Gluten-free Childhood Faves: Marshmallow Rice Treats

So I have been seeing in stores that Kellog's is marketing Rice Krispies as gluten free. Of course the first thing I thought was RICE KRISPY TREATS!!!!!! But I wanted to eat the 100% natural, whole grain, gluten-free brown rice puffs I bought first. I like them. Really. But I only eat them plain, straight out the canister - they get soggy in milk. So it's taking me a while.

Tonight Kaelyn was asking to eat a marshmallow so I pulled out the bag we got for camping of these HUGE marshmallows and they were labeled "Gluten-Free!"  Maybe all marshmallows are gluten free?? I don't know, but my first thought was "Why don't I make RKT out of the cereal I have?"

Mexican 2 ways in 2 days!

CLICK HERE FOR INGREDIENTS & PICTURE until I get it transferred over :)

Night 1: Nacho & Tacos!!
Layer it! Wrap it! Do it however you want!

I like to season my taco meat with Alton Brown's Taco Potion #19. Use what you like.

Night 2: Mexican Pasta!!
~ Saute your leftover onions.
~ Add in the leftover meat and a jar of salsa.
~ Simmer on low while you cook your pasta to al dente.
~ Drain pasta and add into sause mixture.
~ Serve with a sprinkle of cheese, dollop of crema, and a side of chips for some crunch!

Simple but OH! SO! YUMMY!

Broccoli Rice Chicken Casserole

Simple to make, since most of it is done in the microwave. If you have leftover chicken and/or rice it's even FASTER!

Ingredients:

 

• 2T olive oil 
• 1 cup frozen seasoning blend
• 1 lb chicken cut into bite-size pieces
• 10 oz bag broccoli florets
• 3 cups cooked (leftover?) rice
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 chicken soup can of lowfat milk
• 8 oz shredded or cubed American cheese
• Seasonings & fresh herbs to taste

 Directions: 

1. Saute seasoning blend and chicken in olive oil until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through. 
2. Put broccoli and a few tablespoons of water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave 5-7 minutes until tender (or use the steamable bags to save a dish). Drain water from broccoli, mix in rice, herbs, and salt/pepper to taste.
3. In another (larger) microwave safe bowl add soup, milk, and cheese & microwave 5-7 minutes until cheese is melted, stirring occasionally.
4. Combine all ingredients in the cheese mixture, tossing to coat evenly.
5. Allow to sit 5-10 minutes to absorb all the cheese mixture. It thickens up like a grown up mac & cheese!

Goes great with a side of garlic bread!

 

This week's Meal Plan

Fire Roasted Hotdogs

What you need:

• Hotdogs
• Buns
• toppings
• wire hangers
• fire pit
• kids or child like hearts:)

Yep! You know where I'm going! LOL! It's cooler and we're roasting weenies on the fire pit!

Marshmallows for dessert!!

Cheesyburger Mac

What you need:

• 1 lb. ground meat
• 2-3/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
• 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) American Cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/3 c milk
  

What you do:

1. Brown meat in large skillet; drain.
2. Add water, ketchup and onion powder; mix well.
3. Bring to boil.
4. Stir in macaroni; cover.
5. Simmer on medium-low heat 8 to 10 min. or until macaroni is tender.
6. Stir in cheese & milk; cook until melted, stirring occasionally.

(Adapted from Kraft Foods)

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

What you need:

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chicken broth
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
  
• 3 cups instant white rice, uncooked
• 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) American cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

What you do:

1. Cook chicken in large nonstick skillet on medium-high until chicken is done.
2. Stir in broth & bring to boil.
3. Add rice, cheese and broccoli; cover.
4. Remove from heat. Let stand 10 min.
5. Stir until cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended.

(Adapted from Kraft Foods)

Confetti Pasta Salad

My kids loved the corn chowder. I got sooo many veggies in them because I called it Confetti soup! SO today CONFETTI PASTA SALAD! As I type this they are scarfing it down!

Make it vegetarian by omitting the chicken.... if its for a hard core "no dairy" vegetarian... I dunno what to do LOL!

• 1 lb tri-color (garden) pasta
• 1/2 c seasoning blend
• 1 bag frozen mixed veggies
• 1 small cucumber seeded and diced small
• 8 oz fat free plain yogurt
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1/4 c Italian dressing
• 1 can chicken breast (12 0z) drained
• Fresh and/or dried herbs and seasonings to taste
• 1 cup cheese blend

Add-ins if you have/want it (we used all of this!):

• 1 sm. zucchini, quartered and sliced thin (steam with veggies)
• Grape/cherry tomatoes sliced in half (do not cook)
• 4-5 small radishes grated
• Raw shredded carrots for crunch

Preparation:

1. Cook noodles, drain, and cool
2. Saute seasoning blend and cool
3. Steam mixed veggies and zucchini together and cool.
4. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix gently.
   

I'd say it was about.. $5?? Give or take a little, I had a lot of stuff hanging about ijn the freezer & pantry... and there is a bowl full left. I'll probably use it for a side tomorrow.

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This week's Meal Plan

Mom's Diner Corn Chowder

After tons of searching I couldn't find one chowder recipe I liked so I got a list of some basic ingredients and created my own. It was absolutely amazing and looked like a bowl of confetti!

Corn chowder is a dish you can make vegitarian if you wish, see alternate instructions below if you prefer a vegetarian meal.

feel free to put little hands to work stirring, grating, and pouring on this one. Both of mu girls (11 & 3) helped with this one which made eating it that much more rewarding for all of us!

Be sure to teach any children you'll have in the kitchen what they need to know about safety before asking them to help.

• 1/2 lb bacon chopped small
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup seasoning blend
• 2 medium coarse shredded carrots
• 3-4 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 c 2% milk
• 2 c chicken stock
• 2lb bag frozen corn kernels
• 3 medium shredded potatoes
• 1/2 t dry parsley or 2T fresh chopped
• salt, pepper, Tony's to taste
• 1 T cornstarch + 1 T water (slurry)

Directions:

1. Render down the bacon until crispy and set aside on napkins to drain.
2. Remove bacon drippings from pan, reserving 1 T of the "grease".
3. Add butter, seasoning blend, and carrots, sauteing until vegetables are tender 5-7 minutes.
4. Add thyme sprigs, bay leaves, milk, and stock.
5. Watching carefully, bring just to a boil then turn heat down low enough to maintain a slow simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
6. Add potatoes, parsley, and seasonings.
7. Stir in slurry and allow to simmer another 5 minutes to thicken slightly.
8. If too thick you can add water, too thin add another slurry repeating 5 minute simmer if you do so.
9. Add corn and crisped bacon then simmer another 10 minutes.
10. Serves well with garlic bread, croutons, or crackers.

For a vegitarian version skip the bacon, use 1T butter in place of the bacon renderings, and vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

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This week's Meal Plan

Easy Sheperd's Pie

This one was so easy all I did was chop the meat and make some mashed potatoes, Halie made the pie "filling" herself. She also typed her recipe :)

• 1/2 c seasoning blend
• 1/2-3/4 lb. beef ground or diced round
• 2 c cool mashed potatoes
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 c shredded cheese
• 2 cloves pressed garlic
• 4 c mixed veggies, thawed
• 1 c gravy (or sm. roux)

1. saute meat and seasoning blend until meat is brown
2. mix potatoes and both cheeses. set aside
3. stir gravy and veggies into meat. warm through
4. pour into baking dish
5. cover with potatoes
6. bake for 20 min
7. Enjoy!!!

typed by: Halie

This week's Meal Plan

Miserly Meal #6- Enchilitos

Another of Jonni's meals today, Enchilito, and this one really was a budget saver because I had refried beans & homemade cheese sauce in the freezer from last week.

I turned a bottle of ketchup from the pantry to into a bottle of taco sauce a few days ago (because I knew this recipe was coming up and I didn't have any....) I made a mess of the kitchen but it turned out ok, though a little thicker & sweeter than you'd think of a taco sauce... I think next time I'll try tomato sauce or canned tomato juice. I'll update you on that one when I get it right.

About 12¢ ber Enchilito or 48¢ per serving using my frozen things!! Just about $1 per serving using all store bought... still a HUGE bargain!

We went the microwave route and it was great.

Enchilito

• 1 lbs ground meat ( I used taco flavored turkey burger)
• 1/4 c flour
• 1 t chili powder
• 1/3 c diced onion
• 4 cloves of pressed garlic
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 c water
• 16 oz refried beans
• 16 eight inch flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 c taco sauce
• 1 1/2 c grated cheese

Directions:

1. Brown ground meat and drain.
2. Add next five ingredients, and mix well.
3. Add water and simmer 8-10 minutes until creamy.
4. Warm beans.
5. Put 3 T beans and 3 T beef on a tortilla and roll up.
6. Arrange folded side down cover with sauce and cheese Microwave or bake until cheese is melted.

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Chicken Patty Cakes

The Menu

Chicken Patty Cakes
Original recipe was for tuna, but
I made them with canned chicken
(hubby has tuna allergy).
YUMMYYYY!!!!
He had it for lunch today and has been begging me
all day to make it again soon!

I forgot to take pictures :(

The Recipe

Adapted from KraftFoods.com's Tuna Cakes

1. 1 12 oz can of chicken- drained, flaked ($2)
2. 1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stuffing Mix for Chicken ($1)
3. 1 cup Shredded Cheese (I used colby/jack) (50¢)
   
4. 3/4 cup water (FREE)
5. 1 carrot, shredded (pennies)
6. 1/3 cup Mayonnaise (pennies) 2 Tbsp. Sweet Pickle Relish (pennies)

• Mix it all together
• Divide into 8 equal patties
• Brown in non stick skillet on both sides.

Served on buns lightly mayo'd and a dab of sweet relish
and curly fries ($1.55) on the side.

Total: $5 including the side and a 2 patty lunch the next day!

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