Stephanie's Recipes: Gluten Free Mac & Cheese

Be still my beating (now probably more clogged up) heart!

Just when I thought my gluten free-ish, anti-inflammatory diet was going to be super limiting, I found THIS recipe for gluten free mac and cheese and now my life is complete again.

IT IS AMAZING.

Pure cheesy goodness. Nomnomnomnomnom.

Sure, it's a little more diary than my anti-inflammatory dieting mouth should take in, but it's one of those "I'm kinda cheating while still staying within the guidelines" meals. We all need to have our comfort foods every once in a while, right? And honestly, you don't have to feel too bad, since it's still gluten free AND I'm sneaking some vegetables in there.

Them noodles are swimming in the good stuff. This is what it looks like before it goes for a bake in the oven.

Here's my take on this classic comfort food...

Gluten Free Mac and Cheese with Broccoli 

Ingredients
8 oz gluten-free pasta (shape of your choice)
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp rice flour
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
4 oz cheddar cheese, grated
8 oz colby cheese, grated
1-2 cups optional mix-ins, such as broccoli, peas, pre-cooked ham or chicken, jalapenos, etc.

Directions
Adjust oven rack to middle and preheat oven to 375.

Fill a medium pot 3/4 full with water and bring to a boil. Once water reaches a boil, add salt and pasta. Stir frequentl with a wooden spoon during the first few minutes of cooking. Follow boil time directions on the pasta box and drain when almost tender.

If you'd like to include brocc, add it to the boiling pasta 2 min before the pasta's done to cook that brocc up a little.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and mustard. Cook, stiring constantly, until garlic is translucent, about one minute.

Whisk in rice flour with a wire whisk. Cook, whisking constantly, until thick and light bown, about three minutes.

In a slow and steady stream, add chicken broth and milk. Whisk until mixture thickens. Cook until mixture is thick and begins to bubble. Turn heat to low.

Add cheese, one handful at a time, until incorporated. Stir gently using a wooden spoon until cheese melts. Sauce should be smooth.

Add pasta and any mix-ins to sauce. Stir to combine. Pour into an 8x8-inch baking pan.

Bake until sauce is bubbling and edges are starting to turn golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for ten minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Adapted from Elizabeth Barbone's recipe at Serious Eats.

Little Happies -- I'm Probably Going to Make You Salivate

Do I win the award for most awkward Little Happies title this week? 

I promise I'm not trying to be awkward. I just happen to unintentionally be really good at awkwardness sometimes. My b.

The reason I say you're probably going to salivate is... there's a lot of food in this post. I'm a little bit ashamed, but at the same time, this girl just can't help it. They say the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I'm pretty sure that makes me a man means I'm the exception to the rule. Just sayin'. Food is a happy-maker in my life. 

So, here we go. A Little Happies post almost entirely made up of food. Not sorry. Just Happy. :)  

--one--

Let's start with this beauty.

I found a nearby bakery that makes gluten free cupcakes!!! (Insert extreme happy dance with lots of flailing and fist pumps.) OBVIOUSLY I had to choose the strawberry one, which just so happened to surprise me even more with its killer cream cheese frosting. Mmmmm. Salivating yet? 

--two--

This boy joined me at work for a lunch date. He ate a turkey sandwich, I drank a fruity smoothie (my go-to lunch these days) and we shared a big bowl tupperware container of Bacon-Tomato Bisque, a recipe I totally stole from Amanda over at True, Good, and Beautiful. Yes, I totally creeped through the archives of her blog and discovered it. Not even ashamed to admit it because I got a delicious recipe out of it. Plus, isn't that what blog archives are for -- hardcore creeping? Don't act like you've never done it before.

Ok, that was a bit of a tangent. What I meant to say here was... I loved having a lunch picnic date thing in my office with the husband. It was fun and simple and made the work day go by a little faster.

--three--

We interrupt this food-centric blog post to bring you a non-fooded intermission.

I co-wrote a post this past week and it was a ton of fun! Lisa from Little Moments helped me write about how adoption and pregnancy are related. Click here to check out the post if you haven't had a chance to read it yet. I had the idea for the post a few months ago, but kept putting it off because I felt like I wasn't exactly qualified to write about adoption things I haven't experienced yet. Ya know? Well, then one day Lisa randomly wrote on her blog about how one thing in adoption related to something pregnant women usually experience and I was like BAM! Let's write a post together! She had some great ideas to add and definitely gave a better perspective on some stuff since she's a little further along than us.

Thanks, Lisa! That was a blast!! It really brightened my week to put our two heads together and create something fun like that. 

Be sure to check out her blog if you haven't yet. She writes about lots of great stuff including her handsome little adopted dude, Nathan. Love it.   

--four--

Ok, so I guess I had two non-related-to-food Happy things this week.

John and I took a newborn parenting class this past weekend, our final requirement from our adoption agency before we're officially offically ready to adopt. It was us plus about twenty pregnant couples in the class, and two funny nurses running the show. Once I figured out how to look past all the ginormous pregnant bellies and ignore some of the "your body after baby" advice coming from the presenter, the rest was pretty alright.

We learned lots of random stuff: how to change a diaper, what normal poop should look like (including pictures -- gross!), bottle feeding, sleep stuff, swaddling, giving a babe a bath, installing the car seat, etc. Overall, I think it was a good call for our agency to require it because I needed to hear that stuff. I only wish the agency could run their own class so that we didn't have to enter pregnant-land to take it. 

The best part was when my non-pregnant self actually had an advantage. Our big classroom was right next to the hospital cafeteria and the cafeteria just happened to be cooking really stinky broccoli that day. It was hilarious to watch all the pregnant women gag and cover their noses as soon as the brocco-stink wafted into our room. Lucky for me, I wasn't much affected, as my sense of smell isn't heightened by pregnancy hormones right now. Score for the infertile gal! 

Ok, so I guess that ended up being food related.

--five--

Back to the food stuff.

After our newborn parenting class, we went to Memphis's annual Italian Festival! We basically spent the whole afternoon hanging out at the Theology on Tap tent, where our friends were. They competed in the pasta sauce competition so we got to try their sauce (aka gravy) which was pretty tasty. We also wandered around for a little bit and I happened to purchase heaven in a bag...

--six--

source

Frito Pie. 

Please tell me you've had one of these. 

Fritos + chili + cheese + jalapenos + Louisiana hot sauce 

That's how I ate mine at the Italian Festival. I know what you're thinking. "Who goes to an Italian festival and eats this non-Italian junk?" Umm... the answer is "me." With a follow-up of "I don't even care!" and "It was probably the best dang thing at the festival." (And that's saying something, because there was lots of good food there.)

Just go out and try one for yourself sometime before you judge. They're super easy to make on your own if you don't have a festival nearby serving them up. Oooo, they'd be great as an appetizer at a party. Just go for it. I promise you won't be sorry.

--seven--

Fish taco bowls for dinner. Delish. 

I'm blessed to have a husband who's really good at cooking fish.

I got the recipe off the Anti-Inflammatory Diet Facebook group I'm in. Thanks, ladies. This dinner was a win. Love that little group!

You know what makes me extra happy? That slice of lime. Mmmm. Lime + fish + avocado = a delightful combo.

--eight--

In this cup sits the most delicious tea: white chocolate mint Tea from Teavana. A great dessert you don't have to feel bad about. Plus, that cup's super cute. Actually, I'm a little bit of a teacup collector wanna-be. If I had an infinite bank account, I'd buy all of the tea cups at Anthropologie and then live happily ever after. 

Basically what I'm trying to say here is there's just nothing like a warm cup of tea after a long day. Cupping it in your hands and sniffing in the warmth, then taking a big sip as soon as it's cooled enough to drink without burning le tongue... friends, does it get much better than that?

An InLinkz Link-up

Stephanie's Recipes: Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Back in November, I mentioned I was starting the anti-inflammatory diet.

Well, let's just say I haven't been very good at it. Not so far anyway. I lasted about 2 weeks and then totally caved on a CD1, eating every yummy, gluten-y thing in sight. And then we went away for Christmas and I didn't want to burden anyone with my diet, so I just ate what was put in front of me. And it was yummy. Then, after Christmas, I decided to get back on the horse. Give it another solid try. Yeah, still not 100% successful. Probably not even 50% successful.

But at least I'm trying right? Though, Yoda probably wouldn't be happy to hear that.

"Do or do not. There is no try." -Yoda

Gosh, he's so harsh sometimes.

Anywho, here's one of the recipes I've tried recently that's helped me get back into the anti-inflammatory/gluten-free-ish swing of things: Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad.

Mmmmmm.

My lovely sister-in-law bought me the Weeknight Gluten Free cookbook by Kristine Kidd for Christmas. I had seen it on Amazon as one of the top-rated gluten-free cookbooks, so when she asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told her my tummy (and diet) would really like that book. And so she bought it for me (and my tummy and my diet). And thumbing through it the first time, I knew me and cookbook were going to be good friends. It all looked so yummy!

We've now cooked from it a few times, and everything has been delish! So if you're looking for a gluten-free cookbook, I highly recommend it.

Our most recent favorite from the cookbook is the Quinoa Tabbouleh, which we've made twice now. It's so easy, veggie-centric, and tasty! And there's plenty to go around. Our one batch covered three meals. It's really just lovely.

We varied the original recipe just a tiny bit, adding some extra veggies here and there (like roasted red pepper!) and cutting back on the cucumbers and herbs. That's just another thing that's so great about it: you can easily adjust it to your liking. So have fun, be creative, and enjoy! :)

Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
6 radishes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp fresh mint, minced
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 head romaine lettuce (optional)
Salt and pepper

Directions
Place the quinoa in a medium sauceplan. Rince with cold water, drain. Repeat rinsing 3 more times, and then drain the quinoa and return to the pan. Add 1 1/2 cups water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Transfer the quinoa to a large shallow bowl and cool to room temperature. (Refrigerate to speed up the cooling.)

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combing the tomatoes, chickpeas, radishes, cucumber, green onions, avocado, parsley, mint, and feta. Add to the cooled quinoa. Add the oil and lemon juice and toss to combine evenly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over chopped romaine lettuce, if desired.

Serves 4-6.

Adapted from Kristin Kidd's recipe.