Gluten Free Spinach Potato Pie

I had class this weekend, but I still feel well-rested. It's Sunday and we almost adopted another kitten.  We have one adopted cat already, Loki, that we rescued from the Catnip Adoption Agency. I'm always worried that Loki gets lonely, especially since Mindy and I are constantly out of the house and on the move.  However, Mindy had an allergic reaction to the little black kitten we played with at the pet store, so we decided to wait.  Just about every time we have breakfast at the Gateway Diner, we walk over to a nearby pet store to play with the puppies and kittens, and check out the newest salt-water arrivals.  Afterwards we go for a little hike, which is exactly what we did today. 

While walking through the woods we noticed a substantial increase in bird-life.  We also had a close encounter with a groundhog.  We were climbing up a path when I noticed a groundhog cross in front of us and hide behind a tree.  A man with a small beagle was walking behind us and his dog came face to face with the groundhog.  Startled, the groundhog ran toward Mindy and I, went right between our legs and then turned around, stepping on my foot with its left paw, in order to get a good look at the barking threat nearby.  It then ran up the hillside and disappeared into a hole.  It was a pretty cool wild-life experience:) I've never been that close to a groundhog in the wild before.  After we returned home we began creating our shopping list for this week's planned meals.  Last week I made a number of great meals, but this one was my favorite!  The process is a little involved, but the tastiness of this dish makes it completely worth the extra labor.  

We used honey mustard, but feel free to use any kind of mustard you like (ex. spicy-brown, honey-dijon, regular hot dog mustard, etc.).  However, don't use frozen spinach.  Fresh spinach is much better, and those easy-packs of fresh spinach you find in the grocery store near the ready-made bags of salad are typically the exact amount you'll need for this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds large potatoes (washed thoroughly)
• 4 cups raw spinach
• 1 3/4 cups low-fat cream cheese (room temperature)
• 1 tblsp. mustard (any kind you prefer)
• 2 oz. mixed fresh herbs (ex. thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley), chopped
• 2 eggs
• Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a large pan and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Drain well and leave to cool a little before slicing.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
3. Wash the spinach and throw into another large pan with only the water clinging to the leaves. Cover and cook, stirring only once, until the leaves are slightly wilted.  Drain well into a strainer and press the leaves with a large spoon to drain excess water. Chop the spinach finely.
4. Beat together the cream cheese, eggs, and mustard in a bowl. Then stir in the chopped spinach and fresh herbs
5. Coat a deep 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray (make sure it's GF!)
6. Layer the sliced potatoes in a concentric circle in the bottom of the pan. Then add a layer of the spinach mixture, topping with salt and pepper. Repeat this process until your ingredients have been used up, making sure that the last layer is made of potatoes.
7. Cover the pan with tinfoil and place in the oven to bake for 60 minutes.
8. Remove, uncover, and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
9. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Six-Bean Barbecue Bake

It's Sunday night, the last day of spring-break, and I'm sitting in the front of the television watching Mark and Olly: Machigenga.  I love that show!  Overall, it was a nice break, and a very nice weekend. The weather was abnormaly warm and dry, so I spent as much time as possible outside . I was also able to get a much-needed dose of friend-time:)  Always a good thing!!

I also ate a LOT of  good food.  For some reason it ended up being a feast-weekend.  Today, we checked out the Philadelphia Flower Show.  We sniffed enough flowers to make our boogers yellow.  The arrangements were beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed the many forms of bloom-oriented artwork on display.  A friend we ate dinner with Saturday night gave us two free tickets to go. Talk about a sweet score! Thank you Melanie!  At a price-tag over $25, I don't think I would have gone otherwise.  Flowers in a building are great, but I prefer them in their natural surroundings:)

Afterwards we went to Reading Terminal Market, to a little place called Delila's, and ordered chopped barbeque chicken, collard greens and sweet potatoes. It was awesome!  The only thing missing was a huge pile of baked beans. I dig baked beans, almost as much as yams:) In general, I like them on the sweet side. And maybe even some bacon thrown in for good measure. The following recipe doesn't require bacon, but is definitely designed for those with a serious sweet-tooth (i.e., people like me). You'll love em'  but those around you might not love you so much; especially with all that fiber going through your system.  For real, you might want stay outdoors after eating a big bowl of these beans, otherwise you might gas people out!  But who cares, it's a small price to pay for indulging in some seriously good barbecued beans:)

This recipe calls for a slow cooker 

• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1 can butter beans, drained
• 1 can great northern beans, drained
• 1 can navy beans, drained
• 1 can pork and beans, not drained (or any other can of beans if you're veg)
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce (makes sure it's GF)
• 1/4 cup mustard
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 small bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses

Cooking Directions

1. Mix everything together in your slow cooker.
2. Cook on low to medium for 4-6 hours.
3. That's it, couldn't be easier! Enjoy!