A different gluten free pasta/spaghetti recipe

This is another gluten free spaghetti recipe different (and dare I say more delicious?) than the one below. It also has more carbs in it (from the potatoes), so don't try it if you're watching your carbs :)

Ingredients (serves 5-6):

--One package of any type of gluten free noodle ~ the noodles in this picture are Fusilli brown rice noodles from Trader Joe's
--Potatoes chopped up, or if they're small enough, whole potatoes ~ the potatoes in the picture are Trader Joe's "Teeny Tiny Potatoes" and they're easy to use because you don't need to chop them up at all
--One bell pepper, chopped
--One tomato, chopped
--One can tomato sauce
--Two handfuls baby spinach
--One handful fresh basil, torn ~ optional but delicious

Instructions:

--Spray a cookie sheet with PAM or rub with olive oil and put the "Teeny Tiny Potatoes" on them in an oven set to 420 (no need to preheat)
--Start boiling a pot of water for the pasta noodles
--Once the water is ready, put the entire noodle package in the boiling water and follow the instructions on the package (the Fusilli Trader Joe's noodles are ~7 minutes with occasional stirring)
--Check on the potatoes from time to time and move them about with a spatula or long spoon
--Your noodles may be done before the potatoes ~ this is fine. Just strain the noodles in a colander and set aside. You're now ready to make the sauce.
--Using the same eye on the stove that you used for the pasta (because it's hot and therefore ready to go!), put a medium to large saucepan on the stove on medium/high and put the entire sauce bottle in it. Add the spinach, bell pepper, tomato, and basil. Mix together with a spoon and cover with a lid. Stir occasionally.
--Keep checking on your potatoes and keep stirring your sauce. They'll probably both be done right about the same time.
--Once everything is ready, put the noodles on the plate, then ladle the sauce onto the noodles, then the potatoes (the order doesn't really matter as long as the noodles go first)

Enjoy!

~Ellenor

Mom of the year? My gluten free double layer chocolate cake is not homemade! But it's delicious

So I broke mom and bakers law again... This cake is NOT homemade but it's a crowd-pleaser because it tastes and looks great. I was able to cook it and assemble it in my Aunt's home in Atlanta for Labor Day weekend without getting in her way and the cake received several compliments for how good it looked and how good it tasted. I won't go through all of the instructions here because those are on the boxes for the cake and the icing, but I do have lots of pictures below!

As for where to find the cake and icing, I recommend Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, or any regular grocery store. Lots of regular grocery stores are carrying the Betty Crocker gluten free yellow cake mix now, though the Whole Foods mixes still taste a bit better in my opinion. But can you really go wrong with a bunch of cake and icing and fruit? And then of course you must add some blueberries and raspberries on top for some decorative flair (or whatever you'd like to put on top). Serves 12+.

Step 1:
You're going to need to bake two cakes here because this is a DOUBLE layer cake, so get those baking pans out!

Step 2:
Take one of those cakes that you baked, trim the top of it off with a very large knife so that the top is flat and not arched, and put it on your fancy cake platter or whatever you're going to serve it on.

Step 3:

Spread icing over the top and sides of the first layer of cake.

Note: be sure to wipe off the extra icing from the platter before presenting it!

Step 4:

Place the second cake you baked on top of the first iced cake.

Step 5:

Spread more icing on top of the second cake, being sure to cover the top and sides. Clean off any excess icing on the platter again.

Step 6:

Now comes the fun part! Put berries on the top of the cake in a pattern. Below is a suggestion.

Enjoy!

~Ellenor

Goodbye-to-Summer Gluten Free & Casual Hot Dog & Veggie Dinner

Well, it's getting cooler down here in the South, so it's time to say goodbye to summer... But I'm not quite ready yet, so here's a delicious -- and quick! -- recipe for an end-of-summer vegetable "stir fry" and hot dog meal.

Vegetable "stir fry":

Ingredients:

~1 pkg Trader Joes Healthy 8 Chopped Veggie Mix
~balsamic vinegar, to taste
~lemon pepper seasoning, to taste
~1.5 TBSP butter

Instructions:

~Put saucepan on medium heat, and melt butter in the saucepan
~Put all of the other ingredients in the pan; cover; stir occasionally while the hot dogs are cooking; taste and add seasoning to your liking (this one's an easy one to change up each time as it suits you)

Hot dogs:

Ingredients:

~hot dogs of your choice
~gluten free hot dog buns (Kinnikinnicks is a good choice, available at Whole Foods, or Udi's, as always)
~your favorite toppings - we like relish, ketchup and mustard

Instructions:

~hot dogs are always better on the grill, but you can microwave if you must to save time
~for the hot dog buns, heat for 20 seconds in the microwave to make it so you can slice them before putting them in the toaster
~toast the hot dog buns just a few minutes before the hot dogs are finished cooking

Enjoy!

~Ellenor

Too easy gluten free spaghetti

So I hope my kids' friends moms aren't reading this, because this recipe is somewhat a cop-out (tomato sauce from a can!), but I'm adding it because it's a snap to make, especially on a weeknight when time is tight. It only takes as long to make as the noodles take to cook, which is about 20 minutes.

Ingredients (serves approximately five):

--One package of Tinkyada noodles, or any other gluten free noodle, but our family's favorite is Tinkyada
--One large can of tomato sauce
--One or two small cans of clams (optional)
--Fresh basil, or basil seasoning if you don't have fresh basil
--Chopped tomatoes (optional)

Instructions:

--Follow the noodle cooking instructions on the package
--While the noodles are cooking, chop the tomatoes and set aside
--When the noodles are about 6-8 minutes from being done, put everything else in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir occasionally and use a lid. Turn down to low.

Enjoy!

~Ellenor

Delicious Tomato Basil Marinated Chicken

This is one of the easier recipes to make and it also happens to taste delicious.

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

-6 chicken breasts
-6 tomatoes ~ cut into quarters
-3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-1 lemon ~ squeezed
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-1/3 cup basil leaves
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon pepper
-1/4 teaspoon shallots ~ optional

Instructions:

-Put all ingredients except the chicken into a blender ~ use the setting for "sauce" if your blender has one ~ until the mixture turns basically into a liquid.
-Put the sauce that you just made in the blender into a gallon-size freezer bag along with the chicken breasts.
-Put the bag into the refrigerator overnight ~ or at least 8 hours. If you're making the mixture the night before for dinner the following night, I advise turning the bag over in the morning so as to marinate the chicken breasts more easily.
-When ready to serve the chicken, put the chicken and the marinade in a pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.
-Turn the chicken over, then heat for 5 more minutes.

Enjoy!

~Ellenor

Gluten free margherita pizza

This one's one of our family's favorites. Ever since my youngest son was diagnosed with celiac disease, my family & I certainly miss delivery pizza. But when my hubby came home one day with a delicious Udi's crust from Whole Foods a couple of months ago we were smitten!

Ingredients:

-Pizza crust (Udi's is our favorite- crisp & delicious)
-Gluten free pizza sauce (Whole Foods also carries an excellent pizza sauce that's organic & gluten free)
-Shredded monterrey jack cheese ~ of course, for authentic margherita pizza, you'd use slices of mozzarella scattered around the entire pie
-sliced roma tomatoes
-basil ~ we use real basil sprigs plus basil flakes from a jar
-red pepper flakes
-goat cheese ~ optional
-ground hamburger beef for 'sausage' ~ optional

Instructions:

This one's pretty self-explanatory. Follow the instructions on the pizza crust. The Udi's instructions, for example, just have you top the pizza with all of your desired ingredients and then bake it for 6-8 minutes or so.

Note: We like to add crumbles of goat cheese. Also if you're feeling adventurous, you can crumble beef from hamburger meat in a skillet on medium/high for several minutes, stirring continuously to even out the cooking of the beef. Do this while the pizza is cooking and add to the top of the pizza when the pizza only has a couple of minutes left to cook.

Bearnaise Sauce ~ To Accompany The Real Deal Filets

When my nephew who is a law student told me that this sauce should be "illegal", I knew this should go along with my "favorites" because, truthfully, it is pretty darn good!

Serving suggestion: with the Real Deal Filet Mignon posted below.  Also great to drizzle on asparagus.

Serves: 5-8 ~ depends on how much sauce your crowd uses

Ingredients:
-3 egg yolks
-1 stick of butter, melted
-1/4 cup white wine vinegar ~ run o' the mill vinegar is also fine if you can't get your hands on the white wine vinegar
-1/4 cup wine ~ just double the vinegar if you don't want to use wine
-2 tbsp tarragon

-1 tbsp shallots

Instructions:
-Put all of the ingredients above into a saucepan on medium-high heat
-Bring to a simmer and cook until the amount is reduced by half
-Remove from heat and seat aside to cool

-In a blender on the "sauce" setting (or low-medium), blend the three egg yolks on medium WITH the mixture from above that you just set aside
-While the blender is still running, slowly add about 1/4 of the melted butter into the mixture
-When the mixture emulsifies, turn the blender up to HIGH and add the rest of the butter

~Note~ this sauce takes a long time (several minutes) of blending before it looks less runny.  And it will still look runny after you're done blending it.  But don't despair!  Just keep it warm before serving it because it will stiffen up.  For me, the stiffening up process usually takes about 20-30 minutes. I keep it warm in my Salter food warmer and stir it occasionally.

Enjoy!

~Ellenor

The Real Deal Filet Mignon

More luxurious (and expensive) than the stone ground grits for sure, this recipe is perfect for having company over or for special celebrations.  My advice is to go with the best cut of filet you can find ~ think Whole Foods or Fresh Market.  It's much more expensive than you'll find at other places, but I promise it's worth it.  It just cooks and tastes better ~ not much different than a really good steakhouse.

I like to serve this with asparagus or twice baked potatoes ~ whatever strikes your fancy!

Ingredients:

-One 6-8 ounce filet per person
-butter
-salt
-papper

Instructions:

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
-At least 20 minutes before you plan to start cooking the filets, take them out of the fridge. Put salt and pepper on them and let sit on the counter ~ so as not to shock the filets by bringing them from a cold temperature to the hot stove immediately!
-Butter a plan over a medium-high stove and sear the steaks for three minutes on each side
-Move the pan to the over for 6-8 minutes (for medium rare), perhaps a few minutes more depending on your oven ~ I test out how done the steaks are by pulling them out of the oven and cutting into the middle of one of them, but you can use a meat thermometer too ~ 135 to 140 degrees for medium rare
-Once they are done to your liking, remove from the oven, transfer the steaks onto a plate, and loosely cover with foil for 10 minutes. This allows the steaks to "rest" before you serve them and it really does make a difference with the way it tastes!
-Serve with bearnaise sauce on the side ~ see my next post for bearnaise recipe!

Enjoy!

~Ellenor

Slow cooked jalapeno grits with shrimp

When my husband and I moved to the South after he finished medical school for his residency, my dear mother-in-law (who grew up in Atlanta and is a Southerner through and through) told me that it was pretty much the law down here to (1) know what stone ground grits are, (2) like stone ground grits, (3) know how to COOK stone ground grits. At first I panicked, but then I kindly asked her if she knew any good recipes for grits. With a smile and a wink, she gave me the following recipe. Years later, and easily my family's favorite, this recipe is fantastic because most of the work is done while you sleep! Best yet is that my youngest usually won't touch seafood, but he'll sure eat this!

Serves: 8-10 small appetites (e.g. as a side dish), 5 big appetites (e.g. as a main dish)

Ingredients:

-1 cup of grits
-1 lb cooked and peeled shrimp
-5 cups of water
-1 cup jalapeno cheese ~ or a milder cheese if you prefer
-2 tomatoes, chopped ~ optional
-1/4 cup butter & 2 tbsp butter (for the shrimp saute ~ see below)
-2 tbsp chili powder
-1 tsp salt

Instructions:

-Put all ingredients EXCEPT the shrimp, chopped tomatoes, and 2 tbsp butter into a slowcooker on LOW for 6 hours.
-TWO hours before the 6 hours is up, saute the shrimp in a pan with 2 tbsp butter and the chopped tomatoes. Once the shrimp is tender, remove from the stove, drain any excess butter, and put shrimp into the crockpot.
-Turn the crockpot up to HIGH and cook for two more hours.
-Once the eight hours is up, stir the pot, and add shredded cheese for garnish, if desired. For us, we find the grits cheesy enough already.

Enjoy!

~Ellenor