Beef and Cabbage "enchiladas"

It's been 3 months since I was diagnosed with Celiac disease.  For a couple of months there I thought I was going to have to drop this blog.  That made me sad.  And then I realized, why would I drop the blog when I have every reason to be experimenting with recipes now?!?!  It makes NO SENSE to get rid of the very thing that will be most useful in cooking from now on.

So for  my first experiment, I tried making something that's easy, filling, and gluten free!  Sometimes my stomach can't handle beef - it tends to be fattier anyway, and Celiac stomach doesn't always handle fattier meats very well, but I didn't have a problem with this recipe.  And, even though the bf doesn't particularly like cabbage, he said these were awesome because you couldn't really taste the cabbage!  It's really just there to hold everything together (and adds some extra vitamins if you don't cook it to death). These were awesome as leftovers the next day - they'd also be really good with some cheese mixed in if you mix milk and meat!

Beef and Cabbage "enchiladas" 

INGREDIENTS

enchilada sauce:

 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 cup beef broth

5 oz tomato paste

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

cabbage rolls:

1 lb ground beef (extra lean if you can find it - it's hard to find that in Kosher meats)

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)

1 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)

Enchilada sauce (entire mix)

1 medium head cabbage

1-4 small avocados (I omitted, but it would've been delicious!)

DIRECTIONS FOR THE ENCHILADA SAUCE

1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together all ingredients except olive oil.
2. Bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to keep warm.
3. Before pouring over cabbage rolls, whisk in the olive oil.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CABBAGE ROLLS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large stockpot, add a couple cups of water and bring to a boil.
2. Remove core from cabbage and carefully peel off 10-12 leaves.
3. Place leaves in boiling water and turn heat off.
4. While cabbages are softening, pan fry ground beef, onion, salt, and pepper in a skillet.
5. Once ground beef is cooked through, remove from heat and add crushed garlic.
6. With tongs, remove one cabbage leaf at a time, fill with beef mixture, and roll tightly (you  might want to wait until the cabbage cools slightly before rolling - I burned my fingers a few times!).
7. Roll tightly and lay in glass baking dish.  Cover all rolls with the enchilada sauce and bake for 20 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!!!

Oh, How Pinteresting: Everythings better on a stick

Hello friends! I share a pinterest board with my friend Kristen who runs a small business making sweet treats for parties.  She's quite talented if you want to check her out on facebook!  Right now she only serves the Louisville metro area, but I'm gunning to get her up here to do my engagement party or bridal shower, she just doesn't now it yet!  Also, a funny story about Kris. We know her in my family as "Chicken Sticky". She got this name when we were out at the food trucks during a pre-Kentucky Derby festival and were ordering chicken tenders on sticks.  To this day my dad will only acknowledge her as "chicken sticky"!!!  Anywho, these are a combination of her finds and mine - enjoy!!

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One Pan Goulash

This is another iffy meal for a gluten intolerant/celiac, but the fiance loves red meat, so I've had to find some meals that fill me up on a small amount, which limits my intake of the actual dangerous food, the beef.  This was a good dish because I could eat mostly the veggies and pasta, but still get some of the flavors from the beef.  It serves 4-8 depending on the size portions you take.  I ate about 1 cup per serving, the fiance ate closer to 2. Either way, there was plenty for leftovers! Enjoy!!


INGREDIENTS

1 pound lean ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 zucchini, shredded

1 can diced tomatoes (do not drain), no salt added

2 cups low sodium beef broth

4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons dried Italian herbs (basil, rosemary, oregano)

1 cup uncooked whole wheat elbow macaroni (I used brown rice pasta)

1 cup mushrooms

salt to taste

 DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add the ground beef, onion and garlic.
3. Cook till the beef is browned, drain well.
4. Add the zucchini and mushrooms, saute till soft.
5. Add herbs, tomato paste, tomatoes (including juice) and broth.
6. Stir well and add salt to taste.
7. Add dry macaroni.
8. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 12-14 minutes or until macaroni is soft.
9. Serve with shredded Parmesan if you don't keep kosher!