It’s Just Not Dinner Without Cat Hair

The Man loves tacos. Granted, he’s never tried a gluten-free taco…but he loves tacos.

I do too. I haven’t had a good one since going gluten free since I didn’t want to take a chance on the taco seasoning packets. The few times I made them, I just used Mexican spices and created something similar, but it’s not quite the same, you know?

I hit that store I found, which is called For the Good of It, located in Joliet. It’s fairly small and has a pretty teeny GF section. They had The Gluten Free Pantry’s taco seasoning, so that’s what started this recipe brewing in my head. I found the Kinnicknick items (not very many) but was in a rush; I plan to go back and take a good look at everything they have on a weekend, maybe this one, to see what I can see at my leisure.

Anyway. Catherine over at Gluten Free Guide is having a GF pizza round-up next Friday, April 13th. Since I am about the klutiziest person on earth, I don’t take chances on any Friday the 13th. So here’s my pizza now. Of course, in keeping with the “rules,” I am technically supposed to post a pizza on the 13th, so I will probably come up with something new and just make it on Thursday instead.

Remember, we are big on Halloween, have 2 black cats, and I am a major klutz. No sense in pushing it on such an auspicious day.

But this pizza flippin’ rocks. I ate it with a fork because…well, I happen to like this shirt.

Taco Pizza

1 GF pizza crust (I used 1/2 the recipe for the Arrowhead Mills box mix)
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup refried beans
2 cups cheese of your choice (cheddar, monterey jack, cojita, etc.)
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup GF taco seasoning
1 pound ground sirloin
Any other toppings you’d like

Make your pizza crust about 1/4 inch thick so it holds the weight of the toppings to come. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brown the ground sirloin in a skillet over medium heat. Once browned, add the taco seasoning (add water if directed), mix well, and continue to cook until thickened slightly.

When the oven is hot, place the crust into the oven to bake for about 10 minutes to take the rawness off. Remove from the oven and then layer as follows:

Refried beans - spread evenly across the crust
1/2 the taco meat - you’ll have the other half left for another day
Onions
Tomatoes
Other toppings
Salsa - “sprinkle” with a spoon
Cheese

Place back into the oven for an addition 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is beginning to brown.

Eat hearty.

Unbutton your pants. Pretend to be Al Bundy (you know, stick the hand in the waistband of your pants and stare at the tube, making snarky comments to anyone and everyone).

While I love getting new frames, I kind of hate getting used to new glasses. If my eyes have changed enough, everything appears to be going uphill until my eyes get used to them. I have been walking uphill everywhere I go since about 5:30 tonight.

I have been told that my new Prada frames look “sassy.” And I am happy to wear what is probably the only Prada attire I will ever be able to afford LOL

I asked for and got my glasses prescription because I am curious. I will have to stop back to get my actual uncorrected vision, if I want it (you know, the 20/20, 20/40, or whatever). Legally blind is 20/200. The doc has told me more than once that I am well beyond that, but I still want to know the actual numbers.

Anyway.

Browsing the Kinnikinnick (sp?) website this morning, I found a natural foods store that carries their products only 15 minutes or so from here. So I hope to head that way in the next few days to see what’s what. I want to see if I can get my hands on quinoa flour, amaranth flour, and other flours that I want to try without having to buy in bulk, just in case I don’t like it.

Last night, I made one of our favorite light meals since it was so beautifully warm outside. My parents found the original recipe somewhere; I naturally have tweaked it to suit my tastes. And believe it or not, The Man actually liked the fresh basil and didn’t disturb my flute practice session (whalin’ out some Claude Bolling’s Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano) to ask me what the hell the green things were.

In a little more than the time it takes to boil pasta, this is done.

Lite Smoked Sausage Italiano
From…somewhere

1 GF kielbasa (Wellshire Farms is GF)
8 ounces GF spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
1 package button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
Salt
Pepper
6 to 8 good sized grape tomatoes
A small handful of fresh basil leaves

Make the pasta according to package directions. Slice the kielbasa into 1/2″ coins. While the water is coming to a boil for the pasta, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add the kielbasa (cover if you don’t like cleaning grease off of everything; if you don’t care, let ‘er rip). Stir fairly often until the meat starts to carmelize a bit. Then add the mushrooms and reduce the heat to medium.

Don’t forget to put the pasta in the water!

Continue to stir the meat and mushrooms until the mushrooms begin to reduce in size. Drain the pasta and then add to the skillet with the kielbasa and mushrooms. Toss lightly. Slice the tomatoes into quarters and the basil into thin strips (stack the leaves, roll them into a ‘tube’ and then hack away). Add both to the skillet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss everything together one last time.

On yet another side note, I designed the floor plan for the 2007 haunted barn last night. Have I told you lately that I have a devious brain? Bwah….ahh….ahhh…

It’s 78 degrees outside, the windows are open, and I am wearing a pair of shorts. It will cool off by the end of this week and there’s a chance of rain every day, but who cares - we have spring warmth today!

This is a simple spring dessert that we used to have at family gatherings. I am not sure which relative brought the recipe into the fold.

Glorified Rice

2 cups quick-cooking rice, uncooked
2 cups pineapple juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 small container whipped topping
1 can fruit cocktail

Combine the juice and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; stir in the rice, cover and remove from heat. Pour the cooked rice into a bowl and place in the fridge to cool. Once the rice is cool, drain the fruit cocktail and stir into the rice. Add half the container of whipped topped and mix together.

Why do I have dilated pupils? Pick one:

(1) Sheri has become a drug addict.
(2) Sheri lives in the dark.
(3) Sheri had an eye appointment today.

If you guessed (1), I am probably one of the most anti-drug people you will ever meet. I don’t even like to take my necessary prescription medication or something as simple as Advil.

If you guessed (2), I only live in the dark when I have a migraine or if the power went out.

If you guessed (3), you can just imagine how huge my pupils are. I had to drive my stupid butt home after the doc dilated my eyes, holding those cheesy sunglass things up to my face because they’re too wide for my head and don’t stay. It’s a good thing I live less than a mile from the optometrist’s office.

But I have some kickass Prada frames on order and I am also getting a trial pair of extended wear soft contacts. I have worn contacts since I was 17, but I have only worn the gas-permeable kind because no one made soft contacts for nearsightedness and astigmatism together. And, well…I am blind as can be, without correction. In fact, when I take my glasses off, I am legally blind and can’t see 2 inches in front of my face. But over the last couple of years, someone made soft lenses that correct both problems. The doc said that my gas perms (which I am keeping - there’s nothing wrong with them) will give me better vision, but when I explained that I have issues at night….

…more than once, I have scared at least a year off of The Man’s life because I woke up in the middle of the night and panicked because I couldn’t see. Imagine it - 2 or 3 AM - pitch black room - wife sitting straight up in bed shrieking like a banshee.

…the cats like to knock my glasses off the nightstand, necessitating a search of the floor in the dark just so I can pee.

So he said that I could try the extended wear, but under no circumstances am I to actually leave them in for the 30 days advertised. I am kind of excited and hope they work out, because the thought of waking up in the morning and being able to see without groping for a pair of glasses…well, I haven’t been able to do that since third grade. I don’t even know what my glasses prescription is anymore.

So, I have been shying away from daylight since I got home. A simple dinner was in order, one that didn’t involve a run to the grocery store. I ruminated on what to make while I tried on frames; he dilated my eyes, then I slapped in my contacts long enough to see to pick new frames, then I popped them back out so he could do the evil shine-the-light-through-a-mirror-while-you-look-in-every-direction thing.

So here’s dinner. To go with, I made The Gluten Free Pantry’s French Bread and Pizza Mix as French bread. Blech.

Somehow I feel like I have posted something very similar before, but if I didn’t I couldn’t find it anywhere. If I did, sorry. If I didn’t, try it. You might like it!

Shrimp & Parmesan Spaghetti

1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter (not the lightest recipe in the world -sorry)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
8 ounces gluten-free spaghetti

Prepare the spaghetti per the package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, stirring often to insure it doesn’t burn; saute 1-2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, about 4 minutes or so, depending on the size of the shrimp. Add the cooked spaghetti, pasta water, basil, parsley, and cheese to the skillet, tossing well to coat. Serve immediately.

Growing up, when I figured out that my mother was cranking out kolache, I got really excited. I love these things! I assume the original glutenous recipe came down through her side of the family.

I was flipping through cookbooks early this morning, in the mood to bake but not sure what I wanted. I looked at doughnuts, cakes, cookies….and then I saw a recipe for danish. Hmm. I wonder what would happen if I tried to convert the family kolache recipe to gluten free?

After a little research as I haven’t really tried to convert a recipe like with this much flour before, I started out by pulling a bunch of flour containers out of the fridge (the top shelf is devoted to GF flours now).

Flour dusting the countertop is a call for Baby, who loves flour. He would have licked the area clean if I hadn’t come running to nicely chuck him to the floor.

While these don’t taste quite like what I remember, nor are they as pretty, they are still tasty.

This recipe is considerably easier with a stand mixer as the dough gets pretty stiff.

Gluten Free Kolache
Adapted from the family recipe

1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
2 tbsp shortening
2 packages yeast
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups white rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
4 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 can cherry pie filling (Wilderness brand is GF) or other favorite filling

Combine milk, shortening, yeast and sugar in the mixer bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes. Lightly beat 2 eggs with the salt and vanilla; add to the mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment, give it a whirr for a minute to mix together. In a separate bowl, mix the flours and xanthan gum together. Slowly add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl until the dough starts to get stiff (stop adding flour at this point). Switch to the dough hook attachment and start adding flour again. Once you have all the flour mixed in, cover the dough with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for an hour.

After the dough rises, roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. Allow to rise again for another 30 minutes.

After the second rising, use a spoon to push down the centers, leaving a 1/2″ rim around the outside. Fill with a spoonful of pie filling.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is preheating the dough rises a final time.

Bake for 18-20 minutes.