Carnitas

Okay...I think the literal translation of this word is "Little Meat". Well, let me tell you, there ain't nothing little about this meal! :D

Carnitas is a Latin American meat delicacy, served akin to tacos. I mentioned before that we discovered a Chipotle's nearby (thank you Amber for letting me know! :D). I have been encouraged to try my hand at Carnitas.

Be sure to look below to see the recipe

Carnitas

3 1/2 to 4 lb Pork Shoulder or Boston Butt Cut of Pork (boneless).
2 Tbs Cumin
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp White Pepper
1 Tsp Garlic powder
1 Tsp Onion Powder

2 cups beef boullion or stock (Pacific Foods says "gluten free" on the carton)

Mix cumin, salt and pepper, onion powder and garlic powder together. Rub onto meat and massage into. Place in large plastic bag (or large bowl and cover in plastic), marinate overnight.

In the morning (bright and early). Place 2 cups of chicken broth in the bottom of a crock-pot.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours and reduce to low for 2 or so hours, basting meat occasionally (I used a turkey baster to bring the juices from the bottom to splash over top of the meat).

Spoon off fat, shred meat and set aside (and cover), add a tablespoon or two of the juice to keep the meat juicy.

Serve with soft corn tortillas (cook according to package directions - Mission has "glutenfree" right on the label), and the usual taco accoutrements.

:)

Now...some extras that I served with it were Cilantro Lime Rice and also Black Bean and Corn Salsa. Also a homemade Guacamole. I'll share the salsa recipe and guacamole b/c they were greatly received, but the Cilantro Lime Rice needs more work before I can share it! Trying again in a couple weeks for some company, so it won't be TOO TOO long! :D


Black Bean and Corn Salsa

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 medium tomatoes, small dice
1 cup frozen corn, defrosted
1 small red onion, small dice
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and diced (add seeds back to adjust heat)
1 lime, zested and juiced (use half of zest)
2 Tbs FRESH cilantro, chopped fine
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Let chill for about 2 hours so flavors blend and the heat from the jalepeno comes up.


Guacamole

4 Ripe Hass Avocados
1 limes worth of juice (if not a real juicy lime you will need two)
salt to taste

Cut avocados in half, pit them but SAVE the pits! Scoop flesh into a glass bowl. Add lime juice and salt (hold back on salt and start with a pinch...add more after mashing). Mash avocados with potato masher, or back of a sturdy fork until very smooth. Adjust lime juice and salt to preferences.

MMMMMMM....

I hope you enjoy the Mexican Feast! :D

Chicken Mushroom Mozzarella

Simplicity need not be overlooked. Not in my kitchen. Some days, simple and quick are the name of the game. And today, after baking bread (unsuccessfully!) and making cookies (Land O' Lakes Gluten-free Chocolate Chip - MMMMM!!!!), working on dinner had to be easy.

I've been inspired lately since picking up a copy of "Desperation Dinners" at a local thrift store for 50 cents. There are many quick and easy recipes in the book - granted not many are gluten free - but many are easily adapted to a gluten free lifestyle by replacing some ingredients. As much as I love to cook, I can also appreciate a well thought out recipe that takes minutes to prepare but is followed with hours worth of kudos and enjoyment! :D Be on the look out for some quick and easy adaptations that I'll be testing out in the next few weeks!

This is an old time favorite in my family, and I do not make it often enough. We went to a friends house for dinner one night and this is what she had made us. I have been making it ever since. It's a great recipe to have in your arsenal of "I'm just too tired to think to cook" dinners! :D



Chicken Mushroom Mozzarella

1 lb boneless/skinless chicken breasts (4 - 4 oz breasts is best)
6 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 jar marinara sauce (use your favorite gluten-free one!)
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (be careful if you buy preshredded - some use flour as an anti-caking agent)

Grease the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil. Lay chicken breasts in the bottom. Cover each breast with mushrooms. Pour marinara sauce carefully over the chicken breasts (try not to pour so fast/hard that the mushrooms come off them). Bake in a 350 oven for 35 minutes (or until chicken juices run clear).

Remove, cover each breast with shredded mozzarella. Put back in oven for about 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve over your favorite gluten-free pasta.

:)

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Influenza and possibly strep have hit our household hard this week. Balanced with an out of town husband due to work (not to mention over worked husband!), Valentine's really took a back seat this week.

Finally getting around to preparing our family celebration for this tonight.

My husband has had a desire, no, a CRAVING for Red Velvet Cupcakes. I think we saw a Bobby Flay Throwdown about it within the last few months which just magnified his craving. Now, my husband does not NEED to be gluten-free, and for the most part is not. Except when it comes to baked goods prepared in my kitchen. They are ALL gluten free. Then became my quest for Red Velvet Cupcakes I could make for him. A special treat for him for Valentine's day. I even had the heart-shaped molds from Reynolds!

This recipe is not too loosely based on the Gluten-free Yellow Cake on Allrecipes.com . I have always altered the recipe for my own tastes by adding extra vanilla and pudding powder...this made it taste more like the box-mix type cakes. After searching for tradtional Red Velvet Cupcake recipes, I decided to alter a tried and true instead of starting over! :D

The yield will be about 12-15 standard cupcakes if filled 2/3 full pre-bake. And about 12 of the Reynolds Heart Molds if filled half full.


Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 Cup White Rice Flour
1/4 Cup Sweet Rice Flour
1/4 + 1/8 Cup Tapioca Flour
1/4 Cup cocoa powder (watch your source on this one!)
2 Tbs Chocolate Pudding Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp salt
1 1/2 Tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Xantham Gum
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup Mayonnaise
3/4 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs Red Food coloring (liquid)


Sift together rice flours, tapioca flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, baking powder and xantham gum. Set aside.

In bowl of your mixer - or in a large bowl - mix eggs, mayonnaise and sugar together until light yellow and very fluffy. I start on a low speed until well combined, scraping down the sides often, and then turning speed to 8 or 10 until really light and fluffy.

Set speed to low and gradually add in half of flour mixture. Scrape sides and return to mid-range speed, add half of the milk and 1 tsp vanilla. Return speed to low and add remaining flour mixture. scraping sides again, returning to medium speed once combined, adding milk. Once all the cake ingredients are combined well, turn mixer off and add 1 Tbs of the food coloring as close to the center of the bowl as possible. Slowly bring speed up to middle allowing food coloring to mix in well. Repeat this step, only add a tsp at a time until the red is your desired color (some are redder than others, and you don't want to over add b/c it will change the liquid balance. OR if you're using a paste or powder color, the ratios are much different). I went for a blood red color! :D

Pour batter into lined cupcake pan or the molded liners and bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting



Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz cream cheese, softened (if you prefer the tang of the cream cheese, use 8 oz and no butter)
4 oz butter, softened
2 Tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract or flavoring (watch this one, sometimes can be gluten containing)
2 to 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Whip cream cheese and butter together until very smooth (or if you chose all cream cheese, whip until smooth). Add 2 Tbs milk. While mixer is running, slowly add 2 cups sugar. If it's not the consistency that you like, add more. Be careful not to overdo the sugar it will make it too stiff.

Tap, tap, tap, tap....

Okay, I know you are all anxiously awaiting a new recipe! Sorry...been hectic here, all of our "weekly" things have started back up! Trying to get back in the swing of things.


I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I'm working on and will be posting in the next few days! PROMISE!!!

One thing for sure is participating on Cooking with Anne's Ready Set Cook! Check her out. She's not "gluten free" but she's my sister in law! :D And she's great!!! If you check out her blog, check out her Disney Family Blog "Cookies to Caviar" too. One terrific lady!

See you all soon! :D

100th Post! Creamy Chicken Enchilladas

Something we constantly crave in our house is Mexican food. Okay, it might just have something to do with living in Phoenix, AZ for four years and having delicious, inexpensive, and authentic Mexican food on every corner. If you live on the east coast, there's a pizza joint on every corner. If you live in the Southwest, there are few pizza places, but a TON of Mexican joints! And when I say JOINT. I mean it! Drive thru enchilladas!

We loved living there and we loved sampling all the wonderful Mexican food options. From the everyday taco to the Enchilladas Espinacas with Chicken. Not to mention authentic Tortilla Soup from La Parilla Suiaza

Well, now that we are living back in Philly suburbs, where the most authentic Mexican food close by seems to be Taco Bell. And, well, I'm sorry, but Taco Bell is not Mexican food. And lets not mention it would not be a safe Gluten Free eating environment!

I guess I should be fair, there are 3 Mexican restaurants that are NOT Taco Bell in a 5 mile radius around our house. A few we tried prior to going gluten free. One of our "chain" favorites in Phoenix was Chipotle's. Unfortunately, the closest Chipotle's is on City Line Avenue. WAAAAAAA! If you're going ot have "chain" Mexican, Chipotle's is the place to do it! Just make sure to have the CORN tortillas and not the flour ones.

Okay, I digress.

In desire to have some yummy Mexican food, I decided to try something new.


Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

FILLING:
2 Cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 1/2 Cups Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (I do it myself)
1 Cups Jalepeno Jack Cheese, shredded (see note below)
1/4 Cup sour cream (okay I "eyeballed it" but it should be about 1/4 cup)
1 4oz can of diced green chiles

SAUCE:
1 Can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup (as of last confirmation, gluten free but ALWAYS check labels) - strained to remove mushroom solids
1 cup sour cream
1 4 oz can diced green chiles
1 packet Herb-Ox boullion powder (the one that says Gluten Free right on the box)

12 pack of fresh corn tortillas

TOPPING:
1/2 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
1/2 Cup Jalepeno Jack Cheese, shredded


Mix filling ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside.

Mix sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside. (NOTE: on the herb-ox bullion use the powder packet, not the cubes. If you HAVE to use the cubes make sure to crush it up before mixing into the sauce ingredients).

Spread about 3/4 to 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 13" X 9" pan. Just enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.

Warm tortillas in a saute pan until "pliable". Fill with about 2 to 3 Tbs of chicken mixture. Roll and place seam side down in a baking dish. Continue with remaining enchilladas.

Pour remaining sauce over top. Sprinkle cheeses over top.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until it's all bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Sprinkle with thinly sliced scallions if desired.

NOTE on the cheeses: If you are not into "hot hot" spicy foods, alter the ratio of cheese or use ALL monterey jack and none of the jalepeno jack. OR if you LOVE hot, use ALL jalapeno jack and replace the chiles with dice jalepenos instead! OUCHY! :D

Creamy Chicken Soup

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. The white cold stuff came a-fallin' today. Thankfully the fridge and pantry are well-stocked. Probably couldn't survive a nuclear attack, but definitely would not starve in a blizzard!

Any time it snows, I want something that will warm my whole body. We just had soup last night, and usually I don't do two meals the same in the same week, but I just needed soup.

I've been craving creamy soups lately. The only one I've ever made is my mother-in-laws Fish Chowder (note this link is to a NON gluten-free site and this recipe contains a lot of gluten so I am not advocating you try it!), and I haven't even attempted making that gluten-free yet. (Hubby really wants me to give it a go as it's one of his faves!). Anyway, I tried something new and it was just, well, warm, creamy, wonderful goodness. I will say next time I plan on having maybe some crumbled bacon to sprinkle on top with the scallions.

I hope you take the time to make this soup and enjoy it as much as my family did!


Creamy Chicken Soup


2 Carrots, small dice
2 Celery Stalks, small dice
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
1 large clove garlic, minced (or pressed)
2 medium red potatoes, small dice
2 Tbs olive oil
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken stock (CHECK THE LABEL!!!) This time I used homemade...
2 packets Herb Ox Boullion (currently confirmed gluten-free, but ALWAYS check labels!)
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
2 cups cooked white meat chicken, diced small (or size you prefer)

Saute diced carrots, celery, yellow onion, potatoes and garlic in olive oil on medium heat for 10-15 minutes.

Add stock and Herb-ox, cover pot and bring to a boil. Stir frequently. Cook until the vegetables are soft.

Blend in blender in batches until smooth (make sure to take out the center of the lid and cover with a towel so the steam can escape).

Return to pot and add half cup heavy cream. Add diced/shredded chicken. Bring to JUST A SOFT boil...remove from heat and serve immediately. Serve with scallions sprinkled on top.

If you are trying to cut calories, you can cut out the heavy cream. I will say, though, it added such a luxurious feeling to the soup!!!

Shepherd's Pie

As I perused by cabinets, fridge and freezer last night, the pickings were slim, to say the least. Old Mother Hubbard's cabinets were bare, and I had no food to spare! It is definitely time to go food shopping, and to restock even pantry staples. I've been living off my pantry and just adding fresh stuff in each week for a while because we do not have a lot of storage room.

So, I had some frozen ground beef from our butcher (thanks to hubby who noticed it was on sale buy one get one free and got it for about 89 cents a pound!), frozen peas and carrots, a can of Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup, and red potatoes. Seemed a too natural fit for me to make a Shepherd's Pie.

Let me say this, I've NEVER in my life made one, so I winged it. It was a hit, and it is all gone. Even my kids loved it (heck it was covered in mashed potatoes and cheese!).



Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef
1 cup frozen peas & carrots mixture
1 can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup
salt & pepper to taste ( I used about 20 or so cranks of pepper from the grinder!)

2 lbs red potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tbs sour cream
1/4 cup milk, warmed
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced fine

1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar, feel free to use your favorite)

Put potatoes on to boil.

Meanwhile brown ground beef and drain well. Add soup and peas & carrots. Heat until just warmed. Turn off heat. Cover and let sit.

Also, while all this is going on, heat oil and 1 Tbs butter on low heat in a small skillet. Add garlic. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt. HEat until warmed and aromatic (but do not burn the garlic!)

When potatoes are done, drain well. Add garlic/butter/oil from the small skillet, sour cream, milk and mash until smooth. (use a mixer if you like, we used a hand masher).

In a deep dish pie plate, pour ground beef mixture in the bottom. Top with the mashed potatoes. Spread around to seal the edges of the meat filling.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until everything is reheated and bubbly. Sprinkle cheese on top and leave in oven, but turn the oven off. Check in about 5 minutes the cheese should be melted.

Enjoy!