vegetarian « A Guy With Crohn's

I wanted to share with you another recipe I have that is gluten-free. I started making this recipe a couple of years ago when I was on Weight Watchers for the 2nd time. This is one of their recipes but I have modified it a little. Originally this wasn’t a gluten-free recipe but as my lifestyle changes, so do my recipes. For any vegans, you can also modify this using a dairy free cheese and soy or almond milk.

Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese – Serves 2

6 oz Uncooked Gluten Free Elbow Macaroni – you can use whatever brand you like
1 cup Fat Free Milk (can be lactose free, soy, almond, or regular)
1/8 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 cup Low Fat Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Cook pasta in water according to package. Drain and return to pot.

While pasta is cooking, in a large saucepan, whisk together milk, flour, salt and onion powder until blended. Bring to a boil on a medium – low heat, whisking frequently. Reduce to a low heat and simmer, stirring often, until thickened (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and whisk in the cheese.

Add sauce to the cooked pasta, toss to coat, and serve.
I sometimes add cooked broccoli to this. You can also add meat to this dish like cubed ham. If you do, I would reduce the amount of pasta to 4 oz then.

Feel free to play with this recipe as there are a lot of things you can do with it. Some people add hot sauce or red pepper flakes. Some will add bread crumbs and bake it. Whatever you do, enjoy it like I always do.

As promised, here is the recipe for a delicious eggplant dish. First, I want to say that I did not create this recipe. I have changed it a little and the original can be found here http://glutenfreehappytummy.com/2012/08/15/eggplant-non-parmesan-gf-v-scd/. I have found a bunch of good gluten free recipes on her website (sorry, I don’t know the name of the woman who writes this blog). You can follow her recipe and it is really good. I just wanted to tweak it a little to match my taste palate. Also, one note…I wanted to post pictures of the cooking process but I got so wrapped up in making the dish I forgot to take pictures. I do have one of the finished dish that I will post at the end. So, here it is:

Serves 3

1 eggplant peeled, sliced in 1/2 inch rounds
1/2 Cup Almond Milk – Unsweetened

2/3 cup Garbanzo and Fava Bean Flour (mixed with a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder)

Sauce:

3 tomatoes, chopped, with their juice
1 carrot and 1 celery stalk, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 Tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp dried basil, oregano, and parsley
salt and pepper
fresh basil (garnish)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. After you slice your eggplant, set up your “breading station.” You will need one bowl with your milk, a plate with your flour mixture, and a tin-foil-lined, olive-oil sprayed baking sheet. Dunk your eggplant in the milk, coat it with the flour and place on the baking sheet. Spray all the tops with olive oil, and then bake for 40 minutes until golden brown, flipping half way through.

Meanwhile, on the stove, saute your onion in 1 tsp EVOO, with salt, pepper, dried oregano and basil. Add your carrot and celery, and let it soften, about 6 minutes. Finally, add in your tomatoes and garlic. Let them cook for about 3 minutes. Mash with a potato masher, or put in the food processor to create your desired consistency.

After you have pureed your tomatoes, place back onto the stove and put a small flame under it. Bring to a small boil to reduce out some of the liquid. Taste it and reseason it if you need to.

When the eggplant is done, place 3 slices on a plate, layering them over each other. Spoon some of the tomato sauce on top of the eggplant. Place the basil in the center for garnish and serve.

Now to make this truly a parmesan you need some cheese. I didn’t do it this time, but you can add either shaved parmesan or romano cheese to this. You can also add some of the pearl mozzarella balls to this. Either would make a nice garnish and addition to the meal.

Enjoy.