Stuffed Pizza Bites

I don’t know about you but my kids love anything they can eat with their hands or on a stick. My son actually ate dinner the other night solely with a toothpick just because he could. Anyway, we also love pizza so to make everyone happy, I just made these little pizza balls. They are perfect for kids! Plus you can customize them and stuff them with your favorite topping ingredients. They are a little more work than rolling out pizza dough onto a pan but it saves on the fight at dinner later. I actually got my son to eat these with NO complaints – and they were stuffed with spinach and mushrooms (something he hates!). I hope your family enjoys these as much as mine did! Makes about 16-20 dough bites (depending on your dough recipe!)

1 recipe for GF pizza dough (I made a batch of Bob’s Red Mill and threw some spices into the dough)

Extra GF flour for rolling out dough bites (maybe ¼ cup)
¼ cup diced onions
1 cup spinach
½ cup diced mushrooms
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Italian seasoning (I like oregano, basil, thyme blend)
½ cup shredded cheese (I used DF)
1 can diced tomatoes plus 1 tsp italian seasoning

• In a small blender (I used my Magic Bullet), blend tomatoes and 1 tsp Italian seasoning until smooth. This will be your dipping sauce for your pizza bites!
• In a large skillet, sauté spinach, onions and mushrooms in olive oil. Add Italian seasoning to vegetable mixture.
• On a clean floured surface, roll out pizza dough into a large ¼” thick circle. Cut circle into about 2” squares (they don’t have to be perfect).
• Place dough square in the palm of your hand. Spoon on about ½ tsp of tomato sauce, 1-2 tsp of vegetable mixture and 1 tsp of cheese.
• Wrap up the dough mixture around the stuffing and secure seams, making the pizza balls. Repeat with remaining dough and ingredients.
• Place stuffed dough balls into a greased baking dish (a 2 qt dish should work).
• Bake at 450°F for about 20-25 minutes or until dough is cooked and starting to brown.
• Top with some tomato sauce and additional shredded cheese if desired and serve with dipping sauce!

Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

I can’t believe it is already time to post this. I’m a little nervous about the holidays this year. This will be the first year for a gluten-free Thanksgiving. Last year I was on a pretty strict diet, but I cheated a little and suffered the consequences. This year – none of that! I’m not nervous about the food. I’m nervous about the interactions during meal time. I definitely don’t want to hurt feelings or step on toes about not eating what the family cooks. However – I simply can’t afford to have a bad day due to poor diet choices. So here goes nothing (wish me luck!) As I’m sure many of you are doing, we are traveling some. We aren’t traveling far but we do have several dinners to go to or make. One thing I will miss this year – my mom’s pumpkin pie and my mother-in-law’s ham. Oh gosh… my mom always makes an extra pumpkin pie, just for me! I take it home; eat it again that night, for breakfast the next day, etc. We will have to work on an alternative but for now, no “Mom’s Famous” pumpkin pie for this girl. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t have to suffer or feel guilty about not eating holiday meals. There are many options out there; you just have to find what’s best for you. What we have decided to do is to just make our own “traveling” Thanksgiving dinner. I will make our own meal and take it to the dinners we are going to. For those coming to our house to eat, they can eat what we cook. If they don’t want to, they can bring their own. It’s not the best solution I’m sure, but it’s the best one we’ve come up with. I can’t touch, eat, or be around gluten. If anyone has other suggestions – I’m all for hearing about them! Anyway – I wanted to present some options to any of you having this same problem. Or if any of you are just wanting to try something new this holiday season, try one of the recipes below! Either way, it’s Thanksgiving and it’s a great time of year to be thankful for what we have. Whether you are doing a typical family tradition, or like us – trying something new, just remember how fortunate we all are. I sometimes find myself wondering why this happened to me, but at the end of the day I have to be thankful. I’m thankful God put me in this position to help me learn and challenge me. I have learned so much about taking care of my body and my health. My situation has also made me realize how fortunate it is to enjoy a meal with family. Something as simple as dinner can be taken away so quickly. Some may not be able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner due to food allergies or illnesses. Others may simply not be able to afford it. Regardless, I am so very thankful for the opportunity to create a tasty, healthy meal on this wonderful day and I hope you all are too. Of course, I’m thankful for millions of other things but this is a food blog after all! Check out the full day’s menu options below and try some of the recipes – they should all be linked to the original posts complete with pictures. Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

    

Breakfast:

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls (Maple or Original)
Banana Oatmeal Pancakes – my most popular! (for extra energy if you have having a late lunch)
Cinnamon Scones
Appetizers
Shrimp Dip
Veggie Pizza
Watermelon Mint Jam – served with crackers/chips
Smoked Chicken Antipasto
Lunch/Dinner:
Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts - for an alternative to turkey
Made Over Mashed Potatoes
Balsamic Green Beans
Roasted Fall Veggies
Deceptive Mac & Cheese
Stuffed Acorn Squash (or stuffing)
Mushrooms, Onions & Swiss Chard
Butternut Pumpkin Biscuits
Red Wine Cranberry Sauce
Desserts
Upside Down Apple Cake
Cranberry Pear Crisp with Lavender – my favorite!
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – for the kids!
Pumpkin Pie with Almond Crust – if you want to get real fancy
Beverages
Apple Cider
Pumpkin Spiced Chai Latte
Strawberry Lemonade  - for the kids

Balsamic Green Beans and Mushrooms

This is just a quick and easy side dish that goes well with almost any entrée. It’s our go to for pot luck side dishes as it is so simple to make and warms up well. The balsamic is the key to the dish though so I don’t have any replacement recommendations. I have found a really good balsamic dressing that makes   perfect sauce for these but almost any brand will work. This makes about 4-6 servings.

1 lb fresh green beans

8 oz sliced mushrooms
½ cup sliced onions
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic, minced
¼ cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing

• In a large skillet, sauté green beans, mushrooms, onions and garlic in olive oil for about 15 minutes or until beans are crisp tender.
• Add in salt, pepper and dressing. Stir until well combined. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
• You could also slow roast these in the oven. To do this: combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until dressing coats vegetables. Spread into a large baking sheet and bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• You could also cook these in the crock-pot but I haven’t tried that yet.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This dish is absolutely delicious! It is a perfect weekend meal. It’s easy enough for a typical family dinner but nice enough to serve at a fancy dinner also! The spinach and mushrooms go perfect together and gives a nice flavor to the garlic-y chicken breasts. This will make a regular appearance to our weekly date night I believe!  We ate this with a light salad but serve it over pasta for a complete meal. Makes two servings.

2 chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise (not quite all the way through! – like you are butterflying them)

½ cup mushrooms, diced
½ cup fresh spinach
3 slices prosciutto, diced (or turkey bacon would work)
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
2 slices of cheese (I used dairy free mozzarella, but Swiss or Provolone would be great!)
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Basil, fresh or dried

• In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms, spinach and prosciutto.
• In a greased two quart baking dish, place sliced chicken breasts, cut side up.
• Pour balsamic vinaigrette over open chicken breasts.
• Place a slice of cheese into chicken breast.
• The spread halve of the spinach mixture over cheese in each chicken breast.
• Close the chicken breast with the top flap an secure with a tooth pick.
• Sprinkle minced garlic salt and pepper over closed chicken breasts. Drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake at 375°F for about 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked completely through.

Mushrooms, Onions & Swiss Chard

Happy 1st day of October! Wow - that snuck up on me fast! :)

Swiss chard is a very nutritious food. It is full of vitamins and nutrients. It has similar flavor characteristics to kale and spinach. It’s actually a good combination of the two. Kale has a very strong, distinct flavor and has a very tough texture. While spinach is more of a light, soft vegetable. I find Swiss chard to be flavorful and rather chewy but if you cook it right, the texture is as nice as the flavor. This dish is similar to sautéed spinach but packs an extra punch of flavor. The vinegar really brings out the flavors of the chard. It is a quick and easy way to get a ton of healthy nutrients. It pairs well with chicken or beef.

2 cups Swiss chard, chopped

1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped into thin strips
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil

• In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add in chard, mushrooms, onion, garlic, pepper and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add in white wine vinegar and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender and the chard is soft. Serve immediately.