GF Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I adapted this recipe from my friend Tania. I am not a big fan of pumpkin flavored things, but this is a hit with me. More chocolate and spice comes out instead of the pumpkin flavor. Most importantly, these cookies are super soft and moist.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ C butter

1 C brown sugar

1 egg

1 C canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

2 C Rice Flour

1 tsp GF baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

chocolate chips

Cream butter & sugar, add egg, pumpkin & vanilla.Then add all dry ingredients, then choc chips.Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. (They're best a little underbaked, so they are still really soft.)

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti Pie

1 (8oz) box gluten free spaghetti

1 Tbsp margarine

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 lb ground turkey or beef

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 (15 oz) container Ricotta cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

Cook the spaghetti as directed, and drain. Return to saucepan and add margarine, stirring until it melts. Add the egg and Parmesan cheese, stirring well.

In a large skillet, brown ground turkey with the onion, pepper, and garlic, cooking until the meat is browned. Drain the fat and add the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Heat on low.

Spray a 2 qt casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Press the spaghetti mixture on bottom and up the sides to form a crust. Spread the ricotta over the spaghetti. Add the meat mixture over the ricotta. Sprinkle with mozzarella.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I've been wanting to make this forever, and was very happy with how it turned out (although the picture doesn't do it justice, we ate late that night). The sauce wasn't too runny but still had a ton of flavor, and the ricotta made me feel like I was eating lasagna, which I love. I guess you could use cottage cheese, but why? The tricky part is forming the spaghetti mixture into a crust. Don't feel like you can't break noodles, they aren't supposed to be long. And it doesn't have to look pretty, it just needs to do the job of holding the filling. Mmmmmm, this one's good. I give credit to my Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, from which I adapted this recipe.

Guest Chef: Lindsey Johnson on Summer Beans

Photo, recipe, and post by Lindsey Johnson at Just Recipes.

Summer Beans

Tomatoes--can use fresh (5-6 large tomatoes) or canned (2 small cans or 1 large)

4-5 Yukon Gold potatoes (or other waxy potato), sliced into 1/4" rounds

1 bag frozen green beans (I like the Haricot Verts from Trader Joe's)

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced or sliced (whatever you like)

Salt and pepper

Drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil. Cook sliced potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic in a large pot until you can pierce the potatoes easily with the tip of a knife--so there is still some resistance, but the potatoes aren't mushy.Remove the potatoes and tomatoes to a large bowl.

Steam the green beans in the same pan you used to cook the potatoes and tomatoes. Add the cooked green beans to the bowl with the potatoes and tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve:My husband likes a splash of balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce. I like a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.

Typo-Soooooo Sorry!

It's a little embarassing when we mess up around here, but it does happen. The Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice recipe calls for 1/3 cup soy sauce instead of the 2/3 that I wrote. I apologize for the mistake. Really apologize. Thanks to Kacey for taking the time to ask.

Guest Chef: Lindsey Johnson on Salad & Dressing

Recipe, post, and photo by Lindsey Johnson of Just Recipes.

Spinach Salad with Pork, Avocado and Oranges

1 bag baby spinach

1 (not overly) ripe avocado, sliced and cut into chunks

2-3 oranges, peeled, segmented

2-3 green onions, thinly sliced--white and green parts

1/2 sliced, toasted almonds

sliced olives

shredded pork (you can also use chicken)**

Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing (recipe below)

Toss all the ingredients together and serve with the dressing. Serves 2-4.

**To prepare the pork:

I like to use my crock-pot for slow cooking pork roasts. This was a very lean pork loin roast. I seasoned it well with salt and pepper and seared it in a very hot cast iron skillet. I cooked the roast on high for a few hours to get it going and then turned it to low for about4 or 5 more hours. Because it didn't have a ton of fat, I also added a bit of water.I let the pork cool a bit and then shredded it with two forks. This makes more than enough for the salad. You will have some leftover. Use in tacos or add some BBQ sauce.

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Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing

1 cup low fat buttermilk

2-3 Tbsp. light mayonnaise

1/2 cup tomatillo salsa

1 small bunch of cilantro (to taste....)

juice 1/2 a lime

freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix

Puree in a food processor or blender

Guest Chef: Adriana Velez on Pad Thai

Pineapple Pad Thai

Recipe, post and photo by Adriana Velez of What I Made for Dinner.

1 package rice noodles

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

broccoli, chopped and lightly steamed

1 fresh pineapple or 1 can of pineapple rings, cut into 1" cubes

1 pound pork loin or tofu cut into 1" cubes

1/2 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup chopped salted peanuts

1 bunch mint, chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges

1. Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for 1 hour. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the tamarind paste, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice and 1/4 cup water; set aside.

2. Drain the noodles. Set a wok over high heat for 1 minute, then add the oil and heat until almost smoking. Add the garlic and ginger; saute for 30 seconds. Add the pork and saute until almost cooked through, 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. [Skip this step if you're using tofu.]

3. Add the noodles and stir-fry for 1 minute. Pour in three-quarters of the tamarind sauce and toss to coat the noodles. Add more sauce if needed. Cook until the noodles are al dente, then push them to one side of the wok and scramble the eggs in the remaining space. Add the protein whatever, broccoli, pineapple, and half the peanuts. Toss to mix. Divide among plates and garnish with the remaining peanuts, the mint, and lime wedges.

gift basket

This was a unique gift basket we recieved that The Celiac can also enjoy!

It came from Edible Arrangements.

Guest Chef: Lindsey Johnson on Clam Chowder

Market Street Clam Chowder (a modified version)

Recipe, post, and photo by Lindsey Johnson of Just Recipes.

(Serves 12)

3-4 potatoes, cut into 1/2" dice
2 green peppers, cut into 1/2" dice
2 small onions, 1/2"dice
4 stalks of celery, 1/2" dice3 or 4 leeks, cut into 1/2" dice** (see note)
3, 6.5 oz. cans of chopped clams plus the juice
3/4 Tbsp. fresh coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. kosher salt
6-7 stalks of fresh thyme
3-6 bay leaves
a couple of shakes of Tabasco sauce
4 cups water
1 stick butter
3/4 cup [rice] flour
1 cup heavy cream
about 5-6 cups milk

Add all the vegetables, clams, clam juice, salt and pepper, thyme, bay leaves, Tabasco and water to a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then lower the temperature to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to mix. Cook the mixture over a very low heat for about 3 minutes. But be careful that it doesn't brown. Set aside until ready to use.

When the potatoes are tender, remove the pot from the heat and add the butter/flour mixture to the stockpot. Stir well. The soup will get thick like cookie dough. Slowly add the milk and cream while stirring constantly until it reaches the consistency you want. More milk for a thinner broth, less milk for a thicker one. Taste and adjust salt and pepper and Tabasco according to your taste. When ready to serve, put the pot back on the stove and heat to serving temperature. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stalks before serving.

Serve with [GF] crackers, [GF] bread, or all by itself.

**Make sure you wash the leeks very well. They tend to be very dirty because of the soil they are grown in. I cut them in half vertically and into thin slices, then I wash them well under running water in a colander.

Guest Chef: Lindsey Johnson on Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Bacon-wrapped Pork Tenderloin

Recipe, post, and photo by Lindsey Johnson of Just Recipes.

2 pork tenderloins, about 1 lb. each

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp dried thyme

12 slices (more of less) bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a jelly-roll pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.Trim the fat and silver skin from the pork tenderloins. Dry off the surface of the tenderloins with a paper towel.

Mix together: pepper, garlic and onion powder, and thyme. Rub the surface of the tenderloins with the spice mixture. You may also need to even up the ends by tucking the thin part underneath, but you won't need twine, the bacon will help hold it just fine.Begin at the end and wrap the bacon around each tenderloin at a slight angle--overlapping and layering each strip to completely cover the tenderloin.

Roast for about 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 150 to 160 degrees. Any higher and the tenderloin will be overcooked. You want the center to be slightly pink, but not raw. Let the tenderloins rest for a few minutes before serving. To serve, cut into 1-2" slices.If you aren't on a diet, drizzle the tenderloin slices with the rendered fat and juices. YUM.

**I used regular bacon. Usually I buy uncured, nitrite-free bacon. It is thicker cut and has better flavor. I think that bacon would be better in this recipe. But, regular bacon was delicious, too.

Chicken and Rice, Spanish Style

Spanish Chicken and Rice

1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded
2 Tbsp oil
1 1/2 cup rice
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 (16 oz) can stewed tomatoes, Mexican style
1 (15 oz) pinto beans, undrained
1 tsp Italian seasoning

In a large electric skillet, heat oil. Add uncooked rice and onion. Saute and stir until onion is tender and rice is golden, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken, garlic salt, tomatoes, beans and Italian seasoning. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes, checking periodically to make sure the rice hasn't gone dry. If it is starting to stick to the pan, add more water, 1/2 cup at a time.

I know Liz posted a recipe similar to this a while back. This is basically the same, only we add chicken. And no olives. Because we aren't olive-eaters in our house. Except olive oil. Which we love.
I've used a can of diced tomatoes before, which is good as well. In fact, this recipe is basically foolproof. Add more or less garlic, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, pretty much any item, and it will still turn out. The only tricky part is the broth. Make sure your rice doesn't get dry as it cooks. Because not only will it not cook thoroughly, it will most likely burn. Which is yucky. So keep an eye out, lifting that lid every 5 minutes or so and you'll have a hearty meal in about half an hour.

Guest Chef: Lindsey Johnson on Chocolate Mousse

Cream Cheese Chocolate Mousse

Recipe, post and photo by Lindsey Johnson of Just Recipes.

I hesitate to share this recipe because I don't use really use a set recipe. I was playing around trying to copy a chocolate mousse one of my friends had made as a filling for cream puffs--not the traditional pastry cream. So, be aware that these measurements are a rough estimate. However, I don't think it's too difficult to mess this up. You can vary the ingredients to your own taste.

8 ounces cream cheese (don't use fat-free, but 1/3 less fat will also work)

4-6 ounces good bittersweet chocolate (I use Trader Joe's Pound Plus)

1/2 cup powdered sugar (more or less depending on how sweet you like it)

1/2-1 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar until well blended and smooth. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 50% power in 15 to 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. Don't over heat or the chocolate will burn.Let the chocolate cool slightly and add to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until well combined. It will get very thick. At this point add the heavy cream. Continue beating until the mousse reaches the consistency you want--somewhere between a thick icing and whipped cream. If it starts to get too thick, stop beating and use a spatula to fold in a little more cream to thin it out.It makes enough to fill a three layer cake--two layers of mousse between three layers of cake.

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Liz suggests adding this mousse to the GF crepes or any GF chocolate cake/ brownie recipe previously posted here at kill.the.gluten.

Baby Back Ribs

Pork Baby Back Ribs

1 package pork baby back ribs

1 bottle barbecue sauce (I use Baby Ray's Original)

Cut ribs into sections, about 2-3 ribs per section. Place in a large stockpot. Cover with water by a couple of inches. Add about 1 cup barbecue sauce to the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer until tender, about 1-2 hours. Remove from pot while someone else fires up the grill. Place ribs on grill and slather with remaining barbecue sauce. Grill for about 10 minutes.

This is quite simply the easiest recipe ever. I've seen many rib recipes that require rubs or indirect grilling or other labor intensive requirements. I'm not a labor intensive kind of girl. You just boil and grill. Easy.

If, say, you don't have a grill, I'm sure you could baste them with barbecue sauce and stick them in the oven for a while to let the sauce caramelize. I've never tried it, but I'm assuming you would get similar results.

This one's for you Liz.

gravy

Gluten-Free Gravy

I found these packets of GF gravy at a health food store several months ago and forgot about them until tonight. We tried the shitake flavor and it was AWESOME. I am sad we didn't partake of its goodness earlier.

It's made by the company Road's End Organics. Looks like you can order on-line from them not only the gravy, but other GF products as well. They also list retailers that carry their products and have a store locator feature.

Sorry, my camera ate the photos I took of the actual gravy on top of mashed potatoes. Yes, it's THAT tasty even my camera can't resist.

****

This will be my final personal post for a while, I get induced to have my baby tomorrow. Enjoy our guest chefs replacing me! And catch some sleep for me, will ya?!

Deviled Eggs

This is my mother's recipe. It's just not summer without deviled eggs.

Gluten-Free Deviled Eggs

6 hard boiled eggs

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/8 teaspoon salt

dash pepper

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

green olives with pimento, sliced

paprika (optional)

Mix egg yolks (discard one) with next 5 ingredients. Refill egg halves. Top with olives and paprika.

Homemade Gluten Free Brownies

The Best Homemade Gluten Free Brownie Recipe

(as per my humble opinion)

2 sticks butter, melted

3/4 cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup gluten free flour mixture

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk cocoa into melted butter. Stir in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each. Stir in vanilla. Add flour, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.

Grease the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Pour in batter. Bake for 25-35 minutes.

Alright, these are seriously so good and gooey and chocolaty. I've had this recipe for years and it works perfectly gluten free because there is hardly any flour in it at all. The top comes out flaky, just like real brownies and they taste, well, you'll just have to make them to find out.

For the flour mixture I mix together Bette Hagman's blend of 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch flour, and 1/3 cup tapioca flour. I then measure out the 1 cup that I need for the recipe. Could you use all rice flour? Maybe, but I've never tried it.

The trick to making brownies that are really good is to not over beat the batter after the flour is added, just like when you're making pancakes. Stir only as much as necessary. I don't use a mixer for that reason.

Why the difference in the baking times? Because the recipe I have calls for only 25 minutes, but I always cook them for at least 30, sometimes longer. I can tell they are done when the edges look crusty and the center is set. I then let them stand on the counter for half an hour before digging in, to let them finish setting. They will fall apart when they are still warm, so if you have a problem with that, stick the pan in the fridge. But I personally love hot brownies that fall apart. Yummy.

Spinach Lasagna

We have declared in my home that my husband will be the permanent lasagna maker, his turned out so well. He included a layer of spinach and layered it differently than the recipe I posted here.

Here are his suggestions on layering, list begins with bottom layer:



sauce/sausage mixture

noodles

spinach

ricotta cheese

noodles

sauce/ sausage mixture

mozzarella

Pantry Beef Casserole

I saw this recipe and haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. I finally made it tonight and it's super yum. So thanks, Gluten-Free Mommy! Below is her delicious recipe and check out her blog, her photo of this meal is much more appealing.

PANTRY BEEF CASSEROLE

1 lb. gr. beef, gr. turkey, or soy crumbles
1 onion
1/2 green pepper
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
28 oz. can Muir Glen crushed tomatoes w/ basil
12 oz bag of Tinkyada rice penne
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
salt to taste
red pepper to taste
pinch of sugar
3 oz. mozzarella
5-6 oz. mild cheddar

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to boil to cook the penne. Brown the gr. beef. Drain the excess fat. Add the vegetables and cook for about 8 minutes or until tender. Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, red pepper, and oregano. Simmer for 15 minutes. While the sauce is simmering, cook the penne and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the sauce and penne noodles are done, layer them in a 3 qt. casserole dish. Start with 1/2 the sauce, then all of the noodles, then a layer of cheddar cheese, then the rest of the sauce, and top with cheddar cheese and mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes.

Chicken Alfredo with Pasta

Once again, dinner from a packet. Do I not like to make homemade? No, it's just that sometimes, I need dinner on the table fast, like before my smallest darlings die of starvation. So this is what I turn to.

I called McCormick about this one. Once again I got the "If it doesn't state gluten on the package, it has no gluten in it" answer that I always get from them. Basically it means, always read the back, because you never know if it might say wheat on it.
See, no wheat. But always check, because one time one package did say wheat, and I was sad. By the way, I always use 2 packages, but that's cuz I like things saucy. Ask anyone.

Gluten Free Chicken Alfredo with Pasta


1 package McCormick Creamy Garlic Alfredo packet
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup milk
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1/2 package gluten free pasta, cooked


In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the milk and the Alfredo packet and whisk. Cook over medium low heat until boiling. Simmer for 2 minutes and remove from heat.
Layer pasta, chicken and sauce on a plate. Enjoy the fact that you have successfully made dinner in about 20 minutes.

So for the pasta, I used Mrs. Leepers corn spirals, because that's what I had. Feel free to use a more traditional fettuccine type. Also, I tried both layering on the plate and tossing the sauce with the pasta and I must endorse, layering on the plate. The pasta just absorbs all the sauce when tossed together, and we all know I like my food to be saucy.

Creamed Peas

Gluten-Free Creamed Peas

This is a family recipe from my mother-in-law.

2 T margarine

2 T rice flour

1 cup milk

peas, frozen or canned

garlic salt

Melt margarine in sauce pan. Add flour and cook 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk until a cream-like texture. Add peas and garlic salt.

I do not like peas, never have. THIS recipe had me going back for seconds! Food in photo made by my husband, the true chef of my family.

Gluten Free Pad Thai

This is a staple at our house.

My kids call it noodles with chicken.

See how it serves two? That means we use 2 boxes.
See how it says right there on the package "Gluten-Free"? We love that.

And we love Thai Kitchen, as most of their products are, in fact, gluten free.

Gluten Free Pad Thai
(from a box)

1 box Original Pad Thai
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin
3 Tbsp oil
1 egg, scrambled
2 green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 lime
2 Tbsp peanuts, coarsely chopped

Boil 3 cups water. Add the noodles and remove from heat. Let the noodles soak for about 5 minutes, and then run under cold water.
In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil. Add egg and cook until done. Remove the egg from the skillet. Add the other 2 Tbsp oil and heat. Add the chicken to the skillet, cooking until just done, about 3-5 minutes. Add the noodles and the sauce packet. Stir fry for a few minutes, or until the noodles are done, adding water if necessary to keep them from sticking to the skillet.
Add the egg, green onions, cilantro, and squeeze the juice from the lime over the top. Stir for 1 minute and remove from heat.
Garnish with peanuts.

Guest Chef: Adriana Velez Intro

Hello Again Readers!

I want to take another quick moment to prepare you for the second featured chef to cover some recipes when I go on Blogger's Maternity Leave.

The fabulous New Yorker Adriana Velez (in above photo with son, Jasper) who runs the site What I Made for Dinner will grace your eyes. She has a keen awareness of seasonal vegetables, healthy alternatives and creative hands at combining all sorts of flavors together. Her site is not exclusively on gluten-free foods, so I have pre-selected some of her posts that happen to be gluten-free. Keep an eye on her site as she will be have a featured article in Cookie soon!

Thanks for reading and eating,
Liz

Gluten-Free Cereal

Gluten-Free Cereal Round-up

We love the emails we get thanking us for this site. We also love the tips on new GF products and questions that come our way. One recent question came from Lindsay. She asked about cereal options of the gluten-free variety and where to get them. Here is what we have tried in our home.

1) Barbara's Bakery brand makes Puffins Cereal and Corn Flakes


2) EnviroKidz makes Peanut Butter Panda Puffs, Koala Crisp, and Gorilla Munch



3) Post makes Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles



As for where to get these cereal options, it depends on where you live. When my husband was first diagnosed we lived in Brooklyn, NY. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's were not options for me, so I had to think outside of my routine and found many health food stores carried a great variety. As I have moved to the suburbs, I am finding organic or health food sections of regular grocery chains have started to carry gluten-free foods such as cereal. The internet is a great tool to assist you in your search for local (or neighboring town) health food stores or seeking a product's availability for ordering on-line, such as Amazon.com!



Do YOU have any cereal suggestions to add to our list?! Please share the love!


*photos from amazon.com

Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

(from my Betty Crocker Cookbook)

1 fully cooked ham

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp vinegar

1/2 tsp ground mustard (dry)

Place ham in a shallow baking dish. Bake at 325 until hot, mine was about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix other ingredients. Remove ham from oven and carefully pat on brown sugar mixture. Return to oven and bake an additional 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

This is one recipe my kids actually get really excited about. And why wouldn't they, I'm covering a ham with lots of brown sugar. Seriously good. Seriously. The glaze is so yummy and sweet which pairs perfectly with the salty ham. I buy the little mini-hams and we usually don't have leftovers. I need to stock up around Easter when the big hams are cheap because I like leftovers.

Cream Cheese Chicken

Cream Cheese Chicken

4-6 chicken breasts

1 can GF cream of chicken soup (mix with rice flour to thicken)*

1 can chopped mushrooms

8oz cream cheese

1 pack Kraft Italian Seasoning Dressing Mix (company confirmed it's GF)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients into crock pot for 6-8 hours on low. Serve over rice or baked potatoes. Goes well with a side of broccoli. I love how the chicken is so tender it could be easily shredded if you wish. My toddler doesn't like rice or potato, so he just ate it in a bowl with only the chicken and liquid. He called it 'yummy soup' and loved it.

*this was my first time using the GF can of cream of chicken soup for this recipe and it turned out to be more runny than usual. Next time I will boil the soup first and add rice flour to thicken it up before adding it to the crock pot.

Au Gratin Potatoes

Au Gratin Potatoes

(or Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes)

2 lbs russet potatoes, about 6 medium sized

1/4 cup margarine or butter

1/4 cup dried minced onion

1 Tbsp rice flour

1 tsp salt

Fresh ground pepper

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheese, cheddar or cheddar jack

Prepare your potatoes by peeling them, and then slicing thin. Rinse the sliced potatoes with cold water and spread into a 9x13 pan.

In a saucepan, melt the margarine. Add the dried minced onion, flour, salt, and pepper and cook until bubbly, about 1 minute. Add the milk and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese. Stirring constantly, heat until boiling. Stir and boil for 1 minute.

Pour cheese sauce over potatoes. Bake in a 375 oven for 1 hour. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and bake another 10 minutes.

Seriously, this is so good. Use a food processor with a slicer attachment to slice the potatoes, and you'll save 3 hours, or at least it'll seem like that long if you slice by hand. Of course you can use fresh onion, but in a dish like this, I don't think it makes much of a difference. Plus, I really don't like dicing onions, so if I can get out of it, I will. Whatever you do, don't skimp on the cheese. Don't think, "well I'm trying to watch my weight so I'll only use half the cheese", because you'll end up with a runny mess. Trust me, I've tried it. Use all cheese as directed. And don't worry too much if it blackens a little around the edges. It will still taste good on the inside and we all know that it's what's on the inside that counts.

Baked Beans

These are awesome baked beans Melanie makes in the crock pot, she made these while she was visiting me this summer. The recipe came from her grandmother's cookbook.

Gluten-Free Baked Beans

1 lb. bacon, cut in 1/2 inch wide strips
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups BBQ sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 T chili powder
1/4 cup worchestershire
1 family size can of pork and beans
1 T mustard
optional: 1lb pork sausage or 1 lb diced pork roast

Combine and simmer at least 4 hours.

Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice

Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice

Rice:

1 cup water

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup rice

Place all ingredients in a large pot and stir to break up coconut milk. Place lid on at an angle and turn on stove to medium. Once it's simmering, lower heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, checking to make sure it doesn't run dry, and adding water if it does.

Pineapple chicken:

2 Tbsp oil

1 1/2 lb chicken tenders

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 cup rice flour

1 cup water

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 Tbsp lime juice

2 Tbsp coconut milk

Pineapple chunks, drained

Bell pepper strips

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Rinse and pat dry chicken. In a shallow dish mix garlic salt and rice flour. Coat the chicken tenders in the flour mixture and place in the hot skillet. Cook for 2 minutes and flip, cooking another 2 minutes. Meanwhile, combine water, honey, soy sauce, lime juice, and coconut milk. Pour over chicken, cover and simmer on low for 10 minutes. Serve over coconut rice with pineapple chunks and bell pepper strips.

I found a recipe similar to this only it called for 3/4 cup of honey. I used that much in mine, and oh my, was it sweet! Start with 1/3 cup and add more later, if you so desire. This recipe was quite simple to make and tastes similar to terriyaki chicken. You can add the bell pepper strips to the sauce, but I don't like soggy bell peppers personally, so pouring sauce over the top works for me. The sauce thickens as it cools and gets pretty sticky, which I think is pretty yummy. If you already have a fav terriyaki chicken recipe, then try it with coconut rice. I am a big fan of coconut milk. Loooove it. It gives rice a ton of flavor. But you should like coconut. And rice.

Ice Cream Cake

Gluten-Free Ice Cream Cake

1/2 gallon of ice cream (I prefer mint chocolate chip)

1 and 1/2 boxes of GF crushed chocolate cookies (Pamela's seem most accessable)

2 tablespoons melted butter

Stir melted butter and crushed cookies in a bowl. Spread in bottom of caserole dish, pack firmly with hands. Scoop softened ice cream on top. Once soft enough, spread evenly by pressing down and then over with the back of a spatula. Cover with tin foil and freeze until desired firmness of ice cream.

You may wish to top with cool whip and more crumbled cookies.

Guest Chef: Lindsey Johnson Intro

Hello Readers!

I want to take a quick moment to prepare you for some slight changes that will be temporarily happening here at kill.the.gluten. Within the next month or so I will be having a bouncing baby boy, in fact, it could happen ANY DAY NOW. Needless to say, I won't be doing a whole lot of cooking once he gets here. Melanie's awesome posts, however, will resume as usual.

Instead of seeing recipes from my kitchen, I will be posting gluten-free recipes from other kitchens twice a week. The first featured chef will be my best friend Lindsey Johnson (in above photo). She runs the fabulous site Just Recipes with many delicious recipes and photos. Although her site is not exclusively on gluten-free foods, I have pre-selected some of her posts that happen to be gluten-free. She is, however, working on labeling her select archives as GF, so go ahead and check it out.

Get ready to welcome Lindsey ANY TIME NOW.....until then, we will have our regularly scheduled programming with a yummy dessert for me to post later today.

Thanks for reading and eating,

Liz

Knorr Vegetable Dip

Knorr Vegetable Dip is Gluten Free!

1 package Knorr vegetable soup mix

16 oz sour cream

1 cup mayo

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained well

3 green onions, chopped (optional)

1 can water chestnuts, drained and chopped (optional)

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate for 2 hours to blend flavors.

Okay, so I totally cheated on this one. Obviously it's not my picture. I borrowed this from the Knorr website. But I actually did make it this dip this weekend, I was just too busy entertaining to take a picture. It was delicious with snow peas, cherry tomatoes, red and green peppers, and baby carrots. So delicious that before I knew it, it was all gone. But all the other people at the party thought it was fabulous as well. This is so easy even my children could make it. But I bet they wouldn't forget to take a picture.

GF Crepes

I have a long list of things I want to learn to make this year and crepes is listed among many others items. Book of Yum made some beautiful crepes this week and inspired me to dust off my mom's regular recipe and try it out GF style.

Gluten-Free Crepes

1 cup rice flour
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbls butter, melted

Combined sifted flour, sugar, and salt. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add enough milk to make a thin batter (I used the whole cup). Beat until smooth. Stir in melted butter. Pour some batter into a lightly greased skillet and flip once top begins to bubble. Fill with fruit and whippped cream/ heated chocolate or spread with jam and roll up. No matter how you fill it, be sure to sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

Chicken Noodle Soup

We had a chilly couple of days in the East Bay at the beginning of the week, so I was able to throw my whole chicken into the crock pot and make delicious soup!

GF Chicken Noodle Soup

whole chicken (cooked and shredded) or 4 cooked chicken breasts, cubed

4 cups water (add 2 cups chicken broth if you do not have stock from the crock pot)

4 GF chicken bullion cubes

GF elbow noodles (we only use half of the bag)

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 large carrots, chopped

2 zucchini, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

salt to taste

pepper to taste

parsley would be a nice addition, but I seem to never have that on hand!

Cook whole chicken in crock pot filled with water on low 6-8 hours. Strain the liquid into stock pot and chicken will fall off of the bones for you to easily remove and place into stock pot, cook on medium heat. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil and until noodles are cooked, but not soggy*.

* I prefer to cook and keep the noodles separate so when I store leftovers (alone and dry) they do not fall apart and become as soggy.

Ro*tel King Ranch Chicken

Rotel King Ranch Chicken

(otherwise known as Gluten Free Chicken Enchiladas)

1/4 cup margarine

1 small onion, diced

1 small bell pepper, diced

2 cups water

1/4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup dry milk powder

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 cans Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese
12 corn tortillas

In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the onion and bell pepper and saute for a few minutes until tender. Add the water, rice flour, dry milk, and bouillon cube. Stir well and cook until slightly thickened. Add the Rotel and chicken and stir. Remove from heat.
In a 9x13 pan, spoon a little sauce on the bottom. Layer 4 corn tortillas, 1/3 sauce, and cheese. Repeat 2 more times.
Bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

I love this version of chicken enchiladas. The tomatoes and chiles give it a different flavor, plus add a little zip. Seriously, everyone loves this recipe.
In the regular recipe found here, they use cream of chicken soup, but that is why we use the rice flour, dry milk and bouillon. It's a homemade version of the canned stuff. They also only use 1 can of Rotel, but I like 2. I don't know why, I just do.
Do you love my styrofoam plate? We're all about the high class here at kill.the.gluten.

Breadless Sandwich

Today's post is brought to you by a lazy wife who doen't get GF bread for her celiac husband very often. One Saturday lunch tradition has become the breadless sandwich. I find Provolone cheese, sliced thick from the deli, a nice holder for typical sandwich fixings.

Load each slice of cheese with mayo, spicy mustard, pepper and salt to taste. Pile on meat (roast beef in this shot), tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce. You could also polish if off by wrapping the whole thing in lettuce. I find that three of these 'sandwiches' fill my celiac husband the way a normal lunch should.

Jambalaya

Spicy Jambalaya

1 package hot Italian turkey sausages (I used Jennie-O and they come 5 to a package)

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 large stalk celery, diced

1 cup long grain rice

1 (20 oz) can stewed tomatoes, Mexican style

2 1/2 cups water

1 bouillon cube (I used Knorr)

1/2 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp red pepper

Coat a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium high heat for 1 minute. Place sausages in the skillet and cover. Cook for 14 minutes. Remove sausages from skillet.

In the same skillet, add the bell pepper, onion, celery, and rice. Saute these in the sausage juices for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, water, bouillon, thyme, bay leaf, and red pepper. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, adding more water if it starts to dry out.

Meanwhile, slice the sausages. After the rice mixture has cooked, add the sausages, stir, cover and cook for a few more minutes, until hot.

My mother-in-law makes a fabulous jambalaya with her leftover Easter ham every year. I didn't have ham, but the sausages were just as good, perhaps better because it added a little more zing (but don't tell her). This dish was super simple. You could add just about any meat you so desired; shrimp, ham, pork, chicken would all be good. If you go for one of those, make sure to add a little oil to the pan before you saute the veggies and rice. Check periodically on the rice as it cooks to make sure it doesn't dry out, or else you'll be left with burned rice and that is not good at all.

Skillet Lasagna

Gluten Free Skillet Lasagna

1 lb ground beef or turkey

1/2 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 jar spaghetti sauce, gluten free of course

1 (8 oz) box spiral shaped pasta, gluten free

2 1/2 cups water

1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large ovenproof skillet, brown beef, onion, and garlic. Drain fat. Add to skillet spaghetti sauce and heat for 2-3 minutes. Add pasta and water, stir and cover. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking for pasta doneness (It should be mostly done). Meanwhile, mix ricotta and Parmesan cheese.

Remove skillet from heat. Dollop the ricotta mixture on top of the pasta, creating little mounds. Sprinkle mozzarella over the top. Place the skillet in the oven and cook at 350 for 5-8 minutes, or until mozzarella cheese is melted.

I wanted lasagna the other night but didn't have lasagna noodles, hence my skillet creation. Just like gluten free lasagna, there is no precooking of the noodles. Don't worry about your sauce being runny from all the water, as it thickens when the pasta is cooked in it. Make sure to check the pasta often, so as not to overcook it. I made sure my pasta was still a little al dente when I added the cheese, because it continues to cook in the oven. I love ricotta, but I'm sure you could use cottage cheese as well. This made great leftovers, by the way.