Gluten Free Lasagna!

Tinkyada makes a brown rice lasagna noodle that works just perfectly for homemade lasagna. We made it the other night and I literally could not taste the difference in the noodles at all. It turned out delicious. I also recently discovered the key to any lasagna recipe is mixing cottage cheese with the ricotta. It makes it easier to spread the layers, and it really adds a lot of moisture as well.

I made mine meatless, and made a meat-sauce on the side. Feel free to add ground beef to your sauce (to layer) if you prefer.

What You Need:

1 Box Tinkyada Lasagna Noodles
2 Jars Pasta Sauce (I used Classico Sweet Tomato Basil)
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese (I used low-fat, worked fine)
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

What You Do:


1. Cook noodles according to box instructions. Make sure not to over cook.
2. Drain and rinse noodles.
3. In a 9 x 13 pan, layer bottom of pan with a layer of tomato sauce.
4. In a medium bowl combine ricotta, cottage cheese, basil, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, and 1/2 cup mozzarella.
5. Cover the layer of sauce at the bottom of the pan and make a layer of noodles across the pan.
6. Cover noodles with: cheese mixture, some mozzarella cheese, and then tomato sauce. Add more noodles to the top of the layer.
7. Continue layering in this pattern. For the top layer, simply top noodles with tomato sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese.
8. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
9. Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted on the top.

Enjoy! It's delicious! No one will know the difference in this pasta.

Some Gluten Free Updates

I don't have any new fabulous recipes at the time, but I am making gluten-free lasagna tonight and will post the recipe when I'm finished! I did want to share a few exciting things though!

My favorite grocery store, Dominick's (Safeway store, all around the Chicago area) started to label their foods with tags that say "Gluten Free!" It is great because I get very tired of searching labels all the time. I really like it. They have a new program called "Simple Nutrition." Hopefully more stores follow the same trend soon.

Also, a great gluten free breakfast or snack, that may seem obvious but I seem to overlook a lot: Smoothies! It's the best way to make fruit and yogurt a little more fun, and healthy too. Today I just did it without a recipe: Mixed lowfat vanilla yogurt (2 containers) with frozen raspberries (about 3/4 cup or so), fresh strawberries (about 1/2 cup) and 1/4 cup milk. It was delicious, filling, and healthy. I really enjoyed it. I look forward to experimenting with more fruits (I think peaches, mangoes, blueberries, blackberries, etc). I personally don't care for bananas but I know they're a popular smoothie ingredient. Anyway, I just wanted to share that since I do forget about them a lot and I really really enjoyed my smoothie this morning! I think I will start to make them in a larger batch ahead and keep them in the fridge so I can always have them ready for the mornings. Yum.

Gluten free lasagna post to come!

Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole

This was so easy and such a hit! I am going to add this to my "go to" recipes that are easy, few ingredients, and tasty! I modified a recipe that I found online... and this is what I came up with.

Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole

What You Need:

2 1/2 cups chopped chicken breast meat (I used Tyson's Grilled Strips in the green bag, and chopped them up... they are delicious and gluten free)
1 can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup (it's gluten free)
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese
16 ounces broccoli ( I used Green Giant's Steamers and cooked it beforehand to avoid extra water)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt or garlic powder
Rice (optional)

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine chopped chicken, soup, cheese, broccoli (cooked), garlic and pepper, and rice if desired.

3. Mix well and spread into greased 9 x 13 pan. 

4. Cook for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, or until bubbly.

Tips:

I do have some tips with this dish, because next time I would do things a little differently...

1. I served the rice on the side, and put the casserole over the rice. Next time, I would add rice to the casserole. It comes out a little bit watery, and I think this would help, as well as add flavor to the rice. Either way, the flavor was delicious.

2. It is VERY important to cook the chicken and broccoli beforehand, so that the cooking process of those two items doesn't add any extra water to the food.

Overall... it was easy, and delicious! Enjoy!

Fajita Night!

Fajita's are a great gluten-free option! They are easy to make and if you serve them with corn tortillas, they are 100% gluten free!

What You Need:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into strips
1 red bell pepper
1 green pepper
1 medium sized onion
Fajita seasoning mix (Make sure to check the back for wheat ingredients)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup water
Corn Tortillas
Garnish: Cheese, Sour Cream, Guacamole

What You Do:
1. Slice the red pepper, green pepper, and the onion into lengthwise strips.
2. Heat up olive oil in medium skillet. Cook peppers and onions.
3. Add chicken to skillet.
4. Mix fajita seasoning with water and pour into skillet. Stir and simmer until liquid disappears.
5. Warm up corn tortillas in the microwave and serve.

So easy and so delicious! I like to make fajitas because guests can customize what they want inside their fajitas! Delicious! 

Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan

We definitely eat a lot of chicken in our kitchen. I'm somewhat of a picky eater (no red meat for the most part, though I will cook it now and then) and with Scott being allergic to gluten, we usually meet in the middle at chicken or seafood. 

I try to change recipes so that chicken doesn't get boring. You can make it so many ways. Last night I had the idea to make chicken parmesan. I actually went down the health food aisle at Jewel (local grocery store) and found these Schar gluten free breadcrumbs for around $4.00 a bag. 

I do want to add that about a month ago, I wanted to try making chicken parmesan as well, except I could not find gluten free breadcrumbs. Instead I found gluten free croutons in the health food aisle, and I actually had the idea to grind them in a food processor and use those. It worked WONDERFULLY for breadcrumbs. I have also heard of people using toasted Udi's or some other gluten free bread and putting it in the food processor. Sometimes you just have to be a little more creative!

Scott often tells me one of the things he misses most is any sort of "crunch" in his diet. What he really means is things like: croutons in a salad, breading on chicken or meat, etc. I was hoping these bread crumbs would do the trick, and they did! Everything was great.

Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan


What You Need:

3-4 thin chicken breasts (if they are thicker, you can pound them out)
1 egg
1/2 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (I used Schar pictured above)
1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil (You CAN use Olive Oil but I have heard this makes it bitter so I never do it)
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp chopped basil
1 tsp Nature's Seasoning (or salt and pepper)
1 jar tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe's Garlic Marinara)
Serve over GF pasta (I used Trader Joe's Brown Rice Spaghetti)
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and boil a pot of water for the spaghetti
2. Create an egg wash to coat the chicken by beating an egg in a shallow bowl.
3. In separate bowl, mix gluten free breadcrumbs, basil, Nature's Seasoning (or salt and pepper) and parmesan cheese to create breading mixture.
4. Individually dip chicken breasts in the egg mixture, and then coat in the breading mixture. Place on plate once finished. Bread each piece of chicken and set aside.
5. Heat vegetable/canola oil in a medium sized skillet until hot. Add chicken breasts to oil and cook until breading is brown. Make sure to flip the chicken and cook both sides of the breading.

6. Blot with paper towels to remove excess oil and place in an oven safe dish.

7. Top chicken with grated mozzarella and place chicken in oven for about 15 minutes (depending on how thin the chicken is) or until cooked.

8. While waiting for the chicken to cook in the oven, boil GF pasta as directed and drain.

9. Heat tomato sauce in a medium saucepan. I actually added some half-and-half to the tomato sauce. I do not ALWAYS do this, but I had some on hand still from making the Shrimp Scampi last week.

10. When chicken is cooked, take chicken out of the oven and serve chicken over gluten free spaghetti topped with tomato sauce.

Everything turned out great. Even though these breadcrumbs are a little more pricey, they seem like they're going to go a long way. I had plenty leftover and put them in the fridge for future use. I wasn't sure they would cook up as well as regular breadcrumbs, but they did! Enjoy!

Honey Chicken Kabobs

I have found the perfect marinade for kabobs. I have experimented again and again trying to find the perfect flavor... and I finally figured it out. Since most pre-mixed marinades have gluten in them, I've started to make my own sauces using gluten free ingredients. This is my favorite one for grilling... We made them last night, they were delicious! Keep in mind you can vary the veggies however you want. This time, I just used red and orange bell pepper, and pineapple.  When I usually make them, I used pineapple chunks, red pepper, green pepper, and onion.

In the past I have also added: mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes.. Anything goes!

Also, we make them on the grill but you could easily do them in the oven on a cookie sheet @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Honey Chicken Kabobs

What you need:
(double recipe as needed, this makes 3-4 kabobs)

3-4 skewers (If you are using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them in water first)
2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, defrosted and cut into 1" chunks or so
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Pineapple chunks
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. soy sauce (La Choy is gluten free)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

What to Do:
1. Chop chicken, peppers, onion.
2. In a small bowl, mix honey and olive oil.
3. Whisk in soy sauce.
4. Add garlic and pepper.
5. Let veggies and chicken marinate in mixture for at least 30 minutes (I have done it as long as one day).
6. Alternate chicken, vegetables, and pineapple on skewers.
7. Heat grill and place skewers on grill, rotating every 5 minutes. Brush leftover marinade on skewers if desired (we usually do this). Grill until chicken is fully cooked and serve over white rice.

I don't know what it is about these skewers... but something about the flavor is great. The honey really makes it, in comparison to other marinades. Also, it doesn't need to be just for skewers. You could use it for regular chicken or steak on the grill as well. Enjoy!

Valentines Day: Shrimp Scampi, Parmesan Asparagus, Cheddar Bay Biscuits

For Valentines Day, I wanted to make something a little more fancy. I decided to make Shrimp Scampi using gluten free angel hair (by DeBoles). I also used the recipe for Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits, substituting Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix for Bisquick. The vegetable I went with was asparagus.  Everything was delicious! I could not believe how great the biscuits turned out. Recipes and pictures are below!  This is definitely an indulgent meal. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Shrimp Scampi 


What You Need

8 oz (1 box) gluten free angel hair
1 lb shrimp (I used jumbo, but any size would work)
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. dry white wine
1/2 lemon, squeezed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 c. half and half

What You Do:
1. Using large pot, bring water to a boil. Cook angel hair, drain, and set to side.
2. Melt butter and olive oil together until warm. Place minced garlic in mixture. Add shrimp.
3. Let shrimp saute for 3 minutes in butter/oil/garlic mixture. Add wine and squeeze lemon into mixture.
4. Mix in half and half and pepper.
5. Put pasta in a large serving bowl and top with shrimp and sauce mixture. Top with parmesan cheese and chopped basil.

Gluten Free Cheddar Bay Biscuits

What you Need 

(double as necessary... this made 5 biscuits)

1 cup Bob's Gluten Free Pancake Mix (or any gluten free pancake mix)

1 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp. melted butter

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. parsley

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375. 

2. Mix together pancake mix, cheese, water. Drop biscuits onto cookie sheet. Place in oven. 

3. Melt butter and mix in seasonings. 

4. After 5 minutes, take out biscuits and pour mixture evenly over biscuits. Bake an additional 6 minutes or so until biscuits are done. 

Parmesan Asparagus

What you need

15-20 spears of asparagus

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tbsp. grated parmesan

1 tsp. minced garlic

What you do

1. Heat olive oil in pan over low heat

2. Add garlic to oil

3. Add asparagus, turning every couple of minutes

4. Season asparagus with salt and pepper and cook until tender

5. Toss with parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Serve. 

Everything was delicious. Like I said, I could not believe how much the biscuits rose and how similar they were to regular biscuits. They were great. The meal was rich but it was for a special occasion. I'm not sure I'd make this one regularly, but it was definitely great and Scott loved it. The angel hair was excellent. I could not even tell the difference.