Macaroni. Faked.

I am a comfort food junkie. I love thick sauces, classic recipes that Grandma used to make. Well, Macaroni was a family staple. I can not ever remember a week of my life without this recipe. My son's friends come over and ask for the "pasta with the tomatoes thing" because it is "really good!". My Gran used to make it with tons of onions. My Mom makes it with a few onions and cheese. We fake it in my house but, my Mom likes my recipe as much as she likes her own but myne is low fat and oh. so. simple. :)

Macaroni (vegan recipe to follow)

1 package GFCF Pasta (Tinkyada is the best one we have found)
1 pound of lean ground beef
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper to taste (honestly I do not use salt)
Pinch or two of Garlic Powder
1 can (19oz) of Diced Tomatoes
2 tbsp of dried Basil
Seasoning (to taste)

Cook pasta as per package directions, set aside.
Take 1 pound of ground meat. (I use extra lean ground beef.) and brown to perfection. Drain and give the meat a quick lil rinse in the strainer. (trust me) Put it back in the pan (I rinse the pan too)
Now add minced garlic. Fry that up! And as you are frying add some pepper and I throw in a pinch or two of garlic powder (not salt, powder). Smells good eh? Ya, it does.
Open a can of diced tomatoes (I use Unico Diced tomatoes... all the time) and add to the beef mix. At this point I toss in a tablespoon or two of dried basil and a dash of lemon pepper seasoning (just a dash). Now heat thoroughly and add cooked and drained pasta.
Mix well, remove from heat and serve!

The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate, you can freeze it in sinlge serving sizes for lunches and quick eats for the kiddos, or you can adjust the amounts easily for more or less people!

Now time to go VEGAN!

Cook pasta as per package directions, drain, set aside.
Fry minced garlic in a pan, add sliced mushrooms and zucchini (I shred the zucchini and then fry it... it is awesome!), cook thoroughly and then add diced tomatoes, seasoning and stir! Add cooked and drained pasta and stir together and serve!

If you wish, you can add veggie ground round a few minutes before adding the pasta! It is delicious and has a beef like texture.


Some suggestions...

You can also add veggies to the meat mix in the first recipe. I just don't always have them on hand. Both recipes are a hit in my house and company always loves it.

*IF* you are a cheese eater, dice up some cheddar or mozzarella or provolone and add it just before serving. That's how my Mom makes it!

Enjoy!

Baked, Caked & Faked it! A lesson in Potato Flour Sponge Cake!

When baking, follow directions.  When cooking, go by your own taste.  ~Laiko Bahrs

10:30pm.

This is probably why I am an awful baker! I melt and pour quite nicely though! My friend Ann is GFCFSF, she has limited dessert options and says she eats a lot of homemade rice cereal treats. My goal is to bake a GFCFSF (Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free) cake that tastes good. I think rice cereal treats are great but, I want to have more options. I think Ann should have some too. So, off to No Frills I went to purchase my GFCF Margarine, Rice Milk (as my almond milk was not ready yet... had to sub!) and I found Potato Flour (next to the muffin mixes, above the regular flour) this afternoon! The recipe is from the Joy of Cooking. 

It calls for sifting the potato flour 3 times. It seems fairly basic so I will be pausing here, making the cake and returning with pics as I make it. Wish me luck.

Midnight.

Alrighty, So I sifted the potato flour 3 times... separated the eggs, whipped, stirred, folded, and poured into a greased 9" foil pan and baked it for 20 minutes at 325F then increased the temp to 350F for 15 minutes. It baked up beautifully! We sliced a few pieces and ate it with nothing on it. Spongy (but it IS a sponge cake) and full of flavour! Tastes beautiful! 

The recipe is on Page 670 in the Joy of Cooking and it is delicious! Could easily be iced as a birthday cake or diced into a trifle! I think next time I make this (yes, I said next time... I am not a baker so this is huge!) I will try fruit or carob in the blend and see what happens.

I will post pictures once I find my card reader as it has disappeared. (Ahhh children with hands and legs... hmm school is back when?) 

Happy Baking All!

*edit* 
Ahhh finally... PICS! 

Fresh out of the oven... nicely separated from the edges and rose better than I thought it would!

First slice... Yum! It is spongy but delicious.

Give it a try if you have a copy of the Joy Of Cooking!

Welcome to the show...

I was watching Julie & Julia, I loved the movie. I thought wow! What a commitment to cook all those recipes in one year! To be honest, I do not love one chef that much. I love many different ones! I take the recipes and add my own twist, my own substitutions and for the most part I cook from memory or create my own thing. It usually works out.

I love to cook. I am a decent cook too. Some misses, a lot of hits. I have been asked to share my adventures in cooking more than once and let's face it, I love a challenge!

Gluten free, Casein free (that means zero milk/dairy... it's more than lactose baby!), sometimes vegan, sometimes over indulging and all the time I will do my best to post yummy, good to eat, as healthy as I can be/want to be (for the most part).

Please, sit back, read, laugh, eat, drink and enjoy! :)

Blessings,
~Indigo