Rachel’s Recipe Box

This recipe is based on a similar oven-baked casserole. The original is wonderful. But if you are short on time, it is lovely to have a delicious, warm dinner ready in about 30 minutes!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and top 8 allergen free recipe.

Ingredients:

• Splash canola or other cooking oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced/pressed
• 1 1/3 lb raw Italian sausages, sliced
• 1 1/2 cup basmati or jasmine rice
• 1 can corn (omit if you cannot tolerate corn)
• 2 15oz can(s) black beans (drained)
• 2 cups water
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes (or petite diced)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp cayenne
• 2 pinches kosher or sea salt

Method
In a large soup pot, warm enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until they become tender.

Add sausage slices, and continue to cook, stirring frequently. Continue cooking until they become browned.

Pour rice into the pot, stirring so the rice absorbs some of the flavors from the sausages and onion/garlic.

Add all other ingredients, stirring. Turn heat up to a boil, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.

When it boils, turn heat down to low, and cover. Set timer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally while it is cooking.

Serve on plates or in bowls with some steamed veggies or a salad.

Each week I make up a menu, and then a grocery list from it, and then cook from it, crossing things off as they are made. This works out great, unless I manage to lose the menu after shopping. I couldn’t remember what I had planned to cook, but the potatoes and sausage were calling to me, and this is what we ended up with. Very yummy, and reasonably easy. It took a little more than 30 minutes, but still qualifies as quick eats to me. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of it, though - that’ll have to wait until next time!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and top 8 allergen free recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2 lbs uncooked sausage
• 4 medium size white potatoes
• 5 oz frozen chopped spinach (1/3 of a 16 oz bag - the blocks are impossible to work with, splurge on the bags!)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• splash cooking oil
• 1 batch dairy-free White Sauce
• a few shakes Tony Chacheres Cajun seasoning

Method:
Preheat oven to 400.

In a medium-large skillet, heat oil to medium heat. Add onions. Cut sausage into about 1/2″ thick rounds, and add to the onions. Stir, and continue cooking until sausage is browned on all sides.

While the sausage and onions are cooking, make the White Sauce.

Poke the potatoes a couple times with a fork, and then put them in the microwave for 4 minutes. This will give them a head start on cooking so that they need less time in the oven to cook through.

Cut the potatoes into chunks, and add to a 9×13 pan. Add sausages and onion. Mix together gently, and add in the frozen spinach. Pour white sauce over everything, and gently mix until everything is coated in sauce and the food is well distributed in the pan.

Sprinkle a little Tony Chacheres Cajun seasoning over the top.

Bake for 20 minutes in the oven and put some veggies in to roast at the same time.

Yum! There weren’t many leftovers here for my husband’s lunch!

My family loves my tomato-based curry, and I vastly prefer coconut milk-based curries. I tried to mix a few ingredients they love in the tomato curry, but using coconut milk. It seemed to work - everyone ate it happily! Any meal where people finish without an argument is one that is worth repeating a few times!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and South Beach phase 2 safe recipe. The recipe can served vegetarian and vegan, or with meat.

Ingredients:

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBS Patak’s curry paste
• 1 head cauliflower, or 1 16oz bag frozen cauliflower
• 1 cup water
• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 2 handfuls red or brown lentils
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 14oz can chickpeas, drained
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1-2 lbs pork cutlets, pork loin, or just pork, cubed (optional)
• Cooked rice or cooked lentils on the side

Method

Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan or pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions soften.

Add the pork (if using) and brown, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.

Stir in the curry paste. Add lentils, coconut milk, and water.

Turn the heat up, and add vegetables. Break the cauliflower into florets directly into the pot, or pour bag of frozen cauliflower into pot. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. If needed, add more liquid - the vegetables and meat should be somewhat submerged.

When the sauce begins to boil, cover loosely. Lower the heat slightly, and cook at a low boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn.

After 20 minutes, the sauce should be somewhat thickened, the pork tender, and the cauliflower will have broken into small pieces.

Serve this with lentils or brown rice beneath to absorb the sauce. Delicious!

This is a delicious, family-friendly gfcf, gluten free recipe! It is also wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, corn free, vegetarian & vegan recipe. It could be OK for South Beach phase 1 by serving the filling as a side-dish. If you use whole-grain pasta, this should be OK as is for South Beach phase 2.

We serve this with a side of Italian sausages, as there’s no meat in it. You could probably put ground turkey in with the vegetables, but I like it being Vegan, as then I can serve it to vegetarian friends. We all love this recipe, and it takes care of my need for something creamy and Italian without eating dairy.

Ingredients

• 1 batch White sauce
• 2-3+ cups marinara sauce (how much you use depends on how soupy you want it)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
• 1 bag baby spinach (10 oz) (or 1 lb of regular spinach that has been cleaned, de-stemmed, and torn into pieces)
• 1 package crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced (7-10 oz)
• 1 package GF lasagna noodles (we like Tinkyada Brown Rice Lasagne)
• olive oil

Method:
Preheat oven to 350F

Heat olive oil in skillet over low heat and let garlic simmer for a few minutes - watch to make sure it doesn’t brown.

Turn heat up to medium and add eggplant and mushrooms. Cover and cook until eggplant is very tender (almost mushy), stirring occasionally. This takes about 5-10 minutes.

Make the white sauce while the eggplant & mushrooms are cooking.

Add spinach to the skillet, stir and take off heat once spinach has just wilted. Add 1/2 of the white sauce to this mixture, and stir to combine.

Barely cover the bottom of a 9×13 (or so) baking pan with marinara sauce. Lay 3 uncooked lasagna noodles across the bottom of the pan. Spoon half the spinach/eggplant/mushroom mixture over the noodles. Ladle some marinara on top of the vegetables. Top with 3 more lasagna noodles. Repeat with another layer, and top with 3 more lasagna noodles.

You will have now used 9 lasagna noodles. Put the rest away for something else - sometimes we break them up for use in soup.

Pour white sauce on top of the final layer of noodles.

Cover tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Take off cover, and bake additional 10-15 minutes until everything is browned and bubbly (I sometimes turn on the broiler for the last 2 minutes to brown the top).

This ends up tasting like it has cheese in it. YUM. No one ever even notices that there’s eggplant in it or that it is gluten & dairy-free. Serve with a side of some sort of protein (we like turkey Italian sausages), and you’re ready to eat!

This is a delicious, family-friendly gfcf, gluten free recipe! It is also wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, corn free, vegetarian & vegan recipe. It could be OK for South Beach phase 1 by serving the filling as a side-dish. If you use whole-grain pasta, this should be OK as is for South Beach phase 2.

We serve this with a side of italian sausages, as there’s no meat in it. You could probably put ground turkey in with the vegetables, but I like it being Vegan, as then I can serve it to vegetarian friends. We all love this recipe, and it fills my creamy, Italian goodness spot.

Ingredients

• 1 batch White sauce (if you’re doing South Beach, you might want to use 1/2 coconut milk and 1/2 broth (or just Lite coconut milk, which is simply watered down coconut milk)

• 2-3+ cups marinara sauce (how much you use depends on how soupy you want it)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced
• 1 bag baby spinach (10 oz) (or 1 lb of regular spinach that has been cleaned, de-stemmed, and torn into pieces)
• 1 package crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced (7-10 oz)
• 1 package GF pasta shells for stuffing (we like Tinkyada)
• olive oil

Method

Heat olive oil in skillet over low heat and let garlic simmer for a few minutes - watch to make sure it doesn’t brown.

Turn heat up to medium and add eggplant and mushrooms. Cover and cook until eggplant is very tender (almost mushy), stirring occasionally. This takes about 5-10 minutes.

Make the white sauce while the eggplant & mushrooms are cooking.

Add spinach to the skillet, stir and take off heat once spinach has just wilted. Add 1/2 of the white sauce to this mixture, and stir to combine.

Barely cover the bottom of a 9×13 (or so) baking pan with marinara sauce. Take the uncooked pasta shells and stuff them with the veggie mixture. Sometimes this is easy when the shells are open, but sometimes it requires creatively poking filling through openings. You can boil the shells for a couple minutes to make this easier if you want, but then they are wiggly.

Fill each shell until overflowing until you run out of shells, placing them in a rows of 3 across. I piled some broken shells in the corner of baking dish and heaped the remainder of the filling on top. Cover with a scant layer of marinara sauce, then drizzle the second half of the white sauce on top - it will look remarkably like melted cheese!

Cover tightly and bake 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Take off cover, pour white sauce on top, and bake additional 10-15 minutes until everything is browned and bubbly (I sometimes turn on the broiler for the last 2 minutes to brown the top).

This ends up tasting like it has cheese in it. YUM. No one ever even notices that there’s eggplant in it or that it is gluten & dairy-free. Serve with a side of some sort of protein (we like turkey italian sausages), and you are ready to eat.

Being gluten & dairy free (and whatever else free) doesn’t have to be traumatic - look how good it can be!

First of all, just to clarify, Ratatouille is a vegetable dish of Italian origins usually involving eggplant, tomato, and other vegetables. There is no rat involved. That was the first thing my children asked, so I wanted to declare it up front.

This recipe was inspired by a recipe in the wonderful The Silver Spoon cookbook. I’ve changed pretty significantly to fit with our family’s eating preferences and requirements. It isn’t a completely authentic Ratatouille, but as long as you have some zucchini, tomato, and eggplant in it, play with the other ingredients - whatever you can get your hands on!

This recipe turned out to be a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and South Beach phase 1 safe recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, minced (optional)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (optional)
• 2-3 zucchini or summer squash, cut into cubes
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2 bell peppers, cut into slices (optional)
• 2 portabello mushrooms, cut into cubes (optional)
• 4 tomatoes, peeled, quartered, and seeded OR 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1-2 lbs chicken, cut off the bone and into cubes
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• olive or canola oil to coat bottom of pan
• Splash of wine (optional)
• pinches of kosher salt and grinds of pepper to taste

Method:
Prepare all the vegetables and chicken. Place the peeled and cubed eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let sit for about 30minutes while you do everything else.

Find a large skillet (I think mine’s 12-14 inches), and cover the bottom of the pan with your cooking oil of choice. Bring pan and oil to medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, shallot, and celery. Once that’s sizzling, add the chicken, and stir for a few minutes until it is browned.

Add the vegetables, except the tomatoes (be sure to rinse the salt off the eggplant first!) to the chicken & onion mixture. Stir to combine and sauté for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes and some of their juice. Splash in the wine, and add the salt, pepper, and oregano. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, until vegetables have softened and meat is cooked through.

Serve with brown rice noodles (South Beach Phase 2) or spaghetti squash (South Beach Phase 1).

This one is gobbled down by everyone! It can also be shaped into a person, using added salsa and olives as decorations for halloween…

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free recipe! It is also a wheat free, dairy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, and corn free recipe. This recipe is safe for South Beach phase 1. The refried/mashed beans hold the meatloaf together without needing any egg.

Ingredients

• 2-3lbs ground meat (lean beef or turkey)

• 1 14oz can pintos, mashed, or refried beans
• 1 10oz can Rotel diced tomatoes & green chilis (or another brand), drained
• 1 onion, diced (optional)
• 3+ cloves garlic, minced or pressed (optional)
• pinch or two of Kosher salt
• about 1 tsp each of chili powder and cumin

Method
Preheat oven to 350

Saute onion and garlic in a small saucepan (if you are using them).

In a large bowl, mix together the mashed beans and the Rotel. Add the onion/garlic mixture. Add the salt & spices, mix well. Add meat and combine.

Place in a lightly oiled glass baking pan or some other vessel. Bake for about an hour, or until it is no longer pink in the center. As you can see from the above picture, you can mold it into shapes. We made one for Halloween, too. Use your imagination!

Serve with salsa, avacado/guacamole, and olives. Folks who can do corn/carbs can eat it with tortilla chips, too.

This is great with a large salad!

This is an adaptation of a great recipe in Cooking for Mr. Latte, an amusing book that has fabulous recipes. Many of which can be easily adapted to be dairy and gluten free.

This is dairy, egg, gluten, corn, and soy free. It could also be vegetarian very easily, too.

Ingredients

• 2 TBS olive oil

• 1 cup arborio rice
• 4-5 cups chicken broth, hot (ideally homemade stock. Could also be vegetable broth if you have vegetarian guests
• zest of 1 lemon (I use a microplane grater)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk, plus 1/4 cup lemon juice, left to sit for a few minutes
• good pinch kosher salt

Method
Find a medium-sized saucepan, and put in the olive oil. Bring the olive oil up to medium heat.

Add the arborio rice, and stir, letting the oil coat the rice. Add about 1/2 cup broth at a time, stirring very frequently. Add it little by little so the rice is loose, but not swimming in broth.

After the first few additions of broth, add half the zest. When you have used 4c of broth, check the rice for done-ness. You want it firm, but not crunchy. Keep cooking and adding broth until the rice is done.

Add the lemon juice/coconut milk mixture, and combine. turn off the heat. It will sit very well for a while as the rest of your food finishes.

We love this paired with Oven Fried Chicken and a salad. It cleanses the palate very well when paired with a greasy food.

First, make 1 batch of the Pie Crust. Let chill for 1 hour. Or defrost 2 pre-made patties of pie crust dough.

Ingredients

• 1 lb steak, diced

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1-2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 TBS sweet rice flour (or amaranth flour, or arrowroot starch, or another flour or starch)
• 2-3 medium potatoes, microwaved for 5 minutes, then diced
• 1 14oz can kidney beans, drained
• 1 cup frozen green peas

Method
Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium sized skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add carrot, onion, garlic, and beef. Stir occasionally and cook until vegetables are tender and beef is browned.

While the beef is cooking, roll out 1 patty of pie crust dough for the bottom crust. Remember to roll out between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Grease your pie pan. Peel off one layer of plastic wrap, lay the sheet of dough across the pie pan, and then peel off the other layer of plastic wrap.

Roll out the second patty of pie crust dough, but leave it between the layers of plastic wrap.

Sprinkle flour/starch over the beef & veggie mixture. Stir until well combined. Add peas, kidney beans, and potatoes. Stir until well mixed. Pour into the pie crust.

Peel off one layer of plastic wrap from the 2nd sheet of dough. Lay dough over the top of the filled pie. Shmoosh edges together, and cut away any excess. Poke a few vent holes in the top of the pie.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. We served this with an apple pie for dessert. Yum!

I think I’ve made almost everything I can make mixing chicken, tomatoes, and beans, but I was feeling fed up with existing recipes, so I made up this one. This goes in the oven rather than staying in the skillet. We all loved it, and the chicken stayed very juicy.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also a wheat free, dairy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, corn free, South Beach phase 1 safe recipe.

Ingredients:

* 1 medium onion, diced
* 4-6 cloves garlic, minced/pressed (I loooove garlic)
* 1 bell pepper, chopped (yellow was on sale here, and looked pretty)
* 1 TBS olive oil
* 1 tsp dried basil
* 1 tsp dried oregano
* 1 tsp dried parsley
* 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
* splash white wine (can omit or use broth or water)
* splash balsamic vinegar
* 2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken (breasts or thighs - use breasts if cooking for South Beach Diet), cut into cubes
* 1 29oz can (or 2 14.5 oz cans) kidney beans
* 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
* 6+ kalamata olives, quartered
* 1 TBS capers

Method:
Preheat oven to 400. Make sure you have a casserole dish and a skillet clean.

Prep the veggies. Heat a skillet over medium heat with the olive oil, then add the veggies. Stir, then add the seasonings (cooking them will release the flavor). When they have softened, add the splash of white wine to deglaze the pan. Dump the veggies into the casserole pan.

Return the skillet to heat, and add the chicken. Stir it around for a bit so it gets slightly browned/cooked on the outside.

While the chicken is cooking, add everything else to the casserole pan. Mix together. Add the chicken. Mix again, then cover with foil.

Cook for 30 minutes, then check chicken for doneness. When chicken is cooked through, you’re all set. This can be served with roasted brussels sprouts (which can cook in the oven at the same time as the chicken!) and if you can make some rice, quinoa, or kasha on the stove while the chicken is cooking - it has a delicious sauce! This should also be easily adapted for the crock pot, I just haven’t done it.