Lasagna Roll-Ups

More really good vegetarian things. These will impress your guests.
I tried the rolls with both cottage cheese and ricotta based filling. Both versions were excellent-- the main difference was texture (plus, I thought the cottage cheese added a little more 'cheese' taste). If you want Italian manicotti-style rolls, use the ricotta. If you want a slightly more 'American' version, use the cottage cheese. The rolls weren't that hard to make, but it did have several steps and dirtied quite a few pans.
Based off of this recipe.



Serves 3 (around 15 rolls)
15 minute noodle prep + 35 minutes for sauce + 10 minutes for filling + 15 for assembly + 40 min for baking (almost 2 hrs total)
- large saucepan
- small saucepan
- large baking pan (cookie sheet will work) covered in Al foil
Involved

INGREDIENTS
Noodles
~10 oz. box of lasagna noodles (around 14 noodles) --> I used Tinkyada GF rice noodles
Sauce
6 cloves fresh garlic
1 medium white onion
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 (15 oz.) can crushed or finely diced tomatoes
Handful of fresh basil -or- 1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
dash of salt and pepper
Filling
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
half of a 6 oz. bag of fresh spinach (quite a large handful of spinach-- it wilts alot)
1 tsp. fresh parsley
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 c. mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1.5 c. cottage cheese -or- ricotta cheese
1 large raw egg
Topping
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
Noodles:
1. Lay the full lasagna noodles into the large saucepan with enough water to cover them by 1 inch. If they don't all fit, do them in batches. On an empty counter, lay down a large sheet of foil.
2. Bring the noodles to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until noodles are barely tender... you want them flexible enough to roll and bend without breaking, but DEFINITELY not fully cooked. They should be chewy on the inside.
3. Place the al dente noodles flat onto the aluminum foil. Don't overlap them too much... they'll stick together once cool.
4. Continue to cook the noodles and lay them out flat; add more boiling water as needed. Let the noodles be for awhile as you prepare the filling and sauce (they won't loose elasticity if they cool). Go ahead and rinse and re-use the large saucepan for the sauce.
Sauce:
1. Peel and mince up the (total) 10 cloves of garlic. [Hint: I like to mash the cloves slightly with a meat mallet so they'll slip right out of their peel and lie flat for easier dicing!] About half of the garlic will go in the sauce, the other half will season the filling. Peel and remove ends of the onion, then dice it up. Wash and coarsely chop up any fresh basil, oregano or parsley leaves. Set them aside.
2. Throw about 6 cloves worth of diced garlic into the waiting large saucepan. Add in all of the onion and 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Saute the garlic and onion for 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Don't let the garlic burn.
3. Open the can of diced tomatoes and pour right into the saucepan (DON'T drain!). Go ahead and add about 1/4. cup more water to the sauce. Season sauce with basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
4. Let the sauce simmer over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. Stir it every once in awhile. If too much water boils off, add a little more in (it's a sauce, after all).
Remove from the heat and focus on the filling
Filling:
1. In a small saucepan, place the rest of the diced garlic with 1 tsp. olive oil. Begin heating over medium-low heat. Rinse off the spinach leaves and stuff about half into the saucepan with the garlic/oil. Stir the leaves until they wilt, then add in the rest. Let the garlic, oil and wilted leaves sizzle for a minute or two. Add in and chopped parsley and onion powder and stir well.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add in the 1/2. each of mozz. and Parm. cheeses. The mozzarella will melt-- that's okay-- stir it vigorously to significantly break up and incorporate the spinach leaves.
3. Allow the concoction to cool to lukewarm (not hot enough to burn anymore), then add in the cottage (-0r- ricotta) cheese. Stir well. The spinach leaves should speckle the filling with green. Tast the cheese mixture and add in salt/pepper/more onion powder or cheese as needed.
4. Stir in the raw egg. Mix everything thoroghly; you don't want the egg to scramble (it definitely shouldn't be that hot anymore). The cheese filling should be a nice paste consistency and easily spreadable.
Assemble and Bake:
0. Preheat the oven to 380 F. Line a 9 x 12 baking dish or large cookie sheet with Al foil.
1. Starting with one flat, cooked lasagna noodle, smear about 2 tsp. of cheese filling evenly over the entire face, leaving a small space at one end. Start from the end with full filling and gently roll the lasagna noodle up-- don't press to hard, if done properly the filling won't squeeze obnoxiously out of the ends of the roll.
2. Place the 2" thick roll onto the Al lined baking dish, seam side down. The noodle should stick nicely to the foil and not unravel on you. Continue filling and rolling the noodles until they are all completed. Spread any remaining filling out over the tops of the rolls.
3. Spoon the tomato sauce evenly over the top of the noodles, then place them, uncovered, in the preheated over to bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the ruffly, exposed edges of the noodle start to tan and the sauce is bubbly. Remove rolls from the oven and top with a generous amount of extra mozzarella cheese. Return the pan briefly to the oven to melt the cheese (around 2 to 3 minutes should do). Serve immediately with more veggies or favorite GF bread.

Mexican Chicken Rolls

My mother's recipe. Tender chicken covered in a toasty breaded exterior and filled with melted, spicy cheese. Excellent.
It takes a little more time with the make-your-own breadcrumbs and the pounding and rolling, but it's worth it. My mom suggests making quite a few at once while you're at it since the rolls freeze so well.



Serves 8
2 hr for breadcrumbs + 1.5 hours of pounding/rolling/dredging + overnight freezing + 1.5 hr baking (obviously these take awhile)
- blender or food processor
- Al foil
- 9" x 12" baking dish
- meat tenderizer (or a hammer)
- small saucepan
- 16 toothpicks
Difficult/Involved

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c. fine, dry prepared GF bread crumbs -OR- make your own with 4 slices favorite GF bread (I used Glutino corn-based frozen white sandwich bread and the crumbs turned out very fresh)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese*
1 tsp. chili powder*
1/2 tsp. cumin*
1/4 tsp. pepper*
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp. butter
1 (8 oz.) cube spicy Pepper Jack cheese

*Kraft Parm. cheese is GF (and low in lactose), McCormick spices are GF

DIRECTIONS
Homemade Breadcrumbs:
0. Preheat oven to 180 F.
1. Arrange 4 slices of bread onto a cookie sheet and place in the warm oven for 1 hour.
2. Flip the bread to the other side and return them to the oven for another 40 minutes of drying.
3. Take dried (not burned) bread out of oven and break into pieces with your hands. The bread should be very stiff and you will get crumbs everywhere.
4. Place breadpieces into a blender or food processor and pulse several times until they become fine crumbs. 4 slices should get you around 3/4 cups of crumbs.
5. At this point I just mixed the Parm cheese and spices into the bread crumbs while still in the blender.. saved me from having to wash another bowl. Place spiced crumbs aside and skip to preparing the chicken.
Store-bought Breadcrumbs:
1. Mix prepared breadcumbs with Parmesan cheese, chili powder, cumin and black pepper. Place breadcrumbs aside.
Preparing Chicken:
0. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil (the chicken makes a mess when cooking).
1. Wash the 8 pieces of chicken and remove excess fat. Place 2 pieces of chicken into a heavy duty gallon size freezer bag. Place that bag into another freezer bag (double bag them). Lay the bagged chicken onto a counter and pound to 1/4" inch with a meat tenderizer mallet (or a wide hammer). The breasts will almost double in size. Take the flattened chicken out of the bags and lay onto the baking dish. Continue beating meat, 2 per bag, until all 8 pieces are pounded.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring the seasoned breadcrumbs over to the same area.
3. Cut the cheese cube crosswise (as opposed to lengthwise) into 8 equal pieces. Place each cheese slice onto the middle of a chicken breast. Start from the short side and roll the chicken breast up around the cheese. Secure the chicken roll tightly with two toothpicks at the seam of the roll.
4. Once all of the chicken is stuffed and secured, dip each roll into the melted butter, covering evenly with oil. Then dredge the chicken in the waiting breadcrumbs. Make sure they're well coated with crumbs (the homemade crumbs were so dry that they easily stuck to the chicken).
5. Arrange the breaded rolls onto the baking dish, cover and freeze until solid. I let mine freeze overnight and cooked them the next day. Alternatively, you could place the rolls into another freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
Cooking the Rolls (the next day):
0. Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
1. Place frozen rolls (arranged on the prepared pan) into the oven, uncovered.
2. Cook for 1 hour, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown, cheese is bubbling and chicken reaches an inside temp of 175 F. Mine needed 1 hour and 30 minutes.. best to just check at the hour mark and adjust from there. Serve warm with something good, like Rich Asparagus Risotto (pictured) or Spanish Rice.
**CAUTION!! Remind your family and friends about the embedded toothpicks!!!**

Rich Asparagus Risotto

Asparagus is in season! Big bundles of fresh, vibrant green stalks. I suggest you make this... it was the absolute creamiest version or risotto I've had yet (richer than the version I posted a year ago). The blending part makes this more involved than usual, but it's well worth it. I followed the recipe almost exactly from here, but I'll re-write it below with the slight changes I made. I served this alongside Mexican Chicken Rolls (recipe coming soon).



Serves 4-5 (as a side dish)
50 minutes
- large saucepan with deep sides
- blender or food processor
Involved

INGREDIENTS
1 big bunch of asparagus (about 20 stalks)
1 large red onion
6 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. + 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1.5 c. dry Aborio rice*
1/4 c. white cooking wine*
2 (15 oz.) cans Swanson Natural Goodness Chicken broth (or about ~4 cups of other GF broth)
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese*
salt and pepper to taste

*Lundberg has some good Aborio rice that is for sure GF, Holland House cooking wine is GF, Kraft Parm. cheese is GF (and low in lactose!!)

DIRECTIONS
1. Wash asparagus and onion. Break off and discard the tough ends of the asparagus stalks (bend them with your hands until they naturally break-- you will loose about 2 inches, but that's okay). Cut the asparagus into pieces about 1.5 inches long; separate the asparagus tips from the stalk pieces. Slice the ends off the red onion, discard outer layers and chop into small pieces. Peel the garlic cloves and finely dice.
2. Place roughly half of the cut asparagus pieces into the large saucepan. Don't use the tips, they will remain whole and be cooked later. Add water until the pieces are barely covered. Boil asparagus until tender, around 8 minutes.
3. Scoop the cooked asparagus pieces out of the saucepan and place into a waiting blender or food processor with a little bit of the cooking water. Blend until smooth and creamy. Place aside. [If you don't have a blender, try mushing the soft asparagus well with a fork.]
4. Rinse out the large saucepan and pat dry. Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter in the saucepan over medium heat; mix in the olive oil. Add the diced red onion and garlic when oils are hot. Saute onion and garlic for about 2 minutes.
5. Add in dry rice, stirring well. Continue to saute rice, onion and garlic until the rice becomes partially translucent (about 3 minutes; can see a dot of white in the middle of each grain) and onion and garlic are slightly golden tan. Stir frequently as to not burn the rice.
6. Pour in a splash of white wine and stir vigorously while the alcohol evaporates. Now add chicken stock (or veggie broth) 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well with each addition. Let the rice soak up the broth before adding in another 1/2 cup. You should be adding broth periodically for about 15 minutes. Make sure you stirring occasionally (you don't have to be there continuously). At the 15 minute mark, you should have gone through 1.5 cans (about 3 cups) of broth.
7. Now add in the reserved asparagus tips and stalks. Stir well to incorporate. Taste the rice and asparagus as they continue to cook and soak up broth (still adding stock as necessary). It should take about 5 to 8 minutes for the asparagus to become slightly tender and the rice to be chewy.
8. When the asparagus and rice is nearly done, spoon in the blended, cooked asparagus puree and all the remaining broth. Mix well for another minute or two, until the rice is no longer soupy, but nice and creamy.
9. Remove from the stove and stir in 1 Tbsp. butter and the Parm. cheese. Stir to incorporate. The rice should be rich and creamy (almost sticky), with bits of asparagus and a hint of cheese. Serve hot alongside meat of choice.

Zucchini Boats

A.k.a. Stuffed Zucchini.
These were great; egg-free, gluten-free, vegetarian side dish. (even oil free and dairy-free, if you wish) By squeezing most of the water out of the cooked zucchini pulp, and baking the empty shells beforehand, I managed to keep these from getting soggy. Cooked on the inside and crispy on the outside; bursting with garlic, Parmesan, parsley and tomato.



Makes 8 'boats'; enough to feed 2-3 people
10 + 15 + 30 minutes (about an hour total)
-large pot and mesh sieve for steaming vegetables
-medium mixing bowl
-Aluminum foil lined cookie sheet
Involved

INGREDIENTS
4 thick, large zucchini
1/2 medium white onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium tomato, peeled
handful of fresh parsley
[1 egg, slightly beaten; optional]
[1 Tbsp. olive oil; optional]
3/4 to 1 cup finely crushed Original Baked Lay's potato crisps
1/4 Parmesan cheese-- or non dairy-alternative (Galaxy Nutritional Foods has some good ones)
dash of black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
dash of dried thyme leaves

DIRECTIONS
Steaming
0. Steam whole zucchini over boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft enough to 'give' slightly when pressed (not mushy). I use a metal sieve large enough in diameter to 'sit' over the top of my pot, then covered with a lid. You might have to steam them 2 at a time.
Cool before handling. (I chilled mine overnight.)
Filling and Baking
-Preheat oven to 350 F
1. Once zucchini is cool enough to touch, cut off both ends and scoop out the inner zucchini 'meat' with a small spoon, leaving a firm shell (don't make shells too thin). Squeeze the pulp to remove excess water. Discard the water, but place the zucchini meat in a medium bowl. Don't expect lots of zucchini innards.. I barely had 2 Tbsp. total.
2. While oven is warming up, line a cookie pan with Aluminum foil. Arrange empty shells on the pan and place into the preheating oven. Let them cook for around 15 minutes. They should be dry when you pull them out.
3. Peel and dice the white onion. You need the onion pieces small. Also, remove ends, peel and mince the garlic cloves into very small pieces. Remove the tomato skin with a paring knife, then dice up the tomato, but don't turn it into mush. Wash and chop up the fresh parsley.
4. Using your hands, mix the onion, garlic, tomato and parsley in with the zucchini pulp. [If you want eggs in this, you may add in one slightly beaten large egg to the bowl at this time. Likewise, if you want to add in the oil, do so now. I didn't use either egg or oil and it tasted fine and held together okay.]
5. Crush the last 1/4th of an open bag of Baked Lay's original potato crisps until the chips are reduced to small pieces (use a hammer if you wish). Toss the chip pieces in with the veggies, adding more if the mixture still seem too moist. Add in the Parmesan cheese, oregano leaves, thyme leaves and black pepper (DON'T add in extra salt.. the chips are salty enough!). Mix evenly.
6. Fill slightly-cooked shells with mixture-- really be generous, it at first looked like I had too much filling! Top with another dusting of Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake zucchini boats in the oven for 30 minutes, uncovered. The tops should be toasted and crispy once removed; the boats should be cooked all the way through, but not mush.
Eat warm as a side dish, or serve as the main dish with enough fresh steamed white rice.

Mini Corn Dogs

Okay, these are so far from gourmet, but for some reason I was craving them. I never even really liked corn dogs before diagnosis.. however, these were better than expected! Crispy and hot, with a touch of salty sweetness. I used regular old Oscar Mayer hot dogs (go ahead and shudder), but any kind of franks would work. I bet kids would love these as finger-food.



Makes 8 small corn dogs
30 minutes
-small saucepan, with deep sides
-long tongs for frying
-candy or deep fry thermometer
Involved

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix (or just plain cornmeal, but add a dash of baking powder~1 tsp.)
1/4 c. Kinnikinnick All Purpose Mix (or your favorite GF flour blend, just add a dash of xanthan gum ~1 tsp.)
1/4 c. white sugar
3/4 c. GF beer-- I used Redbridge
generous shake of salt
enough peanut oil for frying (depth of 1/2 inch in your saucepan)... I probably used ~ 1/2 c.
4 pre-cooked hot dogs*, cut each in half to get 8 mini dogs (no sticks!)
serve with ketchup, relish or mustard
*Oscar Mayer hot dogs are GF, I use the "Jumbo" kind

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the Cornbread mix, the Baking mix and the sugar until well combined (add in baking powder and xanthan gum, too, if just using cornbread and other GF flour). Set flour aside to dust the hot dogs before dipping.
2. Take a nice cold GF beer out of your fridge and add to corn mixture, one 1/4th cup at a time. Stir well between additions. The corn coating should be thick and sticky. Add in desired amount of salt &/or pepper.
3. Slice all hot dogs in half and pat dry. Set beside corn mixture and sprinkle them lightly with excess flour (should help the batter to stick.. I had mild problems getting the franks to fully coat, but I didn't really care in the end).
4. Pour peanut oil into small saucepan, about a half inch deep. These babies absorb alot of oil when cooking, even at higher temps. Place thermometer in the pan to continuously monitor the oil.
5. Begin heating oil to around 350 F. Recruit a friend to watch the oil temp (don't let it go over 400 F) while you dip 2-3 franks into the corn coating with tongs. Try to get a nice, thick cover of batter.
6. Carefully place 2-3 coated franks into the hot oil. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, then turn and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes on the other. Adjust the temp to keep it between 300 and 375 F.
7. My batter would spread out at first, on the 'non-cooking' side before I flipped them, be careful to not pull off the coating. Continue to turn franks and fry until the corn turns a lovely shade of golden-brown (around 8-10 minutes, total, for one batch).
8. Remove from oil and set on a deep stack of paper towels to cool slightly and drain off excess grease. Serve hot and with favorite condiments.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

This picture doesn't show it (the sauce looks odd), but this chicken came out super crispy, tender on the inside and full of spicy flavor without being super greasy.



Serves 6
Overnight prep + 2 hours
-deep saucepan
-candy/deep fry thermometer
-long metal tongs for turning
Difficult/involved


INGREDIENTS
20 raw chicken wings, uncut
enough peanut oil for frying
Breading (covers 40 'cut' wings):
1/2 c. white rice flour
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Sauce (covers 20 'cut' wings):
1/2 c. hot sauce
5 tbsp. butter
* Frank's original hot sauce is GF, DF
*McCormick spices are GF, DF

DIRECTIONS
Day before:
1. In a large, heavy duty ziplock baggie, combine all "Breading" ingredients. Mix well.
2. Wash and cut chicken wings.. use a sharp knife. Cut off wing tip and discard. Extend the wingette (middle section) until the joint 'pops'. Cut down through the joint and skin. (20 raw wings will yield 40 cooked/cut 'wings')
3. Place separated wingettes and drumettes into breading bag. Shake until all are well coated.
4. Let breaded chicken wings sit overnight in the fridge... this makes them crispy when fried.
Day of:
1. In a small pot or saucepan over medium-low heat, mix hot sauce and butter until well blended. Remove from heat and set aside. Also set up a place beside range with fresh paper towels..
2. Fill large, deep saucepan full of peanut oil to a depth of 1/2 inch (should cover a little over half of the wing). Place candy/deep fry thermometer inside pan. Heat oil until thermometer reaches 350 F.
3. Once at correct temp, place 6 or so wings into hot oil.. don't crowd the pan. Your oil temp will fall to around 300 F, so compensate by adding in more heat!
4. Cook chicken wings for 12-15 minutes, turning frequently. Monitor oil temperature in pan while cooking, don't let it fall below 300 F (chicken will soak up too much oil) or rise above 375 F (oil will smoke).
5. When wings begin to turn a nice amber-brown color, remove from heat and place on prepared paper towels.
6. Put cooled wings in serving bowl and drizzle prepared hot/butter sauce over crispy wings. Microwave on high for 1 minute and serve.