RECIPE - Gluten Free Stuffed Zucchini

Here are some fun facts about zucchini:

- They are naturally gluten free (if they weren't, I'd be very concerned)
- Zucchini can grow up to 3 feet in length!
- It's my favorite vegetable. According to wikipedia, zucchini is an immature fruit (and I to wikipedia: "you're an immature fruit!")
- Eric can't remember eating zucchini before he met me. I pretty much changed his life.

Now that you have some background info, let's cook! This is a great, easy meal. It's kind of like inside-out tacos.

Another reason why this meal is great, it's super cheap! I'd estimate this entire meal costs only $13, and feeds 4-6!! I put the estimated price next to each item so you can see how it adds up.

Ingredients:


4 zucchinis, sliced in half and insides scooped out (to make a boat) ($3)
6 mushrooms, chopped ($1)
1 1/2 cups spanish rice mix, cooked ($1)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey ($5)
1 tomato, chopped ($1)
2 tbsp taco seasoning (Trader Joe's is gluten free)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese ($1)
1/2 cup GF puffed rice cereal, smashed into breadcrumbs (a box costs $4, so ~$1)

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 350. Place your zucchini boats on a sheet pan or in a casserole dish. Make sure the zucchini boats don't overlap.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan and add ground turkey. Cook turkey, breaking it up into pieces as it cooks. Once the turkey is mostly cooked, add the chopped mushrooms, tomato, and zucchini insides (squeeze the excess water out). Add taco seasoning and a little salt and pepper. Cook until turkey is fully cooked and vegetables are about halfway cooked (about 3-4 minutes).

Stir spanish rice into the turkey vegetable mix. Mix thoroughly. Spoon the mixture into the zucchini boats, pushing down with the spoon to really stuff it in. You may have extra stuffing, don't worry about getting it all in. Top each zucchini boat with some cheddar cheese.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted and the zucchini boat is starting to soften. Don't overcook the zucchini, otherwise it'll be impossible to remove from the pan. Serves 4-6.

RECIPE - GF Stir-Fry w/ Beef and Vegetables

Did you know that most soy sauces contain wheat?? Here, read all about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_sauce

Soy sauce is made by fermenting soy beans, and with those soy beans can be wheat, grains, plant protein, chemicals, even molasses! Luckily for those that can't eat wheat, one type of Japanese soy sauce, Tamari, contains little or no wheat. If you are gluten free, this is the easiest and most natural kind of soy sauce available.

Here are a few types of Tamari and other wheat-free soy sauces:

San-J Organic Tamari (http://www.san-j.com/product_info.asp?id=3) - Definitely my favorite. Has a nice soy sauce taste, you really can't tell that it's any different. Also comes in a low-sodium variety

La Choy Soy Sauce (http://www.lachoy.com/products/sauces.jsp_) - Not my favorite, but definitely cheaper and more available than San-J products. Try it for yourself, but for me the sauce has an odd, chemically aftertaste.

Kari-Out Company (http://www.kariout.com/gluten.html) - Only sells wholesale products, but they do have a nifty form on their website written in English and Chinese, telling the restaurant that you have an allergy, please don't use wheat...etc etc etc.

There are many other types of organic Tamari sauces I have found (even one from Kikkoman!), but I have not seen any gluten free confirmation relating to them so I am not going to list them.


Here's a recipe (made it for dinner last night!) using the San-J Organic Tamari.

GF Stir-Fry with Beef and Vegetables


Stir-Fry:
1lb steak, sliced very thin
4 cups vegetables, all chopped/sliced to be about the same size (I used broccoli, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and peppers)
2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil
Rice, for serving

Marinade:
1/3 cup San-J Organic Tamari
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp ginger, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp  honey or agave

Directions:

1. Pour all ingredients for the marinade into a Ziploc bag
2. Slice the beef very thin, add to the bag with the marinade
3. Roll the beef around in the bag, making sure marinade covers all pieces. Remove air from the bag and seal. Let marinade for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Cook the vegetables first! Get your skillet or wok extremely hot, then add about 1 Tbsp vegetable oil. Add vegetables (in 2 batches if necessary) and cook for a few minutes. You should cook vegetables until they are about half to 2/3 of the way cooked.
5. Remove vegetables. Wipe out pan and add an additional 1 Tbsp vegetable oil.
6. Cook the beef. When removing the beef from the marinade, try to shake off as much of the marinade as possible. Cook the beef in batches, be sure not to overcrowd the pan or else the beef will boil and will not brown. Cook for (literally) not more than 1 minute per side.
7. Throw all the cooked vegetables and beef back into your pan, and add remaining marinade and an additional few splashes of soy sauce. Cook for a minute or two until everything is heated up again. Serve with rice.