Gluten-free products can lead to delicious dinners

Leslie’s Italian Beef features gluten-free spaghetti.

Robin McDaniel

Robin McDaniel is a community columnist for Blount Today and writes the weekly column - In The Kitchen. Every week she prepares or collaborates on a recipe then cooks and photographs the dish for Blount Today. Robin must consider it a labor of love. You can certainly see the love and care she puts into In the Kitchen each week.

When my friend Leslie Spanger’s son Austin was diagnosed with Celiac disease, she had to start cooking a little differently. Austin required a gluten-free diet. A gluten-free diet means not eating foods that contain wheat, rye and barley.

In today’s world, there are many gluten-free products on the market, found not only at health stores and organic food suppliers, but in bakeries and grocery stores. You can purchase gluten-free bread, pasta and other products, and folks are increasingly looking for good recipes that can be made gluten-free.

Leslie agreed to give me the recipe for one of Austin’s favorite meals, and I think you will enjoy it as well. We found it to be delicious!

Leslie’s Italian Beef

1 pkg or box (1 lb.) gluten-free spaghetti

1 lb. any kind of tender steak or roast

1 container (pint size) cherry or grape tomatoes, washed and cut in half

1 medium zucchini

1 large can sliced mushrooms (drained)

1 bottle (16 oz.) zesty Italian dressing

Boil pasta, and drain. Slice meat into thin strips. Marinate for 2-3 hours in half of the Italian dressing.

In medium saucepan, cook marinated beef until done. Cut zucchini into strips. Add mushrooms and sliced zucchini to the cooked beef. Pour the remaining Italian dressing over the vegetable and beef mixture.

Cook until the zucchini is tender, which only takes a few minutes. Add tomatoes. Serve over pasta.