These burgers pack in the flavor! Tangy sun dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and caramelized onions combine in a burger your family will rave about. I found the original …
Beef & Bison
Taco Cups made with Pillsbury’s Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough
After the fun of making the easiest (yet ever so tasty) Gluten & Dairy Free Pizza Twists thanks to Pillsbury’s Gluten Free Thin Crust Pizza Dough and sweet little Gluten & Dairy Free Apple Hand Pies from Pilsbury’s Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough, I wanted to try something else fun and kid friendly that could go in the lunch box or be had as a snack. My kids were in the mood for tacos, so Gluten Free Dairy Free Taco Cups are what we came up with.
These tasty bites were so fun to make! I used my regular taco meat seasoning, but use what your family likes. We tried two different styles for the cups. After kneading Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough, we rolled out half of the dough and cut it into 6 squares about 4 1/2 inches. I tucked the dough into a muffin cups leaving the tips of the squares out to make a petal-style or star-style cup.
The other half of the dough I rolled into a rope and cut into 8 sections. After putting the one of the sections into each muffin tin, I pressed the dough evenly around the muffin tin. Either way you make them, they turn out delicious! We served the taco cups for lunch with Tex-Mex Salad. I am making some for the school lunch boxes and think these would be a great game day snack. What would you serve taco cups for?
What do you think of Pillsbury’s new gluten free products.? Have you tried the Chocolate Chip Cookie (however, this contains milk for those cow milk allergic, like myself), Thin Crust Pizza Dough or the Pie and Pastry Dough? Thank you so much for the three gluten free products, Pillsbury! They are so fun to use!
Taco Cups made with Pillsbury’s Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 4 teaspoons instant minced onion
- 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon instant minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- one container of Pilsbury Gluten Free Pie Crust 2 pie crusts worth of dough
- Taco toppings of choice. We used guacamole salsa and fresh cilantro.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Cook ground beef, breaking it apart while cooking. Drain grease from meat when beef is browned. Add onion, salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic, red pepper, and oregano and stir well. Remove from heat.
- For flower/star cups: Knead pie dough until no longer crumbly. Roll out on plastic wrap and cut into 12 squares approximately 4 1/2 inches. Tuck squares into every other muffin tin allowing points to stick out on tin. Press any dough flaps in muffin tin to create more room for filling and to make a neater appearance (see photo).
- For plain taco cups: Knead pie dough until no longer crumbly. Roll dough into a snake or rope. Cut into 16 equal pieces. Place a piece of dough into a muffin tin, pressing into an even layer on bottom and sides of muffin tin.
- Divide meat between pastry cups. Bake in preheated 425 degree F oven 15 to 18 minutes or until pie crust is golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove taco cups from pie tin and top with your favorite taco fixings, like guacamole, salsa, olives or fresh cilantro.
This article is sponsored by Pillsbury®. All opinions are my own. Thank you, Pillsbury®, for sponsoring today’s discussion!
Menu Plan Monday – February 4, 2013
My menu plan is now sponsored by the great people over at Better Batter Flour. The menus will also be published at Start Gluten Free, an online resource made to welcome people into the gluten free living community and help them not feel overwhelmed by new dietary restrictions. I am honored to be a small part of this vibrant community! Stop by and say “Hi!”
As I sit here watching the snow fall, I keep thinking about how beautiful and unique each moment of our lives is, just like a snowflake. I know it is an overused cliche of each of us being different and wonderful as each snowflake is from the others, yet maybe it is so overused because of the bit of truth in that statement. Though our family has had some really tough months this past year, I still feel really blessed. Each of the good little things- a smile that greats me in the morning from my kiddos, seeing my older daughter pitch in and help her sister get breakfast without being asked, or my little cutie carrying in our chickens eggs with a tale about how the hens were funny that morning- build up bit by bit and soften the jaggedness of the tough times. Just like snowflakes blur and soften huge boulders, simply by falling and swirling and landing, bit by bit by bit. Here is to hoping you find the sweet snowflake in your day, the smile to bless you as you start your week. 🙂
This week Heather at Celiac Family is hosting the Gluten Free Menu Swap. The week’s theme is Beef. Our family became the proud owners of a quarter of a cow worth of grass feed beef a few weeks ago. That turned out to be 137 1/2 pounds of beef. Good thing I have a lot of gluten and dairy free beef recipes on my blog! We particularly like Beef Empanadas (a little work, but so worth it!), Enchilada Meatballs, and Korean Style Shredded Beef Tacos. What is your favorite recipe using beef?
Korean Shredded Beef Tacos cook up in the slow cooker, for a fun and easy fusion meal.
Freezer cooking plan for the week: I will be making a double batch of Vegetarian Dirty Rice for lunches. After cooking it up, I’ll portion it into lunch sized containers before freezing. I need more lunches stored up, more WARM lunches, I’ll also be making Beef and Butternut Squash Stew to also package into lunch sized portions. Mexican Cornbread Casserole is also making it’s way to my freezer this week.
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On to the menu plan!
The week’s breakfast options: Fruit-on-the-bottom Dairy Free Coconut Yogurt, Pumpkin Spice Bread, and various fruits.
The week’s lunch options: Nut butter or roasted chicken sandwiches on Texas Roadhouse Road Clones (made dairy free), Vegetarian Dirty Rice, hard boiled eggs, and various fruits and veggie sticks.
Printable grocery list for this week’s dinner menu.
Monday: Orchestra (elementary)/All day band concert day/mom works/mom volunteers at school library/robotics/dance lesson/evening band concert (and today I discovered one of my dog’s ate part of my jeans- grrrr!!!!)
Banana Pancakes with Homemade Beef Sausage and clementines
Tuesday: Jazz band/XC ski practice/robotics/piano lessons
Beef and Butternut Squash Stew with GF Breadsticks and raw broccoli
For the freezer: Make a double batch of Beef and Butternut Squash Stew. Allow remainder of stew to cool while eating dinner. Package the second batch as meal by placing into a gallon sized freezer bag OR package the stew into lunch sized portions. Remove as much air as possible, seal, label and freeze.
Wednesday: Orchestra (high school)/mom works/youth group at our house
Chicken, White Bean and Kale Soup (from the freezer) with Texas Roadhouse Road Clones (made dairy free- we can’t get enough of these)
Thursday: Jazz band/mom works/chess club/XC ski practice/robotics/girl scout meeting
Mexican Cornbread Casserole with spinach salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
For the freezer: Make a second Mexican Cornbread Casserole while assembling the one for dinner. Do not bake the one for the freezer. Wrap well, removing as much air as possible, seal, label and freeze.
Friday: pick up food order/XC ski practice/robotics/sleepover
Swedish Meatballs over Kluski (PA Dutch Style Thick Egg Noodles) and a big salad
Need more menu planning inspiration? Head over for Menu Plan Monday at Organized Junkie. For an awesome month long gluten free money saving menu, see Melissa’s December GF menu plan at Stockpiling Moms.
Homemade Beef Breakfast Sausage
A few weeks ago we became the proud owners of 137.5 pounds of grass fed beef. This is what a quarter of a cow weighed. This is a lot of cow, but I couldn’t be more thrilled to have a nicely filled freezer full of tastiness. Mmmm… I have a nice homemade turkey sausage, but because I have such a nice amount of grass fed ground beef on hand I knew I needed to come up with a good beef breakfast sausage. And, because it is how I roll, I put instructions in so you can mix this up and freeze your sausage ahead of time if you choose.
Printable freezer labels for Beef Breakfast Sausage.
Printable recipe card for multiple batches of Beef Breakfast Sausage for the freezer.
Homemade Beef Breakfast Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or maple syrup optional
- 2 teaspoons dried ground sage
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1/8 to 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well blended. Divide beef mixture into 16 patties. Cook in a lightly oiled pan until cooked through.
- To freeze: After mixing and shaping into patties freeze on a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap until firm. After the patties are frozen, place in a freezer bag separated with waxed paper. Remove as much air as possible, seal, label and freeze.
- To serve: Thaw or cook from frozen in a lightly oiled pan until cooked through.
Tex-Mex Chili for the Slow Cooker – Gluten Free-zer Friday
As you may have noticed, I have a thing for stews and chills, AND I also have a thing for using a slow cooker. Here is a simple, yet delicious chili. When I make Tex-Mex Chili, I like to gather a second batch in a freezer bag while prepping the first batch in the slow cooker for dinner. That way I have one for dinner and one batch saved in the freezer for another day. Two dinners in the time it takes to make one? Yes, please!
Printable recipe card for multiple batches of Tex-Mex Chili
Printable freezer labels for Tex-Mex Chili.
Tex-Mex Chili for the Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck cut into 1-inch cubes or stew meat
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes with jalapeno
- 1 large onion chopped
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried minced onions
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 15 1/2 ounce can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 15 1/2 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 15 1/2 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 10 ounce package frozen corn
Instructions
- In a 4 quart slow cooker mix together beef, tomatoes, onion tomato paste, and spices. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours. One hour before end of cooking time, stir in beans and corn.
- To freeze: In a freezer safe bag mix together beef, tomatoes, onion tomato paste and spices. Remove as much air as possible and seal. In a second freezer bag place beans and corn. Remove as much air as possible and seal. Package both bags together, label and freeze.
- To serve: Thaw. Put contents of bag with meat and tomatoes into a 4 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours. One hour before end of cooking time, stir in beans and corn.
Italian Beef Sandwich Filling for the Slow Cooker
Italian Beef Sandwich Filling for the Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef rump roast
- 3 cups onion sliced in rings
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil
- 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground anise
- 12 ounces canned whole tomatoes
- 1 cup gluten free beer or apple cider
Instructions
- To Freeze: Put all ingredients into a gallon sized freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible, seal, label and freeze.
- To serve: Thaw. Put into a 6 quart slow cooker. Put on lid and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat shreds easily.
Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Beef Meatballs
Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Beef Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups minced onion
- 2 cups gluten & dairy free breadcrumbs
- 3/4 cup rice vinegar
- 3/4 cup gluten free ketchup I like fruit juice sweetened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups canned pineapple chunks in juice
- 4 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce
- 1 1/2 cups bell pepper red, seeded and chopped
- 1 1/2 cups bell pepper green, seeded and chopped
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 4 tablespoons corn starch
- 4 cups gluten free beef broth
Instructions
- Mix together ground beef, egg, onion and breadcrumbs. Form mixture into meatballs about 1 to 1.5 inches in size. Put meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment and freeze until solid. When solid put meatballs into a gallon sized freezer bag. Mix together rice vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, pineapple and juice, and gf soy sauce. Put mixture into a second gallon sized freezer bag. Put the bell peppers, corn starch and broth into a quart sized freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible from each bag, seal, bundle one of each type of bag together, label and freeze.
- To serve: In a slow cooker place meat balls into the bottom of the slow cooker (still frozen). Place THAWED pineapple packet contents onto of meatballs, put on the lid. Cook on high for 4 hours. Put the contents of the pepper packet into the slow cooker and cook for another hour on high. Serve over rice or quinoa.
Camping Gluten Free and Dairy Free – Foil Dinners
It is time for another installment of the Camping Gluten Free series from Becca of Going Free and myself about camping food cooked up gluten and diary free! This week it is my turn to share about foil dinners.
Foil dinners are a classic camping staple. Wrap some food up in foil, toss it on the fire, then eat a delicious meal, how hard can it be? BUT you can end up with …