Taco Bake

Years ago, I went to a Pampered Chef party and the demonstration was a recipe with canned chili for the base and box cornbread for the topping, with a few extra things added to each one.  Steve loved it; it was one of his favorite things.  Because I am so smart, I never wrote the recipe down.  I thought I could easily remember it.  Which I did, the first few times.  But then I went a while without making it, and I forgot how it went.  I tried a few other times, and then I found a few other recipes that I thought would be similar, but they didn't hit the mark.  I found this recipe in a GF cookbook I got at the Amish Country Store in Unity (apparently gluten is now attacking the Amish, too).  I thought we would try it and see how it compared to our elusive memory of Pampered Chef taco bake.  The cookbook people called this "Stuffed Mexican Corn Bread" but that doesn't seem like the best, or even an accurate, description.  So I'm calling it what I want it to be.

Taco Bake
1 lb ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp taco seasoning mix
½ cup water
3 med tomatoes, chopped
1 cup salsa
2 cups kidney beans or black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup corn
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup grated cheese
Corn Bread Batter:
1 cup GF flour blend
1 tsp xanthan gum (if blend does not contain xanthan gum)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
3 eggs
1/8 cup honey
1 cup milk
¼ cup oil

Brown meat, garlic, and onions; drain.  Stir in the taco seasoning and water and bring to a simmer.  Add tomatoes, salsa, beans, corn, and carrots, stir to combine.  Reduce heat to low and keep warm while you mix the corn bread batter.

In medium bowl, combine the flour, xanthan gum (if using), cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.  Add eggs, honey, milk, and oil.  Stir just until smooth.

Pour meat mixture into greased 9x13 casserole dish.  Top with grated cheese.  Carefully smooth cornbread batter over the top.  Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until corn bread is golden brown.

Ok so Steve really liked this.  The meat mixture had more than the original, which did not have carrots.  But the cornbread was just right.  Also, obviously the meat mixture has some flexibility.  We had 2 tomatoes we just happened to have, but I definitely wouldn't have bought tomatoes for this recipe.  We had leftover black beans, but if we hadn't, I would have left them out and it still would have been fine.  And I also had carrots, but again, we could easily have left them out.  So it seems like a good "clean out the fridge" type recipe: if you have it, throw it in, but if you don't, it would still be good.  And if you aren't eating GF, I think just use regular flour, omit the xanthan gum altogether, and proceed.  But isn't it good to have a few easy recipes you can make in case you have to make a meal for a GF friend or something?  This would be an easy one for that, as long as you make sure your taco seasoning is GF too.  I'm sure we'll have this one again because it was so yummy.

One-Pan Chicken Rice Curry

Guys, I can't believe how long it's been since I posted.  Borderline crazy.  It's like I don't even cook any more.  Wrong.  I've been cooking BUT I've been busy.  Lame excuse.  Mostly cooking gluten free now, but don't let that stop you from reading or trying the recipes, because most of them I adapt from regular gluten recipes.  I got 3 new cookbooks for Christmas.  I've marked them all up and plan to make lots of crazy new things.  But this recipe is a tame thing.  Good for a weeknight.  We had it Wednesday night.  It's from Dec/Jan Simple & Delicious.

Looks a little colorless.  Like I should have added green beans or peas or something.  But I didn't.  Here's the recipe:

One-Pan Chicken Rice Curry
2 tbsp butter, divided
1 med onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 tbsp flour (regular all purpose flour or GF blend...I use Bob's Red Mill in the blue bag for most things)
3 tsp curry powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth (or 2 cups homemade)
1 cup uncooked instant rice

In nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp butter over medium-high heat; saute onion til tender and lightly browned, 3-5 minutes.  Remove to plate.

Mix flour and seasonings; toss with chicken.  In same pan, heat remaining 1 tbsp butter over med-high heat.  Add chicken; cook until no longer pink, 4-6 minutes, turning occasionally.

Stir in broth and add back onion; bring to a boil.  Stir in rice.  Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 5 minutes.  Mixture will be saucy.  4 servings

Ok so a couple of modifications I made...we have 5 or 6 people at most meals, so I increased the chicken to about 1.5lbs...you could throw some cooked veggies in there though to stretch it for less money.  I also used instant brown rice, so once I added the rice in, I covered it and reduced the heat to low for 5 minutes, then stirred the rice and left it on low for 5 more minutes.

This would be dairy free if you used oil instead of butter :)

Easy and yummy.  And the onions are big enough for the kids to eat around ;)  which always happens here.