Sun dried tomato stuffed portabello's and pasta!

Oh this was Gooooooooooooooood! Not something I could make for my crew, but my sister's family and friends LOVE it!

3 large portabello mushrooms, stems removed and cleaned
1 lb sausage cooked and crumbled
1 block feta cheese
1 cup monterrey jack cheese shredded
1 jar chopped sun dried tomatoes

1 pkg cooked spaghetti, I used Schar
1 can petite diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil

mix the sausage, feta and sun dried tomato. Stuff the mushrooms with about half of that mixture, sprinkle monterrey jack on top. Place in preheated 350 oven for 20-30 minutes until mushrooms are softened and cheese is melted.

In a large pan mix the spaghetti, can of tomatoes and the rest of the sausage mixture. Heat through, serve with mushrooms and broccoli or a salad. Enjoy!

It was FABULOUS!!!!

Spahsgetti Sauce

No jarred sauce in the pantry and it is too icky to go get some, so what do I do? Make my own of course!

I had
1 med. onionm chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup or so olive oil

Saute that in large pot until onions are soft, then add the following

3 cans of tomato sauce
1 can petite diced tomato
1 small can tomato paste
1 capful of Mrs Dash Italian seasonings (I'd guess a heaping TBSP)
1-2 tsp sugar

stir all that together, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about an hour.

I threw in about 2 lbs of meatballs before I covered it. We shall see what happens, it smells yummy, but I am not picky like some testosterone carriers I know.......

I've also been baking today. I've used Gluten Free Pantry Sandwich bread mix and a mix from Anna's line of products. I'll let you know how those turn out too! The Gluten Free Pantry Italian bread is yummy, so I have high hopes for the Sandwich bread mix!

Sundried tomato and chicken pasta

1 can diced mild green chilis
2-3 cloves garlic
1 cup re-hydrated sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup 4 cheese Italian blend cheese
1/2 -1 cup grated Parmesan
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup mayo
2-3 cups leftover diced chicken breasts

pkg of noodles, cooked and drained. ( I used Tinkyada spaghetti noodles)

Mix all ingredients (except noodles) in crock pot, turn on low and let it cook for the afternoon, stir it once or twice. Serve over noodles.

**I didn't salt/pepper it because the chicken had a LOT of seasoning on it from being grilled the day before, so you may want to season your sauce more based on what kind of leftover chicken you use.**

**(I used 2 cans evaporated milk because I have lots of boys to feed, but I tried to cut the recipe down to a more manageable size for the "general public" so it may need to be tweaked a little when you start playing with it)**

Bacon, tomato pasta stir fry

2 cups cooked, drained pasta, fusilli, penne, elbow, etc.... try to keep warm..

6-8 slices bacon, cut into pcs....I use the Hormel fully cooked bacon, less fat to drain
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into pcs.
1 cup baby carrots
1/4 cup water
2 cups sugar snap peas, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes

dash or 2 garlic pepper blend, salt

lots and lots fresh shredded or grated parmesan cheese.

cook bacon until crispy, remove, set aside and cook chicken in same large family size skillet, cook until browned, add carrots and water, cover. Cook a few minutes, until carrots are starting to soften. Add sugar snap peas, tomatoes, seasonings, mix well, cover and cook a few more minutes, until veggies are tender and chicken is done. stir in cooked pasta, bacon and toss, to heat...add cheese and serve!

Pesto Pasta with Chicken

This is an old favorite, from waaaaayyyyyy back when....and the original recipe calls for refrigerated ravioli, but I can't use that anymore, so we make do with Tinkyada...

drizzle olive oil
15ish oz chicken tenders
3/4 cup water and 1 tsp Better Than Boullion Chicken flavor
9 oz noodles, penne, elbow, corkscrew, etc, cooked and drained.

3 small zucchini, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 cup pesto

lots and lots of fresh grated parmesan cheese

cook chicken in oil until brown, add zucchini, and pepper, cook until veggies are tender crisp, add broth, noodles, cook just till heated, and chicken is done. Toss with pesto and cheese.....gobble up.

can easily substitute broccoli or whatever veggie your hoodlums like....

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.

Mexican Lasagna

1 box Tinkyada Rice Pasta Lasagna Noodles
2 cans Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup
+ 2 cans water
1 can petite diced tomato, drained
1 lb cooked chicken (shredded, chopped, etc)
1 lg can black olives sliced
1 can diced green chilies
1 brick cream cheese, softened
3 ish cups shredded sharp cheddar or a Mexican blend

Mix the chicken, chilies, black olives, tomato and cream cheese. Stir the mushroom soup with 2 cans water. Pour about a cup of soup in bottom of greased 9 x 11 baking dish. , lay 3-4 strips of uncooked lasagna noodles on top of soup Layer chicken mixture, shredded cheese and more soup, then repeat starting with noodles.

I ended up with chicken and cheese on top, so I added some more black olives and then covered with foil. Leave in fridge overnight or all day, then place in cold oven set to 325 for an hour. Cool 15ish minutes and serve. ( don't preheat the oven is what that means!)

I wanted to add some fresh sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper and corn and etc., BUT children would not go near this if I did. SO, please add it to yours if you make this. I am going to saute some veggies on the side and serve it with mine and Sean's. Hooligans will get canned green beans, yum!

*****Ok, I made this over the weekend, I loved it , Olivia loved it, and a few others tolerated it, of course David thought it was gross, but he's at that point in life....OY! Anyway...I would not use as much water, maybe just a half can less. Otherwise I really liked it, I, of course, sprinkled MORE cheese on top of mine and served it with lettuce, tomato and all that jazz. It was great the next day, but lasagna is always better the next day in my opinion.......I think Sean would have liked it better if I had used less water and more cheese overall, so will try that again...let me know if you do anything different***

Homemade Ravioli

I have been cooking this week a little despite a nasty headcold.

I finally got around to making chicken ravioli this week also. They are SO yummy!!! And honestly they are not that hard to make. THe first few times took me forever, but now that I have made them several times they are going much faster.

I use one cooked chicken breast ran through the food processor. After that I have tried several different things. My favorite, and least healthy, is adding some Classico Brand sundried tomato Alfredo sauce and some shredded cheese (mozz, provel, etc.)

For the pasta itself, I have found Chebe mixes and they are fabulous for all sorts of things. Homemade pizza and crackers and little biscuits.....and now pasta. I have used several of the flavors. The other day I used the bread mix and added some fresh grated romano cheese to the pasta..

Follow the directions on the package. I roll the dough out pretty thin, but not too thin as you will need to stretch it some over your filling. Use a cookie cutter and cut an even number of shapes, pull of the waste and save it for the next batch.

At this point I have a shallow pot of water boiling and ready to go.

Place 1 tbsp or so of chicken filling on half the shapes, place another of the pasta shapes over that and with it in your hands, press the edges to seal. Place the ravioli in the boiling water and keep an eye on it till it floats, then lift it out with a slotted spoon and make the next batch. I pour an alfredo sauce ontop, or the rest of the Classico. Enjoy with a salad or broccoli or whatever...

Other fillings you could try would be a cup or so of ricotta mixed with some shredded mozzerella or other white cheese.......sundried tomato pesto mixed with the chicken and some cheese....... sauteed diced mushrooms with cheese........ thawed chopped spinach with ricotta and cheddar..... whatever you come up with, you can be creative with this.

Chebe mixes may be hard to find, I have ordered them online from Chebe itself. The whole foods store nearby sells them as do most organic/whole foods, or ask your local grocer, they may be able to get them.

http://www.chebe.com/