Baked Zucchini with Melted Parmesan Cheese

I picked up some nice Zukes from the Farmers Market over the weekend to make a quick summer

 side dish.

It was a great deal too 2 for a buck!

So I decided to try a quick, easy, flavorful dish.

First I sliced the zukes angled and not super thin but not too thick either.

Then in a bowl I drizzled them with a light amount of olive oil. 

Sprinkled them with garlic salt and dried parsley a dash of salt and pepper.

Then laid them overlapping a tad bit on cookie pan and grated some fresh parmesan cheese 

to sprinkle over them. 

Preheat your oven to 350 and bake for about 20-25 min until tender. 

Then brown them under the broiler to get the cheese nice and brown. 

Serve hot!

This made a super quick side dish that everyone loved!

{Well minus the little one she rarely touches anything green}

Homemade Taco Seasoning

 

Ok I really love this quick and easy do-it-yourself taco seasoning mix.

Any time I can make something myself and see what is going into it I will.

Here's all you need.

1 T Chili Powder

2 t Onion Powder

1 t each - Ground Cumin - Garlic Powder - Paprika - Powdered Oregano and Sugar

1/2 t Salt

Just brown your ground beef, remove any excess fat.

Add your seasoning and 1/4 cup of water and stir.

{You can play with the amount you want to add to your ground beef}

Cover and bring to a simmer stirring often until well incorporated into the meat. 

And that's it!

 ---- just so you know -----

I use the whole packet but I usually do more than just a pound of ground beef also.

Chop up your favorite veggies and serve on corn tortillas with some lime cilantro rice!

Easy Dinner!

Helpful Tip

 Mix up a couple of bags of seasoning mix and store in your pantry for nights when you need a quick meal.

Three Cheese Bake

This dish quickly became a family favorite!

It's super easy to make and the kids love it!

All I used was...

1lb of lean ground beef or turkey

 3 /4 of a bag of Tinkyada Brown Rice Elbow Macaroni

1 Regular jar of Ragu Sauce (Or homemade spaghetti sauce)

 Half of a medium onion chopped

3/4 cup Green Bell Peppers chopped

Salt

Pepper

Fresh Garlic

Three of your favorite cheeses

I used Mozzarella, Parmesan and Shredded Sharp Cheddar 

____________________________________________________________

FIRST

Fry the ground beef with the chopped onion, bell pepper garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste.

SECOND

While this is frying bring you water to boil and prepare the noodles.

If you have never made these noodles follow the directions to a "T" so you don't end up with mushy noodles!

THIRD

Remove fat from meat and combine everything in the 9 x 13 pan you are going to bake it in.

Did i measure the cheese? Nah

I used about two handfuls of each one and 

sprinkled some parmesan into the dish and mixed it well.

Then I covered the top with as much 

Parmesan cheese as I wanted on top.

 Mix thoroughly and sprinkle parmesean cheese on top to get a nice crispy top on your bake.

Bake covered for about 30 minutes at 350.

Remove cover and place under broiler for a few minutes to brown the cheeses on top and serve with a side salad.

That's it!

Uno - Dos - Tres - Three Cheese Bake!

As you can see this recipe is super easy to put together and can even be pulled together the night before.

Leftovers freeze well too!

Let me know if you have a similar family favorite.

I would love to give it a try!

:)

Homemade Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Ok I decided to try a recipe I found online that had a lot of great reviews. 

And I'm so happy that I did because this pizza crust turned out to be really awesome.

 The thing I love is that you get a pretty good sized pizza from this and it makes a great crunchy flavorful crust. 

mmmmmm

GOSH do I love PIZZA!

There is something so comforting about a piping hot slice of this wonderful dish to make the corners of your mouth just turn up and smile!

Who can turn down an awesome slice of pizza???
Is there really anyone out there that can?

NOT ME!

And I think the main reason it's so loved is because it's so versatile.
Literally what ever you want ...
WHAT EVER YOU WANT
 you can pile it on!
 

Which brings me to my question.

You know. 

What do you love the most on your pizza?

Is it BBQ sauce? - Fresh Basil? - Alfredo Sauce? - Fresh Tomatoes?

Tell me!

I really want to know.

So post a comment and tell me your favs

and Ill pick one to try

:)

 

Ok enough lolly-gagging
 ~~~~ on to the recipe ~~~~

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• ²⁄₃; cup brown rice flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• 2 tablespoons powdered milk (Dairy alternative, 2 T tapioca flour or sweet rice flour in place of 2 T dry milk powder or non-dairy) or 2 tablespoons non-dairy powdered coffee creamer (Dairy alternative, 2 T tapioca flour or sweet rice flour in place of 2 T dry milk powder or non-dairy)
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• ²⁄₃; cup water (110 degrees F)
• ½ teaspoon sugar or ½ teaspoon honey or ½ teaspoon agave syrup
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In medium bowl using regular beaters (not dough hooks), blend all ingredients on low speed.
3. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
4. (If mixer bounces around bowl, dough is too stiff. Add water if necessary, one tablespoon at a time, until dough does not resist beaters.) Dough will resemble soft bread dough.
5. Put mixture on lightly greased 12-inch pizza pan or 11 x 7-inch pan (for deep dish version).
6. Liberally drizzle olive oil onto dough, then press dough into pan, continuing to drizzle with oil to prevent sticking to hands (you can use rice flour for this instead of oil if you wish)
7. Make edges slightly thicker to hold toppings.
8. Bake pizza crust for 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven.
10. Spread pizza crust with your favorite sauce and toppings.
11. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes or until top is nicely browned. For a crispier crust place directly onto oven rack. You can cook longer depending on how crispy you like your crust. :)
    

    

    
    

    
    

    

    I got this recipe from Food.com so if you would like to see the reviews or photos of other pizzas just click the link below.
    
    

    Read more: on Food.com

 Crunchy Crust is what our kids love! So this recipe is a hit at our house.

I have a lot of ideas on what I would like to do with this dough too.

Say...
Like those
Lunchable Pizza's 
that the kids love to take to school for lunch.

I whipped up a batch of dough and got 4 nice sized pizzas out of it.
{Next time I will make them a tad thinner and will probably be able to get 5 mini pizza's out of it}

Any how I was super excited about how they turned out!!!
Can't use them all right away?
No problem!
Freeze them for a quick snack or lunch.

I have to tell you I am really loving this idea!

Check out baby-cakes below making her own pizza.

 Anna loved them and is super excited about taking these cute little mini pizzas in her lunch.
Kids love making things on their own,
especially their own food.
 Which is why
this type of lunch is always a big hit!

She had a blast whipping up her very own mini pizza and gobbled it down while watching cartoons
and took just enough time to glance away from the TV and give me a
big Ole Thumbs Up!

{PS I have more ideas on ways to work this dough.}
Stay tuned as I bring your more doughy goodness in the weeks to come.

Bon Appetit!