Aside from making fresh fries this is a real easy recipe.  Skip the fresh cut potato frying if you want but you are missing out!  As I say this, I am just now realizing that I am missing out by using frozen seafood, oh well my choice.

Ingredients:

• 2 Russet potatoes
• Parmesan Cheese
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Seafood Stock
• 1 Package of frozen Mussels
• 1 Package of frozen Clams
• 1 Bottle of Vegetable Oil for Frying
• 1 can of seasoned tomatoes

Directions:

1. Empty bottle of vegetable oil into a large pot and start to heat the oil.
2. Slice potatoes into french fry length pieces.  Once done slicing, oil should be hot enough to add the fries into the oil.
3. Cook the fries until they start to brown and drain onto a paper towel.  Immediately season the fries with salt, pepper, and the grated parmesan  cheese.
4. In another large pot, add the can of seasoned tomatoes and cook the tomatoes for four minutes.   
5. Next add the seafood stock and bring it to a mild boil. 
6. Add the clams to the stock.  I add the clams first because their shells will not break apart whereas the mussels shells tend to break into the broth.  Both the clams and mussels are previously cooked and only need to be heated for a couple minutes   to have their shells open.
   
7. Enjoy the mussel and clam broth with your fries! 

Adding fresh corn to your grits or cornmeal mush is a wonderful compliment to a tasty dish.  Just slice down the side of the stalk of corn and cook the corn with the grits to compliment them.  

The first grits I ever had were on accident.  I was under the impression that a hash brown was what McDonald's hash browns are and figured shredded hash browns that I wanted to experience were most likely called grits.  I did not take more than a bite of those breakfast chained grits.  

Grits need love.  Adding depth with cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, fresh corn, bacon, pancetta, anything other than just grits will make this a tasty dish.

I wanted to try making fresh corn grits, adding fresh corn to grits, and when the time came realized I did not have grits.  I did have cornmeal though.  Looks the same, surely you can get a similar result.  Found out that there is such a thing as cornmeal mush.  Let me tell you, I believe it was better than grits!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 Cup of Cornmeal
• 5 slices of  Bacon (chopped)
• 1 lb of Gulf Shrimp
• 4 Fresh pieces of Corn
• 2 Tablespoons of  Olive oil
• Lemon Juice
• Himalayan Sea Salt
• Kosher Salt
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• 1 1/2 Cup of  Almond Milk
• 1 Cup of Water
• 2 Tablespoons of Earth Balance Butter

Directions:

1. Peel the corn and slice off the stalk.   Slice the corn off the cob and add it to a saucepan over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes.
2. Add   1 1/4 cup of cornmeal, with 2 tablespoons butter, 1 1/2 cup of almond milk, and 1 cup of water.  Add your salt preference and  cook over medium heat  until the mixture thickens.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, add  2 tablespoons of olive oil.   Add kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper   to the oil with a couple drops of fresh lemon juice.  I prefer to season the oil as it will adhere to the shrimp   versus seasoning the shrimp and throwing it in oil.  
4. Add the bacon to the skillet to give the oil a little more flavor.  The bacon is already cooked so it will only take 2 minutes to add what flavor it has to the oil.
   
5. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook  through.
   
6. Put the cornmeal mash on your plate and top with your bacon and shrimp mixture. 

Happy Watermelon Wednesday!  I put together this dish as a light breakfast one weekend.  It is truly easy and a great way to punch up your watermelon.  

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of a whole watermelon
• 1 Cup of Pecans
• 2 Tbs of Honey
• 1 Tbs of Honey to drizzle over the watermelon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to  350 degrees.  Place the pecans evenly on a baking sheet  and roast for 13 minutes.
2. In a saucepan, heat up the honey and pecans until it starts to simmer.
3. Put the honey and pecan mixture on some wax paper and allow it to cool completely.
4. Slice up the watermelon.  I prefer thin wedges of watermelon instead of  large chunks.
5. Dice up the honey roasted pecans or add them to a food processor and process to the consistency of your liking.
6. Add the watermelon to a bowl, top with the diced up honey roasted pecans, and drizzle with honey.

There was a point in my life when I was eating  gluten free and low carb.  Oh the nightmares.  This is my favorite creation during that time period.   Turning the cucumber into a sushi roll is so genius I am positive I am not the first to  think this up but I have not seen it done before.  This makes for a beautiful and easy snack that will impress your friends.

Ingredients:

Cucumber Sushi Rolls

• 2  seeded cucumbers
• Turkey Breast Sliced Lunch Meat
• Roast Beef Sliced Lunch Meat
• Swiss Cheese Slices (optional)

Sandwich Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
• 1/4 Cup Mustard
• 6 Diced  Kosher Dill Gherkins

Directions:

1. Prepare the cucumbers.  Peel the cucumbers if you prefer. Leaving the skin on will give you more fiber.  Cut 1 inch off the ends of the cucumbers and then cut the cucumbers in half. 
2.  Using the handle end of a spoon, place the end into the seeded area of the cucumber  and make your way around the cucumber hollowing out the center of the cucumber.   
3. Roll up your lunch meat. (You can usually fit 4 pieces of meat into a cucumber depending on its size.  If you want to use cheese, subtract a piece of meat.  I was trying to avoid cheese at the time.)  Slowly work the rolled lunch meat into the center of the cucumber.
4. Now slice the cucumber into 1 inch pieces.  (If you slice smaller than 1 inch the lunch meat will easily fall out of the cucumber slices at a certain size.)  Arrange the pieces on a plate.
5. Prepare your sandwich dipping sauce.  I dice up some Baby Gherkin pickles and add them to 1/2 Cup of mayonnaise  and 1/4 cup of mustard and mix.
6. Dip your slices into your sandwich dressing and enjoy this quick and easy snack.

This is an easy, delicious breakfast dish that I love to do on the lazy Saturday mornings that I so often come across.  I buy all the ingredients and put them in a dish and let the oven do the miracles!  I usually double this recipe to feed two.  Bake it in a large dish and serve from that dish!

Ingredients:

• 1 Jar of La Madeleine Tomato Basil Soupe 
  
• 3 Eggs
• 4 Strips of Bacon
• 1 Cup of  Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Tbs Fresh Basil Chiffonade (optional)
• 1 Tbs Butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Use the butter to spread evenly across your baking dish.  I use Rachel Ray's 1.25 quart Stoneware but anything close to a 9x9 baking dish will do the trick.  
3. Add the jar of Tomato Basil Soupe to the dish.
4. Crack open the eggs into the soupe.
5. Top with the shredded mild cheddar cheese.
6. Place the dish in the oven and cook for 30 minutes.  This will make the eggs cook all the way through.  The egg yolks being cooked all the way through adds a great depth of texture and flavor to the  tomato soupe.
7. Top with the diced bacon.  I use the microwave bacon for convenience because it is easy to make quickly.  By all means go the extra mile and make bacon for a better taste but this dish is all about convenience for me.  I added the uncooked microwave bacon to the dish before cooking it in the oven, allowing it to heat up in the oven instead of cooking in the microwave and then topping.  Do as you please, you're the chef!
8. Top with basil chiffonade if you prefer.  A chiffonade is "fancy talk" for taking fresh herbs and rolling them up and cutting them into long thin strips.  

Here is a quick and easy way to  frill up your breakfast tacos for brunch.  Apparently, breakfast tacos are only a Texas thing!  The rest of the world is missing out.  You can add some capers if you would like to give these tacos some texture!

Ingredients:

• Guerrero  Corn Tortillas
• 1 Tbs Kraft Philadelphia Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread
• 3 Eggs-(1 Egg per taco you are planning on making is my rule of thumb)
• Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
• Fresh Cracked Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1/2 package of Smoked Salmon
• 1 Tbs Butter

Directions:

1. Put your desired amount of corn tortillas on a microwave safe plate and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.  If you are heating more than 4 tortillas, turn over and heat another 30 seconds. (This is my method for cooking corn tortillas when I am wanting to reduce the amount of dishes I have to clean later or speed up my eating process)
2. Put the butter in a skillet and heat over medium heat.  When the butter is melted add the eggs, then season with salt and pepper. Continually scrape the bottom of the skillet with a rubber spatula until the eggs come together and scramble.  An easier method is to add the eggs to a  saucepan and continually whisk them until they come together.
3. Just before the eggs are totally formed, add 1 Tbs of the Cream Cheese spread to the eggs. Stir the cream cheese into the eggs and remove the skillet from the heat source.  Allow the eggs to finish cooking with the heat that is still in your pan.
4. Slice 1/2 package of smoked salmon into desired shape/length for your tacos.
5. Assemble your tacos.  To the tortillas, spoon on desired amount of the garden vegetable cream cheese spread to flavor your taco.  Add the scrambled eggs and top with black pepper and salt.  Then add a few smoked salmon pieces on top of the eggs.  You can finish these off with  a few capers for an added crunch.
6. Put said tacos in your mouth and chew!  This is How We Chew It!  With our mouths.  Crazy!
   

I've started utilizing watermelon in different ways just so that I could term the phrase "Watermelon Wednesday."  Too bad today is Thursday!  Either way, this is a great addition to watermelon slices for a light breakfast or mid afternoon snack.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of a Watermelon cut up into small chunks
• 8oz of Mascarpone Cheese
• 1/4 Cup of Heath Bits O' Brickle Toffee Bits
• 1/4 Cup of Pecans
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1. Cut up watermelon into small chunk pieces.  I tend to purchase quarter pieces of watermelon in an effort to not force myself to......cut myself open by trying to slice through a huge watermelon.
2. In a food processor, pulse the Heath Bits and Pecans until processed.
3. Add the mixture to a bowl and stir in the mascarpone cheese and vanilla extract.
4. Put the watermelon into a bowl and add the mascarpone crumble to the top and enjoy an easy snack! 

So....apparently it has been  a few days since I have updated my gluten free life.  Sorry, but I was off with Matthew McConaughey searching the "Interstellar" solar system for another planet suitable for life.  

Anywho...this is a quick and simple recipe that is also delicate and delightful.  Low in carbs, light, and helpful in keeping my "out of shape" body looking "in shape."

Ingredients:

• HEB Wild Smoked Salmon
• Philadelphia Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread
• English Cucumber
• Fresh cracked Black Pepper

If you have never had smoked salmon it  is really similar texture and taste wise to sashimi grade salmon, just with a smoked flavor.  I prefer the English cucumber because it has no seeds and makes a more stable surface for making stackable items like this one.  English cucumbers are the cucumbers that are already wrapped in plastic wrap at the grocery store FYI.


Directions:

1.  Slice the English cucumber into even pieces.  For a "fancy" beautiful appearance, you can peel alternating sides of the cucumber with a vegetable peeler.  This will  leave green pieces evenly in between the flesh peeled pieces of your slices.  After slicing, they will have a beautiful appearance.  I am no "fancy pants" though.  I need to eat FAST!
2. Use a spoon to spread the cream cheese evenly across all your slices of cucumbers.
3. Cut the smoked salmon into equal square shaped pieces.  The salmon is usually thicker in the middle of the package and  you can often turn these  pieces into two by peeling off the top layer of salmon.  Place the salmon on top of the cream cheese cucumber.
4. Crack black pepper evenly across the salmon.  The smoked salmon is naturally salty from being salt cured so there is no need to salt this.
5. Real simple to get this meal prepared in less than 10 minutes.  Makes about 40 pieces of Salmon Cream Cheese Cucumbers.
   

Ingredients:

• 3 Corn Tortillas (Guerrero is my personal favorite, always the softest)
  
• 2 Hot Dog Wieners (Johnsonville: Beddar with Cheddar-favorite)
• 4 Gherkin Baby Dill Pickles 
• 1 Serrano Pepper
• 3 Pickled Okra
• 9 Sliced Peperoncino Peppers
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1/2 tbsp Sriracha
• 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
• Fresh cracked Pepper
• Celery Salt

I hated hot dogs as a kid.  They were flavorless meat on bread with mustard, not anything to be excited about eating.  It wasn't until I discovered the Chicago Dog that I got into hot dogs as an adult.  The idea of putting ingredients that typically didn't go on a hot dog excited my creativity.  This is probably where my new fascination of Bloody Mary's comes from.  Trying to find the perfect combination is a challenge I always want to explore.  Shortly after exploring any and everything I could put on a hot dog, I discovered what was causing my stomach problems...gluten.  I was heartbroken to lose my new favorite food.  Then, I discovered gluten free hot dog buns!!!!  Well, they were not so great, and by not so great I mean I would spit out the bread to eat what was left in the middle.  What do I do? Shortly after  I discovered the magical corn tortilla and its many uses.  Let's turn my favorite food into a taco I decided.  

Directions:

1. Cut the  hot dogs in half lengthwise.  Turn over and cut lengthwise again  leaving four equal spears.  Dice the hot dogs into about 6 cm pieces.   Place pieces into a skillet and warm until they begin to blacken on sides, remove from skillet.
2. Place corn tortillas into skillet.  I prefer my corn tortillas cooked in a little bit of oil until a little crispy on both sides.  Usually takes about 30 seconds per side .
3. Cut okra in half lengthwise.  
4. Cut serrano pepper in half and core out the seeds and stems.  Cut pepper in little strips.
5. Dice onion.
6. Cut baby gherkin pickles into half lengthwise.  Then cut other half leaving four spears like the hot dogs.  Dice into equal parts.  I like this thick relish over a normal store bought relish.  Love the crunch.
7. Mix mayonnaise with sriracha.  Sriracha  mayonnaise   is surprisingly   delicious.  Definitely give it a try even  if you have doubts.
8. Now assemble your taco.  Corn tortilla, diced hot dogs, diced baby gherkin relish, diced onions, peperoncino peppers, pickled okra halves, and strips of serrano peppers.  Drizzle sriracha  mayonnaise   over tacos to complete.  Add fresh cracked pepper and the essential celery salt to complete  this easy meal.

This is a quick and easy recipe that tastes delicious!  If you have never tried Gnocchi, it is naturally gluten free depending on what it is made with and I would describe them as eating pillows.  I take the gnocchi and toss them with a bag of creamed spinach and add a little cheese it is that simple.

I'm really a sucker for anything that say's it is gluten free to try it at least one time and I lucked out with trying gnocchi.  This is the brand I have found at HEB's in the pasta aisle.  Racconto, they have other gnocchi that is not gluten free so be sure to grab the one that stats "Gluten Free."

Ingredients:

• Package of Racconto Potato Gluten Free Gnocchi
• Package of Creamed Spinach
• 1 tbs of Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 tbs of olive oil

Directions:

1. Throw the Creamed Spinach bag in the microwave per the manufacturers directions.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the gnocchi.  The gnocchi is done when it floats to the top of the water.  Usually takes about four or five minutes.
3. Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a skillet.  Add the gnocchi to the skillet and toast all sides of the gnocchi until a little brown on sides.
4. Add creamed spinach to skillet.
5. Plate gnocchi and top with Mozzarella cheese.  It's easy to be gluten free today.