Cheesy Meatball Lasagna

I love Delight Magazine, and although it is a bit pricey, it is really a good resource, especially for those who have multiple allergies. They have an index grid in the front which shows the allergens for each recipe. It also includes a "Safe/Unsafe" list in each one, which is a nice convenience even for those of us who have been gluten free for awhile.  If you are unable to subscribe, I recommend checking out their website: http://www.delightglutenfree.com/, where you can find recipes like the one below as well as hundreds of others (all of which can be sorted by allergen to find the ones that work best for your family).

Cheesy Meatball Lasagna

(Adapted from: Delight Magazine Mar-Apr '14)
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1-10oz package Tinkyada brown rice lasagna noodles

1/4 cup bread crumbs*

1 lb ground turkey (or beef /chicken)

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp parsley flakes

1/8 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 egg, beaten

3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1-24oz marinara sauce        

4 cups fiesta blend cheese*

1. In large pot, cook lasagna noodles according to package. Drain, and arrange on large plate or platter to prevent noodles from breaking and/or sticking together.  Set aside.
2. Place ground meat into large bowl; add in bread crumbs, seasoning and egg.  Mix well with hands to combine thoroughly.
3. Use tbsp of meat mixture to round into spheres. Place on plate until all meatballs are made.
4. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and slowly add in meatballs. Saute until sealed and browned (approx. 2 minutes on each side). 
5. While meatballs are sauteing, use pot from noodles to heat 2 cups of marinara sauce.  Once meatballs are browned, add to sauce.  Cook covered for 15 minutes*.
6. Preheat oven to 350F. Spoon meatballs out of sauce and place onto plate, then cut each one in half.
7. Lightly grease, 8" square pan with non-stick spray
8. Line bottom of casserole with lasagna noodles (cutting slightly as needed to fit).  Top with layer of sauce, then sliced meatballs (approx. 3 halved) and 1 cup of cheese.  Repeat layers as necessary until top of pan is reached
9. Bake 40-50 minutes* until cheese is bubbly and golden.  Serve while hot.

*Notes:

• Bread Crumbs: original recipe called for one slice of gluten free bread to be toasted then placed into food processor.  I like to use what I have on hand, so I substituted GF bread crumbs.  I have also seen recipes use mashed potato flakes as "thicker" for meatballs.  
• Cheese: I couldn't find fiesta blend cheese, so I used a 4 cheese Mexican blend.
• Meatballs: original recipe called for  meatballs to be cooked in sauce for 20-30 minutes.  However, since meatballs are cooked, sauce heated and I am impatient - I shortened it.  Seemed to work fine.
• Bake Time: original recipe called for 50 minutes.  However, mine only took about 35 minutes

Side note: since one of the reasons I don't cook much is the cleaning involved.  This recipe originally called for multiple pots, pans and other dishes so I simplified.  

Also, I had a good number of lasagna noodles left over.  I hate throwing stuff away, so saved for another day.  Aside from adjusting recipe to create more, not sure what else to do with it.  Any one have ideas?  

Tater Tot Hot Dish

Tater Tot Hot Dish

(adapted from a family recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb Ground Turkey*

3 packages Dry Onion Soup Mix

1 can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup

1/4-1/2 can Water

1 package (16oz) Frozen Mixed Vegetables

Tater Tots

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Brown the ground turkey in skillet, then drain.
3. Stir in soup, water and frozen vegetables.  
4. Pour into casserole dish and place tater tots on top.  Cover completely, then bake for 45-50 minutes.

*Any ground meat would work fine: turkey, chicken, beef, etc.

Tamale Pie

There is a food blog I love called "Brown Eyed Baker" and I relied on those recipes a lot prior to being diagnosed as Gluten Intolerant.  Since I haven't been able to play around with different flours as substitution, I haven't been able to use many of those recipes.  THEN, she posted a recipe for Tamale Pie..and it is really good.

Tamale Pie

(adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 1 hour / Bake Time: 30 minutes

Filling:

1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil

1 Medium Onion, finely chopped

1 Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped

2 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded and minced

1.5 lbs Ground Beef

1.5 C  Corn Kernels (fresh or frozen)

1-14.5 oz  can  Diced Tomatoes, drained

3 Tbsp.  Tomato Paste

2 Tbsp. Chili Powder

4 Tsp. Ground Cumin

2 Tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 C. sliced Black Olives

4 oz Shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese

Cornbread Topping:

1 bag Pamela's Cornbread

(2 eggs, 1/2 cup of butter (melted), 1/2 cup of sugar*, 1 cup of water)

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees 

2) Making the filling: In large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil until hot.  Add the onion, green pepper and jalapenos, and cook, stirring occasionally until softened.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3) Reduce heat to medium and add ground beef to pan.  Cook, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until browned.  (orignal recipe did not call for the meat to be drained, however, I drained anyway).  Once meat is browned, add onion mixture back to the pan.  Stir in corn, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin and salt.  Stir well to ensure all the spices and tomato paste are evenly distributed.  Bring to simmer then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.  While it is simmering make cornbread topping.

4) Making the topping: mix together the cornbread as instructed on the bag.  (I used agave nectar instead of sugar)

5) Assembling & Baking: Stir olives and shredded cheese into the beef mixture and pour it into a 9x13 baking dish.  (I poured into the baking dish first, then mixed in olives & cheeses since it was easier to stir that way).  Pour cornbread batter over the filling, using a spatula to spread into even layer.  Bake, 30-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean.  Allow pie to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

*One of the nice things with this recipe is that you can adapt to your liking.  Don't like black olives? Don't add them.  Prefer another kind of cheese? Switch it out.  (Personally I added more cheese, since my love for cheese always trumps the actually recipe)  I also forgot to buy the green pepper, so that was not included in mine and I'm sure you could exchange ground turkey or chicken for the beef if you preferred.