Pumpkin Pie?

The goal was to make GF pumpkin bread. I had eaten this delicious GF pumpkin bread a while back and the directions were use GF pancake mix and find an online recipe for pumpkin bread. So I read up on pumpkin bread recipes, got GF cake mix, leftout sugar, milk, and butter--but added an egg AND WAY TOO MUCH pumpkin puree, and lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. And 1 hour later on a 25 minute cake got a cake like exterior and pumpkin pie interior. Everyone else had creamcheese frosting on theirs. It was eaten but there were no request for seconds.

Maybe my standards are too high, but I count success as requests for seconds and no leftovers.

Watermelon Sorbet

Yummy. This ended up being even better than mango sorbet!

Watermelon Sorbet

1/2 large watermelon, cubed
1 lemon
1 lime
1/2 sugar
1 c water

Make simple syrup, juice citrus, and to watermelon, puree, and 1/2 to ice cream maker and freeze other 1/2 as is for later. An extra large 8 cup measuring cup and a stick blender work really well for this.

Delicious. And something I could probably eat large quantities of, 2 bowls so far, where as I have only split a bowl of mango sorbet.

Mango Sorbet

Just in case you were thinking of skipping out on game night--

Mango Sorbet

8 mangoes
4 limes
1 c water
1/2 c sugar

Squeeze limes, make simple syrup, puree mangoes, combine and put HALF (4 c) in your 2qt ice cream maker. Repeat. AND eat at game night.

June 1 Menu Plan

This is my proposed menu, in no particular order since it involves going to the grocery store, where I may or may not buy the ingredients, depending on whether they are on sale or not. I'm just that stubborn. or frugal. or something.

As for the dried apricots I still haven't found any with out preservatives. I may end up just drying my own, they are in season now. But that is ridiculous. I could just eat fresh apricots, instead of dried apricot cookies.

Crockpot Asian Shredded Pork

4 pounds boneless beef or pork roast
1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/2 cup gluten free hoisin sauce
6 tablespoons ketchup
6 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons Chinese 5-spice powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder (or 6 cloves, minced)

Put meat in cooker. Sprinkle the dried spices directly onto the meat, and top with the ketchup and honey. Pour in the soy and hoisin sauces. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours, or until meat shreds easily with a fork.

Serve over white or brown basmati rice, or over raw shredded cabbage.

Bolognese

1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 large red onion, diced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 cups red wine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
salt pepper
2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
1 cup milk

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture, then add in the ground beef. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture. Throw in oregano and basil. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat. Add garlic and stir to combine. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together. Add Worcestershire and stir. Add canned tomatoes. Finally, pour in milk, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.

Sesame Snap Cookies

Makes 10 cookies

1 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 teaspoon lemon extract or lemon juice
1 teaspoon agave syrup

Place the apricots in the food processor and process into a paste. Add the pistachios, sesame seeds, lemon extract, and agave syrup and process to mix well.

Scoop the dough by 1 1/2 teaspoons onto a sheet tray lines with parchment and flatten into cookies.

Will keep for a week in the fridge or for several weeks in the freezer (thaw before eating).

Variations:
If you love herbs, try adding 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or tarragon to the dough. Or add 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger for zing.

Chicken with Shallot-Apricot Sauce
serves 4

For the chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chicken broth

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 medium shallots, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 heaping tablespoons apricot jam or preserves
salt and pepper

Season each chicken breast with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Cook the chicken breasts for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until they develop a golden brown crust. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 5 more minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked through.

When the chicken is finished cooking, remove from the pan, set on a plate, and cover with foil to keep warm. Return the heat to high and add the 1/4 cup of chicken broth, de-glazing the pan and scraping the brown bits from the bottom.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium to large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes, until they begin to get soft and the bottom of the pan begins to brown.

Add the 1/2 cup chicken broth to the shallots, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan while the broth reduces. Add the balsamic vinegar, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 5 more minutes. Add the apricot jam and stir to combine. The sauce will thicken but should still be easily stirred.

To serve, slice the chicken, drizzle with the pan juices, and top with the shallot-apricot mixture.

Irish Meat Loaf

Boiled Beef Tacos

2 lb ground chuck
1 t salt
2 T chili powder
2 cloves minced garlic
1 t cumin
2 T paprika

Put in pot, just cover with water. Bring to boil. Stir and mash to break up clumps every 15 min, cook for 1 hour.

Add chopped onion, cook for 20 more minutes. Briefly stir with hand blender. Drain with fine mesh colander return to pot. Some liquid can be reserved and fat allowed to separate in refrigerator. Combine this with cornstarch and add back to meat for a saucier meat.

Irish Meatloaf and Colcannon

This recipe has taken some research, I am trying to reproduce the one and only meatloaf I have ever liked. I interrogated the cook at an Irish Pub to get the recipe, but all I got were the secret ingredients( I hope I can remember all of them), and I have to put it together! So this is attempt 1:

Irish Meatloaf
1 carrot
2 ribs celery
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 lb ground turkey
1 lb ground lamb
2 eggs
1 t thyme
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c raisins
celery salt
fennel seeds
whole grain mustard
1/2 c rolled oats
3 slices of brown rice bread soaked in guiness and beef bullion

Finely chop vegetables and garlic, saute.
Mix all ingredients together and press into a loaf pan.
Bake 375F 45min, baste.

Baste/Sauce:
1/2 c ketchup?
2 T whole grain mustard
1/2 c guiness
1/2 c balsamic vinegar

Serve with colcannon and mushrooms sauteed in guiness sauce.


Colcannon
1/2 bunch kale
1/2 head cabbage
4 potatoes
1 onion
milk

Cook kale and cabbage in boiling salted water until tender but not overcooked. Drain very well and chop finely. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes, and while they are cooking chop onions and simmer them in milk or cream for about 7 minutes. Drain the potatoes, season and mash them well, then stir in the cooked onions and milk, adding a little more milk if needed. Finally blend in the finely chopped kale and cabbage. Heat and brown the entire mixture gently, then pile in a warmed dish. Make a small well in the center and pour in the melted butter.

Deal!

I just have to say I am now a big fan of Kroger. Despite all of its many undesirable features, you can really get a deal there. In fact my deep freeze is now fully stocked with poultry. All natural, antibiotic and hormone free. I was looking for ground lamb, but the first Kroger didn't have any in stock anymore-- instead they had the previously mentioned chicken for $1.99 lb for boneless skinless chicken breast. So swooped in and grabbed almost all they had. By the way if you do this other shoppers will gather, you must be decisive in what you want or they will decimate the supply of whatever sale thing before you make up your mind. While I was there I did a bit more looking around and found roaster chickens also on sale, again all natural hormone free. This particular Kroger also had the cage free, grain fed eggs on sale too. I think I am misleading you when I say on sale, these are all manager specials meaning that my total at the end was equal to the YOU SAVED part on the bottom of your receipt.

After not finding the ground lamb, I finally ventured over to the local butcher. My sister in tow for support. The first venture into something new requires support. They are very nice. Their prices are not great. They had no lamb.

This butcher is by a different Kroger, so I thought perhaps I would check there, since the other Kroger was just out of stock. They also had the fabulous chicken sale, BUT marked down again for 1.49 lb. This chicken looked old, I'm a fan of a good deal, but if you would have to cook this asap, it wouldn't have kept in the freezer. It had started to get all of that extra juice in the package, those are not the best packages to choose. Instead I bought two of the all natural, hormone, anti-biotic, cage free turkeys. The regular ones were even more on sale, but the whole point of stopping our Sam's Club membership was to get more of the natural organic meats and produce. AND yes they had ground lamb, on sale: 1.99 lb.

Bread Cache

I have been hoarding these recipes, and I am tired of keeping up with the tabs so I am going to group them here, and share pre-tested:

Pizza Crust
Irish Soda Bread
Bread Machine Bread
Focaccia

Sadly I STILL do not have all of the necessary flours, but wonderful things happen like this morning's muffins when I just make do. Pizza crust is a go, but I have already planned the weeks menu, as for the rest 1) I lost my bread machine paddle and am too cheap to pay for the replacement-- I am waiting to find it at a thrift store and 2) millet flour. I have heard good reviews on millet flour, and have even held a bag of it in my hand. But no, alas, I have 5 gluten free flours (7 until this morning when I used up all the white rice and buckwheat flours) and 3 different starches and xanthan gum, but not millet. Heh. So my hesitation over whether or not I had it a home I believe is excusable.