Beef and Rice Burritos

Some years ago I blogged about these rice burritos I grew up eating. Well today I have remade them from scratch so they are gluten free and I can still enjoy them too.


Beef and Rice Burritos (gluten free)
Rice dinner mix adapted from Plain Chicken

1 pound ground beef
1 yellow onion, diced
2 Tbl chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbl butter
1 cup regular long grain rice
1/2 cup broken (gluten free) raw spaghetti pasta
14 oz can diced tomatoes (undrained)
3 Tbl diced canned carrots
2 1/2 cups (gf) beef broth
2 tsp beef better-than-bouillon paste
1 tsp onion powder
4 1/2 tsp (gf) Worcestershire
1 1/2 tsp (gf) soy sauce
1 Tbl chopped garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a large skillet, brown ground beef with onion, garlic salt and pepper. Drain off fat. Set aside and keep warm. In the same skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add broken pasta and rice. Cook until lightly brown. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until water is absorbed. Add cooked beef mixture and fill flour tortillas as desired.

the beef and rice mixture, ready to go

enjoy,
Rachelle

Wink's Homemade Dog Food

Having a dog hasn't always been in our family future, I am more of a cat person, so I thought. We've been petless for 7 years since I had to put my last cat down, it was heartbreaking. We've always told the kids they can have a dog when they're grown lol. WELL, that all changed one day last November at the kid's race banquet when our friends brought one of their fosters with them to hang out. His name is Winks. He's a mix chihuahua (we think Chipuggle) and he's had eye trauma sometime before in his short 2 years so he only has use of his right eye, thus he's called Winks. Well Mr. took him as well as the kids, I was still hesitant but I LOVE the idea of a rescue pet. SO we decided to try out the 2 week foster to adopt with him. We loved him from the get go as well as he loved us! So he became ours. You can find him on Instagram as #MrWinks. :)

I got the idea of making his food from a friend online. I love the idea of making real food and not some processed dog food with who knows what. I've done a lot of reading and decided to combine some recipes to make mine. It's everything that you'd eat, chicken, veggies and brown rice. NO seasonings, they're not good for dogs. Winks loves it!! 

(I used chicken pieces this time)

Wink's Homemade Dog Food
1 batch should make 36 -1/4 cup size balls

4-5 C. cooked brown rice
2 plain whole chickens, about 4 lbs each
2 medium orange sweet potatoes (yams), chopped
8 whole carrots, chopped
16 oz frozen peas
2 small bunches fresh parsley leaves
2 small-medium bunches kale, stems removed
8 eggs
*I also now add an apple or two (peeled, quartered)

Roast chicken in 350' oven for about 1 hour 25 minutes or until juices run clear. As chickens are roasting, cook the rice (4 C. water & 2 C. rice) and let cool.

Peel and chop yams, and carrots, add to a large stock pot with about 1/2 cup water. Add in peas, kale and apple. Allow to boil then simmer until carrots and yams are tender, about 30 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to remove any liquid to a food processor, add fresh parsley and pulse until pureed.

Cook scrambled eggs, plain.

Cool chicken, then pick apart and add meat to a large stand mixer. On medium speed, mix until chicken is shredded. Add in cooled rice, veggie puree and eggs . Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out portions onto a lined baking sheet. Flash freeze then place portions in a freezer safe container/baggie.

To use, keep a day or two worth in your fridge to thaw. I microwave thawed portions for 22 seconds, frozen for about 45 seconds. Feed to your furry baby.

Our dog is about 11 pounds and eats 1/2 C. - 3/4 C. of food a day.

enjoy,

Carrot Rice Pilaf

Here's a great side dish to go with your favorite entree. It's a nice change from boring plain rice. Mr. loves this rice, the carrots naturally sweeten it up and make it extra tasty. It's one I can make often since the ingredients are simple and almost always on hand.  Give this recipe a try this week!


Carrot Rice Pilaf
slightly adapted from Grimmway Farms 

1 cup shredded carrots
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup long grain rice, uncooked
1 (14.5–oz.) can low sodium chicken broth (gluten free)
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning

In a large skillet, saute carrots and onion in butter until tender. Add rice and stir to coat. Stir in broth and lemon pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

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enjoy,

Gluten Free Beef Stroganoff (GF Cream of Mushroom Soup & GF Gravy)

This is one of our go to meals, it's budget friendly using ground beef instead of pricey cuts of steak. My family loves this and really loved it last night, they ate it all! This recipe may seem familiar because I have blogged it back in the day but today I am sharing it with you again, gluten free style and with homemade ingredients. Don't be scared, it's really easy to make, and the soup and gravy are done in no time at all, they could also be made ahead of time and chilled. Make up a batch of that gluten free flour blend to keep on hand, you'll need a little for this recipe. Feel free to serve over gluten free pasta if you wish. 

Gluten Free Beef Stroganoff
adapted from Mommy's Kitchen, serves about 8

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced
Salt & pepper (to taste)
1 TBL crushed garlic
1 tsp onion powder
Cream of mushroom soup (gluten free recipe below)
Beef gravy (gluten free recipe below)
1 cup sliced fresh portabella mushrooms
1/4 cup sour cream
3 TBL parsley
Cooked rice (I would cook up 2 cups of rice for 8 ppl)

Brown & cook ground beef with chopped onion, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder in a skillet.  Drain of excess grease, return meat to pan. Add the cream of mushroom soup, gravy and mushrooms, mix together and simmer over low heat about 10 minutes. Add the sour cream and parsley, mix until thoroughly blended. Serve over cooked hot rice.


Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup 
from my blog

3 TBL butter
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
3 TBL gluten free all purpose flour blend
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1-1/2 cup milk, warmed

Melt butter in large skillet add in mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in flour and seasonings. Cook over medium heat for just a minute. Add milk slowly, stirring with wire whisk. Cook until just about thick. Makes 1 1/2 cups or 1 can of condensed soup. Use all this in this stroganoff recipe.


Gluten Free Beef Gravy

1 cup water
1 tsp Better Than Bouillon beef base
2 TBL gluten free all purpose flour blend
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 TBL parsley
1/2 TBL butter

In a large skillet, heat the water and beef base. Whisk in flour and seasonings and heat until it thickens up. Add in butter and let it melt. Use all this in this stroganoff recipe.

made in no time at all!

add in the gravy, soup and mushrooms, simmer away

I steamed my rice with some chopped garlic

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enjoy,

Fried Rice

I love fried rice, but sadly can't eat it from take away anymore since I doubt they have a gluten free option, SO I make my own. I have combined two of my fave recipes to one I like. You could call this leftover rice, since it's best made with day old rice, meats and with frozen veggies it comes together quickly. I have been making this for a while now and meant to blog it, so after I made this for dinner tonight, I sat my butt down and wrote this for you. (these photos are from last July!! I've been hiding this recipe from you all since then. lol)


Fried Rice
adapted from Cooking with Kai and Steamy Kitchen

4 Cups cooked leftover rice
1/4 lb thinly sliced or diced raw meat/shrimp/tofu/spam (or use cooked leftovers)
1/4 Cup veggies (frozen peas and carrots)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbl cooking oil
3 green onions, sliced for garnish

Sauce
3 Tbl low sodium tamari (soy sauce)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp shaoxing rice wine
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)

Combine all sauce ingredients, set aside. Add oil to a large hot skillet, cook meat for 2-3 minutes (you could add a little bit of sauce while cooking the meat). Remove from pan and set aside. Add eggs and scramble for about 1 minute. Add in rice, meat and veggies allow to heat through.
Add in the sauce ingredients, allow to heat through. Garnish with green onions.

spam fried rice

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enjoy,

Grilled Shrimp with Brown Butter and Rice

There are 4/5 of us here who love shrimp, so when one was away at her friend's, guess what we had for dinner! I saw this recipe and decided to try it out, it sounds wonderful, right? Grilled chili garlic shrimp over brown butter rice? It's such an easy recipe and will be ready in no time at all. You may add any veggies you like, I just happened to have peas. The brown butter adds such a nice flavor to all this.


Grilled Shrimp with Brown Butter and Rice
Serves 6
adapted from Coupon Cooking Cook

2 cups instant Brown Rice
1 3/4 cups Water
1 cup frozen Peas
30 raw medium Shrimp deveined and shelled with tails on
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoons Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
¼ teaspoon Salt
6 tablespoons unsalted Butter
4 whole Green Onions, sliced

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan, add rice, cover and cook on low 5 minutes. Remove from heat, let sit for 5 minutes or until all water is evaporated.

Microwave frozen peas in 1 cup water for 8 minutes, drain, stir into cooked rice, set aside.
While the rice and peas are cooking, start the grill on medium heat.

In a medium size bowl add the raw shrimp, chili powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt and olive oil.
Mix the shrimp in with the spices and olive oil until they’re completely coated. Set aside. (I did this a few hours ahead of time, kept in fridge)
Add the shrimp onto skewers then grill on low heat and cook on both sides until done (about 3 to 4 minutes per side for large shrimp). Remove the shrimp from the grill and set aside for just a moment while browning the butter.

Add the butter to a small skillet and stir as it melts on low-medium heat. Continue stirring. Watch it!! It will burn! When it turns a golden color (and has a nutty aromoa) remove the skillet from the heat.

Add half of the brown butter to the rice and gently mix it together.
Add the rice to a serving dish, top with the shrimp.
Drizzle the remaining brown butter over the shrimp and rice (or as much as you like).
Garnish with the pieces of green onion.

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enjoy,

Rice Pudding

Here's a wonderful, easy recipe to use up leftover rice. Mine came together in less than 25 minutes. Let it cool a little and you've got a creamy rice pudding to enjoy. It's been so long since I've made this, it was a nice treat to have. (silly me, I've made this before in '08, it's been that long.)

Rice Pudding

slightly adapted from allrecipes

1 1/2 cups leftover cooked white rice

2 cups milk, divided

1/3 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup raisins (optional)

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

dash of cinnamon or nutmeg

In medium saucepan, combine cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook, stirring over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Serve warm.

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enjoy,

Homemade Veggie Sushi

I love veggie sushi, I am not crazy about the seafood versions or even the imitation crab, but veggie gets a thumbs up. I have never made it myself but always bought it from the refrigerated counters (Trader Joe's has a good tempura veggie one) but you pay a good $4+ for it, and my family would never allow us to go out for it getting the fresh stuff. So since no one else in my family will eat it, I finally decided to make it for myself. My Niece did come over and have a roll, she loved it. I searched lots of sites and videos for How-Tos and recipes. They were so easy to make, don't be afraid to make them at home. I should've bought Spam also to make Spam Musubi with the extra rice and nori, Mmmm. Here's what I did for mine:

Veggie Sushi 

1 1/2 C sushi rice
1 1/2 C water
3 TBL rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 TBL granulated sugar
Sushi Nori sheets

Assorted veggies slices into matchstick size (I used carrots, red and green bell peppers, green onion, cucumber and avocado)

Soak rice in cold water for 30 minutes then rinse and rinse until water runs clear. Add rice and 1 1/2 C. water to a saucepan over medium heat and once it comes to a boil, cook, covered 15-20 minutes. Check to see that water has evaporated, if not cook a few more minutes.

As the rice is cooking, in a smaller sauce pan combine the rice vinegar, salt and sugar, stir over low heat until the salt and sugar dissolve. Set aside to cool until room temp.

When rice is done, allow to cool also to room temp. Then pour the rice vinegar mixture over the rice, and stir to combine all. You have seasoned the rice and now you can assemble your sushi rolls.

Lay a sheet of nori with rough side up, on a bamboo mat. Spread a small handful of rice over the nori leaving a clean edge at one end, the rice will be sticky so keep a bowl of water nearby to dampen your hands as you spread the rice. Lay on your fillings such a matchstick size veggie strips just off center of nori/rice. Take the end of the bamboo mat nearest you and roll it over the filling, tucking it tightly. Release the bamboo mat and roll and tuck again as you grab the next part of the sushi roll. Continue until it is completely rolled. You may need to wet the nori end to make it stick closed.

Now you can cut your sushi, using a sharp dampened knife, slice the sushi roll in half, then each half in half so you get 8 pieces. Enjoy with wasabi (the premade stuff in the tube that I used was gross, don't use that), pickled ginger and soy sauce.

I have made a video showing how I made a sushi roll, please have a look:

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enjoy,
Rachelle

Garden Vegetable Stir-fry with Tofu, Steak and Brown Rice

This is another tried and true recipe for us. It's what I call a healthy feel good meal. I love the tofu in this, but I also add in meat for the rest of my family, like steak, chicken and even shrimp, you want all tofu, use the whole pack of it. The vegetable are totally up to you also, I bought a stir fry pack of fresh veggies so use which ever ones you like. I always forget, but I would double up the sauce recipe if you like to have some to pour over everything, otherwise there's isn't much left in the pan to drizzle with.

Garden Vegetable Stir-fry with Tofu, Steak and Brown Rice
adapted from Cooking Light August 2000

2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 cup canned vegetable broth

2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1/2 package (12.3-ounce) firm tofu, sliced into 4 pieces
1/2 lb steak, thinly sliced (I used a tri tip roast-steaks)
1 cup thinly sliced white onion
1 cup red bell pepper strips
1 cup sliced zucchini or yellow squash (about 3/4 pound)
2 cups cut broccoli
5 spears of asparagus, cut
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
3 cups hot cooked long-grain brown rice

Tofu and Steak Marinade:

1/4 Cup low sodium soy sauce
2 TBL crushed garlic
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 TBL brown sugar

Combine ingredients for marinade in a bowl with a lid. Add sliced tofu and let marinade in fridge ahead of time (1-2 hours).

Combine water and cornstarch in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Stir in broth and next 6 ingredients (broth through crushed red pepper).

Heat 2 teaspoons of canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu (reserve marinade for steak); stir-fry 3 minutes per side. Remove tofu from pan. Place tofu on several layers of paper towels to drain.

While you are cooking the tofu, use the marinade for the steak. Add 2 TBL cornstarch to the steak and marinade for 5-10 minutes.

Once tofu is done cooking, add a little more oil to pan and stir fry the steak for 2 minutes per side.Remove, set aside.

Add 1 teaspoon canola oil to pan. Add vegetables, stir-fry 1 minute, add a splash of water, cover and let steam another minute or two. Add tofu, steak and broth mixture, stir. Bring to a boil, and cook 2 minutes, it thickens fast. Serve with rice.

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enjoy,

Mom's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

This recipe was meant to be posted back when I started blogging, almost 4 years ago!! Every time I made these since, they never got blogged for one reason or another. Today they are being posted! This is a recipe my Mom made for us growing up and I really liked it, so I make it for my family. Well, if you know me by now, you know I like to shift the recipe around a little.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

adapted from my Mom's recipe

Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground plain pork
2 eggs
salt & pepper to taste
1 TBL crushed garlic
1 tsp fresh grated ginger

Sauce & Veggies:
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cans pineapple chunks + juice
2 TBL corn starch
1/4 C water
3 carrots, medium sliced
1 TBL minced garlic
1/4 C soy sauce (or tamari for GF)
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1/4 C white vinegar
1/3 C sugar
Hot cooked Jasmine rice

Mix ground beef and pork with salt & pepper, ginger, garlic, eggs, roll in to small balls and fry in a little oil (or bake 350' for 20 minutes or until done).

In a large stock pot, cook onion and peppers until just tender. Set peppers aside
Heat pineapple chunks, carrots & juice until boiling, then mix up corn starch & a little water and add in until it boils and thickens. Add sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger and soy sauce. Mix well. Add onions and meatballs to mixture, and heat through about 15 mins. Add peppers to sauce before seving. Serve over hot cooked Jasmine Rice.

We had such a nice evening here, we ate outside!

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enjoy,