Taco Night!

This was one of the first things I realized I could make from mainstream ingredients. And, all it requires as far as cooking skills is browning hamburger. Which was right in my comfort zone. I make this at least once a week and used the taco meat for tacos, tostadas, taco salad, etc.

This is the type of recipe I think of when I think of the people who have just found out they have to eat gluten free, but don't really know how to cook. Like I was. So that's my frame of mind in writing this. It might be over-explaining for some, but for people just learning how to cook I hope it's helpful. As far as the product recommendations go, I'm sure there are other brands of these products that are gluten free. This is just what we've used for years. And it will make it easy for you if you just want to know what to get without having to make a bunch of phone calls to verify everything.

First you'll need a package of hamburger meat, or ground turkey, whatever you like. Brown that in a pan until it's done and drain the fat off. Add a packet of McCormick Original Taco seasoning.

Be sure to read the ingredients on the back of the package to make sure there isn't any gluten. Ingredients can and DO change. McCormick will fully disclose any gluten in plain English and won't hide it in vague language such as "natural flavors" or "spices". I know for sure the Original is GF. Not sure if the Hot or Mild is. I know the Cheesy Taco mix has wheat in it.

If you like to make your own taco seasonings, all McCormick single ingredient spices are gluten free. We're talking the little jars of "Cumin" or "Cayenne Pepper" or "Garlic Powder". Anything else you need to read the ingredients label to make sure McCormick hasn't included gluten of any kind.

So once your hamburger meat is done and you've drained the fat off, follow the package directions - dump the seasoning in, put in some water, let it cook until the water and seasonings are absorbed and the taco meat looks dry-ish. You don't want it watery. If it's still watery, let it cook some more.

Let's move on to the fixin's. Mission Taco Shells, Kraft shredded cheese, Daisy sour cream, Herdez salsa, Fresh Express shredded lettuce, Rosarita Traditional Refried Beans and Mission Tortilla Chips.

You can use any kind of fresh veggies to add to this. Chop up some tomatoes or onions. Make some fresh guacamole. All fresh veggies and fruit are gluten free.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Croutons

In my early days of being gluten free, I found replacement products for a lot of stuff, but never did find croutons. As far as I'm concerned, a salad isn't a salad without croutons. This was the first thing I ever figured out and made on my own. This was also the first gluten free recipe that my husband really liked. It was the beginning of hope for a truly delicious gluten free future.

These croutons are very popular around here. Not just with us, but with our gluten eating friends. I just put these out in a bowl and people eat them like snack food.

If you live near a Whole Foods, most of the work that goes into making these croutons is done for you. In the Gluten Free freezer section, with the breads, scones, etc, you should see Gluten Free Stuffing cubes.

I usually get two containers of them so there's plenty for first night snacking and then some left over for the next few days. They come frozen so make sure you set them out to thaw before making them into croutons.

In my early gluten free days, Whole Foods didn't have these, so I was just using my favorite gluten free bread. Just bake a loaf, let it cool and cut it into crouton-sized cubes.

Dump the two containers of stuffing cubes in a bowl. Melt a whole stick of real butter, or your favorite butter substitute. Add garlic powder to taste. We like our's really garlicky, so we add quite a bit.

You can also use real garlic instead of garlic powder. But I'm all about making cooking as easy as possible. I figure I'm already making croutons from scratch so I'll just use the garlic powder.

Pour the butter and garlic powder mixture over the stuffing cubes. Even that goo at the bottom. Especially the goo at the bottom. It's not pretty, but it's going to be yummy. Trust me on this.

Stir it all up and wait about five minutes to let the butter and garlic soak in a bit. Then stir it again to make sure you're not leaving any of that garlicky butter at the bottom of the bowl.

Pour the croutons onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Put them in a 250 degree oven and just keep an eye on them. I use a big plastic spoon to turn the croutons over so they cook evenly. They'll turn a deeper golden brown when they're done.

If you're using fresh gluten free bread rather than Whole Foods' stuffing cubes, which are already crunchy, you'll want to reduce the oven temp down to 200 or as low as it will go. With fresh bread you not only need to bake the butter and garlic into it, you need to get them dried out and crispy. Just keep an eye on them, taste occasionally to test the crunchiness and be patient with it. It's worth the wait.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Flour Mix for Baking

I use this mix as a 1 to 1 exact replacement in all of my cookie recipes, including my old family recipes. It’s never let me down. It’s also good if you like to eat some of the cookie dough because it doesn’t have any bean flour. If you’re using a flour mix that has bean flour in it don’t eat it. I know it smells good, but seriously. Don’t. I still have flashbacks from when I did that about four years ago. {shudder…}

I found the flour mix on page 6 of Annalise Roberts’ book – Gluten-Free Baking Classics. Make sure you get the extra fine rice flour. It is the reason this flour mix works. It’s very powdery. Not gritty at all. I think that one of the many reasons that GF products tend to fall apart is because the gritty rice flour doesn’t stick together well. With all of the other roadblocks to good GF baked goods, why not take one out of the equation. :)

For three cups of this flour mix you need:

2 cups Superfine Rice Flour (made by Authentic Foods)

2/3 cup Potato Starch (not potato flour)

1/3 cup Tapioca Flour (tapioca starch is the same thing in this case)

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

Mix all of this together thoroughly. I use a whisk to get it all mixed.

Now go make some chocolate chip cookies. And eat some cookie dough while you’re at it. Or dig out an old family cookie recipe and give it a try.

Locals note: If you live in the Sacramento, CA area, you can find the superfine rice flour at Sunrise Natural Foods in Roseville. For the tapioca and potato starches, as well as the xanthan gum, I use Bob's Red Mill (be sure to look for gluten free on the label), which can be found at Sunrise Natural Foods, Elliott's Natural Foods and some Raley's and Bel Air locations in their natural food section.