Rice and Cannellini Bean Soup

A friend from church brought me this yummy soup right after I'd had my second daughter. I immediately asked for the recipe and we've been eating it ever since. Cannellini beans are white kidney beans that are sometimes hard to find. You could probably substitute with another white bean.

Rice and Cannellini Bean Soup

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion; diced
2 medium celery ribs; thinly sliced
1/3 cup italian parsley; finely chopped
1 large clove garlic; minced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes; drained
2 14 oz cans cannellini or other white beans; rinsed and drained
4 14 oz can chicken broth
1 cup arborio or other rice
to taste pepper; freshly ground
1/2 cup parmesan cheese; freshly grated

1. Heat oil in large pot over med. heat.
2. Add onion, celery, parsley and saute until onion turns golden, about 5 min.
3. Add garlic, stir well, and saute 1 min. longer.
4. Stir in the tomatoes and cook, stirring 2 or 3 times, for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the beans and broth, and bring to a boil.
6. Add the rice, then reduce heat to very slow but steady simmer.
7. Cover and cook until rice is al dente (tender but firm to the bite), about 15 min.
8. Season with liberal grinding of pepper, serve with grated cheese.

White Cake

I made this just the other night. I have to say this isn't my favorite cake, but both my mother and sister-in-law wanted the recipe. So, here it is. It's more like a typical gluten-free cake that is more spongy and less moist. You could also really taste the butter. I'd like to add more vanilla to it and see if that helps the flavor. It is a little more bland and less sweet so it probably needs frosting. (My family scrapes the frosting off when we eat cake so I usually like sweeter cakes without frosting.) If you'd like a really moist, sweet on its own cake go to this post. I prefer that one to this one.

White Cake

2 3/4 cup gluten-free flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs

1. Sift all dry ingredients.
2. Combine milk and vanilla.
3. Beat butter in large bowl until creamy.
4. Gradually add sugar to butter. Continue to beat until light and fluffy (2-8 Minutes).
5. Add 3 eggs, one at a time beating well in between.
6. Beating for 1 minute and scraping bowl, add remaining egg and beat 2 minutes.
7. Add 2/3 of flour mixture, just until incorporated.
8. Add milk mixture alternating with the flour mixture. End with flour just until blended.
9. Spread in pan and bake at 350°F for 35-37 minutes.

Lady and Sons Baked Spaghetti

This is one of our favorite recipes and it gets lots of rave reviews when we feed it to people. I changed the original recipe to use stewed tomatoes instead of green peppers and diced tomatoes because I didn't have any green peppers on hand. We liked it so much we kept it that way. The best gluten-free noodles are the Tinkyada brand noodles. I use half a package of the brown rice spaghetti for this recipe.

Lady and Sons Baked Spaghetti

1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes; diced
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup onion; diced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh parsley; chopped (I have used a couple of pinches of dried)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt (I use lemon pepper seasoning)
2 small bay leaves
1 lb ground beef
8 oz gluten-free spaghetti; uncooked
1 cup cheddar cheese; grated
1 cup monterey jack cheese; grated

1. In a stockpot, combine the stewed tomatoes (and juice from can), tomato sauce, water, onions, garlic, parsley, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, garlic powder, italian seasoning, sugar, seasoning salt, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce the heat and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
2. Crumble the ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until fully cooked, with no pink color remaining. Drain the fat from the meat, and then add the ground beef to the stockpot. Simmer for 20 more minutes.
3. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
4. Cover the bottom of a 13 by 9 x 12-inch pan with sauce. Add a layer of pasta and then a little less than 1/2 of each cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the sauce.
5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350°F.
6. Top the casserole with the remaining cheese, return it to the oven, and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 more minutes. Cut into squares before serving. (I have to admit I don't usually do this last step and I don't cut it in squares either.)

Taco Soup

Lots of people probably have favorite taco soup recipes, but this is one that is really easy and that we love. You can throw it into the crockpot or just heat it on the stove. I like that it is more chunky and thick. The original recipe didn't call for the onion or garlic, so you could leave it out. I just thought the recipe needed something to round it out a little.

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef; cooked
2 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
1 can corn; or
1 cup frozen corn and 1 cup water
1 can (14 oz) beans (I like black)
2 cans (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic; minced
1/2 cup onion; diced

1. Brown ground beef; drain.
2. Add everything else and let it simmer as long as desired. You can also put it in a crockpot and let it simmer.

Just to clarify, you only need to add the water if you are using frozen corn instead of canned.

Garnish with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, etc.