7 Layer Dip

It's Super Bowl Sunday and you know what I made..my famous Seven Layer Dip, a must at every family gathering since I started making it 10 years ago....

This one is slightly different - I added black beans to the bottom (I do not like refried beans for those of you who are wondering why black beans?? And this is healthier). There are several versions of this dip; with ground beef, without beans, different kinds of cheese, vegan. This is my favorite. (I also made a small vegan dip, no cheese or sour cream, for one of my best friends who will also be at our super bowl party)

Unfortunately, packaged taco seasoning can be a source of hidden gluten. So I made my own gluten free taco seasoning mix with spices and herbs. There are some out there - Ortega and Old El Paso - But be careful! 

Old El Paso products are not labeled gluten free by the manufacturer.  Many of their products do not contain gluten ingredients, but the company cannot verify that there is no cross contact on the ingredients that come from other suppliers.  I was told that if there is a chance of cross contact on their end, there will be an allergy statement. So if you are very sensitive I suggest you make your own, below is a good recipe I use.

Gluten Free Taco Seasoning

Makes 6 Tablespoons (you can cut the recipe in half for the dip or make it all and the keep the rest for another time!)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons gluten free onion powder
• 2 teaspoons gluten free garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 1 tablespoon salt (optional - I do not use salt ever in cooking or baking)
• 1 tablespoon gluten free chili powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons crushed dried red pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons gluten free ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in an 8 ounce jar and shake until seasonings are well distributed. Makes about 6 tablespoons of mix. Store in a cool, dry location.

Easy enough right?

 

Light Seven Layer Dip

Layer 1: 

• 2 16-ounce cans black beans (or 1 can black beans and 1 can pintos), drained
• 2 teaspoon taco seasoning

Layer 2: 

• 1 cup light sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
• 2-3 Tablespoons taco seasoning

Layer 3: Guacamole 

• 2 avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
• Juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 garlic glove (optional – I do not use that much)

Layer 4:

• ½ - 1 cup grated Mexican 4 blend cheese OR Pepper Jack and Cheedar mix

Layer 5: 

• 2 tomatoes, diced

Layer 6: 

• 1/3 cup sliced black olives

Layer 7: 

• 3 Scallions, chopped 

1. Layer One: Combine the beans, and taco seasoning in a small bowl. Mash lightly with a fork, if you like. Transfer the beans to an 8-inch square dish or glass bowl of a similar size.
2. Layer Two: In a small bowl, stir together the sour cream and taco seasoning. Spread the mixture evenly over the bean layer.
3. Layer Three: Mash avocados, lime juice, and garlic. Stir in the red onion. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Spread the guacamole over the sour cream mixture.
4. Layer Four: Sprinkle cheese evenly over the guacamole, add more or less depending on your preference
5. Layer Five: Sprinkle tomatoes over cheese
6. Layer Six: Sprinkle olives over tomato
7. Layer Seven: Top with scallions
8. Serve at room temperature with tortilla chips and carrot and celery sticks.

LET'S GO PATS!

Tasca

I LOVE TAPAS!

I fell in love with Spain after I spent a semester in Valencia. 3 of my favorite things are tapas, paella, and sangria!! Tasca is right around the corner from me and I am a frequent visitor. I love going with a few people, 2 or 3, and ordering a variety of different tapas. I say 2 or 3 people, because if there were more I definetly would not be able to have seconds of my favorite tapas!
Now I do have to say the Sangria here is a little fruity than in Spain but much much much better than most places in Boston that use way too much fruit juice. Also, make sure to ask for the $5 pitchers!! (And $5 bottles of wine on some nights) This is a little secret not everybody knows about.

I love the atmosphere here, its dark, rustic and romantic, reminds me of being in Spain. 

So let's see what haven't I eaten here? .....

First, bring your own dinner rolls. They serve a bread basket with an amazing white bean spread. I've eaten by the spoonfuls when I forget my gf bread, it's that good! It is also accompained by a small plate of fresh Spanish olives, makes me feel like I'm back in Valencia.

The Gambas al ajilo (Sizzling garlic shrimp)  served in a mini skillet and is still sizziling when it arrives at the table. Great flavor but tiny shrimp, even though there were a lot.

I also love the Atun salteado - perfectly prepared slices of rare peppered yellow-fin tuna over a mixed bean ragout in a saffron Dijon ailoi. Not a big fan of the beans but the tuna melts in your mouth.

The duck confit is a stand out. It is a small, petite duck breast and legs that are so juicy and moist, very well seasoned, with a nice size portion of a cider-spiced red cabbage and apples.

Two of my all time favorite Spanish tapas, and staples all across Spain, are the Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Omelette) and Patatas Bravas (fried potatoes in a spicy tomato and garlic aioli. Not the ''Omelette" is nothing like the American omelette. It is full or potatoes and onions and about 3 inches thick.

I could go on and on about every dish, but I won't, I will leave some surprises for you. In addition to the tapas I just raved about I also recommend:
- Jamon Serran and Queso Manchego (Cured Spanish Ham and Cheese)
- Steas Ronan (portabella mushrooms)
- Solomillo
- Brie a la plancha (baked brie, apples and raisin chutney - also one of my favorites)
- Mejillones (mussels) Very Typical of Spain
- Salmon ahumado (smoked salmon - again, I loved this)

For entrees I've tried the Grilled Salmon, cooked to perfection but a little too much sauce, I would ask for it on the side if that is possible. Don't get me wrong, it is good, just too much. And sauteed spinach is one of my least favorite things, and theirs is extra oily (gross). I've also tried their Paella, both the Seafood and Valencian style, which has chicken, chorizo and duck. I prefer the seafood over the meat, the chicken was a bit dry, but the Seafood Paella is out of this world, and huge portion sizes. I love it! Definetly have to get this, it's even big enough to split, especially after eating all those tapas....

 Zarzuela de mariscos (top) and Sefood Paella

Other entrees I recommend:
-Pato asado (roast duck legs)
- Zarzuela de mariscos (seafood in a lobster-tomato broth, bring some bread for dipping!)

So by now you are thinking come on there has to be something she doesn't like! And there is. I did not like the Patatas aioli, it's just a fancy name for a potato salad with garlic mayonaise, onions and capers. Stick to the patatas bravas.

Also dissapointing was the Pulpo Gallega - octopus - a traditional dish from Galicia (Northwestern Spain). This was also one of my favorites in Spain and I was unimpressed by their version; it was a little undercooked and way too oily. I also did not like the Carne tartara (tatar of beef), even though my boyfriend loved it. Rare beef was never my thing anyways.

They also have a 3-course prix fixe "stimulus" deal that is very reasonably priced during the week.


Gluten Free Menu Items

  Ensalada Tasca                                                                                            

Organic greens, tomato, and olives tossed in a red wine vinaigrette. no crutons    

                                   

  Gazpacho   (Chilled piquant tomato and cilantro soup)   No Croutons                 

      Sopa del día        (Homemade soup of the day)   No Croutons                         

             

Pulpo a la Gallega                                                                                       

Octopus served on olive oil sautéed potatoes with smoked Spanish paprika

    

Patatas alioli                                                                                              

Potato salad with garlic mayonnaise, red onions and capers                  

Boquerones                                                                                                            

Marinated fresh Spanish white anchovy filets over tomatoes and red onion                         

 Jamon Serrano y Queso Manchego                                                               

Cured Spanish ham and shaved Manchego cheese, no tomato toasted crostinis                                         

Carne tártara                                                                                             

Tartar of beef tenderloin topped with a wild mushroom and shallot duxelle served with cornichons and chopped egg, no crostini                 

Setas Ronan                                                                                               

Roasted portabella mushrooms with shaved manchego, capers, red onion in a sherry

vinaigrette without roasted red pepper toasts        

    

Pincho de pollo y chorizo                                                                              

Grilled chicken and chorizo skewer with peppers and onion in a spicy chili sauce

Tortilla española                                                                                           

Traditional Spanish potato and onion omelet                                                

        

Gambas al ajillo                                                                                            

Sizzling shrimp in garlic with chili pepper                                            

        

      Asado de cerdo                                                                                             

Char grilled pork loin over a rosemary infused white bean ragout with mushrooms     

Patatas bravas                                                                                              

Fried cubed potatoes in a piquant tomato sauce and garlic aioli   

                                                                                               

Confít de pato                                                                                               

Fall off the bone succulent roasted duck leg served over braised red cabbage   &apples     

        

Solomillo                                                                                                  

Petit filet mignon (3oz) served without a red wine sauce with mushrooms     

                                                 

     Caracoles                                                                                                    

Escargots baked in traditional herbed garlic butter with cognac    

        

Carpaccio de atun                                                                                       

Sesame crusted pan seared tuna over a black bean & mango salsa with wasabi 
aioli 

      

    Atún salteado                                                                                          

    Peppered yellow-fin tuna over a mixed bean ragout in a saffron Dijon aioli     

  

     Brie a la plancha                                                                                                   

    Grilled imported Brie cheese with a homemade savory apple & raisin chutney 
    served without the grilled baguette                 

Mejillones                                                                                                  

Fresh mussels steamed in a white wine tomato broth with garlic and onion, served

without grilled herbed crostinis

      
       Salmón ahumado                                                                                         

Smoked salmon served on a potato pancake with red onion, capers & dill crème fraîche                    

Entrees

Bistec de ternera                                                                                                 

Grilled 12oz top filet steak over garlic mashed potatoes with a red wine jus and creamed spinach (no creamed spinach allowed!)  

Salmón a la plancha                                             

Grilled filet of salmon in a white wine basil sauce over spinach and mashed potato                                   

Paella de mariscos                                                                                                  

Shrimp, scallops, mussels & calamari with saffron rice cooked in a lobster broth (individual portion)

Filete de cerdo al rioja                                                                                         

Dijon mustard and herb crusted roasted pork tenderloin served with a mixed bean ragout and spinach over a scallion potato cake in a red wine shallot reduction     

Pollo al jerez                                                                                                          

Oven roasted boneless breast of chicken stuffed with chorizo, Manchego cheese and spinach without sherry mushroom sauce                                            

Pato asado                                                                                                            

Roast duck legs with braised red cabbage and apples over scallion mashed potato with blackberries  

Filete de buey                                                                                                     

Grilled 10oz Black Angus filet mignon over a scallion potato cake and vegetables no  cognac and green peppercorn sauce   

Zarzuela de mariscos                                                                                              

Shrimp, scallops, mussels & calamari in a zesty lobster and tomato broth without garlic toasted crostinis 

Paella Valenciana                                                                                                       

Chicken, chorizo and duckling in saffron rice with roasted red peppers and peas (individual portion)

    

Pescado del día                                                                                                      

Chef’s daily fresh fish special    (Check with manager about sauce/breading)     

Location: 1612 Commonwealth Avenue  Brighton, MA 02135. Green B line to Washington St. t Stop
Website: http://www.tascarestaurant.com/

Lentil Rice and Veggie Bake

 

LOVED this recipe! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com a few weeks ago and finally decided to use up the rest of my lentils and make it. It is so quick, easy, flexible and cheap to make.

Gluten Free and vegetarian! High in Protein (9.7g per serving) and Fiber (8.1 grams).

I was so tempted to add cheese to the top of this, but resisted that urge to keep it healthier…well I did add a little cheese to the first few bites and it was delicious! I kept the rest cheese-less as I do not tolerate cheese very well (anyone else with a gluten issue have this problem? Give us a break!!)

I doubled the amount of oregano and cumin. I did not have basil in the house so I used parsley. I also did not have fresh garlic so I used garlic powder. And I added mushrooms! Next time I am adding even more vegetables!!

I would also suggest cooking the rice in vegetable broth to add even more flavor.

I’m sure you can mix and use whichever vegetables you have handy!

 

 

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 fresh tomato, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 1/3 cup chopped carrots
• 1/3 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the rice and 1 cup water in a pot, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes. 
2. Place lentils in a pot with the remaining 1 1/2 cups water, and bring to a boil. Cook 15 minutes, or until tender.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and stir in the onion and garlic. Mix in tomato, celery, carrots, zucchini, and 1/2 the tomato sauce. Season with 1/2 the basil, 1/2 the oregano, 1/2 the cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender.
5. In a casserole dish, mix the rice, lentils, and vegetables. Top with remaining tomato sauce, and sprinkle with remaining basil, oregano, and cumin.
6. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly.

Sol Azteca

I ate here last night and it was so delicious!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

We had a buywithme deal – one appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert for two people for $30.

The restaurant was almost completely full when we arrived, on a Monday night, at 7pm but we were able to get a table without waiting. Our server was very attentive, and super friendly! He was so knowledgeable about the menu and which items were gluten free ☺ The best part, being, big water drinkers, was he left the pitcher on our table THANK YOU! That saved both him and us a lot of hassle!

The chips are corn based and gluten free and salsa was the best salsa I’ve ever had! It was a little bit spicy but incredibly fresh! For an appetizer we shared the Chamaorritos – grilled chicken tips in chipotle pepper, basil, onion, garlic, mango, orange and anise sauce. It was delicious; mouth watering good! The chicken was so tender and cooked to perfection.

For my entree I ordered the Chicken Enchiladas Verde, which came with rice and black beans. I was pleasantly surprised by the use of Corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas in many of their dishes. My boyfriend ordered Pollo Mango – Grilled Chicken breast in a mango, garlic and chipotle pepper sauce. He loved it; I thought it was good but a little too sweet for me! We both had to take half our meals home because the portions were pretty big.

For dessert we split the vanilla ice cream topped with Kahlua liqueur, also delicious. We were so full we were only able to take a few bites. Our meal would have cost us $48, but we had the $30 deal so we lucked out a bit.


A good portion of the menu is gluten free. The Mole Sauce is not.

I highly recommend Sol Azteca for 2, 4 6 people or more! The prices are reasonable and the food is great! I will be going back for sure!

Location: 914 Beacon Street. Boston, MA 02215
Website: http://www.solaztecarestaurants.com/new-Sol/Without-flash/Boston-menu.htm

Tapéo

Authentic Spanish Tapas Style Cuisine on Newbury Street.

I went here for my birthday with my boyfriend and a few girlfriends. Before making a reservation I spoke with the manager who sent me a list of their gluten free item. I studied abroad in Spain and LOVE Spanish Tapas and I had been dying to try this restaurant so I was thrilled when I got a long list of gf tapas.

Located on Newbury, Tapeo offers outside seating, when the weather is nice (unfortunately for us it was a bit cold in June). The menu is constantly being updated and seasonal specials are always changing. For these you have to ask your server which are gf.

The drinks are so good. I loved the Sangria, it reminded me of Spain :) It's hard to find ''real, authentic sangria" but they make it well. The Margaritas are also delicious and strong! (hey! it was my birthday I was allowed two drinks.)
I didn't try one thing I didn't like. We ordered a bunch of tapas for everyone to share and every single bite of food was devoured from our table.

The only bad part of the whole night was our server, he was rude and not attentive. The managers were great, the bus boys constantly filled my water glass (thank you very much!) and the chefs knew what they were doing when it came to gluten free foods.


One more thing, if you eat downstairs at the bar the tapas as $5, every day, all day. The bar only has 10 stools. I am not sure if the menu is the same or different or a limited offering of the full menu, as we did not eat in the bar and I only heard other customers talking about this.

Location: 266 Newbury Street  Boston, MA 02116
Website: http://www.tapeo.com/

Gluten Free Items

Plato Mixto – Manchego Cheese, Cured Ham, Roasted Red Peppers & Olives

Tortilla Española – Egg, Potato, Onion Omelette

Ensalada Mixta – Mixed Greens, Hearts of Palm, Beets, House Vinaigrette

Pimientos Asados – Roasted Red Peppers

Aceitunas Alinadas – Marinated Olives

Gambas al Ajillo – Sizzling Garlic Shrimp

Vieras al Azafran – Scallops in Saffron Cream

Pollo al Ajillo – Garlicky Chicken

Pechuga Analuza – Grilled Chicken Breast w/ Saffron, Ginger, White Wine Sauce

Pato Braseado – Roasted Duckling w/ Berry Sauce

Costillitas de Vaca – Beef Short Rib in Rioja Wine Sauce

Gorditas – Prunes stuffed w/ Goat Cheese & Wrapped in Bacon

Chuletillas – Baby Lamb Chops w/ Apricot Sauce

Lomito al Cabrales – Pork Tenderloin w/ Blue Goat Cheese & Mushrooms

Solomillo – Beef Tenderloin w/ Pimento

Butifarras con Brevas – Pork Sausage w/ Figs

Chorizo a la Plancha – Grilled Spanish Sausage

Setas al Ajillo – Sauteed Portobello Mushrooms

Alcachofas Salteadas – Sauteed Artichoke Hearts

Queso de Cabra Montanes – Baked Goat Cheese w/ Tomato & Basil

Patatas Bravas – Baby Potatoes w/ Piquant Tomato & Ali Oli Sauces