Quick Weeknight Gluten Free Dinners

When you have Celiac, and you are on a gluten free diet, you quickly realize that you have to plan ahead for your meals. You no longer can pick up take-out, or stop at a fast food restaurant. And eating out at a restaurant is not only expensive, but for me, not an enjoyable experience since I worry about whether the meal I am eating is going to make me sick.

I  always enjoyed cooking so cooking dinner every night for me was nothing new. I just had to tweek my menus so they would be gluten free. I work full time and get home between 4:30 and 5, so my meals need to be quick and easy, but also nutritious. I try to avoid processed foods and stick to naturally gluten free foods. I use fresh vegetables in season, organic when I can. My next choice is plain, frozen vegetables, no added ingredients or sauces. Simply, I microwave them, add some olive oil, salt and pepper. I shop on Saturday and plan my menus for the week. I also make enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day to take to work. Meals that require extra preparation and cooking time I save for the weekends. I don't make separate meals for my husband who doesn't have to eat gluten free, but as you will see from my menus, he isn't deprived of taste or variety!

Here are a few weeks of quick, gluten free dinners:

Monday-Taco Salad

Tuesday-Chicken Thighs/Brown Rice/Green Beans
Saute 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic in olive oil until softened. Add boneless, skinless chicken thighs, brown on both side. Add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 cup white wine(optional),  1 tsp. Italian seasoning, salt/pepper to taste. Simmer while you prepare your rice and green beans.

Wednesday-Pork Tenderloin/Potatoes/Lima Beans

Season Pork Tenderloin with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Broil about 10 minutes on each side. (Should be slightly pink in center, let rest before slicing) Mix fingerling potatoes, salt, pepper, a little olive oil. Cover and microwave for 15 minutes until tender.

Thursday-Pasta Fagioli

Friday-Mahi Mahi/ Quinoa/Broccoli
Saute mahi mahi in small amount of olive oil. Season with salt and lemon pepper seasoning.Add 1 cup white wine and 2 tbsps butter. Let simmer while quinoa is cooking. Prepare quinoa per package directions(I use GF chicken broth -cooks in 15 minutes) Steam fresh or frozen Broccoli Florets. Add oilve oil, lemon juice, salt/pepper.

Monday-Grilled Chicken Breast over mixed green salad
Grill or broil boneless chicken breasts. Serve over mixed green salad (lettuce, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, scallions, carrots, etc.) Serve with avocado, goat, feta or shredded cheddar cheese, and dressing of your choice.

Tuesday-Turkey Stroganoff

Wednesday-Grilled or Broiled Steak/Baked Potato(in summer, have fresh corn on the cob!)/Tomato and Cucumber Salad 

Thursday-Ziti w/Meat Sauce
Use my homemade sauce recipe-it freezes really well or jarred -I really like
Victoria's or Rao brands, I buy the Marinara Sauce and add my own ground beef

Friday-Tuna Salad over mixed green salad
Combine canned tuna, mayonnaise, chopped celery, carrot and onion,
 salt, pepper, a splash of pickle juice.

Homemade Guacamole, Naturally Gluten Free

Once you see how easy it is to make your own Guacomole, you will never,ever buy the pre made store bought again. The only hard part about this recipe is that you need to buy your avocados ahead of time so they can ripen.


Homemade Guacomole
3 ripe avocados
1/2 tomato, chopped into cubes
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Salt/pepper to taste

Mash avocados with fork, and the rest of the ingredients and stir together.  (Make this the same day you are going to serve it, it tends to turn brown the next day)

Gluten Free Pizza!

Pizza was a thing of the past in my house. My husband hated the gluten free pizza crusts I tried, they were either soggy or crumbled into pieces. He didn't want to order a pie from the pizzeria just for himself, so we just stopped having pizza. If I craved it, I ate it for lunch. I really like the frozen gluten free 3 Cheese Pizza from Trader Joe's.

One day, when I was looking for this frozen pizza, I saw that Trader Joe's had a new item-Frozen Gluten Free Pizza Crust!!

I had to try it. They come 2 in a package and are about 12 inches across. They fit nicely on a pizza pan. You defrost the crust for 15 minutes, add your sauce cheese and toppings, and bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned. The crust is  actually crispy and doesn't fall apart! You can reheat it and it still doesn't fall apart. Pizza is back on the menu in our house-my husband and kids loved it!

Sausage and Peppers Pizza

2 Trader Joe's Gluten Free Pizza Crusts
1 jar Pizza Sauce (Trader Joe's has a good one, I also like Victoria brand, no sugar or preservatives added!)
5 Italian sausage link, remove the meat from the casings
16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 red and 1 yellow pepper, sliced into thin half moons
1 small onion, sliced into thin half moons
Oregano
Salt/Pepper
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Defrost Pizza Crusts for 15 minutes. Place on well oiled pizza pan. (Be sure you gave covered the whole pan with a little olive oil, otherwise the pizza will stick)
Chop onions and peppers. Saute in a little olive oil until soft. Season with salt and pepper.Set aside.
Remove sausage meat from casings. Saute until browned, breaking it apart into small pieces.
Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on the crust. Too much will make it soggy.
Cover with a generous layer of shredded mozzarella.
Spread the sausage, peppers and onions evenly over the cheese.
Sprinkle with oregano.
Bake at 425 degrees until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbling.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

I always buy too many bananas, and they get too ripe. But this is the perfect banana to use in banana bread!  A banana is ripe when it  has dark brown speckles on the skin. Personally, I like to eat my banana when it is still yellow and firm, but for bread you need it to be ripe so that you can mash it.

When you get that sweet tooth, this bread is quick and easy. And, it also has the same taste and texture of banana bread made with wheat flour (when I make this, it disappears quickly, the rest of my family loves it!With all the gluten free one-for-one flours available now, this is really an easy recipe. The apple is optional, but I think if you try it once, you'll always add it. Also, the nuts and raisins can be omitted.

Banana Bread

1⁄3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1⁄3 cup vegetable oil

2⁄3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3⁄4 cups one-for one gluten-free flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1⁄4 teaspoons cinnamon

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 1⁄2 cups mashed ripe bananas

1 apple, peeled cored and chopped into small pieces

1⁄2 cup chopped pecans or 1⁄2 cup walnuts

1⁄2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease 9x5-inch non-stick loaf pan.

Mix together apple sauce, oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl.

Add flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon to egg mixture, alternating with bananas.

Beat until smooth.

Stir in apple, nuts and raisins.

Pour batter into pan.  Bake for 1 hour.

Broken Arm and Easter Dinner

I have not been posting because 6 weeks ago I broke my right arm! I slipped on ice in my parking lot and landed on my right arm. I have never broken a bone before. Ouch!

They got me in quickly at the emergency room, maybe because every other word out of my mouth was "F___k"! I was in denial the first week, I was told I would be out of work and not able to drive or do much with my arm for 8 weeks.I couldn't imagine it would be so long, but here I am, still home, still unable to drive, lift anything, or raise my arm higher than my waist.

Thankfully, my husband is retired, so he has been taking care of me. Shopping, cooking, cleaning, driving everywhere. Lucky for me, he likes to eat so he has become a very good cook with my instructions. Most impressive was Easter dinner. My husband and my kids all made a part of the meal. My son made Spanakopita and Gigante Beans, my daughter made my Gluten free Easter Bread and Gluten Free Ricotta Pie, and my husband made Roast Lamb, Roasted Potatoes, Greek salad and Pastitsio! I stood next to him and told him what to do, and he did a great job! So if you think you can't make a Bechamel sauce think again, he did and it was perfect!

I am very grateful for my husband and family for helping make this wonderful Easter meal and for all the support they have given me while my arm is healing.