Gluten Free Breakfast Idea!

Ok, I've thrown some interesting meals together during this GF journey. Today I thought of an interesting breakfast idea that fits the bill nutritionally and was a huge hit, despite it being a little odd. Breakfast Baked Sweet Potatoes! That's right! Just take away the roasted chicken and vegetables and you have the perfect breakfast food. Funny that it never occurred to me before. What are some of your favorite (but odd) breakfast foods? They don't have to be GF! Just share!

The Best Pasta Salad Ever

It may seem a little arrogant for me to say that this recipe is "the best pasta salad ever," but that is a direct quote from my husband. He likes pasta salad about as much as the next guy but he actually got up and got my camera to take a picture of it and made me write down the recipe. Like many great ideas, it was birthed from a lack of ingredients and a little ingenuity. I knew what I had to work with and I used it! I have repeated the recipe now with great success and would like to share it with you. I am including brand names here because any variation may change the recipe to, like, the second best pasta salad in the world (and we wouldn't want that, now, would we?) I'll post pictures for this later.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Cook 8-10 oz of mostaccioli pasta (small penne - or other small noodle) according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold running water until cooled.

For the dressing, in large bowl, whisk together:

1/3 cup Blue Plate mayonnaise

1/3 cup Daisy light sour cream

1/4 cup Nakano rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Add to the dressing:

1/2 green bell pepper, minced

1/4 cup minced Italian flat leaf parsley

cooked noodles

Then, gently fold in:

1 pouch Star Kist Garlic and Herb Tuna

Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve. This goes great on top of a simple mixed-green salad with vinaigrette dressing.

Lovin' Them Sweet Potatoes

It is now November and I am so excited about all the good stuff we get to fix in the upcoming holiday season. I took pictures of this salad a few weeks ago because it was such an unusual way to use sweet potatoes. With all the sweet potatoes in our future, I thought I could share this cool idea. I don't always have french fries in my freezer but I always have Alexia Sweet Potato Fries there. They're quick, tasty and much more nutritious than your traditional fast-food variety of fry. We eat them with wings (they taste great in blue cheese dressing!) and in place of regular fries with any meal. I invented this use for them out of desperation when I literally had no food in the house! Sometimes the best tastes arrive this way. It's just your basic salad with grilled chicken, red bell peppers, chopped parsley and crispy sweet potato fries! For the dressing, I chose a Parsley Lime Vinaigrette from the Joy of cooking. All of these flavors melded so well together and the dressing was a perfect compliment! If you love sweet potatoes as much as I do, get excited about them this year and find some new and interesting ways to eat them. Not only are they so delicious; but they are so great for you too!