Holiday Leftover Gluten Free School Lunch Idea

Hope your GF school year is going well. It gets boring about this time of year when they have eaten everything on your usual lunch box menu over and over and over again!

In the R.O.C.K. Diner we posted a recipe and pictures of the easiest GF quiches we had ever made.

When I made the first crust I had enough dough to make into 2, 4" round pie crusts and make mini quiches!

Seizing the opportunity for making a healthy, quick heat up lunch which could be frozen and reheated in a safe microwave;-)

Here they are:

GF Mini Quiches in 4" rounds made with xtra sharp cheddar cheese, broccoli, & Applewood smoked bacon

You can use the recipe found here: After Holidays GF Quiche
Bon Appetit!

Gluten Free Italian Pasta Salad - Back To School Side Dish

It's school time again and parents are beginning to prepare for the year's lunch challenges.

With the option of sandwiches on our favorite bread by Udi's Gluten Free Bakery my daughter likes to have a side dish to accompany it. And instead of just throwing some Utz chips in each and every time, I like to serve a side of gluten free pasta salad with some fruit to accompany it. Our favorite pasta for pasta salads is Farmo corn & rice Fusilli. But if you have a corn allergy to deal with, then Mrs. Leeper's Rice Vegetable Twists work nicely. I buy either brand at Healthy Home Market or Earth Fare in the Charlotte area.

This recipe is a take-off from the one on glutenfree.com and makes enough you can send it for a few lunches or to serve the next night for dinner. It's even better after a day of marinating in the fridge:-)

Gluten Free Mediterranean Pasta Salad

4 cups (uncooked) pasta, cooked according to package directions

3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped

20 cherry tomatoes, quartered

3/4 cup roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, if tolerated

1/2 cup of minced red onion

1/2 cup of celery
3/4 cup of shredded carrot

4 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend

1/2 cup prepared Italian or Greek dressing (more if desired)

Combine all ingredients. Toss to combine. Chill for 1hour. Serve and enjoy.

Taste before adding salt as the feta and the olives are salty.

Kid Friendly Gluten Free Alternatives That Are Healthier & Easy

Two of the mothers of some of our R.O.C.K. Stars had an email thread going on recipes which I found to have some very good ideas for gluten free kid friendly treats. It is hard to find good ideas for inexpensive and easy gluten free recipes for kids which they adore and to also fill in the gaps so that they don't feel they are missing out on old favorites. If your kids are like mine, they eat pigs in a blanket or pizza rolls regardless of warm or cool...

And just think - You can actually make two options that are usually laced with questionable ingredients in a healthier way:-)

Gluten Free Pigs In A Blanket

One package of Chebe Pizza Dough

One package of Gluten Free Smoked Cocktail Sausages - There are many brands available in major grocery stores like John Morrell smoked sausages available at Bi-Lo. If you are nitrate free there are many available for mail order online:-)

Optional addition is cheese or cheese filled sausages

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the gluten free sausages on a pan and stick into preheated oven for about 10 minutes to precook them.

Prepare the Chebe dough mix as directed on their package but add a little more milk until the dough becomes slightly gooey.

Cool the sausages and then wrap a small bit of the Chebe dough around each one - A little goes a long way. (Wrap the cheese around them first if you want to add it)

Then place the dough wrapped sausages back into the oven for around 15 minutes or until the dough lightly browns. Serve with gluten free katsup, mustard, BBQ sauce or plain - Whatever you desire:-)

Click to view actual label of ingredients and nutritional values or lack thereof in Totino's Pizza Rolls

Gluten Free Pizza Rolls (Better Than Totino's)

Use Chebe Pizza Dough Mix to make "Totinos" pizza rolls...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare Chebe Pizza Dough Mix as suggested on package.

Roll it really thin, cut in rectangles and place pizza toppings in the middle of rectangle. Close up the rectangle by bringing ends together to make a "pizza pocket".  Bake for only about 10-12 min.