Gluten Free Dinner #2 - Fancy Spaghetti

Growing up, Mom's spaghetti was a weekly staple. I seriously think we had it at least once or twice a week the entirety of my childhood.

Mom's spaghetti was simple: hamburger, store bought pasta and store bought sauce. That was it, and we loved it. It was a cheap, filling meal for a big family on a very tight budget.

My family doesn't eat spaghetti every week, as we try to keep pasta dishes more of a special treat rather than weekly standby. But I get a craving every so often for Mom's spaghetti, and this is my twist on her basic recipe.

Gluten free pasta is readily available at regular grocery stores, and makes cooking so much easier! So many good old recipes that used to be off limits with a gluten allergy can now be made safely and just as deliciously  as the originals. Don't be afraid of the gluten free pasta! It cooks exactly the same way as regular pasta, comes in all varieties from angel hair to penne, and your gluten-eating family and friends will never be able to tell it's gluten free. Most gluten free pasta is made of white rice, which is not very good for you, so we usually stick to the quinoa/corn pasta (as seen above) and brown rice pasta.

I am ashamed to say I don't make my own tomato sauce. Part laziness, part time constrictions that come with being a mom to ittie-bitties, part love of the taste of my childhood years of eating Prego every week...I just don't make my own sauce. (Yet. It's on my "when I grow up" list of things to learn.) Most canned tomato sauces are gluten free, and some brands (like Prego) list that on their labels. (Remember to always read your labels!)
Instead of using ground hamburger, I use ground turkey in my spaghetti, and I season it with minced garlic, onion, and basil.

Silas cheered me on as I cut up a couple of green peppers into strips to add into the sauce, to give the spaghetti some vegetable content. We love green peppers. We like them crunchy, so I usually throw mine into the pan once the meat has browned, and let them cook a bit before I add the sauce to the meat.

I love my giant cast iron skillet, and cooking one dish meals in it! Keeps things simple.

I just topped my spaghetti with a light dusting of parmesan and it was ready to eat. If I was having company over and wanted to make the spaghetti a little more fancy, I might have added 3-4oz of cream cheese to make the sauce creamy and rich. It's a fun twist. Another fun variation is to use italian turkey sausage instead of ground turkey. It gives the dish some serious kick.

It's a simple, affordable, filling meal that can be dressed up or kept really simple. Best of all, everyone loves it, even picky kids!

*Disclaimer: This post is not endorsed by Prego or any other brands.*

Gluten Free Dinner #1 - Burgers and Fries

Gluten free can still be fun, healthy and even delicious! I find it a really fun challenge to give old, unhealthy, (usually gluten laden) recipes a more nutritious, gluten-free makeover.

My husband loves burgers and fries. (What American husband doesn't?) So this summer, instead of grilling fatty beef burgers, we've been eating lots of turkey burgers. Serve on a piece of gluten free toast, with grilled red peppers, mustard and a little cheese, and you've got an easy, yummy dinner that even your pickiest eaters will love. (Olive is my picky child, and even she likes turkey burgers.)

We have fallen in love with the amazing sweet potato, and it has pretty much taken the place of white potatoes in our house forever. They're so good, and SO much more nutritious than their white, starchy relatives. Making your own sweet potato fries is pretty easy, but if you're in a time crunch (or don't have the energy to peel and bake your own in the midst of cleaning up potty-training accidents behind your 3 year old and comforting your early-teething 4 month old...ahem, I digress...) just pick up a bag of frozen sweet potato fries at the supermarket. Most are gluten free, I've found, but make sure you check the ingredients list to be sure before you buy! (Rule #1 of the gluten-free lifestyle - ALWAYS read ingredient lists!) Most frozen fries are lightly coated with oil and a starch for crispiness. I've found the majority are coated with rice flour, but if the ingredient list reads "wheat" or "modified food starch" I'd beware.
Sweet potato fries are just as good (if not way better!) than regular fries, and again, it's something that young, picky eaters will enjoy. That's something that's important to our young family.

So, don't let a gluten sensitivity rob the joy from your kitchen! It's easier than you think to feed your family fun, healthy, GF meals!

Easy Gluten Free Living & Fruit Crumble

I'm slowly easing back into blogging since we welcomed Mr. S into the family, and as I've browsed older posts on here, I realized I haven't said much about being gluten free, which surprises me since living gluten free is so important to my family!

2 years ago I made a decision to forever change my diet by saying goodbye to gluten. It was a decision that should have been made years before, (I had had the bloodwork and endoscopy reports proving I was allergic to gluten in my possession since I was a teen,) but I had been too afraid and too lazy to make the change. But 2 years ago, I hit a breaking point. I was in my early 20s, only 3 years into my marriage, with a one year old daughter and I felt like an old woman. I was overweight, had no energy, struggled with chronic joint pain and muscle fatigue, and had weekly migraines.

About 10 weeks after strictly following a gluten free diet, I started seeing miraculous results. Weight started coming off that hadn't budged in years, my migraines disappeared, I had a surge of new energy and started working out again (and actually enjoyed it for the first time in years, as my joint pain started to disappear,) and my appetite and cravings for junk were greatly diminished as I believe the healing that took place in my gut enabled me to start absorbing my food for the first time in a long time.

Living gluten free has changed my life for the better in so many ways, and I'm always so excited to share my successes with my friends. One thing that drives me crazy, though, is that I run across so many people who would like to benefit from this way of life, but are afraid of giving up good food and having to learn a whole new way of cooking. Maybe I can use this little old blog to be an encouragement to those of you out there who feel this way. It's been 2 years of being gluten free for me, and I am continually surprised how so many of my old favorite foods can very easily be made gluten free (and healthier!) and how learning to cook good gluten free food isn't half as scary or difficult as I once worried it would be.

Which brings me to this wonderfully simple, delicious fruit crumble recipe.

My pastor's wife, who is also gluten free, brought this crumble over for us while I was recovering after just having Silas, and it is SO good. When she shared the recipe with me I was shocked at the simplicity of the ingredients. I love recipes that are simple and versatile. This recipe can adapt to whatever you have in your kitchen (or garden) and turn out fabulously each and every time.

Preheat oven to 375*F.

4 apples or peaches (or a mix of both) peeled, cubed and placed in a lightly greased casserole dish.

1 - 2 cups of blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries (whatever tickles your fancy. We have a freezer full of freshly picked blueberries so that's what we used.)

For the crumble topping, just mix 1 cup of gluten free oats (we use Bob's Red Mill brand) with 1 cup dark brown sugar, a half teaspoon of cinnamon and one stick of softened butter. Blend with a fork until very well mixed.

Then you simple pack the oat mix on top of the fruit and bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

It can stand up on its own, but is really decadent with whipped cream, yogurt or ice cream on top. A perfect summer dish!

zucchini and coffee

we got our first fully grown zucchini off the vine yesterday. i had been eyeing a recipe in my favorite gluten free cookbook for "zucchini cake" for weeks, so i knew exactly what i wanted to do with my first zucc. :) i frosted the cake with a light cream cheese frosting, and it is deeee-vine.

speaking of all things divine...

we have fallen hard for iced coffee. we love it so much that we're making our own at home. (at least a gallon a week. i can't believe i just admitted that.) i try to justify the indulgence by making our iced coffee decaf, and i've learned to drink it with cream or milk only, no sweeteners. but it's still pretty over the top. (i love the way it looks the minute you add milk. so pretty!)

DC instagrams

figuring out where we are

the reptile house at the national zoo

look closely and you can see two little frogs..

this may have been olive's favorite part of the zoo :)

walking in georgetown

best gluten free cupcake ever (at "sprinkles" in georgetown)

at sprinkles..

the big 2-5

today's my birthday. i feel very blessed to have loved ones in my life who reminded me of that fact, and made me feel loved. matt took his girls out for coffee this morning, even though it was a work day, and he totally surprised me by having TWO boxes of my favorite gluten free cookies overnighted to me from a favorite bakery in columbus. he also took us out for gluten free pizza for dinner, and let me have some quiet time while he played with olive this evening. i got a few cards and phone calls from loved ones, and lots of well wishes on facebook. all in all a really nice day. :)