Food, Food and More Foooooood

The other day I received an email from my friend Brigid

AGirl, I adapted one of my old favorites, making it gluten free, including the sauce (took a little experimenting with cornstarch instead of flour).
If you are looking for something for supper.  I think your family will love it, my friends did.
My friends didn’t even know it was gluten and dairy free!  If the link doesn’t work from this cut and paste, let me know and I’ll send you the recipe.
The Teese Cheese was awesome, it’s made in Chicago, and I think you can order it online through a couple of the vegan stores up there.
Love
B.
My daughter, M, was so touched that someone thought about her and was thrilled at the choice…Mexican! Having tasty treats that are out of the norm are fun, but as always the thing that made it was that someone thought of us and genuinely cared. I can not tell you how special it made M feel.
The next day my daughter and I ran out to a specialty to store to try to find the 2 items we didn’t have and last night we made B’s enchiladas.
The only changes I made to her recipe were that I used corn tortillas instead of the “flour” option. M was very disappointed that our store didn’t have them. She has missed her flour tortillas. I have ordered some and we will try the recipe again when they arrive. And also the brand of cheese was not available in our town. She suggests using chicken or turkey, but I didn’t have any leftovers of that, so I used shredded pork. Here is the deal, the kind of tortilla, cheese, or meat you use probably isn’t gonna matter much. It will be delic as long as you make the sauce…ohhhh that sauce!
It is the perfect balance of spices. It’s smokey and rick, but not at all over powering. Ours turned out silky smooth.
When cooking with a 14 year old the kitchen gets a little, well, messy.
And strange. M was playing around with the camera which is why in this next shot I am missing my head and it is in black and white. I don’t know if you have ever tried to cook while a teen is bee-boppin around you with a camera singing Justin Beiber, but you if you haven’t you should try it. It is as annoying and as fun as it sounds.
That is the other change. Brigid rolls her’s and that is a great plan with flour tortillas, but the corn ones were a little stiff. I have made corn enchiladas before where I either dip them quickly in pot of warmed oil(not healthy) or microwave them for a quick second, but since this was a weeknight meal I opted to layer the tortillas like a casserole. When the other ingredients arrive we will make them rolled. Probably wait for a Sunday though.
I am not going to give you the recipe because it isn’t mine to give, but if you are lucky she will post her post and let you in on the yummy secret.
The finished product!!!
I will give you my recipe for quick Cassoulet as request by an AGirl FB friend.
This cooks for a bit so start with a large heavy bottom pan. Put 3 or 4 T of olive oil in the pan and 3-4 garlic cloves, 4 sliced carrots, 2 sliced celery stalks. Saute for 5-10 minutes until soft. Now, I do not measure, so this is tricky, but here are the spices I used…dried basil, dried oregano, ground cloves, smokey paprika, salt & pepper and about 2 T sugar. This will not be sweet, but the sugar helps caramelize the spices as they cook in the oil. Add all those to the pan and cook another 5 minutes. Add 1/2 llb sliced bacon. Cook another 5-10 then add everything else. I used Chicken thighs & polska kiilbasa, but any meat would work…chicken breast, shrimp, whatever. Also add 2 large onions sliced in quarters(do not separate. This cooks a long time and the bigger piece will hold up better) 2 large cans(drained and rinsed) whole tomatoes, 3-4 cans cannellini beans(drained and rinsed) and enough chicken broth to come up about 1/4 way. You do not need a lot of liquid as all the vegggies and meat will give off their own juices. Traditionally this is a braised dish which would require a fuller immersion, but I like less liquid as it helps the bacon and other meats get caramelized as they sit on the bottom of the pan as well as the pieces poking out the top of the liquid. Place covered dish in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for however long you want. Mine cooked for a good 6 hours. The last 20 minutes or so remove the lid, top with bread crumbs and olive oil and cook until golden brown. We are gluten free here, so our bread crumbs were actually a mix of ground corn flakes and tortillas. Enjoy.

11 thoughts on “Food, Food and More Foooooood

  1. I have no idea why the paragraph breaks are not showing up and everything is running altogether. Sorry if it is confusing.

  2. I am reminded! Ran across this recipe online a few weeks ago and thought I ought to post it in a comment to you…..and promptly forgot. Several of my vegetarian friends informed me they regularly make variations on this recipe and that its awesome, so although I’ve not tried it myself I’m passing it along anyway. Read the comments for suggestions for variations: http://sweetteaandcornbread.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-reader-sent-me-this-recipe-little.html

  3. I am SO glad you enjoyed it. Your variation with the corn and the layering and the pork sounded yummy. I’ll post my recipe tomorrow (I just put the M & P 9 pistol review today). Til then, here is the homemade (gluten free) enchilada sauce recipe.

    HOTR Enchilada sauce (c)www.mausersandmuffins.com

    3 and a half Tablespoons of canola oil
    3 tablespoons and two teaspoons Penzey’s 9000 chili powder
    1 teaspoon Penzey’s Ancho Chili Powder
    2 Tbsp. cornstarch
    1/2 tsp. garlic powder
    1/2 tsp. salt
    1/4 tsp. cumin
    1/4 heaping tsp.Penzey’s Italian seasoning ( or any type Italian seasoning)
    1/2 Tablespoon honey (1/2 T is 1 and 1/2 teaspoons)
    2 cups chicken or turkey stock (broth)
    pinch of red pepper flakes
    1 CAP-ful of Scoville Brothers Singing Smoke hot sauce (or 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon smokey hot sauce of your choice, to taste)

    Heat oil on low and stir in spices. Mix in flour and honey to make a paste, still on low. Whisk in two cups of broth and whisk, raising heat to medium until it comes to a low simmering boil. Add in the “Singing Smoke” as it starts to simmer. Simmer 15 minutes, whisking constantly. Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator for a week.

  4. Pro Tip: Mrs B and I put a little bit of the sauce in a small skillet and warm the corn tortillas in it one at a time for 10-15 seconds before rolling. Extremely messy, but it works like a champ, and the tortillas soak up a little of the sauce before baking.

    • Yes, very good tip!! I used to do that, but as you mention messy. With the kids helping by the end of the ordeal my kitchen ends up looking like a crime scene:) that is when I started microwaving them in a moist paper towel, but your right it does add flavor. May have to try that again. Thanks!

    • We used Daiya. In this recipe is was delic. I actually used the Tesse Better than cream cheese to dot on the top. Couldn’t find the cheddar flavor though.

      M has been adding dairy back into her diet. It appears that once we removed the gluten and other sludge from her body the dairy didn’t seem to bother her, but we still limit it.

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