Chex Mex Munch

Celiac disease, which is an intolerance to Gluten, affects more than 330,000 Canadians. More than 73,000 of those that suffer are children. While I'm very fortunate that no one in my house struggles with this, I have friends that do. From talking to them I understand how frustrating it has been in the past to find gluten-free foods that taste great, are easily attainable to the general public, and don't cost a small fortune.

When I learned that General Mills Canada (GMC) was going to start offering Gluten Free Rice Chex and Gluten Free Honey Nut Chex I was so excited! You can get them in any grocery store (I live in the middle of nowhere and our little grocery store has them!) and they cost the same as any other cereal. GMC sent me a box to try and I have to say, they taste exactly like regular Chex. For families that have to deal with the daily reality of cutting out gluten (it's in everything! I can't even imagine how vigilant a parent has to be) having a product like Gluten Free Chex that they don't have to worry about, and that kids love to eat, must be such a relief.

I'm the only real "bowl of cereal" eater at my house so I wanted to try using my GF Chex in a recipe or two so my family would try them. First I made Muddy Buddies, GF Chex mixed with chocolate, peanut butter, butter and icing sugar... hello! They were so good they disappeared before I could take pictures! But my husband is more of a savoury than sweet guy so I knew I'd have to come up with something for him. I took GF Rice Chex, butter, Old El Paso Taco seasoning, seasoned salt and mixed nuts and baked them until everything was toasty. What a yummy muchy snack! And on a hot, sunny patio, nothing goes better with a Corona.

Check out lifemadedelicious.ca for more great Gluten Free recipes using Gluten Free Chex!

Chex Mex Munch

4 c Gluten Free Rice Chex

1/4 c butter or margarine, melted

3 tbsp Old el Paso Taco Seasoning

2 tsp seasoned salt

1 c mixed nuts (I used a premium blend that had cashews, Brazil nuts, pecans, hazelnuts and almonds)

Instructions:

1. Mix the cereal and nuts together in a bowl.

2. Pour the melted butter over top and mix to coat.

3. Sprinkle on the taco seasoning and salt and mix again until evenly coated.

4. Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes until toasted.

5. Allow to cool and serve.

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Amanda's Chunky Chicken Quesadilla

I lurvvvvvvvvve Mexican food. The spiciness, the smokiness, the flavour explosion! I could eat refried beans and enchiladas every day. I guess technically it's tex-Mex, but whatever you want to call it it's freakin' delish!

A lot of people have a dish that they judge restaurants by. My husband's is chicken wings. If a restaurant can rock the chicken wings they have his repeat business and he'll try out the rest of the menu. But if their wings leave a bad taste in his mouth, we never go back. My dish is the quesadilla. If it's too greasy, too bland, not enough veggies, or I'm paying an extra $4 for 3 tiny pieces of chicken I'm not a happy chica.

I've taken all the best elements of all the best quesadillas I've ever had and combined them into one totally delicious tex-mex meal. Make this on a couple of 6" flour tortillas for a quick, light lunch, or on 12" flour tortillas for dinner with a side of Mexican rice or a salad.

Start by roasting some red, green and yellow peppers, and some onions in a bit of olive oil and chopping up some cooked chicken.

On top of a flour tortilla (this one is a 6") put a slice of jalapeno havarti or pepper jack cheese and top with a generous amount of the veggies and chicken

top the chicken and veggie mixture with shredded marble cheddar

top with another flour tortilla. Drizzle a wee bit of olive oil on top and sprinkle on a dash of seasoned salt and cajun seasoning. Bake at 350˚F for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

deeeeelish!

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Amanda's Chunky Chicken Quesadilla
serves 4

2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2 green pepper, cut into strips
1/2 red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 yellow pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into strips
8 6" flour tortillas
4 slices (1-2oz) jalapeno havarti or pepper jack cheese
2 c marble cheddar, shredded
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp seasoned salt
2 tsp cajun seasoning

Instructions:

1. Slice peppers and onions and toss with a bit of olive oil and roast in a 450˚F oven for 15 minutes.
2. Slice a chicken breast and set aside.
3. Lay the flour tortillas on a cookie sheet and top with a slice of jalapeno havarti or pepper jack cheese and a generous amount of the veggies and chicken.
4. Top with shredded cheddar and another flour tortilla.
5. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt and cajun seasoning.
6. Bake at 350˚F for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
7. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole

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enjoy,

Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

If you read my previous post (does anyone actually read them or does everyone skip down to the recipe?) you'd know I'm whipping up snackies for my husband's annual Superbowl par-tay. Every year he can expect the same staples: Chili, meatballs, nachos, and something with bacon. I wanted to make something no one had ever had before! Some new! Something exciting! Something with so many calories it just HAD to be the greatest superbowl snack ever!

Enter the Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno. I was cruising allrecipes.com looking for inspiration and came across this recipe and it jumped off the screen at me. I had intended on making it as per the posted recipe but upon tasting the sausage mixture I made some adjustments and the result was deliciousness in my mouth (as you can see from the picture below)!


A little tip on working with jalapenos: WEAR GLOVES! I live in a cold dry climate in the winter and my hands get cracked from all the hand washing and dishes I do, jalapeno juice and cracks/cuts do not mix! WEAR GLOVES when seeding and deveining the jalapenos and wash your hands thoroughly after too just in case. That jalapeno oil is lethal stuff!

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Sausage & Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos adapted from allrecipes.com

1 lb (5) ground mild Italian Pork Sausage, removed from casing
1 (8 oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 lb large fresh Jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1/4 c. Ranch Dressing
1 tbsp. Clubhouse Roasted Garlic & Peppers seasoning mix
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Instructions:

1. Crumble sausage in a skillet and cook over medium heat until evenly brown. Drain grease.
2. In a bowl, mix the sausage, cream cheese, ranch dressing, seasoning and Parmesan cheese.
3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each jalapeno half. Arrange stuffed halves on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake 20 minutes in a 425˚F oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with Ranch dressing.

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enjoy!
Amanda

Taco Bake

We are koo-koo for Mexican food. Even our (almost) 3 year old loves taco night. It's one of the foods my husband refers to as 'Fun Dinner Night' along with pizza, wings and hamburgers, basically anything you east with your hands.

Although I'm usually a purest when it comes to favourite dishes (whole wheat pasta for spaghetti night? blasphemy!) I decided to try a recipe I stumbled upon on allrecipes.com when I did a search for Mexican. This is what I found, originally called Taco Pie, I changed the name only because I made it in a square dish and it looked nothing like a pie and I added some refried beans cause it ain't mexican without'em!

I really enjoyed it, my husband prefers another dish I make where I layer tortillas with con queso and taco meat. Like most Mexican food is far from low-fat, but definitely worth a try.

Taco Bake adapted from allrecipes.com

1 pkg. Pillsbury Cresent Rolls
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 pkt. Taco Seasoning
1/2 c. Sour Cream (I used Light)
1/2 can of Refried Beans
2 c. Tex Mex Shredded Cheese
10-12 tortilla chips, crushed

Instructions

1. Roll out cresent rolls into a square cake pan pressing together to cover bottom. Bake according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the taco seasoning and stir together well.
3. Mix together the sour cream and beans and set aside.
4. When dough is done, remove from oven and spread out the sour cream& bean mixture over top, then layer with meat, and top with the cheese, and then with the crushed tortilla chips.
5. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and it is heated through.
6. Serve with sliced scallions, salsa and sour cream. Olé!