Cooking in the Chaos

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quesadillas (Gluten Free Freezer Meal Series)

These quesadillas are really, really good. It may sound like a strange combination of ingredients, but these are delicious! I make these in large batches so that I have 8 bags in the freezer ready to make for lunches. Any recipe that has my kids happily eating vegetables and beans is a winner in my book!

1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 cups grated, peeled sweet potato or yam
19 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
sea salt to taste

Mix ingredients and put in 2 medium-sized resealable freezer bags. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze. You can instead put all of the mixtures in one large resealable bag but I prefer to freeze this recipe in smaller quantities so that I can take just one bag out as a lunch-sized meal for the kids and me.

Additional ingredients for the cooking day:

grated jalapeños jack or tex mex cheese
jalapeños (optional)
Udi’s gluten-free tortillas

On cooking day, thaw and then fry the mixture in a greased pan on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Spread mixture on one side of tortillas. Sprinkle with cheese and if desired, add some sliced jalapeños. Fold over the other half of the tortillas.

Bake in 350* oven until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa or guacamole.

Special notes:

In the interest of full disclosure, the picture at the top is of a cheese and onion gluten-free quesadilla. I made sure to take a picture of the sweet potato and black bean mixture as I was cooking it up but then by the time I realized that I hadn’t taken a picture of the finished quesadilla, the kids had eaten them all up! So I quickly made up a simple quesadilla just for the picture and Einstein was more than happy to eat it.

This recipe is part of my 10 Days of Gluten-Free Freezer Meals series. You may also be interested in following my Gluten-Free Recipes or Freezer Meals Pinterest Boards.

Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas

Course: Main Course

Keyword: black bean, quesadillas, sweet potato

Servings: 6

: 351 kcal

Ingredients

1 med onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 cups sweet potato or yam peeled and grated
19 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
salt to taste

Additional ingredients for the day of cooking:

jalapenos jack or tex mex cheese grated
jalapenos optional
Udi's gluten-free tortillas

Instructions

Mix ingredients together and place in 2 medium resealable freezer bags for a larger meal or in 1 large bag for smaller lunches
Remove excess air and freeze

On the day of cooking:

Thaw and fry mixture in a greased pan on medium heat for about 10 minutes
Spread mixture on one side of tortillas
Sprinkle with cheese and jalapenos, if desired
Fold over the other half of the tortillas

Mom’s Monday Macaroni

By Sharla Kostelyk

This is the first meal I ever learned to make. In fact, when I got married, this Mom’s Monday Macaroni recipe and a veggie pizza appetizer were the only things I knew how to make! My poor husband was a very good sport. To this day, he still thinks of this as one of his favourites! I think it’s probably just sentimental familiarity.

There is some discrepancy as to the origins of this recipe. I have a vague recollection that it either came from my Auntie Judy or my Gramma.

Mom’s Monday Macaroni Recipe:

1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion

Sauté onion in butter and transfer to a casserole dish. Add:

1 1/2 cups UNCOOKED macaroni noodles
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
19 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 cup water
pepper, oregano, basil, crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Stir. Cover and bake at 350° for 65 minutes.

5 Ingredient Pasta Shells

By Sharla Kostelyk

My friend Julie taught me this recipe many years ago. She uses broccoli as the vegetable in hers. Broccoli is sadly one of the few foods that I am allergic to, so I had to adapt the recipe. It has become one of the recipes in our regular rotation and even though it is a tiny bit labour intensive because of stuffing the shells, it is easy and only uses 5 ingredients.

This dish is mild enough to be a favourite with the kids, but flavourful enough for us adults to also enjoy.

large pasta shells
jar of Alfredo sauce (I used Roasted Garlic Alfredo this time but any will do)
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
cheddar cheese
fresh or frozen asparagus (I always use frozen for this dish)

Cook the chicken and then cube it. To save time, I almost always have cooked, chopped chicken in little bags in the freezer to use in this recipe and a few others.

Cook pasta shells according to package and drain.

In a bowl, mix together Alfredo sauce, cubed chicken, 1 cup of grated cheese and chopped asparagus. If you’d like, you can also add salt and pepper to this step.

Stuff mixture in cooked shells using a spoon and lay in a baking dish. Bake at 350° for about 20 minutes.

I served this one night when one of our teenage sons had brought a friend home for supper. His friend told me he was a picky eater and started by just trying one shell. He ended up eating eight!

Gluten Free Chex Mix with Recipe

By Sharla Kostelyk

This gluten free Chex mix is easy to make and highly addictive! Makes an easy gluten free snack for lunches or for parties.

Gluten Free Chex Mix Recipe:

Ingredients:

9-10 cups of Rice Chex cereal
2 1/2 cups Glutino pretzels
1 cup peanuts or other nut
6 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons gluten free Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons gluten free seasoning salt
3 teaspoons gluten free onion powder (I used a three onion blend)

How To Make Gluten Free Chex Mix:

Mix all the chex mix ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. Spread the mixture on a cookie sheet or in a roasting pan and bake in preheated 250° oven for one hour uncovered. Depending on the type of pan you use, you may want to stir it occasionally.

3. Once it has cooled, store your chex mix in a large resealable ziploc bag.

This gluten free chex mix is great to have on hand for snacking or for a party. It’s pretty addictive though and the kids love it, so don’t expect it to last very long!