Angus O'brien

Yum. Hotdish. Hotdish time of year is nearing a close...as the weather gets warmer we need less comfort foods....well....maybe not.

This is a simple one, and I've found awesome GF replacements for all ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 can (or box of Pacific Brands GF) cream of chicken soup
1 can (or box of Pacific Brands GF) cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 bag of shredded hash browns (1 1/2 pound)
2 cups shredded colby jack or cheddar jack cheese
1 small can of French fried onions (or a small bag of Funyuns - which are GF)

Directions:
Brown hamburger, season with salt and pepper, drain. Add cream soups and milk. Grease the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan. Spread the hash browns in the bottom and then top with the meat and soup mixture. Top with the shredded cheese and the fried onions. Cover with foil and back for one hour at 375 degrees.

Tater tot hotdish

Yummm! I love this hotdish in the winter.....it is so warm, filling and satisfying. Nummy. I have really been wanting hotdishes since going gluten-free....but they are a little tricky. Most Midwestern hotdishes involve condensed soup....which can be hard to find. I found a great brand that I like, and it isn't too expensive.  For this hotdish I used Pacific brand soup. When purchasing tater tots, be sure to check the ingredients - even though the primary ingredient is potato, some brands will be coated in flour for a crispy coating when they bake. I used Trader Joe's brand, but Ore Ida are GF as well, here is a list of all the GF products from Heinz.

Ingredients:
1 pound of lean ground beef
1/2 package frozen mixed vegetables
1 box/can of condensed cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1 package frozen tater tots
1 can/jar of mushrooms

Directions:
Brown hamburger, season with salt and pepper, drain. Mix in soup, frozen veggies and mushrooms. Heat through. Transfer to a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Top with frozen tater tots and bake at 375 degrees until tater tots are crispy brown (30-40 minutes).

 

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

 

This soup was so hearty and creamy and warm and comforting and delicious......yummmm.

Potatoes have become a weekly staple for me, while eating gluten-free....which means you can get awfully tired of potatoes - if you don't look for new ways to prepare them. This soup was really easy, and so good.

Luke had a "guys night" and I made the boys potato skins - I baked 6 small baking potatoes, halved them and scooped out most of the middle, leaving just a little in the skins. I saved all the potato I scooped out and refrigerated it for this soup. 

You could also prepare the potatoes the same day as the soup, baking potatoes just takes some time - so be prepared for this recipe to take a lot longer. You could also cube some potatoes and boil them until tender, drain and use those in the soup.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of bacon,

2 to 3 cups of cubed, roughly cut up potatoes (cooked)

1/2 white onion, diced

10 stalks green onions, diced, divided into 2 bowls

3 cups half and half

s/p

2 cups grated cheese (I used a colby jack mix) plus more for topping.

Directions:

In a large stockpot, fry the bacon until brown and crispy. Remove the bacon strips and crumble, leaving the drippings in the pot. Cook the onions (all the diced white onion and half of your green onions) in the bacon drippings until they are tender. Stir in the potatoes. At this point, I used a mashed to push some of the onion and bacon grease into the potatoes, I think this really blended the flavors well.  Stir in the half and half and salt and pepper. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Add half of your crumbled bacon to the pot, reserving the rest for topping. Make sure soup is heated all the way through.

Serve with green onion, bacon and shredded cheese.

Crunchy pan-fried chicken with roasted potatoes and gravy.

Immediately after taking this picture, I poured gravy over the entire plate. I love gravy, as a true Minnesotan should. This meal was excellent. Luke wanted to make chicken and biscuits, with taters and gravy. I've had trouble finding gluten-free gravy, so I made this from scratch.

Ingredients for chicken and taters:

1 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup breadcrumbs, I use these
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. season salt, divided (or any combination of seasonings)
1 egg
2 Tbsp. EVOO (divided)
1 pound new potatoes, sliced (I leave skin on, but you could peel as well)

Directions:
Lightly beat egg in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, mix breadcrumbs and 1 tsp. of seasoning. Heat 1 Tbsp. EVOO in a large skillet. Dredge chicken through egg, and then through breadcrumb mixture. Fry in oil until cooked through and crispy.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss the sliced potatoes with 1 Tbsp. EVOO and 1 Tbsp. seasoning. Lay out on cookie sheet (I used stoneware baking pans) and roast in oven until cooked through. Time will depend on size and thickness of potato slices.

Luke loves all kinds of bread. I have really been missing any kind of bread-like food since becoming gluten-free. We finally found some GF Bisquick  and were anxious to try biscuits. We just used the recipe on the box (although we just made 1/3 the batch), the texture was good (far better than some of the frozen GF biscuits I've purchased) but the flavor was a little blah. I recommend adding a little flavor.....like extra butter, salt, some chives and/or cheese. Overall, not bad.

 

For the chicken gravy, I used cornstarch as a thickener and used the recipe on the box, I used Argo.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. butter

2 cups of chicken broth (Swanson's is GF)

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 cup cold water

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add chicken broth. Remove from heat. In a separate cup mix cornstarch and cold water until smooth, add to the chicken broth and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil and boil for one minute (or longer, until desired consistency).

Yummmmmmm. Here is the full meal, plus a shot of my plate smothered in gravy.

Breaded Pork Cutlets and Oven Roasted Root Veggies

The last few weeks have been a major adjustment for me. When I found out I had Celiac Disease I was so relieved to know what was causing me to feel sick, but overwhelmed by the huge lifestyle change I needed to undergo. I admit I haven't been cooking much, or baking at all. Things I love to do. At first it was much easier just to buy pre-packaged foods that were labelled gluten-free than to try to make entire meals myself. I miss cooking and baking, and I miss healthy foods that taste good! I needed to get back into the kitchen. I have been cleaning out my pantry of all gluten containing foods, and replacing everything with items I can eat! I now have all the main staples for cooking and baking and have started to get back in the kitchen. I've missed it!

Ingredients:
Thinly sliced pork cutlets, 1 to 2 pounds
1 cup Glutino GF bread crumbs (or any other breading)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. season salt (I use Tastefully Simple)
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. garlic seasoning (I use TS Garlic Garlic)
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 cup assortment of root veggies (potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc)
2 Tbsp. EVOO, divided

Directions:
In a shallow dish, lightly beat one egg. In another shallow dish mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and 1 tsp. season salt and 1 tsp. garlic seasoning.

Drag the pork cutlets through the egg wash and through the breadcrumb mix. Lay into a heated skillet with 1 Tbsp. EVOO. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Let them get brown and crispy before turning.

Wash, peel and cut the root veggies to desired size. Toss with 1 Tbsp. EVOO and 1 Tbsp. of garlic seasoning and 1 Tbsp. of season salt. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast in a 450 degree oven for 35 minutes (may be longer or shorter time depending on the size of the veggies). Potatoes should be soft and cooked through, carrots and parsnips will appear dry and withered.

Parmesan-crusted chicken and roasted vegetables

 

I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, breaded with gluten-free breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, black pepper and creole seasoning.  I fried the breaded chicken in a little EVOO.  I cut parsnips, carrots and potatoes, tossed them with olive oil, seasoned them and roasted them on a stoneware pan at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. Yummy.

 

Beer-braised chicken

I've been wanting to try cooking with beer, and I thought about a "beer in the rear" chicken, but then I found this recipe. It's from Rachael Ray, however, it took a lot longer to finish cooking than the recipe indicates - so I've added info based on my results. The aroma was awesome....bacon, beer, potatoes, chicken....what could be better?!

Ingredients:
1/4 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
about 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken (RR suggests thighs, I used breasts)
S/P
rice flour for dredging
EVOO
1 12 oz. bottle beer (preferably a brown ale - I used Leinie's Creamy Dark for GF you could use Red Bridge)
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
1/2 pound small potatoes, halved or quartered
2 Tbsp. mustard (I used a spicy deli mustard)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 sprigs fresh thyme (I used other spices - like herbs de provence and oregano)
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Heat a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess. Add some EVOO to the bacon drippings in the pot. Add the chicken (in batches if needed) and cook until golden on the bottom, 6 to 7 minutes, then flip and sear the other side. Add the beer, onions, potatoes, mustard, sugar, thyme and 1 cup of water to the pot and stir. Make sure the chicken is fully submerged. Simmer until the chicken is done and the potatoes are soft. RR says 15 minutes....I say more like 30. Add more water if needed, as a lot will boil off while cooking. Discard thyme (if used) and stir in the bacon and parsley.

Greek Lemon Chicken

Luke and I were lucky enough to travel to Greece for our honeymoon - it's the most beautiful place on earth, with the best food I've ever had. I love fresh Greek salads, lemons, herbs, vinegar - all of it.  My sister made this recipe a while back and posted pictures of it - it looked so good I had to try it. The recipe is from Pampered Chef and is fairly simple.  

 Greek Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tsp. lemon zest

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 large cloves of garlic, pressed

2-3 tsp. dried oregano leaves

3/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

2 medium baking potatoes

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces

1 medium red onion, cut into wedges

8 oz. fresh whole mushrooms

4 split chicken breast halves (I used boneless, could use bone-in)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 1 qt. bowl, combine lemon zest, lemon juice and olive oil. Press garlic into lemon mixture. Add oregano, salt, black pepper and set aside. Cut each potato lengthwise into 8 wedges; place in a 9 x 13 baker. Add bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, half of the lemon juice mix, toss to coat. Place chicken on top of vegetables; brush with the remaining lemon juice mixture. Bake 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through, basting chicken and vegetables with pan juices after 30 minutes.

Jennie's favorite meal

This is one of Jennie's absolute favorite meals.  I don't make it that often, I prefer it when Ma makes it, as it's just one of those meals that's better when mom makes it.

This is a pretty simple mean, as I use pre-packaged sauerkraut (the bagged kind in the refrigerated section of the grocery store - not canned - Frank's Quality Kraut in a bag is GF) and polska kielbasa (Hillshire Farms is GF) baked together until heated through.  Serve with plain mashed potatoes with butter and salt.  A Leinies or GF Red Bridge completes the meal.