Macaroni Vegetable Salad

When I was sick and in the middle of a move a dear friend brought us over a meal. It was so good! Much better then the Chex I had been eating for every meal while life was so crazy. I attempted to recreate it here.

Ingredients:

8- 16 oz Rice Noodles of your choice cooked and drained according to package directions (More or less depending on if you want more veggies versus pasta)
1 cup Tomatoes Diced (pictured above I used yellow and red tomatoes, but I've also used grape tomatoes and those are very good)
Handful of Spinach washed and cut into ribbons or chopped
1/2 Red Bell Pepper chopped into small pieces
2 Cellery stocks chopped into small pieces
1 Small head of broccoli chopped into bite sized pieces (Optional. I happened to be out of broccoli the last time I made this)
Italian Dressing of your choice
Chicken (optional)

Directions:
Mix all of the vegetables and pasta. Add dressing and mix well. In the above picture I added some chicken that I had previously canned. We have also added grilled chicken which is wonderful in the summer.

Strawberry Cake

 Our little girl loves strawberries so for her first birthday I searched for a gluten free strawberry cake recipe. I found this recipe over at gluten free mommy. I topped it with a cream cheese frosting. I didn't have almond mill so I substituted millet. It was pretty tasty and the birthday girl loved it. 

Taco Bake

A new favorite in our family is Taco Bake. It is adapted from this recipe I spotted on Pinterest:

3 cups cooked taco seasoned meat.
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 green or red pepper chopped (sometimes I add two because we really like peppers in our house)
1 package of gluten free spiral pasta cooked and drained (I have used rice noodles or corn noodles. Both turn out well.) 
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

In a large sauce pan combine: taco meat, tomato sauce and peppers. Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile combine pasta and sour cream in 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Top with meat mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 325 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

I recommend doubling the recipe. It's great for leftovers.