Simple Gluten Free Low Cholesterol Salad that uses Leftovers...An Unsimple Name for a Great Lunch!

Since I am now reading not one but two ingredients on every food label I come across, I have been extra conscious about having healthy foods that are low in cholesterol as well as gluten free. It's actually not that hard. I want to say there's a whole other process of food selection, but I'd be lying. You just read the label like you always do. Since chicken is fairly low in cholesterol but not completely cholesterol free, I have wanted to use zero cholesterol sauces and toppings just to not add any extra to the chicken. I found this gluten free, no cholesterol Bull's Eye barbecue sauce at the grocery store and decided to try it since I had no idea what a Carolina barbecue sauce tastes like. It has a hint of mustard in it, so it's a little sweet and tangy at the same time. I had some leftover chicken, so I decided to chop it up and add it to a mixed greens salad with pistachios (nuts help lower cholesterol), and English cucumbers. English cucumbers are those long skinny ones that usually come wrapped in plastic in the produce section. I added a simple dressing of balsamic vinegar and olive oil (which also helps lower cholesterol.) I ate it with my leftover sweet potato. I love the crunch of the nuts alongside the crunchy cucumbers. It's nice to use a simple dressing and not have to think of anything fancy when you are rushing to eat lunch. And, I ate up the leftovers, which is every cook's dream. No wasted chicken for me. I'm sure this will be on the menu for dinner next time we have leftover chicken.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Chicken Ranch Mac and Cheese

Apparently I'm obsessed with pasta lately. My daughter made mention of the fact last night as I was hemming and hawing about what I should put on my weekly menu plan. She said, and I quote, "Not pasta! Please not any pasta! I'm so sick of it." Well, miss high and mighty, why don't you come up with a quick dinner for seven that is budget friendly and everyone will eat, hmm? I digress.I definitely have my favorites when it comes to gluten free pasta. I like the Annie's Gluten Free Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese because it reminds me of the Velveeta one. You know, the one that is super creamy and has the huge shell pasta in it? I used to love those. Nowadays I buy super cheap Western Family macaroni and cheese for everyone else, and for the last few months I have seen a recipe they have on the back of their box for Chicken Ranch Mac and Cheese that I have glanced at and thought, I wonder if that's any good. Last night I took the plunge and decided to try it with my Annie's Mac and Cheese.

All I did was make the pasta according to the directions on the package, then I added 1 small can of white meat chicken, 1/2 chopped tomato, and 2 T of Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing. If I had had any green onions I would have added those, too. It tasted so good to me I couldn't wait until lunch today to eat some. So I had more last night before bed! I love that this small addition makes the dish have more protein, some vegetables, and the ranch taste complements the cheese sauce really well. Quick and easy dinners? I'll take it every time.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Super Bowl Sliders

I look forward to the (ads on the) Super Bowl every year, but this year we are really excited around here because the Steelers are back! If you love Green Bay, sorry. Don't stop reading. I also get really excited about the Super Bowl food that you get to eat, which is almost like a total junk food binge, but I always see great little recipes and ads in the paper for Super Bowl snacks that I wish I could eat but most of them are full of gluten. Which makes me mad, but only for about 10 seconds. Since I like to cook anyway, I love coming up with great party food for one really fun day out of the year. I posted some other great recipes last year, like Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Strawberries with Sour Cream and Brown Sugar, and Hearty Chili. I have a great easy recipe based on one of Rachael Ray's that makes about 16 delicious mini burgers called sliders. Come to think of it, I don't even have a clue as to why they named mini hamburgers sliders. Is it because they are easy to slide down your gullet? That is a great question for someone to Google.

To start, I made some hamburger buns using Grandpa's Kitchen bread mix and I put little handfuls of rolled dough into muffin tins to see if that would help them keep the bun shape while they were rising. It worked, and the buns were pretty good, although I guessed on the baking time (25 minutes) and I think they baked about 5 minutes too long. So check the buns at around 20 minutes and see if they're ready to come out. I'm not so good with the yeast breads and I would really love to perfect the art of baking gluten free yeast dough. Maybe that's my new resolution. I'm dying to try the Cheese Bread Mania gluten free buns to see if it's good with the cheesy flavor.

Then I took 2 1/2 pounds of hamburger and added 1/3 cup of A-1 sauce, and one packet of onion soup mix, which now I have to make by hand with this recipe. It says to use 5 tablespoons of the mix to equal one packet. I mixed it all together in a huge bowl with my hands and then patted it out in a greased 9x13 pan. I baked it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. (I checked it at 12 minutes, which the recipe calls for, but the meat was still raw. At 15 minutes it was just a bit pink in the middle. Cook it until you feel comfortable with the meat's doneness.) When you take this out of the oven, be careful, because the fat from the meat will be hot and bubbly and you'll have to carefully pull it out so as not to burn yourself. I used one of those basters to suck the fat out of the pan. Then I cut it with a pizza cutter into squares (so cute) sized to fit onto my buns. I got about 16 patties out of this batch. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make all the patty batter for everyone and they can use little dinner rolls and you can put a little patty on your own gluten free buns just like the rest of the world. For the toppings, I sliced roma tomatoes, because they are small and cute for the mini burgers, tore some romaine lettuce into small chunks, used the small rings of a red onion, and cut pre-sliced cheese into fourths and let people have at it with the ketchup and deli mustard. You could use arugula instead of lettuce if you wanted to. I served them with some homemade fries, which were really simple to make.

Homemade Fries
1.Peel 4 potatoes and slice into steak fries. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
2.Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse kosher salt to taste. Toss to coat.
3.Roast for 45 minutes-1 hour in a 400 degree oven, or until desired crispness, stirring occasionally.

I loved these fries! If you love fast food fries, they might not be your favorite, but they tasted like delicious homemade fries to me.
Check back tomorrow for another gluten free Super Bowl Recipe!
Happy eating and Go Steelers!

Eleanor's Gluten Free Bakery...Magic on a Stick

Yes, you are looking at a cake pop. Much like the cake pops made by Bakerella,(not gluten free, but a great source of inspiration!) whose book I'm on my way out the door to buy because I buy cookbooks for fun. And no, this treat was NOT made by me. I have no idea what kind of elfin magic goes into these delicious bites of cake and shell of frosting, but it is worth the entire $1.39 I paid for it. Let me introduce you to my new friend, Eleanor's Bake Shop.

Eleanor's Bake Shop is run by a bakerella in her own right, Janelle, who can whip up a beautiful gluten free wedding cake five days a week and not even bat an eye. Check out the gallery on their website to see what I'm talking about. They have gluten free lunches that include Arepas, a Venezuelan Flat Bread sandwich that is so yummy. I tried the Beef Brisket Arepas and it was a great lunch, I must say. It was such a great blend of flavors. Now I'm definitely hooked. They have soups and cookies and cupcakes and muffins and all sorts of delicious gluten free stuff you can't get in a fast food restaurant. The bake shop even has a facebook page where you can see what new things they are offering or if they have any specials you need to know about. Right now they are offering special orders on holiday pies and cheesecakes for your family celebrations.

The shop is located at 9495 South 560 West in Sandy, well worth the drive if you ask me. You can order cake pops or cupcakes for any occasion on their website. I noticed today they added three new flavors for the holidays...just in time for eating season.

Happy eating!

How to Zoo Gluten Free: Packing a Lunch on the Go

Ask any one of my friends: I am a field trip mom. Every summer it's the same thing. I make a list of the things my kids (read: I) want to do while they're out of school, and then I try to be aware of when the half-price days or special offers are so we can all afford to go. It's my one little effort to feel like I'm saving any kind of money in the summer. That and the fact that I almost always will pack a lunch for us to eat while we are on our outings. It serves three purposes for me that make it worth the time and effort it takes before we go to prepare lunches for six people.

1. (Perhaps most important to me) I am guaranteed a gluten free lunch. Have you ever tried to peel the bun crumbs off of a pre-made hot dog at an amusement park or ball game? Not fun and definitely a contamination issue.

2. It is much more economical and healthy to pack food I know my children like and will eat than to buy a meal at a resort that they may not like or I don't want them to eat anyway. Case in point: chicken strips (attention, cafe owners: kids like nuggets!) and fries at anywhere's cafe. Talk about grease. I feel better about packing apples and carrots instead of fruit snacks and pop tarts, because my kids are definitely hungry whenever we go on an outing and I know that's when they'll eat the good stuff. So I try to bring healthy fruits and vegetables for them and make the kind of sandwiches they won't waste.

3. I like sitting and having a picnic with my kids. Selfish and mom-ish, I know, but that's the bottom line. I enjoy their company and like to talk with them. We have a chance to slow down for a few minutes and talk about wherever we are and what we want to while we're there. Priceless.

So here's what I did with my little travel cooler at our latest adventure at the zoo.

First of all, I packed water bottles for each person. It remedies the "I really want a soda because I'm thirsty but will you carry it?" conundrum. Also, it's very important on those really hot days to hydrate. Secondly, I packed everyone's sandwiches in a Ziploc bag with their name written on it in Sharpie marker. No guessing about whose crustless pb and whatkindofjamisthis, and everyone can get their own sandwich if I'm busy or in the bathroom with a 3 year old (again). I also packed myself a delicious gluten free chicken salad sandwich (minus the rice) with Udi's Whole Grain Gluten Free bread, because it doesn't fall apart and is big enough to hold onto a moist sandwich filling. Third, I packed an apple for everyone and Crunchy Cheeto's for three of us, because then I can share with the 3 year old who won't eat all of hers anyway and then I don't eat as many. Lastly, I packed myself three of Glutino's chocolate covered wafers, to boost myself into seeing all the animals and riding the carousel in less than two hours before everyone wilts. I put everything into my backpack-sized travel cooler, iced it down with three frozen gel packs, and put extra napkins and my cell phone, camera, wallet and keys into the front pouch so I wouldn't have to carry around two bags all day. I consider that to be quite a success. By the end of the day, the water was all gone, the bag was pretty light, and we had eaten pretty much all of that food. No one was hungry and I didn't get out my wallet once for refreshments. Summer bliss, I tell you, summer bliss.

Happy adventuring!

Pier 49 Gluten Free Pizza: A Summer Saver

There are so many things to enjoy in the summer when you have short people in your life. Namely, days like this: when you go see Toy Story 3 and you have to re-create Mr. Tortilla Head when you get home. However, I'm lucky because my summer has been full of so many other fun experiences as well, namely, watching my dad do this with his car to my mailbox one day, hosting a baptism and letting my son do his first scout camp *yikes*going to movies in the middle of the week with this guy, and redecorating my kitchen and family room in one day. (Seriously, one day I just had it and I sewed eight curtains and four pillows, cleaned out every cupboard, and ransacked Target for large canisters because I'm tired of looking in three different places for my most-used ingredients. Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.)

But one of the fun things I like to do especially in the summer (which I think most Americans enjoy doing) is not cooking dinner and ordering a veggie pizza and watching a movie with the family. (Hint: if you want a little bit of gross, get Diary of a Wimpy Kid. If you're into dry humor, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Romance? We're still stuck on Enchanted.) Good thing my friend JoLayna tipped me off to the gluten free pizza crusts at Pier 49 pizza. I must say, something about not making your own pizza just makes me feel like I'm the richest girl on the block. I always and forever will add artichoke hearts to my pizza. It gives it just the right....pizzaz! Such a great word to describe pizza, don't you think? Not that I'm too good for your basic ham and pineapple...I'm usually good for that one, too. But veggie is definitely my favorite. Beware, if you think you are going to order a gluten free pizza, pay $5 and get something like you see in a Domino's ad, just stop thinking that right now. You won't, okay? You will get something that is much smaller than a small pizza that costs almost $20 that only has 8 slices and the crust will still taste a bit off, but you will STILL, I repeat, STILL BE EATING A TAKEOUT PIZZA. Just take your lumps and appreciate the good in this. No cooking, leftovers for breakfast, feeling pretty dang normal, and chances are you'll get the whole thing to yourself. I'll take that at least once a summer. Sometimes more. Sadly, Pier 49 is a franchise that is only open in Utah and Idaho right now. Leave a comment and let us all know where YOU get your gluten free pizza, wherever you are in the world.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Chicken Kebabs--Summertime and the Grillin' is Easy

You've gotta love summer. Not only do you not have to set the alarm clock (unless you have basketball camp and scout camp and pioneer trek, but who's counting), but you don't even have to turn on the oven for dinner unless you want to. I don't know about you, but I never want to, so we almost always have dinner on the grill in the summertime.

While perusing the butcher's section of the grocery store the other day, I noticed that they have premade kebabs with both chicken and steak on them that you can just plop onto the grill and bam, dinner's done. However, they come pre-marinated in a sauce that has no ingredients listed, so I'm always suspect of sauces like that. Chances are they're safe, but I never want to take chances. So I decided to make my own. Turns out they are one of my new favorite summer foods.

I waltzed right over to the produce section and picked out the cast of characters: red onion, yellow and green zucchini, red pepper, and huge mushrooms. I usually use my old favorite standby, Kraft Tuscan House Dressing, when I reach for a marinade, but I perused the ingredient lists and thought I'd give the Kraft Sun-Dried Tomato version a try. I got a package of chicken and went home ready to try out my kebab making skills.

All you need to know about kebabs is this: make sure your veggie cuts are chunky enough that they don't fall off the kebab into the fire during grilling. I slid everything onto a skewer and poured about 1/3 of a bottle of the dressing over the meat and veggies while they were resting in a 9x13 pan to soak in the flavor of the marinade. I turned them a couple of times during the half hour I let them soak in the refrigerator.

Then I heated up the grill and put them on over medium high heat for about 4 minutes per side. I think I turned them three times to other sides of the kebabs and every time I turned them I basted them with a little bit of the leftover sauce in the 9x13 pan. The first two times I turned them I shut the lid on the grill but the last turn I left it open so I could check to see if they were done. You can take them off when the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear, and the zucchini is to your desired tenderness. It took about 12 minutes to cook them.

And wowee! What a meal! Grilling the vegetables really brings out a mellow sweetness to them, especially the onion and peppers. I could not get enough of this meal. I've actually had a dream about it a night or two since I made them. Now I know what to do with all my extra veggies from the garden this summer!

Oh, and the other good thing about summer? You get to spend it with your best buddies, whether in the movie theater or out. Less time cooking, more time best buddying. Worth every second.

Happy eating!

Livin' it Up at IKEA: Gluten Free Meal Options

My family is of Scandinavian heritage. My grandfather's family came from Norway and my Grandmother's family came from Sweden. My mom's side of the family is also Norwegian, and my husband's family is Danish. So I like to consider myself a Scandinavian-American. (Get a load of me. I'm from the suburbs, really.) Somewhere, one day, years ago, I thought I read an article that said that celiac patients are more likely to be of Scandinavian descent, but now I'm having a hard time finding that article to back up my story. This doesn't mean if you're not Scandinavian you can't be a celiac, it just means...well, I'm not sure what I'm getting at. I just know I wasn't surprised when they said Scandinavians could have celiacs and I ended up having it. Anyway, we are lucky enough to have an IKEA store, a company based in Sweden, about 10 minutes away from my house and I love it there. It's like a little trip to Sweden every time you walk through the doors.

My kids absolutely LOVE IKEA. And can you blame them? IKEA has really made it fun for kids to shop in that store. I think their favorite thing may be the macaroni and cheese in the cafeteria, so inevitably, every time we go to IKEA we end up eating a meal there. My usual fare is the shrimp and egg salad sandwich, which is served open faced on a piece of rye bread. I usually slide the salad right off of the lettuce barrier and just eat the shrimp and eggs, have a soda, and call it a snack. I'm usually never full when we eat there. It's more of a kid thing. Anyway, yesterday I went to IKEA with my two youngest children looking for some furniture and it wasn't very busy in the cafeteria, so I decided I would be brave and ask about some dishes to see if they're gluten free. Now, for those of you who have been my readers for a while, you may be asking yourself why a sassy girl like me needed to get upt he courage to ask about ingredients at a restaurant. Isn't that what I'm always preaching about? Communicate with your server! Ask to see the ingredient list! I'll admit, in some situations, like a crowded, busy cafeteria where you serve yourself, I'm still a little shy. But yesterday was the perfect storm, and I asked the girl about the Stuffed Salmon Fillet with Potato Broccoli Medallions. She told me what was in them and then showed me that they have a flip book with all the ingredients perched on top of the counter so you can step aside and peruse at your leisure. And the beauty was, I could eat the whole meal! Totally gluten free! I call that a score. And, yes, it was cafeteria food, but I was full. And the flavor was actually great. Let's hear it for the Swedes! So next time you're out shopping and you need a little something, never fear, you can have salmon and cooked vegetables ordered straight off the menu just like the rest of the world.

Happy eating!

Everyday Food...Where Have You Been All My Life?

I recently got a subscription to Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, which is a little half-sized treasure trove of recipes and food ideas. Every time I flip through a food magazine of any kind, the question that amazes me the whole time I am reading is this: where do they get all these recipes? Am I the only one who wonders how magazines can come up with 40-50 new recipes a month? I'm lucky if I come up with 5! Everyday Food is no exception. Not only is it filled with 40-50 new recipes every month, they are all simple, easy, and quick and it's got the Martha flair with the photography and design that makes it deliciously easy on the eyes. How's that for fitting the bill for today's cook? The latest issue I recieved has about 14 dog-eared pages of recipes that I want to try. This one is one of my new favorites because you all know how much I hate lunch. It's a quick, easy, nutritious lunch and I've made a few little additions to the basic recipe to make it the way I like it. And how's this for journalistic integrity? I have searched my house high and low for my May 2010 copy of Everyday Food and can't find it anywhere. In fact, it may even be the April 2010 issue. I just spend 15 minutes searching the Martha Stewart site for the recipe to link it for you, and I can't find it on there, either! What is with me today? So, pretend you all know that Martha made this recipe up and I just halved it and added two or three ingredients. Journalistic integrity, indeed.

Warm Tuna and White Bean Salad

3 T olive oil

1 can cannellini beans (Italian white beans)

1 clove minced garlic

pinch of salt and pepper

1 can tuna, drained

2 cups baby spinach

1 tsp red wine vinegar

6 green olives, halved

1 T capers (less if you don't like them, but how could you not like them?)

2 T freshly grated parmesan cheese

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add beans and garlic. Cook until beans are warm, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Add tuna and toss all together. Place 1 cup spinach in two bowls and top with half of the tuna/bean mixture. Sprinkle red wine vinegar, olives, capers, parmesan, and lemon juice over all. Toss well. Makes two large salads.

I will usually make this for me and just put half in the fridge until the next day, but if you have a surprise friend pop over for lunch, this is a quick and easy meal you will both enjoy.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Chicken Soup... for those days when you're less than healthy

This week I have been sick with strep throat, which is only weird because I'm a grown up and you're supposed to outgrow it, but since I got my tonsils out 10 years ago I hadn't had it once until November, and since then I've had it three times! Whatever. Stupid body. Nonetheless I've had my fair share of sick days this year, and the rumors are true: Chicken soup really DOES help your body feel better when you're sick.

My chicken soup is so simple and easy. I've made it before with Tinkyada noodles, which I love, but for some reason I really savor the soup more when I make it with potatoes as the starchy ingredient instead of noodles. And, when you don't feel good but you're still the woman of the house, it's nice to have an easy recipe that you can just dump in a pot and have something delicious and comforting to get you through the day. Here it is, in all it's canned glory:

Gluten Free Chicken Soup

2 14.5 oz cans Swanson Chicken broth

1 can drained cooked, canned chicken

1/2 onion, minced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 potato, peeled and diced small

1 pinch of salt (optional)

1 pinch of pepper

1/4 cup frozen peas

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot except peas. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, with lid on pot, for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add peas, remove from heat, and stir until peas are defrosted. Makes 4 1 cup servings.

My 11 year old is quite the chicken soup connoisseur, and she ate the whole bowl I gave her as a taste test. The potatoes make the soup feel hearty and filling, while the broth really makes you feel like Mom's there taking care of you. Even when you have to do your own dishes.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Fare at Au Naturale

It may seem to some of you that I am eating out all the time. I promise that I don't eat out any more than most people do, I just happen to take my camera along with me to record the moment so it seems like a lot more. ( I hope you all believe that...) Anyway, last week I got the chance to catch up with one of my dear college friends who I haven't seen in (I'm ashamed to say it) 15 years. I know, how dear can she be if I haven't seen her in 15 years, you may ask? Truly, Rachel is so extra dear to me because of this: she is the person who taught me to make homemade bread and homemade spaghetti sauce. She holds the high honor of educating my inner cook when I thought I was too young and incapable of making a meal. Until I met her I thought those things were way too complicated to ever make from scratch. It turns out they are way better than the bottled kind! And I never would have had the courage to try to do it myself without Rachel. Love her. She also used to do a killer Roseanne Roseanna-danna impersonation, which was great to pass the time in the great white north known as Logan, Utah. Winters can be a little boring there. But anyway...

Since Rachel is somewhat of a natural food connoisseur, she suggested we try a little restaurant in Sugarhouse called Au Naturale located on 2100 South and 900 East. I thought we could give it a shot and with a name like that you would think they have gluten free fare there. I was right. They have an entire handout full of gluten free food that you can order to eat in or get through their handy dandy drive through. I don't know what person I was impersonating, but I ordered my first ever serving of sushi:

It was ahi tuna with brown rice and avocado. Not bad! I felt so cosmopolitan. By the way, that little blob of light green stuff? Wasabi. Avoid that if you can. It is beyond spicy, I tell you. And I don't even know what those marinated strips of creamy stuff were on the top left of the plate, but I didn't love them either. I also tried the wild mushroom and thyme soup, which was good, but needed a bit of extra salt and pepper to get it up to speed. No biggie, really. They offer homemade fries, soups, wraps (which you would have to order without the wrap anyway) and acai berry frozen yogurt. Everything is fresh and healthy, and you don't even have to clean up after yourself when you're done. My biggest problem eating there was this: are you supposed to put the whole piece of sushi in your mouth at one time so you can't even taste it, or do you bite it in half and ruin the roll and make a mess? Neither option seemed to be working for me that day. It surely gave us a memory we won't forget soon. If you're in the Salt Lake area, give Au Naturale's menu a try. You'll like it. Gluten free fast food? You can't beat that!

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Chicken Salad

It's got to be getting warmer somewhere in the world...just not in Salt Lake City. We have had the wild weather swings for the last two weeks, varying between balmy 68 degree weather and complete snowstorms. Usually at this point in the year I start trying to give nature little hints that I'm ready for warmer weather, like wearing no socks and rolling up my levi's, and making picnic food. My sister in law, Jennifer, makes this really great chicken salad for family get-togethers that will blow your mind, and she has given me the recipe, but it entails things like boiling chicken and using celery which make me sigh and wish she would just make it for me. But I've come up with a pretty good cheater recipe that makes me feel like I could get myself ready for a picnic and eat gluten free, too.

Gluten Free Chicken Salad

1 cup cooked rice

1 12.5 ounce can of cooked, cubed chicken (or use leftover cooked chicken and shred it)

3/4 cup-1 cup mayonaisse (I always use Best Foods--tasty and gluten free)

1 individual serving of mandarin oranges, with the juice

2 T slivered almonds

pinch salt

pinch pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Mix all ingredients together and chill. Serve over lettuce or spread on Udi's Whole Grain Gluten Free Bread.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Lemon Shrimp and Pasta: How Easy is That?

You may have noticed that I never post about seafood on this here blog. There is a very good reason for that: I hate to cook seafood. I mean, I really really hate to cook seafood. I will gladly go to a restaurant and order a slab of halibut, some salmon, or the shrimp cocktail, but as far as cooking it in my own home, I vote no. But then I realized most of my blog followers and tweeps probably love fish, and I am neglecting a whole food group that most people eat all the time. I decided to try making a lemon shrimp pasta, since I love it and there are about a billion recipes for it and it seems pretty simple. Believe me, I could not stand it when I tried this recipe and found out how easy it was to get a delicious dinner on the table. Get ready for some name-dropping, and see if you can follow the trail of famous cooks to my first successful seafood dinner. There will be a quiz at the end to see if you counted how many famous cooks I'm drawing from! Just kidding, but not really.

I was reading an article in the April Rachael Ray Everyday magazine called "A Fish Hater's Guide to Loving Fish" and it listed all the reasons people hate to cook fish. I realized that I was one of those non-fish cookers. And I had almost all of the symptoms of a fish-hater: I hate the smell, I hate the feeling, I hate the eyes looking at me, I never know how to season it, and I think it's too expensive. The article had lots of great tips on how to get fish into your diet. Really, I do think it's so good for you and I want those benefits, but I'm just unwilling to make it myself. Then I was watching Giada, as I usually do, and she made lemon shrimp pasta and just used the frozen shrimp that come in a bag. She dumped them right in the pan from the bag. Genius! Then there's no touching, no smelling and no gross factor. Then I was watching Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa yesterday, as I recently have started to do, and she roasted the shrimp for her lemon pasta. There is a bit of touching, but you don't have to stir the shrimp and it looked so easy. She coated the shrimp with olive oil and salt and pepper and roasted them at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes until they were done. So easy.

I'd like to say I made up this recipe myself, but really, I based it on watching and reading three cooks whom I admire. All of their methods were so similar that I can't really tell whose part of the recipe comes in where. And it is one of those naturally gluten free dishes, and all I had to change was substituting my Tinkyada noodles for regular pasta. So here's how I did it:

Gluten Free Lemon Shrimp Pasta

1/2 package Tinkyada spaghetti

1/2 minced shallot

3 cloves minced garlic

1 1/2 T olive oil

2 T butter

12-13 frozen shrimp

1 lemon

1 T white wine

2 T chopped parsley

pinch salt

pinch pepper

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Mince the shallot and the garlic. Melt the butter and the oil together in a large skillet, add the shallot and sweat for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the frozen shrimp, and arrange in the skillet so they are all flat and cooking on one side. Let cook for about 5-6 minutes on one side, then flip over each one with tongs and cook until they are pink and cooked through, about another 3-4 minutes. This seems like a long time, but they need a bit longer to cook because they are frozen. Add the zest of the lemon and juice from 1/2 of it. Add the wine, parsley, salt and pepper and stir together to coat the shrimp. Add the drained pasta right into the skillet and toss to coat pasta.

I'd say this was a total success, one, because I actually made seafood that was edible and safely cooked so that no one would die of botulism; two, because my husband ate it and actually said it was good; and three, because I'm planning on making it again for lunch today. Yay me.

Happy eating!

P.F. Chang's Deliciously Delectable Gluten Free Offerings

Since it's the weekend and all, I thought I'd share the fabulous eating-out experience I had this week. Before you start reading this post, let me be clear: I did not eat all this food by myself! Just in case anyone is wondering if I'm a closet gorger, let me reassure you. I shared all of these lovely entrees and dessert with my good friend Joyce, who owns Grandpa's Kitchen. We get together on occasion and critique the gluten free lunchtime offerings at local restaurants. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it, right?

To be honest, I hadn't ever eaten at P.F. Chang's until this Tuesday. Which happened to be great timing for me, because they had just added five--count 'em---five new beef dishes to their gluten free menu on Monday. I felt like one of those fans who camps out overnight to get tickets for KISS or something. Their gluten free menu is now included on the back of their regular menus. It used to be separate so you had to ask for one when you were seated, but now they are right with everything else. How's that for making us feel normal? I tried the Mongolian Beef, and it was so perfect. I can't even think of a better word to describe it. It's a little spicy and sweet, and the sauce is caramelized onto the beef medallions making it a delicious combination of candied protein that I couldn't stop shoveling in my mouth.

Then I tried the Lemon Chicken, which was chicken battered in cornstarch to make it crispy and then a slightly sweet and sour lemon citrus sauce. Divine. This one was also being shoveled. I liked that the chicken was served with broccoli, one of my favorite vegetables.

We began our meal with the Chicken Lettuce Wraps, and we were so hungry they had to bring us extra lettuce (!) to finish off our chicken. These were good, the filling was pretty standard, but the fun part was the sauce we dipped them in. It's pretty amazing that they brought us gluten free soy sauce on the spot so we could do the three sauce mixing-thing they've got going on over there. If you don't know about the dipping sauce, it's chili paste and hot mustard mixed into soy sauce...mmmm. Yum.

And the perfect ending to the meal was this:

The Dome of Chocolate. I'm not kidding. That's really what it's called! It's a chocolate truffle-type dessert with berries and raspberry sauce. You could really die from a calorie coma after this one. This is one dessert that's definitely shareable.

The best part of eating out at P.F. Chang's was that when we asked about our gluten free food our server and the person who delivered the food (I don't know what their title is, but they're all over restaurants nowadays) knew exactly what was gluten free and what was available to us. There is a part of their kitchen that is dedicated to gluten free preparation, so we had no worries about cross-contamination. And the food was really, really good to boot. Since I never cook Asian food at home unless I have to, this was a great relief to me. Now if I want great Asian food, I'm minutes away from a delicious overload that is worth every last bite. Thank you, P.F. Chang's!

Happy eating!

What to do with Udi's Gluten Free Bread: Tuna Melt

I love a good tuna sandwich just as much as the next gal, (or guy) but to be honest the last few years tuna sandwiches have lost their appeal to me. It's all about the bread. When you have gluten free bread that is not so great, you'd rather eat your sandwich fillings on anything but bread for a while. This Whole Grain Gluten Free bread from Udi's is the perfect hearty sandwich bread, and the other day I took a crack at a tuna melt. Here's the surprising ingredient that saved the day: extra virgin olive oil.

Usually when I make a grilled anything I just spread butter on it and throw it on the griddle, but this time I drizzled extra virgin olive oil on the outsides of my sandwich to see if it would do anything different. The crust came out perfectly golden and crunchy. It was so worth the price of good olive oil to get a nice, crunchy tuna melt. I've never used it on sandwiches before, so this was, I think, a great flash of inspiration.

I filled my sandwich with the things I like to have on tuna: one can of tuna, 1/4 cup mayonnaisse, 1 T sweet pickle relish, and one slice of havarti cheese. It turned out to be a great light dinner and I served it with a spinach salad. Delectable. Mmmm, thank you, Udi's, for the hearty gluten free sandwich bread that makes comfort food actually comfortable.

Happy eating!

Wendy's Does It Again

If you are a celiac person like me, you try your best to make your own food and cook at home as much as possible. But inevitably, there are days when you have to grab some takeout and call it good. And you have to love Wendy's for all their many gluten free options, which I think they don't even make gluten free on purpose. It's like a happy accident when you find something gluten free at a fast food restaurant...it SOOO feels like cheating.

Anyway, the other day I went through the drive through at Wendy's and noticed that they had changed their salad menu again. I'm guessing they do this seasonally or at least yearly, because so many people are on the salad bandwagon these days and they probably get sick of eating the same salads over and over again. Me, I'm all about the bunless burger, but on occasion, I feel the need for a salad come up and I'll go for it. I usually just order my salads the way a normal person would and then read the ingredients on the dressings when I'm home to see if it's okay, then if it's not okay I'll just use one of my own salad dressings. No biggie. I decided to try the Baja salad, which comes with chili, spicy pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla strips, and this creamy red jalapeno dressing. (Did I say it was diet food? I did not say that.) I put it all together, and lunch was born. Personally, this salad was a little on the spicy side for me, but that's because I have a tenderfoot mouth. My husband would think it needed hot sauce, but that's a moot point because he won't eat salads anyway. I checked both the salad dressing and the tortilla strips, and both are gluten free. I love their already gluten free chili, which I could pour over everything I eat every day, and it was a nice warm contrast to the lettuce blend. The guacamole was okay. I think it was a little bland, but it was all mixed together with the spicy pico and the dressing, so it didn't really matter that it wasn't spicy. Yet another great gluten free lunch option from Wendy's! Check out their gluten free menu listing here, and I dare you not to be craving a Frosty by the time you're done browsing. Chow down, y'all!

Happy eating!