easy gluten free dinners Archives - Page 4 of 4

What to do with leftover cod

Now, I usually cringe when I hear the words “leftover fish,” but sometimes there is just too much left that I feel bad throwing it out. We had cod, with the compound butter that I made, alongside the turkey on Thanksgiving. Since there was so much other food, there was about a pound of the cod left. I have made fish chowder in the past, using the leftover mashed potatoes, but wanted to try something different, so I made fish sticks. They were a hit! and SO EASY to make.

I had another post set for this morning with my stuffed Italian meatball recipe, but that will wait. This needed to be shared immediately! Here is the initial, also super easy, cod recipe and then the leftovers turned into fish sticks recipe follows.

Herb Butter Cod

Ingredients

2 pounds of fresh cod/haddock or your favorite firm white fish

4-5 Tablespoons herb butter or unsalted butter and a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme(remove leaves) and salt to your taste.

2 lemons, sliced

herb-cod

Directions

Pre heat over to 375 degrees. Line a baking dish with two pieces of foil, crossed, so that you will be able to fold up the sides and completely cover the fish. Place lemon slices over the bottom and lay the fish on top of the lemon. Dot the fish the with herb butter. Close the foil and place the dish in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the fish flakes easy with a fork and is cooked through.

Homemade Baked Fish Sticks

Ingredients

About 1 pound of cooked cod/haddock or your favorite firm white fish

2 eggs

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, optional

3/4 panko breadcrumbs (use gluten free. I like Ians)

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of pepper

fish-sticks-ready-for-the-oven

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, flake fish add eggs and rosemary and mix together. I find that getting messy and using my hands is the easiest. In a separate bowl mix breadcrumbs, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Now for the even messier part. The fish mixture will be really wet, but shape it as much as you can and roll in the breadcrumb mixture. Place on a sheet pan that you have sprayed with your favorite non-stick spray (I used Trader Joe’s Canola oil spray). Repeat until you are done with all the fish. Spray the tops with the oil spray as well. Bake for 15 minutes, then using a spatula, flip the fish sticks and bake for 10 more minutes.

fish-stick-meal

Easy and used up the leftovers! Although now I need to find another way to use my leftover mashed potatoes. I’m thinking soup.

Enjoy these easy recipes and stay tuned for a post every day starting December 1st, counting down to the new year! The posts will be filled with easy dinner recipes, gluten-free holiday treats and meals for a crowd that no one will even guess is gluten free! Stay tuned! Share with family and friends! Click on the buttons on the right or down below.

Note: If the photos look upside down on your browser, please know that I’m working on it. Still troubleshooting. Looks fine on Google chrome, but I have heard on Bing or others that the pictures are cockeyed. 🙂

What can I do with Thanksgiving leftovers?

If you and your family do not eat leftovers, send the rest home with someone else because there are people like me, who can eat Thanksgiving leftovers every day. Seriously. Every single day, every meal, I can eat turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash and cranberry sauce for the week following Thanksgiving. But for many (MOST) that gets boring. So, here are some ideas to hide it so your family doesn’t even know its leftovers! And as always, it’s good food that happens to be gluten free.

leftover-turkey-sandwich

Changing the flavor profile is the easiest way to disguise the leftovers. You can shred some of the turkey and mix it with your favorite barbecue sauce and serve on leftover rolls or with cornbread stuffing. Add the turkey to jarred Tikka Masala sauce and serve with rice. You can make Asian rice noodles, Italian pasta, Quesadillas or Chili. Using the leftover turkey, squash or vegetables from the veggie tray you can make any of the dishes in my recent Super Easy Pasta Night, 3 Easy 10 Minute Meal , Taco Tuesday – Step Outside the Taco Shell and Crowd Pleasing Chili posts.

There are so many options! With the ideas and recipe links above you can make your own takeout! Save the money for the holidays 🙂

Happy planning, cooking and try not to stress. Send me your questions for Thanksgiving or for what to do with leftovers! or tell us your leftover ideas! Comment here or send me an email to mammascooking@gmail.com.

Crowd Pleasing Chili

If you are having a crowd over for a big game or just hanging out with friends and family around the holidays and need a big satisfying meal, chili is always a great option. It is a blank canvas and does not require a lot of hands on work. It is also very easy to make gluten free, vegetarian or allergy friendly, which is great when you have a large crowd and don’t know what everyone’s food allergies or preferences are. I don’t think I have ever really made chili the same way twice, but I made this one recently to fuel up some friends before we enjoyed a long walk.

Quinoa Pumpkin Chili for a Crowd

Ingredients

1 to 2 pounds of your favorite beans or mixture of beans

½ of a large onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1-24 ounce can crushed tomatoes

About ½ a 15 ounce can of pumpkin

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoons of chili powder

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

3 Tablespoons of cider vinegar

¾ cup of chicken stock (or vegetable or beef stock)

1 ½ Tablespoons brown sugar

½ cup of quinoa

Optional, add 1 to 2 cups of leftover roasted vegetables and/or turkey, chicken or beef

Directions

Pour all the ingredients into your slow cooker and stir. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low 6-8 hours. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Serve with sour cream and sliced green onions.

This is yet another way to disguise Thanksgiving leftovers. To stretch the meal even further, you can serve it over mac-n-cheese, as I did for lunch the day after I made it.

quinoa-chili-for-a-crowd

When you are entertaining for the holidays, having easy meals that can stretch to feed a crowd are very useful. This is a healthy meal and a hearty meal that will give you the fuel to warm you up after hiking, skiing or keep you going during overtime of your favorite team’s game.

What are your favorite crowd pleasing meals? Stay tuned for an extra post this week with some gluten free holiday entertaining ideas and a recipe!

Here are some past crowd pleasing or tailgating recipes and ideas for using leftovers (Always the same disclaimer that they are from before our family started eating gluten free so make adaptations as needed or ask me how I do it! mammascooking@gmail.com

Fall Football and Tailgating

Lessons Learned from Thanksgiving and Cooking in the Aftermath

Pre and Post Thanksgiving Ideas with a Potluck Recipe thrown in

Happy Thanksgiving

Taco Tuesday – Step outside the Taco Shell (Gluten free!)

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Turkey time, a visit to a butcher shop and italian sausage mac-n-cheese (I think I’ll make this mac-n-cheese GF tonight!)

Thank you to Mamapedia for highlighting Mamma’s Cooking 3 Easy 10 Minute Meals on Mamapedia Voices on Friday!

Super Easy Pasta Night

I keep hearing from friends and readers that they wish they could cook what I do. Truth is…you can. Yes, I love to cook. It is my passion and stress reliever, but I completely understand (and have those nights or weeks!) of not wanting to cook or not having the time to cook. I do make more complicated meals some nights, but everyone needs to have super easy meals that they can make with very few ingredients and with very little effort. I’ll be sharing some of my favorites over the next couple months.

I have been sharing my “theme night” meals (Breakfast for Dinner, Tex Mex Tuesday, etc.), to show how I keep organized and take the stress out of my cooking. Easy meals like this Pasta with Mascarpone can help change up your pasta night. This recipe is very easy and a new take on mac-n-cheese if you are looking for something a little lighter.

Pasta with Mascarpone

Ingredients

1 pound elbow pasta (use GF pasta or even roasted cauliflower if making GF)

1 – 8 ounce tub of mascarpone cheese

2 Tablespoons of grated parmesan

1 Tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon of pepper

1 to 2 cloves of garlic minced or 1 teaspoon of garlic paste

Red pepper flakes to taste, optional

Grilled, sautéed or cooked vegetables, chicken or shrimp, optional

Directions

Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Reserve the pasta water. Pour the pasta into a serving bowl. Add the mascarpone, parmesan, onion powder, salt, pepper and garlic. Add a ladle of pasta water, or more if needed to help melt the cheese and create a sauce. Serve.

This makes more than enough for a family of five as a main meal with some vegetables and leftover chicken. We usually have enough for all five of us for lunch the next day too! You can also use it as a side dish.

A great friend of mine (who just launched an AMAZING blog: Momma to Go), tested this one for me. She is a busy mom with 2 young kids so understands that dinner needs to be easy and needs to be good. This got a thumbs up! Thanks Harmony for testing and for the picture!

What is your favorite super easy meal?

While I’m singing praises of another blogger, I will remind you that Tuesday, October 25th is the release of Nicole Hunn’s Gluten-Free Small Bites, so you only have two days to get the pre-order goodies available here! I’ve already made good use of mine!

Taco Tuesday – Step Outside the Taco Shell

Theme nights are a really good way to organize your weekly meals and make meal planning easier. We joined the #TacoTuesday bandwagon a couple of years ago. The kids love tacos and I have a wide interpretation of “taco.” It is really more like #TexMexTuesday. Some nights it is nachos, literally just tortilla chips with melted cheese in the microwave, on a paper plate, with a salad or fruit on the side. Other nights if we have more time, it is enchiladas with homemade tomatillo sauce or stuffed peppers. I often use whatever protein we had over the weekend, like leftover grilled chicken or steak and whatever vegetables we grilled and throw them into a quesadilla.

Quesadillas

Ingredients
Tortillas (Our new favorite is Joseph’s soft gluten-free tortillas which I find at Target or Market Basket locally) – 1 to 2 tortillas per person depending on their appetite
Shredded Cheese (I used Cabot blocks and shred myself or task a child/spouse) – 1/4 cup per person
Canned black beans (I use Wegmans or Goya) – 1 12 oz can is more than enough for a family a five

Optional: sour cream or plain yogurt, fresh cilantro, salsa, sliced avocado with fresh lime juice.

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 or use your toaster oven. Assemble and cook for 4 – 6 minutes on each side on a cookie sheet.

TIP: If you don’t have tortillas, use taco shells, tortilla chips or butter lettuce. If you are making it GF, remember to check the labels on the shells and chips.

A recent favorite in our house was a spin on a traditional quesadilla: Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas. Invented by one of my 6 year olds. All we did was add leftover grilled chicken and some cooked bacon to the cheddar. Cook according to recipe above and serve with ranch dressing and sliced peppers.

I often keep a bag of already cooked frozen shrimp in the freezer. All you need to do is defrost in cold water and then dry in between paper towels

Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients
1 pound of medium/large cooked shrimp
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 Tablespoon of sugar or teaspoon of agave
1 clove minced garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together and marinade the shrimp for 15-30 minutes while you prepare the taco accompaniments. Saute shrimp for a couple of minutes to heat through, if you want to or just use cold. Use for favorite taco shells and toppings then you are ready to serve! I love using feta and avocado.

TIP: If using fresh uncooked shrimp, marinade as above and then add 1 Tablespoon of butter and cook on a baking sheet for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

The options are endless. You can take this shrimp taco recipe and make it into a burrito bowl with rice and beans. You can also top the rice and beans with whatever other leftover veggies and or meat you have in the fridge. I’ll let you in on a secret. I lost the ability to cook rice when I went to law school. I cannot cook rice on the stove to save my life. I have only tried it once in the last 13 years after burning a few pots. I LOVE my rice cooker. My $15 rice cooker from Target. The rice always comes out perfectly and I don’t have to watch it. Instead I can battle through homework with the kids.

I have been making red salsa for almost 2 decades, since I worked at a Tex Mex restaurant in DC. It disappears quickly from the table at any gathering and is very simple to make. I passed the torch last year to my 8 year old daughter, who can easily make it on her own now. Since then, I have been experimenting with a green salsa made with tomatillos. It is tart and delicious and makes a great salsa, enchilada sauce or chilaquile sauce or sauce for grilled steak, chicken, fish or veggies.

Tomatillo salsa

Ingredients
2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 1/2 to 3 pounds of tomatillos, husked
1/2 of a large while onion, chopped
1/4 cup of chopped poblano pepper (use jalepeno if you want more spice)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Handful of cilantro
1 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
2 to 2 1/2 cups of water

Directions
Combine all of the ingredients, except the water, in a large pot on the stove. Turn the heat on to medium-high. Stir until fragrant. Should only take a couple of minutes. Add the water, stir occasionally and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the tomatillos are soft. Either blend with an immersion blender in the pot or wait for it to cool and transfer to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and allow to fully cool. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Our #TacoTuesday turned #TexMexTuesday means I always have a plan for Tuesday nights and can adapt it to what our schedule is for that day, whether I have 15 minutes to prep dinner or an hour. You are only limited by what it is in your fridge or cupboard, but all it really takes is cheese 🙂 Send me your questions or share your ideas for #TexMexTuesday! Remember you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, on Twitter @mammascooking and now I’m also figuring out how to use Google + (if anyone wants to give me a tutorial, I will cook for you!).