I made this for dinner the other night as the weather has been getting cooler with the arrival of Fall. It is one of the ultimate comfort foods and as an added bonus super easy and quick to get on the table!
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, finely diced
black pepper
1 can chili beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Mexican Seasoning (made by McCormick)
Brown ground beef with the onion and black pepper. Add remainder of ingredients and simmer until heated all the way through. Serve in bowls over Fritos or tortilla chips and top with sour cream and shredded cheese. Yum!
I haven't been able to find Mexican Seasoning for a while and didn't have any gluten free taco seasoning on hand, so I merely seasoned to taste with chili powder and cumin. The diced tomatoes I used also had diced green chiles in them. It turned out perfect! Oh, and I don't drain my cans of beans. I just toss them in juice and all.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Pickled Beets & Beet Juice Jelly
A friend of mine was very generous recently and not only taught me how to make pickled beets, but also gave me all of the beets from her garden that she didn't want. Needless to say I was just tickled because they are one of my all time favorite foods. I grew up eating them. She also sent me home with a recipe for Beet Juice Jelly so that I could use up everything from the beets. While that may sound very unappetizing, I would encourage you to try it if you are able to. My daughter who hates beets with a passion tasted some of the jelly and thought I was lying about it having beet juice in it! I'll give you both recipes for pickled beets - the one my friend uses, and the one that my grandma uses.
Virginia's Pickled Beets
Scrub beets and trim. Cook in pressure cooker until tender (about 18 minutes for decent size beets). Unfortunately I don't remember how much pressure she used. Remove peeling from beets and slice and set aside. Strain beet juice through a coffee filter and set strained juice aside.
Put sliced beets in a large stockpot. Using 1 part beet juice, 1 part vinegar, and 1/2 part sugar, create enough liquid to cover beets (2 cups beet juice, 2 cups vinegar, 1 cups sugar). Bring beets & syrup to a boil. Fill hot, sterilized jars with beets and then add enough syrup to fill the jar, leaving about a 1/2" to 3/4" of headspace. Seal jars and process in cold pack canner for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let cool.
Granny's Pickled Beets
Prep as above. For the syrup, use 2 cups vinegar, 2 cups beet juice, 1 cup sugar, 3 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon mustard seed, and 1/2 teaspoon celery seed. Process the same as above.
Beet Juice Jelly
4 cups red beet juice, strained (what you don't use to make syrup when doing pickled beets)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 package pectin
1 package Kool-aid (grape, cherry, black cherry, or raspberry)
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a hard boil. Add 5 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil again and boil for 3 minutes. Ladle into hot jars and seal.
Virginia's Pickled Beets
Scrub beets and trim. Cook in pressure cooker until tender (about 18 minutes for decent size beets). Unfortunately I don't remember how much pressure she used. Remove peeling from beets and slice and set aside. Strain beet juice through a coffee filter and set strained juice aside.
Put sliced beets in a large stockpot. Using 1 part beet juice, 1 part vinegar, and 1/2 part sugar, create enough liquid to cover beets (2 cups beet juice, 2 cups vinegar, 1 cups sugar). Bring beets & syrup to a boil. Fill hot, sterilized jars with beets and then add enough syrup to fill the jar, leaving about a 1/2" to 3/4" of headspace. Seal jars and process in cold pack canner for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let cool.
Granny's Pickled Beets
Prep as above. For the syrup, use 2 cups vinegar, 2 cups beet juice, 1 cup sugar, 3 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon mustard seed, and 1/2 teaspoon celery seed. Process the same as above.
Beet Juice Jelly
4 cups red beet juice, strained (what you don't use to make syrup when doing pickled beets)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 package pectin
1 package Kool-aid (grape, cherry, black cherry, or raspberry)
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a hard boil. Add 5 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil again and boil for 3 minutes. Ladle into hot jars and seal.
Peach Pie Filling
6 quarts sliced fresh peaches
7 cups granulated sugar
2 cups + 3 Tablespoons Clear Jel
5 1/4 cups cold water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cups lemon juice
Peel peaches, slice, and place in water with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice. Combine water, sugar, Clear Jel, cinnamon, and almond extract in a large pot. Stir and cook over medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil sauce for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Fold in drained peach slices and continue to heat mixture for 3 minutes. Fill hot sterilized jars immediately, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Adjust lids and process immediately.
Processing time is based on altitude.
0-1,000 feet: 30 minutes
1,001 - 3,000 feet: 35 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet: 40 minutes
Above 6,000 feet: 45 minutes
7 cups granulated sugar
2 cups + 3 Tablespoons Clear Jel
5 1/4 cups cold water
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 3/4 cups lemon juice
Peel peaches, slice, and place in water with Fruit Fresh or lemon juice. Combine water, sugar, Clear Jel, cinnamon, and almond extract in a large pot. Stir and cook over medium high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Add lemon juice and boil sauce for 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Fold in drained peach slices and continue to heat mixture for 3 minutes. Fill hot sterilized jars immediately, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Adjust lids and process immediately.
Processing time is based on altitude.
0-1,000 feet: 30 minutes
1,001 - 3,000 feet: 35 minutes
3,001 - 6,000 feet: 40 minutes
Above 6,000 feet: 45 minutes
Apple Pie In-A-Jar
10 cups water
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons lemon juice
Put all ingredients in large pan. Bring to a boil, stirring till clear and thick. Place slices of apples in sterilized jars and pour hot syrup over them. Process 6 minutes in cold pack. Makes 6-8 quarts.
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 teaspoons lemon juice
Put all ingredients in large pan. Bring to a boil, stirring till clear and thick. Place slices of apples in sterilized jars and pour hot syrup over them. Process 6 minutes in cold pack. Makes 6-8 quarts.
Yummy Fruit Syrup
7 cups pureed fruit (I used peaches)
7 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 package fruit pectin
In 2 quart saucepan add fruit and lemon juice. Add sugar and stir. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat and stir continuously for 1 minute.
Add fruit pectin and bring back to a rolling boil. Stir one more minute and remove from heat.
Pour into sterilized hot jars and seal (with new lids).
7 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 package fruit pectin
In 2 quart saucepan add fruit and lemon juice. Add sugar and stir. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat and stir continuously for 1 minute.
Add fruit pectin and bring back to a rolling boil. Stir one more minute and remove from heat.
Pour into sterilized hot jars and seal (with new lids).
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sweet & Sour Sauce
This recipe originally came from "Deseret Recipes", a cookbook published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I altered the recipe to better suit our tastes and it is definitely a favorite in our house. It is great served over the homemade chicken nuggets I posted a couple of weeks ago. It is also good served over chicken that has been baked or sauteed if you are trying to cut the amount of fat in your diet. This makes quite a bit of sauce, so you may need to halve the recipe if you have a small family. :)
Sweet & Sour Sauce
2 cans (13 0z) pineapple tidbits - drain juice and reserve
add enough water to pineapple juice to equal 3 3/4 cups of liquid
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce or gluten free, low sodium Tamari sauce
1 1/8 cups vinegar
Cornstarch (about 2-3 Tablespoons) Sorry I don't have an exact measurement on this...the original recipe calls for flour and to make it gluten free I switched to cornstarch.
Optional: thinly sliced onions, celery, and carrots
If using the veggies, saute them lightly in just a little bit of oil until crisp tender. Add all other ingredients except cornstarch and pineapple tidbits. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Dissolve cornstarch in a bit of cold water and add to mixture. Stir quickly to keep it from clumping together and stir until thickened. Add pineapple tidbits and serve over steamed rice and chicken.
Sweet & Sour Sauce
2 cans (13 0z) pineapple tidbits - drain juice and reserve
add enough water to pineapple juice to equal 3 3/4 cups of liquid
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce or gluten free, low sodium Tamari sauce
1 1/8 cups vinegar
Cornstarch (about 2-3 Tablespoons) Sorry I don't have an exact measurement on this...the original recipe calls for flour and to make it gluten free I switched to cornstarch.
Optional: thinly sliced onions, celery, and carrots
If using the veggies, saute them lightly in just a little bit of oil until crisp tender. Add all other ingredients except cornstarch and pineapple tidbits. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Dissolve cornstarch in a bit of cold water and add to mixture. Stir quickly to keep it from clumping together and stir until thickened. Add pineapple tidbits and serve over steamed rice and chicken.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets
Wow! I can't believe I've neglected this blog for so long! I've been dabbling in gluten free cooking over the past few months since my diagnosis of gluten intolerance. One of the foods I have missed the most is chicken nuggets....and I had especially been craving chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A.
I should warn you now that I am notorious for not measuring when I cook (especially main dishes). Hopefully this recipe will turn out as yummy for you as it did for me. We've made it a couple of times now and it's become a family favorite. My daughter even made it one night for her and hubby while I was out of town (she's gluten intolerant too). They poured homemade sweet and sour sauce over them and served over steamed rice. Yum!!! I'll share the sweet & sour sauce recipe another day soon. Probably next week since we'll be camping this weekend and enjoying the last bit of summer. :)
If you don't need these to be gluten free, simply use regular flour instead of gluten free flour.
equal amounts of gluten free flour blend & cornmeal (approx. 1 cup of each)
Spices (I used Mrs. Dash, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder)
2 eggs beaten and thinned out with about 1/4 cup of milk
1 1/2 - 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
Blend gluten free flour, cornmeal, and spices together. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then in the flour & spice mixture. Fry in hot oil until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Drain on paper towels and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
I should warn you now that I am notorious for not measuring when I cook (especially main dishes). Hopefully this recipe will turn out as yummy for you as it did for me. We've made it a couple of times now and it's become a family favorite. My daughter even made it one night for her and hubby while I was out of town (she's gluten intolerant too). They poured homemade sweet and sour sauce over them and served over steamed rice. Yum!!! I'll share the sweet & sour sauce recipe another day soon. Probably next week since we'll be camping this weekend and enjoying the last bit of summer. :)
If you don't need these to be gluten free, simply use regular flour instead of gluten free flour.
equal amounts of gluten free flour blend & cornmeal (approx. 1 cup of each)
Spices (I used Mrs. Dash, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder)
2 eggs beaten and thinned out with about 1/4 cup of milk
1 1/2 - 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
Blend gluten free flour, cornmeal, and spices together. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then in the flour & spice mixture. Fry in hot oil until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Drain on paper towels and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
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