Monday, March 24, 2014

Taco Salad

So I am not a Mexican dish fan, but my family is, so I experiment with various recipes on occasion. I have been hearing about how great taco salad is, but never really made one. Pinterest here I come for advice. There were so many variations I was overwhelmed. I finally found one and pinned it to my board. The source was a Taste of Home recipe so I figured I couldn't go wrong with that one.

I made it with alterations of course, based on what I had on hand. My first version was meat, lettuce, kidney beans, tomatoes, red peppers, cheese, and tortilla chips plus the secret sauce. My second version included meat, lettuce, kidney beans, black beans, tomatoes, cheese, and tortilla chips. I use my own taco seasoning mix, which I will include the recipe. I no longer use the seasoning packets because its so high in Sodium and other not so healthy stuff.

Needless to say, both versions were a hit in the family. Of course, this is also gluten free so my youngest could enjoy it. SUCCESS!

My taco seasoning recipe:
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt


Here is the link to get the dressing recipe.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/taco-salad-7?keycode=ZPIN0413

Strawberry cake... Gluten Free!

Gluten Free Strawberry Cake


This cake was such a great change to the normal gluten free cakes. This was moist and strawberrilicious! My daughter wanted a strawberry cake for her birthday. I had trouble finding a bakery in my area that made gluten free cakes, so I had to take it upon myself to provide one for her. Note the decorating is not my forte, but the taste was excellent.

Family members could not tell it was gluten free. I imagine you could tweak the recipe since the base of the cake was a gluten free cake mix. Substitute the gluten free cake mix with the regular mix. The frosting was a cream cheese strawberry too. She thought the cake was delicious and that's all that matters. Happy 8th Birthday my little one. :) 

Friday, March 14, 2014

Quinoa Broccoli and Cheese


So not only does my daughter seem to have a gluten sensitivity, I have been hearing so much about this super grain, quinoa. Packed with protein and tons of other great nutrients, I decided to try it. The trick was to make it similar to something else in effort to deceive the skeptics in the house. I chose this cheesy broccoli recipe. It was simple to make and was similar to broccoli/rice/cheese casserole.

I am not a huge fan of rice, in fact I rarely eat it. I am a picky eater at heart. I wanted to still  try this though. (I KNOW , I am brave). Let me just say I really liked this recipe. Hubby said it was good but he likes rice better and the most important person to like it..my daughter...didn't. In fairness she isn't a fan of broccoli. I will be making it again though. Maybe with some variations to it. I will also be trying other quinoa recipes in the future. This was a SUCCESS.

March is a huge month for me, but I will be making some new recipes and posting the results. I will be experimenting with some gluten free recipes and will also let you know how that goes for those whose are gluten free.

Website picture. As mentioned before I am not a photographer. Mine looked almost identical to this though.

Here is the link to the recipe. :)

http://whatsfordinner-momwhatsfordinner.blogspot.com/2012/12/cheesy-broccoli-quinoa-and-giveaway.html