One of my weekend 'rituals' is to watch cooking shows on The Food Network as I get ready for the day. I know, it doesn't make much sense, but I find the shows relaxing, and somewhat informative. And the food is usually appealing, especially since I haven't had breakfast, or coffee, quite yet.

While there is not currently a show/chef that features gluten free recipes, you can easily adjust many of them with a few simple swaps such as GF bread instead of regular, or GF bread crumbs instead of the other, traditional ones. This is common for most recipes in general - you don't need a "gluten free recipe" to have a gluten free meal - surprise!

My interest was peaked recently as I listened to/watched Farmhouse Rules while brushing my hair, and putting on a little 'Saturday makeup' (i.e. not much at all, and some mascara). On the show, the host made "zucchini boats" as a lunch for her grandchildren and I was immediately hooked. The recipe was pretty simple and the only ingredient I would need to swap out were the breadcrumbs. After I finished getting ready and turned off the TV, I knew I had to remember this one for future dinners.

Fast forward a couple weeks during our Sunday grocery shopping, and I remembered the boats! My husband and I were perusing the produce, debating meal options, and I said, "Wait! Zucchini boats!" Slightly alarmed and confused by my overzealous announcement, he asked me what I was talking about, and it all came into focus. It was going to be great. And delicious. Who knew my Saturday morning routine would yield such a fun, weeknight dinner.  It just goes to show that you can find dinner inspiration everywhere, but in this case on The Food Network, where there's food. So that's good, too. :) 

Dinner notes: For this meal, we followed the recipe and ingredient amounts pretty much exactly as written and it came out really well! We substituted Aleia's Gluten Free Italian Breadcrumbs instead of the non-GF ones listed, but otherwise used all of the same ingredients. You could definitely swap out the Italian sausage for another kind of protein, or veggie even, but I thought it it was great using all spicy Italian sausage. Enjoy!