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First, put two boneless chicken breasts on to boil in a small pot. While that gets going, dice up a medium yellow onion.

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Add a little oil to a very large skillet and begin sauteeing your onion pieces on low heat while your chicken continues to cook. (It should stay at a rolling boil for about 15 minutes, maybe more depending on how thick your chicken pieces are.) Add 1 teaspoon of salt, and 2 cloves of minced garlic to your onion.

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Also add 2 teaspoons paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir it so the spices are evenly distributed, then let the onions settle in to get nice and translucent.

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Meanwhile, chop up about 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro. Unless you are morally opposed to cilantro, don’t skip this step. It completely makes the dish. Then, while you continue to tap your toes waiting on your onions and your chicken (will this 15 minutes never end?!) whip up a double batch of avocado cream, for a total of 2 cups. Set it aside for now, we’ll get back to it in a minute.

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About this time your chicken breasts should be done, so yank them out of the water and give them a quick chop job. Then dump both chicken and cilantro into your giant sautee pan (you did choose a large enough one like I told you to, right?) Mix everything together thoroughly, then let it hang out and keep warm while you start to assemble your layers.

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First, start with a gluten-free tomatillo salsa, also known as salsa verde. This is kind of a specialty food, so there aren’t any nationally-recognizable brands I can suggest for you all (mine’s actually made in Mexico, so you’re not likely to be able to find it unless you live near the border like I do.) Of course the best thing is if your label contains nothing but whole, recognizable ingredients, but in a pinch I’ve even pulled out my cellphone and called a manufacturer’s customer service number right there in the grocery store aisle. Whatever gets the job done.

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Pour about 1/4 cup of the tomatillo salsa on the bottom of your greased 9″ by 9″ baking dish. This is just a thin little drizzle that’s going to help keep your bottom layer from sticking, it doesn’t really count as a layer. Your official first layer will be corn tostadas, broken up and overlapped a bit as necessary. You could also use soft corn tortillas, or even tortilla chips — though both are going to get soggier than these nice thick tostadas — as long as it’s 100% corn, whatever it is.

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Next, grab your avocado cream, and dollop half of it (or about 1 cup) on top of the tostadas, using the back of a spoon to spread it out evenly.

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Next, add a layer of tomatillo salsa. It’s about 1/2 cup, I think, but I just kind of eyeball it.

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Then, layer on half of your chicken mixture. Press it down a bit so it’s not full of air bubbles.

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Now, the final item in our layering scheme is diced green chiles. “But GFCF Lady,” I hear you say, “that can says whole chiles.” Well, yes, so it does. My son really, really likes the grocery store, you see, and shopping trips with him can be classified anywhere from mildly hyperactive to a Category 5 hurricane. In my hurry to get out of there on this particular occasion, I grabbed the wrong can. But no biggie, I just diced them up on my cutting board. Whether you buy them whole or diced, however, this is another one of those items that should contain nothing but the chiles. Don’t settle for added junk.

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Sprinkle half of your chile bits over the chicken, then start the layers over: tostadas, avocado cream, tomatillo sauce…

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…chicken mixture, green chiles. Bake uncovered in a 450 degree oven for 25 minutes, and the result will be the creamiest, tastiest enchilada casserole this side of the Rio Grande.

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Happy Eating!

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The GFCF Lady’s Enchilada Casserole

2 chicken breasts
1 medium yellow onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

8 corn tostadas
2 cups avocado cream
1 1/4 cups tomatillo sauce
1 can chopped green chiles

But can I really improve on these delectable GFCF chicken nuggets I showed you how to make way back when? Oh, indeed. You may recall that at the time, I said, “I’d probably bread everything in nothing but almond meal, if the stuff weren’t so darn expensive.” Well it turns out, there was a less expensive source sitting right under my nose. Much less expensive, in fact!

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Honeyville Grain sells blanched almond flour at half the price of Bob’s Red Mill. (The price drops even more if you buy it in 25 lb. bags, but I realize most of you aren’t going to be able to go through it that quickly — though it does keep for a very long time in the refrigerator…) I’ve been experimenting with this stuff like a madwoman, and I have to say, I’m an almond flour convert at this point. The texture is just miles better than anything else out there in my opinion, and with the obstacle of cost removed (or at least reduced to the equivalent of every other GF flour out there,) there’s no reason not to use it in practically everything.

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I’ll try to post some recipes for baked items involving almond flour in the near future, but for now, let’s get back to these amazing chicken tenders, shall we? I was exaggerating slightly when I said “nothing but” almond flour, there are a few seasonings that help this meal reach its full potential. Specifically, that’s 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, garlic powder, and ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon of paprika.

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Blend all that into 1 cup of almond flour. (That’s another important distinction between the Honeyville product versus Bob’s Red Mill, by the way: Bob’s Red Mill officially makes almond meal, which is a coarser texture, and doesn’t work as well for baking. It would still work fine here, except for the part where it’s twice as expensive.)

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I’m using 2 pounds of chicken tenders straight out of the package, but you could certainly cut up your own chicken bits if you’d prefer. As always, make sure you get chicken meat that isn’t injected with broth, as that may contain gluten. “Retained water” = good, “up to 3% solution” = bad. There’s really no need to do an egg wash in this recipe, especially since the almond flour is already packed with protein. I just use about a Tablespoon of high-quality olive oil.

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Roll your oiled chicken in the breading, and lay them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

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I sprinkle any leftover bits on top for a little extra crunch. The reason you can get away with doing these in the oven instead of frying them in oil is because the almond grains are too dense to get soggy in the oven like other GF breadings. They come out just as crunchy, with less effort.

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30 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, and just look at that golden deliciousness! My whole family prefers the taste, plus it’s more nutritious, costs the same as anything else a gluten-free cook would use, and involves less work and cleanup than frying. Time to light the fireworks!

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Happy Eating!

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Oven-Baked Chicken Tenders

2 lb. chicken tenders
1 Tbs olive oil
1 cup Honeyville almond flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika

Fast forward to the beginning of our GFCF adventure, and I learned some very important equivalencies: gram flour = chickpea flour = garbanzo bean flour = the main ingredient in Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend. All of a sudden, this whole book of recipes was useful again!

Confession time: that whole introduction was a bit disingenuous, because this recipe did not in fact come from the Indian cookbook in question. But it is an Indian recipe, so I stand by the moral of my story. I’m an “ends justify the means” kind of gal.

Anyway, here we have a can of coconut milk, which is in general an excellent milk substitute. Pour one cup of the liquid into a bowl, which should be about half the can. (Save the other half for later in the week, when you are compelled to make this recipe again because it was just so dang good.) Make sure you stir the contents of the can thoroughly before pouring, because coconut milk has a tendency to separate.

Then add 1 1/2 Tablespoons of McCormick curry powder. Because curry is a spice blend rather than an herb in and of itself (there is no curry plant,) you must be extra careful about buying a brand without gluten. Manufacturers will often add flour to spice blends to help keep things from clumping. Not all McCormick spice blends are safe, but the company has committed to always clearly labeling the presence of gluten on their spice jars. [As always, the brands I use were GFCF at the time of posting, but manufacturers can change ingredients without warning. Always check your labels!]

Then add 2 teaspoons of paprika, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

3 Tablespoons of lemon juice…

1 1/2 Tablespoons of minced ginger (I’d show you how to mince it, but I get mine out of a jar. Life’s too short, you know?)

And 2 cloves of minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon of the jarred kind.)

Now dice up a medium onion, and get out 6-8 boneless chicken thighs, or a couple pounds of whatever kind of boneless chicken parts you prefer. Always make sure your chicken is all-natural and not injected with broth.

Throw the chicken, sauce, and onions all together in a giant Ziplock bag, and punch it around until everything’s mixed.

Seal it up and let it marinate in the refrigerator for several hours, or however much time you can spare.

Later, when you’re gearing up to actually cook the meal, peel three medium potatoes and chop them into big chunks.

Pull the chicken pieces out of the marinade bag and set them aside on a plate. Don’t worry if some of the onions stick to the chicken, it’s all going to back together in a minute. Add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the bag, and toss in the potatoes so we can get a quick coating on them.

Shake it (like a Polaroid picture, even,) then dump the whole bag into the bottom of your dutch oven. (You don’t have a dutch oven yet? For heaven’s sake, why not?) Make sure to squeeze out all the extra sauce too, like the world’s largest ketchup packet.

Lay your chicken pieces on top of the potatoes, and give the top a good sprinkling of paprika. Put on the lid, and place the whole thing in a 450-degree oven for one hour.

Look how beautiful that is! And those potatoes are perfect, I’m telling you right now. You will practically be able to hear the sitar music right there in your kitchen.

Happy Eating!

Tandoori Chicken with Potatoes

1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 TBS McCormick curry powder
2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp salt
3 TBS lemon juice
1 1/2 TBS minced ginger
2 cloves minced garlic

1 onion
6-8 boneless chicken thighs
3 medium potatoes
1/2 tsp salt
additional paprika for garnish

Lamb! If that gives you an initial shudder, just remember: a baby lamb is no cuter than a baby cow, and we cook those little guys up all the time, right? Right. I get this stuff frozen at my normal grocery store, and I bet yours has it too. You just have to ask someone who works in the meat department, because it’s not going to be on some big obvious display. In an ideal homage to Greek food, it would actually be a lamb roast rather than ground lamb, but the important thing is the flavor.

Season it with 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon of oregano.

Also add in 1 Tablespoon of dried, minced onion (or onion powder, whatever you have.)

Mash it all together so the seasonings are evenly distributed. Really stab at it; cooking is a great way to let your aggression out.

Okay, while that browns, we’re going to prepare the tzatziki, that yummy cucumber yogurt sauce that is a necessity for Greek food. Start by peeling one whole cucumber. You could use a peeler, but I find that with such a thick skin, it’s pretty easy to just cut it in half and then slice downward around the edges with a sharp knife.

Then we want to cut the seeds out. First quarter your long pieces…

And again, slice vertically to neatly remove the core of seeds all at once. (Don’t go thinking I do this one-handed though, I just paused mid-cut to take a photo. You do have to brace the top with your fingers for this to work right.)

Throw away the seeds and peel, and dice up everything you have left.

Now, you could just blend this into a pre-made casein-free yogurt and call it a day. But for us, that doesn’t work. I personally think soy yogurt is the most disgusting thing on the planet–I seriously can’t even stand to smell it in the kitchen. I don’t know what it is, but my tastebuds completely reject all soy “dairy” products on a very intense level. And while the flavor of the cucumber might not clash too badly with the mild flavor of coconut milk yogurt, the GFCF Boy is severely allergic to coconut, so that option is out for us too. But if it works for you, go for it!

Instead, I just make a modified version of my Ranch dressing. You can’t see it, but underneath the cucumber is 1/4 cup of Bob’s Red Mill finely ground almond meal. Then on top we add 1/2 Tablespoon of canola oil…

1/2 Tablespoon of potato starch, 1/2 teaspoon of salt…

And 1/4 cup of water. (This is less water than the dressing recipe uses, because the cucumber is going to add a ton of liquid to the mix.) You should also add in 1/4 tsp of garlic powder for a more authentic flavor–we’ve recently discovered that one of the GFCF Boy’s other longstanding, hard-to-pin-down allergies is garlic, so we’re avoiding it for now, but please don’t skimp on flavor just on my account.

Blend thoroughly, and pour into a small saucepan.

Cook over low heat for a few minutes until it has thickened to the right consistency, stirring frequently. As with the Ranch dressing, this is not a perfectly smooth dip, there is a little bit of graininess to the texture. But the flavor is great, and when it’s all mixed up with the other ingredients in the wrap it shouldn’t be an issue.

Oh yeah, did you forget we were making wraps, here? Your meat should be about done by now, and man, does it smell good. Just like Tino’s! (But I wouldn’t say that where he can hear you.)

I have tried and tried, but so far all of my GF pita experiments have been whopping failures. I’ve basically given up at this point, especially because these Food For Life brown rice tortillas are awesome. Even the GFCF Husband raved about how good they were. It’s not a thick doughy pita, it’s true, but for a GF bread product, it’s a darn good substitute.

One other tip, if you’re not using all the tortillas at once, don’t try to separate them in the package while they’re still frozen, you’ll just break them. Microwave the whole stack (outside of the plastic bag, of course) for about 15 seconds until you can peel off the number you need, and then refreeze the rest. It won’t hurt ‘em.

Add in some diced tomato and greens and you’re ready to go! Strictly speaking, romaine lettuce is the most authentic, but I just use the same baby greens I make salads out of. And if you have any tzatziki left over, it makes a great dip for chips or carrot sticks, or even a sandwich spread.

Happy Eating!

Greek Wraps with Cucumber Tzatziki

1 lb. ground lamb
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1 TBS dried minced onion (or onion powder)

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill almond meal
1/2 TBS canola oil
1/2 TBS potato starch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)

tomatoes
lettuce
Food For Life brown rice tortillas

First, some spices: 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, 1/8 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon of Five Spice. If you’ve never heard of Five Spice, it’s a Chinese blend of cinnamon, anise, ginger, fennel and pepper. There are some traditional regional variations, but it should always include the key flavors of cinnamon and anise. If you’re lucky you might be able to find it at your grocery store, but if not any Asian market should have it. It’s so good, there are areas of Hawaii where it’s just served on the table right alongside the salt and pepper.

Chop up two chicken breasts (make sure they’re not injected with suspect “broth” in the packaging) and toss them with the spices until everything is evenly coated.

Set the chicken aside for a moment while you get out half a cup of dried cranberries. Like chicken breasts, dried fruit is another tricky ingredient that they can sneak gluten into–make sure yours aren’t dusted with flour to prevent sticking. [As always, the brands I use were GFCF at the time of posting, but manufacturers can change recipes without warning. Always check your labels!] We don’t really want them to be totally dried in this dish though, so fill the little cup with water and let them soak while you cook the rest of the meal.

While the cranberries soak, you can start sauteeing the chicken pieces in some olive oil.

Once they’re opaque (but not necessarily cooked through all the way,) add in about 8 oz. of mushrooms. Fresh is better, of course, but when you’re desperate, canned works too. As it turns out, I’m often desperate because I’m really no good at planning ahead.

Then, start to boil your pasta. This is 8 oz. of Tinkyada brown rice pasta, but I forget what cute name the Italians gave to this shape. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t count as penne, even though that’s what the package said, because penne is supposed to be ridged lengthwise and cut diagonally at the ends. But anyway, pretty much anything other than spaghetti will work–macaroni, fusilli, those little twistie shapes that I also can’t remember the name of…

Now! While your pasta is boiling, and your chicken and mushrooms are continuing to sautee, and your cranberries are still soaking over on the counter, it’s time to toast some almonds. Put half a cup of slivered almonds in a bowl, and microwave it for one minute at a time, stirring them around a bit in between. It should be around 2-3 minutes, but you’ll know when they’re done because they will start to smell good, and when you bite into one it will crunch instead of squeak.

This was the part of the recipe I was terrified to try to emulate. Used to be, we’d be pouring in 2 cups of half-and-half at this point. Is it any wonder we loved the dish? How could a milk substitute ever hope to compare? But I’m over the grieving process. I am completely and totally happy using 2 cups of almond milk instead. Mostly.

Fortunately this part didn’t have to change: 1/4 cup of Grey Poupon dijon mustard.

And 2 Tablespoons of honey.

Of course plain almond milk is just not robust enough to make a cream sauce by itself, so add in 1 Tablespoon of potato starch to thicken it up (and like corn starch, you want to dissolve it in a minimal amount of water before pouring it into your pan, otherwise you’ll never get the lumps to dissolve properly.)

Drain your cranberries, and add them to the pan while the sauce thickens.

Only add the pasta once the sauce is the right consistency, or it will continue to cook in the sauce and get mushy.

Toss in the nuts just before serving so they stay crunchy. And there you have it! I will admit, it’s much less visually-appealing than it used to be. Rice pasta just has a kind of grayish tint to it that no amount of sauce seems to be able to cover. But the kids agree that the taste is pretty close to the original, so I put it in the win column.

Happy Eating!

Creamy Penne Pasta

1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/8 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. Five Spice
2 organic chicken breasts
8 oz. rice pasta
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
2 cups almond milk
1/4 cup Grey Poupon
2 TBS honey

What was I saying? Oh yes: meat. A basic, well-seasoned piece of meat is such a rarity these days, people will think you’re some sort of brilliant gourmet for serving it, and marvel at your minimalist elegance. This here is about 2 pounds of beef brisket, with a dry rub of spices pressed into it. What spices you ask? Well, it’s brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper. 2 Tablespoons each. What I like to do is mix all the spices on the surface of a large plate, and then just lay the meat down on the plate on all sides. I really should have gotten a picture of this, I know, but my hands were all covered in meat juice, and then one of the kids needed something, and somehow I got distracted and forgot.

Anyway, if you’ve got the time to let your meat sit with the spice rub for a few hours, great; if not, don’t sweat it. When you’re ready, place the brisket in a dutch oven or crock pot (but really, a dutch oven is better. I won’t quibble about the color, they have red and brown, too, if for some strange reason you don’t agree with me that my blue one is the most beautiful thing ever. The important thing is that enamel surface on the inside.) Make sure you lay the meat fat side up.

Pour in about 1 1/2 cups of Pacific Foods beef broth. [As always, my brands were GFCF at the time of posting, but manufacturers can change formulas without notice. Always check your labels.] If necessary, add some water to the pot until the liquid is at least an inch deep, and make sure to lift the edges of the meat a bit so it can flow underneath. Then just put the lid on and stick it in a 325 degree oven for 3-4 hours (or set your crock pot to high for that amount of time, if you insist on doing it that way.)

Man, I wish I could tell you how good my house smells right now. When it’s time for dinner, just drench the top of your meat in Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce. There are other GFCF barbecue sauces available too, but as a Texan, I have to tell you: this stuff is the real deal. If it’s available in your area, this is the product you want.

See? That is some fine barbecue brisket right there. Serve this with smashed potato salad, and you’ll have a positively mouth-watering meal that no one will even suspect is GFCF.

Happy Eating!

Brisket

2 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS McCormick’s paprika
2 TBS McCormick’s chili powder
2 TBS salt
2 TBS pepper
1-2 lbs. beef brisket
1 1/2 cups Pacific Foods beef broth
1 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce

Okay, that’s a lie. I liked it better the old way, full of delicious refined flours and sugars. But that’s just my neuroreceptors talking, pay them no mind. I do think this way is better than with a gluten-free pie crust, at least. My philosophy with this diet is that it’s almost always better to just avoid rather than replace. Less disappointment that way.

First, chop up an onion.

Next, we’re going to start making the gravy mix. I used to use a beef stew spice packet for this, but wouldn’t you know, there’s basically no such thing as a gluten-free spice packet. So we’ll just make our own. That’s 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour. You can tell I use it all the time because it gets its own canister on my counter.

Then add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon allspice. See how lazy I am, just eyeballing half a quarter teaspoon, instead of getting a new measuring spoon out? Sometimes I like to tell myself I’m just being more efficient, that’s all.

Now this is 1/8 teaspoon of paprika. I like to sprinkle more paprika on top of the dish to make it look pretty, but if your kids don’t like bright red speckles on their food, you could make it a 1/4 teaspoon here instead.

If you want to be all gourmet, you could boil actual potatoes and mash them yourself. I’m going with the instant flakes tonight. Lazy, lazy, lazy am I. So this is 2 2/3 cups water, 2/3 cup almond milk, 4 Tablespoons Fleischmann’s margarine, and 1 teaspoon salt, according to the directions on the Betty Crocker Potato Buds box. [As always, the brands I use were GFCF at the time of posting, but manufacturers can change formulas without notice. Always check your ingredient lists.]

Meanwhile, start sauteeing the onions in a little olive oil and breaking up 1 lb. ground beef in a large pan. I always use the extra lean beef so I don’t have to worry about draining off grease. Ew.

When the meat is starting to brown but not done yet, throw in about a cup of frozen vegetables. Peas and carrots are the more traditional Shepherd’s Pie ingredients, but corn and green beans were what I had on hand tonight. This is the kind of recipe that begs for random things to be tossed in, so go wild.

Once all the meat is cooked through and the veggies are warm, dump in the flour mixture and stir until everything is coated evenly.

Then start slowly adding water to the pan, stirring constantly. You want to add just enough to make a thick gravy, not a soup. It’s usually about a cup and a half, but don’t hold me to that.

Move the meat mixture into a greased 9×9 pan and smooth it out into a nice layer. Dump your prepared potatoes right on top.

Spread out the potato layer with the back of a spoon, just like you were putting frosting on brownies. Or, you know, on a pie. (Can a pie have frosting, you ask skeptically? I submit that a meringue pie does.)

Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/8 tsp paprika if you’re into that sort of thing, then pop it in a 350 degree oven just long enough to warm everything through, about 15-20 minutes.

Happy Eating!

Crustless Shepherd’s Pie

1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose GF flour
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp paprika, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
about 6 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup frozen vegetables
1 1/2 cups water