The Gluten Free Diaries

Buttermilk Biscuits revisited

2010-02-08T15:37:00.000-08:00

Originally, for Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, I was going to play with a gluten free cookie recipe I had and try to add more whole grain flours into the mix to make it healthier.... I totally forgot that I was having a friend over today and I was going to make my gluten free buttermilk biscuits because she loves them (and no, she does not have to eat gluten free!!!!). So I then decided... why not play around with the flours of the biscuits and see if I could make them have less starch and more whole grain flours? So I experimented... and this first experiment turned out GREAT! So great, that it will be my submission for Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays this week as well as for Tasty Tuesday. Here is the new recipe:

1 cup of brown rice flour
1/4 cup of sorghum
1/2 cup of corn starch
1 tsp of xanthan gum
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 a tsp of salt
1 cup of buttermilk
5 tbsp of gluten free butter

Directions:

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients
2. Cut the butter into the flour until you have little "pea sized" mixtures of butter and flour.
3. Add the buttermilk and stir until completely combined.
4. Drop the batter onto a greased cookie sheet by the spoonful. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Rice Pasta Lasagna

2010-02-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

   Rice lasagna noodles are not something I buy often, since they are rather expensive (I can usually find penne rice pasta for $1.99, but lasagna noodles are usually $4.00); however, last week, whole foods was having a huge sale in all of De Boles gluten free noodles, so I went ahead and got a box. I knew I would make a traditional lasagna this time since it has been soooo long since we have actually had one. My husband was so excited! Poor guy! He had to give up his favorite foods since I went gluten free. He has done it without complaining too! So great!

   This is a recipe I used to make often before going gluten free. I actually got it from a Kraft Foods Magazine they used to send out for free 4 times a year. Now, I believe, they just post the magazine on their website. It is so not the same! I loved getting that magazine and leafing through it to find recipes! I now rarely visit their website to look at the online version! So sad!

   This post is linked to "What can I eat that is gluten free?" over at Linda's, The Gluten Free Homemaker, site.

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground beef
2 1/2 cups of shredded mozarella
1 container (15 oz) of Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of parmesan divided
1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley (I actually used basil this time because I did not have parsley)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 jar of pasta sauce
12 gluten free lasagna noodles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a skillet, cook the meat until done (you can use some salt, pepper, all spice, and garlic powder to season if you would like- this is what I use). When the meat is done, add the sauce and let it simmer on low.
2. Meanwhile, cook the lasagna noodles as directed on the package.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together 1 1/4 cup of mozarella, ricotta cheese, egg, parsley, and 1/4 cup of parmesan.
4. Begin assembling the lasagna once noodles are cooked. First put a layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of the pan, followed by noodles, cheese mixture, more meat, then another layer of noodles, then repeat until the top layer.
5. On the top layer, put some of the meat mixture and top with remaining mozarella and parmesan cheese.
6. Bake the lasagna covered in foil for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake for approximately another 15 minutes.

Gluten Free Menu Swap- February 7-12

2010-02-06T20:50:00.000-08:00

So, I am really liking menu planning. I used to do it before, but actually writing it down for some reason seems to make it more "official." I just love knowing what I am going to make for dinner already. It really helps me shape my week right.

Last, week, Linda at The Gluten Free Homemaker hosted her usual "What can I eat that is Gluten Free?" carnival on Wednesday with a theme of casseroles. There were so many amazing casseroles that week! I was so excited to see them all. I will be trying some of them recently and blogging about them soon, so check that out. I will be making the first one tomorrow for breakfast. I am so excited! I will also be making some other fun recipes this week. I will try to make time to blog them throughout the week.

Here is our menu plan for this week:

SUNDAY: Rice Noodle Lasagna
MONDAY: Chicken ceasar salad with home made croutons (I will post my Ceasar salad dressing later in the week).
TUESDAY: BLT steak salad (I am so excited to try this salad! It is a Food network recipe, so I will post it later and let you all know how it goes.)
WEDNESDAY: Burgers with potato salad
THURSDAY: Chinese Stir Fry
FRIDAY: Papa al Pomodoro (I didn't end up making it last week because my husband and I got to go out on a date! We ended up eating at Outback Steakhouse because we had some gift cards!)

BAKING PLAN: I am planning on making a recipe I have for gluten free cookies slightly healthier by using more whole grain flours and submitting it for Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.... that's if it works out. ;) I am also going to make my usual loaf of French bread and batch of buttermilk biscuits.

This post is linked to:
Orgjunkie.com

Glutino Gluten Free Crackers- Product Review

2010-02-04T16:26:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks, the Whole Foods here in our area has had a sale on Glutino Gluten Free Crackers. I thought this would be the perfect time for me to try them, since they are usually rather expensive. I have been looking for some good snacks to have on hand for me, particularly on the days when I work and come straight home to take care of my son without eating lunch (soooo hungry on those days). Since he has just taken a nap and ready to go I do not get much down time to actually make myself something to eat, so having snacks on hand is very handy. Here is my review of the Glutino Original and Cheddar Cheese crackers. Overall, I really like these crackers.

Pros: Easily accessible. I really liked the flavor of both of the crackers. The cheddar cheese crackers are not too strong which is nice. The texture is also great (very similar to gluten full crackers).

Cons: The price! One little box can cost $4.99 regularly where I am from and it does not have a lot of crackers in it (there is approximately 32 crackers in a box)! Another con is that you have to watch the serving sizes very carefully as eight of each of the crackers have 140 calories and 5 grams of fat. I usually just either make sure I count how much I am eating or ration it out in smaller bags to take care of the problem (since they are so yummy, you could totally eat more than eight). I think this is so, however, with any cracker you eat. ;)

Gluten Free Menu Swap- February 1-5 and Spanish style pork roast

2010-01-31T21:13:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe it is already February!!!!!! It seems like January just flew by! So exciting for us as my husband is going to graduate from Graduate School this May!!! Yay!!!! Anyway, I decided to participate in the Gluten Free Menu Swap again. I feel like it is helping me shape my week and keeping to a good menu and budget (at least it did last week!). Here is my plan for the week. This week, the swap is being held at The Celiac Family Blog. The ingredient is CHOCOLATE!!!! This post is also linked to orgjunkie.com for weekly menu plan.

MONDAY: Taquitos (taco meat with my own seasoning, wrapped in corn tortillas and fried) Served with rice and black beans.

TUESDAY: Grilled chicken with side salad

WEDNESDAY: Papa al Pomodoro

THURSDAY: Grilled Chicken, gluten free mac and cheese, and steemed vegies (I am craving mac and cheese for some reason!)

FRIDAY: Pizza night as usual with gluten free brownies (Betty Crocker)

BAKING PLAN: I plan on making one loaf of GF french bread and one batch of GF buttermilk biscuits.

Last week, I promised I would post my recipe on Spanish style pork roast... but I failed! So I decided to add it to this post. Here is the recipe:

SPANISH STYLE PORK ROAST

Ingredients:

One lb of pork roast

3 tbsp of olive oil

3 garlic cloves minced

1 tbsp of dried oregano

2 tsp of salt

1 tsp of pepper

a splash of vinegar

Directions:

Mix the olive oil, garlic cloves, dried oregano, salt, pepper and vinegar in a small bowl. Place the roast on the crock pot. Pour the seasoning mix on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Enjoy with white rice and kidney beans!

Potato Leek Soup

2010-01-30T19:47:00.000-08:00

So, I am finally getting to blog some of the recipes for this week.... I have been very busy lately, but I want to get this recipe down before I forget them as I have modified it from a couple of different recipes to combine them and make one that we like. First thing I did was switch the recipe to be made in the crock pot. I love slow cooking soups and stews as I feel that the flavor is better (plus it is way easier on me than sitting there and watching the soup cook for an hour and a half!!! yikes!). I then proceeded to pick the ingredients I wanted to use as toppers etc. to make the soup very yummy. It was such a nice, rich yummy soup to have on a cold day! This post is linked to "What can I eat that is gluten free?" over at Linda's, the gluten free homemaker, site.

Ingredients:

One leek chopped into small pieces (you only use the white part)
4 russet potatoes peeled and cut into pieces
1 quart of gluten free vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of buttermilk (you can avoid it or pick only one of the dairy ingredients in order to reduce calories)
1 cup of whipping cream (you can avoid them or only pick one of the dairy ingredients to reduce calories)

Toppings: chopped green onions, bacon cut into pieces, and cheddar cheese if desired

Directions:

1. Put the chopped leek, chopped potatoes, and vegetable stock in the slow cooker. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and set the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
2. You can use a potato masher to mash the potatoes right on the crock pot. I do not have one of these, so I did the following: When done, take the soup very CAREFULLY out of the crock pot and transfer onto heavy duty mixer and mix with paddle attachment on SLOW (be very careful as the soup is hot!!!!!!) until the potatoes are somewhat mashed.
3. Add the cream and the buttermilk. Stir and serve onto a bowl. Add toppings if desired.

Gluten Free Menu Swap- January 25th

2010-01-24T19:41:00.000-08:00

I had seen in some of the other blogs that people are getting together to do a gluten free menu swap for the week. Each week there is an ingredient to be used once during the week, although you can participate even if you do not use this ingredient. Last week, the ingredient was parsnips. I actually have some parsnips from our co-op, so I thought I should go ahead and use them this week anyway, even though they were for last week's swap. This week, it is being hosted at http://www.gfgoodness.com. This week's ingredient is anything seasonal.... I just got a box with locally grown seasonal produce.... so, I am picking leeks and potatoes for a yummy potato leek soup (both of which I got from the co-op which is of locally grown, organic, seasonal produce). I will post on this post the recipe that includes the parsnips and later on in the week I will include the leek and potato soup. Here is my menu for the week:

MONDAY: Orange and Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken with a butter, garlic and parmesan vegetable medley (to include carrots, parsnips, cauliflower and broccolli) (Look at the bottom of this post for directions for this recipe)

TUESDAY: Spanish style pork with rice and beans (will blog this recipe later this week)

WEDNESDAY: Potato Leek Soup (will blog this recipe later this week)

THURSDAY: Chinese Stir Fry

FRIDAY: Pizza night

Orange and Rosemary Rotisserie Chicken:

Ingredients:

One orange (half juiced half cut into pieces to stuff the chicken with)

3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp of fresh rosemary

Directions:

Mix the juice of half of an orange, 3 tbsp of evoo, garlic, salt and pepper and rosemary in a bowl. Season the chicken with this mixture, making sure it goes over the entire chicken. Stuff the chicken with the other half of the orange (cut into pieces. Make sure you have removed all giblets, etc). Bake according to directions on the package.

Butter, Garlic, and Parmesan Vegetable Medley

This dish is inspired by a dish I had at Chili's before going gluten free which I loved!

Ingredients:

1 parsnip diced

1 carrot diced

1/2 cup of cauliflower

1/2 cup of broccoli

2 tbsp of butter

2 garlic cloves minced (you can roast them in a pan first or use it raw)

desired amount of parmesan cheese

Directions:

Roast the carrots and parsnips in the oven with olive oil (preheated to 425 degrees) Roast until done (20-30 minutes). Meanwhile, steam the broccoli and cauliflower until tender. When all is done, put the hot vegetables in a bowl, then add the butter, garlic and parmesan cheese and mix. You can add salt and pepper if desired.

This post is also linked to orgjunkie.com for menu plan of the week as well as for "What can I eat that is gluten free? over at the Gluten Free Homemaker's site.

Gluten Free Papa al Pomodoro

2010-01-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

It has been raining..... and raining..... and raining here..... so I thought a nice warm soup would help warm us up from the cold rainy days. I didn't want to make the same soups I usually make, so I set out to look for a new recipe. I found a good recipe for papa al pomodoro from the food network website, however, I decided to tweak it and add a few extra ingredients to really make it GREAT! My husband and I both loved it. Here is the recipe.

Ingredient:

3 tbsp of olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 shallot finely chopped
1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of white small beans (I actually used pinto, so you can use whatever you want)
1 quart of gluten free chicken stock (I used pacific)
4 cups of torn stale gluten free french bread (I only used 1 cup, but the original recipe calls for 4)
8 basil leaves finely chopped
Parmigiano Regiano for topping
Crunchy home made gluten free croutons for topping

Directions:

Heat the oil in a medium to large soup pot. Cook the garlic, onion and shallots for 2-5 minutes on medium heat. Then add the diced and crushed tomatoes, the stock and the beans, and the torn pieces of stale bread. Bring the heat up until it boils then lower it to simmer. Stir the soup while it simmers and cook until you get a stew like consistency. I added the basil leaves a few minutes before it was done. Then serve onto bowls and top with croutons and parmesan cheese.

For the Croutons:

I took a couple of pieces of french gluten free bread and put them on a baking sheet. I added chopped garlic and olive oil and I put whole basil leaves on top. I baked in the over for 10 minutes at 450.

Gluten Free, Dairy free, Egg free, Soy free pancakes

2010-01-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

So, normally I do not avoid any other allergens since my only problem is with gluten; however, my son is a whole other story. He is about a year and a half, and we are still not sure exactly what is going on (although since my recent gluten issues the doctors are now looking into celiac disease). Basically, he had a lot of GI issues since infancy which were all at the time blamed to food allergies.... so, for now, the doctors want him to avoid all of the major allergens. So, this set me on a quest to make foods without the major allergens..... which can sometimes be hard! I wanted him to be able to enjoy pancakes with us on Saturday mornings, so I decided to try to make my own recipe. Here is what I came up with..... They do not taste exactly like regular pancakes, but if you have to avoid a lot of allergens, they will definitely do. My son loved them. All we heard was YUM!!!! This post is linked to: "What can I eat that is gluten free?" over at The Gluten Free Homemaker's site as well as to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.
Ingredients:

1 tbsp of flaxseed meal combined with 3 tbsp of water and left to sit for 2 minutes
1/2 cup of sourghum flour
1/4 cup of brown rice flour
1/4 cup of potato starch
3/4 cup of rice milk
1 tbsp of sugar
2 tbsp of oil (I used canola- anything soy free and that you can use should do ok)
1 tbsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt

Directions:

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk in the wet ingredients. Cook on stove on a greased pan on medium heat until done.

Recipe Find of the Month- Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

2010-01-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

Ok, so originally I was going to look through other's blog's once a week and make something and, if we loved it, I would blog about it..... well, I decided to do that only once a month since I am a little more strapped for time than I thought! ;)

I am going to start this little project by featuring our favorite cinnamon roll recipe. It is from The Gluten Free Homemaker's site. We have made these soooo often since discovering the recipe it is not even funny. My whole family (as well as many other people whom I have shared the cinnamon rolls with) love this recipe for many reasons. I love it because it is more of a whole grain version. I have only made the one with sourghum, not millet yet. I still adore them. We all agree, my family and friends, that they taste as if they were NOT gluten free!!!!! And my final reason for liking them is that I did not find the recipe very difficult at all. So, I say, go out and give these a try if you haven't yet. I will post a picture tomorrow so you can see what they look like. YUM!!!!!

Lettuce Wraps

2010-01-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

So, originally I had said I would make Cabbage Wraps for this week... but I changed my mind and decided to use lettuce instead. I figured I would mimic PF Chang's appetizer, so I went to work to make my own recipe for them.... I just realized I am the weirdest hispanic I know..... out of all of these food posts, I only have one hispanic recipe!!! Wow.... I will have to work on that.

This recipe has been entered to "What can I eat that is Gluten Free?" over at the gluten free homemaker's site.

Well, here is my recipe for lettuce wraps.

Ingredients:

Lettuce leaves (about 5-7) washed and dried
1 large chicken breast
Olive oil for cooking
salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste
one large carrot shredded
One tsp of San J Gluten Free Szechuan sauce (warning- this is very spicy! If you don't want spice, omit this)
One Tbsp of soy sauce

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken breast into small pieces
2. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
3. Cook the chicken with the olive oil until almost done.
4. Add the carrots and the sauces and finish cooking
5. Serve with lettuce to use as wrappers

Gluten Free Pantry Croutons Review and Next Week's Plan

2010-01-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

It is sad to say, but my favorite part of a salad are the croutons! (Of course, the not so healthy part). When going gluten free, I had seen that the Gluten Free Pantry offered Olive Oil and Garlic croutons, but I thought I would just skip them for now (since a small box of them retails at $4.99 in my area). I finally gave in one day out of curiosity. Here is my thoughts on them.

Pros: Easily accessible (I found them at Whole Foods). All you have to do is open a box and put them on your salad (I like easy!).

Cons: I did not get any garlic or olive oil flavor at all... I actually didn't taste much of anything.... The texture is obviously different since they are gluten free (this I expected)... I still expected more garlic flavor to come through... Maybe it was just the box I got? Not sure on that.

Based on the flavor, I probably won't spend $4.99 again on them. I will either go without them or just make my own out of my own bread.

Now, I must apoligize for my lack of posting lately. First it was the holidays, and then I had a doctor's appointment 2.5 hours away with a celiac disease specialist to help me sort my case out. And then, I got glutened over the weekend and have been feeling HORRIBLE! I am on the mend and I am planning on posting some more things this week which will include the beginnings of my "Recipe Find of the Week" (posted later on in the week) as well as a cabbage roll recipe I am making up. All that so say.... Stay tuned and keep checking back!

Tortilla Soup and possible new ideas for the blog

2010-01-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

First of all: Happy New Year! It has been so cold here recently (well, cold for us Southern Californians....). This has just really put me in a mood for soup. I do not usually like soup, but again, when it is nice and crisp outside, it just feels right. I am also always in the mood for something easy to make, specially on the days I work. I decided that today was the perfect day to make tortilla soup. It is just yummy and soooo easy! I am planning on submitting this recipe to "Go Ahead Honey it's Gluten Free!" which is hosted this month over at the Mouthgasmic blog.

I was thinking recently about starting a little weekly series for the blog called "Recipe Find of the Week." I have been going on all kinds of webpages and blogs looking for different recipes and I thought it would be cool to highlight once a week the recipes I have tried that have just been awesome. I am still thinking about it.... but I think I might take the plunge and do it next week! Ok, now onto the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 can of corn
1 can of diced tomatoes with chili
1 can of kidney beans
1 lb of ground meat (your choice of chicken, beef or turkey. I used turkey this time)
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 packet of taco seasoning (or you can use my taco seasoning mix. It is written at the bottom)
Extra shredded cheese and corn tortilla chips for toping

Directions:

On the stove, cook the ground meat with the taco seasoning until done. In your slow cooker, put the cans of tomatoes, corn and beans. Then add the meat and cheese and stir. Cook on low for 5-7 hours. Yes, it is that easy!!!!!

My taco seasoning mix is as follows for 1 lb of meat:

1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of paprika
2 tsp of cumin
2 tsp of chili powder
If you want to add heat, add 1 tsp of cayenne pepper (if you use the tomatoes with chili, it might be too much, so I would omit it).

Buttermilk Biscuits

2009-12-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

I love biscuits! When I found that recipe for cheese biscuits at the Gluten Free Easily blog I was soooo excited. I was even more excited when they turned out amazing! At that moment, when I had my first bite and realized these were GREAT, I knew I would use this recipe as a base to make buttermilk biscuits! We just love buttermilk biscuits! I missed them so much.... Thanks Shirley for posting that recipe as it lead to me getting to eat buttermilk biscuits as well!

Ingredients:

1 cup of brown rice flour
1/4 cup of corn starch
1/4 cup of potato starch
1/4 cup of tapioca starch
5 tbsp of butter
1 tsp of xanthan gum
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 cup of buttermilk

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Cut the 5 tbsp of butter into the dry ingredients until there are pea-sized flour pieces throughout. Make a crater in the center and add the buttermilk. Mix with a big spoon.

On a greased cookie or baking sheet, drop spoonfuls of the batter onto it, spaced about 1 inch apart. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes

Take a look at Shirley's page as she has many notes on people who have made the biscuits and what they have done to make them turn out great (some people had to drop the temperature, some people had to turn them once, etc.)

Mantecaditos

2009-12-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

   The aroma of "mantecaditos" coming out of my mom's kitchen is something I will never forget! If you are not familiar with these, they are basically a slightly different version of a butter cookie made in many Puerto Rican homes! As a child, my mom made these a lot. Usually, they were made for the holidays, but they were also made throughout the year. She would make huge batches of them and it took all of our will power not to eat them all. After all, shortening is used to make them, so it is probably not a good thing to eat them all!

   I decided to attempt to make these cookies while using gluten free flours. I was pleasantly surprised! They pretty much turned out exactly the same! They even looked the same while being made! If you so choose to make these, you will notice that when you are done mixing the ingredients you will see a crumbly mixture in front of you. Do not panic! That is exactly how it is supposed to look, whether they are made gluten free or not!

   This recipe is being submitted for "Go Ahead Honey, It is Gluten Free!" which is hosted this month over at the Gluten Free by Nature blog. This post is also linked to "What can I eat that is gluten free?" over at The Gluten Free Homemaker's blog.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of shortening
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp of almond extract (make sure it is gluten free)
1 1/2 cups of brown rice flour
1/2 cup of sourghum flour
1/2 cup of tapioca starch
Desired amount of sprinkles (make sure they are gluten free!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degree. In a bowl, mix together the butter and shortening with a large spoon. Then slowly add the sugar until mixed completely with the butter and shortening. Then add the almond extract and flour mixture. Do not mix the whole mixture too much, only until combined. Then form one inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Gently make a thumb print or slightly pat the cookie down. You can sprinkle with with whatever sprinkles you would like as long as they are gluten free! Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix

2009-12-21T15:51:00.000-08:00

So, I finally got my hands on one of Betty Crocker's gluten free mixes! For some reason, they are really hard to find in my area! Only one grocery store close to my house sells them, and they are missing the devil's food cake mix! My husband is going to see if a store by his work, which is 30-40 minutes away, carries the devil's food cake mix. In the meantime, I bought the brownie mix to try. I am planning on making an oreo cookie cake with the devil's food cake mix for Christmas.

Pros: This mix is very easy to make. It only needs 2 ingredients (butter and eggs). I thought the texture was amazing! I have tried many other gluten free brownies (with the exception of cherrybrook kitchen's brownies, I have not tried them yet) and they are always so dry and so not brownie like! These are just like brownies. We made them for my husband's work party, and they got devoured without anyone noticing they are gluten free!

Cons: Difficulty of finding them in stores. I thought they would be easy to find since they are supoused to be in regular stores, but only one store in my area carries them.

Chicken a la hubby

2009-12-20T12:40:00.000-08:00

My husband loves to cook. He has not had a chance to really cook lately because he has been extremely busy. This weekend though, he had some time and decided to make dinner for us. He is not a recipe follower. He usually just finds a bunch of ingredients in the fridge he thinks will go together and makes what we like to call "a creation". They usually turn out really yummy!

This weekends creation was a hit! So, we decided to take a picture and post it up on the blog.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

salt and pepper to taste, garlic powder and onion powder to taste

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 shallot finely diced

1 small onion cut into strips

1 small green pepper cut into strips

9 strips of bacon ( I used applegate farms bacon)

mozarella cheese

2 tomatoes cut into small pieces

Directions:

1. Heat up olive oil on the pan on medium heat. Place shallots in the pan and begin cooking. Meanwhile, season the chicken with the salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.

2. Once the chicken is almost fully cooked, add one strip of bacon, more oil if needed, and the onions and the peppers. Cook until fully done. When done, remove the bacon strip.

3. Cook the remaining 8 bacon strips to desired crispiness in either the microwave or the stovetop

(whatever method you prefer).

4. Once the bacon is cooked, assemble the dish. Put strips of peppers and onions on top of the chicken,

put bacon on top of that, put slices of cheese on top of that and let it melt (if needed, put in microwave for a few seconds to melt). Then top with tomatoes. Sooo yummy!!!!

Beef Stew and Yummy recipe find at the Gluten Free Easily Blog

2009-12-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

I offered to bring dinner for some friends of ours who just had a baby boy (their third baby!) and I decided to make beef stew. My husband loves beef stew, specially when it is nice and cold outside. I made tons of it so we could have leftovers. We ate it so quickly that I forgot to take a picture! Sorry! If I make it again soon, I will try to remember to post a picture!

To go along with the beef stew, I found a GREAT recipe for gluten free cheese biscuits at the Gluten Free Easily blog which is run by Shirley. Go check out that recipe! It is great! It goes great with the beef stew.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb of stew meat
4-5 small potatoes (your choice what kind, I used yukon)
1 small onion diced
3 carrots peeled and cut
1/2 of a small bag of frozen green beans
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of fresh or dried oregano (you could substitute this for rosemary as well).
1 tsp of fresh or dried thyme
2 tbsp of potato flour
6 fluid ounces of gluten free beef broth (I used Pacific Natural Foods)
Water to desired level

Directions:

1. Place the diced onions, potatoes, carrots and green beans in a slow cooker.
2. Mix the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and potato flour. Cook the meat on a skillet on medium heat, covering it with the mixture of seasonings and then adding it to the slow cooker when done.
3. Add the beef broth and then add water to desired level. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Spinach, tomato and cheese lasagna

2009-12-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

As I have said before, we belong to a co-op here in our area. We get tons of fresh produce once a week. Last week we got some spinach. I was looking around to see what to make with the spinach... something new we hadn't made yet. I found a recipe on the website for the co-op for spinach lasagna; however, it was only spinach, tomato and cheese! No salt, no spices, nothing else! I decided to use it as an inspiration to build a yummy spinach, tomato and cheese lasagna.

Ingredients:

1 lb of shredded spinach
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 cans of diced tomatoes drained
8 ounces of fresh ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella
1 egg
2 tsp of either fresh or dried oregano
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper
8 ounces of fresh mozzarella
1 package of gluten free lasagna, cooked and drained

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, heat up the olive oil. Then add the onions and garlic and
   spinach and cook until done (5-10 minutes depending on the skillet you use).
2. Meanwhile, boil some water and cook your lasagna noodles as directed on the package.
3. In a bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, egg, oregano, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of shredded
   mozzarella.
4. On the bottom of a baking dish, put some of the drained tomatoes. Top them with lasagna noodles.
   Layer those with spinach, then ricotta mixture, then tomatoes, then cut pieces of fresh mozzarella. Add
   another layer of lasagna noodles and repeat. Finally top the last layer of lasagna noodles with tomatoes
   and slices of mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake lasagna for approximately 45 minutes.

Corn Flake Crusted French Toast

2009-12-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite restaurants makes corn flake crusted french toast. They are so amazing! I missed them so much, I knew I had to try to make them gluten free. This weekend, I decided to make them for breakfast. I first made a loaf of French Bread on the bread machine the day before. I then proceeded to go to the store and get the rest of the ingredients. This morning, I made them for me and my husband. They were so good! Tasted very similar to the ones from my favorite restaurant! Yay!

I decided to add this recipe to the What Can I Eat that is Gluten Free? carnival over at the Gluten Free Homemaker's blog site. Check it out to see other great recipes.

Ingredients:

4 slices of gluten free French Bread

1 egg, whisked

1/4 cup of milk

1 tsp. of gluten free vanilla

2 tsp. of sugar

2 tbsp. of cinnamon

1-2 cups of gluten free corn flakes ( I used Nature's Path)

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, the milk, vanilla, sugar and cinnamon. Put the corn flakes (starting with one cup and adding more as needed) in another bowl. You can crush the corn flakes if you would like. I left them whole because that is the way the restaurant made them. Then dip the bread onto the egg mix followed by dipping it into the corn flakes. Make sure you cover the bread with desired amount of corn flakes. Then cook the bread on the skillet on medium heat (melt some butter onto the skillet first and then place the french toast for best results). Voila! Yummy corn flake crusted french toast!

New french bread recipe for French Toast!

2009-12-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

I love the french baguettes I made on this post. They are so yummy, specially to make little subs out of. We made meatball subs out of them recently! However, they are too small to make french toast with. I like big french toast squares made with french bread; so, I decided to make a french bread on the bread machine pan in order to turn them into corn flake crusted french toast... Why corn flake crusted? Because one of my all time favorite restaurants serves these and they are amazing! So, I was on a quest to recreate the flavor so that I would not have to live without!

I went on a search for gluten free french bread recipes and I decided to blend a couple of different recipes together to come up with one that would work on the bread machine (I looked at a recipe posted on The Gluten Free Homemaker's site which she adapted from Carol Fenster's book Gluten Free 101 as well as Emeril's french bread recipe for regular gluten full bread which came with the bread maker) This is what I came up with. It worked wonderfully on my bread machine.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of sourghum flour
1 1/2 cup of potato starch
1/2 cup of tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp of salt
2 1/4 tsp of instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp. of sugar
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
1 cup of room temp to slightly warm water
1 Tbsp plus 2 tsp of olive oil
1 tsp of vinegar ( I use cider)
Enough egg whites to make 1/3 of a cup (I used 2) (I am thinking of attempting this later without the eggs and use 1/3 of a cup of water instead since I have so many family members that are allergic to eggs... if I do, I will update it later).

Put all the ingredients in your bread pan per directions of your bread machine. This is for a 2 lb loaf. I used french bread setting, 2 lb, medium crust. Yum!

Learning to dine out

2009-12-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

   I have not been feeling well this week because.... I got glutened this weekend when my husband and I ate out! It was the second time I have gotten sick at this particular restaurant. I was shocked that it happened again because this restaurant is a well known restaurant that happens to offer a gluten free menu.

   I had a feeling I was going to get sick when we walked in. I took a peek at the kitchen, and saw that the staff was very busy, yet not paying close attention to what they were doing. It seems like they all work there so much that they were on auto-pilot. No one was looking down at what they were doing, yet they were all working. It was an interesting little peak into their kitchen.... It definitely made me think I would get sick again; however, I was still hoping for the best.

   We decided to call the manager the next day, since that was the day I started to get symptoms. They were very nice about it. He took me through their process and what they do to make a gluten free meal. They are supposed to wash all of the utensils and the pans before making a gluten free meal, since they are used to make all of their other meals. My guess is that the kitchen staff either did not wash them or did not wash them thoroughly enough....

   I am very new to the whole gluten free eating, so I am still learning how to eat out. These experiences make me a little fearful to eat out, specially to attempt to order something at a restaurant that does not offer a gluten free menu.

Fettuccine Alfredo

2009-12-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

I decided to post this recipe up at this weeks "What can I eat that's Gluten Free?" Over at the Gluten Free Homemaker's site. I just finally figured out how to post her icon on my blog (can you tell I have not been into blogging until recently ;) ). Click on her icon to link to her page.

My husband was born in Italy. His dad is Italian and currently owns an Italian restaurant. Needless to say, Italian cuisine is a big deal at our house. When I could not eat regular pasta anymore, it was as if someone had died.... My husband is very kind and will eat rice pasta with me, but he knows it is not the same.... I am still very upset about it as well as my father in law makes the best Quattro Formagio antipasto you have ever tasted (I won't get to taste it again!).

Still, I decided to use the recipe my husband has (as given to him by his father back when my husband was in college), to make fettuccine alfredo with rice pasta. It was still so delicious because the sauce is amazing! It is not figure friendly though, so be advised!

Ingredients:

One 8 ounce container of heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp. of butter
Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb cooked chicken
Desired amount of cooked brocolli
1 lb of cooked rice pasta (penne or spaghetti will do).

Directions:

In a sauce pan, cook rice pasta according to directions on the package. Drain the pasta. In the sauce pan, bring the heavy whipping cream and butter to a simmer until it bubbles. Remove from the heat and place the pasta into the sauce pan with the sauce. Add parmesan cheese to the pasta and stir until you get your desired consistency and flavor. Add a dash of pepper and stir. Serve the pasta with chicken and brocolli. Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza

2009-12-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

I love pizza! Before discovering my body reacts to gluten, I used to make gluten full homemade pizza all of the time! I obviously took shortcuts and bought the already made pizza crust at Trader Joe's! Now, however, I knew that wasn't an option, so I went in search for a great pizza crust recipe (I was in between making up my own and using someone else's when I discovered this recipe and knew I had to give it a try!).

I found a wonderful recipe at The Gluten Free Homemaker's blog. Check out her site for the details on the actual recipe. However, I like my pizza crust with a little pizzaz, so here is the few extra things I did to make it really yummy!

Ingredients:

1 recipe of The Gluten Free Homemaker's pizza crust
Olive oil to brush
3 garlic cloves minced
dried oregano

Directions:

Make the pizza crust as directed. Before baking it at 400 degrees for 8 minutes, brush the crust with olive oil, sprinkle some oregano and minced garlic on top (make sure tons of it lands on the crust you will eat without cheese and sauce!). Then proceed with the rest of her recipe. Delicious!

Very Modified Dragon's Breath Chili recipe from Guy Fieri

2009-12-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

As you can probably tell from some of the modified recipes I have here, I love watching the Food Network. I know, some of the recipes are not authentic sometimes, particularly when they are making ethnic foods (I was watching a show today where they were making "pastelillos" which is a spanish pastry filled with meat. Well, I am hispanic and I was a little annoyed at the way she was making it as it is not the authentic way to make it; but then again, she said she was giving it "her own spin."). Yet, their recipes are still so delicious! Their Food Network Challenge shows are pretty fun to watch too.

Anyway, I love chili, so I was looking through their recipes. I found this one by Guy Fieri. It is extremely spicy as you can tell from the name, so I modified it quite a bit to take the spice down quite a notch. It was also a rather large recipe, so I modified it to make it smaller (it originally had 10-15 servings!). It was delicious. It was still spicy though, so beware! You can take out the cayenne pepper to decrease the spice even more.

Ingredients

1lb of ground meat (either beef, chicken or turkey, your choice)
1 lb of mild sausage (either pork, chicken or turkey your choice. Make sure it is gluten free! Johnsonville makes gluten free sausages. Check their website for details.)
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of diced tomatoes (if you want it spicier, use a can of diced tomatoes with green chili. Be warned though, this makes the chili very spicy! If not, just use plain diced tomatoes).
1 can of tomato sauce
3 Tbsp of tomato paste
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. of onion powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. of cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. of paprika
1 tsp. of salt
1 tsp. of pepper
1 onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced

Directions:

Put the can of diced tomatoes, can of kidney and black beans with juice, can of tomato sauce, and 3 tbsp of tomato paste in a slow cooker/crock pot. Cook the meat with the diced onion and minced garlic until done. When done, mix the spice mix onto the meat until it fully covers the meat. Transfer the meat onto the crock pot. Mix together and allow to simmer on low for 5 hours.

Delicious! Again, it is spicy. To decrease the spice, omit the cayenne pepper and only use a regular can of diced tomatoes, not diced tomatoes with chili.

Chinese Dinner Night

2009-11-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

I love Chinese food! (Well, what we call Chinese food....) Egg rolls are one of my favorite things.... I was so sad to find out those are out! I needed to figure out a way to replace them, so I started to look at many blogs. I found one blog where the person actually made her own gluten free egg roll wrappers from scratch, but overall the consensus was to use rice paper/spring roll paper to make spring rolls instead. You have to make sure that there are no gluten containing ingredients when you buy it though!

I decided to give it a try. I made a yummy (and spicy, so watch out! Some celiac tummies do not appreciate spicy food. Mine thankfully doesn't mind.) chicken and veggie bowl with some spring rolls to go on the side. It totally satisfied my craving for chinese food (specially the egg rolls...) Here is the recipe I made up.

Spicy Chicken and Veggie Bowl

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked white rice (I used a rice cooker, or cooked on the stovetop)
1 1lb of chicken breast or tenders cut up into small squares and seasoned with a little salt and pepper
2 Tbsp of olive oil
a splash of gluten free soy sauce (I use San-J Organic Gluten Free Tamari)
3 Tbsp of garlic chili sauce (make sure it is gluten free! Contact the manufacturer if you have to)
Desired amount of broccoli, cooked until tender

Directions:

Heat up the 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Cook the chicken until done. Add a splash of gluten free soy sauce and the 3 tbsp of gluten free garlic chili sauce. Stir until fully coated. Add the cooked broccoli and stir until chicken and broccoli are covered with the sauce. Serve over cooked white rice.

Veggie Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

Shredded Cabbage
Shredded Carrots
A splash of gluten free soy sauce
Rice paper/spring roll wrappers (Make sure these are gluten free! Rice flour only! Contact the manufacturer if needed. Every store I have seen carries different ones, so make sure you check).

Directions:

If you are using fresh cabbage and carrots, shred them using a food processor. You could also already buy them shredded at your store. Cook them in a little bit of olive oil until cabbage is slightly wilted. Add a little bit of soy sauce and remove from the pan onto a bowl. Allow to cool. To wrap them with the rice paper, thoroughly wet the rice paper, place desired amount of cabbage and carrots in the middle of the paper and wrap. You will need to keep a moist paper towel on top of them while you are working with the rest. You can eat them like this, or you can fry them. Use your preferred frying method (either a pan or deep fryer if you have one). Be very careful while frying them if you so choose! Basically, use the same common sense you would use while frying any other item.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mixes

2009-11-29T14:26:00.000-08:00

Betty Crocker has come out with gluten free mixes for yellow cake, brownies, chocolate cake, and chocolate chip cookies! They can be found at regular grocery stores in the same aisle you find gluten full mixes. I have not tried them yet, but I read about it on The Celiac Family Blog. Check out her blog as she is doing a giveaway of all four of the mixes for people to try!

Gluten Free French Baguettes

2009-11-28T14:52:00.000-08:00

So, one of the reasons I wanted to get the Emeril Bread Machine and Baguette Maker was to make baguettes in the bread maker. I know you can make them in the oven with a baguette pan (you can get those at Williams Sonoma or from Amazon), but I thought it would be easier in the bread machine. It sure was! In under two hours, I had the best gluten free bread I have ever had! My husband even eats subs made from this bread (he does not need to be on a gluten free diet, he just really likes them!). the best part is that all I had to do was put the ingredients in the machine, turn it on, then spoon the dough onto the ban, and press a button.... then voila! Fresh gluten free french baguettes!

Keep in mind, I have only used this recipe for the bread maker. I am sure if you do not have a bread maker that makes baguettes, you could make the dough in your bread maker under the dough setting. When done, transfer the dough onto the bread pan (you might want to put parchment paper on the bottom of the pan to prevent the dough from leaking out. I have never tried this, but I read this as a comment on the blog I linked below), then bake it at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven. If you do not have a bread machine at all and want a french bread recipe, go to this recipe from the Gluten Free Homemaker. Her recipe looks delicious and it uses similar flours as mine. I adapted mine from Emeril's recipe cards which came with the bread maker.

Ingredients:

2/3 cups of water plus 1 Tbsp
1 cup of potato starch
1/2 cup of sourghum flour
1/4 cup of tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum
1 tsp of gluten free yeast
1 1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp. of sugar

Directions:

If you have the Emeril bread machine, follow the directions for program 9 (baguette making). Just know that the dough is very sticky unlike gluten full dough, so all you have to do once it is ready is spoon the dough into the baguette pans to bake it (no need to roll it, etc.) I am planning on doubling the recipe this week to make baguettes for gluten free meatball subs later on in the week (this recipe makes very little dough so the baguettes turn out small, specially the gluten free ones). I will post an update later to see if it worked.

If you do not have the Emeril bread machine, again, you can try to use the dough setting and then transfer the dough onto a baguette pan and bake at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes. If anyone does this, please post and let me know how it works. You may need to double the recipe to do this as your pans are bigger than the pans that come with the bread machine.

The bread was so delicious! The crust was nice and crunchy, just like gluten full french bread. The bread had little air holes in it, just like french bread... Sooo good!

Mashed Potatoes

2009-11-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

   My friend used to always make these for Thanksgiving when we got together. I have never liked mashed potatoes, but I loved this recipe. It is so good! Of course, I had to ask her for the recipe and continue to make it during the holidays! So delicious! I am not sure if she made up this recipe or if she got it from somewhere else....

   You will see that this recipe and some of my most recent ones contain dairy... this is because I can finally have dairy without any symptoms! I am so excited about being able to re-introduce dairy to my diet!

   Without any further discussion, here is the mashed potato recipe. I was supposed to add a picture of it after Thanksgiving, but I forgot to.... Too busy eating!

Ingredients:

8 Idaho potatoes cooked in salted water until soft

1 tsp. salt

8 oz. cream cheese softened

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter softened

1 1/2 t. onion salt

1/4 t pepper

Directions:

Mash together and place in greased 9x13 casserole. Bake 325 for 30 minutes.

Cherrybrook Kitchen Sugar Cookies

2009-11-21T14:52:00.000-08:00

Again, I am planning on making way too much food on Thanksgiving for me to make absolutely everything from scratch, so I am using some help again from Cherrybrook Kitchen. These cookies are sooooo good. I decided to use their sugar cookies for Thanksgiving, but their chocolate cookies are also amazing. Their texture is identical to gluten full cookies. Their flavor is the same as well! My husband could not even tell they were gluten free! I had to tell him! If you are ever in a craving for cookies, get these mixes and make them. Why go through the hassle of making your own when they have already made such a GREAT mix? I will post a picture of what the cookies look like baked after Thanksgiving. You can check their website for more products and information.

Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix as a pie crust and Apple Pie recipe

2009-11-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

Since I am making so many different things this Thanksgiving, I figured I would get some help from some pre-made mixes. I have used Pamela's Gluten free bread mix before and I have loved it as a pie crust (I have not used it as a bread mix). My only complaint with it is that it is so crumbly that it can be rather hard to work with. I decided I was going to still use it for the apple pie for Thanksgiving, but Whole Foods ran out of it!!!!! I was so upset. I am still going to try to get it from a different health food store here in my town. If I cannot find it, I will resort to making up my own pie crust recipe. (update: I ended up finding Pamela's bread mix, so I used it as a pie crust, the pics of the pie are with that crust). If I make up my own, I will post it here.

In the meantime, here is the recipe for the pie filling I am going to use. It is delicious! This is actually a recipe from Paula Deen from the Food Network. I have had it for a long time.... I cannot find it on their site anymore, so I cannot link to it. I have adapted it slightly.

Update on 12-16-2009: I have added this recipe to the Holiday Fest over at the Life as Mom blog. Check it out to see other great recipes, plus they are giving away an apron from D-Lux 57.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of sugar
2 1/2 cups of peeled, diced apples
1 Tbsp of gluten free flour (you can use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour for this since it is a small amount, or you can use rice flour)
1 tbsp of cinnamon (the recipe calls for 1 tsp, but I like more cinnamon)
16 ounce jar of apple sauce
1 Tbsp of lemon juice
2 Tbsp of butter

Combine all of the ingredients together, minus the butter. Put them on top of your gluten free pie crust on a baking dish. Dot the surface with the 2 Tbsp of butter. Make a lattice pattern for the top of the pie ( I have succeeded in doing this with Pamela's Bread Mix, but it is hard! The dough ends up rather crumbly). Bake it for 10 minutes at 425 degrees then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes.

Gluten Free Flaxseed Sandwich Bread

2009-11-19T20:18:00.000-08:00

   So, I finally have gotten a bread machine! I am so excited about it. The thought of just putting a bunch of ingredients in a machine, pressing a few buttons and getting awesome gluten free bread later with pretty much no work just really makes me happy!

   I had looked into all sorts of bread machines to make my choice. The Zojirushi was one of the highest rated machines, but it did not have a gluten free cycle (although you can alter other things to customize your bread baking). I decided to get the Emeril Bread Machine and Baguette Maker by Tfal for 4 reasons. Number one, it had a gluten free cycle. Number two, it had a cycle and a pan to make baguettes, something I want to make. Number three, it was very highly rated on many sites. Number four, I could get it from my local Bed Bath and Beyond and even use one of their 20% off coupons to lower the price significantly (by $30!). So, that made up my mind!

   The machine arrived today and I just could not wait to try it. I decided to alter one of the recipes Emeril had added to the machine to make it gluten free as well as to make it include flaxseed meal to increase the nutritional value of the bread. The recipe is as follows for a 2lb capacity bread machine:

1 1/4 cups of water
4 Tbsp. of butter (softened at room temperature)
1 3/4 tsp of salt
1 Tbsp of sugar
2 Tbsp. of dry milk powder
1/4 cup of tapioca flour (Bob's Red Mill) ** see note at bottom
1/2 cup potato starch (Bob's Red Mill) ** see note at bottom
1/2 cup of sourghum flour (Bob's Red Mill) ** see note at bottom
1/2 cup of flaxseed meal (Bob's Red Mill makes one that is gluten free)
1 1/2 cups of brown rice flour (Arrowhead Mills) ** see note at bottom
1 Tbsp of xanthan gum
1 3/4 tsp of yeast (make sure it is gluten free! I used Red Star which says on the packet that is free of wheat and other grain gluten).

Basically you just add the ingredients to your bread machine in the order that it specifies on your machine's instruction manual, set it to the crust color, program mode (I used gluten free), and to 2lb capacity and let it do the rest for you!

The bread turned out so yummy and it was so easy! Overall, I was pleased! I am probably going to make a Gluten Free Cinnamon Brioche tomorrow to bring for our bible study as a dessert (in the bread machine of course!).

** Originally I had used 2 3/4 cups of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. After freezing it, I started to notice a weird aftertaste. I did some research and found that bean flour, which Bob's Red Mill contains garbanzo bean flour, tends to leave a weird aftertaste, so I went on a search. I decided not to use Pamela's baking mix because it has almond flour (my son is allergic to nuts). So... I had to give in and make my own mix of flours (something I was trying to avoid. This was the best mix of flours which yielded the best texture and taste out of all of my experiments. :)

A Gluten Free Holiday Season- Turkey Recipe

2009-11-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

I never quite payed attention to how much the holidays, and for that matter anything in life, is centered around food until I realized I couldn't eat something. This year, we decided to host Thanksgiving, and probably Christmas, at our house since I am still new to the whole gluten free life thing and feel a lot more comfortable eating things I prepare at home. I will be cooking the Turkey, mashed potatoes, gluten free apple pie, gluten free sugar cookies, gluten free pumpkin bread (which I already did a post on)... I know it sounds like a lot, but for some of it I am using pre-made mixes. I will post all of the product reviews and recipes this week and add pictures after Thanksgiving (update- I was too busy eating to take many pictures... sorry... no pics of the turkey.... but there are some of the apple pie!). Make sure your turkey is gluten free! You can read about frozen turkeys and making sure they are gluten free at The Celiac Family blog.

Here is the recipe for the Turkey seasoning I will be using. This is to be used for a 14-16 lb turkey:

12 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp of pepper
1 TBSP of dried oregano
3 TBSP of olive oil
3 TBSP vinegar
13 tsp of salt (I usually only use 10, but it depends how much salt you want to use)

I then proceed to season the turkey the night before. I put strips of bacon on top of turkey. I then cook it with whatever instructions are given on the package (this year's turkey says to cook at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes per pound. Keep a close eye on it because overcooking=dry turkey!).

This is actually the recipe my mom has always used and it is delicious! I always get asked for this recipe when I make it!

Update 12/10/2009- I decided to link this post to The Holiday Food Fest. This week, it is hosted by Gluten Free Easily (gfe). Click on the link for more information.

Outback Steakhouse

2009-11-18T14:25:00.000-08:00

Last night, my husband and I decided to have a date night out and go out to eat. Since I have been burned (meaning glutened) quite frequently lately when I either eat out or have something that I did not know was manufactured on the same equipment as wheat (pizza sauce!) we decided to play it safe and go to Outback Steakhouse. They offer a gluten free menu which put me right at ease. I also spoke with the manager when I got there and asked how the food was prepared. She assured me that all gluten free food is prepared with separated utensils and pans and anything that goes on the grill is wrapped in foil to prevent cross contamination. I immediately let out a sigh of relief and was able to relax. A meal I didn't have to cook that didn't make me sick!

I would always recommend speaking to a manager of any restaurant, even one that offers a gluten free menu, to be absolutely sure they are preparing things appropriately. I would probably talk to a manager every time I went to Outback just to make sure, even though I was already told about their food prep. The longer I have been on the gluten free diet, the worse my body reacts when it accidentally comes into contact with gluten (Reynaud's phenomena was now added to my list on top of GI symptoms, joint pain, numbness and tingling into my arms, migraines and extreme fatigue), which is why I am going the extra cautious side. I cannot end up in bed for 4 days.....

Bumble Bar Organic Energy Bar

2009-11-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

I have been in a search for a good Gluten Free bar. I have tried some bars which have been good, but this specific bar I really loved! The picture is of the Chai flavor, but I have only tried the Chocolate flavor. It was soooo good! I truly enjoyed it. The only catch is that, like with any certified gluten free food, it is a little pricey (I believe it retails for approximately $1.50 at Whole Foods). It is good to have a good bar option in case you need to take it for traveling or other long trips where you won't be able to take any other Gluten Free food. If you have multiple allergies though, make sure you read the label as some of them contain different kinds of nuts, soy and other allergens. You can check them out at their site.

Chebe Cinnamon Roll Mix Review

2009-11-12T15:15:00.000-08:00

My friend is trying to stay off of yeast in order to help some skin problems she has been experiencing for a long time, so she was looking for a way to make yeast free bread. She found this company called Chebe which makes yeast free, gluten free mixes to make bread and cinnamon rolls among other things. You can check their web site here. I decided to try their gluten free cinnamon rolls to see what they were like.... Here is my review:

Pros: It definitely tasted like cinnamon. They were easy to prepare and fast. If you have to stay off of yeast it might satisfy a craving for cinnamon rolls.

Cons: If you are looking for similarity to gluten full, yeast containing cinnamon rolls.... well they are not.....

In their defense, they are trying to make a yeast free cinnamon roll.... Definitely not going to be the same without the yeast..... The flavor was good, it just didn't do it for me. I am planning on making over a regular cinnamon roll recipe I found on the web to see if it will turn out good gluten free... Will do that when I have more time.

Gluten Free Pita Bread

2009-11-11T19:32:00.000-08:00

You are probably wondering.... what in the world possessed me to want to make gluten free pita bread? Well, as I have mentioned before, we belong to a co-op here in our area and we get fresh, in season, organic produce once a week. This week, we got some arugula. I wanted to make something different with the arugula, so I went on a recipe search and I found an awesome recipe that looked great from the Food Network.com (you can link to the recipe here). Well, this recipe called for pita bread to make pita pocket sandwiches.... At first I thought I would just buy my husband pita bread and I would just eat it like a salad.... but then I thought NO!!! I want to eat it just like he would. So, that's why I came up with this recipe. I used a recipe for regular (full of gluten) pita bread I found on this site and then altered it to make it gluten free and a little more nutritious (Original gluten full recipe by Saayad Fayed at About.com). You will have to slice through the middle once you cut the bread to make the "pocket", but otherwise it reminds me of pita bread and it is yummy.

Ingredients:

1 packet of gluten free yeast (a full packet has 1/4 ounce)
1/2 cup of warm water
1 tsp of sugar
3 cups of gluten free all purpose flour ( I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour... If you do not like the flavor of bean flour, you can use 1 1/2 cup of rice flour, 1/2 cup tapioca flour, 1/2 cup of potato starch, 1/2 cup of sourghum flour)
3 tsp of xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp of sea salt
3 Tbsp of flasxseed meal (adds omega 3's, fiber and ligans. Bob's Red Mill makes one that is certified Gluten Free)
1 cup plus 4 Tbsp of warm water

Directions:

Dissolve the sugar and the yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes (if it is active dry yeast, if instant, put the yeast with the dry ingredients).
Meanwhile, combine the flour, flaxseed meal, xanthax gum, and salt in a bowl.
Once the 10 minutes are up, dig a little hole in the middle of the flour mixture and put the yeast water in there. Then, very slowly start mixing the mixture and adding the additional 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp of water.
Once it is all well mixed, flour a working surface and knead (use those arms!) the dough for 10 minutes.
After that, coat the bottom of a bowl with olive oil and put the kneaded bread in there, make sure that oil covers all sides of the dough.
Let it sit and rise until it doubles (about 3 hours).
Roll the mixture into a rope and pinch off 7-10 sections.
Let them sit for 10 minutes.
Roll out each section into 1/4 inch thick discs (about 5 inches wide).
Bake at 500 degrees for 4 minutes on one side, then 2 on the other.

When I made the recipe, I actually made 1/2 of the recipe (I halved all of the ingredients) because I just wanted to try it. It was good. You have to let the bread sit until it is cool before you cut it in the middle to make your pocket for a sandwich though! If you cut it while hot, it won't slice well.

You can freeze the bread once made and cooled for up to 1 month! I am hoping to get a bread machine at some point, so when I do I will experiment with putting this in the bread machine on the "dough" cycle so that it can do the hard work for you and all you have to do is bake it when the dough is ready. I'll re-post and let you know if I am successful once I get a machine. I am also planning on adding some fresh herbs next time I make it. Yum!

This would also make a great single pizza crust.

So Delicious Coconut Creamer

2009-11-08T15:29:00.000-08:00

I am backing up some of my pictures onto CD's and an external hard drive, so I thought I would do a post while I wait on the pictures to be done.... Some people with celiac disease can develop lactose intolerance due to the damage caused by them eating gluten.... Unfortunately, I am one of those people. The good news is that the lactose intolerance is supposed to subside once my small intestine fully heals, so I am waiting a while until I re-introduce dairy/lactose to my diet. This sent me on a search for a really yummy coffee creamer. I sure love my coffee! I had tried rice and soy alternatives before, but I was not a fan. I found this So Delicious french vanilla creamer at Whole Foods. It retails for $2.89. It is just as it's name says- DELICIOUS! You do not even know it is not a dairy creamer. The best part is that it comes in many flavors and it is Gluten Free certified. Yum!

(Update: I am no longer having intolerance to dairy! Yay! I still love this creamer though and still buy it from time to time because it is so good!).

Update on the salsa incident and Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes

2009-11-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

So, after thoroughly going through everything that happened a few days ago (since I got sick 3 hours after eating my homemade salsa), I finally figured out what happened. I called Whole Foods to make sure the canned diced tomatoes were gluten free, and they said they were. So, I went ahead and backtracked everything I ate and did that day.

To mix all of the ingredients in the salsa I used a wooden spoon I had used to mix my husbands regular pumpkin bread a few days prior. I had obviously washed it, but wooden spoons are very porous and things seem to just stay in there.... While mixing it I remember thinking "should I use this spoon since I used it for his bread?", yet I still went ahead and did it anyway.... Needless to say, I threw all my wooden utensils out!

On a lighter note, I went ahead and experimented today and made up my own recipe for gluten free pumpkin pancakes. They were delicious! Here is the recipe I made up:

Ingredients:

1 cup of gluten free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten
Free All Purpose Flour)
1 TBSP of flaxseed meal mixed with 3 TBSP of water and left to sit for 2 minutes (or you can use one egg)
1/2 cup of rice milk or regular milk
1 TBSP of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1 TBSP Baking Powder
3 TBSP of pureed pumpkin
2 TBSP of vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of cloves
1/2 tsp of allspice
1 tsp of cinnamon

Directions:

Basically, just mix it all together until combined and then cook like normal pancakes.

I used flaxseed meal to replace the eggs in the recipe because I just recently learned that this is a great egg substitute in many baking and other recipes, so I thought I would give it a try. My mom, aunt, and grandmother are very allergic to eggs, so I am trying to figure out things they can enjoy as well. I use the Bob's Red Mill Flaxseed Meal.

WARNING about use of canned diced tomatoes for home made salsa

2009-11-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

Since I am on hold with the insurance company right now, I figured I would post a little update on the home made salsa recipe.

I used Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value canned diced tomatoes with green chili thinking that it was gluten free..... After eating the salsa (about 3 hours later) I got really sick. It is the only new thing I had eaten, so I am deducing it was from that. I am still waiting to speak with WF's directly to find out for sure what it truly contains, but in the meantime, I am staying far away from them. (update on this incident: Their canned diced tomatoes are gluten free, I got sick from cross contamination. Read the rest of the story on this post.)

From now on, I am only making the salsa from fresh tomatoes, which is recipe number two on this post.

Home made Salsa

2009-11-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

We belong to a coop sort of thing here in our home town where we pay a certain amount of money each week for a box full of organic produce. We get whatever produce they choose that is in season, so I have to get creative. One week we got both cilantro and a spicy pepper mix, so I decided to make salsa with them. I have two versions of the recipe, so here they are:

Ingredients:

One can of diced tomatoes with Chili
1/2 a can of tomato paste
Water to desired consistency
1/2 a smalll onion diced
3-4 spicy peppers of your choice diced (without the seeds)
2 shallots diced
3 cloves of garlic diced
cilantro finely chopped

Directions:

Mix the can of diced tomatoes, 1/2 of tomato past and water and stir until you get desired consistency.
Cook the peppers in some olive oil on medium heat on a pan or grill the peppers on the grill.
Take out of the pan and cool completely.
Cook the onions, shallots, and garlic until onion is tender on a pan with EVOO.
Let this cool as well.
Cut the peppers into small pieces making sure you get all of the seeds out (if you want the salsa to be medium).
Add the peppers and cut onions, garlic, and shallots to the diced tomatoes, water and tomato paste mixture and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add desired amount of chopped cilantro.
Put salsa in a container and refrigerate.

So yummy! Obviously gluten free since you control all of the ingredients.

The second version is exactly the same except instead of using a can of diced tomatoes you use 2 roma tomatoes which you puree. To the puree, you add the tomato paste and water to desired consistency. You then dice 2 roma tomatoes and add them to this mixture. You then go through steps 2-8 as above.

Very Modified Chicken Scallopine Recipe from Sandra Lee

2009-11-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

I was watching the food network today and saw a recipe for chicken scallopine by Sandra Lee. I was making chicken for dinner and thought I should attempt it; however, I didn't have many of the ingredients... so I just totally changed it and modified it to fit what I had at home (so basically I only used her recipe for inspiration). You can link to her recipe here.

Here is my gluten free version:

2 chicken breasts pounded
Gluten Free flour ( I use Bob's Red Mill G-free flour)
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
chicken broth (I used apple juice instead because I didn't have this, but I wouldn't recommend it because it will smoke badly when used....)
apple cider vinegar
fresh chopped basil, rosemary and dill (I had all these herbs at home, so I used them. You can exchange for any herbs you have at home).
canola oil
1 tsp. gluten free butter ( I use Earth's Best G-free, dairy free and soy free margarine)

Directions:

Pound the chicken breasts with the back of a skillet to thin them out.
Heat up some of the oil and one teaspoon of the butter in a skillet.
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
Cover the chicken with flour.
Cook chicken until thoroughly done, then put aside on a serving plate and keep warm.
Add some chicken broth to the pan ( I used apple juice instead because I didn't have chicken broth, but it made the pan smoke really bad, so I had to really lower the heat to low/simmer to do this. In her recipe, she has you keeping the heat at medium to high heat for this part.... I had to lower it to low/simmer to keep the smoke down, but I used apple juice instead so who knows!).
Add one Tbsp. of apple cider vinegar.
Simmer until it reduces and slightly thickens (I kept it on low/simmer until it simmered and thickened).
Add the herbs and simmer a few more seconds
Pour over cooked chicken and enjoy.

Sorry there is not a picture of this here..... We loved it so much we finished it before I had the chance.

Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal

2009-11-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

For some odd reason, I absolutely love the taste of cream of wheat.... particularly on a cold morning. I probably like it because my mom used to make it for us as kids...

Well, that was obviously out after I discovered I couldn't eat gluten, so I decided to try Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal. Here is my review of it:

The pros: it tastes pretty similar to cream of wheat, although the consistency is slightly different. It does cook relatively quickly. Tastes good with a little added organic sugar and dried cranberries.

The cons: The directions make 3 cups of cereal at a time.... which is way too much for one person. I tried adjusting the recipe to make enough just for me, but I was unsuccessful (If I am able to do it, I will post my changes here later). When I tried to save the cereal to later on re-heat, it was a disaster! It looked way different than when first cooked and it was pretty much uneatable.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

2009-11-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

It's Fall!!!! My favorite thing about fall is making (and eating!) my mother in law's pumpkin bread recipe. When my body started reacting to gluten this year, I was so sad because I knew it meant the end of me eating her awesome pumpkin bread. Today, my husband asked me to make him some pumpkin bread because he had been craving it. It smelled soooo good! I decided then to experiment for the first time and to make her pumpkin bread recipe gluten free!

Here is the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the following together:

7.5 ounces of pureed pumpkin (organic in a can)
1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour ( I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour) ** see note at bottom
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup of butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of xanthax gum
1/2 teaspoon of gluten free vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of allspice
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Grease and flour (gluten free of course!) bread pan and bake for 60 minutes!

When done, immediately transfer bread onto foil and completely cover and let it stand overnight. Do not skip this step as it is what makes the bread really moist!

It is delicious!

Enjoy!

** Bean flour tends to have a strong taste (which Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour contains garbanzo flour); however, in this recipe, since it has so many other flavors (pumpking, spices, etc), you cannot taste the weird aftertaste. So I will continue to use this all purpose flour for this recipe because it yielded a nice texture and consistency to the bread and it did not leave an aftertaste with this recipe. If you do not want to use anything with bean flour, you can use Pamela's baking mix or Whole Foods All Purpose Gluten Free Flour. Both of these flours already have xanthan gum in them though! In the future, I may go ahead and make my own mix of flours for this recipe, so keep posted to see.....