Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Italian Pot Roast


Well the holidays have come upon us and I don’t know about you, but I love a good cook and run recipe!  In addition to if it makes a fabulous first over, I am even happier. So here is a recipe that covers all of the above.

Italian Pot Roast Ingredients:One four-pound Beef Brisket
2 Sixteen ounce Cans of Stewed Tomatoes
One  32 oz. Large Jar of Marinara Sauce with Basil and Garlic
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons’ Salt
2 teaspoons’ Pepper
2 Cups of Merlot wine
One cup Water
Three tablespoon sugar


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Take a Dutch oven and put Olive Oil heat until warm
Salt and Pepper Brisket on both Sides
Place in Dutch oven and brown on both sides.


Next add Merlot wine


Next add Stewed tomatoes and Marinara Sauce


Next place 1 cup of water and Sugar in marinara sauce Jar and Shake until bottle is clean then pour into Dutch Oven.


Cook for 2 hours 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cook pasta  Pasta noodles .


Remove layer of fat and discard.


Next Slice thinly while you boil your gluten free pasta.



Then serve with Sauce  and Pasta.


Enjoy and Bon Appetit


Sheila Fretz

Monday, October 28, 2013

Chicken Sandwich with my friend Patty's special Bacon Mayonnaise


Chicken Sandwich with my special Bacon Mayonnaise. I love to make a lot of sandwiches when its summer time because I cant stand a hot kitchen. I also take advantage of my store bought rotisserie chicken this time of year. However, My Husband loves to have Mashed potatoes and Carrots with Miss J. Because its not dinner to him unless there are at least 2 vegetables on the table. So to make that Happy Compromise I will serve a sandwich for dinner but I also will serve those two vegetables even if I am not going to eat them.

Chicken Sandwich with my friend Patty's special Bacon Mayonnaise

2 or three slices of Chicken
1 Tablespoon of Bacon Mayonnaise
2-3 slices of Tomatoes
2 tablespoons Shredded Mexican Cheese
2 slices of Bread I used Udi’s Gluten Free
 

Take bread and place on plate add chicken to one side


Next add sliced tomatoes


Then on other piece of bread add Bacon Mayonnaise


Then add cheese to the top of tomatoes


Close and cut and serve.


Enjoy and Bon Appetit


Sheila Fretz

Friday, October 18, 2013

Bacon Mayonaise



I love to make this mayonnaise, my friend Patty has been making this for years and told me about it. When I'm making burgers or even sandwiches this is a fabulous addition. It is easy to make and even better after you have let it sit about 20 minutes in the refrigerator to soak up the bacon flavor. You can make it with bacon bits or whole cut up bacon like I did here. You may make this in larger amounts. However, you must eat it within a day because it has a very small shelf life. So I like to make it in small portions.

Bacon Mayonnaise Ingredients

2 slices of bacon chopped up
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

 
Take Bacon and Chop or cut up

 
Add Mayonnaise and stir




Enjoy and Bon Appetit


Sheila Fretz

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Divine Desserts and Treats plus a little Charity Matters

 
So I was going to write a recipe for you today however, after a fun filled trip with my family this weekend  I have decided to share some of my fabulous dessert finds from this weekend. Some of them were gluten free. Which I talk about in a previous post about Disneyland having a lot of gluten free options.
 
 
The first Dessert is a standard Mickey Ice Cream Bar these are gluten Free and very yummy. However, you need to eat it quick before it Melts all over you.

 
The next Dessert was a surprise find at the Story Tellers Cafe at Disney’s California Grand Hotel. We had walked in after a long day in Disney's California Adventure park and wanted to have a sweet treat instead of dinner. Chris at the hostess desk and his Manager were so sweet and told us they just had a gluten free event earlier in the day and had 4 cupcakes left.

 
If we were interested, they could serve this with chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream. As you can see Miss J ate all of the icing off first, Who wouldn't sure looked yummy.

 
The next Dessert was  a gluten free dessert it was a peach apple cobbler with a scoop of ice cream on top and some fabulous caramel sauce. I think I will have to try making this at home sounds amazing and with my gluten free topping it would be even better.


 
The last dessert was simply Devine! It was a Gluten Free Brownie that had been heated up with a cream anglais surrounding it and a Chocolate and Caramel Sauce with a scoop of ice cream. Oh My goodness it was one of the most decadent and fabulous desserts I have had.
 

Enjoy and Have a Happy Safe and productive week!

Shela Fretz

Monday, October 14, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

 
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and Columbus Day in the United States Did you know  we have over 15 different recipes for Thanksgiving.  We are starting the holidays early by sharing all of them with you  Just Click here and enjoy a variety of side dishes, desserts pies and tarts , brine's and everything in between including the stuffing or dressing.


We hope you have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season and keep the positive energy flowing! 
 
Bon Apetit and Enjoy!

Friday, October 11, 2013

My First Post Updated to be Gluten Free

 
 
As a lot of you know when I started this blog it was not to cook in Gluten Free manor. It was started to share my recipes. My recipes are back to basics recipes that are simple and easy and not super fancy. Then shortly after starting this blog we found out that my little one was allergic to wheat and had a form of celiacs disease. So my blog has slowly turned into a gluten free site.  A lot of people have been asking that picture on your header is that Gluten Free and sadly I say no! However, you can update it by using my gluten free crumble and following the directions on the first recipe. So after receiving way to many questions via email and in person; I have decided to update for you so it will be a lot easier for all the people who eat Gluten Free.

Blueberry Pomegranate Cobbler

Serves 6

Ingredients:

Filling

2 boxes of Fresh Blueberries ( about 2 cups)

1 cup sugar

1 cup POM Pomegranate juice

1/4 cup cornstarch


6 ramekins 4 oz size

Pam Cooking Spray

1 Lined baking sheet with foil or silpat

Wash blueberries and place in large mixing bowl add sugar, cornstarch and Pomegranate juices stir well until all is dissolved. Blueberries should float to the top of bowl. Set aside and let blueberries soak up the sugars. Next make topping.


Take butter and cut into cubes add oat flour, oats, and sugar and take off your rings because this involves your hands to mix. Mix and knead until well mixed together it should form clumps of the crumble.

 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take 6 ramekins (4 oz.) Spray with cooking spray, next take a slotted spoon and divide up blueberries equally into the greased ramekins, next take left over juices and divide equally again; last take the crumble topping and place a little bit at a time on top of blueberry mixture. I hold my hand around ramekin when doing this so you do not have a lot of spillage on your baking sheet. Place in the preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 min.




Let cool for about 20 min. serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.






Bon Appetite & Enjoy!
 
Sheila Fretz

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Buterflyied Bird (Cornish Game Hens)


Everyone loves a Cornish game hen. Most people stuff them with stuffing of rice and dried fruit or sometime a bread based stuffing. I too love Cornish Hens but sometimes you just don’t have enough time in the day to get that meal cooked and served. That’s when I butterfly my Cornish hen and bake it or barbecue it with just these simple spices.

Butterflied Birds
2 Cornish Hens
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons dried onions
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2-3 teaspoons of parsley or cilantro
Salt to clean cavity


Equipment
Baking Sheet
Scissors
Baking Sheet
Aluminum Foil



Most Cornish hens now a days are sold frozen. So I defrost them in the refrigerator a day or two before I want to serve.


I love to stuff my bird with stuffing (tangerine Stuffing)


However,  that takes a lot more time  to cook so when in a hurry to eat I butterfly my bird.



You will need to salt and clean cavity still


Next pace cavity side down then sprinkle with Olive Oil


After completely Coated add dried onions, granulated garlic parsley or cilantro, I used cilantro this time because I wanted a more robust flavor.
Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes until temperature reaches 165 degrees according to the USDA You can also barbecue but every grill is different so I would use the food thermometer to determine doneness. 



 When in a hurry I always either make mashed potatoes or Rice

Enjoy and Bon Appetit

Mrs. Mix It

Monday, October 7, 2013

My Mom's Beef Stroganoff made the Gluten Free Way


This is one of those recipes that brings me back to my childhood in the kitchen with my Mom after completing my homework. My Mom would make this on a cold winter afternoon and serve it to us for a early supper. My Mom always served this with petite peas on the side, which my older sister refused to eat still to this day.


Beef Stroganoff  Ingredients:1 (1) pound London Broil thinly sliced before cooking.

1 cup of Corn Starch
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pepper
6 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup sliced mushrooms
½ chopped onion
1 4 oz Can of Tomato Paste
3 Cups of Beef Broth
1 Cup Sour Cream


Preheat Large Frying Pan with about 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil


Slice meat in 1/4" strips


Mix together in bowl salt, pepper and Corn starch


Drench Sliced meat in corn starch mixture

Clean Mushrooms then slice
Chop Onion


After Olive Oil is warm brown meat
Remove from Pan and Repeat adding Olive Oil to Pan as needed.

When Meat is all golden and removed


Add last bit of Olive oil the brown Mushrooms and Chopped Onion until clear.


Next add Tomato Paste and stir
 Beef Broth


Add Meat back in and

Tip of the Day: I like to cook my rice or noodles in half beef broth half water so it gives it a little bit more flavor and helps compliment the meal. So here would be portions 1 cup rice, 1 cup water, 1 cup Beef Broth.



Simmer on low heat for about 25 to 30 minutes stirring frequently.


Add Sour Cream 




Serve over bed of Rice or Egg Noodles.



Enjoy  and Bon Appetit



Sheila Fretz