Ranch Dressing

Ingredients

    1 cup Mayo
    1/4 cup Dairy-Free "Buttermilk" (see recipe below)
    3/4 tsp. dried Parsley (or 1 tsp. fresh)
    3/4 tsp dried Chives (or 1 tsp. fresh)
    1/2 tsp. dried Dill (or 1 tsp. fresh)
    1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
    1/4 tsp. Onion Powder
    1/8-1/4 tsp. Sea Salt
    1/8 tsp. Black Pepper

Directions

    Combine all ingredients except for the dairy-free buttermilk in a medium bowl.
    Slowly whisk in the "buttermilk."
    Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
   
Dairy-Free Buttermilk:
Add 1 and 1/2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice to a liquid measuring cup.
Add enough Dairy-Free Milk to bring the total amount of liquid to
1/4 cup (The original author uses So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk--I use
WestSoy brand Rice milk, which doesn't curdle, so disregard the curdling instructions
below if you use it!). Stir and allow to sit for 5 - 10 minutes, until milk curdles then
it's ready to use!

GK's notes:  I use Veganaise soy-free mayo.  I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine the Beannaise recipe would make a decent, if somewhat less delicious, yet more nutritious Ranch Dressing.  I don't really know how long this would last, but store it in your fridge.  I wouldn't keep it more than 5-7 days, not that it would stand a chance of lasting that long in our house.

Ground Beef Stew with Dumplings

Ground Beef Stew (with optional (ha!) dumplings)

Servings:6    

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef   
1 onion    
1 ½ cups carrots    
2 cups potatoes    
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste    
4 cups beef broth (plus @ 3/4 c water)
>1 teaspoon garlic    
1/2 tsp savory    
1/2 tsp oregano    
1/2 tsp marjoram   
@ 1 T coriander    
@ 1 T Mrs. Dash    
salt/pepper to taste  

Directions:         

1.  Brown beef.   
2.  Add broth, potatoes, onions, carrots, seasonings,  and tomato paste in water.    
3.  Boil until vegetables are fully cooked (which turns out to be just about 20 minutes, which  is perfect for dumplings!). 

Fluffy Dumplings  
Yield:  8  dumplings     

Ingredients:

2 cups bob's red mill gluten-free all-purpose flour    
1 tablespoon baking powder    
1 teaspoon salt   
¼ cup shortening    
1 cup rice milk

Directions:    

1  Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl.   
2  Cut in Shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal or crumbs.    
3  Lightly mix in milk to make a soft dough; Stir as little as possible.    
4  Drop big plops of dough on top of stew. Simmer ten minutes uncovered;    
5  then cover tightly and simmer 10 minutes longer.

GK's notes:  I have to admit, I was a bit dubious about these dumplings.  I got the recipe from Food.com--actually, I got the precursor to this stew recipe from Food.com, and in the comments someone made the suggestion to use this dumpling recipe also from food.com.  She said she made them gluten-free, so I thought well, at least I can try it.  They turned out SO GREAT!  I couldn't believe how light and fluffy they turned out!  I was afraid the gluten-free dough would just fall apart in the broth, but it totally works!  The dumplings really, really made this dish.  The stew was a pretty standard beef stew, which was what I was in the mood for, so it was plenty fine, but the dumplings were just so yummy!

ginger carrots

I have a hard time getting my kid and husband to eat veggies, especially carrots.  Both of them groaned this evening when I told them I was serving carrots.  Both of them were quite wowed--my husband even went back for seconds!  These were tasty!

1 lb bag frozen carrots
1/4-1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
shake of pepper
1 T soy sauce (or soy sauce substitute)
1 T oil
2-3 T honey

Cook and drain your carrots to the doneness you prefer.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir.  The sauce should taste slightly sweet, slightly salty/buttery and just a touch gingery. 

GK's notes:  I use canola oil, because it's pretty much the only surely safe oil for us.  Use what you like/can use, but I would make sure and use something with a very mild flavor. 

Chorizo with red rice

Ingredients:

1 pound chorizo sausage, bulk or removed from casings, browned and drained
1 tablespoon oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced fine
1 sweet onion, such as Mayan Sweet or Vidalia, diced fine
2 cups enchilada sauce
4 cups water
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
2 cups white rice, long grain
1 can(small) tomato paste
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped

Preparation:
Remove any casings from chorizo sausage. Brown sausage in non-stick Dutch oven. Drain fat off. In the non-stick Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of  oil. Sauté the pepper, the garlic and the onion, until the onion is transparent, about 10 minutes.

Add enchilada sauce, water, tomato paste, browned and drained chorizo sausage, cumin, salt, and paprika to the Dutch oven and stir well. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add rice. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until rice is done.
Serves 8.

 

GK's notes:  We didn't have any peppers tonight, and I'm not sure I missed them at all.  We'll try it with them next time, but I'm betting we'll go back to  not after that.  The enchilada sauce we had was too spicy for my son and me, so my husband used half enchilada sauce,  half Hunt's tomato sauce.  He also used Jasmine rice, instead of plain.  I'm not sure how much of a difference it made, but this was really, really yummy.  We can't have pork, so we used our own homemade, beef chorizo, so it was kind of exciting for us.  Personally, I think it could use even more of the tomato-y sauce, or extra water, maybe.  It was better saucy, but after the rice was finished cooking, it was more paste-like, which was still fine (by which I mean insanely delicious), but maybe more saucy next time.  505 brand enchilada sauce and salsas are vinegar and corn-free.

sloppy joes

    oil for sauteing
    2-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
    1 whole large onion, chopped
    2 whole large red bell pepper, chopped
    8 cloves garlic, minced
    1-1/2 cup 505 brand mild, vinegar-free salsa
    2 T brown sugar
    2 tsp chili powder
    1 tsp dry mustard
    soy sauce, or soy sauce substitute, to taste--about a tablespoon or two
    Salt and pepper to taste
   



Add oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Add peppers and onion, and cook for about three minutes.  Add garlic, and cook for about one minute more.  Add ground beef and cook until brown.

Add salsa, brown sugar, chili pepper,  soy sauce and dry mustard. Stir to combine and simmer for a few minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste.







GK's notes:  I altered a recipe I found on-line.  It looked good, but seemed to have superfluous steps, and used some ingredients we can't use, so I tightened it up and made the appropriate subs, and got this!  It was DELICIOUS!  I love peppers, onions and garlic, so this is way more than the original called for, and it's so much better for it, I'm sure.  =)  If you aren't crazy for them like we are, feel free to reduce those amounts by about half.  This is just a touch spicy--the salsa is super mild.  If you like it spicier, use hotter salsa, or add tabasco or your pepper of choice.  I strongly recommend the Chipotle tabasco--that smoky flavor improves just about anything!  In fact, I'm disappointed I didn't think of it tonight!  Mmmm...  Next time, we are definitely using medium salsa.

Hamburger Pie

From the red plaid cookbook, with some changes

4 servings of instant mashed potatoes, prepared according to the box + 2 T nutritional yeast and 1 tsp
      garlic salt
1 lb ground beef
1 chopped onion
1 bag frozen mixed veggies (or veg of your choice!)
1/4 c water
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes
1/2 of a 6 oz can tomato paste
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp Mrs. Dash
1/2 tsp molasses
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1 T hearty brown mustard
salt and pepper to taste
additional nutritional yeast
shredded cheese (Daiya for those of us who can't do dairy)

1.  Prepare mashed potatoes.  Set aside.
2.  In a large skillet, cook ground beef, onion, Mrs. Dash and some salt and pepper till meat is no longer pink and onion is tender.
3.  Add frozen veg to skillet along with 1/4 cup water.  Cover and cook 5-10 minutes--until veggies are tender.  Stir in the undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, soy sauce, molasses, italian seasoning,  mustard, additional nutritional yeast (heh!), and any more salt and pepper, if needed.
4.  Transfer mixture to 2 quart casserole.  Drop mashed potatoes in mounds atop hot mixture  and kind of spread around to get a mostly covered, pretty flat top.  If desired, sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Bake 20-25 minutes or till heated through and golden on top.

GK's notes:  Now, this is how I prepared it, and I'm writing it down to remember what I did.  I want to tinker with it some before I call this a finished recipe.  It was too tomato-y, and a bit tangy, almost vinegar-y, but I think a lot of this is because of the tomato paste.  I will eliminate it next time, and see how that goes.  Also, it was too liquidy.  I think eliminating the 1/4 c water would be a good idea at least, and maybe drain the tomatoes before adding them, though if we're taking out the paste, we might need the tomato juice for flavor.  It might also be good to reduce the mustard to 1/2 T; that might also reduce the tanginess. 

barbecue sauce

I got the original recipe from the internet, but I've altered it, both for flavor and to make it safe for my family.  When I made my husband taste it, he said in a very shocked tone of voice "You MADE this?!?"
I must admit that that was very gratifying.  He's a barbecue snob, so, you know.  *smug*

Makes 1.5 cups

Ingredients:


    2 cups water
    3/4 cup simple syrup
    1/2 cup tomato paste
    1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
    3 teaspoons molasses
    3 teaspoons brown sugar
    1 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon onion powder
    1/4 teaspoon pepper
    1/8 teaspoon paprika
    1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/4 teaspoon turmeric
    1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1 tablespoon water

Directions:

    1  Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat and whisk until smooth.
    2  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes or until thick, STIRRING OFTEN.
2.5  Combine starch and water, add to pot.  Cook a few more minutes.
    3  Remove from heat and bring to room temp, place in a sterile jar with a lid and let stand overnight in the fridge before using.
    4  Will keep up to 1 month.



Those are the directions from the recipe I found.  I only just made it, so I don't know if it will really keep for a whole month.  We shall see, right?  Oh, and I didn't stir the whole