Raspberry Cream Pie

This was almost a fail.  And I thought, well, I haven't had a fail in a while, so that should at least make for a good blog post.  But at the 11th hour this pie pulled itself from the jaws of defeat.  It's from the Church Potluck cookbook I'm working through.  I made this on Saturday to bring to a friend's house for lunch on Sunday.  Good thing I didn't just think I could throw it together Sunday morning, then it would have been a fail for sure....

Raspberry Cream Pie
9" baked pie shell (if you use a GF pie shell then this is a GF recipe)
3 oz pkg black raspberry jello
1/4 cup sugar
dash salt
1 1/4 cups boiling water (measure before you boil, then you aren't trying to pour boiling water into a measuring cup...)
1 tsp lemon juice
10 oz pkg frozen raspberries
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3 oz cream cheese, softened
dash salt
1 tsp vanilla

Combine jello, sugar, 1 pinch of salt, boiling water, lemon juice, and frozen raspberries in a medium-sized bowl (separate frozen raspberries with fork).  Let set until jelly firm (ok this took several hours in the fridge.  The recipe in no way indicates this anywhere....).

Whip the cream and refrigerate until next step.  Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar (I used my Kitchen Aid but it wasn't really enough quantity and didn't combine well...I had to scrape often).  Add other pinch of salt and vanilla.  Beat well and fold into reserved whipped cream.

It doesn't say this, but you better put it back into the fridge, since it will be several hours until you are ready to continue....

In baked pie shell, put 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture, being careful to coat the sides of the pie shell to keep it crisp.

Then add half of raspberry mixture, then the remaining whipped cream mixture.

Finish with raspberry mixture (I didn't use all of it because it seemed precarious at best, since it was still rather runny at this point).

Chill several hours.  The best! (says the cookbook author...keep reading for reviews from actual people). 

Looks yummy, right?  Ok so at the part where you combine the berries, jello, etc, it gives you no clue at all as to how long that's going to take.  I left it on the counter for at least an hour, and the consistency was no different than when I started.  So I decided to refrigerate it and see what happens (which the recipe in no way indicates).  Every time I opened the fridge for any other purpose, I would stir it and see, and it still looked the same.  At supper I said to Steve something like "this pie is going to be a fail, what else can I throw into this already baked pie crust?"  And I was thinking of alternatives and funny things I could say about the recipe when I wrote it up.  Once supper was all cleaned up, I gave it one last chance, and stirred it, and what do you know?  It was more jelly-like.  Still kinda runny...I texted a picture of it to my friend that we would be eating with and told her to cross her fingers because I wasn't sure how this would be.  She was supportive.  By the time we cut into it today, it had gelled the way I would expect.  So, that was a close one.

Also, I secretly used a gluten free pie shell that I had in the freezer.  This way I can test.  Lots of people don't even like the pie crust, and I like to eat what I make.  So by my calculations, if half the people, and especially kids, don't eat the crust because it's not sweet and they just eat the filling, should I make or use a gluten-laden crust that means half the people plus me will not/cannot eat it?  Or should I make or use a gluten-free crust that means the same half of the people won't eat it, but then I can?  That math makes sense to me... My friend, despite having worked overnight last night, is a smart cookie who clued in to the fact that I was eating the dessert and asked about it.  But, she said it was good.  In fact, everybody ate their crust.  Which was good validation for me that I had made the right choice.  Everybody that ate it (which means Not Nathan because it has Real Berries) said it was really good.  A couple of the kids wanted a second piece, but there were 9 people and 8 pieces of pie.  So this is a surprise keeper, because I was prepared to write it off as a loss.

Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Bake

I've been wanting to try a baked oatmeal recipe for a while, because they always sound so yummy.  But my children are not oatmeal lovers.  They like it in cookies and homemade granola bars, but not in a bowl, hot.  Except two of them like Quaker instant oatmeal.  But they each have their own flavor, and that is the only one they like.  But I thought "I am making this" because we have our own blueberry bushes and I always like to find new recipes to use our blueberries in.  Also my parents were coming over for dinner so I knew at least most of this would get eaten, even if it wasn't a kid favorite.  I told them "everybody has to eat this.  But not everybody has to like it."  It's from the Simple & Delicious that I'm working through.  We had this with potato pancakes (because once again we made way too many mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving), applesauce, orange slices, and of course, bacon.

Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Bake
1 ½ cups 2% milk
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 ¼ cups old-fashioned oats
2 med bananas, sliced
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Topping
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter, softened
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350.  In a bowl, whisk the milk, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until blended.  Stir in oats.

Arrange banana slices in a single layer in greased 9-in square baking pan; top with blueberries.  Pour oatmeal mixture over the top, spreading evenly. 

Bake 25-30 minutes or until set.  Remove from oven.  Preheat broiler.

For topping, in small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and butter with a fork til crumbly; stir in pecans.  Sprinkle over oatmeal.  Broil 7-8 inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I have no picture of the finished product!  You know how when you are making a bunch of things and then everything is ready all at once and everyone is ready to eat?  That's what happened here, and I forgot until I was putting the (small amount of) leftovers away that I hadn't taken a picture of the end result with the topping on it.  Sorry :(

My parents both ate this and said they liked it.  Steve and Emma both had seconds!  (whaaaaa??? She never does that...and she said she really liked it!).  Nathan would only eat two scraped off banana slices and would not even try a bite with everything in it.  Sam said...eh, not as bad as it could be (he is a big oatmeal disliker).  So, the verdict is, I'm keeping the recipe.  Emma having seconds cancels out Nathan having none, and everybody else's reactions were acceptable.

Autumn Apple Chicken

I have a friend that doesn't like to make casseroles, because she doesn't like to cook things twice.  For example, she doesn't like to make all the ingredients for shepherd's pie and then have to cook it in the oven, too.  I tried to tell her she could use the oven time to wash all the prep dishes (or load the dishwasher) and then after the meal you just have the plates and the casserole dish to deal with.  She remains unconvinced. I was thinking of her and her philosophy today when I was prepping this because you have to brown the chicken, then saute the onions, then deglaze the pan...and then cook it for hours in the crock pot.  Haha, I thought, Becky would never do this.  And really this recipe is not the type that you can dump everything in the crock pot in the morning and then have dinner ready when you get home (I do really like that kind though).  This was as much prep work as any dinner, except done after lunch instead of right before supper.  However it worked well for me today because I had a dentist appointment this afternoon, so before I went I prepped everything, then when I got home all I had to do was make the rice and corn.  This one is from Simple & Delicious.

Autumn Apple Chicken
1 tbsp canola oil
4 bone-in chicken thighs (skin removed)
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2-3 gala apples, chopped (I used 3 because my apples were smallish)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
¼ cup apple cider
1 tbsp honey

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Brown chicken thighs on both sides; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Transfer to crock pot; top with apples.

Add onion to same skillet; cook and stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Stir in barbecue sauce, cider, and honey; increase heat to med-high.  Cook 1 minute, stirring to loosen brown bits from pan.  Pour over chicken and apples.  Cook in crock pot on low for 3-4 hours or until chicken is tender.

First I will say this was barely enough chicken and I should have realized that and made 6 thighs instead of just 4.  Good thing we had nobody extra over for dinner.  Also, Nathan did not like this.  Usually he loves chicken made any way, unless it has cheese.  This he did not like.  Due to the nature of the servings, he & Emma split the 4th thigh, so he had maybe 6 bites' worth of chicken and I really had to push him to eat it.  But everybody else really liked it.  The sauce over the rice was so good.  The apples together with the chicken were lip-smackingly-delicious.  We will definitely be having this again.  And poor Nathan will have to have PB&J......don't feel bad for him though.  He actually would prefer that most nights...

Gluten Free Donut Holes

Several weeks ago a friend posted that she had made GF donut holes for her husband (not to be mean...but rather because he is gluten free).  I asked for the recipe and she sent me a link to a recipe on Pinterest.  I have never signed up for Pinterest.  It seems like one more thing to not be able to keep up with/keep track of, and I have plenty of those already.  But it used to be if someone shared a recipe link or a funny nurse meme, I could still click on it and read it.  But not anymore because they think they own whatever that is.  Ok Pinterest food & ingredients have been around for thousands of years but this recipe totally belongs to you now.  Whatever.  So anyway I could not see the recipe, but I still wanted to make GF donut holes.  So I just used my friend google (who still shows me whatever I want) and found this recipe.  It started out using Gluten Free Bisquick which made me very. happy. because I always have some of that.  I get it in 3-packs from Amazon and it is a very reasonable price compared to grocery store prices.  It's a Betty Crocker recipe, and there are a few other ones on that website too that start with GF Bisquick so I will probably make some of those too.  In case you care about preservatives and stuff, the ingredients in GF Bisquick are: Rice flour, Sugar, Leavening (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), Modified potato starch, Salt, Xanthan gum.  The leavening ingredients are the same as in most baking powders, unless you use aluminum free baking powder, which I usually do, but besides that, this is pretty much the same blend I would make using 2 or 3 separate flours.  So I am completely comfortable using it and it saves me time in the kitchen.  But I digress.  Here is the recipe.

Gluten Free Donut Holes
vegetable oil for frying
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ¼ cups Gluten Free Bisquick
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten

In deep fryer or 2-qt heavy saucepan, heat 2-3 inches of oil to 375*.  In shallow bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In medium bowl, mix remaining ingredients until smooth.  Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls.  Carefully drop balls, 5 or 6 at a time, into hot oil.  Fry 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on all sides; drain on paper towels.  Immediately roll in cinnamon sugar.

I put the cinnamon and sugar in a gallon size ziploc bag and shook the donut holes in there after I drained them.  Also to get uniform sizes I scooped them using my Pampered Chef cookie scoop. I made a double batch because two of the kids (and the husband too) had a friend over and I wanted to make sure we had plenty.  We had this with eggs, bacon, sausage, and sliced apples and oranges.

I do not have a deep fryer, although I have been pondering purchasing one for such times as these.  Steve's friend was like "Do not do that.  It is a terrible idea.  All of a sudden you'll gain 15 pounds and you won't know why."  But I think I know why.  If it was too easy to make things like this I'm sure I'd do it more.  My main motivation for wanting one is to keep the temperature of the oil uniform.  I have a candy thermometer that I use to tell the temperature of the oil, but it is not designed for it and I've broken two cheap Walmart ones doing that.  I think if I had one I would only use it a few times a year, like when we have Haitian food and fry plantains, or like one time I tried to make homemade corn dogs but that was a total fail.  And for things like this.  Some of the donut holes turned out perfect, but some of them were still a bit doughy in the middle but definitely done on the outside.  Maybe a little too. done.  But you couldn't tell once they were coated in the cinnamon sugar. 

I'm going to try this dough again but I'm going to try baking them next time.  I have some donut pans, or you could try it in muffin tins too, and then roll them in melted butter and cinnamon sugar to get the same effect.  Mmmmmmmm.

Six-Layer Dinner

This was tonight's supper, and it was pretty good!  It's from the church supper cookbook my mom gave me that I've been working through.  The tagline of this recipe says it's "easy, good, inexpensive, and nutritious."  She got 3 out of 4, I guess.  One of the layers is ground beef, which is not inexpensive.  I buy grass-fed beef in bulk from Siberia Farms every few months, and doing it that way makes it be only a tiny bit more expensive than the grocery store ground beef, which is not as healthy.  So I justify spending a bit more on grass-fed, but it's still expensive no matter what the cow was eating prior to his/her demise.  Also, I used my sweet new food processor to slice the potatoes nice and thin, and I think if I didn't have one (or a mandoline slicer thing would work too), then this would have been less easy.  So if you don't have one of those, then this lady's tagline is only 2.5 out of 4 correct for you.  The "good" and the "nutritious" I have no issues with, she is right.

Six-Layer Dinner
2 cups sliced raw potatoes
½ cup raw brown rice (I used white because that's what I had and it was fine)
1 cup sliced onions
1 lb ground beef, browned
2 cups shredded carrots
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup wheat germ (of course being GF I didn't use this so I googled replacements and one was flax meal which I already happened to have so I used that)
4 cups tomato juice
shredded cheese for serving, (Optional)

Preheat oven to 325.  Combine carrots, green pepper, and celery in a bowl; set aside.  Place potatoes in bottom of greased casserole dish (it didn't say size so I guessed and used 11x7...it was not big enough...you should use a 9x13).  Sprinkle with rice.  Cover in layers with the onions, beef, vegetable mixture, and wheat germ/flax meal.  Pour tomato juice over all. 

Cover tightly with foil and bake 2 1/2 hours.  Sprinkle with cheese just before serving if desired.

By the time I realized my chosen casserole dish wasn't big enough, it was too late.  I was too deeply into the layers.  I was afraid if I tried to transfer to a 9x13 that the layers would all mix.  I am too....I don't know....but too "something" to allow that to happen.  So I pressed everything down in and then put a cookie sheet on the rack below the casserole dish, figuring it would boil over some.  It did.  And burnt on badly. Now I have to scrub/soak/scrub/soak/scrub/soak that cookie sheet.  A couple more times and I'm just going to have to throw it out and get another one.  Which would make this recipe even less not inexpensive than it was.

Everybody liked this, although everybody except Steve & Sam picked around the things they didn't like (I mostly didn't eat the green peppers, Nathan & Emma didn't like the celery, onions, or green pepper).  However, Nathan asked for seconds of this, which is almost unheard of for him.  He also asked for thirds but he had somewhere to be, so no time for that.  We also had to add salt to the final product.  I'm sure it could be added at some point during assembly, but I'm not sure where.  Probably better to just let people salt it to taste while they're eating it.  Very yummy and we will have this again, I'm sure.  Especially since Nathan said this is what he wants for his next birthday meal (which is September.......).

Cranberry Apricot Chicken

We had this for dinner last night.  We had a friend over who eats Paleo (for the uninformed, which I was until recently, it basically means no grains at all...so no gluten [which I'm pretty adept at by now], but also no rice, no corn, no oatmeal...just meat, dairy, fruits, and veggies...) and I already was planning to make this one later in the week but bumped it up to last night.  We had this with homemade potato wedges and green beans.  It's from the Simple & Delicious I've been working through.

Cranberry Apricot Chicken
1 ½ lbs chicken tenderloins (I used boneless skinless chicken breast halves cut into 3 or 4 strips each)
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
¾ cup chicken broth
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup apricot preserves
1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (I always like to use less vinegar...the recipe says 2 tbsp but I only used 1)

Sprinkle chicken with salt.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the chicken on both sides.  Remove from pan.

Add onion to same pan; cook and stir over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until tender.  Stir in chicken broth, cranberries, preserves, and vinegar; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 2-3 minutes or until slightly reduced. 

Return chicken to pan; cook, uncovered, 4-6 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink, turning chicken halfway through cooking time.

Looks yummy right?  The wedges were actually SO good.  The chicken was too.  There was a lot of sauce which I think would have been yummy over rice, too, if you are not eating with any Paleo people.  This was an easy one and yummy too so we'll have this one again, I'm sure.

Gluten Free French Bread

Ok if you're still reading this, you're probably gluten free.  Or someone you love is.  Or you are a devoted fan.  :)

I think bread is the thing that I miss(ed) the most by being GF.  You can buy packaged GF bread that is acceptable for toast and sandwiches.  But to make bread from scratch, without a factory, seems daunting.  I decided to try this recipe, because it has a lot of steps, but didn't really sound complicated.  Before I read this recipe, I did not know there was such a thing as a French bread pan.  But, there is!  And I bought it!  It cost $14 on Amazon. 

It does seem a bit silly.  Steve says he could have made me one out in the barn but I have my doubts about how the uniformity of the dots would have been.  I really wanted the bread to turn out right so I bought it.  And now that I've made the bread and it was AWESOME I know I will use it a lot more times.  This recipe came from the Simply Gluten Free magazine.

Gluten Free French Bread
2 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 ½ cups warm water
3 tsp xanthan gum
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cups gluten free all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp fine sea salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp cornmeal
2 tbsp butter, melted

Combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water in a medium bowl and whisk to dissolve the sugar.  Let sit for 5-6 minutes (10 if the yeast has been refrigerated) or until it is foamy and doubled in size.

In a small bowl, stir the xanthan gum with the olive oil until the xanthan gum is dissolved.

Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or regular beater (not the dough hook) and mix to combine.  Add the yeast mixture, xanthan gum mixture, eggs, and vinegar and mix on low to combine.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl once.  Turn the mixer to high and mix for 3 minutes.

Spray a French bread pan with 2 forms with cooking spray.  Place pan on a clean kitchen towel.  Sprinkle the cornmeal along the bottom of each pan. 

Spoon the batter equally into the forms, and shape into loaf shape using spatula.  Using a sharp knife, cut 3 or 4 diagonal slashes on top of each loaf.

Cover the loaves with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Place a baking pan on the lowest rack of the oven and fill it with about an inch of really hot water.  Position the rack you will bake the bread on in the middle of the oven.  Preheat oven to 400.

Brush the tops of the loaves with the melted butter and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.  Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

We had this with Savory Minestrone soup, which is so yummy.  Steve has a friend that helps him with all kinds of projects around here, and he eats with us a lot as a result of that.  He never says anything critical about my experiments, and also always cleans his plate.  Which is commendable.  I told everyone that this was gluten-free bread.  He took a bite and said...."It tastes like...bread."  Wow.  Music to my ears, truly.  We all felt the same way after we started eating it.  Everyone had two pieces, which no one is obligated to do.  It really was the taste and texture of regular french bread.  And all because of my special pan.  Oh yeah.  This is definitely a recipe I'll make again.  So so so good.

Pumpkin Maple Scones

I do love fall baking.  Last fall there was definitely no charm.  I was newly gluten free and just SAD.  Isn't that silly, to be grieving food?  But I was.  I am thankful to be on the other side of that, and have 14ish months of gluten free cooking and baking under my belt.  I feel like this fall I've been excited to cook and bake again, and a lot more confident than I was this time last year.  I'm sure part of that is that I forget what flour tastes like :)  so these facsimiles thereof seem really good, when maybe the regular people wouldn't think so.  The peeps in my family have been so good about trying whatever I make and giving good feedback.  And I got a good GF flour blend recipe from a friend that has been awesome in muffins and quick breads.  This scone recipe is from the Simply Gluten Free Fall Baking magazine my sister gave me last month.  You could easily make these be "regular" by using all purpose flour in place of the gluten-free flour.

Pumpkin Maple Scones
2 cups gluten free all purpose flour (or regular all-purpose flour)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher or fine sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
6 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet.

In a food processor (which I have now because my dear husband got me one for our anniversary woot), combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  Pulse several times to combine (if you don't have a food processor just stir it...that part is easy).  Add butter and pulse quickly 8 to 10 times or until flour resembles coarse meal with some larger pieces of butter remaining (you can just use a pastry blender and do this by hand, too...it's harder but also cheaper).  Add pumpkin, cream, and vanilla, and pulse a few times to combine.  Do not over-process, or dough will be too sticky.

Flour a work surface and dump the dough onto it.  Knead dough 2 or 3 times to bring it together.  Pat the dough into a circle about 9 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.  Cut dough into 8 triangular pieces (like a pie) and place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the scones are browned and feel firm to the touch.  Let cool slightly while making the glaze.

Whisk powdered sugar and maple syrup together until smooth and no lumps remain.  Spoon (or drizzle) the glaze over the scones, letting some of it drizzle down the sides.

My dough was too sticky, I could tell.  So I patted it into a circle and cut it up right on the parchment paper on top of my baking stone.  Because I thought I would never get them transferred over to it without them falling apart.  It was just the two older kids and I eating these.  Emma didn't like them.  I had some extra glaze so she completely smothered hers and was able to eat it.  Sam really liked these though and had two.  I thought they were good, but not amazing.  We had it with scrambled eggs and oranges.  So it was a good breakfast-for-supper meal overall.

Gingerbread and Pumpkin Cream Trifle

Perfect fall dessert.  But my husband does not like pumpkin.  So weird.  The kids used to not like it either, but I am slowly turning them.  I made this to bring to home fellowship on Friday, because otherwise we would eat it all ourselves and that is not good.  This is from the Oct/Nov 2015 Simple & Delicious.

Gingerbread and Pumpkin Cream Trifle
1 pkg (14.5 oz) gingerbread cake/cookie mix (I used my usual gingerbread recipe.  And I made it gluten free and didn't tell anyone til after, and then I only told 3 people ha)
1 pkg (3 oz) cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 2/3 cups canned pumpkin pie mix
1 carton (8 oz) cool whip, thawed
Caramel sundae syrup for topping

Bake gingerbread according to package directions; cool on wire rack.  Cut into 3/4-inch pieces.

Prepare pudding mix according to package directions; stir in brown sugar and pumpkin pie mix.  Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate 30 minutes.

Layer half the cake, half the pumpkin mixture, and half the cool whip into a 3-qt trifle dish.  Repeat layers.  Drizzle with caramel sundae syrup.  Cover and refrigerate 4 hours before serving.

This was my first experience with cook-and-serve pudding vs using instant pudding.  I'm not sure what the rationale is for using this instead of instant.  But I could definitely tell a difference in the texture.  I didn't love the pumpkin layer.  But Nathan (and some other kids too) said that was the best part.  As for the gingerbread layer, gluten free baked goods tend to be a bit drier than traditional ones, so I figured it would be good in a recipe like this and I was right.  I have a really good GF flour blend anyway and I've been having very good luck with it lately.  If you've read my blog for any length of time then you know that I try to be a sneaky cook, like a spy.  So I made sure to not eat any of this until everyone had been served, because then the observant would have guessed that it was gluten free.  So then I ate some and stood by my friend.  She was pleasantly surprised when I said it was GF.  Or at least she played the part well.  Sometimes I see the plates of children and see that they did not like my dessert because it is still there after the Oreos and cupcakes are gone.  But it seemed like most of this was eaten.  If I make it again, I will use instant vanilla pudding instead of cook-and-serve.  But otherwise a good one.

Pork Carnitas Tacos

The week after Sam's surgery my  husband had to go to Texas for a week for training for work.  He had to.  The only week that would have been worse for this would have been the week OF Sam's surgery.  He was gone 8 days.  He brought  me back this cookbook.

He got this in Texas, even though it's from the Sante Fe (New Mexico) school of cooking.  But probably Tex-Mex is the same both places; they are pretty close on the map.  Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant I get carnitas.  They are good at Las Palapas but I don't know if they're gluten free, and I'm afraid to ask them if they are because there is a language barrier there and I worry they won't know what gluten is and they will agree with me and I will eat the food and get sick.  BUT at Miguel's, they have a lot of gluten free choices and carnitas is one of them.  So I like to go there and eat SO MANY chips and salsa that by the time the carnitas come I can barely eat any but they are so good that I make myself.  So when I saw carnitas in this cookbook it is the first thing I wanted to try.  An ambitious first choice considering I don't have any of the special Mexican ingredients.  But I thought I would omit and modify as I went.  Here is the recipe and my modifications.

Pork Carnitas Tacos
2-2.5 lb pork stew meat or trimmed pork butt, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ounces lard (um.  I used butter)
1 tsp coarse salt
1 ancho chile, toasted, stems and seeds removed, and ground to powder (about 1.5 tbsp)(omitted by me)
1 guajillo or New Mexico red chile, toasted, stems and seeds removed, and ground to powder (about 1.5 tbsp)(omitted by me)
scant tbsp ground chipotle pepper (added by me instead of the two above peppers)(this was a mistake)
1 tsp ground toasted cumin seed (I used the cumin powder I already had)
6 whole allspice
3 whole cloves
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
1 cup Coca-Cola (they say do not substitute anything else for this, so I didn't)
2 1/2 cups meat broth or water
1 whole orange
Flour or corn tortillas

Heat lard in heavy saucepan until hot (don't use a pan that is too broad; a 10- or 12-inch bottom will keep the ingredients from spreading too far)(that was from the recipe not from me). 

Toss pork pieces with salt, ground chiles, and cumin.  Cook in lard for 8-10 minutes, turning frequently to evenly brown.

Add allspice, cloves, garlic, and bay leaves, then the Coke (TM), broth or water, and whole orange.

Bring to a full boil, then reduce heat to just boiling.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the lard is beginning to sizzle, about 1 1/4 hours.  The meat should be fork-tender; if not, add more water and continue cooking (mine was ready at this point...I tried a bite of the meat.  I could taste the spices and the orange, and there was just a hint of heat.  I thought "oh good").

Remove orange, turn up heat to medium high, and saute meat while stirring until pieces are well browned with carmelized edges (it didn't say to remove the bay leaves, allspice, and cloves, but I did because who wants to bite down on that??).  Remove from pan and drain well.

Serve with assorted condiments and fresh tortillas (at Miguel's they always serve with with refried beans sprinkled with queso fresco and rice on the side...I did the beans but not the cheese or the rice).

Okay by the time I got to the end of the recipe, it was SO spicy I couldn't eat it.  I tried really hard.  I tried it by itself--big mistake.  I tried a teeny bit with a lot of refried beans.  Nope.  I tried it with a tortilla chip.  It didn't matter.  Way. Too. Hot.  Surprisingly though the hubs and two older children LOVED it.  They ate all theirs, finished mine, got seconds.  I did not expect that at all.  The texture was pretty much what I've had.  But I couldn't even taste the spices at all like I could before the sauce reduced and the meat fried.  It was just hot hot hot.  If I ever make this again it will be with no type of chile pepper or whatever at all.  It's not even spicy at Miguel's.  I see no reason why food should hurt.  I've never understood that.  My dad likes things so spicy that he's not happy unless he's crying at the table.  He's all blowing his nose and stuff between bites.  I just cannot get on board with that.  Order spicy stuff at a restaurant, husband and children.  Just like you have to order seafood or anything with mayo.  You won't be (knowingly) getting that from me...........


 

Sante Fe Chicken & Rice

We had this for lunch today after church.  It's from the latest Simple & Delicious that I've been working through. I have no idea if they actually make their food like this in Santa Fe.  This recipe name has not been fact-checked.  And the lady that submitted it is from Texas.  So that's confusing.  But anyway.  In the magazine, the recipe is for 2 servings, but I doubled everything...I'll type it out the way that I prepared it.

Santa Fe Chicken & Rice
1 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/3 cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat.  Add onion; cook and stir until tender. 

Add chicken broth, salsa, and garlic powder; bring to a boil.  Stir in rice; return to boil.  Place chicken over rice.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken is 165, turning chicken halfway through.

Remove from heat.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Cover and let stand until cheese is melted.

So easy, and I love that it all cooks in one skillet so clean up was easy, too.  When I saw this recipe I was thinking it would be easy, and yummy, so I'll make it.  I did not expect the reactions I got from the kids...they all loved it!  Nathan said it was the best thing I've ever made (he says that a lot though, if he's eating something he really likes...but still).  You may notice in the picture that one piece of chicken is cheese-less.  Because we have a cheese hater here.  I have tried sneaking it in but he can always tell.  So I make allowances when I can easily.  We will definitely have this again.  It was so good and so easy.