Our son Einstein is on a gluten free diet. I am determined that he won’t have to miss out on things, especially during the holidays and on special occasions. Last Christmas, among other gluten free treats, I made him these Chocolate Toffee cookies using a gluten free cake mix. This year, I decided to play around with the recipe a bit and make some other cake mix cookie variations.

A cookie recipe like this is especially handy for someone who isn’t gluten free and therefore doesn’t have gluten free flours in their kitchen. All you need is to buy a gluten free cake mix box. After that, all you’ll need is eggs, vegetable oil, and your choice of mix-ins and you’re set.

If you are attending or hosting an event where you know there will be those who can’t have gluten, you can still make these easily. Plus, they are delicious!

Gluten Free Cake Mix Cookies Recipe:

1 gluten free chocolate cake mix
2-3 eggs*
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Begin by making this basic recipe. Mix together all three ingredients. (see note below)

*Note: The gluten free cake mixes seem to vary in terms of how dry they are, so sometimes 2 eggs is not enough to make these stay together. Start by adding two eggs and the oil to the cake mix. If you find that the dough isn’t holding together well enough and is very dry, add another egg.

To make Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkles:

Put icing sugar (also called powdered sugar) in a small bowl. Mix together the basic dough and shape into balls. Roll the balls in the icing sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Leave space in between the cookies as they will get flatter as they cook. Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, slap the cookie sheet down on the counter. This will help flatten the cookies a bit more.

To make Gluten Free Chocolate M+M Cookies:

Mix M+Ms or mini M+Ms into the basic cookie batter. Form balls and place on a cookie sheet, leaving room in between the cookies as they will expand as they flatten. Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, slap the cookie sheet down on the counter.

To make Gluten Free Double Chocolate and Almond Cookies:

Stir white chocolate chips and coarsely chopped almonds into the basic chocolate cookie dough. Form balls and place them on a cookie sheet, leaving plenty of space in between them. Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, slap the cookie sheet down on the counter. This will further flatten the cookies.

This recipe yields at least 4 dozen cookies.

I made all three variations using just one cake box, so I didn’t give exact amounts for the white chocolate chips, icing sugar, M+Ms, and almonds because the amounts will vary depending on if you are making the entire box into one type or making two or three types with the one basic batter.

And of course, if you want a fourth variation, you can always make gluten free chocolate toffee cookies.  These are also made with the same basic cookie dough. You’ll love these cookies!

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Gluten Free Cake Mix Cookies Recipe

If you are attending or hosting an event where you know there will be those who can't have gluten, you can still make these easily. Plus, they are delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 gluten free chocolate cake mix
• 2-3 eggs*
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Begin by making this basic recipe. Mix together all three ingredients. (see note below)

To make Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkles:

1. Put icing sugar (also called powdered sugar) in a small bowl. Mix together the basic dough and shape into balls. Roll the balls in the icing sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Leave space in between the cookies as they will get flatter as they cook. Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, slap the cookie sheet down on the counter. This will help flatten the cookies a bit more.

To make Gluten Free Chocolate M+M Cookies:

1. Mix M+Ms or mini M+Ms into the basic cookie batter. Form balls and place on a cookie sheet, leaving room in between the cookies as they will expand as they flatten. Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, slap the cookie sheet down on the counter.

To make Gluten Free Double Chocolate and Almond Cookies:

1. Stir white chocolate chips and coarsely chopped almonds into the basic chocolate cookie dough. Form balls and place them on a cookie sheet, leaving plenty of space in between them. Bake in a 350° oven for 8-10 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, slap the cookie sheet down on the counter. This will further flatten the cookies.

Recipe Notes

I made all three variations using just one cake box, so I didn't give exact amounts for the white chocolate chips, icing sugar, M+Ms, and almonds because the amounts will vary depending on if you are making the entire box into one type or making two or three types with the one basic batter. And of course, if you want a fourth variation, you can always make gluten free chocolate toffee cookies.  These are also made with the same basic cookie dough. You'll love these cookies!

This recipe is one you will want to have in your arsenal because it’s so easy to whip up and can be made up to 2 days ahead of serving. This makes it a great choice as a side dish for a holiday meal or to bring along with you to a potluck.

You need very few ingredients to make this salad so I have often made this when we are invited to a gathering and I want to bring something along but don’t have time to run to the grocery store. I always have every one of these ingredients in the fridge and pantry.

Our son Einstein loves cucumbers (which is a big part of the reason why I always have at least one in the fridge!). He eats entire cucumbers in a single snack, so I suspected he was going to love this salad and I was right! He also happens to be our gluten free kid, so I’m always happy when I can add another gluten free recipe onto the list of ones he likes.

Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe:

1 long English cucumber, thinly sliced and halved
1 small onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. dill
dash of pepper

Stir together the last 5 ingredients. Add the cucumber and onion slices and toss to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 48 hours, stirring from time to time. Stir before serving.

This simple salad makes a lovely side dish and it’s a nice change from the usual lettuce salads. These are some of our family’s other favourite salads:

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Creamy Cucumber Salad Recipe

This simple salad makes a lovely side dish and it's a nice change from the usual lettuce salads.

Ingredients

• 1 long English cucumber thinly sliced and halved
• 1 small onion thinly sliced and separated into rings
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. dill
• dash of pepper

Instructions

1. Stir together the last 5 ingredients. Add the cucumber and onion slices and toss to coat. Cover and chill for 2 to 48 hours, stirring from time to time. Stir before serving.

I’ll be the first to admit that this tater tot casserole may not be the healthiest of our recipes, but it is by far the kids’ favorite. In fact, when I make it, I have to make two at a time and they both get eaten clean! It is one of the most requested meals for the kids’ birthday suppers and there are cries of joy whenever I announce that I am making it!

Even though it’s not the healthiest or well-balanced meal, it’s good to have some kid-pleaser recipes mixed into your menu plan.

Other than being a kid-pleaser, this recipe is also fool-proof. I’ve changed it up, substituted ingredients, cooked it for too long, cooked it for not long enough, and it’s never failed me.

Tator Tot Casserole Recipe:

• 150-200 g ground Italian sausage meat (I use the spicy variety to give it some kick)
• 1 kg bag of frozen tater tots
• 10.5 oz. can of cream of mushroom soup*
• 370 mL can of evaporated milk
• dash of paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

*If you are wanting to make this gluten-free, you will need to use gluten-free cream of mushroom soup and ensure that the tater tots are gluten-free (most brands are).

Brown the sausage meat and drain and pat with a paper towel to remove the grease. Place the ground sausage on the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish.

Place the frozen tater tots on top of the meat. In a bowl, mix the mushroom soup and evaporated milk and add the seasonings. Pour over top of the tater tots.

Bake at 350° for one hour.

To double this recipe, simply cook twice as much ground sausage and double to the rest of the ingredients but assemble them in two casserole dishes.

Tater Tot Casserole Freezer Meal Instructions:

I make this as a freezer meal so that I can make four or six at a time to always have it on hand for the kids. To make the tater tot casserole ahead, brown the sausage and place it in a medium-sized resealable bag. Mix the mushroom soup, condensed milk, and seasonings together in a bowl.

Place the frozen tater tots into a large resealable freezer bag. Pour the sauce over top. Take out as much air as you can and seal. Staple the bag of cooked ground sausage into the large bag and freeze.

On the day of cooking, thaw. Place the ground sausage at the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with the contents of the larger bag. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for one hour.

Looking for more make-ahead family-friendly meals? Check out our Chicken and Beef Dump Recipes.

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Tater Tot Casserole Recipe

Other than being a kid-pleaser, this recipe is also fool-proof. I've changed it up, substituted ingredients, cooked it for too long, cooked it for not long enough, and it's never failed me.

Course: Main Course

Keyword: casserole, tater tot

Servings: 6

: 652 kcal

Ingredients

• 150-200 g ground Italian sausage meat I use the spicy variety to give it some kick
• 1 kg bag of frozen tater tots
• 10.5 oz. can of cream of mushroom soup* *If you are wanting to make this gluten-free, you will need to use gluten-free cream of mushroom soup and ensure that the tater tots are gluten-free (most brands are).
• 370 mL can of evaporated milk
• dash of paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Brown the sausage meat and drain and pat with a paper towel to remove the grease. Place the ground sausage on the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish.

2. Place the frozen tater tots on top of the meat. In a bowl, mix the mushroom soup and evaporated milk and add the seasonings. Pour over top of the tater tots.

3. Bake at 350° for one hour.

4. To double this recipe, simply cook twice as much ground sausage and double the rest of the ingredients but assemble them in two casserole dishes.

Tater Tot Casserole Freezer Meal Instructions:

1. I make this as a freezer meal so that I can make four or six at a time to always have it on hand for the kids. To make the tater tot casserole ahead, brown the sausage and place it in a medium-sized resealable bag. Mix the mushroom soup, condensed milk, and seasonings together in a bowl.

2. Place the frozen tater tots into a large resealable freezer bag. Pour the sauce over top. Take out as much air as you can and seal. Staple the bag of cooked ground sausage into the large bag and freeze.

3. On the day of cooking, thaw. Place the ground sausage at the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with the contents of the larger bag. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for one hour.

With a large family, traveling requires a bit more planning and meals are a big part of that. We almost always stay somewhere that has a kitchen. It not only allows us to save a lot of money in terms of not eating out, it also cuts the stress level down. Eating out with a lot of kids is not my idea of relaxing!

Before leaving home, I meal plan for the vacation and write out a grocery list so that as soon as we get to our destination, I can go shopping and get settled in. I pack a few things from home such as spices to cut down on costs and try to plan somewhat around what is seasonal or what the location we are going to is known for.

There are certain meals that make it into every one of our vacation meal plans because they are easy to make and sure to be a hit with my family.

For me, food is a big part of a vacation, so it’s important that we eat well. I don’t want to eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches and KD on my holiday! I also find that if we just eat easy food (read junk), I don’t feel well and that puts a damper on the time away too.

One of our sons is gluten free, so that is something I also have to take into consideration even when we are away.

The vacation meal plan that I am sharing with you today is from a recent vacation that we took to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It’s the third time we had stayed at this particular place which made planning much easier as I knew which kitchen utensils the condo rentals came with and what local grocery stores to shop at. I had also discovered on previous trips some locally made cheeses that I knew I wanted to incorporate into some of our meals. I also knew we wanted to have at least one meal with fresh seafood since we were on the ocean.

Since it’s also supposed to be my vacation too (!), I try to plan so that I can do some of the prep work for future meals when I already have out the tools and ingredients to save myself time.

I also plan the easiest meals for the first and last day and I use some of the prep work for meals for our snacks as well.

Day 1

Breakfast

Oatmeal, toast or cereal

Lunch

Toasted BLTA sandwiches (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado)

• cook extra bacon for the Cobb Salad on Day 3
• wash extra lettuce for the souvlaki pitas on Day 2 and for the hamburgers on Day 3

Supper

Spaghetti (regular noodles and gluten free)

Day 2

Breakfast

Oatmeal, toast or cereal

Lunch

Souvlaki pitas

To make these, you will need to first make tzatziki. You can also buy it pre-made, but it’s very simple to make and so fresh tasting! You then cut a pita in half and open it to create a pita pocket. Inside, put lettuce, tzatziki, crumbled or cubed feta cheese, sliced purple onion, and sliced tomato. They are delicious!

• slice extra purple onions for Cobb salad on Day 3

Supper

BBQ chicken, roasted asparagus, baked potatoes, and vegetable packets (this particular time, I put red pepper, sweet potato, zucchini, yellow squash, and purple onion in the veggie packets)

To make the veggie packets, cut the vegetables into large chunks. Lay them on tin foil. Add a few slices of butter and salt and pepper and seal the foil. Cook in the oven or on the BBQ until they are as soft as you like them to be. Use what’s in season or what you have.

• cut extra veggies for the quesadillas on Day 4

Day 3

Breakfast

Omelettes and breakfast potatoes made with the leftover baked potatoes

Lunch

Cobb Salad

Supper

Hamburgers, raw veggies

Day 4

Breakfast

Bacon, eggs, hash browns

Lunch

Cajun chicken quesadillas with guacamole

Coat a few boneless, skinless chicken breasts in cajun spice. Fry them up in olive oil and cubed them. On flour tortillas, add the chicken cubes, grated cheese, chopped red peppers, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, and sliced jalapeños.

• make extra guacamole for snacks or to have with nachos on Day 6

Supper

BBQ ribs, baked potatoes with all the fixin’s, corn on the cob, grilled garlic bread

• make extra bacon bits and sliced green onions for Nachos on Day 6

I know that ribs are expensive, but they are a fraction of the cost of what feeding our large family in a restaurant would be. Having a splurge meal like ribs or steak while on vacation helps us stick to our plan of eating in as often as we can.

Day 5

Breakfast

cereal or oatmeal and bananas

Lunch

Leftovers or sandwiches

Supper

Penne a la vodka

Day 6

Breakfast

My sister-in-law Deanne’s Paleo Breakfast (eggs scrambled with sautéed onions and garlic, topped with parmesan cheese, cubed avocado and salsa)

Lunch

hot dogs for the kids + grilled Brie, bacon and granny smith apple sandwiches on rye bread for the adults

Supper

Salmon (fresh caught, bought from a local fishery), wild mushroom rice (Uncle Ben’s!) and Greek Salad

Day 7

Breakfast

cereal or oatmeal

Lunch

Hash browns, fried eggs topped with local cheese and bacon

Supper

Macaroni and cheese for the kids and Nachos for the adults

Vacation Snacks

• pitas with tzatziki
• meat and cheese
• fruit
• veggies
• salsa, guacamole and chips
• nuts

Of course, there will still be times on vacation when you do eat out. For those times, try using some of our tried and true methods to save money in restaurants with your family.

This particular vacation, we were actually there for 9 days, but there was one night where our friends watched our kids and they ordered in pizza while The Husband and I were able to go out on a lovely date and eat things that made my foodie heart content. There was also a day of cleaning out the fridge and eating whatever we could find.

Extra tips:

• pack sandwich bags, tin foil and large resealable bags
• bring more expensive spice blends and salt and pepper from home to save money
• do some recon ahead of time to find a grocery store that is near where you will be staying but has good prices. The prices right at resorts or campgrounds tend to be inflated.

What meals do you make when you go on vacation?