The Baking Beauties » Main Dishes

Gluten-Free Spicy Chicken Taco Salad

Jeanine Friesen — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:33:00 +0000

My favorite dinners are the kind that are quick to prepare, yet full of flavour. Pasta dishes are always a good option, but as the weather gets warmer and the sun shines longer into the evening, it’s nice to have a repertoire of lighter, healthier salads as well. This Spicy Chicken Taco Salad is filled with all of my favorite tex-mex flavours – lettuce, black beans, tomato, lime, avocado, jalapeno, and cumin. While grocery shopping I saw riceworks Salsa Fresca crisps, and knew they be perfect for this salad, since they have a really great crunch and are full of flavour. They are also gluten-free, like all the riceworks crisps. If you can’t find the riceworks crisps, you are welcome to use your favorite salsa/cheese flavoured chips.

Another shortcut that I took was using a bottled salad dressing. The President’s Choice Avocado Dressing with Lime and Jalapeno is perfect for this salad. Since the dressing can only be purchased at certain stores, another alternative is to serve it with this Creamy Avocado Dressing from Closet Cooking.

Please visit Mommy Moment to view my guest post and get the full recipe.

How to Save Money When Buying Your Beef

Jeanine Friesen — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:21:00 +0000

With prices everywhere rising out of our control, we are all looking for ways to save money when grocery shopping. One of the obvious way to save money on your grocery bill is to buy your items in bulk. Today I’m going to share how we save money by buying our ground beef in large quantities. Ground beef is one of the most versatile meats that you can stock. With it, you can make a variety of dishes, like Porcupine Meatballs, Burrito Pie, and Mini Meatloaves. Although buying in bulk means putting more money up front initially, the price per pound is lower when you buy a large package of ground beef instead of a number of small packages.

Gluten-free Burrito Pie

But, what do you do with 4 pounds of fresh ground beef? It can be a little overwhelming, since you want to put it to use within a day or two of purchasing it. One way that I like to use up a large package of ground beef is to mix it up for hamburgers. I add onion, salt, pepper, gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, gluten-free oats, and egg, form them into patties, and place them in a single layer on a wax paper lined baking sheet. I place this baking sheet into the freezer until the burgers are frozen solid. I then put them in resealable bags, and have frozen gluten-free burgers on hand for whenever I want. I can take out as many burgers as I need from the freezer, and making a great meal can not get any quicker than that. You can also use the frozen patties to make homemade Salisbury Steak, served along with some mashed potatoes, you have a great meal in 30 minutes.

Gluten-free Hamburger Buns for those prepared burgers

In a similar fashion, you can also prepare and freeze meatballs ahead of time. I mix them up the same way I do hamburgers, form them into meatballs and freeze. Once they are frozen, I store them in a resealable bag and keep them there until one of those “I-don’t-know-what’s-for-supper” days. Some people pre-bake their meatballs before freezing them on baking sheets, I actually freeze mine before baking, and bake them while they are still frozen – no need to defrost. It works really well, and is very convenient. I then add them to whatever sauce I will be serving them with, or put them in the slow cooker to simmer for a few hours. In addition to being convenient, you also know what is in your meatballs – there is no mystery there.

Gluten-free Porcupine Meatballs

Besides a basic burger and meatball, scramble fried beef is probably the most popular way to use ground beef. Tacos, chili, and meat sauce for spaghetti all start with the same basic step: Frying your ground beef, breaking it into small pieces, drain (I like to rinse at this point as well), and add onion and garlic. If you’d like, you can also add shredded carrots at this point, increasing the veggie content without anyone knowing. But, what are you supposed to do with 4 pounds of seasoned ground beef? Well, thanks to Canadian Beef, I now know that you can fry all 4 pounds at one time, season it, and freeze it on cookie sheets. When your recipe calls for ground beef, simply measure out the pre-cooked amount of cooked ground beef, and continue with your recipe. This eliminates a step when it comes to preparing a quick dinner, since your meat is already pre-cooked. This process works great for any recipe that calls for you to fry up your ground beef as the first step . To see how it is done, watch this short how-to video by Canadian Beef:

Here are a few gluten-free recipes that would work beautifully with the precooked ground beef:

Gluten-free Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole

Gluten-free Beef Spaghetti Pie

Gluten-free Beef Stroganoff with Hamburger

What are some of YOUR favorite tips & tricks to lower the grocery bill a little?

This post is written not only to help you save a few dollars on your grocery bill, but also to feature Canadian Beef’s excellent selection of Easy Cooking and Quick Tip videos. Check them out for more great tips and tricks to help you make the most of your Canadian beef. In addition to being a major sponsor of the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference that I am attending this weekend, Canadian Beef is also a sponsor of Eat, Write Retreat in Philadelphia at the end of May. Canadian Beef is giving away six scholarships to Eat Write Retreat - you have until midnight tonight (April 10, 2013) to enter! My fingers are crossed!

Gluten-free Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Beef Sandwiches

Jeanine Friesen — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:28:48 +0000

The slow cooker is probably one of the most helpful, but most overlooked, piece of kitchen equipment you have. Most people have them, seldom use them to their full potential. Yet, slow cookers are fantastic for having a nice, hearty, healthy meal ready at the end of the day, without having to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Get it ready in the morning, or even the night before as long as you refrigerate it, set it, and go about your day. Come suppertime, when everyone is hungry and you all just got in from a busy day, supper will be ready for you, and you won’t have to resort to take-out.

This Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Beef is so easy to throw together in the morning, let it cook all day, and by the evening, you have an amazing, flavourful sauce, and soft, tender beef. This beef is great to eat hot or cold, so it would be fantastic to take to picnics and potlucks.

Note: I served these on an Udi’s hamburger bun, they are fantastic for the days you don’t have time to bake.

To view the full recipe, click HERE.

Gluten-free Kickin’ Cajun Chicken Alfredo

Jeanine Friesen — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 23:51:24 +0000

Years ago, when my husband and I were dating, we used to go to a restaurant that served a great chicken Alfredo dish with a kick of Cajun seasonings. 14 years, 2 kids, and a celiac disease diagnosis later, eating out at restaurants is not high on our priority list anymore. When I saw some Cajun seasoning in the store a while back, I decided to re-create my own gluten-free version of this favorite dish from our past at home. My husband and I agreed, this dish was better than any the restaurant ever served. Homemade is always better.

To view the full recipe, click HERE.

Gluten Free Beef and Beer Stew with Rice

Jeanine Friesen — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:45:03 +0000

I have always been a huge fan of Jamie Oliver. It all started back when he was just a bachelor with a neat flat and a scooter. Now, he’s grown into a family man on a mission to make the world a better place, one lunch cafeteria at a time. So, he is a man I am impressed by, and when I am looking for inspiration for a meal, and feel stuck, or don’t have many ingredients in the house, I look to him and his recipes. Many of his recipes use everyday, down to earth ingredients, making it easy to find an answer to those “What’s for supper” days. In this case, the question is “What to do with this stewing beef?”. I had bought a package of stewing beef, but didn’t feel like making my regular stew (but the next time I do, I will be sure to blog that recipe, it has a beautiful brown gravy, loaded with veggies & topped with gluten-free dumplings. You’ll like it, I promise.)

Anyway, Jamie Oliver had an answer to today’s question. He has a recipe for a yummy looking beef and ale stew, which I used as inspiration for this dish. I made a few simple alterations along the way, but either way, I think you’ll enjoy it.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 lb stewing beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 dried bay leaves
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large stick celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots
2 Tbsp olive oil
355 ml gluten-free beer (I used Redbridge, which is made from sorghum)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
14 oz. tin of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup long grain white rice

Directions:

In a cast iron pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onions, celery, carrots, salt, pepper and bay leaf for 10 minutes.
Add the stewing beef, gluten-free beer and crushed tomatoes. Stir and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, cover with the lid and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 3 hours.
Add the rice, stir, cover, and simmer an additional 30 minutes. Season with salt & pepper if necessary.

Alternately, you can cook the stew in a casserole dish in a 350° oven. Cooking times will remain the same.

Based on a recipe by Jamie Oliver

This recipe is being linked to Canadian Beef in hopes that I can win an all-inclusive scholarship to Eat, Write Retreat in Washington, D.C.

Update: I did not win the scholarship to the Eat, Write Retreat, just in case anyone was wondering. Thanks for tolerating my rapid beef postings.