Crawfish Alfredo-Gluten Free

Ok, I was skeptical. I went to Drug Imporium and purchased Mr. Leepers Chicken Alfredo. It is a box that looks like any other pre-mixed "Pasta Roni" type fare. I had a pound of crawfish burning a hole in my freezer so I was ready to try it. My kiddos love alfredo and the Junior League of Lafayette has a fabu recipe for Crawfish Fetuccini in their 3rd book, Tell Me More. I have made that for showers, pot-cluck suppers, and it is a go-to recipe for a pound of crawfish languishing in the freezer.

Since I am now on gluten free diet, I have been mourning pasta. Seriously. Even though I don't particularly eat pasta frequently, I want it because I CAN'T HAVE IT.

'nuf said.

Here is the recipe that I made tonight.

Crawfish Alfredo Fetuccini

1 box Mr. Leeper's Chicken Alfredo( pasta plus spice packet)
2 cups water
3/4 cup 2% milk or dairy free alternative
1 lb thawed peeled crawfish tails
Tabasco to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
Benoit's Salt Free Cajun Seasoning to taste
1 handful 2% Mexican Cheese blend( gluten free)
1 handful Velvetta shreds( please tell me this is gluten free- and if not, please don't tell me)
1-2 Tbsp gluten free sour cream(optional if too spicy)
2-3 chopped green onions
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Pour water, milk and spice packet into large( 12 inch or so) skillet. Bring to a boil and add crawfish. Pour in pasta, turn heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally for 11 minutes. Add a few dashes of Tabasco, cayenne pepper, cajun seasoning, and cheese. Turn off heat and stir. Cover and let sit for 3 minutes. Taste. If is it too spicy, add gluten free sour cream. Serve with chopped green onions and Parmesan cheese as garnish.

Serve with fresh green salad and gluten free bread. I personally haven't learned how to make gluten free bread properly, so I lamented not having bread with this. It would serve 4 hungry adults for an entree and 6 for a first course.

Feel free to comment. Dear Husband really liked it and I enjoyed it. The pasta wasn't like many other rice pastas- it wasn't mushy. While it wasn't as rich as I'm used to, this was hearty enough to satisfy my craving. The kiddos really liked this. I will definitely cook this again.

Please feel free to leave comments. Please be gentle. This is a new blog and I am sensitive. :-p

And so it begins.....

Well, I'm not a writer, or a blogger, so here it goes.

It was recommended by my doc that I begin a gluten free diet and all I could think was WTF. OMG, I can't believe that I need to change all the recipes that I use! Everything in the Cajun diet has flour! H-E-L-L-O!

This blog is a diary of my trials and tribulations in trying to recreate Cajun recipes that I already love into more healthy, gluten free fare.

I have been on the diet for 10 days, and I must say that I am dying! OMG no bread. No gumbo, no etoufee, no bisque, etc., etc. Even if I haven't had any of the aforementioned items in months, just the fact that I CANT have them really irks the hell out of me.

So, for my first foray into the gluten free cajun arena.... please see my next post.