Easy Pesto Chicken with Pasta

I have been making this a lot recently because everyone in my family loves it! It is so easy and so yummy, thought I would share!

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized chunks
3 tbsp. butter
Salt/Pepper
Your favorite GF or other pasta (I am sure spaghetti squash would work too!)
Approx. 1-2 cups of Mozzarella cheese shredded
Approx. 2 cups Basil pesto (store bought or homemade)

Directions:

1. After cutting your raw chicken into bite size chunks lightly salt and pepper, as per your taste.

2. Melt butter in large skillet and add chicken when pan is heated. Be cautious not to burn the butter (I speak from experience).

3. While chicken is cooking I start boiling water for my pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions.

4. Once chicken in cooked thoroughly, remove from heat, add approximately 2 - 3 tbsp. of pesto (depending on your taste). Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella. The chicken should be warm enough to melt the cheese.

This is currently my favorite pesto. I get it from Sprout's (I believe it is just their brand found in the refrigerator section with pizza ingredients)and it is nut free!

5. Once your pasta has finished cooking, drain thoroughly. Rinse if GF and return to pan. Coat with 2-3 tbsp. of pesto (again depending on your taste). It should look like this:

6. At this point, I would put more of the mozzarella on my pasta and then add some of the chicken to it!

7. I usually pair with steamed broccoli or asparagus depending on what I have on hand.

8. Here is a picture of the completed dish with the regular pasta:

My son also likes to add parmesan cheese! (This is his plate)

This is also great the next day! Enjoy!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

A friend just informed me that January is soup month, so thought I would post this recipe for yummy Chicken Tortilla Soup.  The recipe actually came from my sister in law, but it is GF so I thought I would share! Enjoy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 Large Onion
1 tsp Minced Garlic
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 (4oz) Can Diced Green Chilis
1 Jalapeño Seeded And Chopped
1 tsp Cumin
5 cups GF Chicken Stock/Broth
1 (15oz) Can Tomato Sauce
1( 14.5oz) Can diced Tomatoes
1 Can Corn (drained)
1 Roasterie Chicken deboned and chopped up
1/4 Cup Minced Fresh Cilantro (optional)
2tsp Lime Juice
Salt & Pepper To Taste
Crushed Tortilla Chips
Shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese

1. In a large saucepan sauté onion, garlic, chilies, cumin and jalapeño in olive oil.

2. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, diced tomato and corn. 

3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; stir in chicken.

4. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Add cilantro, lime juice salt and pepper.

5. Top with chips, cheese and sour cream.

GF Banana Bread

This is my FAVORITE GF banana bread recipe. Probably not the healthiest, but it is by far the yummiest!

1 box GF yellow cake mix (Betty Crocker is my favorite)
1 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 2 medium bananas, although sometimes I will use three if they are smaller)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan (I use 9x5, but you can also use 8x4) with vegetable spray.
2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, mashed bananas, butter and eggs with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour 5 min. to 1 hour 15 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Place sheet of foil over loaf about half way through cooking to prevent over browning on top of bread.
4. Cool 10 min on cooling rack before removing from pan.  Loosen sides of loaf pan with butter knife, remove from pan to cooling rack and continue cooling for an additional hour before slicing.

Nutritional Information per slice:

Calories: 180
Carbohydrates: 26g
Protein: 2g
Sodium: 200 mg

GF Macaroni and Cheese

3 cups of uncooked GF elbow macaroni (I use the Tinkyada Pasta Joy brand)

White sauce:

3 tbs butter
3 tbs corn flour
1 can of milk (evaporated)
1 can of water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Cheese:
4 cups of shredded cheeses. I use a cheddar jack mix and mozzarella for the layers and then a thin layer of shredded parmesan for the top. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add macaroni and some salt, cook until just tender. Don't over cook, it will continue to cook when you bake it. This is especially important with GF macaroni. I found it is better to under cook than over because it gets mushy.

While the macaroni is cooking, make the white sauce. In a small sauce pan, melt butter, using a whisk, stir in the flour and let it cook for a minute or two. Pour in the milk, then fill the can with water and pour in sauce. Let it cook for a few minutes to blend the milk and flour/butter)

Drain the macaroni. Rinse well. Use a large casserole dish, place 1/2 macaroni, 1/2 cheese, then repeat. Pour sauce over the top, it will be very soupy, but the macaroni will soak it up. I then place a thin layer of shredded parmesan to the top and bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes or until bubbly and brown on top.

I have found that this is always better the next day, so I have begun baking it the night before we want to eat it then re-heating it.

GF Pumpkin Cheesecake

The original recipe calls for crushed up Cinnamon Chex as the crust, but they always seemed so mushy to me, so this year I tried the Kinnikinnick GF Graham Style Crumbs.  SOOO much better!

Crust:

1 1/2 cups packed Graham Style Crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp. butter melted

Combine ingredients and mix well. Grease bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 2 inches up side of prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour. This was a very thin crust, if you prefer it to be thicker you may want to mix more, maybe even double the above.

Filling:

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. salt

3 (8oz) pkgs. Cream Cheese

3/8 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp. whipping cream

1 tbsp. corn starch

1 tsp. GF Vanilla Extract

Optional one can of Dulce de Leche to apply to the top of the cheesecake after it is cooled.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Combine 3/4 cup white sugar, pumpkin, 3 egg yolks, spices and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside

2. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually add 3/8 cup white sugar and mix well. Add the whole egg, remaining egg yolk and the whipping cream beating well. Add cornstarch and vanilla beat batter until smooth. Add pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour batter into prepared springform pan with crust.

3. I placed my springform pan on a cookie sheet because some of the butter will leak out of the crust. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 min. Do not overbake. Center may be soft but it will firm up when chilled. At this point, turn off the oven and open the oven door. allow the cake to remain in the oven for the next hour. This just prevents cracks in the top of the cake. 

4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. I remove from the springform pan and then apply the Dulce de Leche to the top.

Great information about Celiac Disease!

http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2012/12/15/six-facts-everyone-should-know-about-celiac-disease/

GF Lasagna

This recipe was actually developed by my mother-in-law.

1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 pkg GF lasagna noodles (I use Tinkyada Pasta Joy)
1 24 oz can Hunts four cheese pasta sauce (you can use your favorite)
1 8oz pkg. shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 8oz pkg. shredded Italian five cheese blend

1. Brown meat until fully cooked. Drain excess fat.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions. I have found with rice noodles it is better to under cook than over cook. It is also important to rinse the noodles well after cooking. GF pastas tend to have more residual starch that will cause the noodles to stick together.
3. Layer as you would a normal lasagna.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min.