Quesidillas on a Sailboat

 

This is another easy prep idea for cruising or camping  as quesidillas can be easily heated up on a griddle, a bbq,  a fry pan or even wrapped in foil and heated over a campfire or in an oven.

Serve with salsa (fresh or from a jar), sour cream and a side salad.

Use rotisserie chicken or grill chicken with seasoning ( chili powder, ground cumin, and dried oregano), grated cheese (monterey jack and cheddar) as the main filling.  Add canned, diced green chilies, avocado, scallions, onions or tomatoes.

Assemble by putting filling on one side of a tortillas leaving room along the edge to prevent spilling out. Fold over into half moon shape.  Grill or warm, cut into serving size and enjoy.

Gluten-Free Lemon Cheesecake

 This was a great recipe.  

I used lemons from Barbara and Rob's lemon tree in Hawaii!

It could easily be made with a non-gluten free crust as well but the GF crust was great.

https://www.ricardocuisine.com/en/recipes/9459-gluten-free-lemon-cheesecake

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

 This is the perfect comfort food and can easily be made gluten free by using GF macaroni and GF tomato soup.  The only difficult part of this recipe is it's a bit random for amounts of ingredients.  Only the brave make random recipes.  Amounts are not precise.

Definitely a Grandmaman recipe!

Ethan took on the challenge and was able to decipher 
Grandmaman's recipe and make it his own.  
Not only yummy but a creative "Enjoy the Moment" photo!  Love it! 

Photo and Meal by Ethan 

This is elbow macaroni!

Ingredients

canned tomato soup (usually 1 can) 
elbow macaroni (usually 2 cups dry)
grated cheddar cheese (as much as you want, maybe 1/2 to 1 cup depending on how much you have in the fridge, how cheesy you want it and what your cheese budget allows)

salt and pepper

Optional Ingredients

other types of cheese

Panko bread crumbs (GF or not)

1.  Boil elbow macaroni according to package instructions. Drain.

2.  Spray casserole dish with cooking spray and pour macaroni into the casserole.

3.  Mix in 1 can of tomato soup undiluted and the grated cheese . (sometimes GF tomato soup is already diluted but that should be fine.  Sometimes I add a little water if I think it's too dry. Salt and pepper to taste.

4.  It's ready for the oven now unless you want to put some extra cheese or bread crumbs on top(which can be toasted and/or spiced or not).

5.  Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes for an average size casserole.  If you are doing smaller or larger casseroles adjust the cooking time.  The dish is done when bubbling and/or crispy on top.  

Kathy's Hash Brown Crust Quiche Lorraine

Hash Brown Crust

4 cups frozen shredded hash browns, thawed (1 pkg of Golden Grill Hashbrown)

2 tsp.  butter, melted

1 beaten egg

1 tsp salt

butter, for greasing

oil spray (or olive oil)

Egg Mixture

4 eggs

1 cup milk (preferably cream, but low fat will also work)

3/4 cup cream

seasoning salt

1 tsp Johnny's garlic spread

options-onion powder, cayenne, red pepper flakes, etc.

1/2 tsp salt

black pepper

Filling

1/2 tbsp butter

6 oz / 180g bacon, cut into large dice (5 or 6 slices)

1 small onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar or gruyere)

(actually any quiche filling)

Preheat oven to 425F.

Grease pie dish with olive oil.

Hash Brown Crust

Grate the potatoes. Place the shredded potatoes into a colander and rinse for 10 seconds.

Take a handful of the rinsed grated potatoes or the thawed frozen shredded hash browns and squeeze the excess water out, then place into a large bowl.  Repeat with remaining potato.  (You should have about 4 cups)

Add melted butter and salt and mix.

Pour the shredded potato into pie dish and spread over the base and side.

Pat down  until firmly packed.  Bake the crust for around 30 minutes.

Filling and Egg Mixture

Melt 1/2 tbsp butter in fry pan over medium heat.

Add onion, garlic and bacon and saute until the onion is translucent and the bacon is starting to brown but not crisp.

Remove from the stove and set aside to cool slightly.  Place Egg Mixture ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Fill Quiche

When the crust is light golden brown remove from the oven and scatter the bacon onion mixture across the base, then the cheese.  Then pour the Egg Mixture in.

Baking the Quiche

Return the quiche to the oven and turn the oven down to 350.  Bake for 25 minutes or until set.  Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Fondue Parmesan

This is a recipe that our nanny, Chantal would make us for a special treat.  

Eating "Fondue Parmesan" made us smile and made us feel special.  She would say 

"Bon appetit!"  

Merci Chantal.

1/4 cup  plus 1 tbsp. butter 

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups milk

1 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

10 pieces of Gruyere Cheese

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Melt butter in microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Add flour, salt and cornstarch, blend into a paste and microwave on 

high for 40 to 45 seconds.  

Add milk and egg, whisk until smooth.  

Cook on medium for 2 minutes.

Add gruyere cheese (cut in little pieces) and parmesan cheese.  

Blend until smooth and firm.

Put it into an 8" x 8" greased and floured pan.

Refrigerate around 8 hours.

Cut into squares.  Coat the squares in flour, beaten egg and milk and then bread crumbs.

To Serve

 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven, pan fry or heat in microwave.

Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Can be frozen for later use.

Lasagna Gluten Free or Not

1 pkg gluten-free lasagna noodles OR regular lasagna noodles (8 ounces)

(The rest of the recipe is gluten free.)

1 1/2 lb. ground meat 

(ground beef or a combination of mild pork sausage/ground beef/ground veal)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1 can diced tomatoes (28 ounce)

1 can tomato paste (6 ounce)

2 teaspoons dried parsley (or fresh)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 pinch white sugar

8 ounces sour cream

8 ounces of ricotta cheese

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 pounds shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Makes one  9x13 inch pan.

Heat a large skillet and sauté the onions until clear.  Add meat and garlic and cook until the meat is evenly browned.  Drain off excess grease.

Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, basil, oregano and sugar.

Increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened.

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, sour cream, ricotta, Romano cheese, salt, black pepper and half of the mozzarella cheese.

To assemble the lasagna, spread a thick layer of the cooked sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Cover with 1/3 of the lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the remaining cooked sauce, 1/3 of the sour cream mixture.  Repeat this layering 2 more times.

The above recipe is very similar to Grandmaman's lasagna recipe which is basically made up of four parts, with the layers starting with the meat sauce layer and ending with a "very generous portion of grated mozzarella cheese".

To make Grandmaman's recipe gluten free, noodles need to be gluten free and attention needs to be paid to the tomato sauce.  It's best to make your own tomato sauce,  instead of premade pasta sauce.  

Part One-Precooked lasagna noodles (regular, whole wheat or gluten free)

Part Two-Meat Sauce (made of sautéed ground beef, prepared pasta sauce or your own sauce made from your choice of tomatoes (canned, sundried, fresh), tomato paste or tomato sauce, spices, onions, garlic cloves)

Part Three-eggs, cottage cheese, spinach, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper grated mozzarella (sometimes I leave this part out or only include some of it)

Part Four-THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF GRANDMAMAN'S LASAGNA-A very generous amount of grated mozzarella cheese on the top, (sprinkled with parmesan cheese if available) 

Baked Brie

1/2 cup blanched almonds

pinch of ground cayenne, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and salt

1 wheel (350 g) Double Cream Brie Cheese

3 tbsp. apricot jam

1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

1.  Preheat oven to 375. 

2.  Toast almonds in a skillet over medium heat, stirring until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Turn off heat and stir in spices and salt.  Reserve 2 tbsp. almonds for garnish and roughly chop remaining nuts.

3.  Slice brie in half horizontally.  Place bottom portion in the Brie Baker, spread 2 tbsp. jam on cut surface and sprinkle with chopped nuts and 1/4 tsp. rosemary.  Top with remaining cheese, spread remaining jam on top and sprinkle with the reserved whole nuts.

4.  Place covered Brie Baker on a baking sheet.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Garnish with remaining rosemary and serve with crackers and sliced apples.

Enjoyed this for lunch today with Oma.  We both thought that this recipe is worth repeating.