Adventures with Beef: Eye of Round Roast

Today I used an eye of round roast to make the asian shredded beef.  I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  I ended up only using 5 tablespoons of honey, and I added 1/2 teaspoon of ginger and 1 teaspoon of onion powder.  I also added a little sesame oil to the slaw from the Korean beef tacos.

The Verdict: the beef was pretty good.  It turns out that Chinese five spice powder has a lot of anise in it, which is not a flavor we are huge fans of.  Still, the beef was tender and very good for tacos.  The slaw was a little too sour and acidic.

Changes for next time:

• reduce Chinese 5 spice powder to 1 teaspoon
• increase ginger to 1 teaspoon
• add 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha or other chili paste (needed a bit of heat)
• add a little bit of sugar to the slaw sauce to make it more like an American coleslaw

It's definitely a recipe I'd like to try again, especially as I'd like to get the spices just right for our palate.  I think we are going to make burrito bowls with the leftover meat tomorrow.  I'll heat up some black beans and make some rice, then we'll use the beef and slaw to top the rice and beans.

A Week with the Crock Pot

Have I mentioned before how much I love my crock pot?  Because it's a lot.  Even if I have, it is worth repeating.  I currently have a 3-quart stainless steel with just two settings (low and high).  I'd love to get another, larger one - like the Hamilton Beech Programmable or the Crock Pot Cook and Carry - so that I can cook larger roasts and things like ribs.

Anyway, I found the blog A Year of Slow Cooking and was inspired to try cooking a week's worth of dinners in the crock pot.  Note: all the recipes on A Year of Slow Cooking are gluten free or include modifications to make them gluten free.

Monday - Super Easy Cranberry Roast served over mashed potatoes
Tuesday - dinner out
Wednesday - Chicken Makhani with rice
Thursday - leftover chicken
Friday - Asian Shredded Beef as tacos with slaw from Korean Beef Soft Tacos

Monday's dinner was another edition of Adventures with Beef: Chuck Roast.  I found some modifications to the sauce in the comments of the recipe that I followed: dump cranberries from can into a bowl, add 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 T. lime juice, 2 T. soy sauce, and 1/2 t. ginger.  I thought this helped the sauce not be too sweet, but in the future, I would probably add some garlic and a bit more OJ.  Maybe even some grated orange zest?  I think it could use a bit of tweaking because it was kind of sweet and one-dimensional for me.

On to Wednesday. I love the chicken makhani that comes from a food cart near where I work. I am pretty sure it's hand made by the old Indian woman who runs the cart.  The recipe linked here was quite good! I substituted chicken breast for chicken thighs because that's what I had in the freezer and omitted the cayenne because Andy is not a huge fan of spicy food.  I also used Greek yogurt at the end.  Surprisingly, even he liked this!  It turned out really well and I will definitely make it again.  Almost as good as the Indian cart.  :)

Tonight we are having leftovers since I had to be out of the house extra early.  I will keep you posted on Friday's dinner.

Adventures with Beef: Chuck Roast

I wasn't quite sure about the chuck roast, but it turned out to be really easy to cook.  Andy really loves stir fry, so I was excited to try this recipe for pepper steak.

I cut the thawed chuck roast into strips, then mixed them with the garlic and ginger.  If I were to make this again, I would marinate the meat overnight to really get the garlic and ginger flavor infused into the meat better.

When cooking the meat, I mixed two teaspoons canola oil with one teaspoon sesame oil.  I like that flavor, and it gave the dish a little more of an asian flavor.  I served it with rice.

I thought the final dish was really good.  I wanted a little more flavor, so I mixed mine with some hot sauce and soy sauce.  I might also put those in the overnight marinade next time.  Andy loved it.  He thought the tomatoes were a little strange at first, but liked the addition.   It was a good way for both of us to eat more veggies.

Note: this is gluten free as long as you watch your Worcestershire sauce. In the US, Lea & Perrins is gluten free, but it is not in other countries.

Verdict: Good! We will definitely make this again.

Lentils and Bacon

I'm trying out some new recipes.  We usually make pasta as a side dish, but that doesn't work with being gluten free.  The pantry was a little empty, but I had all the ingredients for this recipe.

This was really good.  I liked the smokieness of the bacon with the lentils and a little crisp from the carrot.  I served with pork chops.

Lentils and Bacon

1 cup lentils
4 cups water
6 pieces of bacon
1 onion
1 carrot
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
salt
pepper

Rinse and wash lentils.  Cook in hot water - about 20 minutes - until lentils are tender but not mushy.  Drain lentils and put back in pan.

Cut bacon and cook until crispy.  Remove bacon from pan and drain most of grease.  In remaining grease, cook onions and carrots.

Mix bacon, onions, and carrots with lentils.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add vinegar at he end (can add a little more if you'd like more tangy).

Gluten Free Food Reviews - August 2010

I haven't done this in awhile because I tend to stick with a lot of the foods that I know are good rather than trying new things.  But, a few things I've tried recently that I like:

DeBoles Corn Pasta - this was a lot less gummy than the rice pasta and tasted almost exactly like wheat pasta!  It was even good reheated, which I cannot say for rice pasta.

Bob's Red Mill Mixes - I've made the pizza crust and the cornbread, both of which are very tasty.  They offer a lot of mixes and flour so you can do your own baking.

Annie's Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheddar - replacement for the Kraft Mac and Cheese.  It turns out better when you don't cook the the noodles as long as the box suggests.


Sticks Kebob Shop is a restaurant in Richmond and Charlottesville that is gluten free.  They even use gluten free soy sauce! 

Noodles & Company has a few gluten free options.  Stick with the rice noodles and avoid the chicken.  You can ask for the rice noodles in other dishes.

Thyroid/Gluten Interaction?

I received an interesting article from a friend today discussing potential interactions between thyroid disease and gluten intolerance.  I haven't had a chance to read all the references yet, but I will check them out.  However, in my experience, I've noticed that I feel much better when I am not eating gluten.  I relapsed to eating gluten as normal over the past few weeks, and I currently feel terrible.  So, if you have thyroid disease and are told your levels are normal, going gluten free might be worth a try.

Homemade Energy Bars

One of the biggest challenges I've had since going gluten free is finding energy bars I can eat.  There are a few flavors of Lara Bar that do not have almonds, but really not that many.  Plus, I like something closer to Clif Bar texture.  A friend forwarded me a great recipe to make your own energy bars.  If you find certified gluten-free oats, they can be made gluten free.

I made mine using gluten-free steel-cut oats, olive oil, 1/3 cup dried tart cherries, 1/3 cup dried orange cranberries, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 mashed banana, 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar.  They were a little too sticky, so next time I would add some more nuts, flax seed, or more oats.  I baked for about 35 minutes and they are still chewy, which is exactly the texture I wanted.

The final product:

Here is the recipe:

Gluten Free Food Reviews - January 2010

I plan to do a series of reviews of gluten-free foods I like and don't like.  I'm currently aiming for once per month.

Best of the Month

Whole Foods Market Gluten-Free Bakehouse Cheddar Biscuits - these are fantastic.  Can't tell they are gluten free at all!  Wonderful warm (heat for 10 min at 350) and served with homemade stew.

Good

Kettle Soup chicken with rice noodle soup - very good.  Nice salty broth with big chunks of chicken.  The noodles are big and thick, so they didn't seem like rice noodles to me at all.  Great option for lunch.

Amy's rice noodle mac and cheese - very thick and gooey macaroni and cheese.  We couldn't tell that it was GF.  The noodles did get a little chewy as it got cold, but nothing too bad.


Savory crackers from Trader Joe's - nice and crispy.  They have a good sesame flavor, which I really like.  Especially delicious paired with the Trader Joe's triple creme brie.


Glutino's sesame pretzel rings - nice and crunchy with a good sesame flavor.  My only complaint is that they can feel a little oily.

Ok

Amy's gluten free cheese pizza - the crust was not my favorite and really didn't get crispy in our oven.  Maybe if we had a pizza stone to cook it on, it would be better.


Enjoy Life classic original bagels - they are small and very dense.  I was hoping to be able to make sandwiches on them, but that doesn't work with the size.  They are pretty bready, which is nice, but they are also a little too sweet.

Food for Life raisin pecan bread - very thick and dense.  The butter and cinnamon weren't really able to soak in after I toasted it as I would like.  Still, it worked in a pinch and I got to have some toast.  I wanted to make french toast with it, but I don't think it will work based on the not soaking up butter at all.

Worst of the Month

Jo-sef square chocolate cookies - hard and dry.  They really need to be soaked in something to be edible.  Maybe it's because they are also dairy free?  I won't be buying these again!

Restaurants

P.F. Chang's - they have a gluten free menu and are really great about making sure the food is gluten free.  We ordered take out.  When my husband got there to pick it up, they apologized and told him they had to remake my entree because they didn't make it GF the first time.  And, they packed up some GF soy sauce for me.

Pizza Fusion - they have a GF crust that is actually very good!  It is thin and crispy, which is my pizza style.  Lots of toppings are ok - the only one that isn't is the sausage.  Next time, I would order well done, but I like my pizza to have browned cheese.

Going Gluten Free

Over the past year and a half, I've had a lot of GI problems. Mostly unexplained abdominal pain, but I also had my gallbladder removed in October 2009. I've had every GI test people can think of - endoscopy, colonoscopy, GI series, CAT scan, and blood tests.

My endocrinologist suggested testing me (again) for Celiac disease last fall. He ran both IgG and IgA and I was positive for both. However, he said it was in the normal range and not to worry about it.

I'm still having the pain, although less so, 3 months after gallbaldder surgery. To that end, I decided to try going gluten free for awhile (at least one month) to see if it helps. This started January 14. It's been tough so far. It's hard to figure out what has gluten and what doesn't. I'm learning slowly and have friends who have given advice.

Three days in, I haven't noticed much of a difference, but that's to be expected.