popeye the gluten free chef

I've been feeling like Popeye may be a long lost relative and have been eating spinach like it's going out of style. I only learned how to saute spinach a few years ago and each fall go through my Popeye phase of eating. Dave's begun snowmaking and working late each night so I can eat what I want and play around a bit more. There's been some great creations, some just average and some flops that have potential.

Chicken, Spinach, Mushrooms and Rice

This was a winner. I sliced the chicken thin and marinated in gluten free soy sauce then topped with San-J Sweet and Tangy over rice with sauteed mushrooms and spinach. Simple, easy and tasty.

Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts were a leap off the deep end for me. I've never cooked them before and only had them prepared once where I really liked them. I should have steamed them first before the saute as they didn't really cook the entire way through. I tried to reduce some maple syrup at the end to add flavor but in all this was a FLOP.  It had potential but I really need to learn how to cook these bad boys. Dave was glad he didn't have to suffer on this one.

Garbanzo Beans

I saw Garbanzo beans in this month's Living Without- they cooked them for snack time. I cooked  them for about 20 minutes at 350 in a bit of EVOO until they were steamy then paired with rice and this month's prerequisite mushrooms and spinach. It was good but something was missing- what flavor would you add?

Quinoa Pasta

The Quinoa pasta version was a good basic meal that made me wish for a big smattering of cheese- Parmesan would have been perfect.

risotto

 I got Dave to eat mushrooms with this one. I live at 9,545 feet and it's a labor of love to make good risotto and this came out good. I sauteed chopped onions and mushrooms (small pieces for dave) then slowly stirred in warm chicken broth a cup at a time for the next 40 minutes- thankfully risotto bulks up so it's good for a few meals.

Rice Noodles

The rice noodle dish was tasty with chicken and a good all around dinner. It's similar to my street noodle creation but just a bit different. Simple noodles, chicken and veggies with a quick toss in the pan with toasted sesame oil and soy sauce.

It's been fun playing around with dinner and having enough variations of the same veggies to be able to polish off a whole bag of spinach on my own but I think I may be over spinach for a while...