Buffalo and Barley:::Monique

Today, I made one of my family's favorite meals.  It's easy, cheap, and often what we eat on Tuesdays since I'm not home that night to cook for my family.  I lead Weight Watcher meetings every Tuesday night, so if it isn't cooked before 4:30 when I leave, the solution used to be going out to eat.  My DH would usually call for take-out pizza.  When the pizzas started costing $40 we decided we really needed to do something different, especially since it was once a week.  We decided that Tuesdays would be crock pot night.  So for probably a year now, I've been putting something in the crock pot or planned something that DH can cook. I've been in a dilemma, though, since around Thanksgiving because I found out that my made-in-China crock pot may be leaching lead into our food.  The big crock pot was thrown away (it was broken anyway) and I've just been cooking things on low in the oven or on the stove.  For Christmas, my DH bought me the cooking item I've been drooling over since Thanksgiving. It's made in the USA so I'm very proud of it!  

Are you ready for the recipe now?  It's simple and I usually don't measure anything.  Choose some vegetables.  I use celery, carrots, and onions.  Instead of using beef stew meat, I use buffalo.  Tonight I cut up a 5 or 6 carrots and one whole stalk of celery.  Then I tossed in a cup or two of barley.

I usually just add all the raw ingredients and some beef broth or bouillon in the crock pot but since I was using my new "baby," I put some canola oil in the dutch oven and then browned the meat, added the vegetables and then added around 8-10 cups of water, the barley and then my bouillon and spices.  This is what it looked like at that point.

Here are the spices and bouillon I used.  You could use whatever appeals to your family.  Yes, I did use the fresh rosemary tonight.  I haven't used it since we planted it earlier last spring.

Then, because my family really likes their carbs, I made a loaf of bread that my family hasn't had in a long time but really likes.
And finally, the finished product!  Everyone ate and the four year old even thanked me several times for making a delicious meal.
One final note, my DH and I had a lunch date today that included going out to eat.  However, it was just us and the baby and we used Christmas money from my mom.  Does that count?  

Gluten Free Tortillas:::Lisa

First I have a confession...we went out to eat yesterday. Now, wait don't whip me with a wet noodle just yet. My excuse is a good one; I promise. Yesterday was a Holy Day of obligation for us. I woke up late and didn't have time to whip up a fast breakfast. We literally got out of bed, dressed, got the kids dressed, made sure the diaper bag was ready to go, and off we went. So, by the time Mass was over I was shaking, sweating, and feeling like I was going to pass out. Brandon, being the wonderful husband that he is, decided that I needed some nourishment. Perhaps I looked scary and he thought that he should just feed the sweaty woman that just so happens to be breastfeeding his newest little girl. Perhaps he was worried that I was going to go breastfeeding crazy mama on him...who knows what his real reason was, but bless him for breaking my newly established rule that we wouldn't be eating out. You will be happy to know that I did survive the drive from church to the "CB" also known as The Country Buffet. I didn't pass out, yell, or try to eat anyone on the way. I am also happy to report that from now on I will have a bag of goodies in the van with us in case anything like this should ever happen again.
Now, on to the rest of the story. Our youngest son, Wesley Thomas, has had eczema since he was about 5 months old. Long story short we are pretty sure that he is celiac, and 100 percent positive that he has gluten intolerance. Our oldest son, Taylor, has food allergies, is gluten intolerant, and has 2 genes that put him into the higher risk of developing celiac disease. Now you know why we went from a wheat-eating family to a non-gluten eating family. Let me tell you that it was intimidating at first. I had no clue on what we could eat and what we couldn't eat. Some food products can be contaminated with gluten even though it is not made with anything containing gluten. An example is Pace Picante Sauce. They can no longer say that they are gluten free anymore. I don't know the ins and outs but they could be changing up their recipe, or perhaps they will be making something that contains gluten and can not guarantee that the gluten from that product will not find its way into the Pace Picante Sauce. So, now we can not buy that particular brand of picante sauce even though it is not made from anything that contains gluten. Talk about a pain. So, there we were staring into the ugly face of becoming a non-gluten house. What was safe to eat? Could we use the same shampoos, toothpaste, face cleaning products, and the list just went on and on. I felt like I had to learn how to cook all over again. I panicked...I started to buy the expensive gluten free products. I didn't know what to make for dinner and it wasn't because I was being lazy. I just didn't know what to do! How in the world was I going to cook for my family? Just so you know, it really isn't that bad. We just had to adjust, and I had to decide that I was going to experiment. That was the hard part for me. So hard in fact that I didn't do it until a couple of days ago. We made gluten free tortillas, and they were so delicious, and what I did was so easy that now I feel that I can take on the gluten free world! It was a baby step, but look out here I come!
I used the sorghum flour recipe from the book written by Carol Genster, Ph.D called Gluten-Free 101.

Carol's Sorghum Flour Mixture

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch or cornstarch(we use the potato starch)
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup corn flour, or almond flour, or bean flour or chestnut flour(we use the garfava flour from Bob's Red Mill)

this mixture makes 4.5 cups of flour

Now here is what I did to make the tortillas.

Gluten Free Tortillas(makes about 10-15 small tortillas)

3 cups of sorghum flour mixture
3 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. guar gum
1/4 to 1 tsp. sea salt(it is really up to your taste buds)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of shortening or oil(we used 1/4 cup olive oil)
1 cup of warm milk or water(we used water)

Mix all of the dry ingredients well then add the liquid. I made my dough using my new Kitchen Aid! Now, keep in mind that the gluten free dough will not be anything like regular dough. It is sort of like playdoh. It lacks the elasticity that regular dough has. You can add more water or flour if needed. I then sprinkled some of the flour mixture onto the counter top and made a ball. I then proceeded to roll it out. I have to say that it was easy to roll out because it was lacking gluten. So, it didn't take too long to roll it out. The first one I did I am sad to say that I mutilated it because I rolled it like I would a regular flour tortilla. I had to roll out gently. Then I threw it onto the cast iron skillet and waited for the little air bubbles to emerge, then I flipped it over. I guess it is a few minutes on each side. All of the kids were anxiously awaiting and talking about how it was years and years since they had a homemade flour tortilla. They smelled delicious, but we made Brandon try the first one! I am not the only gluten free chicken in this house. Brandon said that they were good and that we needed to eat. Oh, it was like eating a piece of chocolate, or cheesecake...it was almost heaven.  

So, tonight we had homemade gluten free tortillas to make our bean burritos spanish rice. It was a huge hit. I am sorry to report that it was gone before I could take a picture. I will try to get one the next time I make up a batch.

Spanish Rice

2 cups of rice
1 8oz. can of tomato sauce
onion powder(to taste)
garlic powder(to taste)
1 chicken bullion cube or chicken broth for part of the water for the rice
salt(to taste may not have to use if you use a bullion cube)
cumin(to taste)
pepper(to taste)
a few slices of green bell pepper
olive oil
water use the amount for the type of rice that you are using.

I like to also add some minced onion and garlic.

Put enough oil to cover the bottom of a pan. If you are going to use fresh garlic and onion go ahead an add it now as well as the bell pepper slices. Add in the rice and stir it around with the oil, garlic, onion, and bell pepper for about a minute or two. Add in your spices and stir for another minute. Next add in your water/broth and tomato sauce. Taste to see if you need to add more spices and then cook as you normally would cook your rice. I am sorry that I can not give you exact amounts of the spices...I don't remember what they originally were. This was the recipe that my mom gave me when Brandon and I got married almost 17 years ago. If you want you can use a can of the Mexican Rotel instead of tomato sauce and the other spices. My mom has been doing that for several years now and it is really delicious. It is a bit spicy, but it is yummy. If I remember correctly she doesn't add the bell pepper, and she does not drain out the liquid. She adds in the whole can.  

Gluten free can be good!

It's a Charlotte:::Jenn

Well, as I have had the funky fridge problem going on, I am determined to have every thing we eat come out of there so it will be empty as soon as possible. This should be an adventure in culinary creativity.

First up on the list is a Charlotte. Our version began with leftover angel food cake and whipped cream from our Baby Jesus birthday cake. We added the only gelatin in the house (which happened to be strawberry) and a sleeve of lady fingers leftover from making a tiramisu cake for a friend's birthday so long ago, I refuse to admit who it was. Either the cake or the lady fingers would have been fine but as we didn't have enough of either--voila, a new version. So you layer the cake/cookies in the bottom of the pan followed by the gelatin/whipped cream mixture. Continue layering until you run out of something (in my case room in the dish). Finish off with either cake (for a traditional cake that can be turned out), or cream mix (to allow it to soak up into more of a pudding cake that will probably serve with a spoon). We used the second method based upon available materials and then put it into the fridge for dessert tonight. Now, made fresh this would be about $3 for the cake, $1 for the organic whipping cream and about $1 for the gelatin, but mine was all leftover from already allocated events and a box of gelatin that had been in my cupboards forever (and probably a gift from my grandma since it's the sorta thing she tends to give us). Therefore, I count it as a free item!

Edited later for taste opinions. While they were completely excited to make and to taste our creation, both girls found it way too sweet. Must be the combination of sweet gelatin, whipped cream and cookies! Next time I think I would steer more towards a fruit puree filling and more cake.

What's for Dinner:::Gina

Okay, I know this is a resolution for 2009, but I've been working on the blog most of the day, and am eager to get started. Tonight I have an Italian potato soup simmering and a loaf of country bread in the oven. On Christmas Eve my grandmother took us to the Olive Garden (little did I know it might be my last meal out, lol) and I had the soup and salad. This is my best reconstruction of that soup, with a few modifications. It's simmering now and I just sampled it. I'd say so far, so good. I guess I'll commit and write a recipe here:

Italian Potato Soup

1# ground beef, buffalo, or sausage (I suspect sausage would be the best, but I didn't have any on hand)
1/2 a large onion, finely chopped
1 large baking potato, quartered lengthwise and then thinly sliced
1 can white beans (dried, cooked, and frozen beans would be the most frugal choice)
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Approx 2 teaspoons each dried basil and oregano
Approx 1 t dried fennel seeds
Approx 3 C milk
1 bunch kale, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Basically, I just browned the beef and onion, adding the garlic when it was almost done. I added spices while this was browning and then added the potato and beans. Cover with milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer about 30 minutes, add kale, and simmer another 5 or so.

The bread is a variation of this recipe, with whole wheat (white wheat) flour instead, and a little cornmeal thrown in because I ran out of flour after last week's baking frenzy.



Wrap up analysis...

Kids factor: Accepted very well. Liam hemmed and hawed a bit, but that was because he had a snack about 5 minutes before dinner. Grrrr... I tried to get them to rate it, but Quinn was the only one who got the concept of that really, and he gave it a 9, which is probably an exaggeration. He can be very ingratiating.

Cost factor: Honestly, I don't know what a half-gallon of organic milk runs these days, but I used about 2/3 of one, so I'll guess that's in the neighborhood of $2. $2 on the beef, $1 for the kale and beans, $0.25 for the onion and probably $1 for bread fixin's and maybe another $0.50 worth of spices. So a grand total of $6.75 and it made about 10 servings.

Health factor: I'm not a huge fan of dairy, I used beef instead of buffalo, and potatoes are questionable at best. Still, it was 2% milk, no "extra" fats, and did contain kale. So, fairly healthy, but not extraordinarily.