Gluten Free Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

This was my first attempt at making a regular recipe into a gluten free recipe. I feel like it was a success and wanted to share it with you all since I have been really lacking in that area lately.

I made this for Thanksgiving by doubling the recipe but I feel like it would be good all throughout the Fall. It's a total comfort food that would transform any weeknight dinner into a relaxing 'let me enjoy the small things in life' meal.

GF Pumpkin Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
16 oz brown rice pasta (I used shells and macaroni)
3 tbsp non-salted butter
3 tbsp gluten free all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
*1/4 cup cornstarch (I used this because I didn't have any guar or xanthan gum to add to the gf flour)
4 cups of milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
2 cups shredded monterey jack
1 cup cubed gruyere
1 cup pumpkin puree
1.5 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp paprika
Sprinkle of nutmeg

1. Cook pasta according to directions on package. Make sure to salt the water as it will flavor the pasta for the dish. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Melt the butter and 1 cup of milk in a saucepan. Add flour and stir as it thickens. Add rosemary and another 2 cups of milk. Continue to stir until smooth.
(If it is not thickening up, add cornstarch. It all depends on the flour you use and the ingredients it has. The milk/flour mixture should get thick so add accordingly)
4. Add all of the cheese to the mixture and stir. Your arm will likely get tired.
5. Add the salt, pepper, pumpkin, cayenne, paprika, and the final cup of milk. Stir, stir, stir to mix it all in.
6. Once it is all smooth, add the pasta and stir it in so it's all covered in the sauce.
7. Place into baking dish and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for about 20 minutes.

This can be made ahead and reheated but like any reheated pasta dish, the noodles won't be as firm as the day before. Still tastes just as good though! Enjoy :)

Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!

These past few months...

Wow, time sure is flying by. I realize that I haven't posted in a while, mainly because I haven't been cooking. So what have I been up to? My life has mainly been revolving around grad school. Like it's actually pretty sad. Like 'homework study party on Halloween' sad. Major nerd alert!

{These make for a CRAZY Saturday night!}

While I have had my nose in my books, I have managed to escape for some breaks to keep my sanity. I guess these pictures below summarize the past few months. Can't wait till the spring when I'm only taking my 2 final classes!

 {Empire State Building on 10th Anniversary of 9/11}

 {Amazing play @ Lincoln Center}

 {Early Fall Thunderstorm}

 {Epic hotdog from Crif Dogs}

 {Latte's duck Halloween costume}

 {Vino in Central Park}

 {Chilly NY day}

 {Unusual snow storm in October}

 {Madison Square Garden}

 {Rangers game}

That's all for now! I hope to bake some goods up for Thanksgiving so stay tuned :)

Bainbridge Island Blueberry Pie

Fun fact: I've never ever made a pie. My mom and I went blueberry picking last week and needed a way to use up the huge bucket of blubes we brought home. Talk about fresh! These berries went from plant to table in only a couple hours (it could've been sooner but I took a nap). Below is the final result.

Blueberry Pie

Ingredients
- Pie crust (Recipe)
- 6 cups of fresh blueberries
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 and  1/4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- egg wash (1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon cream)

1. Make pie crust according to recipe. Place 3/4 in pie dish and mold to sides.
2. Place in refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes.
3. While the crust is chilling, mix blueberries, flour, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in bowl. Add to pie dish.

4. Cover pie with the rest of pie dough. Place in refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes.

5. Bake according to pie crust recipe.
6. Let rest until cooled and then serve...with ice cream!

{This is my second slice if you couldn't tell because I ate the first one

 so fast & forgot to take a picture,  how embarrassing}

*Tip: place on baking sheet while baking incase of spillage

Island Living

I'm finally back on the West Coast after living in NYC for a year and boy does it feel great! I have started to remember how enjoyable living is when I'm not fighting my way through the crowded city on the sidewalk/subway.

I have spent the past few days cooking, ziplining, ferry riding, and relaxing. Here are a few instagram pics from my trip so far. Enjoy!

 {Bainbridge Island-Seattle Ferry}

 {Tonight's Dinner, Homemade Bruschetta}

 {Dinner on the porch watching the golfers}

 {Baby Chicks at the feed place}

{Ziplining in British Columbia}

{Blueberry picking today with my mama, stay tuned for a recipe!}

Baked Meatballs

I am officially on summer vacation. I finished my last final on Wednesday and have three full weeks off! I finally have time to get back into the kitchen. I made the following recipe for my dad as a belated birthday present. Not a very elaborate present but let's hear it for being a grad student on a budget! The meatballs could be used to make meatball subs or added to any pasta dish. These are seriously the easiest meatballs to make. Ever.

Baked Portobello & Beef Meatballs

1 lb lean ground meat (I used a mixture of beef, pork, and lamb but anything would work)

1 1/2 cups of diced portobello mushroom (chop up the caps, remove the gills)

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 egg white

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon diced fresh thyme

2 cloves of minced garlic (more or less depending on how much you like garlic)

salt and pepper

tomato sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, mix meat, mushrooms, and bread crumbs together. 

3. Add egg white, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, and garlic. Combine until well mixed.

4. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

5. Roll into small balls and place in mini cupcake/muffin tin. 

6. Bake for 20 minutes.

7. Remove from tin and let rest on paper towel to remove excess fat.

8. Cover with tomato sauce and serve.

I ended up making Smitten Kitchen's crispy potato roast as well {recipe}.

Also, don't forget to visit me @ East West Eats :)

Happy August!

{taken in sunny Chicago this past weekend, see related posts here} 

Is it me or is summer going by way too fast? I only have 4 more classes left before my summer vacation officially starts. No class = cooking time! Check back soon for some way belated recipe posts. Hope you're all having a good summer!

Announcement

Hi loves! I created a new blog today East West Eats to document my food adventures. I will hopefully post way more often there since no cooking will be involved! Hope to see you over there :)