vegetable

Veggie Lasagna

Ingredients:

  • 8 pieces of Tinkyáda Organic Brown Rice Pasta Lasagne*
  • 10 ounces of frozen chopped spinach, thawed**
  • 1 cup broccoli, chopped
  • 1 cup asparagus, chopped
  • 24 ounces of marinara sauce
  • 8 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
  • Mozzarella cheese, grated
  • Italian spices
  • Olive oil
  • Salt

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the lasagna in a large pan of boiling water for approximately 10 minutes, allowing the lasagna to cook. Add spinach, broccoli, and asparagus to another pan; add olive oil, Italian spices, and salt to the veggies. Allow to them cook for approximately 5 minutes. Layer a large rectangular dish with marinara sauce followed by 3 pieces of lasagna. Make sure the lasagna completely covers the surface area of the dish. Then add half of the prepared veggies and spread evenly. Add half of the ricotta and spread evenly. Repeat the layering: add sauce, followed by 2 pieces of lasagna, veggies, and ricotta. For the last round of layering, add a thin layer of sauce, 3 pieces of lasagna, the remainder of sauce, and mozzarella cheese to cover the sauce. Bake the lasagna for 30 minutes.

*I have been using Tinkyáda lasagna for many years and have made many delicious lasagnas! However, feel free to use any brand of gluten-free lasagna that is to your liking

**You can also use fresh spinach if you desire

Asparagus Soup

Ingredients:

  • 8-9 sticks of asparagus, cut
  • 2 tsp. unsalted butter
  • 2 cloves, whole
  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp. rice flour
  • 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup low-fat milk
  • 2 tsp. mozzarella cheese, grated

Boil the cut asparagus. In a saucepan, melt the unsalted butter and add the cloves, ground cinnamon, and chopped onions. Sauté the mixture until the onions have browned. Then add rice flour to the saucepan and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add black pepper, salt, and the boiled asparagus to the mixture. Stir well. Put the mixture in a food processor for 3-4 minutes or blend until smooth. Put the blended mixture into a pot on the stove. While on low to medium heat, add milk and mozzarella cheese to the soup. Stir and add water to desired consistency (thick or smooth soup). Serve hot and enjoy!

 

Snap Custom Pizza

Hello, fellow gluten-free eaters! Things are starting to look up – summer is right around the corner – endless sunshine, Capri’s water ice, and family vacations. As I finish up the tail-end of tests and exams, I’ve discovered some great new eateries around the area. Being a teenager myself, I like to think pizza is a main/the-most-important food group for all teenagers alike (and its not just me, right?).

Snap Custom Pizza is a relatively new pizza place in Ardmore. I can’t say I have actually been in person, however I felt the need to write about it simply after eating their gluten-free pizza. Yes, they have a gluten-free crust option with only a $1 additional charge. I have to say, that is the smallest minimum charge I’ve ever seen – honestly it’s outrageous how much extra items can cost when they are gluten-free. Anyways, during crunch time for exams, I tried a delicious Farmer’s Market Pizza. Garlic, mozzarella, mushrooms, roasted peppers, arugula, cherry tomatoes, ricotta on a thin, crispy, and yummy gluten-free crust– the whole deal. Now that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, and yes, they do have many other prefixed options, however what they are really known for is their custom pizza. It essentially takes six easy steps to create your ideal pizza: choose a foundation, pick a sauce, choose your cheeses, add some protein, throw on your vegetables, and finally garnish with finishing touched. It’s that easy. And for a set price! And we all know we have certain foods we just aren’t a huge fan of and certain toppings that we can’t stand on pizza, hence making a custom pizza sounds a like a dream come true (at least I think it does!).

Going back to the crust for a minute, just a note, I really enjoyed the crust! And it can be hard to find good gluten-free crusts, however if you’re not a fan of thin crusts, I would not recommend this. No, it’s not as thing as the crust from Jules Thin Crust Pizza, however it is quite similar to Udi’s Pizza Crust in thickness. Not necessarily a bad thing or a good thing, but rather something to keep in mind.

Anyways, I’m going to keep this short and sweet, definitely a great place with great pizza!

Cheers,

Anika