Name: Troll's Feet Loaf for Halloween
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 to 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (needs to have at least 10% fat); 1/4 c. ketchup or favorite salsa; 2 to 3 slices bread (gluten-free works great), cut in 1/2 inch cubes; 1/4 c. milk; 1 egg; 1 Tbs. dried minced onion or 1/2 medium onion, diced (save other half for garnish); 1/2 to 1 tsp. salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase); 1/4 tsp. pepper; for the BBQ Sauce:; 1/4 c. + 2 Tbs. sugar; 1/4 c. + 2 Tbs. ketchup (check to avoid high fructose corn syrup); 2 Tbs. vinegar; 2 Tbs. water; 3/4 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce; two good squirts of mustard (no more than 1 Tbs.); 1/2 tsp. salt; 1/4 tsp. ground chipotle chili pepper; 1/4 tsp. ground lemon pepper (just plain pepper works too)

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 c. lactose-free milk
1 1/2 c. homemade chicken stock (added shitake mushrooms & leeks to Katie’s recipe )
2 c. grated (8 oz block) cheddar cheese (Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese is naturally lactose-free)
1/4 c. unsalted butter (or lactose-free substitute)
1/3 c. all-purpose GF flour
1/2 tsp. salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbs. dried onion flakes (or 1 tsp. onion powder)
3 Tbs. prepared mustard
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle pepper
10 oz pkg. frozen spinach (thawed and drained) or 1 c. BBQ sauce
1 package (16 ounces) pasta of choice

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Instructions

Get your water and pasta going in one pot while making the sauce in another.
First, in a medium pot, we need to make a roux on medium low heat. That’s French for the beginnings of all things delicious (bechamel sauce, gravy, etc.) and usually uses equal parts flour and butter. I find I need slightly more GF flour than butter.
Next add the spices and mustard and stir around.
Gradually add in the milk and stock. Many bloggers seem to add the milk first, but I find it easier to get a smooth sauce with well blended flavors doing it this way.
Simmer and stir for 8 minutes or until thick.
Remove thickened sauce from heat.
Stir in cheese until it’s melted and well combined.
It’s time to change your color! The sauce would be ready to pour on noodles normally but for Halloween we’ll take it a step or two further.
** For green “toxic waste”: Add in the spinach and garnish with green peas or other favorite, cooked green veggie.
** For a BBQ “rusty sludge”: Stir in one batch of my BBQ sauce and sprinkle in crumbled bacon to taste.

Notes

* Katie here: If you really wanted to get GREEN more evenly, my hunch is that taking an extra step and whizzing the spinach in with your milk and broth until it all turns green would be the way to go! Of course then you can’t try the BBQ version, but if you know you want green, I’d love to hear how that goes!
* Recipe Inspired by Cooking with Curls