Gluten Free CHINESE!!

Since we have both gone gluten free Steve has complained over and over again that he misses Chinese food.  And by Chinese food he didn't mean soy sauce and rice and veggies, he meant noodles and breaded chicken orange chicken.  I was waiting at the doctors office a couple weeks ago and was looking through a health magazine when I found a Vegetable Lo Mein recipe!

Gluten-Free Vegetable Lo Mein

8 ounces gluten free spaghetti
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy free soy sauce (I use San-J Tamari)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon oil
16 ounces mix stir fry veggies (I bought fresh peppers and broccoli and onions and sliced them up)
2 cups mung sprouts (optional)
3 scallions, chopped (I left these out)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
Pinch of salt

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta.  Drain and set aside.  In a bowl combine broth, soy sauce, and honey, whisking to dissolve.  Add cornstarch and whisk well.  Stir in red pepper flakes and set aside. (I made extra sauce since we like our pasta saucy)
2. Heat a nonstick wok over high heat and add oil, heating until almost smoking.  Add veggies, sprouts, and scallions and cook 2 minutes.  Add garlic and ginger and saute for 2 minutes.  Toss in pasta, then sprinkle with salt and cook until heated through. 
3. Add broth mixture and simmer, stirring often, for 4 minutes until sauce has thickened.

I also made gluten free orange chicken.  I do not have a good recipe for this yet, still in the trial and error phase.  I used Applegate gluten free chicken nuggets and San-J gluten free orange sauce.  I precooked the nuggets and then added both the nuggets and sauce, with a couple small cloves of minced garlic, in the crock pot but the sauce became to thick and started to burn so we had to add water.  It turned out fine, but not great! 

 Enjoy!
Bry

A New Start!

Wow!  It has been a year since my last post.  So much has happened this past year.  First I finished school and am now working.  I am working in childcare at a few different places.  I work in a church nursery, as a part time nanny and over see a childcare at a wonderful dance studio called Diva Den Studio.  I am also in the process of planning a wedding.  Meaning right now my life includes working, wedding planning, and keeping my fiance happy with delicious gluten free meals. 

 

Steve and I have been working to be healthy.  Especially with our diets.  I am extremely proud of Steve, who has been gluten free for 11 months and is currently at his lowest weight in years!  These two recipes are a couple of our favorites. 

I heard about wedge salads a few months ago and I have loved making them.  They are gorgeous and add a new flare to a regular salad!  What is great about salads is there is no real "recipe".  Be creative!

 What you need:

• a head of ice berg lettuce (cut into fourths)
• salad toppings
• favorite dressing

Pull the core out of the lettuce and wash it.  Cut into fourths and pull out a little bit of the middle pieces and cover with toppings.  This was Steve's salad so it has cheese, bacon, hard boiled eggs.  I usually add shredded chicken.  You can also add veggies and seeds.  Then add some of your favorite dressing.  A fork and knife is definitely needed to eat this delicious meal.  

Yes those are cookies in the background!  On rare occasions I will buy a package of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free chocolate chip cookies!  YUMMY!


This next meal is definitely not one you would consider "healthy", but it is a treat in our house.  Like many Americans I enjoy a nice bowl of mac and cheese.  Unfortunately when you are gluten free mac and cheese is way to expensive!  No way I am spending $5 for a small box of macaroni.  I found this very gluten full recipe of macaroni and cheese on The Pioneer Woman.  With a few wonderful modifications I have made this a wonderful gluten free meal!

*This recipe makes a lot of macaroni!  I usually only make half the recipe or we eat left overs for a few days!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Dried Gluten Free Macaroni (I buy white rice elbow pasta in bulk at WINCO)
• 1 whole Egg Beaten
• 1/4 cup (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
• 1/4 cup All-purpose Gluten Free Flour (Bob's Red Mill or Pamela's both work wonderfully)
• 2-1/2 cups Milk
• 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
• 1 pound Cheese, Grated
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Preparation Instructions

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.
In a small bowl, beat egg.
In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.
Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.
Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
Add in cheese and stir to melt.
Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDER SALT.
Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.


Enjoy!

Bry

Tomato Brie Bow Tie Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) package bow tie pasta
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
• 1/2 pound Brie cheese, cubed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat tomatoes over medium-high heat. Bring to a slow boil and stir in cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low, and stir to melt cheese.
3. Toss pasta with tomato sauce and top with chopped basil before serving.

Lasagna Roll-ups

Spinach and Cheese Roll-ups
Speed up this recipe by using purchased marinara sauce. Servings: 4

• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 - 14.5 ounce can diced canned tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• Dash of salt
• Dash of black pepper
• 8 dried lasagna noodles
• 1 - 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 3/4 cup fat-free or reduced fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil
• 1 slightly beaten egg white
In a medium saucepan cook onion and garlic in hot oil until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Carefully stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until sauce is desired consistency, stirring occasionally.
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain well.
For filling, drain thawed spinach well, pressing out excess liquid. In a medium bowl stir together ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and bail. Add spinach and egg white, stirring to combine.
To assemble, evenly spread about 1/4 cup filling on each noodle Roll up from one end. Place two rolls, seam side down into each of four individual casseroles. Top each serving with sauce.
Bake casseroles, covered, in a 350 degree oven about 25 minutes or until heated through.

I love this dish, I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta, and I skip the first half of the recipe and use canned tomato sauce instead of making it.

Bry

Green Beans, Zucchini, Pasta and Chicken! Oh My!

Tonight I have 3 recipes I am going to post.  I love when the vegetables in peoples gardens turn ripe!  We had fresh green beans and zucchini tonight, both home grown! YUM!  The first recipe I made with fresh zucchini.

 Baked Zucchini Spears
 3 medium zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks
1 large egg white
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoon grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Kosher salt, Fresh ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 425°.
In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve a prepared pizza sauce for dipping. (We ate them plain)

The second side dish I got to use fresh green beans from a family friends garden.  I found a lightly flavored garlic recipe with almonds in it. 
Garlic Green Beans with Almonds
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and microwaved for 4 minutes
2 - 4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 - 1/4 cup water or chicken broth
Coarse sea salt, to taste
Pepper (to taste)
In a large pan over medium high heat, heat oil adding almonds and toss till for 1 minute add garlic to lightly brown add beans and water or broth cover for 5 minutes on low heat.
Season with salt and pepper.

I also found a garlic, lemon angel hair pasta dish.  I really enjoyed this dish and am deffinately adding it to my favorites.  It has a nice blend of lemon and garlic flavors. Lemon Garlic Angel Hair Pasta
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup chopped fresh tomato
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
As water is coming to a boil, place olive oil and garlic in a non stick sauté pan and cook over medium heat just until garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and pour in wine. Return to heat and cook on high heat for another 1 to 2 minutes until reduced by half. Stir in lemon juice and tomato and remove from heat.
Place pasta in the boiling water and cook to desired doneness, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Angel hair doesn't take long. Drain the pasta and put it into a warm serving bowl. Add the wine, garlic and tomato. Add the basil, Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Toss and serve immediately.

For the meat eaters in my family I cooked up some chicken.  To add a bit of flavor i poured some lemon juice on it before cooking it and then some in the pan while it cooked.   

 

I also heated up a loaf of warm sourdough to eat with the meal :)

~Bry