Author: Theresa_Rosenthal

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Gluten-Free Mac n (Goat) Cheese

     It’s time to share my favorite recipe! I call this “mac n cheese” but really, it’s so much better than that, more gourmet than that. It’s gluten-free pasta with goat cheese, spinach, onions, garlic, spices and love!

I created this recipe when I was pregnant with my first child and I had aversions to so many foods. I had a really difficult time feeding my hungry, pregnant belly when I didn’t want anything. I especially didn’t want vegetables, which, as a nutrition-phile, was frightening! So, I experienced a slight craving for pasta and I went with it. While I was making it, I decided I wanted cheese and realized I could “hide” a lot of spinach in it. My husband and I devoured this so quickly and we were so stuffed but we couldn’t wait to make it again. We ate so much of it that I began thinning the cheese mixture so that I could divide the pasta into two casserole dishes and make it last!

Warning: I am not a chef, nor am I a recipe-writer! Even when I follow recipes I’m not that great at measuring. So, I’m estimating here and if you’re uncomfortable with that, I understand! Please, use more onion and garlic if you like or make your cheese mixture thinner or thicker if that’s what you like. I’m simply and humbly passing on the general flow and creation of a meal that my family and friends absolutely love and I hope you will too!

Gluten-Free Mac n (Goat) Cheese

Ingredients:

1 onion chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp butter (or coconut oil – if you don’t use butter)
1 11-oz log of Chevre goat cheese
1c So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage unsweetened (or other dairy / non-dairy beverage)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
Lots of spinach (at least 2 cups)
16 oz GF Pasta (I use Trader Joe’s organic brown rice pasta)
Water to boil
½ lb Cheddar goat cheese, shredded (or less)

Onions and garlic cooked with butter or oil – the foundation of many great meals!
Sautee the onion and garlic in the butter over medium heat until soft. Add the Chevre and break it up in the pot, lowering the heat slightly so it doesn’t burn. Once the Chevre softens, add the milk. When everything is thickened and liquid, add the spices and stir. Lower the temperature to medium-low, add as much spinach as you want and put the lid on it. You want it just below a simmer. Check it every few minutes and turn it off when the spinach is wilted.

I use both plain and “garlic & herbs” Chevre, depending on what I have in the fridge.

Thickened, melted Chevre and milk with spices on top.

I’m guessing this is 2 cups of spinach, but I cram even more in. Experiment with the amount you like. It practically disappears into the dish!
Now, boil the pasta and shred the cheddar cheese. Just before you dump your pasta into a colander, add a ladle-ful of pasta-boiling-water to your cheese mixture (this adds the starch to help the mixture adhere to the pasta when mixed together).

This is a half pound block of cheddar goat cheese from Trader Joe’s. I also will get cheddar goat cheese from Whole Foods and use 7 oz. The dish won’t suffer with more or less cheese.

Do you have a Kitchen-Aid mixer? Do you have the grinder attachment? I love it. It shreds a block of cheese in about 30 seconds!
This is the pasta I prefer to use. Cook til al dente so it doesn’t become mushy.
The water is milky because of the starch being released from the pasta. This starch, added to the cheese mixture, will make the mixture “stick” to the pasta instead of sinking to the bottom.
If you forget this step, don’t panic! You can’t go wrong with pasta and cheese. Can you?
Don’t forget this step… Rinsing your pasta will stop it from cooking and prevent mushiness when everything is combined and baked.
Assemble. Divide the pasta between two casserole dishes. Mix the cheese and spinach mixture into it. Sprinkle the shredded cheddar goat cheese on top. Cover and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Divide pasta between 2 casserole dishes.
Stir the cheese mixture into the pasta and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

The goodness of this meal is unrivaled in our home! Enjoy!

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Homemade Mosquito Repellant

Homemade non-toxic mosquito repellant: 3 ingredients!
     Our move to Virginia came with lots of surprises, one of which I wasn’t prepared for: bugs. More importantly, bug bites. I can’t even express how much I despise mosquito bites. I swell and itch and scratch and itch and scratch… you get the point. We came here when I was pregnant during the summer and I dreaded leaving the house out of fear that a bug bite would further enhance my pregnancy-induced insomnia. You shouldn’t have to live in fear of bug bites! This is my third summer here and I’m getting used to it (as much as you can get used to it).

I’m always trying new bug sprays while refusing to use the majority of over-the-counter mosquito repellants because of their ingredients. I now have little babies to think about too. It is becoming common knowledge that the substances we put on our skin enter into our bloodstream. You can read more about that here, if you’re interested. So, I ask myself often, if I wouldn’t eat it, should I put it on my body? Or on my babies’ bodies?

Now I arrive at the reason for this post: my favorite, effective, good-smelling, non-toxic, homemade, 3-ingredient mosquito repellant! There is no sticky or oily residue and you don’t stink afterwards. It does require re-application and it may clog some spray bottles, but these are minor issues to me when my skin and my children’s skin is protected (without the use of chemicals).

Mosquito repellant without the chemicals
Ingredients:
2 tsp vanilla extract (no sugar added, not imitation)
1 tsp orange oil (essential oil)
8 oz water

Directions:
Mix these together thoroughly and pour into a spray bottle (or several). Shake before use. Spray a lot, everywhere, frequently. I base these measurements off of an e-how article I read and I’ve made it twice, both times with good results.

Here are some tips to get you started concocting your own non-toxic homemade bug spray: 

  • Buy organic vanilla extract. I purchased a 4 oz bottle made by Simply Organic. The good news? There’s always a $1 off coupon available on their website!
  • Use a high-quality essential oil. I used Wyndmere because that’s what I could find in the store (here it is listed on Amazon, if you can’t find it). Higher quality essential oils can be purchased through an authorized seller of Young Living Essential Oils (which I am). Check out their website and see the difference! If you’re interested in purchasing this oil or other oils, just contact me!
  • As for the spray bottle, I tried a standard spray bottle that you would get in the cleaning aisle and it lasted about a day before it clogged. I have since purchased trial size spray bottles at Target for $0.97 each. Even with daily use only one has clogged!

Usually, I hate spraying bug spray and use it sparingly, but not with this stuff. Let me know what you think!

EDITED 8/6/14:
I still love this bug spray but I’ve learned a few things. No plastic bottles! Invest in glass when using essential oils. This spray didn’t remain effective in a clear, plastic bottle because light was able to get to it. Buy small, dark glass bottles (I found some at a local health food store for less than $3). I also know now that I will not put any other essential oils on mine or my family’s bodies unless the oils are Young Living Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils. Other oils are not guaranteed or even created for anything other than aromatherapy. They are not safe for skin application and can actually be unhealthy when applied. Lesson learned!

If you want to make the switch to Young Living, it’s easy!

Go here and enter the Sponsor ID and Enroller ID 1414775. Enter your personal information, select Wholesale (it will save you 24% off the retail price), and choose the Premium Starter Kit. You can bypass the Essential Rewards Kits (they’re optional) and you’ll be well on your way to experiencing all these benefits and more! (If you do decide to do Essential Rewards, you can sign up at any time, spend $50 a month and save on shipping while gradually building your medicine cabinet arsenal for every ailment imaginable).

Read more about why we use ONLY Young Living in our home here.

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Non-Toxic Floor Cleaner

    A year ago we moved into our first real home and most of it has tile and laminate flooring, which led me to search out convenient, non-toxic ways to clean it. Not the easiest task, actually! I was tempted by the Swiffers, which look to be so easy but there are chemicals in the wet (disposable) cloths and there’s a lot of waste involved, so I didn’t choose that option.

I found a mop at Bed Bath & Beyond that has a microfiber washable cloth and decided this would be my vehicle for cleaning all these floors. The next decision was to find a recipe for a cleaning solution. I started using a hot water, vinegar, baking soda, dish soap and tea tree oil solution. It was effective but it left spots and sometimes a film from the baking soda. My search continued.

This is my new non-toxic floor cleaner: peroxide, hot water and tea tree oil. Less ingredients to remember, super cheap and really cleansing! I loosely followed this recipe and combined:

¼ cup of peroxide

3 drops of tea tree oil (therapeutic grade melaleuca alternifolia)

3 drops of Thieves (therapeutic grade)

8 cups of hot water

I’m very happy with the results! I still have to battle the little people footprints and often employ the daddy-take-the-children-while-I-mop method, but such is life! Let me know if you try it, if you like and it what you think of using peroxide.

 

Non-toxic floor cleaner: 1/4 cup hydrogen peroxide, 3 drops tea tree oil and 8 cups hot water
 
EDIT 7/1/2014: I have learned the importance of buying Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils. I recommend, in order to get the health and cleaning benefits of Tea Tree Oil, to purchase Melaleuca Alternifolia directly from Young Living. You can sign up here and use Sponsor ID / Enroller ID: 1414775. They also sell Thieves oil, which has been included in this edited version of the cleaning recipe.