Gluten Free Spinach Tomato Penne w/chicken

Since I discovered I have Celiac Disease, my favorite gluten free dishes to cook have been pasta dishes.  With so many gluten free pastas on the market your choices are endless!  And although you may think Italian dishes are complicated, they are not.  Basically, most pasta recipes have one of two sauces:  fresh tomato and basil sauce or a cream sauce.  In this dish you will make your tomato sauce into a creamy tomato by using cream cheese.  But other cream sauces are basically a 1/2 and 1/2 cream slowly cooked with parmesan added for thickening. Any Italian dish you choose to make can be adapted to your own taste with fresh mushrooms, basil, red peppers, onions ect.  Let's get this new dish on the table...

Ingredients:
1 bag of gluten free penne
2 chicken breasts grilled
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic minced depending on your taste
1 teaspoon each of basil & oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes depending on your taste
1/3 cup of parmesan
1  14oz  can of diced tomatoes
1/2 can of tomato paste
3 oz of cream cheese
2 cups of freshly chopped spinach
salt and pepper to taste
fresh mozzarella to top

Put the chicken on the grill and water on to boil while making the sauce

Place oil over a medium heat and add onion, garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper

Once the onion is transparent add the tomatoes and the paste and simmer. 
Do not simmer to the point of decreasing your liquid.

After this step of the sauce you should put your pasta on to boil because it is only about 10-12 min. to completion.
I can honestly say, ANY brand of gluten free pasta is just fine.  How wrong can you go?

Add cream cheese and melt.  Then add parmesan and spinach to the sauce.
About this time your chicken should be finished on the grill.  I go ahead and slice it and turn the grill off
to allow all sides to char. Grate your mozzarella put your dish together to serve!  

 

 

We do a family style plate.  I drain the pasta, place it on a large plate, top it with the sauce, then the chicken and finally the fresh mozzarella and some cracked pepper.  SERVE!!!!!

IN YOUR FACE GLUTEN!



Pesto Pesto Pesto !!!!!

Pestos for paninis or pasta....you choose!

Ok so we went to Italy less than a year ago and when we returned, in the spring, I planted my garden.  But this year I added a great deal of garlic and basil.  Why?  Because I was taught how to make my own pestos and let me tell you, speaking from a culinary stance, it changed the way I eat and the way I cook.  

You cannot be worried about calories when you are cooking with this glorious, clean, beautiful, tiny dish.  Small amounts of it will add flavor you will not believe!  Add it to a sandwich or cook your favorite pasta and when it's hot toss in a few tablespoons to coat.  Each tablespoon will be about 75 calories only because of the olive oil.  Pesto originated in northern Italy  and they use ingredients known to their region; garlic, basil, and pine nuts topped off with olive oil and shaken vigorously to combine. Any combination you choose is wonderful, so lets talk about what some pestos have in them:  

you basic ingredients will almost always be

garlic, fresh basil, and about a teaspoon of sea salt.  

Other items you may use are

olives, pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, chili peppers, onion and of course olive oil. 

Here is what I made today:  

I used 2 cloves of garlic, a hand full of basil, 1/4 up of sun dried tomatoes, 1/5 cup of pine nuts

I know you can put it in a food processor or chopper, but it is recommended by Italian chefs to chop it by hand

When complete with chopping add it to a jar with a lid, cover with extra virgin olive oil and shake

As always on my blog I say, cook to YOUR TASTE.  If you like more garlic add it, if you like less basil, don't use it.

Add I teaspoon of sea salt and shake one more time

Refrigerate and enjoy when needed! 

This is a picture I took from a market in Florence and below is a beautiful pasta display in a window in San Gimignano

  

Ahhh Italhy...I can't even be sarcastic about it

Peppered Turkey Tetrazzini - Gluten Free

This recipe is gluten free and taken from the cookbook, "Gluten Free Makeovers" by Beth Hillson.  The only difference I made is that I purchased peppered turkey breasts from the store; it doesn't make it hot but gives an extra little kick.

Here is what you need:  2 cups peppered turkey breasts, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 3 green onions with tops chopped, 2 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms, 1 cup gluten free chicken broth, 3 Tablespoons dry sherry, 1/4 cup cream, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with the chicken broth, 8-10 oz of gluten free spaghetti, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Dice your turkey

I keep chicken broth concentrate in the fridge and McCormick brand is gluten free.  It is so easy using 1 teaspoon per cup of water; and I think it has a better flavor than the can version.

Dice your green onions and mushrooms.  My family is NOT big on the mushroom, so I only used 1 1/2  cups of very finely chopped mushrooms so they didn't notice :) 

Mix your cornstarch with 1/4 cup broth and set aside.

Put your water on to boil and add your gluten free spaghetti.  Cook as directed.

With one tablespoon olive oil in a skillet, on a medium heat, add your diced turkey, onions, and mushrooms until your onions are transparent and soft.  

        Add the cornstarch mixture, dry sherry, and cream to turkey and stir to thicken. I used a lot more cream, because I can....BOOM!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn off heat, add the pasta, and place in a greased casserole dish. Top with Parmesan cheese and place in oven on broil until golden brown. (I'm not going to lie, I added a few cuts of butter to the top because I like the way it blends with the cheese to brown)

The recipe says it serves four, I think 5 is safe especially if you are serving with a nice salad and garlic bread. (I had some gluten free bread for myself, and for the boys garlic toast. They REALLY liked this recipe and asked I make it again SOON) 

 

Sarcasm Note Today:  (Brought to you by the lady at Wal-mart)

"Too many clowns, not enough circuses".  Totally agree...

Gluten Free Zucchini Lasagna

This Lasagna is really tasty and you can hardly tell it is not made with pasta.  The trick is the zucchini!  It is basically a tasteless veggie and takes on the flavor of what you cook it with, (like tofu but better!)  The only problem with this vegetable, is it creates a TON of water when cooked.  But its hardly a reason to NOT make this recipe!

Here is what you will need:  4 zucchini, 1 lb LEAN beef, 3 garlic cloves chopped, 1/2 purple onion diced, 1 T. olive oil, salt and pepper, 2 T. fresh basil chopped, 15 oz skim ricotta, 16 oz mozzarella cheese shredded, 1/4 cup Parmigiano, 1 egg slightly beaten, 1 28oz jar of Prego spaghetti sauce (or sauce of your choice)and 4 oz of fresh mozzarella for the top :)

First, things first.  Peel your zucchini, and then thinly slice it long ways to substitute for you pasta. I am not big on kitchen gadgets, and do not have a mandolin for slicing; so I cut them with my knife like my grandmother would have!  They were perfect. 

I think young cooks tend to over season their meals, masking the natural tastes. You cannot go wrong with a nice freshly ground pepper, sea salt and a few fresh leaves. 

After you get your zucchini sliced, lay it out on a non stick cookie sheet, lightly salt, and put it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  It will help with some of the water later on as it cooks in your lasagna.  

While your zucchini is in the oven, brown your hamburger meat, drain, and add salt and pepper and set aside.  In the same pan, add olive oil on a medium heat to saute your garlic and onion for about 2 minutes.  Add your drained meat back to the pan with the garlic and onion along with your Prego sauce. You may not want to add the whole jar because you want it to be thick.  Simmer to heat throughout.  Take out your zucchini if you have not already;  and lay it out on a nice clean kitchen towel to soak up any water.  

While your sauce is simmering, grate your fresh cheese and set aside.  I just spent 2 weeks in Italy and their mozzarella is the BEST. But this brand is made in Wisconsin and I find it to be very similar. In the grocery store your fresh cheeses are not going to be with the pre-shredded bags but in or near your deli. 

In a bowl mix your ricotta, basil, salt and pepper to taste, egg, parmesan, only 10 oz of shredded cheese (not fresh), & mix together well.  So: you have your meat mixture in your pan, your zucchini on a towel, your bowl of cheeses, and your fresh mozzarella plus 6 oz of pre-shredded cheese.  Now to layer for some yumminess.  (yes it's a word) 

1.  Lay down a layer of zucchini
2.  Top with meat sauce mixture
3. Top sauce with cheese mixture and repeat 
4.  If you have a large pan you may only get one layer, no problem! 
If not, repeat 1-3
5.  Last, top with all of your fresh mozzarella plus the 6oz of pre-shredded mozzarella

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes COVERED with a pan underneath for spillage.  Then bump heat up to 375 degrees, remove cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes.    

Yummy in the oven, don't forget to cover...

Looks so good right?  Well let me give you a hint...take it out and use a spoon around the edges to scoop off some water.  And when I say some, I mean 87 cups!  (remember the name of my blog?....sarcasm) I even cut a piece out, tilted the pan and let it run to the open spot before serving. It  has to cool before serving anyway, so you have time.

I cannot tell you how much my family loved this recipe.  They never noticed the zucchini in place of the pasta until a few bites in because I'm tricky!  I served it with a nice spinach salad and vinaigrette dressing. I even made a loaf of gluten free bread we could have eaten, but they didn't ask and I forgot.  It stood alone well!

Zucchini Cakes

This is super easy so here it goes!  Grate up one large zucchini and really pat out the water in it or it will not stick together to form your cakes.  After it is good and dry add one cup of freshly, grated Parmesan cheese.

Then add 1 cup of bread crumbs,

Each of these, to your particular taste:  salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder

Add two beaten eggs, then mix it together and make 'cakes' out of the mixture.  I made a ball a little smaller than the size of my palm and placed it in a hot pan with  two Tablespoons of olive oil and mashed it flat.  Cook on each side until brown and then turn to low and let simmer in the pan so that the cheese melts and the zucchini softens.

 

These little puppies were fabulous!  I served them with baked chicken, corn on the cob, and fresh tomatoes from my garden.  It was such a tasty dish and I think it is because it is so simple and the flavors are not overwhelmed.  

Note of Sarcasm:  It's so awesome to have no left overs when you cook something so tasty!