My Experience and Favorites (Round One): GFAF Expo NJ '13

The Gluten Free & Allergy Free Expo (GFAF) has come and gone. I had the opportunity to meet so many great people and sample some great products. If you follow on twitter or Facebook then I'm sure you saw some of the great products, but I thought I would recap and really share my experiences. Share the products I really loved and link up to those other bloggers I met.

There is so much information out there on gluten intolerance  Celiac Disease, and all the other food related allergies, but even with all the information most people don't fully understand. Most of us that don't eat gluten aren't doing it for a fad, we actually can not eat it. It makes us sick. To some people even just the smallest crumb will cause sickness. As gluten free bloggers (and even other food allergies/sensitivity bloggers) it is up to us to help educate others. I know that I will share my personal experiences and issues at times but I will usually just share a recipe and move on. I am the only one that is gluten free in my family, even extended. So I am only responsible for me, I will usually take full responsibility if I get glutened. I am lucky to have a very supportive family and supportive friends. I am also aware that there is a good chance my son will have issues, I think about it all the time. I don't want him feeling like I did, so for now I just pay attention.

To start off, I want to share a couple of the other bloggers I met.

Gluten Free "Digest" - Tom and Lisa started the blog to help educate the public after their daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2012. You can also follow them on twitter (@4glutenfree) or like them on Facebook.

Base on a Sprue Story - Molly shares her "silly and serious stories about celiac disease and gluten-free living", you can also follow her on twitter (@spruestory) or on facebook.

The Frugalista Mom - Rozelyn is a busy mom of four, all with food allergies; she shares recipes, tips, reviews and more! You can also follow her on twitter (@jaydemia) or facebook.

For a list of the bloggers and vendors that you can check out the GFAF Expo's twitter list, here.

Now, on to the products and vendors! First, I would like to say everything is based on my personal opinion... For a full list of vendors and the links to their websites check out the GFAF Expo website, here.

I'm not going to touch on every vendor I stopped and talked to but I will touch on a few of the vendors and products that I really liked. As you may know, being gluten free can prove difficult when there is something that you really crave, something that you really enjoyed (at the time) before going gluten free. A few of mine have been certain pasta dishes and good pizza. So, that being said, I'll start off with some pasta and pizza...(Please don't mind the pictures, they are from Instagram and not the best.)

Favorite Pasta: Conte's Pasta Company - frozen pasta dishes and pizza. They have ravioli, stuffed shells, pierogies, gnocchi and more. I really liked these, the filling had good flavor and the pasta, well the pasta was good for a GF rice based pasta. The key will be how well it reheats..

Favorite Pizza: Against the Grain - Based out of Vermont, the pesto pizza was awesome...the crust was thin and crispy. I can't wait to try some of the other flavors.

Favorite Bread: Okay, this one was hard...so I'm going to break the category up.

Sandwich Rolls- goes to Local Oven, they are based in Texas, the rolls were soft and airy. They lacked the dense dryness of many GF rolls I've tried. The freeze and toast well...I will be advocating getting these in a store near me. 

Baguettes- goes to Everybody Eats from Brooklyn, NY. They also make bagels, but the crunchy outside and soft middle were to die for.

Sourdough- goes to Luce's Artisan Bread, it's the only product I actually bought. It's a mix that you add water and bake, everything is included and the flavor was spot on, the texture perfect.

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: Holy Crap Cereal - I have been eating chia pudding for breakfast lately and this cereal totally takes it to another level. Filled with chia, hemp hearts, fruits, and more, just mix with water or your favorite milk and you gave a filling breakfast.

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Favorite Beer: New Planet Brewery - This was the only true gluten free beer at the expo, there were five different types to try.  I have to admit I did like most of the beers but the flavors of new planet just worked. I am a wine drinker so beer usually isn't my thing, but every now and then I do just want a beer. 

Favorite Cheese: Cabot Cheese- okay to be fair, I think they may have been the only cheese at the expo...but since I am a cheese snob, I was really excited about Cabot. Even though it says it right on their packaging, their cheese is lactose free...so if you are lactose intolerant you can still enjoy the cheese. (Most aged cheese should be okay for us lactose intolerant.)

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Favorite Snacks, Cookies, Desserts, and more will be shared in Round Two! Stay tuned...meanwhile check out some of the products from the expo!

Chicken Vegetable and Rice Soup

Right now is seems that everyone is feeling a little under the weather. One is finally getting over it, one in the heart of it and one starting to feel it. Luckily whatever we seem to have in the house is more on the lines of a cold then the flu (knock on wood). I was originally going to make chicken and dumplings but instead decided on chicken, vegetable and rice soup.

Chicken, Vegetable and Rice Soup

2 chicken breasts
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
3 celery stalks
2-3 carrots
1 small to medium zucchini
5 mushrooms (about 1/2 cup chopped)
6 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
1 tsp dried tarragon
2 bay leafs
1 cup brown rice
Salt and pepper

In a Dutch oven, cook the chicken in a little olive oil. While the chicken is cooking, chop all the veggies. When the chicken is almost finished cooking, add the onions. Cook until translucent. Add in the garlic and celery, cook until the celery is just starting to get soft. Remove the chicken, set aside, and add the carrots. Cook carrot until they start to get tender. Add the zucchini and mushrooms. Stir to coat. Add broth and herbs, bring to a boil then add rice.  Continue to simmer until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.

I added a little sriracha on mine for a bit of spice, I recommend it, but it is up to you. You could also omit the chicken and use vegetable broth for a vegetarian/vegan option.  I hope you enjoy and stay well!

Sandy and Vegetable Quinoa Soup (GF)

So this post is a little later than I originally wanted but we have had a lot going on, like a lot of the northeast we were also affected by Sandy. Granted, we had minimal damage compared to A LOT of other people and for that we are blessed. (Please realize that I am not complaining we have nothing to complain about.)

Knowing that Sandy was coming we took precautions and froze water in all our water bottles and some Tupperware, we bought extra non-perishable items and even moved a few things out of the basement all just in case we lost power. And, we lost power. We luckily only lost power for something like 29 hours and just like I feared the most, our sump pump (which is electric and we didn’t have any back up) went out also. Because the water table was so high, we [as in my husband] was not able to keep up with bailing the water. Once we realized that we were going to have a mess, we and some wonderful neighbors help moved anything we cared about or that was laying on the floor to higher ground. With our fingers crossed, we called it a night.

Meanwhile, my parents who live in Delaware on the bay decided to ride out the storm (even though we all thought they should leave.) They too were lucky and any only had minimal damage. The water never made it in to the house, only the garage. Here are some pictures from their house…

Back to our house, when we woke up we didn’t have as much water as we thought we might, only an inch at the most. But still without power there was little we could do. The water level went down in the pit but because of some great design, our pit is not located in the low part of the basement, therefore the water didn’t drain to it. We mopped up what we could, our wonderful neighbors helped out again, and we were able to use a generator for a couple hours and shop vac the standing water. We will need to remove some if not much of our flooring and just work on drying out the concrete, keeping our fingers crossed we don’t get mold.

Enough about that…on Monday before our power went out, I stayed home with my son and we decided to make soup. It was starting to rain harder and the wind was picking up so soup just seemed like a good idea. I rummaged in our refrigerator and decided on a vegetable soup. I used what I had on hand, so it can easily be altered. I invited our neighbors and we had soup and salad for lunch. {Have I mentioned we have awesome neighbors!}

Vegetable Quinoa Soup (aka Sandy Soup)

(I didn’t measure anything so the measurement may be off, but should be close.)

2-3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2-3 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 medium shallots, roughly chopped (or regular onions)
½ head of cauliflower, broken into florets
3-4 medium to large potatoes, peeled and cubed
6-7 cups chicken broth (I used gluten-free granules and water; you could also use vegetable broth)
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. dried thyme (I really wanted to use fresh, but I wasn’t going outside)
2 bay leaves
1 to 1 ½ cups of uncooked Quinoa
Salt and pepper to taste

(I used a food processor for almost everything, but you can use a knife if you would rather.) Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Pulse the chopped carrot, onion and celery in the food processor until finely chopped. Add to the hot oil, and sauté until just tender.

While the vegetables are cooking, shred the cauliflower using the food processor. Add to the vegetable mixture, stir to combine. Add the broth and potatoes bring to a simmer. Then add the thyme, curry, turmeric and bay leafs. Let simmer. Add the uncooked quinoa. Let the soup simmer until the quinoa is cooked. Enjoy! Serves about 8.

Halloween Party...the Friday before the storm (Great friends!)

A Much Needed Post (includes recipes for Stroganoff and Enchilada Chicken)

I have officially been slacking on the blog front; I have made a few recipes, accomplished the Iron Girl (yay!) and other than that just have been enjoying my family's company (who are currently wrestling on the living room floor on top of all the couch cushions).  Since I am no longer training for anything, and won't be for a long while; I have decided to start working on my art again.  It has been pushed to the side for a long time, only occasionally do I actually make it into my studio or take out my sketchbook.  I do, however take much joy in painting with my son and making and trying different things with him. 

www.genaw.com

Anyway, some of the food I have made this month are; salsa, of course such a summer staple; beef/mushroom stroganoff; and slow cooker enchilada chicken.  I have been sucked in to Pinterest just like most of the world and I love it!  So the chicken and the stroganoff were make, freeze then just throw in the slow cooker meals, so many people have posting about making many meals in one day then freezing so you can either just throw in your slow cooker or in the oven.  I personally LOVE make ahead meals. 

So the chicken dish was actually taken based on inspired from Pinterest, my friend actually reposted it and it looked really good, the recipe originally said to bake in the oven.  I put it all in the slow cooker, but I think it would have been much better baked in the oven or maybe for less time in the slow cooker. My chicken dried out a little bit, but it was still delicious! (The recipe reflects the lower cook time in the slow cooker.)

Enchilada Chicken

1 pound chicken breasts (I used chicken tenders)

1 15-oz can enchilada sauce

3 tbsp taco seasoning

1 cup shredded cheese, more or less depending on how much you like cheese

6-8 flour or corn tortillas OR 1 cup rice 

your favorite taco toppings; onions, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Place the chicken in the slow cooker, or baking dish, sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning then cover with the enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or on low for 4-6 hours.  Serve with tortillas or over rice and top with your favorite toppings.  

Tenders ended up being the perfect size for wrapping in a tortilla, I would highly recommend using them.  You could also omit the cheese when cooking or as a topping, but we like cheese in our house so we used on both. Next time I make this I plan on putting everything in a baking dish, you can place chicken, seasoning and sauce in a freezer bag; freeze, just thaw overnight when ready to bake.

Beef/Mushroom Stroganoff

(This can easily become a vegetarian dish, just add more mushrooms and omit the beef)

1 pound round steak, cut into strips (or a pound of stew meat)

1 pound mushrooms, sliced, use the ones you like or a variety (I used crimini)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 beef bouillon cube, or a mushroom base such as Better than Bouillon 

1 cup warm water

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

Place the beef, mushrooms, onions and garlic in a large freezer bag. In a small bowl mix the warm water, bouillon and soy sauce; stir just until the bouillon breaks down. Pour into the bag. Add the salt and pepper.  Seal the bag and carefully massage the ingredients together. At this point you can freeze until you are ready to use, or you can dump the mix into a slow cooker.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, in the last 30 minutes add the sour cream, stir to combine.  You may need to turn the slow cooker to high for a few minutes to heat the sour cream.  Serve over egg noodles, GF noodles or even rice.

The flavor in this was really good, the only comment I received was that my husband would have liked it a little thicker.  I was looking around to see what I could use to thicken it up a bit and a lot of recipes call for cream of mushroom soup, I would rather find something different so more will come on this. (And yes, I know I can just add cornstarch or flour)

Now, for the last little bit...

The Salsa

 I don't really have a recipe. I did have some help!  I cut up tomatoes (I used Mr Stripey's because that is what I have in my garden), two jalapenos, an onion, a clove or two of garlic into large chunks and put into a large container.  I took some of the chunks and cut into smaller pieces and set aside (this was just in case my helper went over board with the food processor.)  I let my helper process the large chunks, we then added cilantro and salt.  As a side note, he did process just a little too much.  But it was yummy!

Mushroom & Kale Noodle Kugel

Trying to find meatless meals that my whole family will enjoy is not easy, the younger of the two is slightly easier since most of what i make are still new tastes/flavors to him, plus he really likes to help in the kitchen.  The older one, well you know...he has a few dislikes. I came across this recipe while looking through my Whole Foods Recipes app, I have a tendency to browse food apps during various down times. But I looked at the ingredients and there are a couple that my husband doesn't care for, but oh well. I know he likes (or at least doesn't mind) the main ingredients so I thought I would give it a go. (Needless to say, he isn't overly excited to try it.)  I mean come on, it a kugel, a baked pasta what is not to like. So for those who don't know, a kugel is a Jewish casserole that is traditionally made with egg noodles, it can also be made with potatoes or other vegetables, served as a side dish or like in my case the main dish with a salad or other vegetable.

This weekend my son and I went to our first farmers market of the season, and he made sure to sample everyone's strawberries and snap peas.  There were a lot of people selling greens, so I picked up a really nice bunch of kale from one of the local farmers.  (I also made some kale chips, but that is a whole other story.) I must admit that even though I added this recipe to my "favorites" is wasn't until I saw the kale that I decided that I would actually make this, that and the mushrooms looked good at the store. (We also bought the strawberries that were used in the Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream that I posted earlier.)

I didn't stray from the original recipe much other than halving it, since I didn't want to get stuck eating kugel for the next week because the boys didn't like it.  I did add parmesan cheese and a little pit of panko breading on the top.  I put this together the night before so my husband could just put it in the oven when he got home, I would think you could probably even make it ahead and freeze (if you aren't weird about freezing dairy, I know some people are.) Anyway here it is...

Mushroom Kale Noodle Kugel
(adapted from Whole Foods)

Serves 8

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (16 oz) package wide egg noodles
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 pound white or cremini mushrooms, sliced (I used some of both)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 bunch kale, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1-1/4 cups cottage cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 x 13 inch dish; set aside. Cook noodles in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain, rinse and drain again; transfer to a large bowl. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook stirring occasionally, until golden, 8-10 minutes. Add mushrooms, pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; cook until mushrooms are very tender, 8-10 minutes. Stir in kale and cook until wilted, 2-3 minutes; add thyme. Add to noodles, toss and set aside.  Whisk together eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, remaining salt and parmesan cheese. Fold into noodles. Transfer to prepared dish, press down gently, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until lightly browned, about 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*This would be really good with spinach also, next time I would make sure to use small curd cottage cheese and I think I would even add one more egg.  I could have eaten the whole dish, my son ate most of the noodles, he wasn't too sure of the kale. My husband, well if he was my son he wouldn't get any ice cream.

Homemade Granola Bars (My first attempt)

With some of the ingredients that I bought over the weekend I decided that I was going to make my own granola bars.  I didn't do much in the way of research before hand, I mean how hard can it really be?  Well I felt as my first attempt they turned out pretty good.  I think that I baked them just a little too long, but when you aren't focused on the oven and instead on your boys outside that tends to happen. 

The options are really endless when it comes to what you can add, you could just use oats or use a combination of oats and cereal or pretzels.  Dried fruits, nuts, nut butters, sweeteners (I recommend natural), candy, really anything!

I used:

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup pretzels, crushed (helpers are great for this step!)

1 cup mixed nuts, roughly chopped

1/2 cup craisins

2/3 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup honey

(I was going to also use carob chips and coconut, but forgot the chips and the coconut was bad.)

Lightly toast the oats, pretzels and nuts. While that is toasting, heat the honey and peanut butter until the peanut butter is really runny (about 1 minute in the microwave).

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, press into a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350 until just golden and set.  Probably only 20 minutes. I didn't wait until they were cooled to cut because I didn't want them just to crumble. (And even if they did you now have granola!) The flavor was there, I just would have liked the texture to be more chewy and less crunchy.  If I baked them for less time then I may have achieved that, but I have next time, and I will make another batch.

Store in a plastic or glass container with a tight lid, they should last for about a week or so.

Make ahead Lunches: Vegetarian Salads

This post follows my Day of Preparation post. I made three salads this weekend, all can be eaten cold but at least one I would recommend eating warm. I made these looking for a protein packed vegetarian lunches that will keep me feeling full longer after a workout.  Each salad was made to have two servings. I don't plan on eating these salads all on their own, I have various other items to go along with the them.  All of the salads can be tweaked to you tastes, and can even just be used as a side dish.

First, I made a Garbanzo and Rice Salad. 

1/2 cup of cooked rice
1/2 cup of garbanzo beans, cooked or canned
3 cucumber slices, chopped
1/2 celery stalk, chopped
2 green onions, white and light green only
1/8 cup chopped tomatoes, more if you would like
2 tablespoons basic vinaigrette (recipe below)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, store in a container with a tight fitted lid in the refrigerator.

Basic Vinaigrette
1 clove garlic, mashed
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

The second, Warm Mushroom and Pearl Couscous Salad

2/3 cup pearl couscous, cooked
1/2 cup sherry mushrooms
1/8 cup marinaded baked tofu, cut into small cubes, I used Trader Joe's
2 tablespoons soybeans, steamed and shelled
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, store in a container with a tight fitted lid in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave or on the stove top, if you use the stove top you may want to add a little vegetable broth.

The third, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Salad

1/2 cup black beans, cooked or canned
1 cup roasted sweet potato, cut into bite size cubes
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tsp chopped jalapeno
1/8 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
a dash of Cheyenne (optional)
1/2 tsp Chipotle Seasoning
1 tablespoon basic vinaigrette
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, store in a container with a tight fitted lid in the refrigerator. (This can be eaten warm or cold)

A day of Preparation

I have been trying to figure out lunches that I can make ahead or at least partially make ahead that are also pretty high in protein.  After my lunch hour workouts the lunches I have been making just aren't cutting it, I find I am hungry about an hour or two after I eat and starving by dinner time.  So, this weekend just ended up being the weekend I decided to figure out my lunches.  I had to go to the grocery store for one of those big shopping trips anyway so I made a separate list with just things I needed or wanted, in addition to our normal list. 

My list included: dried Garbanzo Beans, peppers, garlic, dried Black beans, celery, cucumbers, oats, onions, dried fruit, flax seed, mushrooms, potatoes, nuts, tomatoes, fresh fruits, pretzels, tofu just to name a few.  If you notice I am trying to keep with a vegetarian theme.  I can control what I eat for breakfast and lunch, but dinner is our family time and I am grateful to have a husband who makes dinner every night during the week.

I was inspired by a blog I came across called Oh She Glows, the author did a two part post on make ahead lunches. So I decided that I could do the same but with my own recipes.  When coming up with lunch ideas I also was thinking about how I could do as much prep as I could to make my mornings easier.  I bought dry beans, rice and couscous, all of which I made a larger batch so I was able to freeze some for later use.

My goal was to make granola bars, various salads, and wrap stuffers.  I spent the day cooking the beans, rice, and couscous, roasting vegetables, sauteing the mushrooms, and cutting raw vegetables.

I roasted the tomatoes with garlic, onion, olive oil and salt and pepper for about 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees. While the tomatoes were in the oven I sauteed the mushrooms with garlic, onion, salt and pepper and sherry until the sherry was absorbed, then added just a few of the roasted tomatoes.

On top of the preparation I did today, I also bought items that I can just throw in my bag. Oranges, carrots, hummus, yogurts, bananas and premade trail mix. This week will be a test, I should have enough snacks and protein to make it through the day.

Homemade Granola Bars

Make ahead Lunches: Vegetarian Salads

Meatless Monday: Cauliflower & Mushroom Pasta

Lately when it comes to meatless meals I lean towards pasta dishes, I am sure it do to the fact my husband will usually at least try anything was pasta. This week was no different.

When I went grocery shopping I had it in my head I wanted to use cauliflower but didn't really know what I wanted to make, I also picked up baby portabella mushrooms because they looked good. I have been trying to get my husband to eat cauliflower for a while but he never will, I must say it gets frustrating! You can't not like something if you have never tried it (or if it has been more than twenty years, there's a statute of limitations on everything.) Anyway...

I would really like to make more family meatless meals but because of my husbands eating habits I fund it difficult. Unlike him I do not need to eat meat at every meal. I have gotten him to try and like new things so one step at a time. And by the way...he tried and liked this pasta dish. He didn't know what was in and he said he liked it! So yay!

Onto the pasta...

1 medium head of cauliflower
2 tbsp olive oil, split
1/2 pound mushrooms
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 box of pasta, I used rigatoni
Grated parmesan, optional

Heat oven to 350 degrees and bring a pot of water to boil.

Chop/break the cauliflower into bite size pieces. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven for about 20 mins until tender.

Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms and onion and mince the garlic. Sauté in the remaining olive oil until the onions are just translucent. Add pasta to boiling water.

Remove the cauliflower from the oven and add to the mushrooms, add the vegetable broth. Toss all together and simmer until pasta is cooked. Add the pasta to the vegetables. Serve with parmesan cheese.




Baked version with Parmesan cheese through out.

Vegetable & Tofu Stirfry

When your child doesn't want to eat meat, substitute it! This recipe was great because my son helped make the dinner, which made him excited to try it, and he got to try something new. I choose certain ingredients that I new he could help with. He broke the green beans into small pieces, pulled the broccoli into florets, and took the caps off the mushrooms and tore them in to smaller pieces. He did this while I cut up the squash and tofu.

My little helper

Ingredients:
Fresh Green Beans
Fresh Broccoli
Yellow Squash (I used yellow for color)
Shataki Mushrooms
Green Onions
Firm (or Extra Firm) Tofu
Sesame Seeds
Sesame Oil
Peanut Oil
Hosin Sauce
Soy Sauce
Ginger

Jasmine Rice (I used Trader Joe's Thai Jasmine Rice, Frozen)

Stirring the Veg while tofu cooked

This is really a recipe that doesn't use measurements, it is all about taste and how much you want to make. So here it goes as we made it... Drain tofu, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, place on a towel to remove extra moisture, set aside. Meanwhile, start preparing the vegetables, cut into bite size pieces. Start heating about 2 tablespoons each of the sesame and peanut oils, in a large skillet. Toss the tofu with about 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds. Once the oil is hot, add the tofu and cook until golden brown on all sides. Once the tofu is finished, remove from pan and place on a towel to remove any excess oil.

Ingredients

Add the broccoli and green beans to the oil and cook until starting to get tender, add the squash and mushrooms. Stir until coated with the oil and cook everything to crisp tender. Once the vegetables are cooked, mix in about 2 tablespoons (the magic measurement) of the hosin sauce and about two shakes of soy sauce. Add the tofu and green onions and toss to coat. Serve over rice.

My Plate

He wanted me to take a picture of his plate too.

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Simple Meatless Pasta

This is a light and fresh pasta dish using vegetables that looked good simply roasted.

1 pint cherry or other small tomato
4 small peppers
4 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
about 1/2 box linguini
parmesan cheese to taste

Preheat oven to 350, cut vegetables and toss lightly with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Roast for about 30 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta.

Once the pasta and vegetables are finished cooking, toss the pasta in the pan with the vegetables. Add pasta water if needed. 

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and additional salt and pepper if needed.

As an option you can add seared scallops.

Meatless Monday: Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I went out on a limb for this one because I made these knowing that my husband doesn't like peppers and/or onions. (Also, I want to apologize for the picture, it's not the best.) I really enjoyed this meal, you could easily add meat to these or even just eat them as a side dish but I ate them as my meal. And when I say "I" I mean just me, first my son tried them he was ok with the rice filling but didn't care for the pepper and basically Nic had the same reaction. His thought was they would be really good if I didn't use the pepper. Anyway.

I would say that Poblano peppers are by far my favorite type of pepper. Especially when roasted. I did roast my peppers before stuffing them, but you don't have too. After I roasted them, I placed them in a bowl covered in plastic wrap and let them sweat so I was able to easily remove the skin. Once the skin is removed I carefully cut the peppers in half and removed the seeds. Then just spoon the filling in the pepper halves.

For the filling, I cooked 1 cup of white rice. While the rice cooked I sautéd onions, garlic and some left over pepper in some olive oil. I then added the rice, corn and some taco seasoning. Mixed well, removed from heat and stirred in some Colby-Jack cheese. Once in the pepper I sprinkled more cheese on top.
Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted, then add some taco or hot sauce on top after it is out of the oven. Serve with a green salad.

Options that I would do if I was just eating them (and I would have done this if I new it would just be me) is add black beans to the mixture to make it more hardy.

Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Triangoli

I guess this is a review of sorts, I really just wanted to share that these are/were delicious. I tossed them in brown butter and grated some Parmesan on top! Yum!

It was just me and my son this evening so I wanted to get something for dinner that was different and quick. I usually take advantage when my husband is out and make something knowing he probably wouldn't like it.

So if you have tried these I hope you enjoyed them if you haven't you should. They were a great balance between sweet and savory. Trader Joe's has a few different types of fresh stuffed pastas that I want to try. I will keep you posted.

Batch Cooking Grains

Red Quinoa - Cooked

I have been introducing the 9 month old to new textures when it comes to food, I am finding that there are some that he has no problems with and others...well, it may take a while.  So this past weekend, I decided to do some batch cooking of grains and pasta. 

Most grains and pasta freeze well for at least a month and some longer.  I use a method I call, the stacked freezer bag method.  I use a Tupperware container that I am not using anymore to hold the bags.  I put about a 1/4 cup of the cooled grain or pasta into the bag (I use the snack size bags) and start layering the bags on top of each other.  They plastic container is good for keeping them in the stack.  When you are ready to use the bagged food, just thaw in the refrigerator over night, run under warm water, or remove the food from the bag and microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds (may need longer but I would always start at 30 seconds).

Foods that I have made and freeze this way are:

• Oatmeal (old fashioned - not instant or quick)
• Quinoa
• Pasta (alphabets and ditalini)
• Bulgur (whole kernel)
• Couscous

All of these foods can be ground in a food processor or blender to make finer so you can adjust the consistency to your child.

For more information on grains check out these brands:

Sunnyland Mills
Near East
Bob's Red Mill

All of these sites have recipes also.


*Please note, most contain or are wheat so if your child has an allergy don't use them.*

Alphabets

Whole grain organic vegetable pasta! I had trouble finding something that had a little more nutrition then the plain semolina pastas and I found this in the natural food section of our supper market. It is slightly more expensive then the plain pastas but it is larger and had more nutrition, so I feel it is worth the extra money. I make a week or two worth and freeze it in individual servings using freezer bags that I can stack.

Cheesy-Broccoli with Pasta

I have been trying to get more vegetables into my sons diet, right now it seems I always have a lot of fruits on hand and not as many vegetables, or maybe just not enough of a verity.  The staple vegetables that I have are carrots and sweat potatoes, I tend to get a lot out of just a little.  This past week at the farmers market I loaded up of summer squash and broccoli.  As you know from the last post the squash was a hit.  The broccoli I haven't tried yet, it has been steamed, pureed, and frozen; now i am just trying to figure the best combination to serve it.  Broccoli on its own with no seasoning can be pretty bland and gross if you are a kid (or my husband), so I want to jazz it up a bit.  I grew up with my parents adding cheese sauce on our steamed broccoli, and in college I added a pasta to the mix for a complete meal.  So using that as my starting point, I will try Cheesy-Broccoli with Pasta. Simple? I hope, but I think I am going to add a bit more for more nutritional value.


Here is the recipe that I am going to try out (may get adjusted once I actually prepare the dish):

Cheesy-Broccoli with Pasta

10 oz. frozen or 1-2 heads fresh Broccoli

1 1/2 cups of a small Pasta (cooked)

5 medium carrots, cut into small 1/4 cubes

1/2 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

First start off by steaming the vegetables, you can steam them together if you want to just mix and store everything as one.  As the vegetables are steaming in a separate pot start to cooking the pasta (you could even use Israeli couscous if you would like).  While both the pasta and vegetables are cooking, start the turkey by adding about 3 tablespoons of water to a frying pan, add the turkey.  Break the turkey up into small pieces and cook until no longer pink.

Drain the vegetables, pasta and turkey (reserving some of the cooking liquid).  Set the pasta and carrots aside.  Puree the broccoli and turkey, use some of the reserved liquid to thin out the puree if you need to.

In a bowl, mix together the puree mixture along with the pasta and carrots.  Add the shredded cheese into the mix.  Serve, refrigerate or freeze as desired.  Since there is meat in this meal, use within 1-2 days or freeze for up to 2 months.

Since I mentioned the nutritional value, I figured I should look it up and report my findings.  (I did my research on Nutritiondata.com.)

Summer Squash & Couscous

This is a new recipe that I came up with for my son, since it is summer, summer squash is in abundance. You could do this recipe with any of the different types of squash, I tried it with zucchini, yellow squash and pattypan squash.

This will make a lot of food, about 12-15 cups. It can be frozen for up to 3 months, or you can refrigerate it and use it within 3 days or so. This is also a good adult recipe, just don't puree the squash, use a skillet or roast it instead.

Summer Squash with Israeli Couscous

2-3 large Zucchini*

1-2 large Yellow Squash*

1 large Pattypan Squash*

3-4 fresh Basil Leaves

1 1/3 cups dry Israeli Couscous

Clean and cut up squash, (I removed the seeds and peeled some of the tougher skin off), place in your steamer or steamer basket and steam until very tender. Transfer to your food processor and add basil, pulse/puree until smooth or your child's desired consistency.

Prepare couscous as directed on the box, I use Trader Joes brand and it made about 2 1/2 cups prepared. Mix the couscous and squash mixture together and serve or spoon into freezable trays.

*Use all, one or any combination of squash. If your child is new to squash, I would recommend only using one and follow the 4 day wait rule.

For more information on Summer squash and the different types you can go to http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/ssquash.cfm

Unexpected

So I have always been someone who thought cheese and seafood just
didn't go together. But a friend of mine made this dish that was just
delicious. He is big on pasta And high protein seafood dishes and
lucky me he brings me samples.

He took whole wheat pasta and tossed it with shrimp, roasted red
peppers, roasted butternut squash, onion and goat cheese. It was
great! The sweetness of the squash and peppers with the tangy goat
cheese was brilliant, then the textures of the shrimp and pasta just
made the dish.

I am going to attempt to make this dish soon and see if I can get it
to be just as good, I will also post a picture. Just writing about it
is making me hungry.