Lemon chicken pasta toss

Jennie gave me this recipe a long time ago, but I had never tried it. There are several prep-steps that take a little time, but this dish is well worth it. Really great flavor, good mix of textures and filling.

Ingredients:
8 oz. uncooked gluten-free radiatore pasta
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup sliced (or small diced) carrots
2 cloves garlic
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 cup small broccoli florets
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups diced, cooked chicken breast
1 cup prepared gluten-free Alfredo sauce
1/2 cup hot water
1 lemon, cut in half
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook pasta for 2 minutes less than package directions. Drain and set aside.

Chop onion and slice carrot. Spray a skillet with non-stick spray oil. Cook and stir onion, carrot and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes. Steam broccoli, red pepper and salt until slightly tender (I used Pampered Chef micro-cooker in the microwave for 2 minutes).

 Add pasta, steamed veggies, chicken, Alfredo sauce and water to the skillet. Squeeze lemon over and cook until heated through. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Serve with gluten-free french bread and garlic butter:

Parmesan-crusted chicken and roasted vegetables

 

I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, breaded with gluten-free breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, black pepper and creole seasoning.  I fried the breaded chicken in a little EVOO.  I cut parsnips, carrots and potatoes, tossed them with olive oil, seasoned them and roasted them on a stoneware pan at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. Yummy.

 

Tomato and mozzarella salad

This is a very simple and delicious side. The other night we grilled steak and I just wanted a simple dish to serve with the meat, this one is so yummy.

I sliced fresh mozzarella and baby heirloom tomatoes. I sprinkled salt and pepper over them and then drizzled on the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I chilled it for a bit and then served it cold.

big changes

The last few weeks have been very stressful, anxiety-filled and exhausting. I have been feeling sick for the last few months....just felt "not right". I finally saw a specialist in the GI clinic at the U of M a few weeks ago. He recommended that I have a colonoscopy and endoscopy - based on my symptoms and family history.

I was not thrilled about these procedures, but was ready to find out what the problem was. The biopsies from my endoscopy illustrated that I have Celiac Disease. CD is an intolerance to gluten. My body doesn't process gluten, in fact gluten damages the villi in the small intestine and esophagus, making it harder for my body to absorb the nutrients in food, along with other unpleasant side effects. I have now begun a gluten-free diet. Pictured above is my new breakfast cereal, which tastes like Kix!

I am so happy to know what is wrong, and what I can do about it! I am so relieved to know that this is something I can live with and I can finally start to feel better. The gluten-free diet means big changes, though. Gluten is in so many products. I will really miss certain foods (Punch pizza, BEER, Bruegger's bagels, French bread and pastries, cookies, cupcakes, etc.). I have already found some great products at Trader Joe's and Super Target and I've found some great online resources as well.  I found a GF (gluten-free) bakery in Eagan that I'm anxious to visit, as I'm already craving all the things I shouldn't have!

Going forward, the recipes I post will be GF (or will have GF options). If you want to learn more about gluten, or about Celiac Disease, I urge you to check out this website, as it is very informative!

http://www.celiac.org/

Semi-homemade tortellini with red sauce

I had never tried any of the Buitoni fresh pastas, and decided to give it a try. I purchased the Sweet Italian Sausage Tortelloni (http://www.buitoni.com/products/#/tortelloni/sweet-italian-sausage-tortelloni) and made a semi-homemade sauce for it.

I sauteed diced green and red pepper and onion in EVOO and added a clove of garlic. I added a can of diced tomatoes, 1 tsp. of sugar, a pinch of salt and some Italian Seasoning.

Serve atop the cooked tortelloni with fresh Parmesan cheese. Deliciouso!

Restaurant Review: Bar La Grassa

Luke and I received a very generous gift from our friend Courtney - a gc for Bar La Grassa in Minneapolis. We loved it. The food was incredible. I highly recommend giving this place a try.

Here is a link to their web page:
http://www.barlagrassa.com/
and they have their menu on the site. The food is sooooo good.

Pardon the quality of the photos....I forgot my camera and so we snapped these with Luke's iPhone:)

Luke and I each had a glass of wine, I had Pinot Grigio and Luke had a Chianti. We started with the caprese salad, the cheese was to die for.

 For our entree, we shared the Pork Tenderloin and the grilled asparagus.

 We finished our meal with the caramel crispelles. Words cannot describe this. Too yummy.

Chicken with capers and tomatoes

I found this recipe in a Pampered Chef cookbook and didn't change much. The flavor was good, but I would recommend seasoning the chicken more heavily, as without the tomato sauce it was a little bland. I love capers (salt) and this was a good use of them!

Ingredients:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. rice flour
s/p
2 Tbsp. EVOO
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/4 white onion, minced
1/2 cup white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
2 tsp. small capers plus 1 tsp. caper juice
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 cups cooked white rice

Directions:
Heat 2 Tbsp. EVOO in a large saute pan. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. Fry in the EVOO until cooked through, remove from pan, keep warm.

Add garlic and onion to pan, cook one minute (until tender), remove skillet from heat and add wine. Stir to loosen browned bits from bottom of pan. Return to heat; simmer one minute.

Add capers, caper juice and tomatoes, stir until heated through.

 Return the chicken to the pan and coat with the sauce, heat until chicken is hot again. Serve with white rice.

Chicken lettuce wraps

 I first tried lettuce wraps at P.F. Chang's and loved them. I love the crisp cool lettuce and raw veggies, paired with warm chicken and noodles. I found a recipe for this in a Pampered Chef cookbook, but made some changes to make it my own.

In the summer, fresh and crisp meals like this are especially delicious.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber, sliced
1 carrot, shredded (or packaged matchstick carrots)
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
large lettuce leaves (for wraps)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken
1/2 cup salted peanuts
1 package chicken ramen
1 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. EVOO
s/p

Directions:
Prepare chicken ramen according to package instructions, except drain off all the water once the noodles are cooked through, add seasoning packet and mix, set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp. EVOO in a large fry pan, add chicken. Season chicken with salt and pepper. As chicken browns, brush with 1/2 cup of bottled hoisin sauce. Cook through, slice.

In a large bowl, mix together the prepared ramen noodles, 1/2 cup of bottled hoisin sauce, the soy sauce, peanuts and chicken. Add 1/8 cup of each of the veggies, diced in small bits. Reserve the rest of the veggies.

Serve the noodle/chicken mix with the raw veggies and lettuce leaves - yummm!

Lime surprise cupcakes

I made Lemon Surprise cupcakes a few months ago, and thought I would try the same recipe for lime. I love citrus flavors, especially in the summer. There is something so fresh and crisp about citrus cake. These turned out equally delicious to the lemon ones. Yummm!

Ingredients:
One box lime jello
3/4 cup water
4 eggs
1 box gluten-free yellow cake mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2+ cups powdered sugar
juice of two limes
lime zest

Directions:
Dissolve one package of lime jello in 3/4 cup water. Add 4 eggs, beat 2 minutes. Add one package yellow cake mix, beat 2 minutes. Add 3/4 cup oil, beat 2 minutes. Pour into cake pan or muffin tin, bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes for a 9x13 cake pan or about 18 minutes for cupcakes.

For the frosting, mix 2 cups powdered sugar with juice of 2 limes, add more lime juice or powdered sugar until frosting is desired consistency.  When cake is still warm, poke holes in it and pour/spread the lime glaze into the holes. After cake has cooled, add some additional powdered sugar to thicken glaze and frost cake with it. Top with zest.