Taco Fiesta!

Last night I made a Taco Casserole for dinner. It wasn't bad and it came together pretty easily too. I found this recipe in my neighborhood cookbook yet again. I never realized how talented the neighbors were when it came to cooking. The recipe called for cream of chicken soup and ground beef. In an attempt to stay dairy free I made my own dairy free cream base and added almond milk. I should have tasted the base as I was making it because it was little too sweet as a result of the milk. It needed just a little bit more salt. Professional chefs always say you should taste your sauces during the preparation phase. I don't usually taste my cooking as I am making it. I believe I have learned my lesson with this one.

However, the cream sauce was mixed with ground turkey which I used in place of the beef because I like ground turkey more than beef. I also mixed in a can of vegetarian re-fried beans and a jar of salsa. By mixing the meat, beans, and salsa in with the cream sauce it gave it the extra saltiness it needed.

The recipe also had corn tortillas spread throughout the casserole. I don't usually like corn tortillas unless they are crisp, but they crisp up in this recipe.

After the casserole was done baking I served it with shredded lettuce, more salsa, and some chipotle Tabasco sauce. My husband liked the salsa and I liked the Tabasco sauce on top.

There was also cheese in this recipe, but again I am attempting to avoid dairy as much as possible so I used a non-dairy cheese. I have an acquaintance from high school who is vegan and she wrote a blog about this non-dairy cheese that is made from rice, so a few months ago I decided to give it a whirl. It isn't half bad and for someone who really likes cheese, I really like this non-dairy "cheese."
Don't ask me what the name of the brand is because I honestly cannot remember.

Below is the recipe to the best of my memory. I left the cookbook at home, so I am going off of memory.


Taco Casserole
1 lb. ground beef or turkey, browned
1 can of refried beans
1 jar of salsa
About 6 corn tortillas torn into pieces
1 can of cream of chicken soup
splash of milk
shredded cheese of choice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the browned beef or turkey with the beans and salsa, set aside. Mix together the cream of chicken soup and milk, set aside. In a casserole, add a layer of the meat mixture, then layer some of the tortillas on top, then add some of the soup mixture. Repeat the layers until used. Sprinkle as little or as much cheese on top and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with favorite taco toppings and sides.

I Love Waffles!

I love waffles! They are probably my favorite breakfast item. But since I have been trying to avoid gluten and dairy, waffles have been difficult for me to have until recently. I also didn't have a waffle iron either, which complicated things, but my parents' gave my husband and I one for a wedding gift. I have a cook book that has recipes from my parents' neighbors. There is a recipe in there for basic waffles. I took the recipe and swapped out the flour for gluten free flour, the sugar for coconut sugar, and the milk for almond milk. I left everything else the same. Yummy waffles this recipe made! These waffles are delicious with just about anything. I have tried them with maple syrup, fruit syrup, fresh fruit, homemade jams, almond butter, and nutella! And if you like savory waffles I am sure these would be delicious in a "chicken and waffle" recipe. I have enjoyed all of these various toppings! I think sprinkling some nuts on top would be good to! Below is the recipe. If you are good and swapping in egg replacements, you could easily make these vegan as well.

I like recipes that are easy to swap out the less healthy item for a more healthy alternative. I am not a fan of these healthy recipes that tell you to add in xantham gum, this and that of one item or another. I believe that health conscious recipes taste better when we can keep them as close to the original as possible by swapping out a few ingredients - not all of them. Tonight I will be trying my hand at a taco casserole that will have ground turkey in it instead of beef. I am looking forward to it!

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Waffles

2 1/4 cups gluten free flour of choice
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut sugar or regular sugar
2 large eggs (if you know how to substitute chia seed or other ingredient for eggs, you could easily swap that in for vegan waffles).
2 1/4 cups dairy free milk of choice
3/4 cup oil of choice

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Put in pre-heated waffle iron and cook to waffle iron specifications. Eat. Enjoy.

Dairy Free, Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie!

I must admit I do not keep this blog updated as much as I should. I got married last month and prior to the wedding I was a crazy woman trying to make sure everything was done.

Well, I am still trying to avoid dairy and gluten as much as possible as those appear to be the root cause of my health issues, but there are some foods that I just love and really don't want to give up, like Chicken Pot Pie! I love chicken pot pie! So I was determined to make one that was both gluten and dairy free.

I put together three different recipes to make this happen. I found a recipe online for a dairy free "cream of chicken" soup which I used for the base in my filling. I then used another recipe for biscuit mix that was gluten free from another recipe and lastly I used a chicken pot pie recipe on Rachael Ray's website to bring everything together. I will try to get the recipe together that I ended up "creating" and post it here. Needless to say this recipe came together quite quickly and was very delicious!

My husband loved it as did I! The only thing I would do differently next time is add a little more biscuit mix for the topping.

Happy eating!