Gluten Free Pasta & Broccoli Alfredo

Gluten Free Pasta & Broccoli Alfredo is an easy week night meal that my whole family can agree on. It couldn't be simpler to prepare this rich and creamy gluten free pasta dish. Time saving steps such as cooking the broccoli in the same pot as the pasta result in less after dinner clean up (that's a plus in my book!). Feel free to substitute a jar of gluten free Alfredo sauce and frozen broccoli florets for their homemade and fresh counter parts if you are super-crunched for time, it still tastes great!

Gluten Free Pasta & Broccoli Alfredo

8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
2 cups milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
4 cups fresh (or frozen) broccoli florets
1 pkg. gluten free pasta (I used Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta Shells)
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Ground nutmeg; optional

Place cream cheese, milk, and butter in medium saucepan. Cook on low heat until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.

Cook pasta according to package directions, adding broccoli to pot during the last 3-5 minutes of cooking time (approximately 3 minutes for crisp tender broccoli, 5 minutes for softer broccoli). Drain. Place in large serving bowl.


Add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese and the black pepper to cream cheese sauce; mix well. Add to pasta mixture; mix lightly. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle lightly with ground nutmeg if desired. Yield: 4-6 servings

*For more gluten free menu ideas visit The Gluten Free Homemaker and check out the "What Can I Eat That's Gluten Free?" page.

Enjoy!

Classic Macaroni Salad - Gluten Free

If you are looking for a crowd pleasing side dish, my gluten free Classic Macaroni Salad is just the answer. The simple, fresh ingredients in this creamy salad add wonderful flavor and texture. This is the comforting, sweet macaroni salad you may remember eating at your mother or grandma's house growing up (minus the gluten!). The addition of a sliced hard-boiled egg and paprika as garnish make for a lovely presentation. Prepare some tonight to enjoy with your loved ones!

Classic Macaroni Salad - Gluten Free

2 cups uncooked gluten free elbow macaroni (I always use Tinkyada brand)

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

1/3 cup chopped carrot

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 hard-boiled egg, sliced

Dash Paprika

Cook macaroni until al dente; drain and rinse with cold water. Cool completely.

For Dressing: in a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, pickle relish, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. In a large bowl, gently combine the macaroni. celery, carrot and onion. Add dressing and toss gently to coat.

Refrigerate until serving. Garnish with egg and paprika. Yield: 8 servings.

*Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Magazine

Enjoy!

Shells and Cheese with Breaded Tomatoes - Gluten Free

Since it is tomato season I thought you would enjoy this variation on my Super Easy Mac n' Cheese recipe. The only change you need to make to the original recipe is to top the casserole with ripe sliced tomatoes before sprinkling with the gluten free bread crumb-Parmesan mixture prior to baking. I swapped out shell pasta for elbow macaroni for a fun variation, but any pasta shape will do the trick. I adore tomatoes so this is my all time favorite way to prepare mac n'cheese. Give it a try... it might just become your favorite too!

Busy Day Soup - Gluten Free

Admit it. You've all had those days when your head is spinning in three directions like Linda Blair from being over committed. All of a sudden you look at the clock and can't believe that it is dinner time and you haven't even begun to consider the notion of cooking. It isn't likely that you are going to break out your culinary guns at this point; dinner is a tie between sad left-overs and cold cereal. Fear not my friends. I have just the pantry-friendly meal to save you. No, my Busy Day Soup recipe will not win you a ribbon at the county fair, but it will definitely taste as heck of a lot better than your alternatives. Many gluten free households have a box of Annie's Gluten-Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar Mac & Cheese on hand, but few know that it can be transformed into a hearty comforting soup in mere minutes. Keep this recipe on hand for those ultra-busy nights and be proud to serve something that you still put your heart into.

For more great meal ideas visit the Gluten Free Homemaker and check out What's For Dinner? Wednesday.

Busy Day Soup - Gluten Free

1 (14 oz.) can ready to serve vegetable broth (at this writing Swanson's is gluten free)

1 cup water

1 box Annie's Gluten-Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar Mac & Cheese (tip: buy your Annie's Mac & Cheese in bulk from Amazon.com; it will really help your budget!)

1 (14.5 oz.) creamed corn

1 cup chopped vegetables (I used frozen peas; do not chop the peas!)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon mustard powder

sour cream for serving (optional)

In a large saucepan bring broth and water to a boil. Add Annie's Gluten Free Rice Pasta and Cheese Dinner mix and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer covered for 11 minutes or until al dente. Stir in creamed corn, vegetables, milk, salt, paprika, mustard powder and the cheese packet from the Annie's Mac & Cheese mix - heat through, stirring frequently until vegetables are tender. Reduce heat to low. Add shredded cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Serve each bowl with a dollop of sour cream if desired. Yield: 4-6 servings

Enjoy!

Super Easy Baked Mac n' Cheese - Gluten Free

By now you have probably figured out that I adore comfort food. Always have, always will. No apologies here, although I often feel a strong need to admit this. :) Is it due to my families southern roots? Possibly. Is it the stress of being a Mom with a busy family of 5?? Definitely. So in honor of stressed out-busy families everywhere, may I present you with THE easiest, yummiest Mac 'n Cheese recipe I have ever made? Wanna know the coolest part? The sauce is NATURALLY Gluten free!! Woo hoo! No compromising here! And talk about fast! There is no roux to make, and eliminating that step gives you more time to break up the pointless arguments that your kids are having with each other in the background. ;) My mission in life is to hunt down recipes that can be revised for my gluten free-vegetarian household. I spend many, MANY hours searching. My collection is growing quite large now and I'm lovin' it! If you don't have enough spare time to search, feel free to visit my blog anytime for ideas. I've done the hunting for you. This Recipe came from Redbook magazine. I revised it to be Gluten free. Make this next time your head is spinning in too many directions, or when your kids have back-to-back lessons on a school night. Try it after a long hard day. Preparing this won't suck your last remaining drop of energy, and after tasting it... everyone in your family will thank you (and might even do the dishes to show their gratitude). :)

Super Easy Baked Mac n' Cheese - Gluten Free

Ingredients

2 cans (12 ounces each) evaporated milk

4 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese (Tillamook is GF and vegetarian)

1 pound GF elbow Macaroni; firm-tender cooked (I used Tinkyada
and cooked for 8 minutes)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1/3 cup plain or herb flavored GF bread crumbs (I save the heels and crumbs from GF bread, let it dry out on the counter, then pulse in food processor to make crumbs; store in freezer)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix evaporated milk and grated cheddar cheese in a 5 quart dutch oven. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted and sauce is slightly thickened; season with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Stir cooked pasta into cheese sauce.

Pour pasta mixture into a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Mix Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs; sprinkle over top. Bake 22-25 minutes, until mixture is bubbly and breadcrumbs are slightly browned. Yield: 12 servings

Cheesy Fajita Pasta - Gluten Free

What does one do with left over fajitas when there aren't enough left for a full meal? Make Cheesy Fajita Pasta of course! This is a super easy way to jazz up pasta in a jiffy. Any type of fajitas would be great in this dish... I used home made vegetable fajitas (I'm a vegetarian), but you could certainly get great results with fajitas that contain meat or seafood in addition to veggies. Use your home made left overs or restaurant left overs for equally delicious results. This dish truly qualifies as comfort food. The cheese sauce is my Grandma's recipe revised to be Gluten free. It comes out perfect every time. You can top this dish with whatever you have on hand that suits your fancy. I used sour cream, homemade Pico de gallo, and pickled jalapenos. Some other suggestions are olives, avocado slices, and salsa. If you have kids who would find this dish too "daring", try what I did last night. I made the cheese sauce WITHOUT adding the fajitas, and spooned the plain cheese sauce generously over bowls of hot pasta. Voila! A kid friendly (and "picky adult" friendly) Mac n' Cheese. They LOVED it! I then stirred the fajitas into the remaining cheese sauce for my hubby and I. We garnished each bowl to suit our individual taste, and everyone was happy. :) If you have any cheese sauce left over (with or without fajitas added), save it! It makes a quick and satisfying soup for lunch the next day. To make the soup simply stir milk into cold sauce 2 Tbsp. at a time until it reaches a creamy consistency that appeals to you. Microwave for 1 minute on high. Stir. Microwave for one more minute or until hot. Stir again and serve. Another use for the leftover cheese sauce? Heat cheese sauce in the same manner as for soup, but do not add milk. This makes a YUMMY topping for nachos! Gotta love the many uses for Grandma's awesome cheese sauce!

Cheers!
Cinde :)

Cheesy Fajita Pasta - Gluten Free

1 16oz bag Gluten free pasta (I used Tinkyada Penne
but any shape would be fine)
1 stick butter (8 Tbsp.)
7 Tbsp. sweet rice flour
2 tsp. salt
4 cups milk
4 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar and parmesan shredded by hand, not from a can)
1 tsp ground GF mustard
1 tsp. paprika
black pepper to taste
1 cup (give or take) left-over fajitas (sliced veggies such as sweet red peppers, green bell peppers, onions, sauteed over medium high heat in light olive oil until crisp tender. Add approx. 1/4 cup water and season with spices such as garlic and onion powder, salt and black pepper, oregano, paprika, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked down.)
Sour Cream, salsa and pickled jalapenos and/or other toppings as desired for garnish.

Prepare pasta according to package directions (cook only until al dente, which is usually around 12 minutes for Tinkyada). Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. When it is melted whisk in sweet rice flour and salt. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes until very bubbly. Gradually whisk in milk. Increase heat to medium high. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil, and continue stirring for 2 minutes. Decrease heat to low. Whisk in ground mustard, paprika and black pepper. Stir in shredded cheese. Continue stirring over low heat until cheese is completely melted. FOR PICKY KIDS: (and/or picky adults!) use the cheese sauce as it is at this stage over pasta for a traditional Mac n' Cheese. Re-heat left over fajitas in microwave for 2 minutes on 70% power. Stir into cheese sauce. Ladle over bowls of hot pasta. Garnish with sour cream, salsa and pickled jalapenos if desired. Yield: 4-5 servings