I love pasta!!

Ok, this one is real easy, and yes, it has to do with pasta!  I love gluten-free pasta and I love hummus, so naturally I decided to combine the two.  Then I added a little goat cheese to top it off.  It was so yummy.  Just add the amount of hummus you desire for taste.  I used the Trader Joe's Chipotle hummus!  I love the kick it has to it!! 

David's Black Bean Rodeo

1 can black beans
1/2 cup gluten-free BBQ sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Add black beans and BBQ sauce to a glass bowl and microwave for 40-60 seconds.  (Make sure and cover them with a paper towel or something.  You can even warm them up in a pan if you would prefer.)
With a food processor, carefully process until smooth and creamy.  Add the rest of the ingredients and enjoy!  David put them in a corn tortilla (which we warmed up in the microwave for 20 seconds in between two damp paper towels) and added cheese.  I have to say that this kid wouldn't eat black beans for anything before.  He named these and gives them 2 thumbs up! 

I can't believe it's Zucchini-Devil's Food snack cake!

Cake: 
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten-free devil's food cake mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup shredded unpeeled zucchini ( about 1 medium)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP vanilla
1/3 cup water
3 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom of a 8 or 9 inch square pan.  Add all ingredients into a mixer and mix on low for 30 seconds or until well-blended.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake for 35-48 minutes depending on your pan size and oven.  You will know it is ready when you can insert a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean. 
I made powdered sugar frosting for the top of it.  Haven't told David that it has zucchini in it yet!   I'll let you know how that turns out!  I hope you enjoy it!

Pizza place in Franklin and Aunt April's yummy cake!

Yesterday, David and I had the wonderful opportunity to drive to Franklin, Tn and eat at a pizza place that has gluten-free pizza.  It's not a very big place as far as places to sit, but we were able to sit at the one table available.  I think it's mostly a take out pizza place though.  David ordered a meat lover's kind of pizza and I ordered a pick-your-own toppings pizza.  Mine had artichoke hearts, banana peppers, red onions, white sauce, spinach and Roma tomatoes.  The wait time for the pizza's was 15 minutes and while we waited, well, there just happened to be a very large gluten-free chocolate cake starring at us!  It should not surprise everyone that after about an hour an 15 minutes in the car and of course being completely famished, we decided this delicious looking cake would be a fabulous appetizer!  To make this moment even more spectacular, the baker of the cake was waiting for her pizza too!  April, who is owner and chief baker of Aunt April's Bakery, was so much fun to talk too!  She was a wealth of information about places to eat in Nashville that have gluten-free menu's (menu's with more than two items to choose from).  We talked about cooking and all sorts of gluten-free stuff!  While we were talking, David was eating his cake.  He had a look of pure satisfaction!  I guess he was so busy eating, that he didn't hear her tell me the recipe for the chocolate cake was a vegan recipe that she had adapted, but that it was still vegan.  Of course, I'm not sure that he knows what that means anyways, but either way, he enjoyed the cake!  Now, back to the pizza's.  They were delicious!  And for those of you that don't know, I do not have to eat gluten-free, only David.  He's the one with celiac.  I just choose to eat it for his sake, plus I do find it to be easier on the digestive system.  Matteo's will definitely be somewhere we go again and since they carry Aunt April's baked goods (they carry her brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies too!) well as far as I am concerned it's a win-win for all involved!  http://www.matteospizza.com/ and http://www.auntaprilsbakery.com/ 

David's Cracker Delight

Ok, this is SUPER easy, but I had to share because David was involved and since this is about "our" cookbook (as he liked to remind me) I will share our recipe with you!

multi-grain gluten-free crackers (or whatever kind of gluten-free crackers you happen to have)
laughing cow sun-dried tomato & basil cheese
your favorite lunch meat (or you can use smoked salmon)

You take the cracker, put some of the cheese on it and top it with the meat.  You could layer it with a sliced cucumber or tomato, too!  I will say that I was very surprised how many crackers I could cover with one of the laughing cow cheese wedges!  It went a long way!  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Caroline's Monday Salad with Cilantro & Lime dressing

baby spinach, probably about 1-2 cups
herbed goat cheese, about 1/3 cup crumbled
peperoncini, about 2 TBSP sliced, I use Mezzetta's deli-sliced in the jar.( I love these things!)
green onions, 1 TBSP diced
cilantro, as much as you want!  I love this stuff too!
1 tomato, diced
Layer, starting with spinach. 
DRESSING:  1/4 cup olive oil, 2 TBSP lime juice, 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, 1/4 tsp of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp of dried or fresh cilantro (told you I love this stuff!). 

This dressing will make more than enough!  I mixed it up and used 2 TBSP on my salad and it was perfect!  I did crumble up tortilla chips for my topping, which added that special crunch to it! 
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Betty Crocker gluten-free chocolate cake (from the box)

Ok, I know that this is a box mix, but I wanted to share what how I had to use an alternative to make my cake.  The cake mix calls for 1 stick of butter, 3 eggs, and 1 cup of water.  I used 1 stick of margarine (it's all I had), 1 1/4 cup milk, and 2 heaping tablespoons of potato starch.  I mixed it in the mixer for a few minutes, followed the rest of the directions, after some time in the oven, out came a yummy chocolate gluten-free cake!  I hope you enjoy it!