Mediterranean Pasta

This Pasta is hearty and full of flavor. Do yourself a favor and buy Gluten Free Pasta from a company that specializes in it. Mainstream companies are trying to pull it off, but theirs always ends up sticky and mushy. It really lacks taste and texture. Tinkyada makes great Penne, and macaroni noodles. I highly recommend it. Also, this recipe makes a lot, which we love because it's great for leftovers. When you can't do the traditional sandwich or mac and cheese for lunch it's always nice to have quick and easy options.

Ingredients:

2 packages of Tinkyada Brown Rice Penne Pasta

2 small yellow onions chopped

3 cloves of garlic diced

8 ounces of capers

1 cup of Kalamata Olives - PITTED! - chopped

1 large jar of Roasted Red Peppers chopped

2 jars of artichoke hearts, chopped

1 jar of Sun dried Tomatoes, chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

3 large handfuls of baby spinach

Olive Oil

Heat a large, deep skillet on medium high heat and add a splash of olive oil. Throw in your onions and garlic, cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Then add the Capers, Olives, Red peppers, Artichokes, Sun dried tomatoes, Cherry tomatoes and spinach. Add a touch of sea salt. Stir, reduce heat to low and cover.

 Meanwhile, heat water and boil your noodles until they are al dente. When the noodles are done, drain and add to large bowl or serving dish. Add the vegetable mixture from the skillet and stir to combine. There you have it! I usually serve with a green side salad.

From Kaydence's Kitchen

Vietnamese Noodle (or something like that)

Ok, lets be honest, sometimes we make things, and they-- well, are outside of our comfort zone. That was this dish. I didn't have everything I wanted to make it... my mushrooms went bad, and I was out of bell peppers (having used them in another dinner). So I---- modified. I bet this is nothing like real Vietnamese noodles. Having only had Vietnamese food once, I'm still a little clueless. So this was a sort of "attempt".
But the example stands, you can cook a multitude of things going gluten free. You just have to look outside of the foods you were raised on, look into the things that you think "what the HECK do you do with that?!" when you see it at the store. My version today is boring looking, and so blah... no fun red's and greens... but it was yummy enough as it was... so play with yours, mix in some different vegetables!

1 squash (yellow julienned)
2 carrots (julienned)
1/2 onion (julienned)
1 can chicken
BRAGG (or other soy-like sauce)
2-3 tsp sesame oil
2 or so tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock (or bullion and water)
rice noodles








Put your noodles into their warm water to start cooking (my package said warm water for 5-10 minutes, follow YOUR package).

In 2 tsp sesame oil and a drizzle of olive oil, cook your carrots & onion till the onion starts to sweat and turn translucent. Add squash, chicken, BRAGG and broth. Toss with noodles. Done. {you don't want squishy veggies, so be sure not to overcook them!} Next time I'm going to put more veggies in it... spinach, bell peppers, and some other good ones!

Again, this was plain, simple and... honestly... LOVED.
My kids gobbled it ALL UP!
Husband loved it.

Spaghetti, Feta Asparagus and GF Garlic Toast.

Ingredients: (to make EVERYTHING)
GF pasta
Hot Italian Sausage
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped small)
6 leaves fresh basil (chopped)
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 extra large can of crushed tomatoes (the big ole daddy, or 3-4 regular sized cans.)
GF bread (your choice of brand, I like Rudi's the best, but we just tried another brand, and that's what I used here, it was great... but I threw away the bag when I put it in an air-tight container, so I'll have to get you the brand later! I bought it at Fresh & Easy!)
Butter
Garlic Salt
Olive oil
Asparagus
Feta Cheese

To make my spaghetti sauce:
Hot Italian Sausage
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped small)
6 leaves fresh basil (chopped)
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 extra large can of crushed tomatoes (the big ole daddy, or 3-4 regular sized cans.)

I sauté my meat till it's cooked through, then I throw my garlic & onion in with a little oil to sweat. Then I mix in the tomatoes, last I throw in my basil & parsley. I simmer it on the stove till I'm ready to eat. (today I simmered for 2 hours.)

To cook the GF pasta just follow the directions on the package, but I do cook my pasta longer than the package says... My package says 5-7 minutes I cooked mine for around 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

For my Asparagus with Feta:
I  cut my asparagus into bite size pieces. Then I steamed my asparagus till al dente, after that, I threw it in a little skillet with some oil to give it a little crisp. As I served it up, I topped it with feta.

For the GF bread:
I took my bread, put it on a cookie sheet and spread some butter on it. Then I sprinkled garlic salt on it. I cooked it under the broiler till golden.

Something to TRY...

I just made General Tso's Chicken for dinner....

{this is a photo of our actual dinner, when you see the other gal's photos--mine are crummy, also, I used sugar snap peas instead of snow peas (didn't have any on hand and had 5 kids here!), it was still good.}


It was great, really easy, and gluten free!! 
Go to THIS site, and you'll find the recipe! It was a crowd pleaser!

Healthier General Tso’s Chicken

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups snow peas, trimmed and halved diagonally
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Chicken and Coating

• 2 large egg whites
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound chicken, cut into bite-size pieces

1. For sauce: Mix together water and cornstarch until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Set aside.
2. For chicken: Whisk together egg whites, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Stir in chicken.
3. To cook: Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add a small amount of oil. Add half of chicken to pan, dripping off excess coating. Cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan, add more oil if necessary and repeat with remaining chicken. Set the chicken aside.
4. Add sauce to skillet and cook until snow peas are tender and sauce is thickened. Add chicken (and any collected juices) to skillet.Toss to coat.
5. Serve with rice.

Serves: 4

*Make sure to use gluten-free soy sauce if cooking for those who cannot handle wheat.

* Feel free to add as many veggies as you like.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Granola

We stopped eating breakfast cereals years ago, we did smoothies, eggs, home made bread, etc... but then we started cutting out animal products, and then I couldn't eat wheat. So I decided I wanted to make something quick and easy to have on hand for breakfast. I've tried a few of incarnations of granola throughout the years, but this one has stuck the longest. It just developed out of a lot of different variations and we all love it so for now it's not changing anytime soon as our breakfast staple. 

Firstly, I must clarify, not all oats are gluten free. They are processed with wheat and contaminated. I order Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats online from Amazon. They come in bulk and are much cheaper than buying them by the bag at my local co-op.

Ok. So you need:

1 32 ounce bag of GF Whole Oats (that's about 8 cups)

1 1/2 cups of raisins

1 1/2 cups of nuts (I just pulse mine in the blender instead of chopping)

1 1/2 cups dried, flaked coconut, unsweetened

2 cups of honey (I love my local raw honey, check to see if you have local honey at your nearest health food store. The taste is much better and it retains it's anti-microbial properties)

2 10oz bags of mini chocolate chips (I highly recommend Enjoy Life brand as it is soy free and dairy free)

2 tbls. cinnamon

1 tbls. nutmeg

1 tbls. vanilla (I buy the alcohol-free brand. Pure vanilla and glycerin without the artificial "vanillin" stuff)

Preheat oven to 350. Pour the oats, raisins, nuts, coconut and spices into a large bowl. 

In a small saucepan heat the honey through on low heat. You don't want it to boil, just thin out for pouring. When it is warmed through, pour over the bowl of oats. Stir thoroughly and make sure everything is wet. 

Put unbleached parchment paper in a large pan. I use a 12x17 roasting pan, but you could use a cookie sheet with side or a jelly roll pan. 

Pour only half the mixture into the pan. 

(if you have a big oven and two big pans you could totally do two pans at once, but my oven was the first oven ever constructed. It's probably 40 years old, and it is tiny). 

Bake for 20 minutes on 350, stirring occasionally. 

If you did two pans at once, then take them out, let them cool and when they are totally cool, not even kind of warm, dump them back into a big bowl.

 

Pour on the chocolate chips and stir. 

All done!

I place mine in pourable tupperware containers. This usually lasts five people about a week to a week and a half.

From Kaydence's Kitchen

Taco Experiment.

So I usually make my tacos a pretty standard way. I use free range ranch beef (my dad's ranch) and I cook it with onions in a skillet till browned, then I add water and seasoning (I consult my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook to make my own no-flour seasoning). 

This time I did something a friend of mine suggested. I used Chorizo. I'm wondering if I used a wrong version? Or is it just that there's something special this friend does?? I don't know. Anyhow, this was our Taco Experiment. 

I started with my meat. I used Chorizo, beef and red beans. I added the red beans after the meat was cooked. I let it simmer while I cooked the rice.

The rice was so simple- yet delicious! I put my 2 cups of water on to boil, then I added 1 Tbs lime juice. I let my minute rice go... then at the very end, I added chopped cilantro. 

 I baked my taco shells in the oven, so they would be nice and crisp.

As you see from the 1st picture, I layered meat, rice and tomato, with a sprinkle of more cilantro on top. I actually think this would have tasted better on a burrito, but my son doesn't like corn tortillas so we did tacos. It felt very "carb-o-loaded" to me, but it was good. (If you are going to add cheese, I'd recommend right between the meat and rice! If you like a corn tortilla, I'd do that instead of taco shell!!) 

Now here was our KICKER! I made Jalapeño dip. I put in my bowl, 1/2 brick of cream cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/2 cup sour cream. Then I chopped a Jalapeño (after de-seeding it) very small. Microwaved till hot and smooth. YUM.