Beef curry

The whole family love this one and it's mild enough for my 3 year old but tasty enough for adults (who you could always provide with extra chillies on the side if they like a kick ass hit from their curries)

The onions and peppers melt into the sauce meaning its a great dish for kids how wont eat veggies if they can spot them a mile off.

Our curry powder is put together at a local health store so we know it doesn't have any extra ingredients.  Otherwise it is probably best making your own mix of spices and saving it in a glass jar.

The amounts below are for 2 meals for a family of 4 as I like to freeze half.   As with all curries you can change amounts of ingredients / add extra vegetables very easily.

This works well with the cauliflower rice or basmati rice if you can eat grains

Ingredients

1 -1.5 kilos of braising / casserole beef (depending on how meaty you are feeling!)
2 large onions
2 large red pepper
3 heaped tsp of medium curry powder

4 garlic cloves (crushed)
Approx 1/2  inch piece of ginger grated (we always say top half of thumb!)
2 bottles of passata (approx 1.3litres)
Tbsp of ghee / beef dripping / olive oil 
Fresh coriander for serving

Method 

• In an oven proof dish fry the onions in ghee / oil / fat until they have colour (5-10 minutes)
• Add the crushed garlic and stir round for one minute 
• Add the curry powder and stir around to ensure the onion is well coated
• Add the beef and brown 
• Put in the peppers, grated ginger and the passata.
• Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer

To cook you can either:
Cook on the hob for approximately an hour until the meat is tender and you have the thickness you would like
Cook in the oven at GM 4 for 2 hours
OR
Slow cook for 5-8 hours depending on your cooker (our slow cook is so gentle we could leave it on for the longer period but it may vary between appliances so keep an eye on it the first time you make it)

Garnish with fresh chopped coriander just before serving

Poached chicken and chicken stock in one!

It is lovely to make a chicken stock from a carcass and flavour the stock with vegetables and herbs but for a basic stock in a hurry this 'recipe' is perfect.

What is fab as you can use this to make a big batch of chicken soup or use the stock for something else and have poached chicken as a meal / lunch meat.  Therefore it fits my criteria of making two things at once - I spent the first six months on our gluten free diet trying to find new recipes and exciting things to cook. Now my energy is based around cooking good food very simply and quickly so we can have more time freed up - it is no good being on a great diet if you are totally stressed because you are stuck in the kitchen all day every day!

 I am going to try mincing it up next week to make satay chicken or chicken sausages.  Poached chicken is also very easy to digest making it an ideal food for the intro stage of any healing diet.

Ingredients

Chicken
Seasoning
Water

Method (if you could call it that!)

• Get a large stock pot.  Throw in a chicken breast side down.  
• Cover with water and bring to the boil then simmer for 1.5 - 2 hours.  The chicken will now be cooked
• Remove the chicken and take off all meat and skin (dont worry about making this look pretty)
• Throw all the bones back in the stock pot and simmer for at least another 1.5  hours 

Chicken soup

Here is a basic chicken soup recipe with some carbs which can be severely lacking on GAPS or SCD if you are not careful!

This is great if you have had a tummy bug or just feel your digestion needs a rest.  I have suggested an amount of stock but basically you fill the pan to what you feel depending on whether you like a thick or thin soup.  I like to have it chunky but the kids prefer it blended.

I poach a chicken and then use the stock and meat from this to make double portions of this.  It's a handy lunch for my husband and I to have on school days when the kids take a packed lunch.  You could throw in some chillies or other ingredients as desired.

Ingredients

1-1.5 litres of chicken stock (homemade ideally)
Cooked chicken chopped into small pieces including chicken skin (approximately a handful per person, more if you want a thicker soup)
1/2 butternut squash
1 large onion
3 medium carrots
1/2 broccoli (optional)  Stalk removed
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Cut up the carrots and squash into small chunks.
• Break the cauliflower into small florets
• Chop the onion finely
• Put all the vegetables in a pan and add the chicken stock 
• Bring to a boil then simmer for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are just tender
• Add the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes
• Ensure chicken is piping hot before serving 

Spicy fried 'rice' (aka cauliflower but don't tell the kids)

When I originally wrote this post we were grain free - we now have rice again but still enjoy cauliflower rice as a lighter alternative.

Rice was always one of our favourites and fried rice was a weekly staple.  When I saw you could make mock rice with cauliflower I never believed this would fool my kids. However due to the addition of peas and spices they have never guessed it is vegetable based, let alone the dreaded cauliflower. Although it is called spicy rice it simply has flavour - there is no off putting hotness.  However if you are all hardened curry fans you could up the curry powder or add in some chillies.

It does require a bit of faffing about getting the water out of the cauliflower but honestly, its worth it when the kids eat it all and ask for more!

I have specified when to add curry powder, peas etc but have often forgot the order when trying to cook and do homework with kids and it still works fine.  The most important thing is to ensure the onions are soft before adding the cauliflower and not being shy with the oil. (It's a very healthy oil and a good way to get the right kind of calories into kids)

What I love about this dish is you can very easily serve the kids and then reheat later for adults, throwing in some additional chillies or serving with a chilli sauce for more adult palates.  It goes well with roast chicken, chops, even oily fish like mackerel and salmon.

We make it using coconut oil.  If you are not following GAPS  you could use olive oil (be careful with the heat)

We use a ready made curry powder because we can buy it from a local store where we trust it has no hidden ingredients.

Ingredients

1 cauliflower
1 onion, chopped (can use red or white but my kids object to red)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp of medium curry powder
Peas (enough for a decent portion per person)
Salt and pepper to taste
Coconut oil for frying

Recipe
1.  Wash and dry the cauliflower.  Whizz it up in food processor
2.  Using kitchen paper or a clean tea towel pat the cauliflower to remove some water
3.  Heat at least 2 tbsp of coconut oil in a wok. Once hot reduce to a low to medium heat
4.  Fry the onion for a few minutes until it is starting to go translucent.  Add the garlic and the curry powder and add for a few minutes.
5.  When the onions are soft add in the cauliflower.  You may need to add more oil. Cook for 5 minutes.  In another pan bring some peas to the boil and then drain.
6 Add the peas to the cauliflower and season.
7. Cook for another few minutes until the cauliflower tastes soft and cooked (I have found this can vary from cauliflower to cauliflower and heat used etc so it  is always best to go with what tastes right rather than rely on an exact timing)