Mexicana Miscellanea (not really)

So last night I had a taco, leftover collard greens and 2 gf corn taquito's (I forget the brand, but we got them at Safeway)...and salsa....can I just say I am getting sick of corn tortilla, in all their forms!

What I am really craving (aside from sticky rice & mango) is a sandwich like I used to get at Franklyn's...on a chewy dark multi-grain bread...full of turkey, bacon, sprouts, and miscellaneous veggies. I know I could have all but the bread but it's just not the same. And so far all the GF bread's I've tried have been white bread.

I also want a dark beef borgeonoine on egg noodles! And a rich stew! And chicken cacciatore.

Can you tell I've been looking at cooking blogs - I've been tasked w/ ThanksGiving sides so far my choices are:

Spinach with Garlic Chips

Sweet Roasted Rosemary Acorn Squash Wedges

 
Butternut Squash Puree

Turnip Gratin

Creamy Herbed Potatoes

Whiskey Glazed Carrots

Ok, now I'm really jonesing for good foods! Thankfully I'm headed to Jason's Deli to check out their GF offerings!

Pork Chops & Applesauceeeee....

 After minor surgery on Monday I really didn't feel like cooking last night, but knew I had to...so here's what I made:

Heat oven to 350º

In a dutch oven, or covered stew pot, put 1⅔  c. long grain white rice (or brown), 4 normal sliced pork chops (or chicken tenders/breast), a 32oz box of GF beef broth, salt, pepper, garlic to taste (and here's where you can change it up with herbs d'provance, or cajun seasonings, or whatever is in your garden).

Bake for 50 minutes. And serve. Easy-Peasy. I served it with collard greens from a local bbq joint, but cranberry sauce and/or applesauce rocks with it!

Oh yeah, and while I was in the kitchen I made spaghetti sauce and taco meat for easy to grab/make meals for the kids (who aren't really kids anymore!) 

Cajun-ish NummyNess

Saute onion & garlic in eevo.

Add 4 chopped chicken tenders  (raw unbreaded gf chicken) -add salt & pepper to taste, saute until brown.

Add 2c.uncooked rice (long grain white or brown) , 1c. water  & 32 oz. gf chicken broth.

Add cajun seasoning & cayanne pepper. 

Cover. Bring to a boil. Then turn to low and simmer 20 mins.

Chop 1/2 a gf kielbasa sausage and add in to mix. (could also add shrimp)

Add southwest frozen veggie mix (corn, black beans, poblano peppers, onions)

Be prepared to freeze or eat this for days :)

Trick-r-Treat

Candy is back in season :-)  (Like it ever goes out of season!) And there are lots of lists about what's safe. I was surprised by a few. Twizzlers are not safe. Butterfingers are safe. How backwards does that seem?

Carrot Cake

Mmm....this year I didn't have a birthday cake...but next year I want a carrot cake...just the pics make me crave a slice of cake!

Lesson Learned - again!

I thought I was buying Mi-Del GF Ginger Snaps instead I bought Mi-Del Ginger Snaps (naturals, but not GF) - no wonder they were so tasty! Thankfully I'd only eaten two when I caught the mistake while grocery shopping - It's not only a lesson in label reading but it is also a lesson in not putting something in a tupperware without the label!!

Muncha-Buncha-Lunch

Lunch remains one of my biggest challenges. My fallback is Chipotle, where I can get an awesome bowl of rice, beans, onions & peppers, steak, cheese, and lettuce. My mouth waters just thinking about it. But it's too much moohlah and too much food to do daily.

Somewhere today I saw an awesome list of lunch-box idea's - I am sure it was intended for elementary aged school kids, but hey - I'm keeping it and going to use it.

I'm also keeping this list from Heinz, of their GF foods.  Some things like their taquito's would be handy to have around. And on the note of handy I want to try Sandwich Petals - I'm going to have to buy them online, but they look like they have flavor.

One of the things I was going to share in this blog was my recipes....but I haven't cooked much lately. I've been eating a lot of fruit and nuts, and eating on the run. Some of my staples for quick lunch food have been peanut butter on rice crackers, and danish ham rolls with cream cheese in the middle. I've made a few stir-fry's with tamari sauce and red pepper flakes that were so tasty there was no leftovers to bring for lunch.

And on the note of lunch, I think I shall go see what's in the freezer and head outside for some fresh air.

Update:  I had Ceaser's Manicotti - and it was 'eh...the texture was good, but the taste was a little off. It tasted more like a TV dinner than real food...I read the ingredients and it is all real, but still just 'eh.