Rachel’s Recipe Box

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!

Ingredients:

• Enough whitefish (we used haddock) to serve your family

• prepackaged salsa

Preheat oven to 350. Oil a glass baking dish. Put the fish in (1 layer). Spoon salsa on top of the fish.

Bake for 10 min, check for doneness. Bake until fish flakes off.

We served with a steamed or roasted vegetable and salad.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and South Beach phase 1 safe recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup wine-on-hand

• 1/4 c GF low-sodium soy sauce/tamari
• 3 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 bunch chopped scallions
• 1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 3+ cloves minced/pressed garlic
• 5-6 boneless/skinless chicken breast halves, cut into strips
• snow peas (about 10 oz), with ends chopped off
• 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 small can water chestnuts, sliced

Preheat oven to 450. Mix wine, soy sauce, oil, scallions, ginger, and garlic in a small bowl. Mix chicken and veggies in a large bowl, and toss with sauce until coated.

Make 5-6 packets out of sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil, and put on baking sheet(s). Divide chicken and veggies into equal portions and put in packets. crimp the sides, and pour any sauce into each packet, then double-fold the tops.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Open packets at the table, and pour the sauce into ramekins for dipping.

Serve with veggies and for those not on South Beach, brown rice.

or Garlic Lemon chicken, depending on which type of citrus fruit/juice you have around the house.

Garlic Shake Seasoning
Mix together the following spices in an empty spice jar to shake on the chicken: (you will have plenty left over for the next few times you make this)

• 1 TBS salt

• several grinds black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere’s Cajun seasoning (or you could increase the cayenne)
• 2 TBS garlic powder or dehydrated roasted garlic
• 1 TBS dried minced onion
• 1 TBS thyme

shake until completely mixed

Ingredients

• Garlic Shake Seasoning

• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• 3-4 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (can sub water if needed)
• 1/4 cup lime juice (can sub lemon juice if needed)

Method
Cut the chicken into 1-2 inch pieces.

In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and chicken. Shake the Garlic Shake Seasoning on top of the chicken, and stir so the Shake has hit both sides of the chicken.

Cook over medium to medium-high heat until the chicken is browned and no longer pink in the middle (about 10 minutes). Remove chicken from pan, and cover to keep warm.

Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth & lime juice. Stir over medium heat and get the yummy browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring until the sauce has reduced. Add the chicken back into the pan and stir to coat.

Serve with rice or without. We really like this with the Garlic Pan-fried Squash.

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.

adapted from an earlier non-crock pot adaptation of Beanmom’s recipe

Dump the following into a crockpot:

2 T olive oil
1 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 lbs pork cutlets, cubed
1/4-1/3 C Patak’s curry paste
1 head cauliflower, cut or crumbled into florets
1 C beef or chicken stock
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 cup frozen peas
2 handfuls lentils

cook on low for 6-8 hours

serve with more lentils and/or rice

I’m a sucker for lentil soup. I also love quinoa in soup (it reminds me of barley from our pre-gf days), and the combination packs a wonderful protein and fiber punch. This recipe is adapted from a recipe used by Dreama of ReciPlease, but I couldn’t find her original up there.

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, corn free, vegetarian & a vegan recipe. If you omit the carrot, this recipe is perfect for South Beach Diet, phase 2.

Ingredients

• about 2 TBS olive oil

• 1 medium/large onion, diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1 carrot, finely chopped (omit if following South Beach)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 TBS rosemary, crushed a bit in your hand
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup wine (optional - but it is preferable if you aren’t using broth, as it will add more flavor)
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
• 1 pound lentils, rinsed
• 12 cups broth or water
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method Place a large soup pot with olive oil over medium heat.