Pork Roast with carrots and potatoes

I made the mistake of buying pork sirloin instead of a beef cut for making a hearty and fulfilling pot roast dinner in the crock pot.  I was determined though, and I made it work.  It was reminiscent of the pot roast that filled the house with wintry delights. It worked.  Just like pot roast, only, it's a pork roast!

Ingredients:

For my recipe, I used two 4# roasts.  Put them in the crock pot on top of a bed of chopped onions and peeled and chopped potatoes and carrots. 

Make a broth and pour over everything:

1cup hot water

3Tbs vinegar

2Tbs sugar

2Tbs tamari

1Tbs ketchup

1-2Tbs hot sauce 

Salt and fresh black pepper to taste

Garlic powder to taste

Cook on low for about 8 hours or more to be sure all the veggies are tender.  Keep checking for doneness.  I think ours cooked for a good slow 15 hours.  It was well worth the wait, and we cooked it again the next day for another five hours at least. The meat was do tender and the broth was divine.  Keep adding water if you are going to cook it for over 8 hours. I added about 2 cups of water as it cooked down.  I didn't want it to dry out, and it seemed like a perfect solution.  

Enjoy!

GF Pie Crust

Use this recipe for sweet or savory pies.  This was my first try at a gluten free crust, and super pleased with the results.  Buttery and flaky but still a substantial crust.  These little muffin tin pie crusts ended up as French silk pies 

I can't wait to make fruit pies, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and chicken pot pies!  

For now, Pie Crust:

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup rice flour (you can use a blend of different rice flours, I used just brown rice flour.)

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 Tablespoons sugar (for sweet pies;omit for savory pies)

Pinch salt

1 cup butter cut into pieces

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup cold water

Cut the butter into the flour mixture, using a pastry blender, fork, or food processor. Cut all the butter in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add water slowly until dough forms a cohesive ball.  Divide dough in half and cover.  Chill for at least one hour, and keep dough in the fridge when not roung it out.  

Roll out one section at a time and transfer to pie plate.  Prick holes into the bottom surface of the dough. You can pre bake the crust at 350 for 8-10+ minutes, depending on size.  Watch it so it won't burn! Or fill with your favorite filling and follow your pie directions.  Watch the edges and cover with foil if browning too quickly.  

Happy pie making!

GF Pierogi

I woke up wanting pierogies, so I made some.  They turned out perfectly, just like a traditional pierogi.  

Ingredients 

Dough:

1/2 cup sour cream

2/3 cup milk

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 1/2 cups any gluten free flour blend.  For this recipe I used Bob's Red Mill biscuit and baking mix

Blend well and let rest for five minutes.  Roll into rounds, fill, and pinch edges to seal.  Drop into boiling water for a few minutes, until done.  Remove from boiling water and top with freshly ground black pepper.  Let sit for a few minutes before serving, or pan fry or broil before serving. These are excellent the next day heated up in the toaster oven, topped with cheese!

Filling:

Boil 1# potatoes, peeled and chopped.  Drain and mash with one onion, sautéed in butter, add 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup milk.  Add salt and pepper to taste, mash until smooth and creamy.

Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

I'm kicking myself for not finding this recipe sooner in life.  If you only need one reason to own a slow cooker, this is it. 

Ingredients:

3-4 pounds boneless chicken cut into pieces

1 onion chopped

5 cloves garlic minced

5 fresh tomatoes, chopped and smashed with your hands 

2 Tablespoons garam masala

1 Tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

cayenne to taste

2 cups plain yogurt

1cup heavy cream - 1/2 cup for now, 1/2 cup for when it's finished cooking

3 Taespoons arrowroot

Fresh lemon & cilantro

Coat the chicken pieces with the spice mixture, then stir in yogurt to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to overnight.

Put into the crock pot with 1/2 cup of the heavy cream.  Stir well and set the temp:

HIGH - 8 hours

LOW - 4 hours

Just before serving, stir the arrowroot into the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, and add to the crock pot stirring to combine.  

Serve over hot basmati rice, top with cilantro and a fresh squeeze of lemon.

Just as good as a fine curry take-out, even better because it's made at home. 

GF Homemade Pasta

Homemade pasta is easy.  Seriously easy!  I'm not sure that I will ever buy a prepackaged dry gluten free pasta ever again.  There is nothing like fresh pasta, and I can't wait to experiment with this recipe to make all sorts of yummy noodles like lemon pepper fettucini, wide onion and dill egg noodles, I'm even going to try to get this thin enough to use for lasagne and manicotti.

I have an atlas pasta machine, which makes the task even easier burn you don't need one: all you need is a rolling pin and a sharp knife.

Have fun!  

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1tsp xanthan gum

4 eggs

Pinch of salt

Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Add eggs using a wood spoon.  Mix then knead with your hands until cohesive and smooth.  Diverse dough into four equal parts.  Take each part and squeeze it into a ball... It will take a little muscle to get the ball to form.  Don't give up- it WILL form into a ball.  Do this with each section, and cover them with a damp towel.  Work with one ball at a time.  Roll out or put through pasta machine until thin.  I put mine through 4 passes with the Atlas machine.

After you have reached the desired thinness, time to cut into noodles!  Use a ruler and a sharp knife to make linguine style noodles.  If using the Atlas machine, just run it through the thickest noodle setting (fettucini).  I haven't tried the spaghetti setting yet, but will try soon enough. 

Let the fresh pasta sit for about 10 minutes to dry out a not, then cook in boiling water for a few minutes.  Depending on how thick your noodles are will dictate how long to boil your pasta for.  Drain and serve with your favorite topping.  These noodkes are do tasty just on their own, I believe the possibilities may be endless!