Gluten-Free Lasagna and Biscuits Experience

I have not made lasagna from pre-cook lasagna noodles in many years. Since the noodles I used to use that did not have to be cooked before putting the lasagna together contain gluten, I tried some brown rice noodles. Well, you can see my frustration in the picture. Not only did they fall apart, they also stuck to each other. It was completely ridiculous! But they still tasted fine.

I had also picked up a box of Bisquick's Gluten Free version of the original. It cost between $4 and $5 for this little 16 oz box at Publix. I have heard that Walmart also carries it, but I don't know how much they charge.

My husband likes to have bread with his pasta. Since sourdough is no longer being brought into my house (his decision), I thought I'd make some biscuits. I was afraid they weren't done, and thought it strange that they looked more like cookies. I'm not much of a biscuit fan, but they were pretty good. They weren't gritty and still had the nooks and crannies when you opened them up.

I followed the recipe on the box and it used up 2/3 of the mix (mix says they make 10, but I made them into a baker's dozen). So, they were a bit expensive for biscuits, but at least they tasted good.

Mongolian Beef & Ramen

I have been asked by several people to show more of what we are eating, what we like and what we don't like. To answer those requests, I took pictures of what we had for dinner. I made Mongolian Beef and Ramen.

We had a party this weekend and had leftover steak. So, I cut up about two cups into little strips. And WALLA! The meat is cooked! I coated it in about 2 tablespoons of corn starch and set aside. Then I put water, soy sauce, olive oil, brown sugar, and garlic in a little sauce pan. I added ground ginger since I was out of fresh ginger. This simmered for 10 minutes.

While the sauce was simmering, I cooked the Ramen. I used Lotus Foods millet and brown rice Raman. It's a little thinner than the regular old Ramen. As long as you rinse it with cold water to prevent it from continuing to cook, it tastes great. If you don't rinse it, then it will become gummy.

When the Ramen and sauce were about done, I heated up the steak for a couple of minutes over medium heat. Then I poured the sauce over the beef and stirred it constantly for a few minutes. Lastly, I added the noodles, green onion, and a few shakes of the sesame oil before tossing.

I used Tamari reduced sodium gluten free soy sauce. It tastes just like the regular soy sauce. Adding sesame oil adds a little nutty flavor. 

The outcome was pretty good. But we all found it slightly too sweet. So, I reduced the amount of brown sugar in the recipe below. 

Mongolian Beef & Ramen

Ingredients

2 cups cooked beef cut into strips

2 T corn starch

1/2 cup water

2 T olive or vegetable oil

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp ground ginger

one green onion chopped

sesame oil to taste

Package Ramen cooked

Cook Ramen according to package directions. Add the brown sugar, oil, soy sauce, garlic and ginger to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Coat beef in the corn starch and heat over medium for 2 minutes. Add the cooked sauce and stir over the heat for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.