Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Beef with Spanish “Rice”
For a long time now, I have been eying all these “rice” recipes that use cauliflower in place of the actual rice grain with skepticism. I mean, really, could cauliflower really taste like rice? So, I have put it off and put it off… even though I have made cauliflower crust pizza (and loved it) and made mashed faux-tatoes (mashed cauliflower, which my 2 year old LOVED and used as dip for the rest of his meal). Why wait any longer to make cauliflower rice! I adapted a recipe I found for Spanish “Rice” and to be honest, no one in my family even knew it wasn’t real rice! My husband was so surprised that it contained no actual rice. And, I loved that our meal was so good for you on so many levels.
The Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Beef turned out great as well. I have to say that the whole cloves were a little strong for me and I will probably reduce the amount in half next time I make it. They added nice flavor but just a little too much flavor for me. The beef, by the way, was about the easiest thing to make and we have a ton left over so I know I will be eating it, with pleasure, for lunch the rest of the week.
We served the whole meal a few different ways. My 2 and 4 year olds prefer everything separate on their plates: beef, rice, tomatoes, avocados, greens (spinach and kale blend), shredded cheese, olives, and sprouted grain corn tortillas from “Food is Life” brand. That way they could assemble the burritos themselves and with whatever filling they prefer. My husband had his as a bowl a la Chipotle. I did mine as a big salad, pictured below.
Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Shredded Beef
Recipe adapted from www.againstallgrain.com
3 lb. center cut beef rib roast
2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/4 c. lime juice
1.4 c. tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3-4 tsp. cumin (depending on your taste preferences)
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. sea salt
3/4 c. beef broth
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. whole cloves
Instructions:
In a food processor or blender, combine chili powder, onion, lime juice, tomato paste, garlic, apple cider vinegar, cumin, oregano, and salt. Blend until well combined.
Place roast in the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour tomato mixture over the top. Add broth, bay leaves, and cloves. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Remove roast from liquid and shred.
Return to slow cooker and continue cooking another 1-2 hours or until meat is very tender. Serve in tacos, bowls, burritos, or a taco salad.
Spanish “Rice”
Recipe adapted from www.maximizedliving.com
1 head of cauliflower, riced (see below)
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. grape seed oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 heaping tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/4 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. salsa (I used the mild fresh salsa from Trader Joe’s)
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 – 1/2 c. chopped black olives
Instructions:
To rice the cauliflower, chop cauliflower into florets. Place in a food processor and cover with water. Process until cauliflower is in small bits, rice like consistency. Drain in a fine mesh sieve.
Heat oil in a large skillet, add onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Add chicken stock,
“rice”, seasonings, and salsa. Bring to a light boil, reduce heat and continue to simmer until most of the liquid is cooked off.
Stir in black olives. Texture should be slightly firmer than regular rice.
Husband Rating: 7 out of 10
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Gouda White Sauce
I know I haven’t posted in FOREVER here and I apologize! It has been a crazy busy start to the fall. With training for the half-marathon, working to help coordinate fundraising efforts for aforementioned half-marathon, starting in a new leadership role with my Bible Study Fellowship class, and just your typical adjustments to the new fall routine, I had to let some things go.
But, this meal was too good to not blog about! Seriously… so good. Like, it was one of those meals where as I was cooking it, I kept thinking, “This has the potential to be amazing. I really hope it is.” And, then it really was so good. My husband and I agreed that we would take this meal over going out for dinner any time. That good!
Making gnocchi has been high on my “to-do” cooking list since going gluten-free. I love gnocchi, ever since my husband and I tried it in Venice seven years ago. But, of course, all store bough gnocchi has gluten in it. I had been eying this recipe and even putting it on the menu for several weeks now but just not finding the time or energy to make it. Today, finally I had the time and energy to make it.
Three things I discovered in making this gnocchi:
1) it wasn’t really as hard as I thought even though it was a bit time-consuming
2) it makes a crazy huge batch so I have gnocchi by the tons in my freezer (yay!!!)
3) I was able to include my 2 and 4 year old in the process. Once the dough is made, you need to roll it into long ropes and cut it. Since the dough is much like the texture of play dough, I was able to roll the ropes out and then the boys happily cut the gnocchi up with butter knives. It was so novel for them to be able to CUT that they happily went along with the tediousness of making it.
The rest of the meal was a conglomeration of a few different recipes I looked up. So, without further ado, the recipe for the amazing Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Gouda White Sauce.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Creamy Gouda White Sauce
Gnocchi Ingredients:
(Recipe adapted from www.realsustenancecom/grain-free-sweet-potato-gnocchi-glutendairycornsoy-free/)
3 1/2 c. mashed sweet potatoes (about 3 large sweet potatoes)
1 tsp. Xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 large eggs
5-6 c. almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand today)
4 1/2 c. Arrowroot powder
*additional flour and arrowroot powder for dusting counter
Sauce Ingredients:
(Recipe adapted from www.thenoshery.com/2010/11/09/sweet-potato-gnocchi-with-gouda-cheese-sauce/ )
2 c. milk (I used 2%)
1/4 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 tsp. dried sage
salt/pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. all-purpose gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill G/F all-purpose flour)
1 1/4 c. shredded Gouda cheese
Other:
1 lb. chicken breasts
garlic powder/salt/pepper to taste on chicken
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 c. sweet peas
Instructions:
To make the gnocchi:
In a preheated 425 degree oven, bake sweet potatoes in their skin until soft (about 45min – 1 hour). It helps to line your baking sheet with tin foil. Make clean up a snap!
Remove sweet potatoes from oven, cut open and scoop out the middle into a bowl. Mash and let sit until cools to room temperature. To cooled sweet potatoes, add xanthan gum, salt, and eggs. Mix well.
Add one cup of arrowroot powder and one cup of almond flour. Mix well to combine. Continue adding powder and flour one cup at a time. When the dough is ready, it will be firm, not sticky (able to be rolled by hand) and yet not overly dry, much like the texture of play dough. 🙂
Sprinkle the counter with almond flour and arrowroot powder. Begin rolling dough out in sections. Roll dough into rope-like lengths about finger thick. Cut into sections about 1 in. in length. Here is where you can decide how much work you want to do. I started out pressing each square with a fork and rolling it but then shortly gave that up for just making rectangular gnocchi without the fork marks. Totally your decision here. Here is a picture of it both ways.
Place cut gnocchi onto a baking sheet. At this point you can either freeze and store in freezer bags or cook immediate. To cook, simply bring a pot of water to boil. Place desired amount of gnocchi in the water. When gnocchi starts to float, it is ready to remove from the water. It takes about 30 seconds from fresh and 2 minutes from frozen. You can eat it with a sauce as is or take it to the next level and do the following:
Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a pan. Place gnocchi in a single layer in the pan. Allow to cook for 3-5 minutes before turning. Cook on other side for about the same amount of time until golden and crispy. Ooh, that is a delicious treat and my favorite way to make gnocchi. From there, top with any sauce or eat plain!
Sauce Instructions:
In a small sauce pan, combine milk, onion (roughly chopped), garlic (smashed), and sage. Heat over medium heat until just bubbling around the edge, not boiling. Let sit for 10 minutes. Strain and set aside.
Tip: Rinse out the small sauce pan while the milk is sitting to save yourself from having to get out another pan (or in my case, I didn’t have another pan to use and needed this one again).
Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk consistently for 1 minute. Gradually add warmed milk while whisking continuously. Cook over a low heat for 4-5 minutes until the mixture thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Add shredded gouda and continue cooking over low heat until cheese is melted.
To make the meal as we did:
Prior to making the cheese sauce, cut up the chicken breasts into strips. In a pan, melt 2 Tbsp. butter and add chicken. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook until chicken is no longer pink. Set aside. Cook sweet peas according to package directions (steam or microwave).
Assemble your meal. Place gnocchi on the bottom. Add chicken and peas. Drizzle with white sauce. ENJOY!!!!!
Husband Rating: 9 1/2 out of 10
Hungry Like the Wilf 