Gluten Free Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy

I was really hoping to get this post done sooner. However, a sick wife, a three year old, and a broken clothes dryer have kept me busy. I did manage to fix the clothes dryer by myself(applause!!). I know, you're all amazed that I can cook and do appliance repairs. I will say that I am much better at cooking. I spent about three hours tearing the entire clothes dryer apart, cutting my hand, and finally figuring out what was broken. I realized that if I had known what I was doing, it should have taken me all but 15 minutes to fix the problem. I better stick to cooking.

I don't have a big background in cooking chicken fried steak. However, I found a good recipe to turn inexpensive cube steak into a great meal.
Chicken Fried Steak with Country Gravy
Inspired by Alton Brown, modified to be GF
2 pounds of cube steak (about 1/2 an inch thick)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup GF flour mix
2 eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk (I use 1%)
1 tsp thyme Whisk together the salt, pepper, and flour. Here's where you can get a little creative to suite your taste. Feel free to season the flour as you like. I actually added a pinch of cayenne pepper and a pinch of smoked paprika to my flour mix. Set up a little work area like the picture above. Spread the flour mix on a plate. Next, have a plate with the beaten eggs on it. Finally, have a large plate to hold the steaks.Here is the three step process to prep the steaks: Take each steak and dredge it through the flour on both sides. Next, dredge it through the egg on both sides. Go back to the flour mix and dredge it again on both sides. Repeat for each steak.
I used an electric skillet to cook my steak. Heat the oil in the skillet to 350-360 degrees. Cook the steaks for about 4-5 minutes per side or until done. Remove the steaks from the skillet and place on an oven proof plate. Put the steaks in a 250 degree oven just to stay warm while you make the gravy. To make the gravy: use 3-4 Tbs of the leftover dredging flour. Whisk the flour into the juices in the skillet. Add the chicken broth and whisk until the gravy comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add the milk and thyme, whisking until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, about 5-10 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed. Pour the gravy over the steak and some mashed potatoes and you're all set for an inexpensive hearty dinner. Enjoy!!!

Gluten Free Spring Rolls

When I came across this recipe at Use Real Butter, I knew I had to try it. These gluten free spring rolls are a combination of fresh ingredients wrapped in a tapioca spring roll wrapper, and accompanied with a peanut dipping sauce. The flavors and textures in the spring rolls are incredible. Aside from a little prep work up front, spring rolls are an easy meal to make. Use any fillings you like. I used: lettuce, red bell pepper, jicama, and cucumber.

On this plate; cilantro, scallions, mung bean sprouts, basil

I also added shrimp and chicken. I marinated the shrimp using the following marinade:
juice from 2 limes
2 Tbs brown sugar
4 Tbs fish sauce
2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
1-1/2 tsp chili paste
Marinade for about an hour before grilling

To make your spring roll; fill a shallow dish with warm water, place the tapioca wrapper in the water until it becomes soft and pliable, (about 10-20 seconds) pile on the filling.

Roll the wrapper tight, similar to making a burrito.

Slice and dip in soy- peanut sauce:
Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup GF soy sauce
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbs rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic (pressed)
1 tsp chili paste
warm water
Mix all ingredients thoroughly, add just enough water to achieve the desired consistency.

Eat and Enjoy!!!

Parallels

As I sat down to eat my piping hot teriyaki chicken stir fry that I made for What's For Dinner? Wednesday, I had a revelation. Being a parent to a three year old and being a firefighter have so much in common. Where's the connection you ask? What led me to this grand discovery? For those of you not familiar with the typical firefighting work schedule, most firefighters work 24 hours straight and then have 48 hours off. The fire station becomes a second home. In fact most fire stations are set up like homes; there is a kitchen, living room, and sleeping area. So where are the parallels to parenthood? For starters, throughout the 24 hours spent at the station on duty, firefighters try to accomplish tasks. These tasks may include: training exercises, station tours, cleaning the station, or even shopping for the days groceries. Inevitably, an emergency call comes in and you must drop everything you're doing and respond to the emergency. No big deal, after all that is what we get paid to do. As a father of a three year old, I often find myself trying to accomplish tasks at home. Do I really need to explain how that gets disrupted by a three year old? Sleep in the fire station is as good as gold. If, on the rare occasion, you manage to sleep through the night without being interrupted by two or three emergency calls, it is an amazing feeling. Sleep comes much easier at home but there are moments that require being up in the middle of the night tending to three year old "emergencies." Finally, what made me think of all this in the first place was my dinner. Food is a huge part of life in the fire station. In my department, in lieu of a pay raise twenty years ago, the city began providing a certain amount of money per person for food each day. We shop for groceries daily and eat lunch and dinner at the station during our shift. Meals at work are something to look forward to. However, I can not count how many times I've picked up a fork at work, ready to bite into a hot, perfectly cooked meal, only to have the bell ring, signalling an emergency call. After arriving back at the station 30-40 minutes later, all the food that has been sitting on the table is now cold, wilted, and lifeless. The microwave fails to rejuvenate it to it's previous splendor. Tonight, as I finished cooking and plating up this hot, fresh teriyaki chicken stir fry, I told my daughter it was time to come to the table for dinner and stop playing. What ensued was a full blown tantrum, with screaming, sobbing, and a time out for kicking at daddy while trying to pick her limp body up off the floor. Unfortunately, my chicken stir fry joined the countless meals eaten cold and half heartedly revived with a microwave.

Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry:
4 chicken breasts -cubed
1/3 cup each of diced onion, celery, green bell pepper, carrots, and broccoli
2 cloves of garlic -minced
Teriyaki Sauce:
1/2 cup GF soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs plus 2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs Mirin - rice cooking wine
1-1/2 tsp minced garlic
1-1/2 tsp fresh ginger
Put all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat until sugars dissolve. Pour half the sauce in a skillet and add chicken and garlic. When chicken is nearly finished cooking, add the vegetables. Cook until tender. Pour over rice and add teriyaki sauce to taste.

My dinner in better times. Enjoy Hot!!!

Pot Roast and Gluten Free Gravy

When I think of comfort food, there are really only two meals that grab me and make me appreciate true home cooking. The first is a turkey dinner served at Thanksgiving and the second is a well-cooked pot roast. Don't get me wrong, I'll eat anything that is presented to me on a plate, however, turkey and pot roast are meals that completely satisfy me. They require loosening of the top button on my pants and no immediate plans to do anything afterward. In fact, I'm barely able to summon the strength to carry my plate to the sink. Oddly enough, I do have just enough energy left to operate a fork to dismantle a dessert should it come my way.

For my pot roast, I use 3-4 pounds of bottom round roast. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a pan and brown all sides of the roast. In the crock pot, empty 1 packet of dry Lipton's Onion Soup mix plus 3 cups of water. I also add chopped garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and 1 bay leaf to the crock pot. Place meat in the crock pot and cook on high for about 3-1/2 -4 hours. Add celery, onions, and carrots and continue cooking for 30-45 minutes.

My wife is the mashed potato wizard in the family. Hey, I like the sound of that. I may have to use that in the future. Wouldn't that make any woman proud to have that moniker? I can see it in cards; Happy Birthday Mashed Potato Wizard! Merry Christmas MPW! OK, back on track. My wife makes very creamy potatoes with a combination of butter, milk, sour cream, salt, and pepper all whipped into a frenzy of potatoee goodness. For my part, I make the gravy. I think gravy was one of my biggest challenges to make gluten free, second only to bread. Let me rephrase that. Making good gravy was a challenge. I had no problem making lumpy, gluey, flavorless goo. I think part of the problem lies in my culinary background. Rewind a few years. My exposure to cooking when I was in high school consisted of waiting for my mom to come home after a full day of work to prepare a meal for me. From the recliner in the living room, it was hard to see exactly how she prepared my food. (Mom, if you ever figure out how to get onto the Internet and happen to read this, I have a huge appreciation for all that you did. I love you.)
My college years were no better. If I needed gravy, I tore into a 19 cent packet of powdered mix and reconstituted it with water. Yum. All this being said, I had a bit of a learning curve when taking on gravy for the first time. Let alone gluten free gravy. There were plenty of disasters along the way, as my wife can attest to. Although she would always choke it down and say "well it's been so long since I've had real gravy, I don't really remember what it's supposed to taste like. " I'm thinking: 'I know what it's supposed to taste like, and this isn't it." So here are my lessons learned in the fine art of gravy making:
Gravy:
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs gluten free flour mix
1-1/2 cups juice/liquid from crock pot or from roasting pan if making turkey gravy
1/2 cup water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Begin by making a gluten free roux (equal parts fat and flour).
I usually make my roux with 2 Tbs of butter and 2 Tbs of gluten free flour mix but I'm sure you could substitute another fat or oil for the butter. The key is equal parts of flour and fat.

Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium-high heat. After foaming subsides, stir in flour until thoroughly mixed. About 30 seconds. Add all the liquid to the flour/butter mix and whisk continually. Bring to a boil. The gravy may be lumpy at first but it will smooth out as you whisk it. Season with salt and pepper. Start out slowly, you can always add more seasoning. Continue whisking occasionally for about 3-5 minutes. You don't want it to burn to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low. The gravy will thicken as it cools. Adjust seasoning as necessary. If the gravy is too thick, whisk in more liquid and return to a boil. If it is too thin, make a little more roux in another sauce pan, then whisk it into the gravy. It doesn't sound like rocket science but it took me awhile to make consistently smooth and tasty gravy. Pour over potatoes and anything else your heart desires.

Enjoy!!!

It's all about the sauce

Time for another What's for Dinner? Wednesday. Mexican food is a staple in our home. We love it for all the bold flavors and combinations of spices. In addition, most Mexican food is naturally or easily made gluten free. When my wife and I were first dating, we ate at Chevy's Mexican Restaurant frequently. I even bought a Chevy's cookbook they were selling at the restaurant. Chevy's makes a great jalapeno jelly that is served warm with some of their menu items. Jalapeno jelly is a great combination of sweet and spicy that can enhance Mexican dishes. Thanks to my handy cookbook, I can replicated it at home. So this week we had chicken and steak fajitas. I'm sure you can all figure out fajitas: saute onions and peppers-check, cook meat in Mexican spices-check, warm tortillas up-check, the real magic is in the jelly.

Sweet Hot Jalapeno Jelly:
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 of 1 seeded and diced jalapeno pepper (the sauce is very mild, if you want more heat try adding some canned diced jalapenos)
1-1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
2 Tbs Certo liquid pectin
Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

Dice peppers

In a sauce pan combine: peppers, jalapenos, sugar, vinegar, and lime juice. Heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and blend the mixture in a blender or food processor for about 5-10 seconds. Return mix to the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam on the surface. Once the mix comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the pectin, bring mix back to a boil. Once it boils again, remove from heat and let it cool.

The jelly will set as it cools. While it's warm it should have the consistency of honey. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or it can be sealed using canning/preserving methods. Give it a try, it's easy to make and it compliments many dishes. Enjoy!!!

Gluten Free Teriyaki Chicken

I have three chicken breasts cubed and sitting in a teriyaki sauce marinade for kabobs later tonight. I usually double the teriyaki sauce recipe and use half for a marinade then reserve the other half for putting directly over rice. Here is the recipe:

Gluten Free Teriyaki Sauce

1/4 cup GF soy sauce (San-J brand -wheat free)

1 Tbs granulated sugar

2 Tbs Mirin (rice cooking wine)

2 Tbs canola or vegetable oil

1/2 tsp ginger (fresh or powder)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

Mix well and enjoy