Peeling Garlic

This how-to video is so cool it deserved a blog post. 

Have you ever need to peel a bunch of garlic at one time. 

It could be done faster and more efficient than you think. 

Just watch...

Zatarain's

I wish I had known sooner, that Zatarain's has so many gluten free options.  I have noticed that most of my previous go-to boxed rice mixes contained gluten so perhaps I just gave up looking at ingredient lists, but I have been determined to find a yummy Spanish style rice to go with our mexican dinners.  Last night we had Zatarain's Spanish Rice with our Mexican Lasagna and it was fantastic!!  I give this product two thumbs up all the way around.  Great flavor, (I did choose to add a can of Ro-tel instead of plain crushed tomatoes), the texture was perfect and the convenience factor was exactly what I needed for my busy night.  It did take a full 25 minutes to simmer, so don't put off making the rice until your main dish is ready like I usually do.  HERE is a link to Zatarain's gluten free products.

Chick-fil-A

So I am surprised that I haven't blogged about Chick-fil-A before now, because we have always had such a good gluten free experience with them. I have always enjoyed being able to order my daughter a kids meal substituting the nuggets for grilled strips.  But on our last visit, we learned that they now offer grilled nuggets.  I appreciate that they know the process for guaranteeing the strips are not contaminated.  Our local store's manager happens to have Celiac in his family, so he is double aware.  And a big shout out for their waffle fries which are also gluten free!  Even the ice cream is on their list of gluten free items.  Click HERE to see the complete list.

Herb Grilled Skirt Steak

In 15 years of marriage, I have never cooked a flank steak.  I am kicking myself because the meat was so tender and my family loved this recipe.  This will definitely be added to our dinner rotation.  My slab of meat must have been bigger than what the recipe calls for because it took longer for it to grill than 5 minutes each side.  Also, I am currently without a food processor so I chopped up the ingredients and whisked them together old fashioned style.  I will have to put in the request for a new food processor for Mother's day this year.  I served this with twice baked potatoes and a salad.  It was delicious!

7 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
3 pounds skirt steak (flank)

In a food processor, pulse the garlic until minced.  Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, and pepper.  With the motor running, add lemon juice and olive oil in a steady stream.  Pour over skirt steak and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour. 

Remove steak from marinate 10 minutes prior to grilling.  Grill for 5 minutes per side or to desired degree of doneness.  Allow steak to rest 5 minutes before slicing against the grain.

Credit for this yummy recipe goes to www.plainchicken.com

Doritos Cheesy Chicken Casserole

I came across this recipe on Pinterest and drooled just thinking about it.  Chips in a casserole?  Oh, yeah!  Had to modify the cream of mushroom and cream of chicken by using gluten free products so I decided to add 1 tablespoon of corn starch.  Mostly out of panic that it would be too runny if I didn't.  I unfortunately tried another recipe this week and did a straight exchange with a runny result.  So, live and learn and add a little corn starch to thicken when using the gluten free cream-of products.

3 cups cooked shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
8 oz sour cream
1 can gf cream of mushroom (I like Pacific brand that comes in a box)
1 can gf cream of chicken
1 1/2 cups salsa or 1 can Rotel
1 can of corn, drained
2 cups shredded mexican cheese
1 bag Taco flavored Doritos

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  Crush entire bag of doritos and cover the bottom of the dish.  I reserved a small bowl to sprinkle over the top after baking.  Also reserve 1 cup of cheese.  Mix together remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour chicken mixture over the Doritos.  Bake for 20-30 min.  Top casserole with remaining cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes or until melted.

Original credit goes to www.plainchicken.com for this yummy recipe.  I just modified it to be gluten free.

Not all Doritos flavors are gluten free so HERE is a link to Fritolay's website with a list of gf products. 

Easy Baked Chicken Fingers

I meant to take a picture of these beauties, but we devoured them too quickly.  They were seriously that good and healthy might I add, since they are not fried in oil.  I love the crunch from the almonds in every bite.  We will definitely be adding these to our dinner rotation more often.  It was a much simpler process than the usual pan fried nuggets we do with an easy clean up.  I will have to consider doubling the recipe for my family of six.

1 pound chicken tenders
Cooking spray
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 rice flour
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 475 degrees

Line baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.  In a food processor mix almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper.  Process until almonds are finely chopped.  Then drizzle in oil and blend until combined.  Transfer mixture to a shallow dish.

Whisk eggs in a second shallow dish.  Add chicken tenders and turn to coat.  Transfer each tender to the almond mixture and turn to coat evenly.  Place chicken on baking sheet and coat with cooking spray. 

Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink inside.  About 20 to 25 minutes. 

Hormel Italian Sausage Crumbles

I planned on ordering pizza for the family tonight, so I had to stop by the store to get ingredients to make a gluten free pizza for Brittany.  Until now she has been a pepperoni fan, but I found another quick and easy option that labeled itself gluten free right on the package.  We even used it to make a quick omlet the next day.  It was locatd next to the pepperoni's at my store.  It sure made for a convenient way to change things up a bit.