Gluten Free Recipe Wednesday

The thing about not eating is this - it makes you pretty hungry. Since I am unable to actually eat food however, I figure I might as well write about it. And here, the very first Gluten Free Recipe Wednesday is born. A day for all you Celiacs out there to dine like I wish I could.

Troy became obsessed with cooking about three years back when we moved from South up to my neck of the woods. Maybe it was homesickness, but Troy began to read every book article and website on Cajun and Creole cooking. He began concocting elaborate meals from scratch that would make your mouth salivate with a single sniff. His level of skill increased in all things culinary and he began to expand into other genres. Cajun and Creole were his passions though and remain so until this day. Soon after Troy had begun to explore the culinary arts and actually become quite fantastic, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This was a crushing blow to my husband, who felt like he was being told he could never see his best friend again. Not only could I not eat wheat anymore, but essentially it could not even be in our home due to fear of cross contamination. To be honest, when diagnosed, I had never even heard of the word gluten. Where as Troy was proving himself to be quite genius in the kitchen, I was more of what you would call a culinary retard. Once grasping the concept of living without wheat, we were devastated. So many meals that we loved were made using flour. The entire base of almost every cajun recipe is a roux which is essentially flour and oil. But for one's health, you must do what you must. We endured a few weeks of chicken breasts with no sauces to accompany them and steamed vegetables with no seasoning. Salads. We tried out various corn pastas and "crackers" from our local health food store which all tasted like cardboard and the cost of which jeopardized Marnie's college fund. This just would not do. We really enjoy good food and there just wasn't any out there for me. We would just have to stop wallowing in self pity and discover ways to make it for ourselves. And that is exactly what we did. Over the years we have created some awesome dishes that have met and exceeded every craving for foods that are otherwise forbidden to me. We have also made some things that were pretty nasty, but we'll just forget about those...

This week I thought that I would start with one of our family favorites, Lasagna. This is not SO much a gluten free recipe - it is more of an awesome dish that we made gluten free. Just a fantastic dinner to at to your family's repertoire. This is not just any lasagna mind you, it is absolutely the best tasting lasagna in the universe. I have served this dish to many, many guests and each time I get raves of it being the most amazing they have ever eaten ( "It's better than my Mom's, but please don't tell!) and I am asked for the recipe a ton. If you do not have a wheat allergy, just substitute the Tinkyada Brown Rice noodles for regular. It is just damn good.

* If you make this for your family, please leave me a comment and let me know how your thoughts!
** The original recipe was given to us by our Aunt Dixie (thanks Dixie!!) and adapted, amended, and substitutions made to make it our own Family Lasagna.

Our Family Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound Sweet Italian Sausage (I buy the stuffed sausages and cut the casings)
1 pound ground beef.
1 onion
1 green pepper
4 Large cloves of garlic
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14 ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 TBS white sugar
1 TBS dried basil
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1 TBS salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 cups fresh parsley
Tinkyada GF Brown Rice Noodles (of course you can substitute, but I personally believe these to be the best)
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
12 ounces mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

In your lasagna pan, fill with warm water and set your lasagna noodles to soak. By the time the sauce is ready, your noodles will be perfect for cooking (drain and set aside before assembly).

In a dutch oven, cook sausage, beef, onion, bell pepper & garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in all tomatoes and water. Season with sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, 1 TBS salt, pepper and 1/2 the amount of parsley. Simmer, covered for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley and 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To Assemble:

Begin layers with sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, cheese, more sauce & then parmesan cheese. Add additional layers. Top with cheese.

Cover with foil - to prevent sticking, spray foil with cooking spray or use toothpicks to make a 'tent'.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 25 minutes or until cheese has turned a nice color of golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!