Quinoa Taco Salad

Quinoa taco salad with avocado and lime- perfect for a gluten-free diet.

Quinoa Taco Salad

Looking for a fresh idea for a summer picnic or backyard get-together? This cool and breezy quinoa taco salad might be just what you're craving. Laced with lime juice and sea salt, the combo of fluffy quinoa and ripe avocado, spiked with red onion and sunny sweet pepper, served on a crisp bed of romaine lettuce, is a light and healthy twist on the salsa drenched bean and cheese heavy taco salads so ubiquitous years ago. It's a total win for gluten-free vegans and vegetarians. And let's face it.

Quinoa is much more hip than canned re-fried beans.

The inspiration for a quinoa taco salad was sparked over on the Gluten-Free Goddess Facebook page. Reader (and long distance friend) Patsy commented on a thread about Memorial Day picnic salads, mentioning her current fave, quinoa taco salad. We all perked up.

Quinoa? As a taco salad? Brilliant.

Patsy generously shared her recipe with me. It called for diced tomatoes, black beans and cheese, so I revamped the flavors to create a lighter, legume-free vegan version. Quinoa is a complete vegetarian protein, so you really don't need the black beans (as a complementary protein), unless, of course, you're fond of those fiber rich little beauties in your quinoa salad.

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Memorial Day Recipe Round-Up

Memorial Day is coming and that is when most folk break out the BBQ Grill and Dutch Oven cooking if they haven't already done so. I love cooking outdoors. The flavors just taste so incredible. I've rounded up some of my recipes that would be perfect for this weekend's meals. Just click on the pictures for the recipes. Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Grilled BBQ Chicken

Greek Souvlaki

Dutch Oven Potatoes and Lemon Chicken

Mandarin Orange Jello Salad

Hand Pies

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Reuben Casserole {Totally Tasty Tuesdays}

 A few weeks ago, I was able to go to the Taste of Home Cooking School. It was a blast! If you ever get the chance, go to one. The instructor made some pretty great looking dishes. This is one of them. I love a Reuben Sandwich. I love everything about it. Sauerkraut, corned beef or pastrami, cheese, rye bread...oh yes. This is all those put into a casserole with noodles. I forgot the bread crumbs on this, but it was still mighty tasty. I love casseroles. So easy and so comforting. The sauerkraut gets drained and rinsed in this meal so there isn't such a strong flavor, which works well here. My husband even had seconds which says a lot. I've said it before, but he's a food is fuel person, where I am a food is an experience person. So him having more of something usually means he likes the taste rather than because he is still hungry. Score for this dish!

5 c. uncooked egg noodles (I used a 16 oz. package)

2 cans (14 oz. each) sauerkraut, rinsed and drained

2 cans (10-3/4 oz each) cream of chicken soup, undiluted

3/4 c. milk

1/2 c. chopped onion

3 Tbsp. prepared mustard

3/4 lb. sliced deli corned beef, chopped

2 c.shredded Swiss cheese

4 slices day-old rye bread

4 Tbsp. butter, melted

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the sauerkraut, soup, milk, onion, and mustard. Drain the noodles and stir into the sauerkraut mixture. Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with the corned beef and cheese. Place bread in a food processor; cover and process until crumbly. Toss with butter and sprinkle over the top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until bubbly.

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I linked this to Fat Camp Friday

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Baked Zucchini Fries

I am sharing a healthy recipe today. Shocker. I know. I love zucchini. I love fries. Put them together and you get these guys. Healthy doesn't always equal tasty. These fries do match up healthy and tasty. These are baked, not fried and just as good. You can eat them as they are and be happy. Or you can dip them in ranch dressing and be happier. Your choice.

1 1/2 c. Panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs)

3/4 c. shredded Parmesan Cheese

2 tsp. Italian Seasoning (I made my own)

1 tsp. Kosher (coarse) salt

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

2 large egg whites

2 large zucchini

Italian Seasoning
3 tablespoons dried basil

3 tablespoons dried oregano

3 tablespoons dried parsley

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Mix together and grind up or smash with the back of a spoon. Store in an airtight container.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Lightly coat 2 cookie sheets with Pam. In a wide shallow dish, mix together all but the egg whites and zucchini.

In a bowl, lightly beat the egg whites. Cut the zucchini crosswise and cut into 1/2-inch wedges.

Working with one at a time, dip the zucchini into egg whites and then breadcrumb mixture, pressing to adhere. Arrange on sheets in a single layer. Bake until coating is golden and crisp, 20 minutes. Flip over halfway through baking time. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Dip in ranch if desired.

We ate ours along side French Dip sandwiches. Perfect partners.

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I linked these to Tuesday Talent Show

Melt in Your Mouth Monday

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If you could eat gluten, would you? The option is one step closer.

Dining out is a minefield if you have to be gluten-free.
Would a vaccine make life easier?

There may be a celiac vaccine in our future.

That's the word from Down Under this month. An Australian biotechnology company called ImmusanT, Inc. is developing an immunotherapeutic vaccine for celiac disease. And guess what? The Phase 1 clinical trial went swimmingly. Read about their positive results here at the NFCA's Celiac Central.

It's a very odd feeling to imagine eating gluten again, after almost ten years of banishment. A decade of shunning gluten is no small feat. In a food culture that worships wheat, and elevates the gentle science of baking to both a high art (think crusty, fresh baked baguette) and a low art (say, pizza pockets), living gluten-free is akin to attempting to mambo in a minefield. Gluten lurks everywhere. Not only where you’d anticipate it (pizza, bagels, beer) but in sly, coy disguises, hiding in plain sight (soy sauce, broth, herbal tea). And even the most modest of amounts (a few stray crouton crumbs, perhaps) can trigger one’s hyper-vigilant immune system and ignite a fiery swath of digestive destruction, albeit mostly invisible to the naked eye (unless, like me, you are doubly blessed with symptoms and sport the eruptive skin rash known as dermatitis herpetiformis on your butt).

Feelings akin to those sticky, fluttery uncertainties (if not subtle panic) one feels dodging the unbidden proposal of matrimony (or tip-toeing backwards on a Sunday morning walk of shame) begin to trickle in.

Is this something I really want?

And would I, if I could?

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Whole Grain Gluten-Free Bread

Whole grain gluten-free deliciousness.

Just when you think you have it all figured out, life snakes you a curve ball and rattles your position. Just a little a bit. Just enough to make sure you're still awake, still paying attention. Because what is life about if not change? Change is the only constant. Change is our true companion.

Nothing stays the same.

Especially persnickety celiac tummies. I know this from readers. I know this from gluten-free bloggers. I know this from personal experience. We start at A, oblivious. We skip and stumble to D. We settle in. We think G or J is pretty cool. Then Q throws us into a tizzy.

We discover gluten is an enemy. Then maybe milk. Or mustard. Or kidney beans. You name it. Fill in the blank. Most of us with celiac disease end up with a few additional culprits on our Need to Avoid List. Maybe not right away. But over time, many of us will have to fine tune our repertoire of ingredients.

If we want to stay healthy.

If we want to grow stronger, not fatter.

If we want to feel trim, not bloated.

Which brings me to bread. (What celiac conversation doesn't lead to bread, I ask you?)


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Swiss Gratin Potatoes

Side dishes are an important part of any great meal. The steak, chicken, pork or whatever may be the star of the show, but it does need a good sidekick to complete the goodness. Enter the Swiss Gratin Potatoes. I {heart} swiss cheese (or mouse cheese as my children call it). Yes it stinks, but it tastes incredible. It is the perfect cheese for these potatoes.

4c. peeled and sliced potatoes

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

1 c. milk

1 c. heavy cream

1 c. chicken broth

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 c. Swiss cheese, shredded

Layer the potatoes in a 9x13 baking dish. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour. Add milk, cream, & broth, whisking until smooth. Cook till thickened. Add salt & pepper. Pour over the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake another 15 minutes.

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