Super Bowl Snack Foods, GF style

For Super Bowl Sunday, Shayla really wanted to have a party.  Well, maybe not really a party, but she definitely wanted to have people over.  So to support this since I have no interest in football, I threw myself into cooking.  There was a lot that I wanted to eat, but I knew that I had to find a way to eat what I could without getting sicky.  In the end we decided on chicken strips and pizza, two things that everyone loves.  Of course, I didn't want to take the hassle of finding another GF flour recipe to try out, so I went with a mix.

This time it was Glutino's French Bread and Pizza Mix.  All in all, it wasn't that bad.  It was really weird to mix it up - it stayed very fluffy, even after rising.  The consistency was almost like a whipped frosting, but I followed the directions and spread it onto the cookie sheet (with a lot of struggle to get it to stay in a pizza-like form).  I used spaghetti sauce as my base, then added sausage, corn, and black olives.  I was badbadbad and used a tiny bit of cheese on top, then baked it all according to the directions.  It turned out surprisingly well!  The crust ended up fluffy, more like a semi-dense bread than a nice chewy pizza crust.  But the taste, that's where it got me.  There was no weird taste to it at all!  It was a nice, neutral flavor.  The only downside was that there was so much dough - the one package was enough to make two pizzas.  Since it was a french bread recipe, I split the difference and made a small loaf of french bread with the rest!

I really liked the way the bread turned out.  It cooked up very evenly, and has a nice texture.  I used it to make a sandwich the other day and it was almost as good as the real thing!  I think this bread would make a wonderful french toast, it's dense enough to hold up to the eggs.


The other thing that I made for the party, and Shayla helped me with, was some baked chicken strips.  It's weird the little things that you take for granted, and I miss chicken nuggets.  Now, this wasn't nearly the same, but it was good.  Fills that comfort food spot just right :)

Chicken Strips
1 lb chicken tenders
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Lawry's
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups rice cereal, crunched up

In separate bowls, put cornstarch and Lawry's, eggs, and the rice cereal.  Coat the chicken with the cornstarch mix, then the egg, and finally run it through the cereal.  Put each finished piece on a baking sheet.  When full, bake on 350 for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken pieces.  Enjoy with your favorite sauce!  I used a creamy sweet onion dressing with mine :3


And that was my GF Super Bowl Party menu.  It wasn't fancy, but it did the trick.  Who needs fancy anyways - I'm just learning right now, so this is good enough for me.

Gyudon

A while ago I had some friends over from work for a Japanese-y night.  I had been promising for a while that I would make gyudon, so I finally took the plunge and tried to figure it out.  With the exception of a few minor issues, it was amazing.  For those of you not in the loop, gyudon is a beef and onion bowl served over rice.  You can get it anywhere in Japan for super cheap.  There are even some restaurants where you put your money into a machine and it gives you a ticket for what you want.  It's good and cheap - Japanese fast food I guess.

Gyudon
2 lb. slightly thawed beef - I used stew meat
1 large onion
3 cups dashi soup
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup mirin
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp sake
benishouga (red ginger) for topping

Add all of the wet ingredients to a large pot and let simmer until the alcohol burns off.  While this is cooking slice the beef and the onions as thin as you can.  Add these to the pot and let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Serve over hot rice and garnish with benishouga if you want.  :3  There might be lots of leftovers, but do not fret!  I also have a good way to use this as a second meal without anyone getting bored.

Gyutamadon!
1 serving gyudon meat
Handful thinly sliced onions
2 eggs, beaten
Soup from the gyudon

In a small pan, heat the onions in about 1/4 cup of the sauce from the gyudon.  Let this boil for about a minute, then add your meat.  When this is boiling again, add your eggs and cover with a lid.  Cook on medium high for about three minutes or until the eggs are as done as you like (I like mine really runny so I only it for a little over a minute).  Serve over rice, with shichimi and benishouga.