Gluten Free Mexican Rice and Beef Recipe

February 19, 2013 By

mexican beef and rice-1-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew loves all things Mexican. He loves the flavors, the language, the culture. Everything. He wants to go to Mexico when he gets older and hopes to learn Spanish soon. But that means he always requests Mexican inspired dishes. His favorite seems to be “Mexican Pizza”; our version of tostadas, but I can’t make them every night. He also seems to not want to eat meat much, so I am always looking for new ways to get protein in him. That is how I came up with my Gluten Free Mexican Rice and Beef Recipe.

We purchase a 1/2 of a grass fed steer every year, so we have tons of ground beef. I needed to use up some of it and coming up with an easy one-dish meal seemed like a great way to do it. I hope you enjoy.

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Gluten Free Mexican Rice and Beef Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper or 5 small sweet peppers, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • olive oil
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 cups white rice, uncooked
  • 1 can tomatoes, diced with juice
  • 3 cups Beef Broth, organic or homemade (or more)
  • 2 tablespoons cumin (or more to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 can tomato sauce (optional)
  • fresh cilantro, washed and chopped
Instructions
  1. In a very large skillet cook the beef until done.
  2. Remove the beef and set to the side.
  3. Heat the oil in the pan and saute the onions and peppers until they have softened and the onions are translucent.
  4. Add the garlic and cook a moment longer.
  5. Add the rice and stir so that it is covered with the oil and cook for about 2 minutes.
  6. Add the spices and cook for a minute.
  7. Add the tomatoes and beef broth.
  8. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover with a lid.
  9. Allow to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, checking occasionally for doneness and to make sure you don't need more liquid.
  10. If more liquid is necessary add more beef broth or a can of tomato sauce.
  11. Once done, add cooked beef back in and stir in the cilantro.
  12. Serve immediately.
  13. To reheat, add tomato sauce and heat over low heat on the stove.
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Paleo Chocolate Covered Coconut Macadamia Candy Recipe

February 11, 2013 By

Chocolate covered coconut macadamia candy

Paleo Chocolate Covered Coconut Macadamia Candy Recipe

I love coconut and growing up Almond Joy candy bars were always one of my favorites. But now that I am older and more conscious of what we are eating I try to make things fresh and with real ingredients. The less processed the better. We also love all the health benefits of coconut and coconut oil, so I decided to try making my own chocolate covered coconut candies. These would be great for Valentine’s Day is you cut the coconut filling in the shape of a heart and topped it with the macadamia nut, then dipped them in chocolate. I simply cut them in whatever shapes I wanted, but you can be much neater than I and make them look super pretty. Enjoy!

 The Recipe

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Chocolate Covered Coconut Macadamia Candy Recipe
Recipe type: Candy
 
Ingredients
  • 4 cups dried, unsweetened coconut
  • ½ cup coconut oil, melted (you may need more depending on coconut)
  • 4 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
  • macadamia nuts
  • 1½ cups of bittersweet chocolate (for Paleo, use unsweetened chocolate and add honey to reach desired sweetness)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
  1. In your food processor, process the dried coconut, coconut oil and agave nectar until a paste is formed.
  2. Use more coconut oil if necessary.
  3. Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper.
  4. Spread the coconut mixture over the parchment paper.
  5. Press the macadamia nuts into the coconut mixture.
  6. Place the pan in the refrigerator to harden the mixture.
  7. Once the mixture has hardened, remove it from the pan gently.
  8. Cut into desired shapes.
  9. Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil, you can use the microwave or double boiler method.
  10. Dip the coconut pieces in the chocolate mixture and place on silpat or parchment to harden.
  11. Serve or store up to one week.
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Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon Recipe

February 4, 2013 By

brown sugar glazed bacon

We love bacon in our home. My middle son could eat a pound of it all by himself. And recently I told you about my favorite salad from at local pizza place that uses glazed bacon as a highlight in it’s signature salad. Since joining Weight Watchers I have been trying to eat at home and that means giving up that favorite salad. And how I missed it so. That glazed bacon made the coal fire salad a one of a kind. So I decided to try my hand at making it at home.

I tried two different methods, the first was pan fried while the second batch was baked and glazed in the oven. Although they used the same ingredients each came out very different from the other and each has it’s own merits. The fried bacon was crispier  but curled in the pan. The oven baked was flat and had a fantastic flavor, but yielded a softer slice. Personally I liked them both but for convenience sake I think I would stick with the pan fried.

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Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon Recipe
Author: 
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 lb bacon
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Frying Method
  2. Place bacon in a single layer in a frying pan, cast iron preferred, and cook until bacon almost reaches desired doneness.
  3. Sprinkle bacon with brown sugar and pepper.
  4. Flip over and allow to caramelize, but DO NOT burn.
  5. Remove from pan and let it cool for a moment, then serve.
  6. Oven Method
  7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  8. Using a broiler pan, line bottom of pan with aluminum foil for easier clean up.
  9. Place top pan over bottom pan and arrange bacon in single layer over grates.
  10. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pepper.
  11. Bake for 15 to 19 minutes, checking for doneness.
  12. Allow to cool and then serve.
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Valentines Day Chocolate Cherry Meringues Recipe

February 3, 2013 By

Chocolate Cherry Meringues

Chocolate Cherry Meringues Recipe

For Valentines day I wanted to make something special for the boys. One of our very favorite cookies are meringues. For Christmas I often make them peppermint flavored and mocha flavored, but for Valentines Day I wanted to make sure they were extra special. So along with the Valentines Day Gelees I made, I decided to make this Chocolate Cherry Meringues recipe. The ingredients are simple, egg whites, sugar, chocolate and cherries, but the results are heavenly. For Valentines Day I opted to make them heart shaped but you could choose to pipe them or simply allow them to be little white clouds. Whatever you do, make sure you make this Chocolate Cherry Meringues Recipe.

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Valentines Day Chocolate Cherry Meringues
Recipe type: Cookie
Serves: 14
 
Ingredients
  • 4 large egg whites
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • ½ cup dried tart cherries, chopped
  • 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (if making dairy free verify the ingredients)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 200º.
  2. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar at medium speed until soft peaks form.
  4. Increase speed to high, and gradually add granulated sugar.
  5. Add the powdered sugar slowly until stiff peaks form.
  6. Add extract and beat until blended.
  7. Fold in cherries and chocolate.
  8. Either pipe into the shape of hearts or using a large cookie cutter simply spoon the batter into the form.
  9. Gently remove the cookie cutter and repeat until you have filled the baking sheet with hearts.
  10. Bake at 200º for 2 hours.
  11. Turn the oven off, and cool meringue in closed oven 1½ hours or until dry.
  12. Be careful when removing from the parchment paper.
  13. Serve immediately or store for up to a week.
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What will you be giving your loved ones for Valentines Day? Will you be trying the meringues recipe? Do you have a favorite meringues recipe you love? Care to share it?

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