G-Free Meal of the Week

When I was first married, Michael and I ate a lot of packaged meals. Hamburger Helper's Cheeseburger Macaroni was one of our favorites. As the kids came along, I started adding veggies to the mix to teach them how wonderful these healthy items could be in a multitude of dishes. Over the years, I learned how to make most of those go-to meals my way from scratch.
Now that I have to eat gluten free, I have had to learn to make them in a way that suits our needs and tastes. The following is my latest creation. What a great hit it was, too! I even got my pickiest eater to try artichokes. This is a great busy night meal, for those nights when you don't have two hours to prepare dinner. The leftovers are great for lunch the next day, just add a little milk to "reconstitute" the cheese sauce.

G-Free Cheeseburger Macaroni Casserole

Ingredients:
1 Box Quinoa Elbow Macaroni
1 lb ground meat (beef or turkey)
3 T EVOO
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 c. Bob's Red Mill GF flour
1 1/2 c. gf beef stock
2 c. cheese of choice, grated
1 jar marinated artichoke quarters
2 c. frozen California medley (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots)
2 T Dijon mustard

1. Make pasta according to package directions. Make sure to salt water when adding the pasta to flavor the pasta.
2. Brown meat in olive oil. Add spice to the meat as it is cooking.
3. Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic to meat. Cooking till soft and onions are translucent. Add artichokes.
4. Add veggies to pasta water during the last 3 minutes of cooking process. Drain and put back into hot pot. Set aside.
5. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture and blend to cook away paste taste. Add stock slowly stirring to make the gravy.
6. Stir in cheese and mustard till cheese is melted.
7. Pour cheese/meat sauce over pasta and veggies.
8. Serve.

This recipe makes about 10 servings.

Make a batch and let me know how you and your family liked the recipe. This is a true test of a dinner recipe. By the way, I used Sharp cheddar, provolone, and Parmesan cheeses, but feel free to use your fave cheeses.

Happy eating!