Gluten Free One Pot Chili Mac n' Cheese

With the start of Kindergarten, I have quickly realized the importance of meal planning and easy dinner ideas.  Our days and nights seem to be getting away from us, and there just are not enough minutes in the day!  Naturally, when I was thinking, "what's for dinner this week?" I consulted my trusty pal, Pinterest, and went to this Pin for an easy one-pot chili mac and cheese. I've made this in the past and it was a hit.

If you're following our adventures on Instagram, you may have seen a post earlier this week with a delicious meal we made.  The beauty of this one was that you don't need to cook the pasta first, it all goes into one pot and it doesn't take too long to make.  This makes the cooking easy and clean up even easier.

First, I grabbed my helper, who grabbed a Halloween decoration broom, and as I got to work cooking, she was "kee kee" which I believe is Ada code for cleaning.

I used my big cast iron pot, but a sauce pan would work just fine too.  I used this recipe, and changed things slightly to fit our family's taste buds and restrictions. I used gluten free penne, and that was a mistake.  It still tasted delicious but it absorbed too much of the liquid and became a little mushy.  So next time I'll be using elbows and also adding a little extra broth, because gluten free pasta tends to suck it right up.  I also used turkey burger in lieu of hamburger and omitted the beans because I have house full of crazies who don't like them.

When adding the cheese, I like to listen to The Pioneer Woman and freshly grate it.  I used a Cabot sharp cheddar which is naturally lactose free (for my son who has lactose sensitivities).

I served up this meal with some fresh baked corn muffins.   I cheated a little and used a gluten free boxed mix from Price Chopper because it really is the best corn bread I've had. I make it a lot.  The box calls for cooking it in a pan, but this time I tried muffin style and it was very yummy, you just may need to adjust the cooking time.  One thing I have learned with making these, is not to use Lactaid in place of regular milk.  I'm not sure why, but it make it extremely salty.

Ada was a huge fan of the muffins. She ate three and then demanded more.  My husband devoured this and my five year old son loved it too.  That, my friends, equals a meal time success!

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To see more of our gluten free adventures, follow @KnaptimeKnitter on Instagram!

Gluten Free Shake n' Bake Chicken

Remember Shake n' Bake? So easy to throw together and so delicious. I wanted to try a gluten free version and this one came out amazing. So easy and quick to make and it makes a lot of the mixture so  you can store some for later.


I followed the recipe almost exact, only I used chili powder instead of cayenne and onion powder instead of flakes because it's what I had on hand.  Recipe taken directly from The Black Peppercorn.

• 3 cups bread crumbs
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp dried onion flakes
• 3 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp dry parsley
• ½ tsp dry basil
• ½ tsp dry oregano

I let Atticus shake it up in a Ziplock bag and then baked on 400 for about 20 or so minutes. The mixture stayed on it great and it was moist and delish. Atticus enjoyed it too!

Your Pins Tested! Skinny Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I'm not a big broccoli person, but I try my best to eat it since its so good for you.  Atticus isn't really into it, either, so I was surprised at how much he enjoyed this meal.

I found this casserole from this pin and you can also find it on my food board on Pinterest.

You can find this recipe here.

 

The only thing I added to the recipe was a little garlic salt. Next time I make it I'll add some minced garlic when cooking the onions and mushrooms and I would have used a little more chicken.  Also, I used sharp cheddar cheese instead of Mexican blend.

To make this gluten free, like I did, substitute Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour instead of regular flour.  

Feel free to send me recipes on Pinterest!  Follow me here.

A Week of Dinner Ideas

Now that things are settling down with our two month old baby girl, I'm getting back on track with my meal plan, couponing and budgeting.  I also want to re-fill my freezer.  What a time saver having those meals ready to go in the freezer!  Since I'm grocery shopping this weekend, here's my list of dinners for the week:

Saturday: Oven Tacos with Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

Sunday: Lemon Chicken Fettuccine

Monday: Homemade Pizza

Tuesday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches with a Garden Salad

Wednesday: Skinny Chicken Broccoli Casserole (double, so I can freeze one)

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Lasagne (double, so I can freeze one)

Your Pins Tested! Gluten Free Banana Bread

I love LOVE love banana bread, but they can be tricky with gluten free because they dry out so quick.  Not that they ever last long in my house, but it is very annoying when its dry.  I've tried a bunch of recipes and this one was really yummy.  When I started making it, I was happy find that it actually makes two loaves, which is perfect for my house, where it goes quick.

This recipe comes from the Taste of Home and can be found at this Pin.  As always, I used what I had handy, so I drifted from the recipe a little.
*recipe was taken directly from the original post

What you'll need: 
2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
4 eggs 
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4-5 medium) 
1 cup sugar 
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used Cinnamon)
1/3 cup canola oil (I used vegetable)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I skipped these)

What to do:

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, bananas, sugar, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
2. Transfer to two 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with walnuts. Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each). 

The first loaf was gone in a day, but the second one, I let cool, sliced and put it in the freezer in a freezer bag.  When a piece is wanted, just take it out and microwave for 30 seconds or so.  This helps it to not dry out so much and maintain its yumminess.