Day 1- Sunday

Sunday. The first official day of gluten free living in our household. Ok, sort of. Anna Kate is gluten free and Emily, Zeke and I are finishing off, donating and trashing the gluten infested food items this week. It has been an interesting day. I feel like I know how to cook and most of the time very well but this is a new wrinkle. I am discovering Quinoa pasta and wheat pasta are bizarro twins.  They look alike but in all actuality, behave very differently.

For lunch we had:
Quinoa Rotelle with Pepper and Mushroom Medley in a Portabello and Chicken Marinara.
Yes, completely gluten free.

The Quinoa was the hard thing to navigate. And when I say hard, I mean it. In the water this noodle behaves just like his brother wheat, but after a drain, forget it. Rigor sets in after three minutes and now you have chewy, gummy pasta. Luckily our guests didn't mind and the copious amounts of sauce helped us to avoid starvation. Next time I will mix it with the sauce instead of keeping it separate.

Items used:
1 8oz box of Quinoa Rotelle pasta
1 16oz jar of HEB Portabello and Onion Marinara Sauce
1 red bell pepper (julienned)
1 green bell pepper (julienned)
1 8oz package of button mushrooms (sliced)
1 8 oz chicken breast (cubed)

Sautee chicken in pan until 170 degrees throughout. While  doing this, bring 4 qts  of water to a boil.
After chicken is ready, remove to a plate and cover to retain moisture.
Add vegetables to sautee pan and cook until peppers are just before limp.
Your water should be boiling now. Add pasta and let return to a boil for 6-9 minutes.Should be limp.Trust me you are going to want the extra moisture later.
Your vegetables should be nearing completion in about 3 minutes. Pour yourself a glass of iced tea, wipe your hands and get that jar of marinara open.
Pour this into the pan with the vegetables. Bring it to a simmer and then add the chicken. Cover the pan and go drain the pasta. It should be done now. I drained it and let it sit in its own pot. Big mistake! After you drain it (NO COLD WATER), add it to the simmer pan of goodness. Toss joyfully and get out the plates. It's time to eat!

For dinner we had:
Teriyaki Mei Fun with Asparagus Stir Fry

This was much easier and faster.And of course, gluten free!

I used:

1 8oz box of Annie Chan's Mei Fun
4 Tbs of San-J Gluten Free Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
1 8oz bag of Archer Farms (Target) Asparagus Stir Fry Mix (Steam and Eat)

Start with the stir fry mix. Put it in the microwave for 7 minutes.
Start your water and bring it to a boil.
About the same time the water begins to boil, the microwave is beckoning.  Take out the stir fry bag and open it into a sautee pan over medium heat.
Go back to the water boiling and add your 8 ozs of mei fun. Stay here as it only needs 2 minutes but keep an eye on that stir fry.
After your two minutes is up, drain well and add to your stir fry pan. Now add your 4 Tbs of  Teriyaki and mix thoroughly.

Guess what? Time to eat!


Both of these took less than twenty minutes and were less than $15 to feed four. We even saved out some of the mei fun to have another night.

We are learning to change and rabidly searching for new ideas so please don't hesitate to share.