Charleston Chew

I was just sitting here enjoying a Charleston Chew and realized that they are in fact gluten-free.  I don't think it has ever been a chosen favorite of my daughter's, but still good information to know.  I googled it real quick and found a link to Tootsie Roll's site here.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I found this little gem of a recipe on Pinterest and gave it a try.  I left it cooking in the crockpot with instructions for my husband to shred it and serve it on buns to the kids for dinner.  I actually forgot to check the label on Sweet Baby Ray's sauce and had a huge moment of panic once I got to work, but after checking online, I found that it was indeed gluten free.  I happened to have a can of coke zero so I had to substitute that and then I actually used Mortons Season-All Salt instead of the Lawry's.  Must put Lawry's on my shopping list. 

2 1/2 lbs pork butt

1 can Diet Pepsi

1/2 bottle Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce

Lawry's Seasoning Salt

Generally coat pork butt with Lawry's seasoning salt, don't be afraid to cover it all! Place in crock pot and pour in soda and barbecue sauce. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours. If you have a larger piece of meat, it will probably take longer. After 4 hours or so, take two forks and shred the meat into bite size chunks. Let it sit in the juice to soak up all that flavor. It can stay on warm in crock pot while serving, and can easily be reheated the next day. Serve on a roll. 

It must've been meant for me to cook this meal on this day, because as I breezed through the grocery store to collect the ingredients, I came across Udi's new hamburger buns.  Brittany was thrilled to try something new.  We are already Udi fan's and she said the bun was great! 

And for the record, the whole family LOVED this meal. We added a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips with some fruit and they are asking to have it again next week. Score for mom because it was so simple and yummy!!!

SLOPPY JOE STUFFED PEPPERS

1 pound ground beef
1 ounce onion, chopped, about 2 tablespoons
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon granular Splenda
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 green peppers, halved lengthwise

Brown the ground beef, onion, celery and garlic; drain the fat. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients except the cheese and green peppers. Simmer 10 minutes. Meanwhile, parboil the peppers in a little boiling water 3 minutes; drain. Place the peppers in a baking dish. Stir half of the cheese into the hamburger mixture; fill the peppers with the meat. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350º 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly and the peppers are tender.

Makes 6 servings

Can be frozen

Per Serving: 306 Calories; 21g Fat; 23g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest but credit goes to Linda's Low Carb Meals

Dirt Dessert

What You Need:

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
1 package gluten free oreos, crushed (I used K-toos)
10 worm-shaped chewy fruit snacks

Make It

BEAT pudding mix and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Let stand 5 min. Stir in COOL WHIP and 1/2 cup cookie crumbs.
SPOON into 10 (6- to 7-oz.) paper or plastic cups; top with remaining cookie crumbs.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Top with fruit snacks just before serving.

Thank goodness for K-toos!

 

My son requested this treat for his birthday party.  His little sisters had to be convinced that it really wasn't dirt.  It was a big hit!

Grilled Potatoes

I saw this post over at http://www.graburfork.blogspot.com/ and knew it would be perfect for summer bbq's.

Ingredients:

5-6 potatoes

1/3 cup butter

garlic salt

pepper

Scrub and cut potatoes into 1/2 inch disks.  Leave the skin on for more flavor.  Boil them for approximately 10-12 minutes until fork tender, but not falling apart.  Drain water and put discs on a hot grill.  Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.  Grill for 6-7 minutes on each side.  Serve hot from the grill.   

Beef Manicotti

I have a recipe for Manicotti that we haven't made in years.  I just haven't been able to find gluten free manicotti anywhere.  As much as I love Manicotti I prefer to make only one meal for the whole family so I tucked this recipes away. Until now.  I saw this done on another blog and wish I could remember where, to give them the credit for the genious idea.  I used gluten free lasagne noodles and rolled the filling up inside of them.  They were a bit too long so I cut them in half and they turned out perfectly.

This recipe is courtesy of Giadia De Laurentiis 

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground beef
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
14 (8-ounce package) manicotti (I used a box of GF lasagne noodles instead)
1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta
3 cups shredded mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups marinara sauce
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Heat a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, onion and ground beef. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and cool.

Brush 1 teaspoon of oil over a large baking sheet. Cook the manicotti in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly softened, but still very firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the oiled baking sheet and cool.

Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and parsley. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper to taste, and mix. Stir the cooled meat mixture into the cheese mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil over a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture. Arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish and spoon the remaining sauce over.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, then the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan over the stuffed pasta. Dot entire dish with the butter pieces. Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the sides of the dish, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the manicotti stand 5 minutes and serve.

I also served this dish with cheese rolls from Cheese Bread Mania sprinkled with Salad Supreme before baking.

Wendy's

Wendy's has become by far our most common stop for gluten free fast food.  So many places are jumping on the gluten free train, but this has always felt safe and reasonably healthy.  For a list of gluten free menu items CLICK HERE.

Our favorite gluten free menu choices are:

Baked Potato

Chili

Burger w/o bun

Frosty