easy dinners Archives - Mamma's Cooking

Grilling Gluten-Free Pizza Dough

Grilled pizza is phenomenal! Once you grill pizza, you will not want to cook it any other way. I’ve been known to even grill a frozen pizza.

Our new favorite gluten-free dough is from Sal’s Pizza. It is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy free and nut free. I’m not getting paid for praising them, it is my own opinion and what I actually feed my family.

Sal’s GF dough is just like non-GF pizza dough, but slightly more finicky. It is better to handle than all the other GF doughs I have tried. It is pliable enough to be rolled out and moved to a sheet pan. As the directions on the packaging state, you just need to put some cornmeal down on the pan, so the dough doesn’t stick. One ball of dough will make two 14 inch pizzas.

I recently discovered an easier way to cook the dough on the grill. Have you ever tried to grill pizza dough, throw it on the grill and it folds up and sticks to the grill surface? I have. Many times. This method has revolutionized my pizza grilling. No more folded dough on the grill!

I start by placing the sheet pan with the dough on it, directly on the grill. Close the grill and cook until bottom of dough is firm and no longer sticky.

Then I take the pans off the grill and spray the top of the dough with cooking spray. Using a spatula (and my hands – don’t burn yourself!) flip the dough over onto the grill for a couple of minutes.

Then using a long spatula or a pizza slide, flip it back onto the sheet pan.

Top with sauce, cheeses and your favorite toppings before moving the sheet pan back onto the grill. Close grill and cook until cheese is bubbly and melted.

This is really easy and gives you that great smoky taste of the grill. If you don’t have a favorite GF pizza dough try using the Against the Grain crust directly on the grill (also a family favorite and no, they are not paying me to say so) or your favorite GF frozen pizza. We are Freshcetta fans.

My son, who has celiac disease, LOVES pizza. He has always loved pizza and with grilling the pizza, no one in the family feels like they are missing the gluten. Some of my family’s favorite toppings include: cheeseburger pizza, marinated rainbow carrots (don’t knock it, until you’ve tried it!), meatballs, salami and broccoli, olives, sausage or ham and pineapple or just cheese. Lots and lots of cheese.

Easy Grilled Gluten-Free Pizza

Easy method of grilling your favorite gluten-free pizza dough!

Servings 8

Ingredients

1 ball Sal’s gluten-free pizza dough
2 teaspoons cornmeal
½ cup canned tomato sauce
8 ounces mozzarella shredded
8 ounces cheddar shredded
½ teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
3 to 4 leaves fresh basil torn
Toppings optional

Instructions

If dough is frozen, defrost (at least 2 to 3 hours on counter or overnight in fridge).
Take two sheet pans that will fit on your grill side by side (or cook one at a time) and sprinkle with cornmeal.
Cut dough ball in half.
Lightly flour surface and the rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/8th inch thick and place on prepared sheet pan.
Heat grill to high heat.
Prepare all your ingredients and tools near the grill. Have sauce, cheese, seasonings and any toppings you want to use, ready. Also make sure you have oven mitts for handling the hot sheet pans, cooking spray, a spatula and a pizza slide (if you have one).
Place both sheet pans (or one at a time) on the hot grill and close the top. Grill for about 6 minutes, until the dough is firm.
Remove pans from grill and place on temperature safe surface.
Spray tops of dough with cooking spray and using spatula and your hands, if cool enough, flip dough over, directly onto the grill. Close and cook for about 5 minutes.
Using your spatula or a pizza slide, flip dough over, off of grill, back onto sheet pan.
Add sauce on each pizza, cheeses, oregano, salt and pepper. Add any toppings you want.
Place sheet pans back on the grill. Close grill and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.
Take off the grill, top with fresh basil and serve!

Meal Planning: Basic Instant Pot Chicken and Roasted Vegetables

A little meal planning goes a long way. I try to plan our meals for the week the night before I go grocery shopping, so that I can make my list dependent on what I’m going to cook that week.

On weekends, I try to cook extra items to make our meal preparation for busy weeknights easier. I received an Instant Pot for Christmas. It is a great too for meal prepping. Either I make dinner in the instant pot, while I make the meal for other nights on the stove or vice versa, make the meal for later in the week in the Instant Pot while I cook our dinner on the stove.

Here are a couple of easy recipes that will make multiple meals.

Basic Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot

Marinade:

Ingredients

About 3 pounds of chicken breasts

5 Tablespoons lemon juice

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of garlic paste or 1 clove of garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon onion powder

½ cup of water

Directions

Mix all the ingredients together in a gallon freezer bag with the chicken breasts and marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Take out of marinade. Add into instant pot on steamer shelf with about a cup of water and set to pressure cook for 10 minutes. Allow natural release for 5 minutes and then manually release the remaining pressure.

Now you have cooked chicken breasts to be able to add to whatever you like for the week. Roasting some veggies while the chicken is cooking, will lessen your load during the week even more.

Roasted Veggies

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of olive oil

1 Green pepper, sliced into sticks

1 Yellow pepper, sliced into sticks

1 zucchini, sliced into sticks

1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved

1 teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of pepper

¼ teaspoon of thyme

Directions

Toss veggies with olive oil and spices. Spread out on a sheet pan. Roast at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Here are some meal ideas with the chicken and veggies.

First Meal

This feeds 5-7 people

Greek Inspired Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

1 ½ cups of cooked chicken, cubed

Roasted tomatoes and zucchini

1 16 ounce box of pasta shells (small shells – I like Wegman’s gluten-free)

4 to 6 ounces of crumbled feta

Juice of ½ a lemon

Pasta water

Directions

Cook pasta according to instructions on package and save some of the pasta water. Pour the pasta in to a serving dish. Add chicken, tomatoes, zucchini and lemon juice and one ladle full of the pasta water. Mix. Add more pasta water if too dry. Stir in the feta and serve. Add fresh basil if you have some.

2^nd meal – for one ( This was my lunch one day)

Baked Sweet Potato with chicken, roasted veggies and feta

Ingredients

1 Baked Sweet Potato

¼ cup of chicken, diced

A couple of roasted peppers

1 to 2 ounces of crumbled feta

Directions

Cut open baked sweet potato. Add chicken, peppers and feta. Enjoy!

Baking the sweet potato in the oven is really my favorite way to cook it, but lack of time usually means that I make it in the microwave.

3^rd meal feeds 4 to 5

Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients

6 flour tortillas (my gluten free favorite is Joseph’s or Mission GF)

1 to 1 ½ cups of cooked chicken, chopped

Roasted green and yellow peppers

8 to 12 ounces of shredded cheddar

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray sheet pan. Place cheese, chicken and peppers on one half of each tortilla. Fold other side over and cook about 6 to 8 minutes on each side.

If there are any chicken and veggies left, toss them into a salad with your favorite dressing.

What are your favorite meal planning recipes? Here are some of my other recipes that have great leftovers to help you out during the week! It is all about making our lives easier: What to do with leftover cod, Turkey Fried Rice and Sweet Potato Two Ways.

Make your own take-out! Turkey Fried Rice

Making your own take-out can be easy and delicious! My family loves fried rice. I know it is probably one of the least expensive items on the menu at your local take-out Chinese place, but I always seem to order more than I need or have to order more to reach a minimum amount for delivery. Making it at home uses up any leftovers we have on hand, it’s healthier and is finished faster than calling in the order.

Turkey Fried Rice

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 egg whisked
1 zucchini diced
1 small onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
¼ cup soy sauce make sure it’s GF (I like La Choy)
¼ cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon ginger minced or use a paste like this one from Gourmet Garden.
2 cups cooked rice I love Wegman’s 90 second Steamables!
2 cups shredded cooked turkey
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped, optional

Instructions

Heat 1 Tablespoon of the vegetable oil and the sesame oil in sauté pan or wok and scramble egg. Take it out and set aside.
Add last Tablespoon of vegetable oil and add zucchini, onion and garlic to the pan. Stir and cook for about 7 min, or until soft.
Mix soy sauce, vinegar and ginger together in a bowl.
Add rice to pan then pour on soy sauce mixture and stir.
Add turkey and return egg to pan. Mix it all together and you have turkey fried rice!

TIP: You can substitute leftover pork roast or roast beef or chicken or shrimp or your favorite vegetables for the zucchini, or even solely vegetables or tofu to keep it vegetarian.

What are your favorite take-out dishes that you make at home? We love making Hot and Sour soup! What is your favorite way to use leftovers? We make fish sticks with leftover cod or chili with leftover pumpkin or squash or check out this post for more ideas! Leftovers do not need to be boring!

Easy, Fancy Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback potatoes were very popular last year, so naturally I’m finally getting on the bandwagon. Easy side dishes that look fancy are always great for a holiday table, entertaining friends, potlucks or even to spice up an ordinary Wednesday night.

Cheesy Hasselback Potatoes

Ingredients

5 large potatoes thinly sliced but not all the way through to the bottom.
1 clove garlic minced
4 Tablespoons butter melted
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
5 springs of thyme removed from stem or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
4 ounces gouda finely shredded (parmesan would also be good)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray small casserole dish or a cake pan with non-stick spray.
Mix garlic, butter, salt, pepper and thyme in a cup.
Place sliced potatoes in pan and then pour butter mixture over top, making sure it gets into each slice of potato.
Top with shredded cheese and make sure some of it gets into each slice of potato. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes and uncovered for 25 minutes.

Recipe Notes

This can easily be made in advance and then reheated in the oven or under the broiler before serving.

I love dishes that look fancy, taste amazing and are super easy to make. This is definitely one of those dishes. What is your go to side dish? I also love making polenta or mashed potatoes and then add some green beans, acorn squash or even some decadent burrata with tomatoes and basil.

Gluten-free on the Road and a slow cooker mashed potato recipe!

Cooking in a kitchen that is not your own can be nerve wracking! Whether your home kitchen is fully gluten-free (GF) or not, cooking at a vacation rental or someone else’s house requires an extra level of preparedness to be safe.

If the house is close by, one option is to make the meal at your own house and bring it with you. When driving for a trip, I pack a Rubbermaid tub with the cooking essentials. If we are sharing the house with others, I make sure everyone knows that that box is only to be used for gluten-free cooking.

Checklist for Cooking Meals in a Non-GF Kitchen:

Aluminum foil (and lots of it!) – this can cover cookie sheets, serving platters and grills and wrap around food to keep the chance of cross-contamination low. Don’t forget a sharpie to mark GF as needed.
Cutting board (Bring a large wooden cutting board to double as a serving platter for you’re your Thanksgiving turkey if needed)
Frying pan
Pasta pot
Colander
Paper plates and bowls
Plastic cups
Plastic forks, spoons and knives
Chef’s knife (transport it in a paper towel tube)
Spatula
Whisk (I have used a plastic fork instead of whisk many times, so bring it only if you have space)
Mixing spoon that can double as a serving spoon
Gallon and sandwich size Ziploc bags or containers for leftovers
Chicken stock
GF flour
Sugar, salt and pepper, condiments and other herbs that you like to keep separate
Aluminum cake pans, casserole or bread pans, if needed
Crockpot or crockpot liners (When not using the crockpot, I use the bowl as my mixing bowl for other recipes)
Cheese grater

To separate items in the refrigerator, either designate a separate shelf (the higher the better) and/or a drawer. If it’s a small amount put it in a small Rubbermaid bin.

This seems like a lot. I know. It’s a mobile kitchen. If you are not going to be cooking entire meals, then you will not need all these items. Everyone’s checklist will look different depending on what you are cooking. Keep your recipes simple and bring only what you need to make your recipes. If you are flying, consider buying cheap or one-use versions of what you might need at your destination.

An easy way to keep things simple while on vacation is to make a one pot meal in a crock pot. It will feed a crowd, allow you to enjoy the day and can easily be made gluten-free. This is especially important on holidays. Here is a mashed potato recipe you can make entirely in your crock pot.

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

6 medium yellow potatoes washed and diced (peeling optional)
1 ½ cups milk
3 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces cream cheese optional

Instructions

Add potatoes, milk, butter, salt and pepper to slow cooker.
Cook on high for 2 ½ to 3 hours.
Add cream cheese if you like cheesier mashed potatoes. Mash or whip with handheld mixer.
Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed and it is ready to serve. To keep warm, pour about 1/4 cup of milk over top, cover and set on low or warm until service. Then just mix in milk and its ready for some gravy!

How do you cook gluten or allergen free when you are traveling? You can try my easy chili or pasta with mascarpone recipe.

Bold and Flavorful Marinade!

Marinades can add a great flavor to your grilled meats, vegetables or even tofu. Recently, I shared with you my Steak Rub recipe. Today I’m sharing a marinade bursting with flavor that will make your taste buds zing! Gluten-free food does not have to be boring! Just make sure that your soy sauce, vinegar and spices are free from gluten, so that the marinade is safe for you and everyone to enjoy!

Bold and Flavorful Marinade

Ingredients

¼ cup of olive oil

1/8 cup water

3 Tablespoons of soy sauce

3 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

3 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

zest and juice of one lime

3 to 4 Tablespoons of brown sugar (depending on your taste)

1 Tablespoon of fresh rosemary and/or thyme

1 clove of garlic minced

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Place steak, chicken, pork or tofu into marinade and let sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours up to overnight. Remove, dry off whatever you marinated and cook how you like. This is great for the grill!

You may be wondering what that strange green thing is holding up the ziploc bag? I got it as a present for Mother’s Day. It makes filling a ziploc bag for any reason, so much easier and folds away.

Are you grilling this weekend? What is your favorite tool for grill prep? What is your favorite item to grill? Let me know in the comments!

Here are some of my favorite grilling tools:

Here are some other recipes if you need some inspiration for your weekend bbq:

Haddock on the Grill

My favorite bbq sauce recipe

Tomatillo Salsa

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This doesn’t cost you any extra, but if you like something I love and buy it, I get a small percentage and can continue blogging.

Cheeseburger Pizza!

Pizza is definitely tops on my kids’ list of dinner choices. Most nights it is just cheese pizza or one olive and one cheese, but the kids like to invent pizzas on the nights when we have more time. One of my twins (who just turned 7!) came up with Rainbow Carrot pizza, which is amazing! You have to check out that recipe! We made it again last week for their birthday, along with a cheese pizza, mushroom pizza and this new-to-us, Cheeseburger Pizza. It will now be a part of our regular rotation! It was delicious!

Cheeseburger pizza

Ingredients

½ sweet onion, chopped finely

1 clove of garlic, minced

About 1 ¼ pounds of ground beef

3 teaspoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

1 Tablespoon of ketchup

1 teaspoon of spicy brown mustard

1 pizza crust (My favorite is the Against the Grain GF Crust)

1/2 cup of tomato sauce (more or less, depending on your personal taste)

4 ounces of shredded mozzarella

4 ounces of shredded cheddar (I have had even better results with 2 ounces of cheddar and 2 ounces of aged gouda)

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Add olive oil, onions and garlic to a large sauté pan and cook on medium high, stirring for about 3 minutes. Add the ground beef to the pan and sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Once browned add the ketchup and mustard and stir until cooked. Take crust out of the freezer and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove and add sauce, cheese and then top with ground beef mixture and cook for another 15 to 18 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown. Slice up and enjoy!

Pizza is such a great bridge recipe! You can have a basic cheese pizza and add whatever ingredients you or your family like. Meatball pizza is another favorite in our house. I use my simple meatballs or even have used my Italian stuffed meatballs. What is your family’s favorite pizza topping?

Shop Amazon for some of my favorite ingredients and gadgets for making pizza night spectacular!

Gluten-free Steak Rub Recipe

A good steak really only needs salt and pepper and a hot grill or cast iron skillet. A good steak however can be really expensive. I love to use more flavorful marinades or rubs when cooking some of the more cost effective cuts like top round or london broil. This is a wet steak rub and is reminiscent of the flavors that go into South African farmer’s sausage. It gives just a hint of flavor that most people here in the US have not had before, but reminds me of my childhood 🙂

Steak Rub (enough for about 3 pounds of steak)

Ingredients

¼ cup of olive oil

4 teaspoons of ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 ½ teaspoons of onion powder

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoons of salt

¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a gallon storage bag. Place the steaks in and make sure to cover them with the rub. Allow to sit for at least 20 minutes before cooking. Cook to your liking. I like to cook it about 4 to 5 minutes on each side for a rare to medium rare finish for about a 3cm thick steak. Allow to rest for 7 to 10 minutes before cutting.

Serve with some easy polenta or grilled cheesy potatoes, like this one from The Recipe Rebel. I made a version of it last night, minus the bacon and it was so easy and delicious!!

Add some asparagus or grilled corn (shuck, rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper then grill, turning frequently) and you have a great barbecue dinner.

Make sure you check if the spices are gluten-free. According to McCormick, they will list it on the bottle if it contains gluten, usually in spice blends. Badia is certified gluten free and can be found usually in the international section of many grocery stores, but sometimes next to the other spices.

What is your favorite way to cook a steak?

Haddock on the Grill

Even on cool slightly rainy nights the grill calls to me. It means less clean up and usually faster cooking. Seafood is great to cook on the grill, especially because then the house does not smell like fish! We are very lucky that we have a friend who loves to fish but doesn’t like seafood, so we get pounds of his fresh catch to freeze and pull out when we need it.

Grilled Haddock

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
6 to 8 basil leaves torn
3 pounds Haddock fillets or other firm white fish, like cod
1/2 pound Campari tomatoes diced
Juice of ½ a lemon
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese optional

Instructions

Preheat the grill. Take 2 large pieces of foil and cross them. Drizzle olive oil, salt and half of the basil leaves on the foil. Place haddock fillets on top.
Add tomatoes, remaining olive oil, salt and basil leaves, then squeeze the lemon juice over the fish.
Close up the foil and fold into a packet. Add another piece of foil if needed to make sure the fish is completely enclosed.
Place on direct heat on the grill and close grill. After 10 minutes, move to indirect heat. Close grill and continue to cook for another 20 to 25 minutes.
Take off the grill and serve! Sprinkle fish with feta if you like.

I have about 8 pounds of haddock left, so I’m sure there will be more recipes in the future! Any good ideas? What is your favorite way to cook haddock?

Here are some of my other seafood ideas and recipes:

What to do with leftover cod

Sheet Pan Shrimp

Poached Salmon

Shepherd’s Pie, easy meal for the freezer or a for a friend

Spring is in full swing! Some days here in New England are 90 degrees and others barely reach 60. Having delicious comfort food meals in the freezer for you, your guests or to bring for a friend in need is very helpful. Shepherd’s Pie is one of my favorites. I love it. It is one of the few ways I can get my kids to eat mashed potatoes! They eat many things and eat potatoes in most other forms, but for some reason mashed potatoes are in their mind, a form of torture that I save only for them 😉

Shepherd’s Pie is great to bring to new parents who need a meal or a friend who has just moved or had surgery. It is great to bring to a potluck or serve at a graduation celebration. It is naturally gluten free by using cornstarch instead of flour to thicken the meat sauce. No one will miss the gluten.

Shepherd’s Pie

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3 pounds of ground meat (beef, pork or turkey…I often use a mixture of beef and pork)

1 white onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 sprigs thyme

1 cup of beef stock

2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

5 russet potatoes, diced

1 teaspoon of salt

2/3 cup of milk

2 Tablespoons cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1/8 teaspoon of paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown meat in large high rimmed, oven safe sauté pan. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Stir occasionally and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. In a small bowl mix stock, vinegar and cornstarch. Pour into meat mixture. Combine and cook on medium to low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. Add potatoes and salt to stock pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for about 20 minutes. When potatoes are soft, drain and add milk and cream cheese, then mash together. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

Spoon mashed potatoes over the meat mixture and smooth out with spatula. Top with a sprinkle of paprika and place in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes. Serve!

If you plan to freeze or gift the shepherd’s pie, first pour the meat mixture into a foil casserole dish and then smooth potatoes over the top before cooking.

For a fancy twist, you can make baked potatoes and scoop out the insides, make mashed potatoes with the insides and then spoon the meat mixture into the skins. Simply cover with mashed potatoes and bake. Twice baked shepherds pie..mmmm!

What is your favorite meal to freeze? What is your favorite meal you have received in a time of need? Here are some other freezer meals or meals to bring a friend:

Gluten-Free Stuffed Shells

Meatballs

Meatloaf

Spinach and Artichoke Mac-n-cheese

Sweet Potato Enchiladas