Mac and Cheese

One of our family traditions is letting the birthday child choose a special meal for the day. My son is turning six (already?!) and requested macaroni and cheese for his birthday dinner. What kid doesn't love macaroni and cheese?! He also requested a very complicated, three layer, vanilla and chocolate cake, decorated with special colors and designs. Sadly I had to tell him I'm not a cake decorator but thankfully Betty Crocker makes a gluten-free white cake mix that's super easy!

I can at least make the mac and cheese he requested though. I first had this recipe when I was a teenager, baby sitting for a friend of the family. I loved how easy and tasty her recipe was. My kids have always enjoyed it, and it easily becomes gluten-free by using rice noodles and a gluten-free sour cream and cottage cheese. Both sour cream and cottage cheese can contain gluten but Daisy according to their web site is safe.



Mac and Cheese

Mix together
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
3/4 t salt
1 egg
4 cups cooked rice  noodles (about two cups uncooked)

Mix above ingredients  and bake in  a 9x13 pan at 350 for 35 minutes. Yummy!

Sometimes I make huge batches and freeze in 9x13 pans. I pop them in the oven still frozen and bake about 1 1/2 hrs or until set.

Basil Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings is a comfort food to me. It was one of my favorite meals growing up. I've tried several gluten-free recipes but none of them tasted like mom's. Now that I'm starting to get the hang of gluten-free baking, I decided to dig out mom's old recipe and try to convert it. Here's the results. Hope you enjoy my mama's Chicken and Dumplings, gluten-free version.

Basil Chicken and Dumplings

Dumpling  Stew

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 t minced garlic
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup  arrowroot powder
1 t salt
1 t dried basil
4 cups chicken broth ( This recipe uses homemade broth. If you use canned broth adjust the salt in the stew since store bought broth is very salty)
2 cup frozen peas
2 cups sliced carrots
4 cups cooked chicken


Saute onion, celery and garlic till tender.

Add arrowroot powder, salt, basil, carrots and broth. Cook till thick and the carrots are tender.

Add peas and cook five minutes. Stir in chicken. Divide stew between  a 9x13  and a 9x9 pan.

Dumplings

Mix together
3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
2 teaspoons dried basil

Cut into the dry mix 3 tablespoons butter

Add and stir just until mixed

1 tablespoon vinegar
1 cup water or rice milk

Drop dumpling by  tablespoons onto gravy. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

 I like to serve these with fresh, homemade applesauce and a garden salad. Enjoy!

Yummy French Toast

For some strange reason I've been craving French Toast for a while now. My mom made French Toast often growing up, but of course hers used milk. I decided it was time to come up with a new dairy free family recipe. Maybe it's because I haven't had the real thing in such a long time but I think this recipe is just as good as mom's.

Yummy French Toast

Mix together

8 eggs
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt

Dip bread slices in the egg mixture and fry on a griddle till browned, usually about two minutes on each side. This is a great way to use up old, gluten-free bread, but be sure to let your bread slices soak a couple minutes in the mixture if they're really dry.

We like to eat these with homemade peach syrup made by mixing one 29 OZ can of peaches and 1/4 cup maple syrup. Enjoy!

Quinoa

Quinoa is grown in South American and was a staple food for the Incas. It is thought to stimulate the milk production of nursing mothers. While we normally prepare quinoa much like rice or millet, it is not a grain but the seed of the Goosefoot plant. Quinoa is nutritionally rich with a 12-18% protein and 6-7% fat content . Unlike wheat or rice which are low in lysine, quinoa has a balance of all eight essential amino acids . Quinoa is also a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron, calcium and is even gluten free.

Quinoa needs to be soaked and rinsed before cooking. It has a coating of saponin which gives it a bitter taste. While the need to rinse and remove the saponin coating adds an extra step in preparing quinoa, the bitter taste protects the seeds from hungry birds when it’s growing. In South America the saponin that is removed when washing quinoa is used for laundry detergent and sometimes as an antiseptic for wounds.

In our family we usually eat quinoa much like rice, served with butter and salt. It can be used in many recipes and makes a great addition to soups, hot cereals and even cold salads. Here is how I cook basic plain quinoa

Rinse one cup quinoa thoroughly and drain.

Place quinoa and two cups water in a pan and bring to a boil. Turn temperature down to a simmer and cover. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until grains turn translucent.

Quinoa can also be sprouted and used in salads and wraps. For more information on quinoa, instructions on how to sprout and recipes visit quinoatips.com.