Woohoo

So, this was supposed to be a post on something that I tried cooking this weekend, but my garbage disposal went on the fritz and I couldn't do the dishes until we replaced it. We got it replaced and did some dishes, so tomorrow afternoon I should be able to make some cookies or coffee cake or something. Woohoo! On a side note, if you plan to pick up a GE Garbage Disposal, check to make sure it comes with the power cable. The one we picked up didn't come with the power cord, but the power cord wasn't that expensive and was pretty easy to wire. Anyway, I'll let you know how my baking turns out.

Conferences

I went to a conference today and was completely amazed that they didn't have any kind of specifications for food preferences. The conference was at the DoubleTree and what they served was a PhillyCheese Steak kind of sub and tasted absolutely horrible. Anyway, if you have a conference at a DoubleTree, they may not allow food preferences, and if they do, be careful what you eat, my sister says that most of their stuff isn't very good.

Experiments

Great news. The temperatures are going down this weekend and into next week so I should be able to work on those experiments I've been waiting to do because of the heat. Stay tuned next week for reviews.

Cheeseburger Mac

We had the Mrs. Leepers Cheeseburger Mac boxed meal today. It was very easy to make, only took like 20 minutes and tasted just as good as the Hamburger Helper version of the same. Yeah, one more thing I can eat!

Boxed Dinners

I found some Mrs. Leepers Boxed dinners that are a lot like Hamburger Helper, but Gluten-Free, so I picked them up and will be trying them this week. They don't take a lot of time or heat to make so I should actually be able to make them. I'll let you know how they taste. I have Lasagna, Creamy Tuna and Cheeseburger Mac.

Sorry

Sorry for the lack of the new recipes and tests of Gluten-Free products. It's been way too hot here to use the oven. We're getting a new air conditioner soon and I should be able to cook and still keep it cool in the house, so the info is on its way.

Spaghetti Casserole Again

We had Spaghetti Casserole again today. I added bacon to the meatballs and sausage to the pasta sauce and it tasted amazing. Just little things you can try to change up the taste every once in a while.

New Experiments

I picked up some new gluten free items at my local health food store today and will be trying them out this weekend. Among them are a Coffee Cake, a Versitile Cookie Mix, and a Cinnamon Bread Mix. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Gluten Free Cookie Factory

I found these amazing cookies at my local health food store today. They are from the Gluten Free Cookie Factory. There are several flavors, but so far the Ginger Snaps and Chocolate Chip are my favorites. They are a family company and only cook a few days a week so it might take a couple days for them to be delivered, but they are completely worth it.

Gumbo Risotto

So this is the new creation I decided to try and it was absolutely amazing. First you'll need to make the Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, then store any leftovers in a 64 oz containers, making sure about 40 oz are liquid and the rest the meat and veggies.

Gumbo Risotto

64 oz Leftover Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
1 cup White Arborio Rice
1 tbsp Vegetable oil

First, strain the liquid out of the leftovers into a medium sauce pan. Put the meat back in the fridge for now, you'll be working just with the liquid and rice. Heat the liquid to just under a boil. In the meantime, coat the bottom of a second medium sauce pan with the oil. Add the rice and heat until rice is completely covered with oil. Then add 1 cup of the Gumbo liquid to the rice, stirring constantly until all of the liquid is absorbed by the rice. Continue adding the liquid 1 cup at a time until the liquid is all transferred to the rice pan. Put the Gumbo meat into the pan the liquid was just in and heat while still cooking the rice. Once the final liquid is absorbed, add the rice to the heated Gumbo meat and allow the rice to absorb any liquid that might remain in the meat pan.

It took me about 35 - 40 minutes for the rice to absorb the liquid and another 5 - 10 once I added the meat. This amount served 2 people, but that was all we had for dinner and it filled us perfectly. This was my first time making risotto and obviously my first Risotto recipe so please let me know what you think.

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

I know Alton Brown would probably call this a soup, but I call it a Gumbo. It tastes amazing and the way I make it (I triple the recipe), gives lots of leftovers for the week. So here's my Gumbo.

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

3 tbsp olive oil
16 oz Sausage (Kielbasa, Smoked or Andouille), diced
2 lbs chicken, diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
6 large baby carrots, chopped
1 bag frozen peas (I like to us fresh sugar snap peas when in season)
3 tbsp Really Great Food Company All Purpose Rice Flour Mix
1 14 oz can petite diced Tomatoes
48 oz Chicken Broth
Salt and Pepper to taste
For a spicier flavor add Cayenne Pepper, Basil, Cilantro to taste.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in Dutch oven. Add the sausage and brown for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the chicken pieces and brown, a few at a time, until cooked. Remove with slotted spoon and combine with the sausage (there will be a lot of grease so you might want to place some paper towels under the sausage and chicken to keep it from getting into the gumbo). Pour the remaining oil into the Dutch oven. Add the onion, celery, garlic, peppers, carrots and peas and cook, stirring to prevent them burning, for about 10 minutes (more if you like your peppers and onions more caramelized). Stir in the flour and cook for a further 5 minutes. Constantly stir this or the flour will burn on the bottom of the pan. Also, the mixture will get very thick and heavy, it's supposed to do that. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth, then bring to a boil. Add the sausage and chicken and stir well. Add any seasonings you like to taste. Cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes. Make sure to periodically check it for taste and add more seasoning if necessary. This is what the Gumbo should look like in the pan and above is how it will look served.

Deep Dish Pizza

Well, I tried the deep dish pizza today and it tasted great, but didn't look real good. Here is the recipe and a few pictures.

Pizza Crust

1 cup water
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 pkg active dry yeast
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3 cups Heartland's Finest Performance Blend Gluten Free Flour

Heat 1 cup of water, shortening, sugar and salt until shortening melts. Cool to lukewarm. Soften yeast in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water. Combine yeast and shortening mixtures in large bowl. Add cornmeal and flour to shortening mix and knead until smooth and workable. Oil pizza pan with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Press dough into pans and pierce with a fork several times. Bake in 425 degree preheated oven for 7 minutes. Remove, then add pizza toppings.

Here's how I did my toppings.

1 3 oz pkg Pepperoni
8 oz Italian Sausage
8 strips Bacon

I first layered the bottom crust with 12 oz pizza sauce, then layered pepperoni like in this photo.


After that I added a layer of Sharp Cheddar, a layer of Mozzarella Cheese, 12 oz Pizza sauce then a mixture of the sausage and bacon like in this photo.

I added a layer of each kind of cheese then put the pizza back in the oven for another 30 minutes. The pan I used was a 9 in x 2 3/4 in springform pan. Also, I didn't use the whole crust recipe because I'm not a huge crust fan so yours will come out looking a bit different than this. Here's what it looked like when it came out of the oven.

I will warn you though, it doesn't look real great on the plate, but it tastes amazing!

New Recipes

I'm working on some new recipes this weekend. Hopefully one for a Gluten Free Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza and the other for a Gluten Free Gumbo. Well, there is one more, but it's a completely new invention of mine so I'll let you know when it works out. I'm really excited and hopeful that these new recipes will help me eat the foods I love without worrying about the Gluten.