Chicken Piccata

This was one of the best things I've made lately. I love the lemon/caper/wine/butter sauce. What a combo!

 

 Ingredients:

1 pkg. boneless-skinless chicken breasts

s/p

all purpose GF flour

2 Tbsp. EVOO

1/2 cup white wine

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 cup chicken broth

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

lemon slices (from one lemon)

1 Tbsp. (or more) drained capers

1 cup fresh button mushrooms

2 Tbsp. butter

cooked linguine 

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in flour. Coat a saute pan with EVOO and heat. Saute chicken just until cooked through and browned on both sides. Remove to a covered plate. Deglaze pan with wine and add garlic. Brown garlic and allow wine to evaporate off, about 2-5 minutes.

Add chicken broth, lemon juice, capers and mushrooms, allow to cook and heat through. Return chicken to pan and cook on each side for an additional minute or two. Transfer chicken to plate. Add butter and lemon slices to sauce and heat. Pour sauce over the chicken and noodles.

Restaurant review: Ciatti's Ristorante

Ciatti's has long been one of Luke's favorite restaurants - we go there occasionally to meet up with his mom for dinner (as it's halfway between us in St. Cloud).

Ciatti's has a GREAT gluten-free menu - I was nervous about eating there for the first time....but have now dined twice without incident. I can honestly recommend this place - the waitstaff was knowledgeable, I didn't have to point out that GF means no croutons on my salad, etc. Refreshing.

The first time we ate there I ordered the chicken Marsala:

The chicken was served with mushrooms,squash, zucchini and onions in a Marsala sauce - delish!

The second time I had the baked mostaccioli:

GF penne pasta with a red sauce with spicy Italian sausage covered with cheese and baked. Very, very good!

Spicy chicken fusilli

One of Luke's all time favorite foods is the Spicy Chicken Penne from Ciatti's. This is my GF version of the dish.

 

Ciatti's Ristorante in St. Cloud has a GF menu....but it made me a little nervous to eat there - as they are primarily a pasta-based restaurant.  When we last dined there, I ate the chicken marsala, it was served with roasted vegetables instead of pasta - it was incredible, best of all: I didn't get sick! 

We will definitely return there for more meals, but in the meantime, I can make this replica for Luke.

Ingredients:

1 box GF pasta (like fusilli or penne)

1 small package or jar of sun-dried tomatoes

1 pound of boneless-skinless chicken breasts or thighs

1 small jar of pre-made pesto

1/2 jar of pre-made Alfredo sauce (Bertolli and Classico are GF)

1 Tbsp. EVOO

1/4 cup of seasoning (we used some paprika, cayenne pepper, Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning and some BBQ rub seasoning that I got from a spice shop in CO - use whatever you like to give the chicken a "blackened" look with the right amount of flavor).

Directions:

Heat EVOO in a large fry pan. Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Mix the seasonings in a shallow bowl and lightly coat the chicken in the spices. Place in the warmed oil in the fry pan.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions. When finished cooking, drain and keep warm until chicken is done.

When chicken is finished cooking, you can prepare the pasta. Toss cooked pasta with pesto and a small amount of Alfredo sauce, just until coated lightly. Sprinkle with small pieces of sun-dried tomato. Place a sliced chicken breast on top and serve.

 

GF Lasagna

Yummmmmmmm. I must say, this was awesome. Probably the best lasagna ever. I had been anxious to try GF lasagna but had a really difficult time finding GF noodles. Whole Foods, Lunds, Trader Joe's and Rainbow were out of the one or two brands they carried for weeks and weeks. I looked weekly for 2 months before I found a box at Whole Foods. I bought several. I used DeBoles for this recipe - which was super easy, as they are the kind you don't have to boil first. I will be making this again - yay!

Ingredients:
1 box DeBoles lasagna noodles
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 package of Hormel (GF) pepperoni (quartered)
1 green pepper, diced
1 small jar sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Newman's Own tomato basil marinara)
1 (15 oz) container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 cups Italian cheese blend (shredded)
s/p

Directions:
Brown the ground beef, season with salt and pepper (LOTS of freshly ground pepper), drain. Add diced onion, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic. Saute a few minutes until green peppers get a little soft. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and pepperoni. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and egg. Add some salt and parsley (or any other seasoning you like).

In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, begin building the layers. Start with some of the meat mixture, then top with noodles. Top noodles with half the ricotta mixture, layer more noodles, then more meat mixture (sprinkle some of the shredded cheese atop the meat) and layer until meat and cheese mixtures are all used.

Top with more shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until noodles are cooked through - according to package directions.

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free musings

I know it's been a long, long time since I've had a post. I've been doing very well with the gluten-free cooking - I love it, in fact. Gluten-free baking has been a disaster, however. I have had so many baking failures, I am almost to the point of giving up. I have always been a fairly adept baker, I had never had anything come out inedible until gluten-free baking. I have a long list of things I've attempted and given up on. I've had a grand total of two items turn out well. Both recipes were for cookies, one made from The Cake Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free, the other from a recipe I found online. I guess I need to keep practicing, but I am very frustrated in general.

I am also frustrated with some store-bought bakery items I've tried recently. Today, I was so excited (like, jump up out of bed excited) because last night I purchased some Glutino bagels. I haven't had a bagel since my diagnosis....and I used to eat 3 to 4 a week.....I have missed bagels more than anything else. It was disgusting. I had two bites. Two. Now I've spent $5.00 for 5 bagels and I can't even choke down one of them. Ish. The consistency was all wrong, as was the flavor. It tastes like dense, mealy, dry crap. Blerg.

The other major disappointment (salute the major) was the Udi brand cinammon rolls. I was also very excited about these, I carefully warmed the rolls, and iced it lovingly with the provided cinammon icing. I sat down with my roll and hot coffee....ugh. It was so tough I could barely cut through it with a knife. Even warm, it was dry and too tough. The flavor was okay, the cinammon icing had a red-hot flavor that was delightful, but I couldn't get past the texture of the roll.

Things that are good.

There are also some store-bought treats that are delicious. Udi's Double Chocolate Muffins are pretty good. A little dry - but overall....a good treat. Also, the Whole Foods Bakehouse GF Cupcakes, are pretty tasty.

I love, love, love EnviroKids cereals. Leapin' Lemurs and Panda Puffs are my current favorites. I've always been a big cereal eater - and though I miss Lucky Charms and Cheerios - I'm finding things I like.

Another great find, is the Blue Diamond line of Nut Thins. The plain ones are fantastic. They taste pretty good by themselves, and they aren't overpowering when you pair them with dip, hummus, cheese, etc. I love them with Punch Pizza's Artichoke Dip! Yummmm!

 My favorite gluten-free product is Ancient Harvest Quinoa pasta. I would eat this stuff even if I could eat wheat pasta. It is DELICIOUS! I love it. The texture is right, the flavor is better than wheat pasta and it is far superior to brown rice pasta. So good!

I know I'll continue to find good products - and bad ones....as with any food...not just gluten-free. I just feel more frustrated, because my options are limited to begin with - and each item is so expensive, it sucks to have it fail. Stay tuned for more of my own recipes - as I vow to be better about making new posts in 2011.

If YOU have a favorite GF product - be sure to tell me about it! I've been sampling things like crazy - but that doesn't mean I've tried it all.

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:

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!

Mac n' Cheese

Well made mac n' cheese is probably one of my favorite things in the world.  I've never been a big fan of the boxed variety.....they don't taste good.  I know many college kids practically live on Kraft mac n' cheese, and it's a favorite of children all over......I don't get it. It's orange, it tastes funny.  Real, homemade mac n' cheese is the way to go....and it really doesn't take that much effort.  This recipe was built off of several other recipes and honed (I believe) to perfection.  Yummmm.

Mac n' Cheese

Ingredients:
8 oz. gluten-free elbow macaroni
1/4 cup of butter
3 Tbsp. rice flour
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
salt/pepper
2 cups milk
3 cups shredded cheese (I recommend 2 cups cheddar and one cup colby or jack)
3/4 cup crushed Cheez-It crackers (Cheez-Its are not GF....omit or substitute with a GF cheese cracker)

Directions:
Cook macaroni according to package, drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in flour, mustard, pepper and salt. Stir until smooth and bubbly. Slowly whisk in milk. Stir continuously and cook until boiling. Simmer for a minute. Stir in cheese, one cup at a time until melted.

Stir pasta in to cheese mixture. Pour into greased casserole dish.  Crumble crushed Cheez-Its on top.  Bake for about 30 minutes.

spaghetti with pepper and Parmesan

This was really simple and delicious.  I boiled thin spaghetti noodles (or use gluten-free spaghetti) until al dente and then drained them, reserving about 1/3 cup of pasta water.  Return the noodles to the stockpot, with the reserved water and a few tablespoons of butter.  Crack fresh pepper onto noodles and sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan (or any other hard cheese) over the noodles and toss this all together.  Add a little salt and serve.  So simple and so yummy.

Little thimbles

This is a really easy and yummy pasta.  These little noodles look like little thimbles and are called ditalini (I haven't seen GF ditalini, but you could use any other GF pasta).

 

Recipe:

1 box ditalini (or any GF pasta)

1/2 bag pre-washed fresh spinach

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 small jar of green olives, halved

fresh Parmesan cheese

fresh garlic, pressed or chopped

olive oil

5 scallions, sliced

Heat oil in large skillet, add garlic and warm.  Add green onions, tomatoes and green olives.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add spinach and saute until limp.  Toss cooked noodles with the sauce and sprinkle with fresh Parmesan cheese.

Sausage & Peppers

Sausage and peppers....or sausage and peepers - as Joe and Luke call it. This has become one of my all time favorite meals. This recipe is excellent - it's fairly easy and quick. The blend of spicy and sweet make it unique and the aroma is really enticing.

Recipe:
1 lb. Italian sausage links (Johnsonville Italian Sausage is gluten-free)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1 yellow pepper, cut in thin strips
1 orange pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 white onion, cut in thin strips
1 can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes


Slice sausage, brown in olive oil. Add pressed garlic and 1/4 cup sugar. Stir until sugar melts. Add peppers and onions and salt and pepper. Saute until veggies are limp. Add tomatoes and remaining sugar and red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 more minutes. Serve over GF rigatoni with Parmesan cheese.

Gnocchi part 2

Writing about gnocchi the other day made me crave it....

I haven't found GF gnocchi (pre-packaged) but there is an easy recipe at celiac.com

I made these baked gnocchi dishes with tomato sauce, a blend of garlic and herbs, mushrooms, green pepper and a lot of cheese. I used a little too much crushed red pepper for my taste, but Luke enjoyed it as it was.