Rosy Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Ok, full disclosure: I did NOT cook this! Nope, fabulous my husband did.  I told my husband the other day that I was in the mood for comfort food, i.e. mac ‘n’ cheese.  He said what he always says, “ok.”  It was Saturday morning and I proceeded to walk out the door to go grocery shopping. 

When I arrived home from the store, I found him and my son sitting in front of the TV, pen in hand, watching America’s Test Kitchen.  It happened that they were making mac ‘n’ cheese on the episode, so dear husband was writing down the ingredients.  Can you say perfect timing?

Now here is the kicker: The version of mac ‘n’ cheese they were making had tomatoes in it.  My husband is allergic, and I mean really allergic, to tomatoes.  I took one look at him and said, “I am not making two different dishes for dinner.”

To that he responded, “Ok, I’ll do it.”

Not cook dinner?  You don’t have to say that twice! 

Not only did I get great mac ‘n’ cheese for dinner, but I didn’t even have to make it.  Talk about a good night! 

As mentioned, this recipe is adapted from America’s test kitchen. 

*If you are not gluten free, use regular pasta and the recipe will still be great.

Rosy Mac ‘n’ Cheese

1 lb gluten free pasta* (I like Trader Joe’s gluten free rotini)
2 cups half & half
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 – 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
4 tbsp oat flour or brown rice flour (or regular flour if you’re not gluten free)
3 tbsp butter
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta until it is al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water.  Place in bowl and add can of tomatoes with liquid. Stir thoroughly.  Let sit for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The pasta will soak up all the excess liquid from the tomatoes.

Melt butter in pan over medium heat.  Add flour and stir to create rue.  Once mixture is bubbly and starting to turn light brown, remove from heat.  While stirring, add chicken broth and half and half.  Return to heat, stirring constantly, until boiling. Simmer 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and add cheese and seasoning until well mixed. 

Combine pasta and sauce.   Cook in oven for 20-25 minutes, covered if you want all cheesey, uncovered if you like the top crunchy.

Sautéed Butternut Squash with Lemon & Pine Nuts

How did it get to be November already?!?  Wasn’t it  just last week it was getting dark at 8 p.m. and it was 75 degrees out?  Alas, summer is over and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

As the leaves fall in my front yard, (and no, I haven’t gotten around to raking them yet) I took the time to prepare this butternut squash recipe for my family.  I wanted to share it with you now because this is a very pretty presentation for squash and a great side dish for Thanksgiving.  I modified the original recipe (like I do with most recipes) to eliminate tree nuts because my husband is allergic.

This is a pretty easy recipe, but if you can get someone else to cut up the squash I recommend it because it can be a workout!

This recipe can be made ahead for Thanksgiving and reheated for 30-45 minutes prior to eating.

Sautéed Butternut Squash with Lemon & Pine Nuts

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, chopped

3 oz pine nuts, toasted

1-1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil and butter in a pan over medium-high heat.  Add squash and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently, for 8-10 minutes until squash is lightly browned (the edges will start to soften).  Add pine nuts, lemon zest and parsley and transfer to oven safe bowl. Bake squash for 25-30 min until hot and tender. 

If making this dish ahead for Thanksgiving dinner, sauté squash but do not bake it until just before you are ready to eat, and if it has been refrigerated it will need to bake for 30-45 minutes.

Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp (Gluten-Free)

I was so excited that our rhubarb plants are almost ready to pick that I had to go buy some rhubarb to make a crisp.

This recipe is adapted from Sunset Magazine.

Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp

1 cup gluten free rolled oats

1/2 cup brown rice or oat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks

2 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (Only use the red stalks, discard the green parts)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

4 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl, gently mix together rhubarb, raspberries, corn starch and granulated sugar.  Set aside to allow the rhubarb to start releasing its juices.

Mix together oats, flour, walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. With a pastry blender (or your fingers), cut butter into oat mixture until it forms coarse crumbs. 

Pour rhubarb raspberry mixture into a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with oat topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.

Lemon Poppyseed Coffee Cake

This is an easy coffee cake that I’ve been making recently for get-togethers. The raspberries give
it a little extra kick! This recipe came from a class I took at PCC a few years back with Johnna Dietz.






Lemon Poppyseed Coffee Cake (with Raspberries)


Cake Ingredients:


¼ safflower oil
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs (or 2 tbsp flax meal in 6 tbsp hot water. Let stand,
stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.)
3 tbsp grated lemon peel
1 cup brown rice flour
6 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp tapioca flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
3 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp lemon juice
2/3 cup milk (dairy,
rice, hemp, etc)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries


Topping Ingredients:


¼ cup brown sugar
2 tsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp safflower oil
2 tbsp brown rice flour


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Coat a 9 inch springform pan with oil.


Cream together safflower oil, sugar and eggs on medium speed with an electric mixer until very smooth, about 1 minute. Add lemon peel.


In a medium bowl, combine flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and poppy seeds. In another medium bowl mix the lemon juice, milk and vanilla.


With a whisk, beat the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, alternating with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Do not over-mix. Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the pan. Arrange the raspberries in a single layer on top of the batter, then pour the remaining batter over the raspberries (it’s ok if some of the raspberries peak through).


For the topping, combine the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and mix in the oil with a fork (or your fingers). Sprinkle on the batter. Bake for 35 minutes or until top is goldenbrown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Gluten Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I made these today for my son's preschool class and all the kids loved them. Don't let the lengthy list of ingredients fool you into thinking that this is a difficult recipe. It’s not, and once you make them I guarantee that they will be a hit.





2 cups brown rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp allspice
½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tbsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp white pepper
¾ tsp pumpkin puree
2 cups pureed pumpkin
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup butter or Earth Balance margarine, melted
¾ cup honey (or agave)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
½ cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (except the raisins and pecans if using). Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, water, melted butter or margarine, honey and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two to three portions, gently mixing. Be careful not to over mix. Mix in the raisins and pecans with the last portion of dry ingredients if desired.

Divide into 24 muffin wrappers. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until tops start to turn brown.

Original recipe by Johnna Deitz