Gluten Hates me is a fantastic Blog written by Marlow about her now 7 year journey with Celiac Disease.  She always posts interesting tidbits including innovative recipes, new gluten free products and the like. And MANY of her recipes are created in an attempt to replace or replicate something she finds missing in her life now that gluten is no longer a part of it.  Like pizza, or Phillie Cheese Steaks. Marlow uses a gluten free hot dog bun to replicate one of her favorite sandwiches and she makes an inventive Potato Crust to build her pizza upon!   However lots of her recipes are simply using gluten free products in more traditional recipes. Such as the case of Cheesy Cabot Quinoa Bites

I came across this little gem one day and decided to substitute my plannedover 8 grain wheatless hot cereal for the quoina.  And they were delicious.  I used two types of cheddar cheese and added some chopped steamed broccoli and chopped onions.

Mixed throughly and put in mini muffin pan

 Marlow's recipe calls for a mere 15 minutes in the oven, that did not work for me.  Probably because I look at recipes as mere suggestions on how to accomplish your goal.  My bites spend 30 minutes in the oven and were fabulous!!

Bite sized and cheesy - Don't really need anything more than that!!

Enjoy!!

Happy Eating!

Bob's Red Mill

I am interested in and somewhat fascinated by nutrition.  Some might view my, ahem, hobby, as a bit of an obsession, but I say live and let live - and leave me alone.  So a year or so back I decided to try the gluten free lifestyle and have been gluten free - for the most part without much struggle.  I have however gotten very bored with certain foods.  Like quinoa.  Now don't get me wrong I LOVE quinoa - but I was ready for a change, a new adventure in the world of food.  I decided to hit up Bay Naturals to peruse the aisles and pick the brain of their ever helpful staff.  In the world of online shopping and our dependence on other people's reviews, it's really nice to go someplace local where you can find like minded people.  And this is where I find people who think like me, nutritionally speaking.  And it's ok if you find your people at TACO Bell, or Ruth's Chris, or Krispy Kreme.  I am not here to judge.  But it is my blog and I'm sharing my story and Bay Naturals is a part of that.  Just FYI - my people can also be found enjoying adult libations - and often are.

So while I looked and asked I came across Bob's Red Mill wheatless 8 grain hot cereal and I had to give it a whirl.

 I bought it home and the husband was game so I made a very small batch to accompany our dinner.  It WAS delish.  There were no makings of a planned over in this case because sadly,  it was all very gone.  I went the savory route and used stock in leiu of water - I think you could add whatever veggies or cheese and of COURSE a wad of butter.  I don't have much of a sweet tooth - but I'm sure this would be equally delicious topped with honey or maple syrup, or maybe just mix in some fruit.  So give it a try and go on your very own eating adventure!!

Enjoy!! Happy Eating!!

Spring Squash and Spring Break

I'm a lucky woman to be married to a wonderful man, who through his love of travel has opened up his very own agency Take The Trip Travel.  AND to keep up with the ever changing industry we are required, as I am sure you can imagine, to TRAVEL and experience products and services, cruise lines, tour groups.  Market research.  You get the picture.

So before our most recent adventure I found myself with bits of this and that in various containers in my fridge.  None of which individually would have been sufficient - I had  the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts mentality and a jar of roasted red pepper and eggplant spread- and thus I had a plannedover.  This spread is one of my very favorites and it's been mixed into ranch dressing for a dip - combined with tomatoes for a pasta sauce, even served with eggs, it's delicious!You could make your own or you could hop on over to Trader Joe's and pick up a jar, pop the lid and proceed full steam ahead. 

In my containers I found roasted green beans, roasted squash, and some cooked collards.  All went into a bow with a generous dollop of RRPS and some goat cheese.

Mixed thoroughly and popped into the microwave to heat- Fridge cleaned out, bellies full, ready for our adventure!!

Seen here with some plannedover Mac n Cheese!!!

Enjoy and Happy Eating!!!

Roasted Squash to Ratatouille

A recent rummaging through my produce drawers yeilded yellow squash, zucchini - (which my darling husband did not know until like a week ago, was a squash - married to me no less, for almost 11 years!!! - but I digress) an eggplant and one sorry lonely red pepper.  Not really feeling up for a whole lot of active cooking time - I decided to chop it all - add to it an onion, the requisite garlic, some cleaning out the fridge tomato paste, a little Italian herb, and a healthy splash of EVOO.  Tossed in a big ole bowl and spread on a sheet pan, into the 425 oven for 40 minutes with a stir half way and we had ourselves a WINNER.  Served as a side one night and a topper for my salad the next, the sheer volume of veggies used in the original made a planned over inevitable.

Squash, Eggplant, Onion, Red Pepper.........................Ratatouille!! And no not the animated rat who cooks!

According to Wikipedia "Ratatouille is usually served as a side dish, but may also be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by pasta, rice or bread). Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), bell peppers, marjoram and basil, or bay leaf and thyme, or a mix of green herbs like herbes de Provence. There is much debate on how to make a traditional ratatouille.

As my blog clearly shows I don't find it within myself to feel the need to adhere to tradition when it comes to cooking.  I had the roasted veg that on it's own had an excellent flavor profile, I simply wanted to tweak it to change what we already had into new and even more spectacular.

My original dish was pretty chunky so I more finely chopped the veg and added capers, olives, and some tomatoes.   For a touch of summer a cube of pesto and a small squeeze of lemon.  Even more perfection.

Garth and the Luck of the Irish

My Grandfather Garth was a pretty awesome guy.  Always a twinkle in his blue eyes and the whitest legs you have ever, ever, laid your eyes upon.  Always quick with a joke and never having met a stranger - he was the first person to tell me I was beautiful.  LOVER of ice cream, I remember fondly the sunday bar's he would create for sister and I.  During their marriage, the LOVE of his life, my grandmother Joise, they very nearly never spent a night apart.  Great man, greatly missed.

His favorite thing for Josie to make was her stuffed cabbage rolls.  And while I don't remember ever her making them or having them served to me, I always remember that they were his favorite.

In honor of Garth and as a way to use up a bit of PlannedOver cooked rice, I present Stuffed Cabbage Rolls!!

Blanch cabbage leaves in salted boiling water for 4 minutes each.  Set aside to cool.  Sautee onions and ground beef until no longer pink.  Add cooked rice, a splash of whostershire sauce and stir to combine.  Fill leaves with rice mixture, roll and place seam side down in a baking dish.  Top with tomato sauce.  Bake 350 for 40 minutes!

 Enjoy!!! Happy Eating!!

Cheesy Broccoli Rice PlannedOver Part 2

I do promise I am nearing the end - for now- of what it is that you should be doing with the various stages of broccoli I found myself with.  From Soup to casserole to cakes and now for it's final incarnation - Fried Rice!!  It has been said and I find it to be quite true that indeed necessity is the mother of all invention.  And while I am not opposed, per se, to straight out of the fridge left overs - on occasion that is - I find it much more compelling to create something new and unique.   This desire for new tastes and flavors combined with my overly healthy desire to NOT WASTE food was the birthplace of turning something into something else.  Now add to that mix my busy schedule which necessitates a high degree of organization, and thus plannedovers were born. 

And don't get me wrong.  There is no NEED for this much planning and organizing and forethought always.  For you.  For me my desire to have a wonderful dinner on a daily basis - trumps pretty much all else and so the neurosis continues!  Come along for the ride - it's sure to be a tasty one!

Fried Rice

I sauteed some onion and peas in a touch of sesame and garlic oil added the rice and a little soy sauce and once heated drizzled a beaten egg turning over with a spatula to ensure the egg was thoroughly cooked.

Enjoy!!! Happy Eating!!!

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Plannedover Part 1

And thus continues the never ending saga of broccoli around my parts.  I hope you too have as much as an affinity for the tree top cruciferous vegetables as I certainly seem to.   Who can guess if I had to google how to spell THAT word? 

Lots of broccoli called for more creativity and I was on it, sorry could not help myself, like white on rice.  So the planned over rice was stripped of its top cheesy layer, and tossed in a bowl with some bread crumbs until it "held"  I took the cheese and sandwiched it between two rice patties carefully sealing the edges as to not allow any cheese to escape.  Cheese oozing out of the rice cakes in the pan, bad.  Cheese oozing out of the rice cakes on your plate, very, very good!

Into a pan with a squirt of EVOO and just a little time to turn blah boring beige into delightfully golden brown. 

Delish!  Enjoy and Happy Eating!!

Stay tuned for just what in the world this crazy woman is up to with the never-ending broccoli plannedover next week!