Yes – better than your Mom’s meatballs and spaghetti. (Actually I never remember eating homemade meatballs as a kid, but the title sounded catchy!) The kids in our family out-number the adults, so the recipes posted here are designed with kids in mind. However, these meatballs are so good that adults will not be able to turn them down. No compromising for the kids on this meal these are the kind you get at a good (family oriented) restaurant.

Yes, they are time consuming. Anytime you put the words homemade and meatballs together, you are in for a couple of hours. So put on some good music (Madeleine Peyroux is good for meatballs) and roll up your sleeves.

For the Meatballs
1 pound sausage (we love Beelers breakfast sausage) or for a milder meatball use ½ pound veal and ½ pound pork
1 pound ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs (make your own by taking stale bread and whirling it in the food processor or use Ener-G crackers or Hol-Grain Brown Rice Bread Crumbs)
1 t parsley flakes (or 2 T chopped fresh)
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (use Vegan Grated Topping for CF)
2 t kosher salt
½ t pepper
1 egg beaten
½ cup warm water
Vegetable oil
Olive oil

For the Sauce
1 T good olive oil
1 chopped yellow onion
1 ½ t minced garlic
½ cup red wine such as Chianti
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
½ t parsley flakes (or 1 T chopped fresh)
1 ½ t kosher salt
½ t pepper
Of course, 1 ½ pounds GF spaghetti

Mix the ground meats, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg and ½ cup warm water in a bowl.

With your hands, lightly form 2-inch meatballs. Yields 14-16 meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable and olive oil in a large skillet to ¼ inch depth. Heat the oil. Brown the meatballs on medium-low heat in batches (it took me 3 batches). Carefully turn them to brown all sides – tongs work well for this. It takes about 10 minutes for each batch.

Remove the meatballs to a plate and discard the oil, but do not clean the pan.

For the sauce, heat olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent, 5 – 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates – about 3 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper. At this point I set aside a little of the sauce for the vegetarian in the family.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover and simmer on low for about 30 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve over cooked spaghetti with grated Parmesan cheese,Caesar salad and Chebe bread sticks.

For many more delicious recipes like this one visit Gluten Free Mom

If you want to make this for kids, replace the cayenne with freshly ground black pepper. It will be much less spicy.

1 lb pkg Tinkyada Elbow Pasta
1/2 lb Velveeta Cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:
Melt Velveeta cheese slowly over low heat adding cayenne and garlic. As cheese melts, add milk slowly. Add elbow pasta and stir. Ready to eat!

*Note: when reheating, use a small amount of milk instead of water to prevent “watering down” the cheese.

1 pound spinach
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 ½ cups grated cheese
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons parsley, finely minced
grated rind of 1 lemon (zest)
1 cup rice flour
pepper, to taste
8 tablespoons butter, melted
fresh basil, chopped

Wash spinach well; steam and drain. Press out any excess water. Puree spinach in processor. Add ricotta cheese, 1 cup grated cheese, eggs, nutmeg, parsley, lemon zest, rice flour, and pepper. Process until well blended.

If you don’t have a processor, steam as above, finely chop spinach, put in large mixing bowl with rest of ingredients and mix thoroughly. Then continue as below.

Remove from bowl of processor or mixing bowl and turn out onto floured board. Form into smooth ball, adding small amounts of rice flour as necessary. Roll the dough into long cylinders the thickness of your finger, then cut into ½ inch long pieces. Press the pieces with a fork to give them some texture. Lightly flour and set on a lightly floured tray to dry. Allow gnocchi to dry for about 3 hours. Do not omit this step, or your gnocchi will be gummy.

Bring 8 quarts of water to a boil and add about ¼ of the gnocchi. Boil gently until they float to the top, then boil only 1 minute longer. Drain well, turn into warmed bowl, toss gently with melted butter or serve with tomato sauce. Sprinkle with basil and serve immediately, passing the remaining grated cheese at the table.

-1 can black beans
-1 can refried beans (I love chili lime flavor)
-1 can enchilada sauce (red or green – your choice!)
-1 red pepper, chopped
-1 avocado, chopped
-1 8oz. package of non-dairy cheese – like Lisanatti almond pepperjack, grated
-Salsa, as needed
-1 package small corn tortillas (I love Trader Joe’s brand)
-9×13 glass baking dish

Preheat oven to 350. Soften tortillas by placing them on stove burner set to low for a few seconds each side. Heat up black and refried beans in one pan, add 1/8 cup cheese. Heat enchilada sauce on low. Scoop bean mixture, 1T enchilada sauce, red pepper, avocado, a sprinkling of cheese and 1T salsa into corn tortilla. Roll up and place in baking dish. Repeat until dish is full. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of rolled tortillas. Sprinkle cheese over top until lightly covered. Bake 30 minutes.

As I shared before, I was not much of a cook before going gluten free. Now I love the satisfaction of providing my family a home cooked meal – nothing processed or out of the box. Just good food stirred with a lot of love. Here is a chicken recipe you will love!

Make this and you will never long for the fried greasy stuff that you used to pick up on your way home.

• chicken – you can use 2 chickens cut into eight serving pieces. To make this easier, I use 3 – 4 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 quart buttermilk (for dairy free use almond or soy milk mixed with 1 T lemon juice)
• 1 cup gluten free flour (you do not have to be too picky about the flour, but use some kind of a blend. Any store bought blend will work or use our favorite gluten free flour blend.)
• 1 cup Kinnikinnick Gluten-Free Crispy Chicken Coating Mix (this coating makes the chicken extra tasty. If you do not have it use an additional cup of gluten free flour)
• 1 T kosher salt
• 1 T black pepper
• vegetable oil

Add the chicken pieces and the buttermilk (or diary free alternative) to a large zip lock bag and refrigerate for a few hours, but overnight is better.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the gluten free flour, Crispy Coating Mix, salt and pepper and place in a large flat container (a pie pan works well).

Pour the oil into a frying pan to a depth of 1 inch and heat to 360 degrees (a large heavy-bottomed stockpot works well for this and will keep the stove clean).

Dread the chicken through the flour mixture and fry on each side for about 3 minutes, until the coating is a light golden brown (it will brown more in the oven). Fry the chicken in batches. Reheat the oil to 360 degrees before frying the next batch.

Place the chicken on a metal backing rack on a cookie sheet (a broiling pan also works well) and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until no longer pink inside.

Serve with some green beans.

Your family will love this meal!

Ingredients

• ½ cup rice vinegar
• ¼ cup sesame oil
• ¼ cup sugar
• 3 Tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoon of gluten free soy sauce
• 2 cups of chunked or shredded chicken
• 2 scallions diced
• ½ cup of almonds
• 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
• 1 head of lettuce
• 2 rice paper egg roll wrappers: fried, drained, and broken into small pieces

Directions

1. Mix vinegar, oil, sugar, ginger, and soy sauce, then put dressing aside.
2. Clean lettuce and drain. Cover with scallions and chicken.
3. When ready to serve, cover salad with nuts and seeds. Pour dressing over salad. Toss. Add egg roll wrappers. Toss again.

Mushroom Crumb Crust Tilapia with Tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 °

1 package (8 oz) fresh mushrooms

1 shallot, finely chopped

4 green onions, chopped

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or ¼ tsp dried thyme

¾ cup Nut-Thins Smokehouse cracker crumbs

2 Tbsp canola oil

Pepper to taste

1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1½ lbs tilapia

1. In a food processor, mince mushrooms until finely chopped. In an iron skillet, cook mushrooms over medium heat until the moisture is gone and mushrooms are lightly browned, 5-10 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add shallots, green onions, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper, Nut-Thins cracker crumbs and canola oil. Mix well. Set this mixture aside.
3. Spread crushed tomatoes in a lightly oiled 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Stir in balsamic vinegar. Place fish fillets on top of tomatoes. Spoon mixture over fish, covering fillets.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork and the mushroom mixture is lightly browned.

Note: to make crackers into crumbs- process in a food processor, or slit the bag and whack with a rolling pin.

Delicious gluten-free recipes that everyone will enjoy!

Shrimp with Red Curry 10-Minute Simmer Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

1 jar (11.09 ounces) Thai Kitchen® Red Curry 10-Minute Simmer Sauce

2 cups assorted cut-up vegetables, such as broccoli florets, diagonally sliced carrots, red bell pepper strips and snow pea pods

1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil (optional)

BRING Simmer Sauce to boil in 3-quart saucepan on high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add vegetables; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

STIR in shrimp. Simmer 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink, stirring occasionally. Add basil, if desired.

SERVE with cooked Thai Kitchen® Jasmine Rice, if desired.

Makes 3 servings.

Chicken with Red Curry 10-Minute Simmer Sauce: Prepare as directed, substituting 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes, for the shrimp.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: 154 Calories, Fat 6g, Protein 14g, Carbohydrates 11g, Cholesterol 112mg, Sodium 985mg, Fiber 2g