When I first went on a gluten free diet, I was attracted to classic recipes that were naturally gluten free. Stuffed Bell Peppers are a great example of a classic comfort food that does not contain gluten. I was feeling rather vegetarian today and I decided to make a spicy, vegetarian version of this old favorite.

SOUTHWESTERN STUFFED BELL PEPPERS

6 Bell Peppers of assorted colors, cut off bottoms and remove seeds and membranes

2 cups brown rice, uncooked

1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of diced green chiles

1-2 Tablespoons of Chipotles en adobo sauce ( I just used the sauce because my toddler is not quite ready for the chopped chiles- almost!) Be sure to check and make sure it is gf. I would recommend making this homemade and keeping it in the freezer. Recipezaar has a simple recipe.
1 onion

1/4 cup+ chopped cilantro

Monterey Jack cheese for topping

Directions:

Boil the peppers until tender. If you like, you can leave them raw for a crunchier pepper. Cook the brown rice in a rice cooker or on the stove.

Saute the onion over med. heat until translucent. Add tomato sauce, green chiles, adobo sauce, kidney beans, and black beans and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the brown rice and cilantro and combine. Stuff the peppers with the rice filling and top with cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook an additional 10-15 minutes or until tops are slightly brown and peppers are tender.

If you liked this post, please Stumble it! or Add to Del.icio.us.

Posted by Natalie
Filed under: Celiac, Egg-free, Gluten Free, Mexican, Vegetarian | No Comments »

Well, this recipe is a product of my craving for Spinach Artichoke dip. Although appetizers and dessert are usually the best part of any meal, I decided to turn my craving into a main dish for GF Goddess’ noodle round-up. This dish is not low-fat, but it’s yummy!

SPINACH ARTICHOKE SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE

8 oz. brown rice spaghetti, such as Deboles or Tinkyada

14 oz. can quartered artichokes, rinsed and chopped

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1/4 cup+ sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup butter

1 cup gf chicken broth (or gf vegetable broth)

1/4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Topping: GF Breadcrumbs and Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook your spaghetti noodles. While the spaghetti is cooking, melt butter over med. heat and add garlic-cook for about a minute. Add rice flour and salt and pepper. Cook until flour mixture is bubbly and smooth. Add the chicken broth and cream all at once, whisking until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Stir spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and parmesan cheese into the sauce. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti in an ungreased casserole dish. Stir until combined. Top with gf breadcrumbs and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the center of the casserole is bubbly.

If you liked this post, please Stumble it! or Add to Del.icio.us.

Posted by Natalie
Filed under: Blog Event, Casserole, Celiac, Dinner, Gluten Free, Vegetarian | 1 Comment »

It is a typical fish Friday at my house. On tonight’s menu- salmon cakes! I was a little greedy this week with my self-imposed one loaf ration of $5 bread, so there was no bread left for the salmon cakes. In fact, there was not a whole lot left in my refrigerator at all. Fridays are always a little lean at my house because Saturday is grocery store day. So around 4 o’clock this afternoon, I headed to the kitchen to do an inventory of my fridge and pantry.

After eliminating choices entirely inappropriate for a salmon cake, I narrowed my remaining ingredients to parsley, green onions, parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, lemons, wild rice, brown rice, and white wine vinegar. I thought it would be interesting to try using a combination of brown rice and wild rice in my cakes instead of bread. I also decided to bake them in the oven instead of frying them.

WILD RICE SALMON CAKES

12 oz salmon (fresh is better, but I used skinless, boneless canned salmon)

2 green onions with tops, diced

1/4 cup of parsley, chopped fine

2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon mustard (I used a spicy version, but Dijon would work too)

1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise

1 teaspoon White Wine Vinegar

1/4 cup wild rice, cooked

3/4 cup brown rice, cooked

2 eggs, beaten

Squeeze of lemon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and season with a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper. Form the salmon cakes into equal size patties and put them in an oiled non-stick 9X13 pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes. I chilled my cakes in the refrigerator before baking, so my salmon cakes took about 20 minutes to cook. I served my salmon cakes with tartar sauce and lemon wedges.

If you liked this post, please Stumble it! or Add to Del.icio.us.

Posted by Natalie
Filed under: Celiac, Dinner, Easy, Fish, Gluten Free | 6 Comments »

Today my little boy and I ventured out of the house to meet my mother and sister down in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. My mother is thinking of buying a house out in the country and wanted my sister and I to look at the house. Both the town and the house were charming, but I couldn’t help thinking of the distance to the nearest Whole Foods. I know that many celiacs order all of their specialty items online, but I love the convenience and assurance of being able to go a store and physically see all of the gluten free items available.

After we visited the house, we decided to go out for an early dinner. Like most celiacs, I do not like to go out to eat. In addition to the danger of cross contamination, I feel like a major pain to all my family and friends. We decided to drive thirty minutes to Outback Steakhouse because they have a gluten free menu.[PDF]

My overall experience at Outback was good. I ordered from the gluten free menu and the waiter was helpful. However, my salad came out with crouton crumbs on it. The waiters at Outback do not make the salads, so I would not mess around with the salads. I have never received one the first time that did not have crumbs on it. It is just not worth the risk. Everything else was fine. But I have to give Outback rave reviews for actually having a gluten free menu-that is awesome!

If you liked this post, please Stumble it! or Add to Del.icio.us.

Posted by Natalie
Filed under: Celiac, GF Living, Gluten Free, Restaurants | 4 Comments »

It has been a long time since I had breakfast for dinner. There is just something better about pancakes at dinnertime. My husband and I have made a lot of different pancake mixes since going gluten free, but we have not found one we really like yet. I hear Pamela’s is great, so I am going to order a pack of her mixes for my pantry really soon. Since I didn’t have a mix for tonight’s meal, I searched for a recipe for traditional buckwheat pancakes, but settled on making cornmeal pancakes instead. I did a quick search and found this awesome recipe on Mary Engelbreit’s site. I used rice flour instead of whole wheat to make it gluten free. The pancakes were delicious!

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

2 cups stoneground yellow cornmeal, medium grain
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, rice flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, beat the buttermilk, water, oil and egg with a fork until blended. Add to the cornmeal mixture and mix until lumps are eliminated.
Lightly oil a griddle and heat over medium heat. For each pancake, the recipe recommends pouring about a 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle. I made my pancakes slightly larger. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until brown. Turn the pancakes and cook for about 2 minutes longer, or until browned on the second side. I kept my pancakes warm in the oven. My pancakes cooked a little faster than this on med. heat. I had to be quick on my toes with a toddler in tow!

Note: See comments below about Bob’s Red Mill cornmeal- it is not manufactured in a gluten-free facility. Use another brand!

If you liked this post, please Stumble it! or Add to Del.icio.us.

Posted by Natalie
Filed under: Breakfast, Celiac, Gluten Free, Vegetarian | 16 Comments »