Whats for Dinner?

Its Tuesday. I keep having to remind myself, "No Ashley, its not Friday... its Tuesday". In dire need of some comfort food but who wants to slave away for hours to make the comfort food when all you want to do is cozy up on the couch and eat until your full? I have a solution- Chicken Spinach Goat Cheese Lasagna.

So slight disclaimer- We have found that our kiddos, even Lilli our most food sensitive little, can handle goat cheese. We don't give it to them in drastic amounts but they have fared pretty well considering all the allergies.

I know most of us cringe when we think "homemade lasagna" but honestly it takes less than 30 minutes. Promise.


Ingredients (Now you will see how I cheat!)

- 1lb bulk chicken sausage (I get mine from whole foods)
-1 bag frozen organic chopped spinach
-1 container of minced onions, garlic and shallots (trader joes has them and I buy a bunch and stick them in the freezer!)
-1 jar of your favorite fresh marinara sauce (I use a pomodoro sauce with capers and olives)
-1 package of no boil (!!!!!) gluten free lasagna noodles RP's Pasta Company
-1 package of organic goat cheese squares (whole foods and trader joes both carry these)

Directions-
Preheat oven to 350
Saute the onions, garlic and shallots in a bit of coconut oil (or olive if nut allergy), add in bulk chicken and saute until cooked through, add in frozen spinach.
Pour a spoonful of marinara sauce into bottom of lasagna pan, add a layer of noodles, add chicken spinach mixture, layer of goat cheese, layer of marinara. Repeat until you fill your lasagna pan ending with a layer of goat cheese. Place in oven for 20 minutes and then Broil for the last 5 if you like it golden like we do. Enjoy!

There are tons of ways you could amp this up... add in some creamy goat cheese logs, some rosemary, etc. Feel free to post your variations!

Pasta Pleeeeease...

What girl doesn't love a good bowl of Pasta? What Human?? I have been on the hunt for good GF/DF pasta and finally have found it. Gone are the days of soggy mushy rice noodles that stick together in clumps at the bottom of the pot, half cooked and half hard. Gross.

RP's Pasta Company makes some phenomenal GF/DF pasta options. They even have "no boil" lasagna noodles that are to die for. I have been making GF/DF lasagna about once a week lately since I found their lasagna noodles. The pasta IS on the slightly pricier side however you know you are getting good quality.

I haven't found them anywhere other than Whole Foods but I'm sure if you ask your local grocery they would be happy to order them for you. I typically buy a few packages at a time and throw them in the freezer. Aside for being GF/DF these really are the closest store bought noodles to homemade... you know the kind that your grandma, or in my case, Aunt Cinde, used to slave over for hours. YUM.

If you need any help with easy add ins let me know! Broccoli chopped up really fine and smothered in red sauce is a fav in our house.

So, all you mamas, papas, and kiddos who love to eat pasta but dont want to have a melt down afterwards... or a stomach ache for a week- Your Welcome.

So much to cover... so little time.

I have started about seven different posts... each time I begin on a subject it reminds me of another. A post about Bread quickly turns in a post about almond butter which quickly turns into a post about jam and refined sugars and how they make my kids SPAZ out. Which then turns into a post about how even as an adult, myself and several of my girlfriends get ultra "moody" after eating gluten. I end up with a handful of half written posts. All of them are so important and its hard to narrow it down on which to touch on first. So why don't we do this... Tell me what you want to hear. Kids school snack, school lunches, healthy vs unhealthy proteins, bread choices, nut butter choices, GMO issues, corn issues, sugar issues. Just tell me. Other wise my head is a explosion of thoughts. Ok GO! (comment below)

MORE than Rice Cakes and Mangos...

Its good to be back to the Blog World. Its been awhile so allow me some grace as I get back into the swing.

When people find out that we, as a family, are GF (gluten free) DF (dairy free) and GMOF (genetically modified organism free) Well first their eyes almost pop out of their head as they try to wrap their brain around this unidentified thought and THEN their first question is always, without a doubt, "What do you eat?!". My answer is this : "More than Rice Cakes and Mangos". We eat everything.. Everything thats GF, DF, and GMOF that is!

Recently I have realized that more and more of our friends, kids friends and even family members are looking to "change/balance/create" some new eating lifestyle. I have been blessed with a Health Nut (I mean NUT) Dad who, along with my mom, taught me from a very young age all about the glorys of healthy eating. "Ash, the reason you are screaming and throwing a tempertantrum is because you snuck a cookie in the bakery department of Smiths.", my Dad would tell a blubbering spastic *me* at the age of 5.