Oh my gosh, this is SO delicious.  Unless you're my youngest who dislikes spinach and/or feta cheese in which case it tastes "strong" and may not be your favorite. The BEST thing about this spinach-feta stuffed bread is that once cooled and sliced, this freezes perfectly.  This has been a great addition to our school and work lunch repertoire!  It'll thaw to room temperature by lunchtime. Works great! *As an extra side note: you can fill these with sauce and cheese, like you would a pizza, too to make a sort of calzone-style bread!* Enjoy! 

Slice of freshly made Spinach-Feta Stuffed Bread. Yum!

Some made with the spinach and feta filling, and some filled with sauce and cheese, like a pizza. 

Sliced and ready to serve!  Was a perfect dish to bring along for a group get-together. 

Spinach-Feta Stuffed Bread

Preheat oven to 425 - 450 F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

*Note: you can fill these with sauce and cheese, like you would a pizza, too!* Works great!

Mix together, and set aside: 

500 g bag frozen diced spinach, thawed and drained (I squeeze to remove as much water as possible)

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

2 - 4 Tbsp grated parmesan

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 egg

Note: In order to make 2 trays, each with 2 loaves instead of 1 tray with 3 loaves, I increased the dough amount by 50% (i.e. 4.5 cups flour, 3 tsp xanthan, 1.5 Tbsp rapid yeast, etc.) and made a couple of them more pizza-like in filling. Worked great! 

In a large mixer, combine: (It's important to mix dry ingredients first in GF baking to avoid clumps)

3 cups Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

2 tsp xanthan gum (yes, extra is needed)

1 Tbsp rapid-rise yeast

1 Tbsp minced dried onion (optional)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

Add, and beat 2-3 minutes, until nice and smooth: 

2 1/3 cup milk, room temperature

2 eggs

While the bread is mixing, in a small bowl melt: 

1/4 cup salted butter

Put bread dough into a large freezer ziploc.  Cut 1/2" - 3/4" corner of the ziploc. Pipe 3 long ovals, each with 3 strips of batter onto a parchment-lined pan. You'll want to aim to use no more than 2/3 of the total dough, so you have enough to pipe on top. 

Dough piped onto the pan, ready to smooth and spread with wet ands

Use wet hands over each loaf to flatten/smooth each bottom. I like to leave a bit of a lip to the edges to help the filling inside. 

Spread the piped dough out with wet hands (or you can use extra butter and the back of a spoon, but I find it isn't needed - so just use wet hands. 

Evenly divide the spinach-cheese filling between the loaves.  (Optional: you can fill with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese, add a little of the spinach-feta filling (if desired), and add a bit extra parmesan.)

All spinach-feta on the left, and half spinach-feta and some pizza-style on the right (also increased the dough by 50% so a bit larger final bake overall).

Sprinkled a bit of extra parmesan overtop before piping on the zigzags for these ones. 

Pipe zigzags or stripes across the top of each loaf. You want to make sure the filling isn't fully covered, so the filling and dough can breathe while baking.  

you can get creative with your piping. Just make sure to have gaps so the filling and dough breathes while baking. 

Piped zigzags onto these ones - then some extra zigs and zags on one pan since I'm not the best at guessing how much to pipe.  No worries! They all turn out great!

Again, use the back of a spoon to spread the remaining melted butter over the top of the dough. You can use the butter and spoon to help smooth and flatten the loaf tops - and help smooth together edges of bottom and top crust!  Drizzle any extra melted butter overtop before baking! Yum!  The more you smooth the edges from the top into the bottom, the less it will separate while baking. But it's a very forgiving recipe! 

Optional - on top of butter brushed loaves sprinkle: 

grated parmesan

crushed red pepper

Sprinkled with a big of extra parmesan and crushed red pepper after brushing with butter.  

Bake your loaves at 425 - 450 F for 27 - 30 minutes until a nice brown. Remove from pan (and parchment) and cool on a wire cooling rack.  We've eaten this fresh from the oven and let cool to slice for later. Enjoy! 

On the pan, fresh from the oven!

GF Spinach and Feta Bread transferred to a cooling rack. 

The more pizza-styled ones, fresh from the oven. 

Transferred to a pan to cool! Yum! 

Once sliced, these freeze perfectly and work SO great to take for lunches!  I slice and put them in tupperware or ziplocs.  Enjoy! 

Ready to freeze! My daughter loves these for her school lunches.

Spinach-Feta Stuffed Bread Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free! 

Spinach Artichoke Dip - easy & chilled!

A new family favorite!!! I based this tasty spinach artichoke dip off a yummy rendition I had while visiting Lunenberg, Nova Scotia.  The restaurant there served a light, fluffy, and chilled spinach artichoke dip that we loved (although it tasted like they used mascarpone cheese in lieu (or perhaps in addition to) cream cheese, where I used only cream cheese here. If you have mascarpone about, add in a dollop!   I was inspired to recreate something similar because it was just too delicious and perfect on a hot summer (or any time of year) day not to be able to eat regularly.  I had to post this recipe, because my mom has big plans to make it again tomorrow.  Enjoy!

Fresh, homemade spinach artichoke dip.  The left was whipped until light and smooth, the right is a chunkier version (just not blended as long).  Yum!

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Makes enough for two dipping bowls (2-3 cups of dip)

In a large pot with a lid, cook over high heat:
1 package fresh spinach
1/4 - 1/3 cup water

Steam just until spinach has wilted, then remove from heat.  Let spinach cool slightly before blending with other ingredients.

In a blender, whip together:
~3/4 cup artichoke hearts, marinated in oil (removed from oil)
1 cup steamed spinach, drained (from above)
4 oz plain cream cheese (or a mix of mascarpone & cream cheese)
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese (monterey jack w/ hot peppers) 
1/4 - 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream (to desired thickness - you can use milk, but I like the texture from the cream)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground pepper
dash cayenne powder
1/4 - 1/2 tsp paprika
2 cloves roasted garlic (OR 1/2 tsp dried garlic powder OR 1 clove fresh garlic)

You can blend this only slightly to keep it chunkier, or you can let it really whip to create a light, fluffy dip reminiscent of the texture of hummus.   Personally, I prefer letting it really blend until it's smooth, light, and fluffy.

This spinach-artichoke dip is perfect served with corn tortilla chips or fresh homemade GF naan bread (our favorite!).  Enjoy!

Tasty Chicken Saag

We just love Indian food around here.  I love that it's always packed with vegetables, and leftovers are fun to use on top of things like pizza or in sandwiches.  We get creative.  This dish has several steps, though many are short and easy.  I've written it out so directions and ingredients are interspersed.  All ingredients are in bold, making it easy to skim through and make sure you have all you need to prepare this tasty dish.  Every time I've whipped this together, I get cheers - which I find entertaining coming from a 2, 5 and 10 year old (plus my husband).  I'll be posting a fun pizza recipe to make with leftovers soon, too.  Enjoy!

GF Chicken Saag served with basmati rice!  

Tasty Chicken Saag
Based off a recipe from "Best Ever Indian" by Baljekar, Fernandeze, Husain & Kanani 
Serves 4-6

Mix together in a small bowl, set aside:
250 g/8 oz frozen spinach, thawed (OR fresh spinach,  diced and wilted in a pot with lid w/ no extra water)
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp minced or grated garlic
1 finely minced chili OR dried, finely chopped chili ~1 tsp

In a large, low side frying pan with lid cook over medium to medium-high heat for 2 minutes:
1 Tbsp oil (olive oil or similar will work)
1/4 tsp peppercorns
1-2 bay leaves (REMOVE before serving, but leave in while cooking)

Add and cook 5 minutes:
1 onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Nicely sauteed, just browning mushrooms and onions

Add and cook 2 minutes:
2 cups diced canned tomatoes
2-4 tsp curry powder (this adjusts the spice level, depending on your curry powder)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder

Stir in spinach mixture from above, lower heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes.

Ready to add yogurt, milk and broth

Add the following and continue simmering, covered for 15 minutes:
3 Tbsp plain yogurt
3 Tbsp milk or cream
1/2 - 3/4 cup GF chicken broth or stock OR water + 2 tsp Asian Mushroom seasoning

Add the following and then simmer an additional 5 minutes, uncovered if you'd like to thicken it up a bit:
1 - 2 cups cooked, diced chicken
OR
1-2 cups diced paneer (an Indian cheese)

Fresh Chicken Saag, ready to eat! 

Serve the tasty chicken saag over fresh brown or white basmati rice.   Enjoy!

Delicious chicken saag, served with basmati and a lentil, potato, rice dish I'd whipped up, too.

Twice-Baked Potatoes filled with Spinach, Chicken & Gouda

This is a tasty, filling meal that the entire family will enjoy.  It's similar to the twice-baked potatoes with broccoli, chicken and cheese, except in this case the filling is mixed into the potato and baked rather than just used as a topping.  Yum!  It's great as leftovers, too! Enjoy!

Twice-Baked Potatoes filled with Spinach, Chicken & Gouda
Based on a recipe idea from Southern Living Magazine
Makes 8 open-faced potatoes

Scrub, poke several times with a fork and then cook 4 large russet potatoes either by baking in the oven until soft or microwaving.  (Oven takes ~40 minutes at 400F, microwave takes ~ 10-15 minutes to give you a guideline)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Slice potatoes in half and carefully scoop out the insides, placing potato flesh into a large mixing bowl.  Place the potato shells on your foil-lined baking pan.

Mix into potato in large bowl:
4 oz regular or light cream cheese
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper, if desired (you'll season the topping, so this doesn't really need salt/pepper, I find)

Saute in large saucepan over medium heat until onion has softened: 

2-3 Tbsp butter

1 small onion, diced

Add and cook until softened: 

2-3 big handfuls baby spinach

Remove from heat and mix in: 

1 cup cooked, shredded chicken

1-2 cups gouda cheese (ideally flavored - I used a nice mustard & pepper Gouda - other cheese, like old cheddar would work equally well in this recipe)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix spinach/chicken mixture INTO potato mixture.  Add extra salt & pepper, if desired.

Fill potato shells evenly.  Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Gluten-Free Lasagna

One of our favorite family meals is homemade lasagna.  The lasagna filling here is packed with flavor.  You can make your lasagna with or without ground beef, but here I add both ground beef and spinach into the sauce.  My absolute favorite mix of cheese in lasagna uses a mixture of ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.   I find this a perfect complement to the rich meaty and veggie-filled sauce.  Layering the lasagna, as described in the recipe below, means you get an even amount of filling throughout the lasagna in every bite! Yum! Enjoy!

A hot slice of lasagna, ready to be eaten. Mmmm... 

Gluten-Free Lasagna
Makes 9x13 pan

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cook 1 package brown rice lasagna noodles, using 1 minute below the lowest recommended cook-time. Once cooked, rinse under cold water and let sit until ready to assemble lasagna.  You should have ~12 noodles, enough for 4 layers, each with 3 noodles.

Prepare sauce:
Over medium heat, cook until meat is almost all browned:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb ground beef

When beef is almost all browned add and cook 1-2 minutes:
2-3 tsp minced garlic

Add and cook until wilted:
3-4 handfuls baby spinach

Pour and let simmer until you're ready to assemble your lasagna:
2 jars spaghetti sauce (I prefer Classico b/c they don't add sugar to their sauce)

Sauce ready to go! Leave on low to simmer while you're preparing the other parts of the lasagna.

Prepare cheese filling:
In a bowl, mix together:
1 container ricotta cheese
1 cup fresh mozzarella, diced OR 1 cup grated mozzarella
1/4 - 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper

To assemble your lasagna, layer in the following order in a 9x13 pan:
Layering like this, you get a bit of cheese, meat, spinach & sauce in between each layer of noodles.  Delicious!
Layer 1: 
Generous layer of sauce
Layer of noodles
1/3 cheese filling, spread along the noodles
Light drizzle of sauce
Layer 2:
Layer of noodles
1/3 cheese filling
Light drizzle of sauce
Layer 3: 
Layer of noodles
1/3 cheese filling
Light drizzle of sauce
Top Layer:
Layer of noodles
Cover fully with sauce
Sprinkle with additional grated Parmesan cheese

On left, generous layer of sauce and layer of noodles.  On each layer add some ricotta filling and a little sauce.

Try to make each layer with even amounts of ricotta filling with a little sauce.  Top with layer of noodles.

Use remaining sauce generously over the top of the noodles.  Sprinkle with Parmesan before cooking.

Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.  Wonderful served with a side of salad and GF garlic bread. Yes, leftovers either refrigerated or frozen are wonderful. Enjoy!

Fresh out of the oven. Let rest before cutting and eating! Yum!

Spinach, Ham & Cheese Brunch Casserole

We've really been enjoying the wonderful taste of the sourdough starter breads and rolls lately.  This recipe is a delicious use for the gluten-free sourdough brown bread I make. I was inspired by some suggestions for brunch casseroles in the Food Network Magazine, and tweaked things around to make a gluten-free version that had all the ingredients I love.  This version has been a hit with the whole family. So much so that I made it for our friends Julie and Jeremy who came for dinner, and they loved it as well.  I find it's a wonderful dish for any time of day, even thought I've called it a brunch casserole.  It reheats wonderfully, and it also nice chilled, like a quiche.  While I love quiche, this is a wonderful alternative - perfect for a chilly day! Enjoy!

Ready to eat! 

Spinach, Ham & Cheese Brunch Casserole
Serves 6-8
Prep ~20 minutes, Sitting time ~30 minutes, Baking/resting time ~1 hr.

Butter a 9x13 pan.

In a large frying pan, heat at medium heat:
2-3 Tbsp olive oil

Add and saute until tender:
2 large shallots, diced OR 2 small onions, diced

Add, stirring until wilted:
4-5 large handfuls of baby spinach
salt & pepper, optional

Remove from heat and set aside.

Chop up one loaf of gluten-free sourdough brown bread, ideally one day old (or bread of your choice, ideally 1 day old) into 1" cubes.  You should have 8-9 cups.  (I have a 9 cup tupperware that I put my 1" cubes into once chopped after baking/cooling my bread, then I'm ready to make this casserole the next day)

Place 1/2 your bread cubes into the bottom of the 9x13 pan.

Sprinkle over top of the bread:
2 cups grated flavored cheese (flavored gouda (I've used a nice mustard & pepper, and an italian-seasoned gouda), strong cheddar, or similar density cheese w/ flavor of your choice would work well)

One half bread cubes topped by 2 cups grated flavored Gouda

Spread over top of cheese:
Cooked spinach & onions
1 1/2 - 2 cups chopped ham (cubed ham or slices of ham, diced)

Top with remaining cubes of bread.

Mix together, and then pour evenly over pan:
10 eggs
1.5 cups cream (lactose free works great)
1.5 cups milk (2%) (lactose free works great)
1 - 1.5 tsp salt

Spinach mixture, then ham, then bread cubes, then egg and milk/cream mixture, prior to covering.

Cover pan with plastic wrap and let sit 30 minutes.  Remove plastic wrap.  Bake at 325F for 50 minutes, or until set in the center.  Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

This is great fresh and hot, but also wonderful as leftovers either cold or warm.  I find it's similar to a tasty quiche, but with the crust throughout.

Enjoy!!!

Garlic and Spinach Fusilli

Garlic, spinach,  parmesan and feta (optional, but recommended!) on fusilli make for a delicious combination in this easy, throw together-type meal.  I was looking for something light (i.e. without tomatoes) to make over pasta that used up some of the organic baby spinach I had, and ended up with this yummy dish.  We've made it many times since, and it's a delicious meal the whole family has loved. Enjoy!

Garlic & Spinach Fusilli
Serves 4
Recipe modified from GoGoQuinoa

Cook 1 pkg (225g) gluten-free fusilli pasta according to directions, tasting occasionally towards the end so you get the noodle cooked as you prefer.  (A quinoa-rice fusilli noodle adds nice flavor and fiber)

Once you have the pasta cooking, prepare the following:

Heat in a large frying pan over medium heat:
4 Tbsp olive oil (If you have access to flavored olive oils, this is best - something with a bit of lemon or basil/oregano is perfect - I like to use a Melanese-flavored olive oil from Liquid Gold)

Add an cook 1-2 minutes:
2-3 tsp minced garlic

Add and mix in, just until softened:
1 bag pre-washed baby spinach, sliced (bunch spinach together with your hands and slice through several times with a large knife)

Add some salt & pepper and cook 2-3 minutes.

Remove from heat and mix in:
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Toss spinach mixture with drained/rinsed fusilli noodles, and serve hot. 
Sprinkle some crumbled feta cheese over the top before serving (optional, but the combination of garlic/spinach and parmesan/feta is very nice).
Enjoy!!!



 

Spinach & Grape Tomato Pasta

This is just a simple, but filling meal for those weekdays when you're short on time.  The nice organic grape tomatoes were at the grocery store, and combining that with organic baby spinach seemed like a great way to add some good veggies to our evening meal.  It's hard to show in a picture, but the grated parmesan melted right into the dish. Yum!  It was delicious, and we'll definitely be having this quick and easy meal again. Enjoy!

Freshly tossed pasta - ready to eat! 

Spinach & Grape Tomato Pasta
Serves 4

Boil a large pot of water for your gluten-free pasta.  Cook pasta according to package.  (I used a 4 grain gluten-free spaghetti pasta here)

As soon as you put water on to boil, begin making your sauce as follows:

Heat in a large frying pan over medium heat:
2 Tbsp olive oil

Add and cook 1-2 minutes:
1 Tbsp minced garlic

Add and cook until just starting to wilt:
2 big handfuls baby spinach, sliced (I used about half a bag - this recipe is forgiving, so use more/less as you like.  To slice spinach, bunch together and slice through with a knife, like you would with fresh herbs)

Add and mix in:
1/2 - 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

Cook, stirring, until spinach is nicely wilted.  Then cook another 1-2 minutes. 

Add 1/2 jar of your favorite pasta sauce.  (I love the Classico 4 cheese sauce in this recipe).   Let simmer 5-10 minutes, while your pasta is cooking. 

Remove from heat.  Mix in:
1/4 - 1/2 cup grated parmesan. 

Toss pasta with sauce (make sure you rinse your GF pasta to remove excess salt). 
Serve and Enjoy!

Chicken, Spinach & Feta Quiche w/ Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Once the weather turns cooler, we love to have quiche around here.  I've previously posted recipes for veggie quiche and broccoli-bacon quiche, but I often forget to pay attention to what I'm throwing together when I make quiche.  So, I've been trying to be better about making notes so I can post recipes when they turn out particularly well.  I put this together for a dinner with friends.  The quiche recipe turned out wonderfully! It's definitely flavor-filled, with lots of fresh veggies and herbs enhanced by the feta cheese.  It was delicious both hot and cold.  Enjoy!

GF Quiche - A slice of quiche - look at all those colors!

Chicken, Spinach & Feta Quiche w/ Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Heat oven to 425F.  Get yourself out a pie pan.

I tend to make a full batch of buttermilk biscuits and use half for the crust and just cook the other half as biscuits.  But, if you just want to make the quiche, mix the crust as in the recipe below. I sometimes add a little bit of flaxseed and corn flour to my quiche biscuit crust.

First, prepare the veggie filling:

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat.

Add and sauté 3-5 minutes:

½ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped

¼ - 1/3 cup fresh chives, chopped

Just before adding in minced garlic to sautee.  I wanted to give an idea of how I coarsely chop my spinach - it doens't need to be done finely at all.

Add and sauté 1-2 minutes:

1-2 Tbsp garlic, minced

Add and mix in, cooking until spinach has wilted:

1 bag fresh spinach, sliced (bunch the spinach together, and slice through with a knife to coarsely slice)

Set veggies aside to cool and prepare the rest of the quiche.

To ready the crust:

First, make your buttermilk (or just use ¼ cup buttermilk)
In a measuring cup place:

1 ½ tsp lemon juice OR white vinegar

Fill so you have total of:

¼ cup milk (lactose-free works great)

Mix in a bowl:

¼ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup tapioca starch

2 Tbsp cup cornstarch OR corn flour (not cornmeal) for a heartier crust

2 Tbsp cup potato starch

1 Tbsp flaxseed meal (optional, but a nice addition, I find)

1/8 tsp xanthan gum

¾ tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

pinch of baking soda

Add and dice in with a pastry cutter:

2 ½ Tbsp butter

Add and mix with a spoon, just until combined:

¼ cup buttermilk (from above)

Spread biscuit dough as evenly around pan as you can, using spoon. Press biscuit dough gently into pie pan.  If the batter is sticky, put a tiny bit of water on your fingertips to help. (I find it tends to be sticky, but don’t worry about it not being evenly spread – it will rise during baking)

Don't worry about it being perfect. The best part about a buttermilk biscuit crust in quiche is that is is very forgiving since it rises/spreads while cooking! 

Spread on the bottom of the biscuit crust:

¾ cup crumbled feta cheese

On top of cheese spread:

Cooked veggies

Feta topped with sauteed veggies

Sprinkle over veggies:

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

¼ cup fresh basil, sliced/diced

I find it's best to have the basil mixed up a bit with the chicken, so you don't end up with all the basil on the top of your quiche.

Mix together in a separate bowl:

4-6 eggs (4 cooks faster, but you’ll have a smaller quiche, I prefer 6 myself, especially for this quiche which has a lot of filling)

1/3 - ½ cup milk (lactose free works great)

Salt

Pepper (be generous)

Pour egg mixture carefully and evenly over the top of the fillings.   Pop in the oven!

Bake 10 min at 425F. Lower heat to 350F and cook 20-25 minutes more, until center is set (doesn’t jiggle when you gently shake the pan).

Remove from oven. Let cool 10-15 minutes before cutting. 

Fresh out of the oven!

Great warm or cold!   Enjoy!