Cooking Gluten & Dairy Free = Vaccuum that sucks up all of our time.
March 27, 2013 10:46 PM Subscribe
Save us with suggestions for your favorite one-pot (or one-bake) meals! Bonus points for related recipe blogs!
Eating out is an option *some* nights, but cooking takes up the majority of our time week nights. We're talking 2, sometimes 3 hours a night between prep cooking, actual cooking, eating, and clean-up. We do our best with using few ingredients, but we are out of creativity. There are TONS of recipes out there for one-pot meals, but often involve cheese to hold them together. That's a fail, as soy cheese is 1.) Not a great binder, and 2.) Kinda gross, really. What do y'all who are GF/CF do for easy, minimalist cooking? We're ready to just start sleeping in the kitchen. . . .
Eating out is an option *some* nights, but cooking takes up the majority of our time week nights. We're talking 2, sometimes 3 hours a night between prep cooking, actual cooking, eating, and clean-up. We do our best with using few ingredients, but we are out of creativity. There are TONS of recipes out there for one-pot meals, but often involve cheese to hold them together. That's a fail, as soy cheese is 1.) Not a great binder, and 2.) Kinda gross, really. What do y'all who are GF/CF do for easy, minimalist cooking? We're ready to just start sleeping in the kitchen. . . .
Stir fry? I've been on a GF trial for two months for my daughter's health issues, and tons of my meals don't have dairy - and I would die before I ever spent two hours cooking dinner. I hate cooking. But meat and vegetables are so easy to just chop up, throw in a pan with some olive oil (if necessary), season with whatever you feel like seasoning them with, and bam, done.
If you want something to serve with it, you can make some rice, or quinoa pasta.
I do this with chicken, salmon, beef, and every kind of vegetable, it's the absolute easiest thing.
posted by celtalitha at 11:17 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you want something to serve with it, you can make some rice, or quinoa pasta.
I do this with chicken, salmon, beef, and every kind of vegetable, it's the absolute easiest thing.
posted by celtalitha at 11:17 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
Thai curries, using wheat-free soy sauce (tamari) or coconut aminos instead of regular wheat-containing soy sauce. Similarly, Indian curries. Both tend to cook in one pot and do not need any dairy at all. If you see a dairy containing Indian curry, you can use coconut milk instead (unless it's paneer).
Crockpot stews involving beef, chicken, lamb, etc.
Crockpot salsa chicken (just google it) is really good on its own, over rice, mixed with black beans, in tacos, or as taco salad meat.
Chili! And by the way, soy-based sour cream from brands like Tofutti is actually really close to the real thing. Nothing like nasty soy cheese.
Roast salmon and veggies: Preheat a roasting tray in a 475 degree oven for 10 minutes. Toss some veggies (I like doing asparagus or green beans, cherry tomatoes, maybe carrots) with olive oil and chopped fresh basil. Pat dry a nice thick fatty chunk of salmon (king salmon is best for this), then rub with a little olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. When the roasting pan is ready, throw the salmon on one end and the pile of veggies on the other. Top the pile of veggies with 10 or so anchovies (really!!!) and bake it for about 7 minutes. Check at this point and cook for a minute or two longer if needed.
posted by joan_holloway at 11:20 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
Crockpot stews involving beef, chicken, lamb, etc.
Crockpot salsa chicken (just google it) is really good on its own, over rice, mixed with black beans, in tacos, or as taco salad meat.
Chili! And by the way, soy-based sour cream from brands like Tofutti is actually really close to the real thing. Nothing like nasty soy cheese.
Roast salmon and veggies: Preheat a roasting tray in a 475 degree oven for 10 minutes. Toss some veggies (I like doing asparagus or green beans, cherry tomatoes, maybe carrots) with olive oil and chopped fresh basil. Pat dry a nice thick fatty chunk of salmon (king salmon is best for this), then rub with a little olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. When the roasting pan is ready, throw the salmon on one end and the pile of veggies on the other. Top the pile of veggies with 10 or so anchovies (really!!!) and bake it for about 7 minutes. Check at this point and cook for a minute or two longer if needed.
posted by joan_holloway at 11:20 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
Been making almond flour-based dishes out of this recipe book that are turning out very well.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:30 PM on March 27, 2013
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:30 PM on March 27, 2013
Best answer: Current favorite one-pot meal in our house, which is stupid easy: large tin (~28oz) crushed tomatoes, 1 chopped onion, 3 tins white beans (butter, cannellini, great northern, navy, whatever) rinsed and drained, one container frozen spinach (thawed and drained and drained and drained), chopped mushrooms (optional), chopped roasted peppers (also optional), garlic, 1/4 c olive oil. Dump all ingredients into an oven-safe pot, bake at 400 for at 30-45 minutes, until the beans have absorbed most of the tomatoes. Serve. It's stupid, but all three of us, including my reluctant tomato eater, love it.
There are a lot of gluten-free vegan blogs out there, as well as quite a few blogs that are about cooking without the major allergens. Angela's Kitchen is specifically gluten free and dairy free. Gluten-Free Goddess has an extensive dairy-free section. Lexie's Kitchen is all gluten free and dairy free. All three have some things that leave me less than totally sold (for example, heavy use of "vegan mayonnaise", or moralizing about "bad" food, or lots of recipe roundup/recipe swap type posts, all of which I hate) but I've also used ideas from all three of them in my (gluten-eating, non-vegan) life, so...you know. Take the good with the bad, I guess.
posted by MeghanC at 11:43 PM on March 27, 2013 [7 favorites]
There are a lot of gluten-free vegan blogs out there, as well as quite a few blogs that are about cooking without the major allergens. Angela's Kitchen is specifically gluten free and dairy free. Gluten-Free Goddess has an extensive dairy-free section. Lexie's Kitchen is all gluten free and dairy free. All three have some things that leave me less than totally sold (for example, heavy use of "vegan mayonnaise", or moralizing about "bad" food, or lots of recipe roundup/recipe swap type posts, all of which I hate) but I've also used ideas from all three of them in my (gluten-eating, non-vegan) life, so...you know. Take the good with the bad, I guess.
posted by MeghanC at 11:43 PM on March 27, 2013 [7 favorites]
I have to be honest, I am not sure that this is gluten free; apparently there is some controversy about lentils? Some brands are gluten-free, though.
I make a lot of lentils. Daal, basically. I like Bittman's recipe for spiced red lentil daal, although I usually use whatever lentils they have at the store.
Instead of reserving the onions, I add the lentils and the rest of the ingredients to the onions and cook them in the same pot. I also add a can of diced tomatoes, drained. I don't use fresh cilantro or fresh ginger, and instead of peanut oil I use just canola or olive - whatever is around.
I also like to use this spice mix instead of the spices he lists. I add some powdered ginger and powdered garlic instead of chopping fresh. It turns out almost exactly the same (I've tried all the fresh ingredients).
This is really good over fresh spinach, if you want more veggies.
In general, I find that with a few staple recipes up my sleeve that I get very used to cooking them super fast. So, for example, I make a salad that takes 20 minutes to assemble just because I have it down to a science. That is with fresh lettuce; if I used the bagged pre-washed stuff, I'd be a lot faster.
Also consider setting aside a few hours on the weekend to make up a big batch of, oh, soup (butternut squash soup might be a really nice choice) and freeze a bunch of it. If you do this for a few months in a row you'll have quite a nice selection of homemade frozen meals to choose from.
posted by k8lin at 11:48 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
I make a lot of lentils. Daal, basically. I like Bittman's recipe for spiced red lentil daal, although I usually use whatever lentils they have at the store.
Instead of reserving the onions, I add the lentils and the rest of the ingredients to the onions and cook them in the same pot. I also add a can of diced tomatoes, drained. I don't use fresh cilantro or fresh ginger, and instead of peanut oil I use just canola or olive - whatever is around.
I also like to use this spice mix instead of the spices he lists. I add some powdered ginger and powdered garlic instead of chopping fresh. It turns out almost exactly the same (I've tried all the fresh ingredients).
This is really good over fresh spinach, if you want more veggies.
In general, I find that with a few staple recipes up my sleeve that I get very used to cooking them super fast. So, for example, I make a salad that takes 20 minutes to assemble just because I have it down to a science. That is with fresh lettuce; if I used the bagged pre-washed stuff, I'd be a lot faster.
Also consider setting aside a few hours on the weekend to make up a big batch of, oh, soup (butternut squash soup might be a really nice choice) and freeze a bunch of it. If you do this for a few months in a row you'll have quite a nice selection of homemade frozen meals to choose from.
posted by k8lin at 11:48 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm a time-strapped and lazy cook, so I eat variations on the same (mostly vegetarian) meals over and over. Except for special occasions I never make meals that require more than 15 min prep... need constant attention... or can't be made in bulk and saved. The key is to add lots of accessories to a simple base. Think avocado, salsa, pesto, kimchi, sauerkraut, tahini, miso, mustard, nutritional yeast, oil + vinegar, herbs, spice rubs, nuts and seeds, dried or fresh fruit, mushrooms... and tons of extra veggies and proteins. For breakfast, lunch and dinner:
+ scrambles (egg, tofu)
+ bowl of greens, rice, or quinoa
+ lentils, beans
+ lots of soups and chilis
+ stir-fries
+ curries
+ giant salads
+ baked or roasted: squashes, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, broccoli, fish, meat
You can combine any of these. You'll probably have to, to get enough protein.
Occasional treats: nachos, corn tortilla tacos, polenta, griddle cakes, pancakes/muffins with teff or buckwheat, rice noodle dishes, meatballs or bun-less burgers, potato hash, baked or mashed potatoes, french fries.
Most foreign cuisines lend themselves well to GF cooking. The less you try to re-create gluten-y comfort foods, the easier you'll have it. Mexican and Chinese are cheap and super quick. Pick up Italian for tomato bases and antipasto. Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Indian and Middle Eastern are great for rich spicy sauces and pickles. Oh yeah! Pro tips: Sub a rich black tea for chicken or beef broth, and cut up veggies when you bring them home.
posted by fritillary at 12:18 AM on March 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
+ scrambles (egg, tofu)
+ bowl of greens, rice, or quinoa
+ lentils, beans
+ lots of soups and chilis
+ stir-fries
+ curries
+ giant salads
+ baked or roasted: squashes, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, broccoli, fish, meat
You can combine any of these. You'll probably have to, to get enough protein.
Occasional treats: nachos, corn tortilla tacos, polenta, griddle cakes, pancakes/muffins with teff or buckwheat, rice noodle dishes, meatballs or bun-less burgers, potato hash, baked or mashed potatoes, french fries.
Most foreign cuisines lend themselves well to GF cooking. The less you try to re-create gluten-y comfort foods, the easier you'll have it. Mexican and Chinese are cheap and super quick. Pick up Italian for tomato bases and antipasto. Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Indian and Middle Eastern are great for rich spicy sauces and pickles. Oh yeah! Pro tips: Sub a rich black tea for chicken or beef broth, and cut up veggies when you bring them home.
posted by fritillary at 12:18 AM on March 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I'm a GF vegan, and some of my favorite recipes have been found on theglutenfreevegan.com (I often make a massive amount of risotto with whatever vegetables I have and eat it all week), and cleaneatingchelsey.com.
My hands-down GF vegan recipe is a pasta where you use almond milk, white beans and garlic to create a delicious alfredo-like sauce. It's delicious. Once you get your flavoring for the sauce down (I like extra garlic, sundried tomatoes and a LOT of spinach with my pureed white beans and almond milk), you end up making a ton of it and it freezes well.
posted by kinetic at 3:28 AM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
My hands-down GF vegan recipe is a pasta where you use almond milk, white beans and garlic to create a delicious alfredo-like sauce. It's delicious. Once you get your flavoring for the sauce down (I like extra garlic, sundried tomatoes and a LOT of spinach with my pureed white beans and almond milk), you end up making a ton of it and it freezes well.
posted by kinetic at 3:28 AM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Also, I love the recipes at cupcakesandkale.com. The link is to the pasta recipe.
I am not an avid cook, and I also found it rough going to find GF vegan recipes at first, but now we basically live off:
quinoa bake (don't add cheese and it's just as good)
baked pasta and beans
quinoa salad and veggies and tofu/scallops/whatever protein
sweet potatoes and chickpeas
butternut squash soup with kale.
My son's favorite: he roasted vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, onions, asparagus) with fajita seasoning and tosses them into a tortilla with some black beans and avocado slices.
The two biggest additions to our daily diet have been quinoa (so much better if you lightly toast it in olive oil and then cook in broth) and the wonders of kale. Kale chips, kale thrown into all casseroles and soups. Incredibly delicious.
posted by kinetic at 3:48 AM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
I am not an avid cook, and I also found it rough going to find GF vegan recipes at first, but now we basically live off:
quinoa bake (don't add cheese and it's just as good)
baked pasta and beans
quinoa salad and veggies and tofu/scallops/whatever protein
sweet potatoes and chickpeas
butternut squash soup with kale.
My son's favorite: he roasted vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, onions, asparagus) with fajita seasoning and tosses them into a tortilla with some black beans and avocado slices.
The two biggest additions to our daily diet have been quinoa (so much better if you lightly toast it in olive oil and then cook in broth) and the wonders of kale. Kale chips, kale thrown into all casseroles and soups. Incredibly delicious.
posted by kinetic at 3:48 AM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
The simplest is 1. Cook large piece of meat in crock pot with whatever seasonings you like; 2.eat on it for 2-3 days with addition of any rice, cooked veggies, corn tortillas or other GF side dishes you like.
We also ended up buying a small rice cooker because I kept under/over cooking the rice.
Super easy, lots of leftovers.
(husband is celiac w/ dairy, egg, soy allergies...I feel ya).
posted by emjaybee at 4:53 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
We also ended up buying a small rice cooker because I kept under/over cooking the rice.
Super easy, lots of leftovers.
(husband is celiac w/ dairy, egg, soy allergies...I feel ya).
posted by emjaybee at 4:53 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Our approach was to get a rice cooker (Zojirushi) and do a lot of stir-fry. Hardly any meal takes longer than 10 minutes to prepare; it's just slicing or dicing and then throwing it in the skillet. One of the keys to great quick-prep food flavour is to keep a variety of bottles of sauces and marinades to hand and adding a dash or two when you plate stuff up.
So I am suggesting, basically, adopt a more oriental sort of cooking technique. Concentrate your time on small batches of flavourful veggies and freshly browned meats, toss it on a bed of perfectly cooked, no effort rice, then add a dash of your flavour.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:04 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
So I am suggesting, basically, adopt a more oriental sort of cooking technique. Concentrate your time on small batches of flavourful veggies and freshly browned meats, toss it on a bed of perfectly cooked, no effort rice, then add a dash of your flavour.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:04 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
A rice cooker to have that side done and available will be super helpful.
That said, one of my standbys is to get 2 lbs of chicken thighs and toss them in a saucepan with half a bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce, chopped green onion, a couple handfuls of baby spinach, and some butter (which you could easily sub for Earth's Balance - I've done that and it's been just as good). Let it all cook for about 30 minutes on medium / medium high heat until the chicken is done. Shred with a fork, and serve over rice. You'll have plenty of leftovers.
posted by skittlekicks at 5:13 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
That said, one of my standbys is to get 2 lbs of chicken thighs and toss them in a saucepan with half a bottle of Frank's Hot Sauce, chopped green onion, a couple handfuls of baby spinach, and some butter (which you could easily sub for Earth's Balance - I've done that and it's been just as good). Let it all cook for about 30 minutes on medium / medium high heat until the chicken is done. Shred with a fork, and serve over rice. You'll have plenty of leftovers.
posted by skittlekicks at 5:13 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The secret to GFCF cooking is ... don't try to be a Westerner cooking GFCF.
Instead, pretend you're Asian.
Most Asian diets are GFCF just on first principles. Meat, fish, veggies, rice. Done.
The big exception is soy sauce brewed with wheat, like the ubiquitous Kikkoman. But there are wheat-free brands aplenty in most supermarkets.
So, go grab some Chinese, Japanese and Korean cookbooks.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:40 AM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Instead, pretend you're Asian.
Most Asian diets are GFCF just on first principles. Meat, fish, veggies, rice. Done.
The big exception is soy sauce brewed with wheat, like the ubiquitous Kikkoman. But there are wheat-free brands aplenty in most supermarkets.
So, go grab some Chinese, Japanese and Korean cookbooks.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:40 AM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Take a chicken.
Put it in a pan.
Add potatoes and carrots at the bottom.
Cover everything with a little bit of olive oil.
Herbs if you've got em.
Roast.
Gluten-free, dairy-free, and takes about 10 minutes of prep and an hour or so to cook. You can do the same with a roast beef or a roast pork.
posted by xingcat at 6:09 AM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Put it in a pan.
Add potatoes and carrots at the bottom.
Cover everything with a little bit of olive oil.
Herbs if you've got em.
Roast.
Gluten-free, dairy-free, and takes about 10 minutes of prep and an hour or so to cook. You can do the same with a roast beef or a roast pork.
posted by xingcat at 6:09 AM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Here's a coconut curry soup/stew thing we make that I outlined in a comment last year. The thing that takes the longest is par-cooking the squash, but you can buy frozen squash chunks and nuke them while you sautee the onions/garlic/ginger. If you roast a chicken on some non-work day and have leftovers, you can add them. It's quick - maybe 30 minutes from prep to eat if you're reasonably speedy aboutx chopping things.
posted by rtha at 6:11 AM on March 28, 2013
posted by rtha at 6:11 AM on March 28, 2013
My favorite one pot meals:
Taco Quinoa:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil with one cup of quinoa and one packet of taco seasoning.
Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook ~ 20 minutes.
Add in: 1 can drained, rinsed black beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 cup frozen corn kernels. Stir and heat through.
Serve with chopped green onions on top.
And this marvelous concoction from the vegan stoner. Not all of their recipes are GF but they are all dairy free. Great site with easy, quick recipes.
posted by morganannie at 6:13 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Taco Quinoa:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil with one cup of quinoa and one packet of taco seasoning.
Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook ~ 20 minutes.
Add in: 1 can drained, rinsed black beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 cup frozen corn kernels. Stir and heat through.
Serve with chopped green onions on top.
And this marvelous concoction from the vegan stoner. Not all of their recipes are GF but they are all dairy free. Great site with easy, quick recipes.
posted by morganannie at 6:13 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
I avoid dairy, eggs, and gluten, and am hella tired when I get home from my job. Most of what I do has been covered above--Stirfry, roast chicken and root veg, rice cooker for rice/quinoa/steamed veggies, gluten free pasta with meatballs, etc. The most effective time-saving things I do are to remix my leftovers (fried rice, putting yesterday's roast chicken on a salad or in a taco, etc), chopping extra veggies and putting the extra back in the fridge, keeping easy meal solutions around (tortillas, GFDF spice mixes, sausages, etc), and having a rice cooker with the steamer bit that goes on top. Also, if you do eat eggs a lot, get a nonstick frying pan--eggs and Teflon are a match made in heaven, and it makes cleanup much much easier.
posted by mismatched at 6:27 AM on March 28, 2013
posted by mismatched at 6:27 AM on March 28, 2013
Best answer: We got used to eating leftovers. We spend time on Sunday cooking one or two big things, then we put it all in the fridge and pull it out each weekday to heat up a serving in the microwave. If you cook 2 meals, you can alternate them so you're not eating the same thing every day.
Things we cook on Sundays (which might meet your restrictions):
Vegetarian chili (we sometimes put meat in it, too)
Pork Roast with sauerkraut/potatoes/apples in the same pan
Roast Vegetables - whatever comes in our CSA, toss with olive oil and herbs
Roast Chicken with potatoes/carrots/onions in the same pan
Ham or Turkey with Thanksgiving sides: sweep potatoes, asparagus, green beans, etc.
Stuffed Cabbage with rice and ground beef
posted by CathyG at 6:42 AM on March 28, 2013
Things we cook on Sundays (which might meet your restrictions):
Vegetarian chili (we sometimes put meat in it, too)
Pork Roast with sauerkraut/potatoes/apples in the same pan
Roast Vegetables - whatever comes in our CSA, toss with olive oil and herbs
Roast Chicken with potatoes/carrots/onions in the same pan
Ham or Turkey with Thanksgiving sides: sweep potatoes, asparagus, green beans, etc.
Stuffed Cabbage with rice and ground beef
posted by CathyG at 6:42 AM on March 28, 2013
If you use a slow cooker, use a crockpot liner. After everything is cooked and the food is removed, just lift the liner out and throw it away. Another huge time saver.
posted by HeyAllie at 7:01 AM on March 28, 2013
posted by HeyAllie at 7:01 AM on March 28, 2013
My latest discovery is that you can make risotto in a pressure cooker, 15 mins total cooking and prep time. I ignore the fussy parts of the recipe. Basic idea is to sautee some onions or shallots in oil for a couple minutes, add 200g of risotto rice, stir briefly, add 450ml of liquid, cook at pressure for 6 minutes, add things you might like, such as cooked squash, grated carrots, spinach pesto, baby shrimp.
We cook a lot of curries, tacos, salmon in the oven with boiled potatoes and steamed broccoli, pasta with sauteed vegetables. I make pizza with the olive oil bread from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. The dough keeps in the fridge for up to a week. I used Daiya cheese and also recipes from Artisan Vegan Cheese (but that's getting a bit fussy).
posted by carolr at 8:40 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
We cook a lot of curries, tacos, salmon in the oven with boiled potatoes and steamed broccoli, pasta with sauteed vegetables. I make pizza with the olive oil bread from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. The dough keeps in the fridge for up to a week. I used Daiya cheese and also recipes from Artisan Vegan Cheese (but that's getting a bit fussy).
posted by carolr at 8:40 AM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Not nearly a one-pot, but Phở is gluten free (if you don't add Hoisin, or find an alternative), and still fits into the idea of not spending a ton of time
Make up a big batch of the broth one weekend afternoon, and freeze it into usable sized batches. Prepping the actual dinner would consist of chopping up a couple veggies and meat , and throwing whatever garnishes you desire on top of the thawed, heated broth. And if you buy thin rice noodles, and you get the broth hot enough, they'll cook in the broth just fine.
We also do this with Ramen on a super regular basis, but the noodles are not gluten free.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:43 AM on March 28, 2013
Make up a big batch of the broth one weekend afternoon, and freeze it into usable sized batches. Prepping the actual dinner would consist of chopping up a couple veggies and meat , and throwing whatever garnishes you desire on top of the thawed, heated broth. And if you buy thin rice noodles, and you get the broth hot enough, they'll cook in the broth just fine.
We also do this with Ramen on a super regular basis, but the noodles are not gluten free.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:43 AM on March 28, 2013
A simple recipe I used to do a lot (but haven't in a while...and now I'm craving it) is a basic chicken and rice soup. Accompany it with a salad to get more vegetables in.
Quickest version:
Leftover rice -- the more rice you have, the more of a stew it is
Leftover chicken, cut up or shredded into bite-size pieces, or a rotisserie chicken you pick up and shred yourself
Chicken broth or stock
Sliced green onions
Diced tomato
Handful of cilantro (optional if you hate it, use as much or as little as you want)
Sliced chiles of some sort. Jalapeno's good (optional)
If you want to get fancy, avocado slices
Gently simmer the chicken and rice in the stock/broth, until they're warmed through. Float the rest of the ingredients on it. Eat.
Slightly longer version:
Start with 1/2 cup or so of raw rice. Saute it in a bit of oil until the ends start to go translucent. Pour about 4 cups chicken stock or broth in, simmer until rice is done (usually 20-25 minutes). Add the rest of the ingredients.
You can also start with cut-up raw chicken, and put it in with the broth and simmer until it's cooked through and the rice is cooked.
Longest version:
Make homemade chicken stock with a whole chicken. I also like to put some dried red chiles into a cheesecloth bag and simmer them with the other ingredients until there's just barely enough heat in the liquid to make my lips tingle, then take out the bag of chiles. I also put coins of ginger into the stock as it's simmering in addition to the usual garlic, celery, and carrots.
Follow the directions above, using chicken you've shredded from the carcass, and your homemade stock.
--
I've made the above with a little rice, so that it's mostly a clear soup with a few ingredients floating in it, and with enough rice that it absorbed all the liquid and I ended up with a sort of fake risotto. It's good whichever way. If you feel the need for crunch, and you've got a gluten-free tortilla chip, you can cut it in strips or crumble it over the soup right before eating.
posted by telophase at 9:01 AM on March 28, 2013
Quickest version:
Leftover rice -- the more rice you have, the more of a stew it is
Leftover chicken, cut up or shredded into bite-size pieces, or a rotisserie chicken you pick up and shred yourself
Chicken broth or stock
Sliced green onions
Diced tomato
Handful of cilantro (optional if you hate it, use as much or as little as you want)
Sliced chiles of some sort. Jalapeno's good (optional)
If you want to get fancy, avocado slices
Gently simmer the chicken and rice in the stock/broth, until they're warmed through. Float the rest of the ingredients on it. Eat.
Slightly longer version:
Start with 1/2 cup or so of raw rice. Saute it in a bit of oil until the ends start to go translucent. Pour about 4 cups chicken stock or broth in, simmer until rice is done (usually 20-25 minutes). Add the rest of the ingredients.
You can also start with cut-up raw chicken, and put it in with the broth and simmer until it's cooked through and the rice is cooked.
Longest version:
Make homemade chicken stock with a whole chicken. I also like to put some dried red chiles into a cheesecloth bag and simmer them with the other ingredients until there's just barely enough heat in the liquid to make my lips tingle, then take out the bag of chiles. I also put coins of ginger into the stock as it's simmering in addition to the usual garlic, celery, and carrots.
Follow the directions above, using chicken you've shredded from the carcass, and your homemade stock.
--
I've made the above with a little rice, so that it's mostly a clear soup with a few ingredients floating in it, and with enough rice that it absorbed all the liquid and I ended up with a sort of fake risotto. It's good whichever way. If you feel the need for crunch, and you've got a gluten-free tortilla chip, you can cut it in strips or crumble it over the soup right before eating.
posted by telophase at 9:01 AM on March 28, 2013
I feel your pain (GF and primal in our house).
Here's one of my standby recipes. Super quick, easy and very tasty.
Buy this Herbes de Provence Roasted Chicken & Potatoes spice mix. Mix the spices with some olive oil in a big bowl. Dump in a family pack of bone-in chicken thighs and coat the chicken. Bake for an hour turning halfway through the cooking time. (Cooking temp is on the package, I think it's 400).
posted by Otis at 9:48 AM on March 28, 2013
Here's one of my standby recipes. Super quick, easy and very tasty.
Buy this Herbes de Provence Roasted Chicken & Potatoes spice mix. Mix the spices with some olive oil in a big bowl. Dump in a family pack of bone-in chicken thighs and coat the chicken. Bake for an hour turning halfway through the cooking time. (Cooking temp is on the package, I think it's 400).
posted by Otis at 9:48 AM on March 28, 2013
Asian food is typically dairy-free. Also a lot of Indian food. Roasted meat, roasted vegetables. Rice, rice noodles, potatoes. Deep fried tofu is delicious and if you like tofu in other forms, it's a versatile food.
I've learned to accept not eating dairy and cheese, though I miss it; the substitutes don't work for me. I've reduced gluten at home, but I'm not gluten-free yet.
I like to roast a turkey breast or chicken on a bed of carrots, the carrots are delicious that way, as is the chicken. Slow cooking makes cheap cuts of beef, pork, chicken, tender, and you can add lots of vegetables that tolerate slow cooking, like carrots, onions, kale, potatoes, etc. A one-dish meal for the oven - layer rice, carrots, chicken. Add enough orange juice to cook the rice, cover and bake. You can make stir-fry and serve with rice several days a week. If you like it more savory, get gluten-free soy sauce. Combine soy sauce with some corn starch, and any of the following - grated ginger, a little sesame oil, a little brown sugar. Add at the end of stir-frying sliced or ground meat and your preferred veg and let it cook for 2 - 4 minutes.
I'll be watching this thread; there's a lot of hidden gluten and dairy in processed food, and cooking everything from scratch takes time and a lot of re-tooling cooking habits.
posted by theora55 at 10:38 AM on March 28, 2013
I've learned to accept not eating dairy and cheese, though I miss it; the substitutes don't work for me. I've reduced gluten at home, but I'm not gluten-free yet.
I like to roast a turkey breast or chicken on a bed of carrots, the carrots are delicious that way, as is the chicken. Slow cooking makes cheap cuts of beef, pork, chicken, tender, and you can add lots of vegetables that tolerate slow cooking, like carrots, onions, kale, potatoes, etc. A one-dish meal for the oven - layer rice, carrots, chicken. Add enough orange juice to cook the rice, cover and bake. You can make stir-fry and serve with rice several days a week. If you like it more savory, get gluten-free soy sauce. Combine soy sauce with some corn starch, and any of the following - grated ginger, a little sesame oil, a little brown sugar. Add at the end of stir-frying sliced or ground meat and your preferred veg and let it cook for 2 - 4 minutes.
I'll be watching this thread; there's a lot of hidden gluten and dairy in processed food, and cooking everything from scratch takes time and a lot of re-tooling cooking habits.
posted by theora55 at 10:38 AM on March 28, 2013
We cook all the time GF/CF and it never takes us more than 45 minutes total including prep. Our go-to meal is roasted chicken w/roasted veggies.
Step 1: put chicken in roasting pan. Step 2: season chicken with salt, pepper, and whatever spices you want to use (we're partial to covering it in pureed garlic, yum). Step 3: Put in oven at 450 for 15 minutes. Step 4: chop up veggies. Step 5: toss veggies in olive or macadamia oil (the latter tastes buttery, so if you miss butter, here's your fix). Step 6: when 15 minutes is up for chicken, leave chicken in the oven and put veggies in for the next 20 minutes. Step 7: OM NOM NOM.
I find that keeping it simple really helps, especially if you're not fond of spending hours in the kitchen.
posted by bedhead at 11:21 AM on March 28, 2013
Step 1: put chicken in roasting pan. Step 2: season chicken with salt, pepper, and whatever spices you want to use (we're partial to covering it in pureed garlic, yum). Step 3: Put in oven at 450 for 15 minutes. Step 4: chop up veggies. Step 5: toss veggies in olive or macadamia oil (the latter tastes buttery, so if you miss butter, here's your fix). Step 6: when 15 minutes is up for chicken, leave chicken in the oven and put veggies in for the next 20 minutes. Step 7: OM NOM NOM.
I find that keeping it simple really helps, especially if you're not fond of spending hours in the kitchen.
posted by bedhead at 11:21 AM on March 28, 2013
Simple it up. We have a child with Celiac disease and we keep our meals blissfully simple.
Here's are a few examples:
Brisket & broccoli - requires: slow cooker, steamer.
Ingredients
carrots
corned beef brisket
low-sodium broth or red wine or beer
broccoli - 2 heads
lemon juice from one lemon
olive oil
tabasco or other hot sauce
In the AM: carrots into the slow cooker, rinse the brisket well, put on top of carrots fat side up, add enough liquid (broth etc) to barely cover the meat. Put on the lid and cook on low for 8 hours. In the PM, cut the broccoli into florets, steam for 15-20 minutes or tender. While that's cooking, mix lemon juice, and an equal amount of olive oil, a dash of salt, and several shakes. The carrots will be soft, but very flavorful (I like carrots that way). Serve the lemon dressing over the broccoli. Total prep time: 20 minutes.
Sweet potatoes work out very well here. In this case, it's good to do prep for several meals in one shot. Peel, cut up and boil 4-5 sweet potatoes until tender, drain then mash. Then cover a baking sheet with plastic wrap or foil and put dollops of mashed sweet potatoes on it, let cool, then put in the freezer. Put the frozen lumps into a ziploc bag and store. If you can get to a Trader Joe's they have them in this form already.
Given a couple handsful of frozen mashed sweet potato lumps, on cooking day, thaw in the microwave, mix with some salt, some oil (or non-dairy butter substitute), put in an oven-safe dish and top with a mix of:
1/2 C chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are great)
1/2 C crushed up GF cereal (corn flakes or rice chex)
2T non-dairy butter substitute
2T maple syrup
Bake at 350 until lightly browned on top.
Prep is relatively short once the sweet potatoes are done.
And one of my favorites - this is so blissfully easy: Tomato soup put the entire contents of a 28oz can of whole tomatoes packed in juice in a blender or food processor, puree, pour through a sieve into a non-reactive pot (discard pulp and seeds), add 1/2t masala powder, heat and salt to taste. This is 15 minutes total including cooking time.
If you're looking for a replacement for noodles, consider Dango. Joushinko is rice flour and shiratamako is glutinous rice flour. I found them pretty easily in an Asian market. Again, like sweet potatoes, make a ton ahead of time and freeze them.
So when I say simple it up, I mean consider meals that are two or three components and each component is only a few ingredients. Salad is an easy one to add to any meal and make your own dressing (50/50 olive oil and red wine vinegar, a dash of salt, a grind of pepper and some thyme or rosemary or oregano will give you a basic vinaigrette on the sour side). Asparagus and green beans steam in about the same time as broccoli, but need a little more prep.
Planning and organization will set you free. If you're making something more complicated, ask yourself what is the overhead of making more and freezing it? What can you do in parallel?
A few nights ago I did dinner which was pork tenderloin, gingered carrots and mashed potatoes (from box - this was not a DF meal), but I started by slicing up the tenderloin and salting it with Bacon salt then let that rest while I got the carrots and mashed potatoes going. The potatoes finished first, but they hold their heat, so I just covered the pot. While the carrots and potatoes were cooking, I cleaned up nearly everything except the meat cutting board with the pork. Then when there was about 12 minutes left on the carrots, I put the pork into a pan and started it going, cleaned up the cutting board, flipped the pork, set the table, plated, put water in the pans, served: 30 minutes total and it was nearly completely cleaned up when dinner was served.
posted by plinth at 12:20 PM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Here's are a few examples:
Brisket & broccoli - requires: slow cooker, steamer.
Ingredients
carrots
corned beef brisket
low-sodium broth or red wine or beer
broccoli - 2 heads
lemon juice from one lemon
olive oil
tabasco or other hot sauce
In the AM: carrots into the slow cooker, rinse the brisket well, put on top of carrots fat side up, add enough liquid (broth etc) to barely cover the meat. Put on the lid and cook on low for 8 hours. In the PM, cut the broccoli into florets, steam for 15-20 minutes or tender. While that's cooking, mix lemon juice, and an equal amount of olive oil, a dash of salt, and several shakes. The carrots will be soft, but very flavorful (I like carrots that way). Serve the lemon dressing over the broccoli. Total prep time: 20 minutes.
Sweet potatoes work out very well here. In this case, it's good to do prep for several meals in one shot. Peel, cut up and boil 4-5 sweet potatoes until tender, drain then mash. Then cover a baking sheet with plastic wrap or foil and put dollops of mashed sweet potatoes on it, let cool, then put in the freezer. Put the frozen lumps into a ziploc bag and store. If you can get to a Trader Joe's they have them in this form already.
Given a couple handsful of frozen mashed sweet potato lumps, on cooking day, thaw in the microwave, mix with some salt, some oil (or non-dairy butter substitute), put in an oven-safe dish and top with a mix of:
1/2 C chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are great)
1/2 C crushed up GF cereal (corn flakes or rice chex)
2T non-dairy butter substitute
2T maple syrup
Bake at 350 until lightly browned on top.
Prep is relatively short once the sweet potatoes are done.
And one of my favorites - this is so blissfully easy: Tomato soup put the entire contents of a 28oz can of whole tomatoes packed in juice in a blender or food processor, puree, pour through a sieve into a non-reactive pot (discard pulp and seeds), add 1/2t masala powder, heat and salt to taste. This is 15 minutes total including cooking time.
If you're looking for a replacement for noodles, consider Dango. Joushinko is rice flour and shiratamako is glutinous rice flour. I found them pretty easily in an Asian market. Again, like sweet potatoes, make a ton ahead of time and freeze them.
So when I say simple it up, I mean consider meals that are two or three components and each component is only a few ingredients. Salad is an easy one to add to any meal and make your own dressing (50/50 olive oil and red wine vinegar, a dash of salt, a grind of pepper and some thyme or rosemary or oregano will give you a basic vinaigrette on the sour side). Asparagus and green beans steam in about the same time as broccoli, but need a little more prep.
Planning and organization will set you free. If you're making something more complicated, ask yourself what is the overhead of making more and freezing it? What can you do in parallel?
A few nights ago I did dinner which was pork tenderloin, gingered carrots and mashed potatoes (from box - this was not a DF meal), but I started by slicing up the tenderloin and salting it with Bacon salt then let that rest while I got the carrots and mashed potatoes going. The potatoes finished first, but they hold their heat, so I just covered the pot. While the carrots and potatoes were cooking, I cleaned up nearly everything except the meat cutting board with the pork. Then when there was about 12 minutes left on the carrots, I put the pork into a pan and started it going, cleaned up the cutting board, flipped the pork, set the table, plated, put water in the pans, served: 30 minutes total and it was nearly completely cleaned up when dinner was served.
posted by plinth at 12:20 PM on March 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I'll be watching this thread; there's a lot of hidden gluten and dairy in processed food, and cooking everything from scratch takes time and a lot of re-tooling cooking habits.
99% of our problem when people cook for us is packaged sauces and spices, because we either know they have something or we can't be sure. People can grasp "no breading, no cheese" but "don't use soy sauce, don't use those BBQ sauces off the shelf" is a lot harder.
So: fresh/dried herbs, olive oil, canola oil, spices; these are your friends. Nothing in a pouch and not a lot of things in the bottle.
posted by emjaybee at 3:06 PM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
99% of our problem when people cook for us is packaged sauces and spices, because we either know they have something or we can't be sure. People can grasp "no breading, no cheese" but "don't use soy sauce, don't use those BBQ sauces off the shelf" is a lot harder.
So: fresh/dried herbs, olive oil, canola oil, spices; these are your friends. Nothing in a pouch and not a lot of things in the bottle.
posted by emjaybee at 3:06 PM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Plinth has excellent advice. Simpler meals, lots of planning ahead. If you're new to this, it gets better. It really does. Last night I made roast sweet potatoes (with curry spice), steamed asparagus and a tofu scramble in about 40 minutes.
Do you have a dishwasher? I hope so. When you cook this much, go ahead and put everything that can go in the dishwasher in the dishwasher! There is no shame in doing so.
Aside from having a plan and all the ingredients in place, learning how to stack tasks has sped up my cooking. For example, I'm making tacos with meat and a cabbage slaw in place of lettuce. First thing: put the skillet on to heat. Get out onion and meat. Chop the onion first as that needs to cook a bit. Put it in the pan and stir a little. While that is cooking, I pull out the tomato sauce and spices. Stir the pan. Get out the taco shells, salsa and avocado. Return to pan and add the meat and some salt. Stir. Get out my cabbage and start slicing. Stir. Add tomato and spices to the meat and once that's simmering, return to making slaw. Mix up a little vinaigrette to toss on the cabbage. Slice up an avocado. And you're done.
So, quicker meals ideas (what you really asked for):
Tacos!
Thin pork chops and a great salad or asparagus or broccoli
Breakfast for dinner: veggie scramble with GF toast or roast potatoes or GF frozen fries
BLTs
Whenever you cook brown rice, maybe double it and freeze half for a quicker dinner another night.
Big pots of soup like these: Yaki Soba, Big Mo Minestrone
posted by purple_bird at 4:51 PM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Do you have a dishwasher? I hope so. When you cook this much, go ahead and put everything that can go in the dishwasher in the dishwasher! There is no shame in doing so.
Aside from having a plan and all the ingredients in place, learning how to stack tasks has sped up my cooking. For example, I'm making tacos with meat and a cabbage slaw in place of lettuce. First thing: put the skillet on to heat. Get out onion and meat. Chop the onion first as that needs to cook a bit. Put it in the pan and stir a little. While that is cooking, I pull out the tomato sauce and spices. Stir the pan. Get out the taco shells, salsa and avocado. Return to pan and add the meat and some salt. Stir. Get out my cabbage and start slicing. Stir. Add tomato and spices to the meat and once that's simmering, return to making slaw. Mix up a little vinaigrette to toss on the cabbage. Slice up an avocado. And you're done.
So, quicker meals ideas (what you really asked for):
Tacos!
Thin pork chops and a great salad or asparagus or broccoli
Breakfast for dinner: veggie scramble with GF toast or roast potatoes or GF frozen fries
BLTs
Whenever you cook brown rice, maybe double it and freeze half for a quicker dinner another night.
Big pots of soup like these: Yaki Soba, Big Mo Minestrone
posted by purple_bird at 4:51 PM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Fyi, most soba noodles have gluten. You need to shop or make gf soba as well as soy sauce.
posted by plinth at 5:08 PM on March 28, 2013
posted by plinth at 5:08 PM on March 28, 2013
Response by poster: You guys are AWESOME. It was a late night at work but I'm looking forward to reading through this post tomorrow in detail and checking out all the recipes... Thank you so much! It's good to hear we're not alone!
Furnace.heart, do you know of a good Pho broth recipe? I always thought it took a ton of time to make or was overly complicated.
YES to fresh foods - stuff in a bottle is often not GF. Stuff on shared equipment can be questionable too. I'm still confused over modified corn starch vs. modified food starch. It's a journey....
posted by luciddream928 at 9:22 PM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Furnace.heart, do you know of a good Pho broth recipe? I always thought it took a ton of time to make or was overly complicated.
YES to fresh foods - stuff in a bottle is often not GF. Stuff on shared equipment can be questionable too. I'm still confused over modified corn starch vs. modified food starch. It's a journey....
posted by luciddream928 at 9:22 PM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
ETA: I didn't even think about it (because it's second-nature by now) but in the links of recipes I provided I make GF substitutions where necessary. In the Yaki Soba recipe, I use rice noodles and tamari. (I haven't found any guaranteed-GF soba noodles.) The minestrone recipe doesn't require any GF substitutions because they essentially use a potato in place of noodles and it works great.
posted by purple_bird at 10:33 AM on March 29, 2013
posted by purple_bird at 10:33 AM on March 29, 2013
Response by poster: For anyone who is following this post, check out Mark Bittman with the New York Times. He has an awesome blog about minimalist cooking (two key words that I never googled!) Hope other MeFites get some use out of this blog. He's excellent! Love his thoughts on VB6 (Vegan Before 6).
posted by luciddream928 at 8:03 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by luciddream928 at 8:03 PM on March 29, 2013 [1 favorite]
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