Quesadillas: The perfect hiding spot for leftovers!

     I'm a fan of using up leftovers. However, sometimes I get tired of the original form that the food was so I re-invent it. I am a huge fan of quesadillas. I think that pretty much any leftover can go into a quesadilla and be made amazing again! I have even been known to make a meatloaf quesadilla before (and they are darn good).
    Last night I grilled out. I made some yummy steak and then used my grill pan and did shrimp, onions, and peppers. It all was so yummy!! However, I made WAY too much food. The great thing about that is that I now had shrimp and veggies for some shrimp quesadillas! YUM!

    Making quesadillas is NOT hard at all. You can vary the ingredients to suit your tastes and the ingredients you have in your kitchen. Here are the basics of what you will need:

Quesadillas

Corn tortillas
Cheese
your favorite leftovers or deli meat

Lightly spray a small non stick pan with cooking spray

Over medium heat: Add 1 corn tortilla and top with a small amount of cheese

Add your favorite leftovers

Top with a little more cheese and a 2nd tortilla

Lightly brown each side of the quesadilla. Cheese should be melted and insides should be warmed.

Cut in half or into 1/4's and serve warm.

Enjoy!

-Jessica

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Italian Pasta Salad

    I have been craving pasta salad for a while now. However, if you have been gluten free for long then you may have possibly had an experience with pasta salad. It doesn't always work out. However I have found that if you use the right kind of pasta for the job, then it holds up well and doesn't turn to mush. I have made some very successful pasta salads using Tinkyada brand pasta. This is pretty much the only brand of gluten free pasta that I will eat. The other stuff is just junk. (keep in mind I am NOT being paid to say this ha).
    I decided today that I was making some pasta salad. I really want a creamy sauced salad. So I decided I would make Italian pasta salad. I didn't really plan ahead for this recipe so that's why I am calling it "Everything But The Kitchen Sink". I just pulled ingredients out of the fridge that might work. I had some mini pepperoni, green pepper, mushrooms, block cheese, frozen peas, Italian dressing and of course pasta. You can use whatever you have in your fridge to make your own salad. It would be great with other ingredients too.
     So keep in mind my recipe isn't something that you need to stick to faithfully. If you are a huge fan of green pepper, then add more of that in. If you hate cheese then leave that out (but how could anybody hate cheese? Seriously, we can no longer be friends). Just put in your favorite things.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink Italian Pasta Salad

3/4 Pkg of Tinkyada Brown Rice Spirals, cooked according to package
3/4 Bottle Italian Dressing
3/4 C. Cheese diced into small cubes
1/3 C. Frozen Peas
1/3 C. Mushrooms, sliced
1/4 C. Green Pepper, diced
1/2 C. Mini Pepperoni

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Run the pasta under cold water when it is finished cooking. When pasta feels cool to the touch it can be added into the mixture with the rest of the ingredients.

Combine the pasta, Italian dressing and other ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to coat. Refrigerate for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to mix and mesh.

While the pasta is cooking prepare the other ingredients.

Add the cooled pasta with the veggies, dressing, etc.

Toss all of the ingredients to coat. Refrigerate for several hours before serving. That will allow the flavors to mesh.

Enjoy!!

-Jessica

P.S. On Pinterest I had ran across a idea that said that if you put a wooden spoon over a boiling pot it will NOT boil over. So I put their little idea to the test today.

The idea worked better than if there had not been a spoon over the pan. However I still had a little bit spill over. Soooooo don't rely on that little tip to save you from scrubbing the stove top! Pinterest fail!

What do you like on your pizza?

    What do you want on your tombstone? Ok I probably just dated myself with that commercial reference. For those of you young enough to not remember that commercial....it was for tombstone pizza. (which is of course not gluten free, but it IS what popped into my head when I was thinking about writing the blog tonight ha)

    I made pizza tonight. I had gotten some Udi's crusts and I was wanting to try them out. They were pretty good. They held up well with all of the toppings that I like to pile on my pie. They were crispy and convenient. I'm not sure how much they cost, these were sent to me. Cost is usually a huge deciding factor for me on how often I purchase a gluten free product.

    While making my pizza tonight I got to thinking about toppings. There are zillions of toppings and combinations that people like on their pizza. I'm probably classified as pretty plain Jane. I like hamburger, onions, green peppers, pepperoni, cheese and mushrooms (so basically supreme minus the nasty black olives). I also like Hawaiian (ham and pineapple). There is a place up in the city that does gluten free pizza. They use crimini mushrooms and caramelized onions....that's pretty amazing too! Taco pizza is good, but I'm still working on the right combinations to get it perfect for my taste. What do YOU like on your pizza?

Pink Champagne Cake

     The New Year has been celebrated......the world didn't end over night (I heard a rumor that the Mayan calendar didn't go up to 2012 so we were all doomed ha, I guess we showed them. We survived the night). If you are like me and not much of a partier, you may have some leftover champagne. I had most of the bottle left. However, I knew that would be the case so I had been working on this awesome pink champagne cake recipe for you all! I like cake more than I like champagne anyways. Maybe I should resolve to eat more cake?
    
Pink Champagne Cake

1 1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Butter (at room temperature)
4 eggs
2 C Gluten Free Flour Mix
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 T. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1 C. Pink Champagne
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Pre-Heat oven to 350 deg. Line the bottom of two 8 or 9 in. round cake pans with wax paper. Generously spray the pans with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mixing completely before adding in the next egg. Add flour, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, champagne and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed for 1 minute.

Pour half of the batter into each of the two prepared pans. Bake for 20-25 min. in a 350 deg. oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out "clean".

Remove from the oven and allow cakes to cool in the pan for about 10 min. Use a knife to go around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Turn the cakes out on a wire rack to finish cooling. Remove the wax paper from the cake.

Place one cake layer on a pretty plate or platter. Top the layer with 1 cup or frosting or jam. Place second layer on top of the first. Spread frosting over the rest of the cake.

Pink Champagne Frosting

1 C. Champagne
1/2 C. Butter (1 stick)
1/2 C. Shortening
4 C. Powdered Sugar

Place 1 cup of champagne in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 3 tablespoons.  Allow to cool.

In a bowl using a mixer, cream softened butter, shortening, and powdered sugar together. Once the frosting is thick and fluffy, pour in the reduced 3 tablespoons Champagne and mix well.

The first thing that I did was start the champagne reduction for the frosting. 1 C Champagne reduced to 3 T.

While the champagne was reducing I mixed up the cake.

Mix, Mix, Mix

Divide the batter evenly into two 8 or 9 in. round pans.

Mix the frosting while the cakes cool.

Place the first cake on a pretty plate

Smear Jam, preserves or frosting over the first cake layer. Don't go clear to the edge if you are using jam or preserves.

Place the 2nd layer on top of the first.

I usually start frosting the top.....no particular reason why :)

Frost the top and sides of the cake.

I used the tines of a fork and made some designs on the top.

This cake is amazingly good. However, it is super sweet so invite some friends over to help you eat it!! Wishing you all the best in 2012!! Happy New Year USASillyYaks!

-Jessica