium, which is 35g)
-one 796ml can of diced tomatoes (I used Aylmer regular, not Italian)
-approximately 325ml of salsa (I used half a 650ml jar of Old El Paso Thick n' Chunky Mild Salsa)
-900 ml of beef soup broth (watch that it is GF, or make your own. I used a box of Knorr's)

-250 ml water

-half a medium white onion, diced
-3 stalks celery, chopped
-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
-2 cups frozen corn
-2 heaping tablespoons of sour cream
-salt & pepper to taste (optional, I didn't add any)

In a large soup pot brown the ground beef. Once it is brown, drain off any fat. I also smash mine up a bit with the potatoe masher to make the pieces smaller. Just my preference. You can do your own thing.

Add the taco seasoning package to the meat and toss to coat. Turn the heat up and add the entire can of diced tomatoes (including liquid), salsa, water and broth. Give the whole thing a good stir and bring to a boil. Then let simmer on medium-low. While you chop veggies.

I cheat when making soups and chili. I chop my onion, celery and carrots and throw them in a frying pan with a bit of water on the bottom. I cook this over medium heat until they are soft. You may need to add more water as it cooks so it doesn't burn onto the bottom of the pan. Once soft, dump the contents of the frying pan into the soup. It cuts a bunch of time off the cooking process. So, you can follow my method or just put the raw veggies into the soup pot and wait. Your choice.

Once the veggies are soft, add the frozen corn and heat through. Then add sour cream and stir well. You can eat it now, or let it cook for a few hours. I found letting mine cook for a while made it taste better. Reheats well from the fridge. Have the leftovers in the freezer that I need to thaw and test still.
You can also add some red and/or green bell peppers, but I didn't have any. The original soup did have them, diced really small.

Serves 4-6 as a meal is my best guess. I'll pay more attention next time, haha!

I am not ashamed to admit I had 3 bowls of it in one sitting :)

What's for Dinner? - Gluten Free Panago Pizza

That's right. If you had not heard, Panago now offers a gluten free pizza! Tried it a while ago, just after it came out. Was pretty good. I froze the leftovers and they reheated really well too!

I ordered online, and they had a warning come up on the screen regarding this product not being suitable for Celiacs or those with gluten intolerance. They are just covering themselves. Realistically there will probably be flour dust or some type of small amount of gluten that makes its way onto your pizza. If this is a problem for you, don't order from them.

Panago will also call you within minutes of the online order going through to reconfirm you understand they can't guarantee it's 100% GF. I was impressed! No phone call second time around, maybe they know me now? Box comes "sealed" and gives you your third and final warning before diving in.

You only get one option - medium starting at $14. And it's hip to be square. I guess that makes it easier to identify the GF from the regular. Doesn't matter to me what the shape it. If it's pizza and it tastes good, I'm in! Seemed to be a full choice of toppings and sauces. Enough for me anyways.

Since DH is away, and I've been busy with my fall deep cleaning and redecorating today, I figured it was a good day for pizza. No energy to cook tonight. So we're ordering in, giving Panago another try. Hopefully it's as good as the first time around!

And that's what we're having for dinner tonight! :)