I used a gluten free rice lasagna by DeBoles.  They turned out really well and tasted delicious!  I ended up having two pieces, it was so good : )  DeBoles makes alot of other gluten free products as well.

Lasagna Recipe

• 1 Box of DeBoles Lasagna
• 1 pound uncooked beef
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Full Jar of Spaghetti Sauce
• 16 ounces Cottage Cheese (make sure to read ingredients to find one gluten free)
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Teaspoons Oregano
• 2 Teaspoons Basil
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

Directions for Making Lasagna

1. Defrost the beef in microwave then brown in skillet.
2. After meat has browned drain meat then put back in skillet and add 1 jar of spaghetti sauce and 1/2 cup water.
3. Move on the the dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl and stir together in:  Garlic, Black Pepper, Salt, Basil, Oregano, Parmesan Cheese, 1 and 1/2 cups Mozzarella Cheese.
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees
5. Put down Lasagna shells on the bottom on dish
6. Spread some of the beef/sauce you stirred together and put about 1/2 over shells.
7. Repeat layer with shells and add beef/sauce.  Add mixture from mixing bowel of all cheeses/spices to top.
8. Top off with extra (1/2) Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan Cheese.
9. Cover dish with foil and cook in oven for 45 minutes.  Take out and throw away foil – put back in oven for 10 minutes.
10. Let cool for 10 minutes then serve!

Simply Organic Banana Bread Ingredients:

• Simply Organic Banana Bread Mix
• 2 Large Eggs
• 3/4 Cup Water
• 2 Ripe Mashed Bananas

Heat the oven to 350 degrees then bake for 50-60 minutes.  I actually ended up taking it out at about 40 minutes and it was already done.

First let me start off by saying that I found a great selection of gluten free mixes at Ralph’s grocery store.  Now I do not know if all Ralph’s stores commit to carrying gluten free mixes, but the one I found had a bunch down the baking isle.  Since I knew I like the cinnamon raisin bread mix I figured I would equally like the regular bread mix and I do love how their bread tastes!

The only thing I think that’s drastically different from say the Gluten Free Pantry bread mix is that Bob’s Red Mill takes (about) 1 whole egg and 3/4 egg whites (all together using about 5 eggs) to bake with compared with Gluten Free Pantry’s bread mix that takes 2 large eggs, or 1 egg and 2 egg whites.

I love both bread mixes and I plan to continue buying them, just keep in mind when preparing to make bread just how many eggs you may end up needing!

Now I’m off to make something delicious with the bread I just made! : )

Herdez Salsa

I am on a salsa/sauce kick lately it seems!  I keep finding new sauces that I did not even know I could of been eating!  Today while at Target I found Herdez Salsa in three different flavors:  Casera Mild, Salsa Verde and Casera Medium.  And they are all gluten free!

My personal favorite is Casera Mild, even though I thought I would like the medium since I love anything spicy.  Paired with corn chips and you have yourself some Mexican style salsa and chips!

Their ingredients are kept short as well – mostly consisting of tomatillos, salt, cliantro, serrano peppers and onions.  You can of course see all of Herdez products online.

Dads Gluten Free Pizza Crust

For dinner I had some delicious pizza from “Dads Gluten Free Pizza” ($7.99 and must be ordered online).   I have tried many different pizzas from health food stores that didn’t taste all that great.  Seeing as how I know what ‘regular’ pizza taste like (before Celiac) I can vividly recall what a pizza is supposed to taste like.  Don’t get me wrong, I did and still eat the health food store pizzas.  However some gluten free pizza crusts would not cook quite right in the middle and just end up soggy, or they would cook to fast on top and the bottom would be cold etc.  But these I have found to taste good and cook very well.  This pizza crust is highly recommended!

Baking is very easy you can just follow the listed instructions on each package.  Remember to go out and buy sprinkle cheese, sauce, pepperonis, or anything else you would love to have on your pizza!  I suggest cooking the actual crust a few minutes in the oven, take it back out (after about 7 minutes) and add all your toppings (sauce, cheese etc.) then just pop back into the oven until finished cooking.  The reason I say this is the crust does not tend to cook all the way through if you put everything on first and then cook…the toppings will cook faster than the pizza crust!

Thai peanut sauce calories only equates to about 80 calories per 2 Tbps. along with being both gluten free and Kosher.  I was weary at first with trying it because I thought it would just taste like strait peanuts – however its not overpowering at all.  I ended up making a great chicken and rice dish for dinner that was really easy to make.  I also think it would make an amazing Thai peanut dipping sauce!

Ingredients for Thai Peanut Sauce Chicken :

• One chicken breast
• 1.5 cup brown rice
• Thai peanut sauce
• Sprinkle tiny bit of garlic
• Lemon Pepper seasoning

Directions:

• Cook chicken in oven until done
• Boil brown rice for 10 minutes – let simmer for another 10 then drain
• Add chicken to pan on stove top – add Thai peanut sauce – mix
• Add brown rice to pan and ad garlic, lemon pepper and more Thai peanut sauce if desired

• So where do you buy this delicious stuff?  Check out the San-J Thai Peanut Sauce website for more information.

Egg and Hashbrown Omelettes

Looking for a great tasting breakfast to start off the day?  These little bite sized egg and hashbrown omelettes should do the trick!

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• Place hash browns in oven  (while you make eggs)
  
• Whisk eggs together (use 1 egg for every two – so in this picture I used two eggs)
• Add Cheese
• Add any peppers (I used red/green peppers and some diced tomato)
  
• Take hash browns out of oven and pour some eggs into each portion
• Let bake in oven till eggs look done

*Note:  I used a muffin pan for baking these- made for perfect bite sized omelettes!

Ingredients for Home Made Salsa (All sliced & Diced)

Addicting Home Made Salsa

• Jalapenos
• Onions
• Tomato’s
• Green Peppers
• Red Peppers
• Chili Peppers

The Tomato’s when sliced added a good base for the salsa.  Pictured above is when I hand sliced the peppers.  Soon after I gave in and bought a “Slap Chop” which worked nicely…except after the second time I used it the plastic piece broke…still works but I have to be careful.  It does make it alot quicker to make instead of hand slicing!

Now just get some gluten free corn chips and your ready to eat your salsa!

Gluten Free Pizza (The Miller Special)

Fresh Brothers is another place I just found out who caters to those of us who cannot tolerate wheat, have Celiac Disease or just want something Gluten Free.  Now I love Garlic Jim’s Pizza (gluten free pizza of course) and at first was a little weary of trying another gluten free pizza in fear it might not be as good as Garlic Jim’s (Read my review of them).  However I was pleasantly surprised!

It reminded me of a Chicago style pizza once I saw and tasted how thick the pizza actually was.  They also cut it into smaller pieces  (which I have now found I like-feels like your eating more).  They definitely didn’t skimp on the toppings either.  There is plenty of cheese and sauce on their pizzas!  They only carry medium sized pizzas in their gluten free selection- which Garlic Jim’s come in different sizes- but the pizzas I got from Fresh Brothers turned out to be a big size (very close if not the same as a large from Garlic Jim’s).

Fresh Brothers GF Pizza (Cheese)

Their pizza style is made really thick.

I ended up getting two different pizzas so I could try them both out (and eat them for the next few days since it’s a bit of a drive for me).  I ordered a 1 medium gluten free extra cheese and 1 Miller Special (lots of different toppings, that are also gluten free).

Fresh Brothers’ gluten free pizza’s are incredibly good and taste like they are freshly baked.  They come in pizza boxes just like Garlic Jim’s.  You can also eat inside (however it’s pretty small just 3 tables).  So if you like extra thick crust, lots of toppings, and just a great tasting pizza- you should try out Fresh Bothers!  I also found out after that they carry other gluten free foods, next time I will have to try some now that I know!

Just like Garlic Jim’s, they also deliver.  However you still have to live pretty close to either one to get it since they like to do delivers close by, but I still think it’s awesome they can deliver. As for me, any drive for some great gluten free pizza isn’t any problem to me

Fresh Brothers

Gluten Free Pantry White Bread Mix

Made some more bread this week!  This time I tried a different brand by the name “Gluten Free Pantry” for Sandwich bread mix.  To compare it to the Bob’s Red Mill Mix for the equivalent, I liked that I did not have to use cider vinegar (since I didn’t have any around).  Also it made a 2 lb. loaf compared to the 1 and a half lb. I made before.  I have not made the white bread mix by Bob’s Red Mill yet, however I do plan on it sometime soon.

The bread turned out wonderful.  I will admit that last time I made a mistake and did not mix the yeast into the mix after everything had been mixed.  I misread the baking directions and thought they meant to leave it ontop on the mix, and that the bread maker would do the rest.  This time I mixed it in and it turned out great.  It raised just like it should, making for a bigger loaf of bread that is nice and soft.  The Gluten Free Pantry Bread is delicious!

Delicious Bread

Needed Materials:

• Entire bag of Gluten Free Pantry “Favorite Sandwich Bread” mix
• 1 and 3/4 cup lukewarm water or milk  (I used water)
• 4 Tbs.  melted butter or vegetable oil  (I used butter)
• 2 large eggs, or 1 egg and 2 egg whites lightly beaten (I used 3 large eggs)
• Bread Maker for up to 2 lbs.