Gluten Free Spaghetti and Sausage Meatballs

My son complains every time I make spaghetti with no meatballs so last night I made sure to grant his wish! They can be a little time consuming rolling each meatball, but always well worth the extra effort! Italian Sausage packs some great flavors compared to ground beef, so if you typically use ground beef I suggest you try it! You could always substitute beef in this recipe though if you don't have sausage on hand.

Gluten Free Spaghetti with Italian Sausage Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 1/2- 2 lbs ground Italian Sausage
1 package gluten free spaghetti pasta
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
half of a small onion, diced small

Directions: 

-Preheat over to 350 degrees.
-Combine egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan, milk, and onion in a large bowl.
-Stir until combined, then add in Italian Sausage.
-Combine enough to make small-medium sized meatballs on a large baking sheet.
-Cook 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.
-Meanwhile cook pasta according to directions and heat up your favorite spaghetti sauce.

Enjoy!

Chicken Pad Thai

This is a tasty recipe adapted from http://thaikitchen.com/Recipes/Rice-and-Noodles/Easy-Chicken-Pad-Thai.aspx or you can read it right on the box! It turned out great and was pretty quick to throw together. I forgot to pick up the green onions and it still turned out just fine.

Chicken Pad Thai

Ingredients:

4 ounces Thai Kitchen Stir-Fry Rice Noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
2 eggs, lightly beaten 
1/2 lb shredded rotisserie chicken
1 container of tofu 
6 tablespoons Thai Kitchen Original Pad Thai Sauce
2 green onions, thinly sliced 
1 can bean sprouts 
1/2 cup coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts 
Fresh cilantro, chopped 

Directions:

-Bring 4 cups water to boil in medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add rice noodles; let stand 8 to 10 minutes or until noodles are soft but firm. Rinse under cold water; drain well. Set aside. 

-Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in large skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Add eggs; scramble until set. Remove from skillet. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add chicken and tofu; stir fry until cooked through. Add rice noodles, Pad Thai sauce and green onions; stir fry 3 to 4 minutes or noodles are tender. 

-Stir in bean sprouts and scrambled eggs. Place noodle mixture on serving platter. Sprinkle with peanuts. Serve with cilantro.

Dill Pickle Soup

This was an excellent recipe I found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dill-pickle-soup-recipe.html# and I just adjusted it to me it gluten free! It turned out delicious! I will most certainly be making this again! 

Ingredients:

5 cups of water
1 stick of butter 
1 bag of medium carrots, chopped small
4 large potatoes, cubed  
6 large dill pickles, chopped small
1/2 cup corn starch
1 cup sour cream
Salt
Pickle juice

Directions:

-Combine water, the butter, the carrots and potatoes in a saucepan. 
-Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender.
-Add the pickles and continue to boil.
-Meanwhile, whisk together the corn starch, sour cream and salt in a separate bowl. 
-Add enough water to make a paste, then slowly, to avoid curdling, add the mixture to the soup to thicken. 
-Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat. 
-Add pickle juice, to taste.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

It's definitely fall time and I love the smell of pumpkin in the house!This recipe found on: http://glutenaway.blogspot.com/2013/10/amazing-and-easy-gluten-free-pumpkin.html?m=1

It made an entire loaf as well as 12 muffins. I added white chocolate chips to this recipe for a sweet treat!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients: 

●1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
●4 eggs
●1 cup apple sauce (I used homemade)
●2/3 cup water
●2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
●2 1/2 cups sugar
●3 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Brown Rice Flour)
●2 teaspoons baking soda
●1 teaspoon salt
●2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large loaf pan and fill about 3/4th of the way since it will rise. If you have left over batter, use muffin tins and put in for half the time of the loaf.

2.Combine pumpkin, eggs, apple sauce, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended.
3.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.

4.Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.
Pour batter into the prepared pans.

5.Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Smoked Sausage and Spaghetti Skillet

http://www.johnsonville.com/recipe/smoked-sausage-and-spaghetti-skillet-dinner.html

This is adapted from a Johnsonville recipe and the meal goes over really well with the family. I am thinking next time I will use 2
packages of the smoked sausage because everyone loves it so much! 

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces gluten free spaghetti, cooked and drained 
1 package (13.5 ounce) JOHNSONVILLE® Smoked Sausage, sliced 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 package (8 ounces) fresh mushrooms, sliced 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
2 cups grape tomatoes, cut in half 
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped 

Directions
In a skillet, brown sausage in oil for 3 to 4 minutes. 
Add mushrooms, garlic and seasonings. Continue to cook until vegetables
are tender. 
Stir in tomatoes, basil and prepared pasta.
Toss lightly; heat through. 
Serve.

Homemade Crock Pot Applesauce

Finally uploading this post! .......

My brother has this amazing crab apple tree with hundreds and hundreds of apples! It's amazing and I love that tree. I want it at my house. So I took the kids there to pick some more bags of it so I could make some applesauce! You can use applesauce for more than just a snack...you can use it on pork chops, in baked goods, on breakfast foods, or just a side dish! Granted, you are going to need to sugar these up a bit, they are still healthier than applesauce you buy in stores with high fructose corn syrup and artificial coloring.

Ingredients:

Apples, sliced (I didn't peel mine)
2-4 tbsp of Lemon juice
Sugar or Brown Sugar
Cinnamon

Directions:

-Cut up apples into sections and place in crock pot.
-Add lemon juice to cover the bottom of the crock pot.
-Cook on low 4-6 hours until apples become soft.
-Mash them with a potato masher.
-Add sugar and cinnamon to taste.
-Serve warm or refrigerate/freeze for later.

Enjoy!

Green Chile Queso Fresco Enchiladas

It's Hispanic Heritage Month and what better way to celebrate than by sharing a deliciously easy enchilada recipe?! This is a great recipe to freeze ahead of time as well or bring to a friend before baking. This is a great recipe for kids, I promise green chiles are NOT spicy at all. And who doesn't love enchiladas?? 

Green Chile Queso Fresco Enchiladas

Ingredients:

4 cups shredded chicken
1- 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1 can green chiles, diced 
1 onion, diced
1 container of green enchilada sauce
1 package of about 12 corn tortillas (gluten free)
1/2 cup Queso Fresco cheese, crumbled 

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-In a large bowl mix together shredded chicken, cream cheese, diced green chiles, 1/3 of the green enchilada sauce and onion until combined.
-Coat a 13x9 baking dish in cooking spray.
-Assemble each tortilla with about 1/4 cup of mixture in each.
-When all your tortillas are assembled, top the enchiladas with the rest of the enchilada sauce.
-Bake about 30 minutes. 
-When finished, top with queso fresco.

Enjoy!