Never Living Without

Archive for the ‘Belly Fillers’ Category

Thank you for returning to Never Living Without. I hope my information has given you some inspiration to go out and try some new Gluten Free cooking experiments. That is how some of my best recipes were developed!

I love Thai and Chinese food but I will only order steamed chicken and vegetables when I eat at our local restaurants. I did have one restaurant prepare an order of Drunken Noodles and I fell in love with the flavor. Unfortunately, that restaurant is two hours away from where I live and I don’t get a chance to go there that often. I developed this recipe that is very close. My daughters actually request this. They love the spice!

Drunken Noodles

• 1/2- 16 oz box of Notta Pasta Wide Rice Noodles
• 1 lb of either venison, beef, buffalo, chicken or pork
• 1/8 cup Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce
• 1/3 cup GF soy sauce or Tamari
• 4 tbl minced garlic
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cups frozen green beans, thawed
• 2 tbl lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

1. Marinate meat in garlic pepper sauce and soy sauce for at least 2 hours.
2. Saute meat with the marinate. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until slightly brown. Add garlic, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, and carrots. Cook for 2 minutes on medium high heat.
3. Add drained noodles, beans and brown sugar. Cook until noodles are tender. Do not over cook. Serve immediately.
4. If noodles don’t have enough spice feel free to add more garlic chili pepper sauce. Just be careful because a little goes a long way.

Cook’s note: Noodles are great reheated the next day if you have any left.

photo credit: love?janine

I had a whole container of black eyed peas sitting in my pantry. They have been screaming at me for years and I have never used them. I try to use beans when I cook to get extra fiber. Well, I finally gave in and came up with a recipe to use them in, that I hoped my family would gobble up.  I loved how it turned out and even the left overs tasted good.

Hoppin’ John

• 2 cups dried black-eyed peas
• 1/2 lb of thick cut bacon or ham, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 carrot chopped finely
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 8 cups of chicken broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 twists on a pepper grinder
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice

1. Soak peas while you are chopping the vegetables.
2. Cook the bacon in a large soup pot. When crispy add your vegetables and saute until they are tender.
3. Add soaked peas (without the water), and broth. Being to a boil.
4. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 30 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
5. Stir in rice. Cook for 20 minutes or until the beans and rice are cooked through. Add more broth if the liquid is absorbed.

My daughters said next time they want me to use ham because the bacon does not stay crisp. The flavor was good but don’t be afraid to add more spices. When I served it we all sprinkled a little more salt and pepper (we usually don’t). I would even recommend adding a small amount of red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch!

photo credit: citymama