Gluten Free Friday! (Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf)

Hello again everyone and welcome to another edition of Gluten Free Friday. I hope everyone had a great week and is ready to get their weekend started. Today I bring you a delicious gluten free turkey meatloaf that’s loaded with flavor and is still low fat and low calories. Turkey always has a tendency to be a bit bland unless seasoned like crazy, in my opinion, but the quinoa and hot sauce as well as the sweet sauce on top of this meatloaf really adds a lot of flavor. I definitely recommend free-forming this into a loaf on a baking sheet rather than using a loaf pan, since it’s made with turkey, otherwise it’ll come out mushy. You can, however, fill a muffin tin with the mixture and make little muffin shaped individual meatloaves which are great for taking leftovers to work. Personally, I like to take leftover slices of meatloaf and make a meatloaf sandwich but you can do it however you like. If you do use the muffin tin I would recommend checking them after about 30 minutes because they shouldn’t take as long to finish. Give this healthy gluten free meatloaf recipe a try; I’m sure you’ll really love it. As always, feel free to leave comments below letting me know what you think.

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

• 1/4 cup Quinoa
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 small Onion, chopped
• 1 large Garlic Clove, chopped
• 1 1/4 lb Ground Turkey
• 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1 Tbsp Hot Pepper Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Egg
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Water

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; stir in the onion and cook, stirring, until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.
5. In a large bowl mix the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper until well combined; the mixture will be very moist.
6. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet.
7. In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water; rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf.
8. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center and reads at least 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center, about 50 minutes.
9. Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Yummy Recipe Wednesday! (Fried Mac N Cheese Balls)

Hello again friends and food lovers. Welcome to another Yummy Recipe Wednesday. Today I bring you a delicious fried treat. If you’ve never had Fried Mac N Cheese Balls, homemade or store bought, you’re really missing out on something special. For me, I first discovered these at a gas station hot deli of all places. Of course the ones they have there are triangular shaped bites that are clearly a factory made froze product, but delicious none the less. After discovering these I went on a mission to find a recipe that I could use to make them myself and the recipe below is the result of that search. These are obviously so much more delicious than the gas station variety that I used to eat. I know glancing at the ingredients/steps below must make it look like these are hard to make but they’re really quite easy. Give them a try and let me know in the comments below if you thought they were as delicious as I do. Also be sure to check back on Friday for another Gluten Free Friday recipe and if you haven’t do so yet please complete the poll at the top of the sidebar to let me know what you think about the new background.

Fried Mac N Cheese Balls

• 1 (7.25 oz) pkg Macaroni and Cheese Mix
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1/4 cup Milk
• 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 3/4 cup Pimento Cheese Spread
• 1 cup Shredded Italian Cheese Blend
• 2 cups Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp White Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 pinch Cayenne Pepper, to taste
• 4 Eggs
• 3 Tbsp Milk
• 4 cups Peanut Oil, as needed for frying

1. Fill a pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
2. Stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil; cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the macaroni is al dente, about 7 minutes, then drain.
3. Stir in the 2 tablespoons butter, the 1/4 cup milk, and the cheese packet from the package.
4. While the macaroni is still hot, stir in the Cheddar cheese, pimento cheese spread, and Italian cheese blend, and continue to stir until melted.
5. Place the macaroni and cheese mixture in a container and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Remove the macaroni mixture from the refrigerator and, using a cookie scoop, scoop into balls; place the macaroni balls onto the prepared baking sheet and freeze for at least 2 hours.
8. Heat oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
9. Whisk together the bread crumbs, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, sugar, and cayenne in a shallow dish; set aside.
10. Beat the eggs with the 3 tablespoons milk in a separate small bowl.
11. Remove the macaroni balls from the freezer and coat then in the egg wash then dredge them in the breading.
12. Fry the macaroni balls in small batches until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes; drain briefly on a paper towel-lined plate and serve hot.

Minor Design Change

Happy Tuesday everyone.  Today I decided to make some minor design changes to the blog.  The most noticeable of these changes, of course, is the background.  I liked the old background but felt it was time for a change and this new background also matches the blog's Twitter page background.  I also removed the background transparency of the posts themselves.  The new background is a bit "busier" than the old one and I felt that being able to see the background behind the text was a bit distracting when trying to read a post/recipe.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the changes.  I put up a poll at the top of the side bar to the right to voice your opinion about the changes.  The poll will be up until the end of this month (February) and it would be appreciated if I could get some feedback.  If you have any thoughts or some input that you can't relay via the poll, please feel free to comment on this post.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for another Yummy Recipe Wednesday recipe post.

Yummy Recipe Wednesday! (Baked Spaghetti)

Welcome friends and food lovers to another edition of Yummy Recipe Wednesday. Hopefully everyone is having a good, not too cold, week and is looking forward to the weekend. Today I bring you a recipe for a delicious dish that my wife surprised me with last week. I think the best way to describe this dish is that it’s as if Spaghetti and Lasagna got together and had a love child. What really makes this dish stand out in my mind is the butter/Parmesan mixture that the spaghetti is tossed in. I will warn you, however, that this dish is rich but oh so good. On that note, you could use Ricotta Cheese instead of the Cottage Cheese but I’m afraid it would be too rich. My wife actually used Sour Cream instead of Cottage Cheese because that’s all we had available so that’s an option as well. I’ve also considered that you could use a white sauce and chicken and make a Baked Chicken Spaghetti but we’ll leave that for a future experiment. Give this recipe a try, I promise you won’t be disappointed. As always, feel free to leave comments below with your thoughts and/or opinions. Also, don't forget to follow us on Twitter by clicking the button near the top of the sidebar to the right.

Baked Spaghetti

• 1 (16 oz) pkg Spaghetti
• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 (32 oz) jar Meatless Spaghetti Sauce
• 1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 5 Tbsp Butter, melted
• 2 cups Small Curd Cottage Cheese, divided
• 4 cups Shredded Mozzarella or Cheddar Cheese, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C); lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water cook spaghetti, stirring occasionally, until nearly al dente; drain.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat cook and stir beef and onions until meat is browned and onions are soft and translucent; drain off excess grease and then stir in spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt.
4. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, Parmesan cheese, and butter; add spaghetti to egg mixture and toss to coat.
5. Place half the spaghetti mixture into the bottom of the baking dish and top with half the cottage cheese, meat sauce, and mozzarella; repeat layers.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes; remove foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes longer.

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Gluten Free Friday (Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies)

Hello again everyone and Happy Friday. Welcome to another Gluten Free Friday recipe post. Today I bring you a gluten free cookie recipe that is so simple to make and so delicious that you can hardly believe there’s no flour in them. My wife made these a couple of nights ago and I was skeptical about how they were going to turn out but I have to say these are some of the best peanut butter cookies I’ve ever tasted. They’re rich in peanut butter flavor and they are so soft and chewy. I added a couple of optional ingredients to the list below. My wife actually added the 1 tsp of Vanilla when she made them and next time we make them we’re going to incorporate chocolate chips into the mix. There’s really a lot of things you can add to these to change it up a bit. I saw online the other day where someone had made these somewhat thin and then after they cooled they sandwiched jelly between two cookies. So give these a try and let me know in the comments below what you thought of them and what variations, if any, that you made.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla (optional)
• Chocolate Chips (optional)

NOTE: Recipe makes about 6-7 cookies, double ingredients if desired.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Combine ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet; flatten with a fork, making a crisscross pattern, then sprinkle a little sugar on top.
3. Bake for 8 minutes; let cool and enjoy.

Yummy Recipe Wednesday! (Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff)

Happy Wednesday everyone! Welcome to another edition of Yummy Recipe Wednesday. Today I bring you a recipe that is so easy to make and utilizes one of my favorite cooking tools, the slow cooker. When I found this recipe I didn’t believe that something this easy could be very tasty but I gave it a try anyway and I’m glad I did. This dish is so delicious that your friends and family won’t believe that there are only 6 ingredients, give or take depending on whether or not you add anything extra. Personally I like to include a little broccoli to add a little color to the dish, plus I like the taste of broccoli and it works well in this dish. Mushrooms would be a great addition to this recipe as well. Also, I know it doesn’t seem like 1/8 c of margarine by itself with the chicken in the slow cooker would be enough but it is. However, the sauce is a bit on the thick side in the end so you could add 1/2 c of white wine or 1/2 c of chicken stock in the beginning when cooking the chicken. Give this a try and please let me know in the comments below what you thought and what variations, if any, that you made to the recipe.  Be sure to come back Friday for another Gluten Free Friday recipe.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

• 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cubed
• 1/8 cup Margarine
• 1 (.7 oz) package Dry Italian Salad Dressing Mix
• 1 (8 oz) package Cream Cheese
• 1 (10.75 oz) can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 (12oz) package Extra Wide Egg Noodles

1. Add the chicken, margarine, and dressing mix into your slow cooker; mix together and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.
2. Add the cream cheese and soup to the slow cooker; mix together and cook on high for another 1/2 hour or until heated through.
3. Serve over cooked egg noodles.