Teriyaki Pork Stir Fry

Tired of rich holiday meals? Want more fresh veggies in your entree? But don’t trust your Chinese restaurant to be gluten free? Or wanna make it cheaper than takeout? Try this easy way to create your own stir fry. I had some boneless pork chops and cut off the excess fat while chunking it for frying. You stir up a sauce and add it near the end all at once to coat the pork and the veggies.

You should definitely use bell peppers, but the other veggie choices are flexible. I like onion and celery in mine. Had mushrooms and a zucchini to use up so they went in too. Snap r snow peas would be excellent instead of the zucchini. I served this over some leftover jasmine rice; perfect but brown rice or rice noodles are great alternative starch options. If you are keto; skip that starch!

Angie’s Teriyaki Pork Stir Fry

Ingredients:

16-20 ounces of pork loin, boneless pork chops or tenderloin

1/2-1 Tsp. meat tenderizer (optional)

2 Tbsp. oil, sunflower oil works well

1 red pepper cut in large dice; I did wide strips top to bottom and then cut into 3 pieces

1 yellow or orange pepper cut the same; large dice

1 med-large onion cut in wide strips and then they get halved

2 celery stalks cut in 3/4 inch chunks; wide bottoms also halved

1 cup chubby zucchini slices cut in quarters to be similar to the peppers

4-6 ounce fresh mushrooms cut into fat slices or chunks.

3-4 scallions cut in 1 inch lengths

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

Sauce: 2.5 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. honey, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp. rice vinegar, 1 tsp. mirin, 3 Tbsp cold water, 1 Tbsp. cornstarch; mix in a small bowl

Directions: Cut meat into 3/4-inch chunks, cutting off any big globs of fat. Sprinkle with some meat tenderizer if you like to do that. I did. Heat oil in a wok or wide fry pan; I used a large non-stick paella dish; it kind of worked well. Add the meat. Cook 2-3 minutes, stir up to get a new side down to browna little, cook 2 more minutes, stir again and cook another 2 minutes. You want it to reach 146-150 degrees; I actually tested the biggest chunk with my instant read thermometer. Remove meat from pan. Add the peppers, onions and celery. Cook 3 minutes, stirring often. Add zucchini and mushrooms. Cook 2 more minutes. Add scallions and cook a minute. Add garlic and the sauce. Cook about 2 minutes until sauce thickened. I added 1-3 more Tbsp. water as it got too thick and I didn’t want it to burn or for the garlic to taste raw. Maybe next time I will cook the garlic a minute with the veggies in the pan before I add the sauce. Up to you just don’t overcook those veggies; they should be slightly crispy. Serve over hot rice. Enjoy!

Tuna French-Fry Casserole, 3.0

I rarely make tuna noodle casserole; but I did make a delicious version a while ago. Today I attempted to make my old French fry version with a scratch gluten free sauce from that noodle version. What a difference that made! So delicious, a delicate flavor and a huge improvement over bought cans of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup which are generally not gf anyway. This was as good a tuna casserole if not better than any I have tasted before going gluten free so I plan to make it again for sure. It really isn’t that much work to make a scratch sauce, and it makes all the difference in the world in terms of flavor. Just don’t boil the sauce or it may separate.

Notes: I added chunks of red and green sweet pepper; up to you whether you add them. I especially like the red pepper in it. Use whole milk if possible; makes it taste rich. You can use any type of frozen French fries but check to make sure they are gluten free. Don’t leave out anything in the sauce; the celery/onions/peas give it such a fresh taste, like early spring! Use the tuna you like; I suggest water-packed white for this. I find albacore kind of dry, so the solid white tastes better to my taste buds; totally your call what tuna you use. Be sure to drain it; your critters will love the juice in their suppers! I used fresh dill in my sauce this time, but use what you have or even leave it out.

 I served mine with buttered baby carrots. A salad would be a nice option too!

Most of the veggies are in the pan!
Creamy sauce and veggies; thickening
Half constructed; 2 layers of French fries when it gets done.
Ready to bake: cracker topping is on!
A healthy serving of tuna french fry casserole

Angie’s Tuna French Fry Casserole

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. butter, divided

1 rib of celery, diced finely

1/3-1/2 cup finely diced onion

1/2 cup sweet red pepper, diced

1 tsp (1 clove) minced fresh garlic

2/3 cup frozen peas

4 Tbsp. white rice flour

14 ounces chicken broth; low sodium preferably

7/8-1 cup of whole milk; I warmed it 1 minute in my microwave

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. dried dill weed or 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped dill

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1-2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh Italian parsley (optional)

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

2 cans tuna, (5 oz cans) drained – I like solid white packed in water for this

half a bag of frozen french fries baked for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees; bake while you make the sauce.

Topping: 3/4 cup crushed gf Schar Company Crackers and 1-2 Tbsp. melted butter; mix in small dish and sprinkle it over before baking the casserole.

Directions: Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in medium frying pan, medium heat. Add onions and celery; cook 4-5 minutes, add garlic and peas, cook one more minute. While they cook, butter a 9×12 glass baking dish (2.75 quart) and put those hot veggies on a plate while you whip up the nummy cream sauce.

Start oven heating to 350 degrees. Melt rest of the butter in the same frying pan, add the flour when it is hot; stir it while the flour blends in, cooking it 30-60 seconds. Add in the broth and then the warm milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add the salt, dill, parsley and lemon juice. keep stirring; after a minute or two it should be thick and bubbly. Stir in the parmesan cheese as it bubbles; not at a boil. Taste and adjust sauce as needed. I thought it was perfect with no changes but up to you. Dump back in those veggies; stir. Add half the hot French fries and then carefully pour half the sauce and veggies into the baking dish. Top with the cheddar cheese and then the buttery crumbs and bake about 25 or 30 minutes until it is bubbling. I did 30 minutes

It keeps in the fridge for 2-3 days; I like to add a touch of half and half to my serving before microwaving it; like a couple teaspoons; helps it stay moist when reheated.

Black Bottom Pie A Southern Treat!

This is a humdinger of a pie, from the South but definitely a pie we love here in Pennsylvania. A gingersnap crust topped with a thin layer of dark chocolate custard and then a high layer of rum flavored custard which I like to top with lightly sweetened freshly whipped cream. Heaven on a plate.

This pie is slightly tricky but honestly I have never had a fail and I have made it like 2 dozen times over the years. My mom used to make it and I often make it during the Christmas season. We had some on New year’s Eve to celebrate. My guy claims to not like gingersnaps but once he eats a freshly baked one made from scatch he suddenly becomes a fan! So, you could use a graham cracker crust but I urge you to try this with the gingersnap version. The rest of it is hard to sub in anything. I generally like dark rum but in a pinch I have used white rum more than once. I use bittersweet chocolate but you could try it with semi-sweet or even 50/50 bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate.

Black Bottom Pie

Make a gingersnap crust; 1 1/2 cup crushed gingersnaps; I do it in the blender

1/3 cup melted butter; mix in a bowl and pour into a 9 inch pie pan; spread evenly on bottom and sides. I like to use a sheet of wax paper to easily spread it. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

Filling

Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1 Tbsp and 2 tsp. cornstarch

2 cups whole milk heated to quite hot in the microwave; I do 2 minutes

4 eggs separated; put yolks in a small bowl and lightly beat with a whisk

1.5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp plain gelatine mixed with 2 Tbsp. cold water in a small dish; let stand a minute before using

1/4 tsp. cream of tarter

2 Tbsp rum, preferably dark rum

a cup of cold heavy cream

Directions: Mix the sugar and cornstarch and add to the milk in 1.5 quart saucepan, heavy if you have such. Stir as it heats on medium. I use a heat diffuser between the heat and the pan. Cook slowly, do not let boil. Stir a lot so it heats evenly. It needs to coat the spoon; won’t get that thick and this generally takes 8-10 minutes at least. Then use a measuring cup to dip out 1/3 or so cup of it and stir into the egg yolks. Then pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk and stir well. Then cook on medium heat for a minute. Meanwhile… Melt that chocolate; I do it in my microwave. Dip out or pour a cup to 1.25 cups custard into a small bowl; pour in melted chocolate, stir good and add the vanilla, stir and let cool a couple of minutes before pouring into the crust. evenly coating the bottom. Put in fridge to chill.

Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar until forming soft peaks. Add 1/3 cup sugar very slowly as it beats to firm peaks. Pour the melted gelatin into the remaining hot custard, stir in until it is melted. Add rum and fold together with the beaten egg whites until no white shows, pull the crust out of the fridge and gently pile the rum custard on top of the chocolate custard. Chill at least 3 hours. Serve topped with whipped cream sweetened with a little powdered sugar; 1 cup heavy cream plus 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar.

Peanut Butter Cookies: Old School Beauties

Lots of families make peanut butter cookies for Christmas so I decided to repost my recipe. Guys especially love them! Making a batch today at a friend’s house. There are lots of gf recipes out there but mostly they are not like what i grew up eating. And I heard about recipes for three ingredient traditional peanut butter cookies. I wanted something a bit more actual cookie texture (think less greasy) and with less sugar than the versions I have come across. So, I decided to play with the proportions plus I wanted to add some gf flour. I cut the sugar by one fourth and dumped in a small amount of flour. To make sure my results weren’t like a brick I added some baking powder and to keep them from being incredibly crumbly messes I tossed in a touch of xanthan gum. The resulting dough was still a tad crumbly but when you scrunch up about a tablespoon with your fingers it forms a ball that can be flattened with a fork dipped in granulated sugar in the traditional cross hatch of all great peanut butter cookies.

The results: simple but tasty = peanut butter heaven. I must advise that I used chunky peanut butter. I don’t much care for creamy peanut butter, so I try not to have to buy it for recipes. So, I chunked it and my somewhat picky eater who doesn’t like chunky peanut butter was in love with these beauties. I am guessing it would work with creamy. Let me know how they turn out if you make them with a creamy peanut butter.

peanut butter cookies 001

To review, significantly lower in sugar than most three ingredient recipes, great flavor and texture and simple to make. Bonus: they still remind me of the peanut butter cookies of my childhood…which were full of all purpose flour! I used my typical flour blend; King Arthur gf blend but I am sure Better Batter or Cup for Cup will work. If your blend has gum in it no additional gum is needed so leave that quarter teaspoon out.

Note: if you love the salty cookie concept, sprinkle with coarse sea salt before baking, I now do that. Either sweet or salty they are somewhat addictive, especially fantastic with a glass of cold milk.

cranberry apple pie and peanut butter cookies 008cranberry apple pie and peanut butter cookies 009

Chunky Peanut Butter cookies

1 cup chunky peanut butter
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg (room temp)
½ cup gf flour blend (I used King Arthur basic gf blend)
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. xanthan gum

¼ cup sugar for fork action
Coarse sea salt (optional)

Directions: Mix first six ingredients well in stand mixer. Form into balls by squeezing in hand. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, press with fork dipped into sugar. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt if desired.

Bake at 375 for 9 to 11 minutes. Watch carefully – they burn easily. Let stand one minute before lifting off with pancake turner to a cooling rack. Eat and enjoy these gems of cookies…you will be taken back to your childhood.

 

Sugar Cut Out Cookies… My Best Ever!

I have to say that sugar cookies are difficult to make out of gf flour; they have to be sturdy enough when rolled out that you can handle them and get them to the baking sheet and still taste delicate and delicious. I had trouble finding a great recipe; not terrible but just not the best. A few years ago, I tried a totally different tack; I used my favorite Betty Croker cookie cookbook recipe that is normally made with all-purpose flour and just subbed in 1 for 1 GF flour; I used Bob’s Redmill. Exact same amount. They were a bit fragile in the cut-out process, but I was able to do it and the flavor and texture is superior in my opinion. Making a batch this afternoon with friends!

Notes: I added lemon extract to give a bit more flavor and I sprinkled them with colored sugar. Do suggest you sprinkle as you make and not get the baking sheet coated in colored sugar as it burns and can have a negative flavor impact as well as causing cookie edges to burn. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 3 minutes so they are a bit firmed up and be gentle in that moving process to the cooling rack.

I kinda got these too brown; there was a lot of stray colored sugar on the baking sheet and I think 400 degrees was just too hot; I tend to generally lower the oven 20-30 degrees to keep things from over baking.

Angie’s GF Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter or other solid butter substitute at room temp but not squishy

1 cup granulated sugar

2 room temp eggs, large

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon extract (or orange or more vanilla)

2 1/2 cups 1 for 1 GF flour mixture (I used Bob’s Redmill)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Directions: Put butter and sugar in stand mixer bowl, Beat until very smooth and light. You might want to stop a couple of times to scrape the bowl sides to help it blend. Add eggs one at a time, beating until blended in. Add extracts. Mix the flour and dry ingredients in a small pour spout bowl. Add to dough mixture in bowl, at slowest speed. Blend until smooth. Chill 1-3 hours. Use 1/4 of the dough at a time to roll out on lightly floured bread board. Roll to 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Use more flour to help it to not stick to rolling pin. I actually used a thin flat metal pancake turner/spatula to shove under th dough edges to release the dough from the board as it kept sticking. Too much flour will make them tough so the pancake turner helped keep me from excessive flouring. Cut with your favorite cookie cutters. Use that same turner to move them to the baking sheet. I strongly urge that you decorate before placing on an ungreased cookie sheet. Our favorites are green and red decorating sugar for much of the cookies, a blue for stars, and some tiny colored decorating balls on the Christmas trees. We love Christmas pigs and fish as well as the traditional trees and stars. Don’t try any super fancy cutouts; this dough is not so good for fancy shapes. Narrow necks, complex curves etc are not do-able.

As you are cutting them out get the oven ready. Put oven shelves on two middle racks. Heat oven to 380 degrees (the 400 degrees of the original recipe seems too hot). Leave 1 to 1.5 inches between cookies. Bake 6-9 inches. I like to put all the small cutouts on one sheet and the bigger ones on its own baking sheet as the small ones will bake a bit faster. Watch them closely; the outer cookies bake faster and smaller ones faster too. Pull out when the edges are a light brown. let stand on sheet for 3-5 minutes. Gently move each cookie to a cooling rack using that flat metal spatula. Best consumed when they are fully cooled; warm they don’t have the correct texture.

I did only make a half recipe last year; with 6 tbsp. of butter. as I just didn’t have the audience to eat a whole batch of them. I have half the dough wrapped tightly and stored in the fridge for making fresh next week. I save all the scraps and roll them out as the last roll out of dough. More than 2 roll outs will make that dough tough and dry, so some scraps end up in the trash as they get too reworked. Enjoy these cookies; they are definitely worth the effort and are a blast from my Christmases before my diagnosis of celiac disease.