Cuban Picadillio

February 2, 2012 By

 I’m not Cuban, and I don’t play one on TV! Seriously, my family is best described as Heinz 57 from Northern European countries. But the other day I was channel surfing and landed on the Food Network watching Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I missed the name of the restaurant, but the owner was making Cuban Picadillio. It seemed simple enough, but looked delicious – often the way the most wonderful food is made, right? So I figured I’d find a recipe and make up a batch last night for dinner.

We always keep ground grass-fed beef in our freezer from our half steer we buy yearly, so I knew I had everything on hand to make this comforting and delicious dish. I found this great recipe for Cuban Picadillio here. I made a few substitutions such as using several small red and orange sweet peppers in place of the green bell peppers. I served it with jasmine white rice and fried bananas.

Fried bananas

  • 2-4 ripe bananas, sliced on a bias, approximately 1/2 inch thick. Bananas should not be too ripe.
  • Coconut oil 

Heat a frying pan, I like cast iron because it does not add toxins to your food like non-stick pans will. Stainless steel is also a great option. Add a tablespoon or so of coconut oil to the pan and allow it to heat over med to med-high heat. Gently place the bananas in the pan with one cut side down. Do not over crowd the pan. Work in batches. As the bananas cook they will start to change color and become slightly more yellow. You want a nice browning on the cut side, do not burn. Flip the banana, I used tongs, and continue to cook on the other side.  Remove from heat when both sides have browned and the banana is cooked through. Serve with Cuban Picadillio and white rice.

Everyone enjoyed the meal, but Matthew was baffled by my response to his “What’s for dinner?” I told him Cuban Picadillio and he asked “What is that?” I told him I didn’t know, because I really don’t know what it is. Is it a stew, a chili, what? Anyway, he kept asking me how I was going to give them dinner if I didn’t know what it was. He liked it anyway. And LOVED the fried bananas. And as always this is a Gluten Free meal if you use Gluten Free Worchestershire Sauce. Lea & Perrins also makes a Worchestershire Sauce without HFCS! The meal also happens to be Casein Free, Soy Free and Egg Free.

Stay Well

 

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Orangeade

August 21, 2011 By

Recently we went on vacation to The outer banks of North Carolina. Because I’m a huge geek I made the family visit Roanoke Island, the site of the first settlement in the states. Also the site of The Lost Colony, where all the settlers disappeared without a trace. I kind of dig the scary, supernatural element to that disappearance, but in all actuality the settlers were probably absorbed into a local Indian tribe when they couldn’t take care of themselves. But I digress. While on Roanoke Island we stopped at Big Al’s Diner where our middlest child ordered an orangeade to drink. Oh, so yummy. It was so good he has asked to drive back just to get another.

I also enjoyed the little sip he allowed me, so I decided to make my own here at home. Normally I’d make it with raw sugar, but since I’m both trying to lose some weight and cut back on yeast producing foods, I decided to use stevia instead. Plus this way I can make one glass at a time.

Ingredients
Mineral water, unflavored like San Pellegrino
Orange juice
Stevia
Ice

Take a large glass and add ice. Pour about orange juice about 1/4 way up glass. Fill rest of glass with mineral water. Add stevia to taste. I like the liquid stevia as it mixes easily. Drink and enjoy.

Oh, you could also blend this mixture in your Magic Bullet and make a frosty orangeade if you like.

Stay Well.

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Sloppy Joe Recipe

April 18, 2011 By

Matthew was asking me to make GFCF Bisquick biscuits For dinner. I figured I’d make a batch, but I couldn’t come up with anything to go with them. I finally settled on Sloppy Joes.

1 lb of grass fed ground beef
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
Several sweet peppers, I used about 4, red, yellow and orange. -they are small and look like brightly colored jalapenos, but they have no heat.
Several small button mushrooms, diced small
1 carrot, diced small
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 small can of tomato paste
1/4 cup or less brown sugar
1/4 cup or more vinegar, red wine or cider
Couple tablespoons of molasses
2 teaspoons McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning

Sauté onions, sweet peppers and carrots in a large pan with a little olive oil. Once they have cooked and are soft you can add the mushrooms, and steak seasoning. Cook until mushrooms are soft. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, and vinegar. Let cook for 5 to 10 minutes and add meat. Meat will cook in sauce and will break apart making a nice sloppy joe. Cook until meat is fully cooked, stirring often. Taste and adjust vinegar and sugar if necessary. Serve with GFCF biscuits!

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My Go To Salad Dessing

February 8, 2011 By

I like salads, but I was never much of a bottled salad dressing kind of girl. And for some reason I always thought salad dressings would be hard to make from scratch. So I didn’t eat a ton of salads at home. I always waited to go out and get some yummy concoction that for some reason eluded me at home. Then I found this GFCF recipe. It may not be for everyone, my husband doesn’t really care for it, but he is more of a savory salad dressing kind of guy, but I think it is pretty darn good. I especially like it over spinach with dried cranberries, a little grilled chicken and if you allow dairy, something like a feta would be yum.

Celery Seed Dressing

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon prepared mustard of your choice
1/2 cup salad oil – don’t use something with a strong flavor
1/4 cup white vinegar – I have also used cider vinegar in a pinch
1 or more teaspoons celery seed – NOT salt. I like a lot of celery seed and use more than the 1 teaspoon

Combine all ingredients except for the celery seed in a saucepan. Heat at low temperature, this is critical. If you heat at a high temp the dressing will break. Stir to blend until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add celery seeds, stir to combine. Let cool to room temperature and put in glass container, I use a jelly jar. Chill in fridge. Shake before using. Dressing keeps for 2 to 3 weeks in refrigerator.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. I guess I’m looking forward to warm weather and fresh salad greens from our CSA.

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