Homemade Manicotti...noodles and all!!!!

So we were at Carraba's last weekend and Sean gets manicotti, and I have not had manicotti in a least a year and a half, and SO........I start looking for recipes for the noodles. I found several that seemed way tooo easy, so I thought I'd give it a shot and change things to make the GF.

It wasn't that hard or time consuming at all. I was pleasantly surprised.

1 cup Authentic Foods GF Mulit Blend Flour
(I choose this one b/c it already has xantham gum in it)
4 eggs
a dash of olive oil
1 3/4 to 2 cups water

Mix well to form a smooth thin batter. Pour by ladel full onto a hot griddle, and cook until film covers top....no need to flip. Set aside to cool. I made about 9 "pancakes" with my batter.....only used 6 though for the casserole. (ate one and will save the other 2 for later!!)

**If you use regular wheat flour then decrease the amount of water....start with 1 cup and add by 1/4 cups until you get the right consistency****



Spray 9X13 casserole dish with olive oil. Spread about a 1/2 cup or so tomato based pasta sauce on bottom.

Filling:

15-16 oz container of Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 ish cups Provolone, mozzerella, asiago shredded cheese mix
1/2 cupish grated Romano and/or Parmesan blend
1 egg

mix above 4 ingredients well, scoop large spoonfuls onto center of manicotti pancake, roll up and place seam side down in prepared casserole dish. Pour rest of pasta sauce over noodles, sprinkle another 1/2 cup or so of the Mozzerella, Provolone cheese blend and Parmesan cheese blend over top. Cover with foil, bake in preheated 350 oven for 20 minutes, uncover, bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let set 10 minutes or so before serving.

YUMMMmmmmm!!!!! The boys LOVED this, Grant even had seconds.......

And I have some ideas to make a Mexican dish using these "pancakes".....will post on that when I get around to experimenting........

Pasta Carbonara ala Easy...

So this is one of the boys favorite meals....and mine since it is so easy....and I just have to LOVE David for asking for it for his birthday dinner, since I was exhausted being up so late with all those giggly boys and then spending the day at the pool with them!!!!!

1 pkg noodles (Tinkyada rice noodles for GF), cooked al dente

16 strips of Hormel ready to serve bacon, cut into bite size pieces

minced garlic

2 eggs whites

1 cup milk

generous 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

so, put the bacon pcs in a large pan and saute with the garlic until bacon is crisp. Whisk the egg whites in with the milk. Add the noodles to the bacon, pour the milk/egg over it and stir until egg starts to set. Sprinkle cheese, stir well and serve with extra cheese and veggies.

That's it.

BTW...the peas are on my plate, they wouldn't eat one for $100.....they got broccoli.

Helllloooooo......

If you read this blog, would you please just say HI and tell me why???? Are you celiac??? just GF cuz it sounds like fun????? Or just a bored random blog reader????

And do YOU have any helpful tips to share????? Thanks and HAPPY SPRING!!!!

cinnamon rolls and cheese bread

So this is my variation of the link I posted the other day.....I didn't change much, just the mixture of flours.

2 teaspoon sugar
1 3/4 c. lukewarm water
1 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast (2 pkg)

¼ c. butter or margarine (not low fat substitute) (I used Smart Balance)
1 ¼ c. water (yes, an other l ¼c of water)
1 tsp. GF vinegar

1/3 c. sugar,
1 ½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
4 cups Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend flour
3 ½ teaspoon xanthan gum

3 large eggs


Dissolve the 2 teaspoon sugar in the 1 ¾c. lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast on the top and let sit 10 min. until bubbly.

Melt butter. Add 1 ¼c. cool water and vinegar.

Sift together dry ingredients. Stir the yeast mixture and the water/butter/vinegar mixture into the dry ingredients, then add eggs and beat 2 min. with mixer on high speed.

SANDWICH BUNS The recipe says 12-14) Place English muffin rings, 4" aluminum tins, tuna cans, etc. on a baking sheet and coat inside well with a nonstick spray. Fill half of them.

PIZZA SHELLS (cheese bread)(makes 2 14" shells) Place mound of dough on greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. Sprinkle with tapioca flour, cover fingertips with flour, and gently pat the dough out to desired size using the flat of your hand.

CINNAMON ROLLS: Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white and a dash or two of cinnamon. (I'd add chopped nuts too, but have picky butts that won't eat) Grease muffin tins (I used 2 pans for 24 rolls) (with enough leftover dough to make the cheese bread), put a spoonful of dough in each cup, sprinkle with sugar mixture, repeat layers.

Allow dough to rise till double in a warm place. Can take as long as 1 ½ hr. I did not pick a warm enough spot for my cinnamon rolls, they turned out fine, but the cheese bread was better, it sat next to the computer for about an hour longer........so next time I will let the rolls rise even more.

Bake buns or rolls at 350F for 30 min. or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Swirl cinnamon rolls with icing if desired.

icing.....3 parts cream cheese to one part butter, mix well, add a dash of vanilla, and powdered sugar until it is the consistency you want.....about 1-2 cups per 3 oz cream cheese.....or whatever.

For the Cheese Bread, I used a greased 2 qt oval Pyrex dish and patted the rest of the dough in it. Let rise, baked at 400 for about 10 minutes, let cool slightly, flipped over and baked another 1o minutes. Probably didn't need to flip it over, but I was going to do something else and blah blah blah...so that is that. Then when it came out of oven I sprinkled about 2 cups shredded provolone and mozz cheese with some garlic on it and just let it set until melted. Yummy!!

Egg potato casserole

ok, so this incredibly easy breakfast that I forgot to put together the night before had to made in a skillet....and heavens sake, E A S Y......will do it this way from now on. The boys ate it ALL. no leftovers....they asked that I make it everyday......um, NO

1 pkg refrigerated shredded potatoes
1 pkg Tennesse Pride Mild sausage
9 eggs
a handful of so of cheese
a dash of milk and salt and pepper

so, throw the sausage in a skillet, when it is almost done add the potatoes and cover with lid, stir occasionally. Contimue cooking until everything is browned nicely.

In bowl, crack eggs, add a dash of milk and season if desired. Pour over potato/sausage mixture in skillet. Cover, let cook a few minutes until eggs start to set. Stir it a little to keep bottom from becoming too brown.

When eggs are cooked through, add shredded cheese and serve with salsa (or ketchup...blech)

Easter Menu

I am putting this here so I can contemplate my Easter menu's and decide what I want to add/change,

Breakfast

• cinnamon monkey bread I am going to play with this recipe and see what I come up with http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=492&p_catid=42&sid=91hH9H1k0A6-ChL-40107187684.6d
• egg/potato casserole with sausage
• fresh fruit

Dinner

• pork tenderloin or ham, gotta look for a recipe I want to try
• cheesy potatoes
• fresh asparagus and mushrooms
• spinach salad
• deviled eggs
• fresh corn bread.....have a recipe I want to experiment with

Dessert

• orange cheesecake with fresh berries.....Bake this Saturday.....already posted this recipe around New Years

So I've got some baking to do.....