Easy SCD Chili (SCD, GFCF)

My dad has a saying, "Chili today, hot tamale". This is so true of Texas weather. One day it can be thirty degrees and the next day it can be eighty. This year we went from five months of August right into chili season. We have a hard time keeping the saltine crackers and cheddar cheese in stock at our little rural store. Everyone has a nice warm bowl of chili on their minds.

This recipe is from my son's grandmother. I have only adapted the seasoning to make it SCD legal, you can use my spice blend or a SCD legal chili powder. It's very easy. Cook's Illustrated suggests adding the spices to the hot oil before browning the meat for more depth.

Easy SCD Chili
2 TBSP. Cooking Oil
1 Onion, diced fine
1/4 to 1/3 cup SCD Legal Chili Powder
Cloves of Garlic, to taste
2 lbs. Lean Ground Meat
4 cups Tomato Juice
1 Whole Fresh Chili Pepper (optional)

Heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven type pot. Add onions, chili powder, and minced garlic, cook until onions are tender. Add ground meat and brown. Add tomato juice and simmer for 20 minutes or more. (it will thicken the longer you simmer it, two hours makes a nice thick chili) If you are adding a chili pepper add it with the tomato juice and leave it whole (like you would a bay leaf). You can serve it with shredded cheddar cheese. I have a friend who serves her chili over steamed cauliflower and says it's delicious.

This post is linked to Fightback Fridays.

Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup (SCD, GFCF)

Soup season is coming! I love soup. This one is almost a stew, but not quite. I used "beef" in the title but almost any ground meat will do. This batch was made with deer meat. I prefer to use a leaner ground meat so there's little fat to drain off. Ingredients are approximate.

Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup

1 lb Lean Ground Meat such as Beef, Turkey, Deer, or Bison
Small amount of Olive Oil if needed
1 Onion, diced fine
1 Tomato, seeded and diced fine
3 cups Tomato Juice
2 cups Water
1 teas. Dried Basil
1 teas. Dried Oregano
Dash of Celery Seed (optional, early SCD'ers omit)
1 cup Carrots, diced fine
2 small Zucchini, diced fine
1 cup Frozen Cut Green Beans
Salt to taste

Brown meat in a large pot. Drain off excess fat if needed. Add onions and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally until onions are tender. (If meat is very lean you may need a little olive oil). Add tomato juice, water, and herbs. Bring to a simmering boil. Add the other vegetables and simmer to desired tenderness. Season with salt to taste. Serves 6.

This post is linked to Fightback Friday.

Chile Rellenos Con Pollo (SCD) Stuffed Chilies with Chicken

I've been trying to come up with a grain-free replacement for chicken enchiladas, the kind smothered in green chili sauce. I decided to try my chicken enchilada filling in a poblano pepper. The result was amazing and flavorful, if I do say so myself.

This is also my submission for this week's Fightback Friday, a real food web carnival at Food Renegade

Chile Rellenos Con Pollo (Stuffed Chilies with Chicken)

6 to 8 Poblano Chili Peppers
1 pound Chicken, cooked and shredded
3 or 4 cups Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Onion, finely diced

Sauce

1 cup Tomato Sauce
1/2 teas. Cumin
1/2 teas. Oregano
1 Clove Garlic, minced

To roast and skin the chilies: Put chilies on a baking sheet and place under the broiler. Watch closely, when the skins get bubbly, remove and turn over to broil the other side. Remove and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel the papery skins off. Then carefully make a slit in the side of each chili and scoop out the seeds. If you are going to touch the seeds with your hands then you may want to wear gloves.

Place chilies in a baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl combine the shredded chicken, two cups of cheese and onion. Spoon into the chilies. Combine sauce ingredients. Pour over the stuffed chilies. Top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Ed's Portobello Burgers (SCD, GFCF)

This is also my submission for the Gluten-Free Homemaker's "Gluten-Free Wednesdays". In addition to Gluten-Free Wednesdays she also hold a monthy gluten-free challenge. The theme for this Wednesday and June is "Create a Burger". If you go to her site and click on her "Monthly Challenge" tab, she has ooodles of Gluten-Free recipes from these challenges. It's like a giant gluten-free recipe source. Very Cool!!!

What ever happened to the "Men's Favorites" section in cookbooks? Why did it go away? I think it would have made more sense to keep that section and add another for "Women's Favorites". We could fill a section with chocolate and jewelry (although I'm much more fond of chocolate).

Here's a grilled He-Man burger for Father's Day. The portobello's make a moist and flavorful bun. These are Eddie's instructions:

Ground Meat for Burgers (season with salt and pepper)
Cheese slices (Optional)
Two Portobello Mushroom caps for each burger

Heat grill to 400 degrees. Form meat into patties. Grill patties and mushroom caps until desired doneness. The mushrooms do best if there is a top shelf. Top with cheese and serve.

Go Ahead Honey...It's Gluten Free: Beefcake with Jalapeno Remoulade

Go Ahead Honey... It's Gluten Free is a monthly event with a different host and a different theme each month, but always gluten free. Recipes are submitted by anyone who wants to participate. It was started by Naomi of Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried! and this month it is being hosted by Carol of Simply Gluten-Free. The theme: Manly Food, in the spirit of Father's Day (and some thing she's got for Hugh Jackman). The first thing that came to mind is this Remoulade, which is great on anything grilled. I wasn't sure what pair it with, and keep with the theme (which is Hugh Jackman). Beefcake, seemed an appropriate name, but how would I make one? So I looked to the men in my life for inspiration. My husband, Eddie, was a butcher for 16 years and makes the best darn steaks in Texas. My little man, G, loves steak, it's one of the few things he'll eat, and I mean one of the very few. We're not sure if he's exercising his right to be autistic or just has expensive taste. So steak it is. Since it gets minced and turned into a cake, you can use the cheaper cuts. The next time you're grilling, throw a couple cheap steaks on, and then make this recipe the next night.

Beefcake (SCD)

1 lb Steak, grilled (Sirloin is a good choice)
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1/2 Onion, chopped
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1/2 cup Green Onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup Mayonnaise (For SCD use Homemade)
1 Egg
2 tsp. Lime Juice
2 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 teas. Pepper

Shred steak in a food processor. In a skillet, saute
bell pepper and onion in oil until tender and then let cool. In a large bowl, combine steak, bell pepper mix and other ingredients. Form into patties and place in a skillet or on a baking sheet. There are two ways you can cook these. You can fry them in a non-stick skillet or place them on a cookie sheet and broil them. Cook both sides until browned. Serve with Jalapeno Remoulade.


Jalapeno Remoulade (SCD)

If Jalapenos are too hot for you, use a Poblano pepper and you have a Green Chile Remoulade.

1-3 Jalapenos
1/2 cup Green Onions
1/2 cup Parsely
1/2 cup Cilantro
1 small Tomato
2 TBSP Lime Juice
2 teas. Chili Powder
3/4 cup Mayonnaise (or more to taste, for SCD use homemade)

You can make this the day before. Cut the top off of each pepper and then cut a slit down the side. Carefully unroll the pepper and scrape out the seeds (you may want to use cheap latex gloves if you're putzy like me, they can burn your skin). Place peppers, skin side up in a shallow pan and broil just until skin blisters. Let them cool and then peel off the clear part of the skin. Put them in a food processor with the other ingredients and pulse a few times. Serve chilled.