what DO you eat??

I'm often asked the question, "what do you eat?" and I often find myself staring back at the person blankly thinking, "I have no idea". But the thing is, I never really feel like I'm lacking or missing out on something (unless I go out to fast food). For some reason, I just can't ever think of what to say. I've never been a casserole person, that just isn't how I cook-or even how I'd want to eat. Before I started this crazy lifestyle of gluten and dairy free, I didn't cover everything in cheese or cream sauce, so maybe that's why its been an easier transition for me than for others. Dinner is by far the easiest meal for me. Tonight I'm making a beef soup/stew in my pressure cooker. If you've never used a pressure cooker, let me just say,it's the greatest invention ever! You put your meal in it and in 20 minutes its fully cooked and tastes like it's been in a crock pot for the last 10 hours. I actually like it better than the crock pot because the meat is always so much more tender and juicier this way.



The Holy Trinity of Cooking



Beef Stew

Ingredients:

3 lb roast or stew meat cut into chunks

8 carrots peeled and chopped length wise

1 onion coarsely chopped

3 celery stalks chopped

2 cloves garlic peeled and minced

3 golden Yukon potatoes washed and chopped (skin on)

1 leek chopped

8 oz Baby Bella mushrooms sliced

1 packet onion soup mix***(see below)

2 cups green/brown lentils washed and sorted

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp sage

2 bay leaves

4 cups beef or vegetable stock(make sure it's gf)

1/8 cup gf brown rice flour

2 Tb olive oil

2-4 Tb potato starch or corn starch for thickening

1/4 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

***Onion soup mix IS NOT gluten free. Chunks is not bothered by the small amount of gluten contained in this recipe. However, others may not be able to handle it. Please be aware of this prior to cooking and sustitute 1 T dried onion flakes.

Directions:

Set your pressure cooker to the "brown" setting. Add 2 T olive oil and let it heat.

Place the meat and flour into a Ziploc bag, seal and shake until coated(I like to let SweetPea do this part). Add the meat to the cooker and brown. It doesn't need to be fully browned, you just want to get some color on it.

Next add lentils and seasonings. Follow by adding all of the vegetables, alternating, creating layers. Add beef broth. The exact amount will vary depending on the size of the pressure cooker. The liquid needs to cover at least 3/4 of the contents of the cooker minimum or it won't create enough steam to cook. Set the cooker to "pressure" and timer to 20 minutes. Be sure to lock the cooker.

When the timer goes off, grab a hand towel and slowly release the steam in short bursts until the pressure button is released. Remove all of the meat and veggies and set aside leaving all of the broth and juices in the cooker. Turn the cooker back to "brown" and add the starch to a 1/4 cup of water. Add the mixture to the broth in 1 Tb increments until a thick sauce forms. Adjust with water until it's the consistency you'd like and mix with the meat and veggies.Salt and Pepper to taste. I like to freeze the leftovers for a quick and easy lunch. Serve up into bowls with warm cornbread on the side.

Stew never looks very appetizing in pictures...bummer

***Onion soup mix IS NOT gluten free. Please be aware of this prior to cooking.