Quick and Fresh Personal Pizza's

I enjoy being gluten free more than I had ever expected, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there is still certain things I miss. Everyone thinks that you would miss the food the most, but I found the hardest part for me was the convenience of staying in and being able to order out. Whether it's pizza, chinese, etc. it's nice to have those nights where you don't have to put much thought into a meal and can just eat after a long day. I remember when I was 11, my parents bought pizza stones and that was the start of our experiments with the pizza making process. We would have parties and provide crusts for everyone with an array of different toppings and let everyone go to work on their own personal pizza. Those memories all rushed back when I was in Whole Foods and saw Udi's pre-made gf/df/sf/nf pizza crusts. I normally try to make my recipes from scratch but I figured I'd come up with something quick, easy, and that the whole family could do, just like mine used to. Not only is this pizza much healthier than your local pizza joint, but it's extremely fun to make. Provide different toppings to suit everyone's individual taste and you're sure to have a pleased crowd. Smacznego! (Enjoy your meal) and stay healthy.

Pre-made gluten free pizza crust of your choice (I use Udi's)
2 cups of cherry tomatoes 
1 cup of Daiya pre-shredded dairy free cheese
1/2 tbsp of each-dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and rosemary
Pinch of salt and pepper


Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine your cherry tomatoes and spices. Crush with a mashed potato masher to the consistency of your choice. I like tomatoes so I kept them in bigger chunks. Now, take your crust out of the freezer and brush it with olive oil. Coat crust with a thin layer of cheese to help tomatoes stick. Then spread tomatoes evenly on crust and top with remaining cheese. I like to keep mine simple and top with fresh basil but now is when you can add the toppings of your choice. Pop in the oven for 8-11 minutes or until edges are brown then enjoy.

BLT Rotini Pasta

This is another simple, but tasty meal. When I came up with this recipe I was living with a friend who always kept our refrigerator packed full of food containing gluten. Even though I knew I couldn't eat any of it, I would always stare in at our stocked refrigerator and just think about what all I was "missing". One day I opened our fridge and there it was. The half eaten BLT. I was all out of my gluten free bread and felt  a bad craving coming on, but instead of just staring at that sandwich, I decided to take the all of the ingredients that we had sans my gluten free bread, and see what I could come up with. So here it is, my BLT pasta. It's a great way to honor a classic sandwich and turn a laid back meal into a sit-down dinner that provides tons of protein from the quinoa pasta, not to mention great left overs. Dober Tek! (Enjoy your meal) and stay healthy.


BLT Rotini Pasta:
8oz rottini quinoa pasta
1/2 cup of olive oil
4 pieces of bacon (make sure it's gluten free)
1 1/2 packed cups of fresh spinach
1 large finely chopped tomato
1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
Pinch of salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil and add a touch of salt, then pasta.
While pasta is cooking, in a separate saucepan fry bacon. Once crispy, take out and place on paper towels for excess fat to drip off.
In the same saucepan used for bacon, without draining grease, add olive oil, garlic, and tomato.
Saute until tomatoes become "mushy" and thicken a little.
Add spinach and saute until it is cooked.
By now your pasta should be done. Drain water, then add the sauce in the saucepan. Once noodles are completely coated, take your bacon and rip into small pieces over pasta mixture.
Mix together and serve.