Cheeseburger Macaroni

This recipe came about because of my desire to have a one dish meal with some sticking power to it that is easy to put together. One of the nice things about this recipe is that unlike a casserole, no baking. It's all done on the stove top and once it's done, it's done. Easy peasy. :)

It basically uses my recipe for Macaroni & Cheese with a few additions and a slight modification.

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
1 TB. dill pickle juice
1 can diced tomatoes
16 oz. bag of Sam Mills Gluten Free Pasta (or any regular pasta if you're not gluten free)
Milk (I use whole milk. I like the richness that it adds.)
**  8 - 10 oz. Velveeta
**1-2 handfuls of shredded cheese of your choice (this is where the fun comes in. I've used cheddar (sharp, medium, mild), Mexican blend, Italian blend, provolone, parmesan, basically whatever shredded cheese I happen to have on hand.


In large pot, cook pasta till al dente, drain, rinse in cold water, set aside. In same pot, brown the ground beef with the onion and add salt & pepper to taste. When the ground beef is done, drain off any excess grease and add the can of diced tomatoes (juice & all), pickle juice, milk, and Velveeta. Because of the juice in the tomatoes, this takes a little less milk than the original mac & cheese recipe. Stir often until Velveeta is melted. Add in shredded cheese and stir until melted. Add in pasta and stir until everything is well mixed. We like to serve it with steamed veggies and fresh fruit.

** If when making the regular mac & cheese you use 6 oz of Velveeta, then only use 8 oz in this recipe. If you use 1 handful of shredded cheese, then use 2 this time. With the addition of extra ingredients, it dilutes the cheesiness of the original recipe, which is one of the things I absolutely love.

Macaroni & Cheese

Macaroni & Cheese has long been not only a staple food in our house as the kids were growing up, but a favorite as well. When I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy nearly 5 years ago, it about killed me to give it up. It took what felt like forever to find a pasta that would hold up to making mac & cheese. I had the sauce perfected long before I found one. We started using Sam Mills Pasta. Not only is delicious, it's one of the more affordable gluten free pastas on the market. It is also non-GMO which is important to me. No, they are not paying me to push their pasta. I simply believe in sharing info when I find a good product that makes life easier. :)  As long as you don't overcook it, this pasta will hold up to being put in casseroles and being reheated as leftovers without turning to mush like brown rice pasta. 

So as I've mentioned before, I'm not always one for measuring when I create a recipe. So think of this recipe as more of a guideline and have fun with it. 

16 oz. bag of Sam Mills Gluten Free Pasta (or any regular pasta if you're not gluten free)
Milk (I use whole milk. I like the richness that it adds.)
6-8 oz. Velveeta
1-2 handfuls of shredded cheese of your choice (this is where the fun comes in. I've used cheddar (sharp, medium, mild), Mexican blend, Italian blend, provolone, parmesan, basically whatever shredded cheese I happen to have on hand.

Cook pasta al dente, drain, run under cold water and set aside.
In same pan pasta was cooked in, add milk (about 1 1/2 cups) and Velveeta. Stir often until Velveeta is melted and mixture is smooth. Add in a large handful or two of shredded cheese and stir until smooth. Season with pepper or seasoning of your choice. Add cooked pasta to sauce, mix well and make sure it is heated through.

If the cheese sauce is too thin, add more shredded cheese. If it's too thick, add more milk until you get the consistency you want. If you like a little spice and aren't making this for little ones, it would be awesome with some pepper jack cheese thrown in. My favorite combination of cheeses for it is sharp cheddar & Italian blend (usually a blend of parmesan, romano, asiago, provolone and mozzarella).

Cashew Chicken - version 2.0

Here lately I've felt like I've been in a bit of a cooking rut. This recipe was well liked by the family, but I simply forgot about it. I finally got around to trying an idea I had been toying with for this recipe. I wanted it to taste more authentic, so I subbed sesame oil for the olive oil and chicken broth for the orange juice. It turned out FABULOUS!!! Seriously, it tasted like something that you would get at your favorite Chinese take out place. With those two simple substitutions, it went from being a well liked dinner to being a favorite dinner!  

¾ cup Orange Juice   Chicken Broth

1/3 cup Honey

¼ cup Soy Sauce (make sure it's GF)

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

½ tsp. Pepper

4 boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 1/2 Tbs. Olive Oil  Sesame Oil

1 Tbs. Corn Starch

1 cup Cashews

4 green onion

1 lg, carrot sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

Combine and set aside the OJ  Chicken Broth, Honey, Soy Sauce, Corn Starch, Garlic Powder, Pepper. In a large pan sauté the chicken. In a separate pan cook olive oil  sesame oil, green onions, carrot, and celery until softened. Add veggies, sauce, cashews to chicken and heat through.

After sauteing the chicken, I remove it from the pan and cut into bite size pieces. I then add the carrot, celery, and green onion to the same pan as the chicken. I basically turn it into a one pot meal. I guess I'm just lazy like that. ;)

Garlic Pepper Sausage, Green Beans, and Potatoes

Not exactly a catchy name I know, but it does well at describing the dish. ;)  I love this meal for multiple reasons. It's a one dish meal so cleanup is easy. It tastes delicious. My family loves it. It's quick to make. Serve it with a side salad and some fresh fruit and there you go. Dinner in under an hour.

1 lb. smoked sausage (make sure it's gluten free if that's a concern)
4-6 red or gold potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
1 lb. fresh or frozen green beans
McCormick Garlic Pepper Seasoning

Slice sausage into 1/4" rounds. In large skillet with lid, brown sausage. Add potatoes, stir, and cover skillet. Check often to make sure the potatoes aren't sticking to the pan/burning. Add a bit of water if need be to help them steam and keep them from sticking. When potatoes are done, add green beans, sprinkle liberally with seasoning, stir and cover. Cook until green beans are tender. Be careful not to overcook. Enjoy!

P.S. Be sure and use red or gold potatoes. Russets will turn to mush and do not work well for this recipe.

Sloppy Joes

When DH and I got married, his mom introduced me to a recipe for sloppy joes that used Campbell's chicken gumbo soup, ketchup, and mustard. I thought that was THE oddest combination ever. Then I tried it. Oh my gosh...BEST sloppy joes ever!  Now that I have to eat gluten free I just had to find a way to make them again but without the chicken gumbo soup because these sloppy joes stuffed into a baked potato and topped with sour cream & cheese is one of hubby's most favorite meals ever.

 

1 - 1 1/2 lbs extra lean ground beef
1 medium onion, finely diced
black pepper
Mrs. Dash
2-3 tsp. Better Than Bouillon (beef) Paste
1 cup ketchup
1/2 TB yellow mustard
2 cups water

Brown ground beef in deep skillet with onion. Season liberally with black pepper & Mrs. Dash.  When beef is done cooking, add water, bouillon paste, ketchup, and mustard. Stir well to make sure ingredients are thoroughly blended. Make sure the taste is just right. Trust me, you'll know if it is or isn't. It shouldn't taste too much like ketchup or too much like mustard. If it seems to be lacking a bit of flavor, add more Mrs. Dash. Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce thickens up. Serve on buns or over baked potatoes.

Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli Soup

I clipped this recipe from the newspaper nearly 7 years ago. It is my absolute favorite soup to make when it's cold and snowy out (next to chicken & dumplings). :)  Normally I make it in a pan and let it simmer. Today when I made it, I used my crockpot because I had a crazy busy day. If you're using a crockpot, simply add the ground beef and all the other ingredients to the crockpot rather than simmering in a dutch oven. (Don't forget to wait to add the noodles till shortly before serving). Easy peasy and incredibly delicious!

2 cups small shaped pasta (I use Schar gluten free fusili)
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 TB minced or chopped garlic
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup diced carrots (regular or baby carrots)
2 cans Italian diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 - 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 15 oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
2 - 5.5 oz cans V-8 Juice (I've never seen cans this small, I simply used a 12 oz. can)
3 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable broth (I use Pacific Foods beef broth)
1 TB white or rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain & set aside.  In large dutch oven, brown ground beef until nearly cooked through. Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrots and cook together for 5 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients, except pasta, lower heat, and simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir in cooked noodles and simmer for about 15 more minutes. If desired sprinkle parmesan cheese over each bowl of soup when serving.

Egg Rolls

I learned how to make these from a friend's mom and they have been a favorite ever since. They are not Asian in any sense of the word other than the egg roll wrappers used. It's a completely Americanized dish and we love them. Hubby & the kids beg me to make them. To make them gluten free, use rice paper wrappers instead of egg roll wrappers. Rice paper wrappers/sheets can be bought at just about any Asian food store. They are shelf stable and need to be rehydrated to use them. I was thrilled when I found them and we all shouted for joy that we didn't have to give up our egg rolls. :)

1 lb. ground beef
3-4 potatoes, scrubbed & diced
1 medium onion, finely diced or put through a food processor
2 cans french cut green beans, drained
salt & pepper

Brown ground beef with onion & salt & pepper. When ground beef is cooked through, add the potatoes and cook until potatoes are tender. Add green beans and remove from heat. Let mixture cool enough to be able to handle it and so that the heat won't melt the egg roll wrappers. Put a small amount of filling in the center of a wrapper, roll and seal. Repeat until filling & wrappers are gone. Fry egg rolls until golden brown and drain on paper towels. These are delicious with sweet & sour or duck sauce. You can also experiment with the fillings.

We had these for dinner last night and we filled them with the above listed ingredients and a bag of tricolor coleslaw mix. I love coleslaw mix for stuff like this because it's already cut up. All I have to do it cook it. :)

Kisha's Meatballs

Otherwise known as the most delicious meatballs ever! I got this recipe from one of my online friends, Kisha when she shared it in a Close To My Heart consultant forum. I've made lots of meatballs over the years, but none come close to these when you're looking for a plate piled high with spaghetti & meatballs or a hearty meatball sub. Mmmmm. These are the best! Oh, and to make them even better....I simply put them in sauce in my crockpot. Dinner doesn't get much easier than that!

To make this recipe gluten free, see my notes at the end of the recipe.

2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs*
1 small palmful oregano
1 small palmful parsley
1 small palmful basil
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Mix together and roll into 2" balls. (a Pampered Chef cookie scoop works great for this). Plop into sauce & let simmer at least 4 hours until cooked through. The longer they cook, the softer they are, the more delish they are!

*To make gluten free, substitute gluten free bread crumbs. You can buy them most anywhere that sells gluten free products or you can make your own.

To make my own, I simply save all the heels from the loaves of gluten free bread that I buy (or make). I store them in a ziplock bag (in the fridge) until I have enough to make a decent batch of breadcrumbs. I run the bread through my food processor until crumbly and then store in the freezer in a container or ziplock bag until I need them.

Butternut Squash Soup

I found this recipe in Parade Magazine in the Sunday paper a while back. Not everyone in our family loves butternut squash as much as I do, but even those who won't eat the squash will eat this soup!

I don't bother with the optional garnishes or nutmeg when spicing it and it still turns out great.

1 butternut squash (about 3 pounds)
3 slender or 1 1/2 large leeks, white parts only, split lengthwise, washed, and cut into 1 inch pieces.
3 cups whole milk
3 cups water
salt & pepper
freshly grated nutmeg

Peel the squash. Remove the seed and string, then cut into 1 -2 inch chunks. Put in soup pot or dutch oven with leeks, milk, and water. Salt generously and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until squash is soft enough to mash when pressed lightly with the back of a spoon.

Using an immersion blender, blender, or food processor, puree the soup in small batches until it is very smooth. Thin to desired consistency with milk or water. Season with salt & pepper to taste. You may also season with nutmeg.

Optional Garnish: 1 tart apple, peeled and finely diced, about 1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts or walnuts, about 1/2 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream.

Hamburger Rice Skillet

I created this recipe with some leftovers and odds and ends of veggies I had in the fridge one night when I was desperate to get dinner on the table. It has become a dinnertime staple and any leftovers are quickly gone.

1 lb. hamburger
1 medium onion, diced
5-6 large carrots - peeled and sliced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
2 cups white rice
1 quart beef broth ( I use Pacific Foods Organic, which is also gluten free)
2 TB soy sauce (I use La Choy which is gluten free)
2 cups frozen peas
Black Pepper to taste

Brown hamburger with onion and black pepper. When no longer pink, add celery, carrots, soy sauce, rice, and beef broth. Cover and simmer until the liquids have been absorbed and the rice is tender. Add frozen peas and heat through.

The first time I made this dish it was with leftover roast beef and veggies that needed used up. I've also made it with leftover chicken (and chicken broth). You can add as many or as few veggies as you like. They can be fresh, frozen, or leftover. If using leftover or frozen veggies, you will want to add them when the rice is done and only cook long enough to heat them through so they don't become mushy.

Taco Soup

I made this for dinner the other night as the weather has been getting cooler with the arrival of Fall. It is one of the ultimate comfort foods and as an added bonus super easy and quick to get on the table!

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, finely diced
black pepper
1 can chili beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Mexican Seasoning (made by McCormick)

Brown ground beef with the onion and black pepper. Add remainder of ingredients and simmer until heated all the way through. Serve in bowls over Fritos or tortilla chips and top with sour cream and shredded cheese. Yum!

I haven't been able to find Mexican Seasoning for a while and didn't have any gluten free taco seasoning on hand, so I merely seasoned to taste with chili powder and cumin. The diced tomatoes I used also had diced green chiles in them. It turned out perfect! Oh, and I don't drain my cans of beans. I just toss them in juice and all.

Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets

Wow! I can't believe I've neglected this blog for so long! I've been dabbling in gluten free cooking over the past few months since my diagnosis of gluten intolerance. One of the foods I have missed the most is chicken nuggets....and I had especially been craving chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A.

I should warn you now that I am notorious for not measuring when I cook (especially main dishes). Hopefully this recipe will turn out as yummy for you as it did for me. We've made it a couple of times now and it's become a family favorite. My daughter even made it one night for her and hubby while I was out of town (she's gluten intolerant too). They poured homemade sweet and sour sauce over them and served over steamed rice. Yum!!! I'll share the sweet & sour sauce recipe another day soon. Probably next week since we'll be camping this weekend and enjoying the last bit of summer. :)

If you don't need these to be gluten free, simply use regular flour instead of gluten free flour.

equal amounts of gluten free flour blend & cornmeal (approx. 1 cup of each)
Spices (I used Mrs. Dash, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder)
2 eggs beaten and thinned out with about 1/4 cup of milk
1 1/2 - 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces

Blend gluten free flour, cornmeal, and spices together. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then in the flour & spice mixture. Fry in hot oil until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Drain on paper towels and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Cashew Chicken

This recipe came from my mother-in-law, who got it from my sister-in-law, who got it from her sister-in-law....LOL Isn't it amazing how quickly the good recipes can travel? I love it! Anyways, this was e-mailed to me a while back and I made it for dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was a HUGE hit. As an added bonus, as long as I buy gluten free soy sauce, it fits into my new eating habits just fine. These days, it just doesn't get much better than that! :-D

¾ cup Orange Juice

1/3 cup Honey

¼ cup Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

½ tsp. Pepper

4 boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 1/2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Corn Starch

1 cup Cashews

4 green onion

1 lg, carrot sliced

1 celery stalk, sliced

Combine and set aside the OJ, Honey, Soy Sauce, Corn Starch, Garlic Powder, Pepper. In a large pan sauté the chicken. In a separate pan cook olive oil, green onions, carrot, and celery until softened. Add veggies, sauce, cashews to chicken and heat through.

After sauteing the chicken, I remove it from the pan and cut into bite size pieces. I then add the carrot, celery, and green onion to the same pan as the chicken. I basically turn it into a one pot meal. I guess I'm just lazy like that. ;)

Sausage Potato Soup

It's been a really rough few weeks and has been hard for me to get excited about cooking and even eating! Right before Mother's Day I was put on a gluten free and dairy free diet (perfect timing huh?). It's been amazingly hard to follow and very overwhelming at times. I am doing better about it and am slowly getting back into wanting to cook. I'm having to either revamp old favorites or having to create new favorites - in order to avoid living on nothing but baked chicken, fish, salads, veggies, and fruit. We've had some rather chilly weather this spring and even had some snow last week. It's been an interesting spring! LOL Anyways, I created this soup last weekend since it was cold enough here to be perfect for soup.

1 lb. Jimmy Dean All Natural Breakfast Sausage (I'd love to try making it again only with Italian Sausage)
1 onion coarsely diced
6-8 scrubbed and diced potatoes
1 - 2  quarts Organic All Natural Beef Broth
Milk of choice (I use whole milk. You can also use unsweetened almond or rice milk)
Potato Flakes (if you need to thicken the broth any)
Spices to taste ( I use salt, pepper, parsley, and Mrs. Dash)

Brown sausage with onion in a large pot. When cooked all the way through, use a little bit of the beef broth to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the remainder of the broth and the potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are tender with some of them breaking apart so that they thicken the broth. Add almond milk to the soup to add some creaminess and to thin it out if the soup has become too thick. Serve immediately.

It's a simple recipe that I totally made up on the fly with ingredients on hand, but boy oh boy was it good. There wasn't even a ladle full of it leftover. Gone in a flash! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Alfredo Sauce

This is an easy and really yummy Alfredo sauce. Both of the girls love it. As an added bonus the leftovers heat up nicely so we never throw any out.

14 Tbs. Butter

3/4 C. Cream Cheese

1/2 C. Milk

1 & 1/4 C. Heavy Whipping Cream

1 & 3/4 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese

In a medium sized skillet melt butter and cream cheese. Add milk and cream - blend thoroughly. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until melted. Serve over cooked noodles.

Stuffed Peppers

Another family recipe. I remember my grandma making this quite often in the summertime when bell peppers were plentiful from the garden. I confess I don't care much for green bell peppers...they tend to bite back for me...but I love orange, yellow, and red bell peppers. I seriously could live off of this filling it is so yummy! I remember my grandma always made it with home canned tomato juice which just made it all that much more flavorful.

1 quart tomato juice
3 cups cooked rice
1/2 onion, diced
6 medium bell peppers
1/2 lb meat (beef, chicken, or pork)
oregano or Italian seasoning
salt & pepper

Brown meat with onion, salt, and pepper. Cut tops off of peppers, clean out insides, and set aside. Cut up usable pepper meat from tops and add to meat. Drain grease from browned meat. Add tomato juice (12 oz tomato sauce and 20 oz water if you don't have juice), rice and Italian seasoning. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 1/2" to 1" of water in a 13x9 baking dish. Fill peppers with rice mixture and place in prepared baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes or until peppers are tender and lightly browned.

Chicken & Rice Casserole

Another one of those good old comfort food recipes I grew up with. Very filling and totally delicious.

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can of water
1 lb. chicken
1 1/2 - 2 cups uncooked rice
1 can of mushroom pieces

Mix all three cans of soup, water and mushrooms together. In a large casserole dish pour a layer of soup mixture. Sprinkle rice evenly over soup. Place chicken on top of rice. Cover with remaining soup. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until rice is completely done.

Apricot Chicken

I think this recipe may have come from Allrecipes, but I'm not sure. I've had it for ages and it makes for a nice change of pace for a little something different with chicken.

6 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1 cup apricot preserves
1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 baking dish. Combine preserves, vinegar, and brown sugar. Pour mixture over chicken breasts. Cover and bake for 50 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 10 more minutes.

Lip Smackin' Stuffed Shells

This is another recipe I got from Denise. Can you tell we share a LOT of recipes? :) We have theme nights for our dinners and we usually eat "Italian" once a week. This is a great recipe to help mix up the menus a little bit rather than just having spaghetti or lasagna all the time.

12 ounce package jumbo shell pasta, cooked
15 ounce can tomato sauce
16 ounce package shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups cottage cheese (we prefer low fat ricotta cheese in this recipe)
2 - 10 ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 eggs, beaten
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I leave this out)
28 ounce jar spaghetti sauce, divided
Salt & Pepper
Parmesan Cheese, grated, for garnish

Combine tomato sauce, cheese, spinach, eggs, nutmeg, salt, pepper. Use this mixture to stuff cooked shells. Put 1/4 of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Place filled shells on top, stuffed side up. Cover with remainder of spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sweet & Sour Turkey Meatballs

This is another recipe I got from Denise that we adapted slightly to our tastes and has quickly become a family favorite. (to make gluten free, simply substitute gluten free soy sauce and make sure the ketchup is also gluten free)

1 1/2 pounds ground pork sausage (we use extra lean ground beef)
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 can pineapple chunks (we use tidbits) in it's own juice, drained

My additions:
1 small onion finely diced
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Mix together sausage and turkey (as well as onion & black pepper if desired). Form into meatballs. Brown meatballs in a large skillet. Drain meatballs onto a paper towel and discard drippings. Mix remaining ingredients (except pineapple) in a small bowl. Place meatballs back in skillet and pour sauce over them. Simmer for 10 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked. Add pineapple just before serving. Serve over warm rice.