Dairy and Gluten Free EASY Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 package gluten free pasta, cooked and drained

• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1/2 cup gluten free flour

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 3 tablespoon Earth Balance spread, melted

• 2 cup water

Defrost peas and prepare and drain pasta. Combine all the dry ingredients in a sauce pan. Melt the butter and combine with the water. Pour liquid into the sauce pan with the dry ingredients and cook on med low gently whisking. At first you can whisk intermittently but as the sauce begins to cook and thicken you want to stir constantly. It will get pretty thick. It takes about 7-10 minutes. Combine with peas and pasta and serve. You can also put in a casserole dish, top with gluten free bread crumbs and bake for 20 minutes. Either way it is super yummy

Mexican Quinoa Casserole (Dairy/Gluten/Soy Free)

This turned out delicious! I changed it up from the original recipe so it fits in our family’s dietary choices.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup quinoa
• 10 ouces salsa (original recipe called for enchilada sauce but I could not find it. I may try that next time.
• 1 (4.5-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• 3/4 cup prepared black benas (either canned or prepared dry)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup shredded Daiya Dairy Free cheddar cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup shredded Daiya Dairy Free mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• 1 Roma tomato, diced

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8x8 or 2 quart baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, combine quinoa, Salsa or enchilada sauce, green chiles, corn, black beans, cilantro, cumin and chili powder; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
• Spread quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and cheeses have melted, about 15 minutes.
• Serve immediately, garnished with avocado and tomato, if desired.

Pumpkin French Toast Bake

INGREDIENTS

• Cubed bread to overfill a 9x13 casserole dish. Crusty french bread works well but you can use Gluten Free too! Udi’s Gluten Free Hamburger buns would work well!
• 7 large eggs
• 2 cups Almond Milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 5 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar for topping
• nuts, like pecan or walnuts for topping (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Coat casserole dish with nonstick spray. Cut bread into 1-inch cubesIn a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, pumpkin, sweetener of choice and pie spice until well combined. Pour over bread and push down with a spoon or your hands until it's all soaked and mostly covered. Cover with saran wrap or lid and refrigerate overnight.
2. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees, uncover and top with brown sugar, additional pumpkin pie spice and nuts (optional). Bake for 35-45 minutes or golden brown and no longer wet.
3. Serve immediately with maple syrup, honey or agave nectar. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for up to a couple days.

Vegan/ Gluten Free Mac and Cheese

Macaroni and Four Cheeses

• 1 Tbsp refined coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp salt
• 1 lb GF Pasta
• 2 (10 oz) packages frozen pureed winter squash
• 2 cups almond
• 4 oz vegan shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 oz vegan shredded jack or some other white cheese
• 4 oz vegan cream cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp powdered mustard
• 1/4 cup pulverized pretzels (ground into crumbs in a food processor)
• 2 Tbsp vegan Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Oil a 2-quart casserole dish and set aside.

In a 4-6-quart pot, combine 3 quarts of water with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the salt.  Bring water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, in a 3-4-quart pot over medium heat, combine the squash and milk, stirring and breaking up the squash with a spoon until the squash is defrosted.  Increase the heat to a medium-high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheddar, Jack, cream cheese, mustard, and the remaining 1/2 Tbsp of salt.

When the pasta is done, drain it, the return the pasta to the pot.  Stir the cheese sauce into the macaroni.  Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, Parmesan, and coconut oil (if using).  Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the macaroni and “cheese.”  Place the casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes until the top is nicely browned.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole–Gluten Free, Dairy/Soy Free

This is so yummy! I made lots of changes from the original to make it a main course (by adding chicken) and GF/DF/SF. Turned out awesome and I have made it several times.
Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh or FROZEN broccoli, pieces or florets (if using frozen, just make sure to remove any ice chunks)
• 6 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 5+ garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup GF Pretzels pulvarized in a food processor to make “bread crumbs” 
• 1 lemon, juice
• 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
• 2 pounds chicken cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 375.
Combine all ingredients and toss together. Put in a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degree f.

Ground Beef and Rice Casserole–Dairy/Gluten/Soy Free

Ingredients

• 1 pound  ground beef
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 3/4 cup beef broth 
• 1 tsp coconut aminos
• 1 cup partially cooked brown rice (I cook it until it is still pretty firm…..maybe a slight “crunch” in the middle of the grain)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ½ cup dairy free cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, brown ground beef until all pink is gone.
3. Drain any liquid from ground beef.
4. Add garlic, onion, mushroom and green pepper to the ground beef.
5. Saute until onion is tender.
6. Add rice to the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish.
7. Pour the beef broth and coconut aminos over top.
8. Add the beef mixture, sea salt and pepper to the casserole dish.
9. Cover and bake for 45 min.
10. Uncover and sprinkle on the shredded cheese.
11. Bake another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the liquid is completely absorbed.

Quick Italian Vegetable Pie

This yummy concoction was given to me by my mother in law who got it from an old friend of hers years ago. It is basically a quiche without the crust (so gluten free!). It turned out really yummy and you can get quite creative with it. I made the original recipe since I am eating diary through my pregnancy. (Poor Elijah had to have plain old scrambled eggs for dinner that night.) But there are ways to make this dairy free pretty easily and I will definitely do that after the babies are born and I am nursing!

Ingredients:
10 1/2 oz spinach - if frozen thaw and squeeze dry
OR 8 oz of broccoli or zucchini
Sliced fresh mushrooms (I love mushrooms so I used a lot!)
14 oz lowfat cottage cheese OR 8 oz plain yogurt. ( Coconut milk yogurt to make dairy free)
8 oz of shredded mozzarella (or non dairy cheese of your choice!)
1/4 cup of Parmesan. ( I omitted this altogether cause it just seemed like an awful lot of cheese)
2/3 cup of chunky salsa (drain juice) - I forgot to drain. Whoops.  Still turned out great.
4 eggs
1 tsp (or so) Italian seasoning or salt,pepper,onion powder,garlic powder,oregano ( I used the combo of spices and herbs so I could control portions and I always use a bit more than it says

Ready for the oven!

Directions:
Spray pie plate with olive oil or cooking spray. (I used a 9x9 pan and it worked beautifully. ) Mix together all ingredients. Put in pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min to 1 hour or until set.  (I def recommend at least an hour. I left it in for a few minutes longer.

*Can be prepared ahead and refrigerate until time to cook. Can cook and reheat later!

I served with honey dew and breakfast potatoes. A yummy twist on dinner!