Monday Meals: Cheesy Broccoli Baked Potato

Ingredients:

*4 medium potatoes

*2 heads broccoli

*2+ cups shredded cheese

*butter

*dollop sour cream

*salt, pepper, and seasonings to taste (I use Mrs. Dash's salt free seasonings)

Directions:

Steam broccoli over stove or in rice cooker. Bake potatoes in microwave or wrapped in foil in oven. Shred cheese. Cover potato in butter. Top with broccoli, shredded cheese, sour cream, and seasonings. Enjoy.

*Cooking GF can be simple, as seen by these last two posts (which is laziness on my part)!

Monday Meals: BLT Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

*1 package GF bacon (most varieties ARE GF, but an occasional variety is not)

*1 large tomato

*1 head lettuce

* mayonnaise or Miracle-Whip (not a fan of the "zip" personally)

Directions:

Fry bacon in skillet OR cook in microwave. Slice tomato. Remove leaves of lettuce gently so they do not rip. Place mayo or Miracle-Whip on a piece of lettuce. Add tomatoes slices and bacon. Wrap and devour. Nice and simple.

*If you prefer the more "normal" way to eat a BLT, toast a couple slices of your favorite GF bread. I enjoy my BLTs sans bread, but if you have a GF bread you love, use it!

Let's Do Lunch: Barro's Pizza

I decided to make a surprise visit at the mr.'s work yesterday. Conveniently, it was late enough in the morning that we could take an early lunch together. Also conveniently, he works a mile away from a Barro's Pizza (coincidence, I think not). Have you heard? Barro's now offers a gluten-free line of pizzas at most of their chains. The pizza was delicious. It cost $20 for two pizzas (we were each able to eat an entire pizza, though I felt a little stuffed when finished). If you haven't partaken of their gluten-free goodness, check it out!

Monday Meals: Ham Bean Soup

Ingredients:

*ham bone (optional; not necessary)

*2 cups ham, cubed (still have leftovers from Easter?)

*3-4 cups pre-soaked beans

*4 cups chicken broth

*1/2 cup diced onion

*1/2 cup diced carrot

*1/2 cup diced celery

*salt, pepper, & herbs to taste (I usually use parsley or thyme)

Directions:

Place ham bone in crock pot (if using one). Add broth, beans, vegetables, and seasonings to crock pot. Set on low for 6 hours. Add cubed ham. Turn heat to high for additional 2 hours or until beans and vegetables are tender. Serve.

*I use a blend of six different dry beans (my blend varies each time, but black, great northern, kidney, navy, pink, and pinto beans are a great place to start. Don't forget dried peas, too). I soak 2/3 cup of each bean type at once. 2/3 cups for six different dry bean types equates to 4 cups of dry beans. 4 cups dry beans will yield 10-12 cups soaked beans (depending on type of bean used). I use 3-4 cups for my soup and store the remainder in gallon sized ziploc bags. 4 cups soaked beans (rinsed and drained) per 1 bag. Add a teaspoon of oil, shake until well coated, remove excess air, and store in freezer until ready to use.
**Storage space saver = when removing air from ziploc bag, lay bag on flat surface. Store on bottom of freezer shelf, so beans are flat and take up less space.

Let's Do Lunch: Leftover Ham Sandwich

Ingredients:

*3 slices of your favorite GF bread (I like tapioca flour based bread)

*4 slices meltable sandwich cheese

*2 giant slices of leftover Easter ham

*mustard and mayo (if desired)

Directions: Slather the mayo and mustard on your bread. Add 2 slices of cheese and one slice of ham between each layer. Sprinkle a little water on the top of the bread. Pop in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Devour.

*I usually don't have time to make anything for lunch; I am a "grab it on the go" girl. This was super easy, super quick, and super delicious. I was also able to use some of that leftover ham from Easter (that is STILL taking up room in the fridge).

Monday Meals: Ham Fried Rice

Ingredients:
*3 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
*1 1/2 cup ham, diced
*2 Tablsepoons vegetable oil
*4 eggs
*1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed
*3-4 Tablespoon La Choy teriyaki sauce (one of the ONLY GF teriyaki sauces I've seen)

Directions:
Fry ham in oil in large skillet. Once ham begins to brown, add eggs to skillet. Scramble. Once eggs have reached desired consistency, add peas and carrots. Cook until thoroughly warm. Add cooked rice and teriyake sauce. Mix until rice is well coated. Serve.

Delish Desserts: Hostess Cupcakes

Ingredients:
*1 box Betty Crocker GF Devil's Food cake mix (and ingredients mix calls for)
*1 can Reddi-Whip
*1 can of frosting (flavor of choice)
*sprinkles (optional, but a must-have for me)

Directions:
Make cupcakes according to directions on box. Allow to FULLY cool. Using butter knife (or similar SKINNY utensil), carve a hole from the top down to the center of the cupcake. Remove enough cake to leave cupcake hallowed out in the center. Stick nozzle of Reddi-Whip straight down into hole and fill until hole is completely full. Frost with frosting of choice. Garnish with sprinkles. Serve IMMEDIATELY.

*If you do not serve immediately after filling with Reddi-Whip, the whipped cream will go flat and add extra moisture to the cake. They will still taste delicious, but they will lack the cream-filled center that makes these similar to Hostess Cupcakes.
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