Easy Dinner Recipes and Easy Dessert

We had some very good friends over for dinner last night. We always enjoy their company and it had been a while since we had visited with them. Laura has celiac disease so I was not sure what I could prepare for her to eat. I googled (God bless Google, huh?) celiac disease recipes and of course came up with a ton of stuff. Okay, I'm not a gourmet chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy cooking dinner for my family and friends, so I was really at a loss here.

Ordinarily I might make chicken enchiladas or a meatloaf dinner, but both recipes have wheat flour - gluten - in them (I'll post my recipes below - I'm a short-cut cook - I like easy!!). So, we all decided that burgers and hot dogs on the grill would be great. Laura brought her own bun and everything else was okay for her.

But the highlight of my cooking evening was dessert. I found a flour-less peanut butter cookie recipe that fits my style: easy. Laura said it was the first pb cookie she had in over three years. I was so happy to oblige and she was happy for the simple recipe. We also had Breyer's All Natural Ice Cream and a chocolate syrup that I found at Market Street called AH!Laska Organic Chocolate Syrup that is gluten free, tree nut free, this free, that free, but FULL of wonderful chocolaty taste. Do I sound like a commercial? The cookies, the ice cream, the syrup, ahhhhh, was a taste delight.

Our evening ended way too soon, but we all had kiddos to put in bed so we'll have to get together again soon! But for those reading this, enjoy the recipes below:

Flour-less Peanut Butter Cookies
(good for those who can't eat gluten - and good for everyone else, too!!)
1 Cup Peanut Butter (I used an organic creamy, but whatever PB you use will work)
1 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp real vanilla (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll into balls and place on greased cookie sheet or baking stone. Flatten in criss-cross with a fork. Bake 10-12 minutes and allow to cool. They might be crumbly, but oh so tasty.

Lori's Chicken Enchiladas
I cook without measuring many times, so bear with me on this.
Servings: oh, I don't know...four or so
2-3 chicken breasts
8 flour tortillas
1 pk cream cheese
1 tub of sour cream (I think it is the 8oz size - not the biggie)
1 small can of green chilies (I like Hatch the best)
grated cheddar cheese - how much depends on how much you like cheese, I guess!
1 can red Enchilada sauce (again, I like Hatch the best)

Oven on 350. Grease a glass baking dish (I would guess a cake pan will do the same) to hold enchiladas. Cut cooked chicken breasts into small pieces and set aside On each tortilla, spread equal amounts of cream cheese, then top with a dollop of sour cream - saving some sour cream for the top of your enchiladas. Spoon a little bit of green chilies on each tortilla, then place chicken on each tortilla. Sprinkle each tortilla with grated cheese then roll up and place side by side in greased dish. Top with remaining sour cream and top with enchilada sauce and more grated cheese. Pop in the oven until cheese is good and melted. Yummy. Tasty and most definitely not low fat!

Easy Meat Loaf
Again, I rarely measure anything. It's my Grandmothers' fault. They would add a pinch, throw in a dollop, smell if it is ready, etc.
1 pound lean ground beef
1 egg (maybe two depending on how much bread goes in)
1 cup spaghetti sauce (or ketchup, but sauce already has more seasonings in it)
1 cup bread crumbs (I have used the Italian seasoned crumbs)

Mix all together, pop in oven at 350 for about an hour and voila`, meatloaf. Easy. Add in some mashed potatoes and green beans and you're set for dinner.