Cheese Sauce (Gluten Free)

Basic cheese sauce for baked macaroni and cheese, baked potatoes au gratin, or for any vegetable au gratin.  There are many such recipes; I like this one because it is easy to learn and to remember: 2+2+2+2+seasonings.  That's it!

Cheese Sauce

2 Tb. butter
2 Tb. flour
2 Cups milk
2 Cups grated cheese

We are using rice flour, as we are cooking for someone who has gluten intolerance.  Otherwise, ordinary wheat flour is fine.

Melt butter in a pan. Stir in the flour, and continue stirring until the mixture is hot and bubbling throughout.  Slowly add milk, stirring so that lumps do not form, and continue heating and stirring until the sauce is thickened.  Lower heat and stir in 2 cups of grated cheese, stirring so that it melts and becomes smooth.

It's an easy sauce, and possible variations and additions are many.  Use things up: buttermilk, canned milk, even plain yogurt.  Any sort of cheese that needs using up, grated.  Flavor with parsley, pepper, paprika, cayenne, or any spice that goes well with the other ingredients in the meal.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

Carne Picada in Lemon-Tomato Sauce

This recipe is delicious, fragrant - and serendipitous.  I found a package of "Carne Picada", whatever that might be, at Walmart.  It was last day of sale and marked down so I took it home to experiment with.  It seems to be very thinly sliced scraps of beef, with a bit of fat and gristle attached.  If nothing else it could be a welcome change of texture from the usual hamburger.  There are just under 3 pounds of meat (and "marinade") in the package.

Browned Carne Picada in a 2-quart slow cooker

Brown the meat in a large pan, in batches as it is a bit wet.

Lift the browned meat from the pan with a slotted spoon and put it into a 2-quart slow cooker

Skim the fat from remaining liquids and then add drippings to the crockpot.

Add:

1 onion, chopped and sauteed
1 large (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 slices lemon
1 diced carrot
1 tsp. salt
1 Tb Demerara sugar

Simmer on "low"  for several hours.  When your whole house smells like lemon, it's ready!

Serve over rice with a garnish of cilantro leaves

Carne Picada in lemon-tomato sauce over rice

 To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This recipe is #96 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (gluten-free)

Gluten-free spaghetti with meat sauce, parmesan cheese, and cold okra

 Spaghetti Sauce

This doesn't bear much discussion - it's just ordinary
every-kid-likes-it American spaghetti sauce.

1 lb hamburger, browned in a pan
1/2 chopped sweet onion added to the burger in the pan
Spoonful of jarred garlic bits
Brown some more, turn out into 2-qt. crockpot.
Add 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
Generous spoonful light brown sugar
Some kind of spaghetti seasoning
Water to fill pot (not too much)

Cook on "high" until it's boiling, then turn to low and cook a couple of hours.

Serve over pasta.

Optional additives: any vegetables chopped up fine
parsley
dry red wine
mushrooms
other meats

Gluten-free Spaghetti

16 ounces (2 boxes) gluten-free spaghetti.  There are choices; I used rice pasta.

Potful of boiling water.  Directions on the box want 4 quarts for each 8 ounces of pasta.  Who has a pot that large, and who wants to heat that much water?  Do your best with what you've got.

Put the pasta into the boiling water, stirring carefully so the strands don't get stuck together.  (Rice pasta produces a lot of starch in the water.)  Observe timing directions on the box, and watch and test frequently.  Rice pasta is easily overcooked and then it falls apart.

Drain, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process and to wash off the excess starch.  I like to add a few drops of oil to the mass to keep it from sticking together.

Serve sauce over spaghetti and with Parmesan cheese available.

Rice pasta rinsed with cold water and draining.

To see a full set of photographs showing how this dish was made, go to this set on flickr.   (It will open in a new tab or window; to return to this page, just close it.) The small pictures are thumbnails; click on each one to see it full-size, and to read the comments under it.  If you prefer to use the slideshow feature, you won't see the captions unless you click on "show info" (top right).

This is #99 in the Baker's Dozen Challenge Countdown.