Gluten Free Lasagna

The lasagna was a BIG hit. It's not often that I cook a meal that all three of my kids want to eat seconds of. My oldest child won't stop talking about how much he loved it. My husband said I should post the recipe so here it is.

INGREDIENTS:
Lasagna Noodles:
1 1/4 c. rice flour
1/2 c. potato starch
1/4 c. tapioca flour
3 eggs
1/4 c. water

Sauce:
2 cans tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes (I prefer italian seasoned)
4 cloves garlic
2 T basil
2 T parsley
1 T oregano
2 T Romano cheese--shredded (optional)

Cheese filling:
12oz ricotta
16oz cottage cheese
5 oz. parmesan cheese--grated (more if desired)
Additional ingredient:
1 lbd Mozzarella Cheese Shredded

INSTRUCTIONS:
For noodles:
Mix dry ingredients, then add the eggs and stir. Add the water as needed. Add more water or flour as needed to form a stiff, not sticky yet soft dough.
I recommend rolling it very thin with a rolling pin on plastic wrap and just laying a large piece down for each layer. I did use my pasta machine, but next time I think I'll just roll it out. One helpful tip: I found that it sticks to everything but plastic wrap. I layed the pieces on plastic wrap then transferred them by laying the pieces on the lasagna plastic wrap side up and peeling the plastic wrap off carefully.

Sauce:
Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Microwave the sauce in a glass dish for 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool a bit.

For cheese:
Mix all of ricotta and cottage cheese. Stir in 2/3 of the parmesean and reserve 1/3 for topping the lasagna. I found that my ricotta was very unflavorful and seemed low quality, so I added 1 Tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup of skim milk to the mixture.
Assembling the Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
I used a large glass pyrex casserole dish. Start with a generous layer of sauce on the bottom then a layer of noodles. Next add a generous layer of the cheese mixture, followed by a layer of mozzarella, then a generous amount of sauce. Lay down the next layer of noodles, cheese mixture and mozzarella then top with the parmesean cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake for 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake 15 - 30 minutes longer. Cheese should be bubbly and toasted.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so to allow the juices time to reabsorb and solidify.

Hearty Choco Stix

I wanted to make something that my kids could eat in place of graham crackers. I also wanted to make sure they packed a powerful punch of nutrients. So I got out my coffee grinder and all the beans and grains in my cabinet. After grinding away, this is what I came up with.

INGREDIENTS:
3 T fava bean flour
1/4 c millet flour
2 T mung bean flour
1/4 c tapioca starch
1/4 c rice flour
1/4 c potato starch
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c brown sugar
1/8 tsp pure stevia powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
A dash of cinnamon
1 egg
1/3-1/2 c plain yogurt
3 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Mix dry ingredients and add egg and yogurt.
If you don't have these exact grains and beans, I encourage you to mix and experiment with what you have. The goal is to form a stiff dough (add more yogurt if it's too dry).
Shape into little logs and flatten.
Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. Flip and bake for 4 more minutes.
Cool and coat one side with melted chocolate chips.
Yield 3 dozen.

Note: I was still out of vanilla when I made this recipe, but I really think it could benefit from a teaspoon of it.