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I did manage to keep one resolution for 2008: cooking at home rather than eating out. I used recipes mostly from the local newspaper, a few from the internet, a few from health magazines. Most of the dishes were the one-pot type, something fairly simple that didn't require too much time or brain power.

So what exactly did I make? Here's a summary:

TOFU CHILI:
Got this off the Whole Foods Market website. Contains tofu, obviously, but also green bell pepper, yellow onion, corn, gluten-free veggie broth, kidney beans, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, and gluten free soy sauce. The pepper, onion and corn are sauteed, and then you throw all of it in a soup pot and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Dan, who thought he hated tofu, actually likes this better than I do.

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH TANDOORI FLAVORINGS:
USA Weekend magazine had a section on doing a picnic using foods with an Indian flavor. The recipe calls for the chicken to be grilled, but I just used my rotisserie with excellent results. To make marinade, you heat cumin, curry, garlic, salt, ginger and cayenne pepper briefly, then add them to red wine vinegar and yogurt. You can soak the chicken in the marinade for up to 24 hours if you refrigerate it. Then you're ready to cook the chicken. This was AWESOME!

CUCUMBER SALAD WITH CILANTRO AND RED ONION:
This is meant to accompany the previous recipe. This calls for soaking cucumber slices in salt before assembling the salad. Then add them to yellow bell pepper, carrots, tomato and red onion. The dressing is very simple: rice wine vinegar, oil and pepper.

MANGO FRUIT SALAD WITH HONEY LIME SAUCE:
Meant to accompany the previous two recipes. The sauce consists of ginger, lime juice and honey. This is mixed into mango, green grapes, berries (the recipe says blueberries, but I found raspberries tasted just fine) and fresh mint.

EASY POLENTA LASAGNA MEAL:
This lives up to its name. Sliced polenta, pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni because it has 70 percent less fat), mozarella (I used reduced fat) and pasta sauce are layered in a dish and microwaved. Only problem I had was the cooking time was way off, but once I got it hot enough, it was delicious.

MOROCCAN-STYLE CHICKEN BREASTS:
Another recipe where I subbed the rotisserie for a grill. This has a simple marinade of yogurt, cilantro, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. After marinating in the fridge 6-10 hours, the chicken is ready for cooking.

STIR-FRY THAI RICE NOODLES:
Got this simple recipe off the box of rice noodles, heh heh. The noodles are soaked in near boiling water until they soften. Then you heat oil in a wok (recipe calls for veggie oil, but peanut oil is better) and cook either chicken, tofu or shrimp. Add the noodles, fish sauce, gluten free soy sauce, optional sugar, and you're done in about five minutes.

GRILLED CHICKEN AND CORN QUESADILLAS:
Onions, corn, garlic, chicken, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper are cooked in a skillet. This mixture is placed on tortillas (I used gluten free ones made from teff) along with Monterrey jack or cheddar, goat cheese and cilantro. Then the filled quesadilla is heated; I found that the GF tortillas tasted better microwaved rather than grilled. These are good with salsa and sour cream.

TOFU STIR-FRY VEGETARIAN RECIPE:
Got this off the internet. It says to marinate mushrooms, gluten free soy sauce, sherry (I used cooking sherry), ginger and garlic for 30 minutes, then throw it in a wok with tofu, carrots and snow peas (I think I just used regular frozen peas).

BROILED CHICKEN WITH HUMMUS:
This is a whole meal done mostly on the broiler. Asparagus and bell pepper are drizzled in olive oil with salt and pepper and broiled alongside chicken that has been coated with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. You are supposed to serve it with hummus and pita bread, but I couldn't find any that was gluten free, so I skipped that part.

MOJO-MARINATED PORK TENDERLOIN:
Another marinated meat recipe. This one has garlic, cumin, lime juice, orange juice, salt, pepper, oregano, and cilantro. The pork can marinate overnight, with some of the marinade reserved for using as sauce after the pork is cooked.

SUMMER VEGETABLE FRIED RICE:
This is a great way to use up leftover rice straight from the fridge. You scramble eggs in a wok, reserve them and then heat up onion, garlic, red bell pepper, and any other veggie of choice (I used a frozen Asian blend). Add some ham, the cold rice, the cooked eggs and some gluten free soy sauce, and you've got supper.

CURRIED CHICKEN WITH JASMINE RICE:
Chicken is cooked with garlic, curry powder, rice, chicken broth, peas and cilantro all in one skillet. Easy and tasty.

TACO PASTA BOWL:
Another one skillet recipe. This one uses extra lean ground beef (turkey would work too), chili beans, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, cooked pasta shells (I used GF), colby jack and reduced fat cheddar. You're supposed to add canned enchilada sauce, but I couldn't find any that was gluten free, so I had to make my own.

QUICKIE ENCHILADA SAUCE:
For the Taco Pasta Bowl recipe. Basically involves simmering onion, chili powder, cumin, garlic, crushed tomatoes (I used diced), sugar, red wine vinegar and cilantro.

WILD RICE CASSEROLE:
Very easy recipe I got from But You Don't Look Sick. You put wild rice, mushrooms, onion, garlic and GF veggie broth (chicken broth works well too) in a casserole dish and bake it for 90 minutes.

CORN CHOWDER:
A one-pot wonder containing onion, corn, potatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and milk with some corn starch dissolved in it. Only stumbling block for me was getting the potatoes cooked thoroughly because I didn't cut them small enough. Tasted good when it was done though.

TANGY WATERMELON SALAD:
This is watermelon cubes with feta cheese, parsley or mint (I recommend the mint) and a dressing consisting of olive oil, lime juice, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Easy, especially if you buy the watermelon pre-cut, and very tasty summer salad.

STIR-FRIED RICE NOODLES WITH CHICKEN OR TOFU:
Got this off About.com. Like the other recipe, you soak the rice noodles first. The chicken or tofu is marinated in corn starch that has been dissolved in GF soy sauce. The stir fry sauce contains soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, chicken stock and Thai chili sauce. After the meat is cooked in the wok, you put in mushrooms, red bell pepper, the noodles, the stir fry sauce and bean sprouts. I eat this with extra chili sauce on the side and LOVE it!

CRISP APPLE AND TURKEY SALAD:
Here is an excellent way to use up leftover holiday turkey. You combine it with celery, Granny Smith apples and raisins (or dried cranberries, although I left them out and it was fine). The dressing is mayo, yogurt, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and pepper.

GRILLED CHICKEN AND PENNE SALAD:
This combines penne pasta (I used GF) with sauteed chicken, blanched asparagus, red bell pepper and green onion. I used ready-made Thai peanut sauce instead of the dressing recipe, and it was amazingly good.

SNAPPY PARMESAN AND PEPPER CHICKEN CUTLETS:
You cook the cutlets in the skillet with a coating on top of Parmesan cheese, parsley and pepper. Then you make a sauce from the pan drippings, adding white wine (I used cooking wine). Yummy.

CILANTRO PEANUT STIR FRY:
Another wok concoction. This has tofu (or chicken or steak), frozen mixed veggies, ginger, garlic, pineapple juice (I added pineapple chunks) and cilantro. This is served with already cooked brown rice.

FROZEN WALDORF SALAD:
The Waldorf salad I had as a kid was apples, pecans and celery with mayo. This omits the mayo and replaces it with whipped cream. Also in this version are pineapple, red grapes, and marshmallows (I think you could easily leave the marshmallows out though). This calls for freezing the salad and serving it with maraschino cherry and mint on top. I decided to skip that step and found it was delicious without freezing.

EASY POTATO/VEGETABLE CHOWDER:
A good way to use up any leftover veggies. The basic recipe calls for potatoes, corn, celery, carrots and onion, but I didn't have any carrots or onion, so I left them out and everything still tasted fine. You boil the veggies, drain them and then heat them up with milk that has been thickened (I used corn starch to stay GF). Optional additions: veggie broth, brown rice, other veggies (I used frozen peas).

All this mention of cooking has made me hungry, but it's wayyyy past my bedtime, so I guess I'll just have to dream of food, heh heh.