Plan, Plan, Plan!

I don't know about you, but I'm busy. Really busy. Between school, kids, husband, household and still wanting to have a little fun I often find it hard to get substantial food on the table. Often, I resort to "Make your own meal Monday" or "Find your grub Friday"....even cans of soup or in a last ditch effort Fast Food. To avoid accidentally eating gluten through cross-contamination, eating processed foods (which I try to avoid), or overly fattening and bland foods I plan ahead. I find that if I do this, even preparing the meal up to the baking stage, I can get some delicious foods on the table without over-stressing myself.

Last night, we had Shepherd's Pie. I prepared everything up to step 12 (in the recipe below) and then had my teenaged daughter do the egg wash, sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese and then put it in the oven. That way, by the time I got home from school, and my husband was home from work dinner was ready and all I had to do was gather the family around the table. Sure, I still prepared it, but I was able to move that time to earlier in the day so that my stress level wasn't all at then end of the day.

Shepherd's Pie is a complete meal in one dish! Loads of veggies, protein and a starch all in one dish! This recipe serves 12 easy...so make the full pan and then freeze/refrigerate leftovers for lunches or another dinner. I like to freeze left overs in one serving portions. That way, when the kids have to be two different places at the same time, and there isn't any time to prepare a wholesome and delicious meal, we simply reheat individual portions of the leftovers we each choose.

This Shepherd's Pie is rich and decadent. You can use less or more of the various veggies to meet your preferences. My husband and son don't like onions, so I often use less onions or use onion powder when I can. In this case I used the diced onions and sauteed them until golden brown.

Shepherd’s Pie

serves 12 (1 cup servings), prep 20 min, cook 40 min

• 2 tbsp oil, divided
• 16 oz white mushrooms thinly sliced
• 8 oz red wine, divided
• 1 cup carrots julienned
• ½ to 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb ground lamb or beef
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
• 2 cup frozen peas
• 2 tbsp butter, divided
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup chicken or beef stock
• 3 medium zucchini julienned
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 cups mashed potatoes (you can always use instant if you need to!) (Note: Try mashed cauliflower or mashed Parsnip in place of the potatoes if you want to avoid white potatoes)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F. Butter a large casserole dish.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat.  Add sliced mushrooms.  Sauté mushrooms until soft and brown.  Add 2 oz red wine to the hot pan, stirring and scraping the pan.  Remove mushrooms to a plate.
3. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil to pan and heat to medium.
4. Sauté onions until beginning to soften, then add carrots and garlic.
5. When carrots are soft add ground meat and brown, breaking meat into large chunks.
6. When meat is browned, season with salt, pepper and thyme.  Add mushrooms, peas and 1 tbsp butter.
7. Sprinkle mixture with corn starch and stir.  Then add tomato paste, Worcestershire, and remaining 6 oz wine.
8. Cook and stir mixture for several minutes.  Add stock and simmer until sauce is thick and somewhat reduced.
9. Remove from heat and stir in zucchini.  Season to taste.
10. Pour meat mixture into the prepared casserole.
11. Drain and mash potatoes with butter and cream as needed.
12. Spoon mashed potatoes over meat and spread and smooth the top.
13. Brush potatoes with a beaten egg and sprinkle with Parmesan.
14. Bake casserole 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbling and potatoes are browned.  Cook time will be longer for a cold dish.

NOTE: If you want to make this recipe ahead of time, after spooning the potatoes on top, cover and refrigerate. (At the end of step 12)

Fried Rice!

Ok so who doesn't like fried rice?!? It never fails, we go to a Chinese restaurant or to the Japanese steakhouse and they ask, Fried or Steamed? You forgo the Fried thinking it is too fattening or even worse, you could get Glutened! Fried rice has soy sauce, which has wheat unless you have access to gluten free soy sauce. Restaurants usually don't have gluten free soy sauce available so it is much easier to just avoid it.....or is it?

Pleasing the kid pallet and avoiding gluten can be difficult sometimes when you are trying to stay on a budget and don't want to just eat broiled chicken and steamed veggies. You don't have to give up this comfort food at all! All you have to do is make it at home!

Chicken "Fried" Rice

2 cups uncooked rice, steamed as normal
4 eggs, scrambled, cooked and set aside.
1 Tbs Sesame Oil
1 Can Chicken Breast in water 
1 package frozen peas and carrots
1/4 tsp dried minced garlic (or one fresh clove minced)
1 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbs gluten Free Soy Sauce (I buy the store brand because it has no wheat and is cheaper!)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Steam the rice as directed on the package.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot, add garlic and saute until fragrant.
3. Add in the chicken, veggies, ginger, 1 Tbs of the soy sauce.
4. When the rice is done and the chicken/veggie mix is hot, add the rice and egg to the chicken one cup at a time, mixing well after each cup.
5. Add the last Tbs of soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste.


(Serves 6-8 depending on the serving size. I usually do 1 cup per person and freeze the leftovers in single serving baggies for easy  lunches.)

I like to serve this with salad and miso dressing.


This is better than what you get in restaurants because it isn't loaded with fat or MSG and you won't have to worry about making two meals to keep from getting Glutened AND still pleasing everyone else!

Weekly Recipe: Korean Beef Bowl

I love to try new things and experiment with food. I'm not partial to any one genre of food either. One of our favorite foods in my house is this Korean Beef recipe served over rice and with salad on the side.

• ⅓ cup  brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup Gluten Free soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Onion, thinly sliced

1. Mix together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ground ginger in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Brown ground beef in a non-stick skillet and drain, reserving 1 TBS of grease. Sauté onion in reserved grease until slightly browned. Add garlic to skillet and sauté until fragrant. Add beef and sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes until well coated and heated through.  Serve over rice with Salad or steamed vegetables on the side.

VARIATION: Sometimes I make this with cubed beef in the crock pot. When I do it this way I allow it to simmer on low for 4-8 hours. This makes sure that the beef cubes end up so tender that they are basically falling apart they are so tender.
ENJOY!