A couple recipes

Hey there! It's been a while, I'm kind of embarrassed... But alas, here I am, sharing a couple of recipes for a friend of my mom's who is in the beginning stages of transition for celiac disease. First, I want to share this simple, gluten free recipe for taco seasoning that we LOVE! We fell in love with it the first time we tried it out. I've never been a huge fan of the traditional packet seasoning anyway.

Gluten Free Taco Seasoning:

0. 2 tablespoons gluten free onion powder

0. 2 teaspoons gluten free garlic powder (not garlic salt)

0. 1 tablespoon salt

0. 1 tablespoon gluten free chili powder

0. 1 ½ teaspoons crushed dried red pepper

0. 1 ½ teaspoons gluten free ground cumin

0. 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

0. 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

0. 1 teaspoon sugar

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in an 8 ounce jar and shake until seasonings are well distributed. Makes about 6 tablespoons of mix, or enough to season 3 pounds of ground beef. Store in a cool, dry location.

Reminder: Always make sure your work surfaces, utensils, pans and tools are free of gluten. Always read product labels. Manufacturers can change product formulations without notice. When in doubt, do not buy or use a product before contacting the manufacturer for verification that the product is free of gluten.

Chicken Continental, taken from Sofie-Safe Cooking by Emily Hendrix:

1 1/2 Cups Chicken Breast, cooked and cubed

1 can mushrooms (optional)

1 clove garlic, pressed

2 Tbsp oil

1 can green beans (14.5 oz) undrained

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp basil

dash of pepper

1 1/2 Cups rice

1 can gluten-free chicken broth (13.75 oz)

Saute chicken, mushrooms and garlic in oil for about 2-3 mins. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat and simmer until rice is done. Makes 6 servings.

This is one of the recipes that my little boy loves so much! It makes a pretty big batch, so I'm able to freeze a lot of it. It's also only my son, husband and myself who eat it, so it goes a long way.

I would also recommend the cook-book: The Whole Foods Food Allergy Cookbook, by Cybele Pascal. I have her baking cookbook and I think she is amazing! I love the flavors and simplicity of her books. This is a book that is free of everything, so it may not be quite what you're looking for, but it's worth looking into.

I'll try to pop on here and share any other easy recipes I can. And to update on TK... he's awesome! Chic-fil-A has changed oil they fry they're waffle fries in, so he's able to FINALLY enjoy them! And Famous Daves' fries are safe as well. So we're feeling more hopeful. As of his last allergy appointment, his reaction was negative to soy extract and very minor with fresh soymilk! Yay! So our next step is to get more blood work done and that will determine if he is ready for a food challenge! We are so excited and keep talking wistfully of the day when he can have soy....

That will be a good day!

FINALLY!

Well, after I don't know how long... I am back with results to the bread recipe I talked about. I LOVE THIS RECIPE! It is SO easy, fluffy (for GF bread anyway) and my little TK loves the taste! Of all the recipes I have tried, I think this one tastes the best. The first time I made it I used the brown rice flour instead of the millet, but after trying both, I definitely prefer the millet flour. But I'm not a huge fan of the aftertaste of the brown rice. So feel free to experiment with it however you want. Also, it rose the best out of all the breads we have tried. I have found that putting it in the oven (keeping the oven turned OFF) with a pan of hot water on the rack underneath it helps it rise way better than having it sit on the counter. I live in a very dry climate, so this might help if you are in similar circumstances.

Having a Spooky – and Safe – Halloween - FAAN

Having a Spooky – and Safe – Halloween - FAAN

Check out this link!!! It has some great solutions to traditional trick-or-treating.

Eureka!

I found a new bread recipe today! I'm so excited to try it! Just put TK down for a nap and heading to kitchen to try it out! I'll let you know how it goes!

Sometimes We Win, Sometimes We Lose

Tonight I experienced a little of both! We decided that we needed something sweet. That darn sweet tooth just won't move out, no matter what I do! So we searched through our new cookbooks to find something tasty. Chocolate chip cookies were agreed upon and off I went to the kitchen to work some magic.

Well, magic doesn't come so easily to me in the baking department these days... My first try came out of the oven like this...

Cookies, anyone?? Ick! My husband assured me that they taste fine! That sweet man. They say that learning how to cook allergen free food is a trial and error process, so I try to expect this each time I try a new recipe. But all I can think is, "What a waste of all that flour and those expensive chocolate chips!"

After analyzing our "cookies" (I'm not sure they are even worthy of that name) we decided that more flour was needed. Makes sense since we live at a high altitude. I'm just so afraid to alter these recipes that are so specific. So we added more flour to the remaining dough and the result was much better!

Mmmm... chocolate chip cookies that taste ALMOST like the ones your mom used to make!

Thanks Food Network

This is a delicious and fresh meal that takes little time to prepare. I have included a link to the recipe but I made my own version which I will share down below.

I used 2 red tomatoes (because those were the only ones I had on hand)
1 purple onion
1 Green Pepper (because I think everything should include a green pepper)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Italian Seasonings (I'd love to tell you how much I used, but... I don't measure them. )

You have to try this! I just combine the tomato mixture a few hours before and let it marinade in the fridge for a couple hours. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, grill it up and top it off with the delectable topping you put together earlier. Can dinner get any easier? I don't think so.

Sofie-Safe Cooking!

Oh my goodness! This cookbook has saved our lives! We have a total of 3 allergy cookbooks in our house. After all the experimenting, we have determined that Sofie-Safe Cooking is the BEST cookbook if your entire household wants to go allergy-free. All of her recipes are simple, healthy, tasty and don't use all of those weird ingredients you've never heard of before. I HIGHLY recommend this cookbook to anyone with allergies. Her pancakes have been a hit (when Dad makes them.; it's been determined that I am NOT a pancake cook...) and we've added blueberries to ours and they turn out great.

It has been challenging to get all of us on the same diet, but it has been wonderful! We love eating the same meals together; sharing food off of each others' plates. It has also been a major stress reliever for us. It IS possible and the results are fantastic! Food is to be enjoyed! And boy, we sure do enjoy food!