The Most Gluten Free Friendly City in the World...

We went to the Grand Canyon
while staying in Flagstaff.

Or in Arizona, at least - Flagstaff has got to be the most gluten free friendly place I have ever been.  I visited earlier this week with my mom, who stayed for the week since I had spring break.

During the first night of our visit, we had dinner at the Northern Pines, which is actually located in a hotel.  The waitress was very helpful and knew that items were gluten free and which were not.  Their menu has a small "gf" symbol next to the items that are gluten free, which is a very useful tool.

We had dinner at the Beaver Street Brewery, where they have a separate gluten free menu for those who are gluten intolerant.  The Brewery is located in downtown Flagstaff, which is a cute little area with freight trains that run through the town every half hour or so.  The gluten free menu at Beaver Street is similar to the regular menu, though shorter, and contains only those items that are or can be made gluten free.  It is always great to have your own menu rather than having to ask lots of questions or page through a big binder of allergen information.  I ordered a pizza on gluten free dough and it was pretty good.  The gluten free dough was soft, but good so I kept tearing it off and eating it even after I had eaten what I wanted of the pizza.

We went to Mix for breakfast the morning we left.  I ordered gluten free pancakes.  They have quite an extensive pancake menu and I really wanted to try the carrot cake pancakes, but they aren't able to make those gluten free.  I had regular old gluten free pancakes with the raspberry swirl butter.  The pancakes weren't great, but my mom ordered an omelette that she loved.  I just loved that there was a gluten free option for pretty much everything on the menu.

Simple Pasta Dish

I have made this pasta dish a few times, and it's really good.  I am not a tomato fan, but I like this because the tomatoes add to the flavor.

I followed a recipe from Self.com, but I used gluten free pasta instead.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz rigatoni
• 1 container (11 oz) cherry tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/3 lb Italian-style pork sausage, casing removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, quartered
• 1/4 cup loosely packed parsley, chopped (optional)

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 400°. Cook pasta as directed on package until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Place tomatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tsp oil; season with salt and black pepper. Toss tomatoes with your hands to coat. Roast tomatoes until skins begin to wrinkle and split, 8 to 10 minutes. Heat a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan over high heat, 1 minute. Add remaining 1 tbsp oil. Cook sausage, stirring, until golden, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic and tomatoes; stir to combine. Cook until garlic turns brown, about 1 minute. Add reserved cooking water; stir. Reduce heat to low. Add olives and pasta. Increase heat to medium-high; cook 1 minute. Add parsley, if desired. Season with salt and black pepper.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Oh, sick days...  I remember when I was a kid, my mom would make me chicken noodle soup and I would watch Ever After on VHS.  As a high schooler, I made my own soup and watched the same classic movie.  Now, as an adult, I am gluten-free and had to find a way to make some soup for myself.

Yesterday I went to the doctor and found out I have bronchitis.  Today I called in sick because I didn't think I could stand and talk and walk around all day for my seventh graders.  I went to the store, stocked up on Mucinex and cold medicine, and returned home with a humidifier in hand.

Soup time!  As lunch rolls around, it's time to make sick day soup.  Here's what you'll need:

• Gluten free pasta - I really like Ancient Harvest Quinoa Rotelle
• Chicken broth - make sure to read the ingredients to double check for gluten
• Carrots
• Peas
• Chicken - I like to use leftover chicken.  I typically pan-cook or bake chicken with salt, pepper, and Prudhomme's Poultry Magic because you can keep the chicken and serve it with rice, in tacos or quesadillas, etc.  It's very versatile

If your noodles aren't already cooked, you'll need to bring the chicken broth to a boil and cook the noodles.  I have not cooked gluten free noodles in chicken broth before, so you may want to cook them separately and add them to the broth after.

Bring the broth to a boil.  Add the chicken and the carrots.  Then add the noodles.  When the broth begins to simmer again, add the peas and cook for only one or two minutes more.  The noodles will grow larger and puffier.

Serve with gluten free crackers, if you have them.  Enjoy and feel better!

Turkey Burgers with Spinach and Feta

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 package of chopped spinach
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 ounces feta cheese
• Hamburger buns, if you want them

Here's what you'll do:

Heat a pan on the stove or fire up the grill.  Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl.  Form them into patties - my batch made 6 patties.  Throw those patties into the pan or on the grill and cook for about 15-20 minutes, until they are no longer pink in the center.

Garlic Butter Steak

Ignore the exorbitant amount of sweet
potato fries.  I love 'em!

Yummy!  I just made this for dinner and it was fabulous.

Here's what you'll need:

• Steak, any type or size
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic

Heat a pan on the stove.  I don't grill, so I melted the butter and cooked the steaks in the same pan.  Easy cleanup!  Chop up your garlic and put it in the pan.  Put the butter in right after and move it around so it melts.  Once it's melted, pour it into a bowl and set it aside.  After peppering and salting your steaks, cook them however you like them.  4-5 minutes on each side is good.  Foodie tip from my gluten-eating boyfriend: your steak should feel like the tip of your nose if it's more well done.  That's how I like my steaks.

Once the steaks are done, brush some of the garlic butter on each side and let them sit for a few minutes.  Enjoy!

This amount of butter and garlic makes 2 servings.  Readjust if you're cooking for fewer or more people.