As a new mom and working professional, I'm always in search of ways to still cook fresh food that tastes good without breaking the bank or taking too much time to prepare. So, last week, after one of my sisters introduced me to a crock-pot cookbook by Stephanie O'Dea, I did two things I rarely do... 1. I bought the cookbook for Kindle and 2. I actually followed someone else's recipe to a T(BSP).
To my delight, I found O'Dea's recipes were spot-on for easily creating inexpensive and tasty gluten free meals:
GF COOKING MADE EASY
"More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow" recipes by Stephanie O'Dea is a busy gluten free cook's dream come true. Right from the start, Stephanie eliminates the complexity of cooking GF by assuring the reader that all of her ingredients are GF, noting in the introduction the brands she buys and where to find her ingredients.
BUDGET FRIENDLY RECIPES
We all know that maintaining a GF diet is not an inexpensive proposition and O'Dea does us frugal GF cooks justice by breaking down the cookbook by cost: $7 and Under, $10 and under and $15 and under. Each section contains recipes from such categories as beverages, soups, mains and desserts, and includes even breakfast. As O'Dea points out, using a slow cooker to prepare a meal that can provide leftovers or be stretched into another meal is also a huge budget bonus.
DARN TASTY FOOD
My husband lovingly teases me that gluten free food is taste free food. O'Dea's recipes have further allowed me to prove him wrong. Following her directions, I prepared two of the book's recipes.
I started with Easy Peanut Butter Chicken from the $7 and Under section. Not only did the house smell yummy after 8 hours of slow cooking but the husband ate 3 helpings it was so good! Having leftovers means that I had lunch for today!
The second recipe I tried was the Peperoncini Beef Sandwiches. Who knew that something that took 2 minutes to prepare would be so delicious?! The peppers alone created so much flavor and when served over Udi's Gluten Free hot dog buns, the taste was reminiscent of Italian beef sandwiches from Portillos (for all you Chicagoans out there!).
In all- these recipes and the slow cook method get 4 thumbs up (mine and the husband's).
Check out O'Dea's blog and recipes! You can't go wrong!
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