Great Gluten Free Black Friday Deal!

Let's talk amazing Black Friday gluten free deals!!!

First off, I have an app on my phone called checkout 51. Check it out at https://www.checkout51.com. You earn cash back on every day groceries, gluten free groceries, at stores you already shop at!  With the app on my phone, I head to Walmart as they added Catelli Gluten Free Pasta as their Black Friday deal. I love stores that give deals on gluten free products. It makes my day!!!

Now, it gets even better!!! When I get to Walmart, I see that Walmart has the Catelli gluten free pasta already on sale. Any 2 (fusilli, penne, macaroni, or any combination) for $4. It is normally $2.27, which is already priced well for gluten free pasta. 

So... I buy 2 boxes of fusilli and 1 box of macaroni for $6.27, and then when I get home, I upload the receipt on my Checkout 51 app and get the Black Friday deal which is buy 3 Catelli Gluten Free Pasta and save $3. The $3 is added to my cash back total, which I get the cash back when I hit $20. In 2 shopping trips, I already have $8.50 cash back on food I normally buy anyways, at stores I normally shop at!!! 

Wow!!!

Check out the different varieties of gluten free pasta that Catelli makes at http://www.catelli.ca/pasta/gluten-free.  Catelli gluten free pasta is delicious and I managed to pay $3.27 for 3 boxes!!!

Great deals and both are on for the week!!!

gluten free made easy: Gluten Free Fried Rice

gluten free made easy: Gluten Free Fried Rice: This recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks, Clueless in the Kitchen by Evelyn Raab.  It is actually a cookbook written for tee...

Gluten Free Fried Rice

This recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks, Clueless in the Kitchen by Evelyn Raab.  It is actually a cookbook written for teens. I came across it when I was looking for a unique gift to give to the teens in my life! I figured if I gave them a cookbook they would enjoy cooking! Well... they enjoy eating the food I make using the recipes in this cookbook! But I really enjoy using this cookbook and if you like this recipe, I encourage you to buy this book! It makes me laugh while I am cooking and the recipes are all great.  I chose this recipe because I use it so often adding whatever I have in my kitchen at the time. I make lots so we have leftovers for the next day, as it makes a great lunch for school or work!

INGREDIENTS

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (I use grape seed oil as it is a healthy high temperature oil)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
2 cups veggies, diced or sliced, fresh, frozen or cooked vegetables (basically, whatever veggies you have kicking around!) celery, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, peas, spinach, carrots, corn, cabbage, cauliflower, bean sprouts, green beans.
2 cups diced COOKED meat or fish of any kind (chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, turkey) A lot of the time I leave out this ingredient and double the veggies and make veggie fried rice but all these protein options are delicious as well! The possibilities are endless!
3 cups leftover cooked rice
2 Tablespoons soy sauce (In order for this recipe to be gluten free, you must use a gluten free soy sauce or tamari. I use San-J Brand gluten free tamari.)
1 Teaspoon sesame oil
4 green onions, sliced

DIRECTIONS

I am going to use some of Evelyn's words because that is half the fun of this recipe! 
In a wok, heat the oil over high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until onion is softened.  Stir in the the egg and cook the mixture just until the egg is scrambled, this will only take a minute.
Toss in the vegetables- whatever you're using- the ones that take the longest time to cook first, then the next, and so on, adding any cooked vegetables only at the last minute.  "Don't go all technical about this. It isn't rocket science- it's just dinner".
When vegetables are all in the wok, throw in the cooked meat if you are adding any and stir everything a bit. Or, if you are making veggie fried rice just skip this step!
Now add the rice and keep stirring.  Add the soy sauce or tamari and cook the whole business, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes until everything is hot and well mixed.
Add sesame oil and green onions.
Toss it all around, remove from heat and serve!

Gluten Free Shrimp Salad

Picture this.... it was a hot day in the summer, and I was looking for something tasty to make for dinner!  Nothing hot that involved heating up the cottage and something I had kicking around in the fridge and freezer. I found this great recipe on Food Network by Ina Garten, and then I added my own personal touch! 

INGREDIENTS

A mixture of lettuce (I use green leaf lettuce and red leaf lettuce but you can use whatever lettuce you love!)

1 bag frozen, cooked, deveined shrimp (about 30 shrimp)

1 bag of frozen edamame, shelled

1 small red onion sliced thin, optional

6 celery stalks, diced

1 cup mayonnaise ( I use Spectrum brand)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon fresh dill, or more if your a fan of dill!

DIRECTIONS

Wash and break up lettuce into bite size pieces.

Defrost shrimp overnight in the fridge, or if you are like me, and decide to make this at the last minute, defrost by running COLD water over the frozen shrimp. Take the tails off and chop shrimp up into bite size pieces! Add to lettuce.

Cook edamame according to the package, in my case, 3 minutes in the microwave, take out of the shell and add to the salad.

Slice red onion thin, dice the celery and add both to the dish.

In a 2 cup measuring cup or small bowl, I whisked together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste! (I didn't use salt and I just added a touch of pepper!). This is your salad dressing. Pour over the salad and mix.

Chop up the dill and sprinkle it on top!

ENJOY!

Gluten Free Pesto Pasta

So.... In a perfect world, I would have made this recipe 2 weeks ago when I had my last batch of fresh carrots from the market!!! I say that because my farmer friends from At Home Organic Farms tell me to use carrot greens in my pesto. It is the best way to make it! Unfortunately my greens went bad before I had a chance to make the pesto so I just went old school. I am going to give you two versions of this recipe because carrot greens are not always available and pesto is something I like to have around!




INGREDIENTS

With Carrot Greens:
1 bunch of basil leaves (approximately 50 leaves)
1/2 cup carrot greens (not the actual carrots, just the leaves)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Original Pesto Sauce:
1 bunch of basil leaves (approximately 50 leaves)
1/2 cup parsley
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, or no nuts if you want nut free
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (if not adding nuts you can increase the cheese to 1/2 cup. Or increase to 1/2 cup if you like it cheesier!!!)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Gluten Free noodles of your choice! Here I used Rizopia Vegetable Rotini because they were on sale at Loblaws 2 for $4 and they are very pretty and taste delicious! My other favourite gluten free pastas include Trader Joe's brand gluten free pastas and Tinkyada.

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to the package.
In a food processor, (I love my Cuisinart!) while it is running, I drop the garlic through the tube. Once it is all ground up, I stop the machine and add the basil, carrot tops or parsley, parmesan cheese, and nuts and turn the the machine on again. Then, while the machine is still running, I pour the olive oil through the tube, until everything is blended! 
Pour the pesto sauce over the warm pasta, stir, and serve!
YUM!!!

Gluten Free Szechwan Eggplant Stir-Fry

I love how recipes get passed along and modified as they go.  I will try to do my best to give credit to those that have influenced the recipe as it has made its way to me!!!!
This recipe was sent to me from a friend at Fox Hole Farms.  Check out what they are doing athttp://foxholefarm.tumblr.com.
The recipe original recipe can be found on the food network.com, courtesy of Tyler Florence. This is a great example of a recipe that didn't start out gluten free, but with the proper ingredients, can be made gluten free!
This is my version of the recipe!
Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

5 Asian eggplants or 2 large eggplants
3 Tablespoons grape seed oil (I use grape seed oil because it is a healthier option and gluten free!)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 green onions, white and green parts, sliced on a diagonal
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth (I use Celifbr brand but homemade would be even better!)
3 Tablespoons gluten free soy sauce (I use San-J brand Tamari) 
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar (rice vinegar can be seasoned, so be careful that it is gluten free! Mine is not seasoned and states gluten free on the label)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

DIRECTIONS

Cut the eggplant in 1/2 lengthwise and the slice crosswise into wedges less than 1 inch if using the Asian eggplant. If using the regular looking eggplant, cut into 1 inch pieces (bite size!)
Heat a wok medium high temperature and add both the grape seed and sesame oils! Add the eggplant and stir fry until soft, about 5 minutes.  You can season the eggplant with salt and pepper at this stage but I don't because this dish has such great flavour it doesn't need it!  If the eggplant is too much for the size of your pan, work in batches, removing the eggplant to a side platter and cooking the remaining eggplant in the same manner, adding more oil, if needed.  While the eggplant is cooking, make up a sauce by mixing the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and cornstarch until everything is dissolved. Set aside to be used at the end of the recipe.
Once all the eggplant is cooked and out of the wok, add the green onions, ginger, and garlic.  Stir constantly for 1 minute until it smells great!
Add the broth.
Now, stir that sauce you made a while ago.  Once the soy sauce mixture is stirred, add it to the pan and cook for another minute until the sauce has thickened.
Put the eggplant back in the wok, toss until the eggplant is well mixed with the sauce.
Then, it is ready to serve!

Gluten Free Vegetable Beef Soup

Today's recipe is a combination of my mom's vegetable beef soup recipe (thanks Bubby Shell!) and one I found online at a terrific website that I use all the time! The website is glutenfreechecklist.com and the original recipe was posted by regnisaw@yahoo.com.
I hope you enjoy my version of this recipe!

INGREDIENTS

2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 lbs stewing beef cut into bite size pieces
4 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic gloves, chopped
3 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons fresh thyme (optional)
6 cups gluten free beef broth (I use Celifibr brand but any gluten free brand will do, or homemade, which is even better!)
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cups cabbage shredded, grated or coarsely chopped, however you like your cabbage!
2 large potatoes any type, peeled and diced (Any potato would do, even sweet potato would be delicious!)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (I am a personal fan of Bob's Red Mill Tricolor Quinoa, but any quinoa will work!)
1/2 cup uncooked pasta (I used the Anelli noodles by Gogo Quinoa but any small gluten free noodles will be perfect!)

DIRECTIONS

Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper and then add beef to the pot.  Cook for 5 minutes or until the beef is no longer pink.
Add the carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme.  Sauté for 5 more minutes until things start to soften and then add the beef broth, tomatoes, cabbage and potatoes.
Partially cover pot and simmer for 40 minutes.
Add the quinoa, pasta, and 2 cups water (or broth) and cook for 10 more minutes.
Stir in kernels and peas and simmer for 5-15 minutes more until corn and peas are tender.
At the end, it can be eaten thick (more like a stew) or you can eat it thin (like a soup) by adding more broth or water!
Enjoy!

Gluten Free Tuna Casserole

I started with a recipe I saw online at simplygluten-free.com by Carol Kicinski and then I added my own personal touch! I hope you like it!

INGREDIENTS

Kosher salt 

1 454g bag of Tinkyada elbow noodles (I love Trader Joe's gluten free pasta as well!)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 cup mushrooms, diced

black pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons gluten free flour blend (I'm a personal fan of Trader Joe's gluten free flour!)

2 1/2 cups chicken broth, either real or I use Celifibr brand

1 1/2 cups milk

2 (6 ounce) cans tuna in water, drained and flaked

1 cup frozen peas, corn, or carrots, whatever you prefer!

1 cup gluten free bread crumbs. I use whatever I have leftover (crackers, bread, cereal) and I put them in my cuisinart and make my own bread crumbs!

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 425F, grease a 9x13 inch baking dish, and make up the chicken broth.
• Cook the pasta according to the package. Don't overcook the noodles because they are going in the oven as well!
• While the noodles are cooking, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan.  Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the onions are soft and the mushrooms have released their moisture, approximately 7 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and stir in the flour, stirring constantly for 1 minute.  Add the chicken broth and milk and bring to a low boil. Once it is boiling, reduce  heat and cook until sauce thickens, 8 minutes.
• Now add it all together! Cooked noodles, mushroom sauce, tuna, and whatever veggies you choose!
• Pour the mixture into the baking dish and top with the bread crumbs.
• Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly!
• Let sit for 5 minutes before serving!

ENJOY!