I made the German Chocolate Cake recipe from the Cake Doctor's gluten free book a couple weeks ago for my mom's birthday and it was excellent! It's a great recipe to use!
I tried the salted caramel cupcakes and was a little disappointed with the results so I have no news to post about those.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
New Website
I found this website today and it's pretty neat. It was developed by General Mills. Here's a link to an article describing the website. And here's a link to the actual website, Gluten Freely. It's got some pretty good looking recipes using fairly common and easy to find ingredients. There's one for a Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake using GF Bisquick that is making me drool. There's also a shop with a lot of name brand GF products. I haven't done any price comparing as of now but it might be something to keep in mind. There's free shipping on orders over $40 until the end of August. There is a bulk section with some items at a cheaper price for buying over a certain quantity. I'm going to have to look into that coffee cake recipe.
Monday, August 22, 2011
FDA Comments on Gluten Free Labeling
I forgot to put this in my other post. I read a blog called The Savvy Celiac and it had a link to the FDA's website where you can comment on new GF Labeling Requirements. If you're interested here is a link to the The Savvy Celiac's post.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Random Things and Exciting New from Subway
I haven't been doing too much new lately. I baked chocolate zucchini cake and a peach pie for the fair and got two blue ribbons. I'm pretty proud of that! They were made with real flour though. I couldn't bring myself to use $6 worth of special flour and then have my stuff get thrown away. My mom says I should lobby them for a gluten free category.
I read an exciting article about Subway from a friend in the gluten free world. They are testing gluten free bread!!!! I CANNOT WAIT!!!! I went to Jimmy John's the other day. They make sandwiches wrapped in lettuce. They advertise this as the "carb free" option. They really ought to advertise it as the "gluten free" option because that's why I got it. It was pretty delicious except for the overuse of the mayo. Eat this with caution as it went down the same line as all the bread sandwiches. Here's the link to the Subway article if you are interested. I would go back to my once a week visit if they did this!
http://www.qsrweb.com/article/183399/Subway-expands-gluten-free-test
Recently I've been having a craving for salted caramel cupcakes. There used to be a bakery in Wichita that made them and they were to die for. They've gone out of business but I was thinking yesterday how I wish I could get one of those. Then I thought.....why not make some myself? So my next big experiment is going to be GF Salted Caramel Cupcakes. I have a family thing coming up mid-September that I am planning on trying them for. This is slightly scary since doing this involves actually making caramel, something I've never done before. I can handle the actual cake part but the caramel is going to be tricky. I'm hoping they will be good. Look for an update on that in a few weeks.
I read an exciting article about Subway from a friend in the gluten free world. They are testing gluten free bread!!!! I CANNOT WAIT!!!! I went to Jimmy John's the other day. They make sandwiches wrapped in lettuce. They advertise this as the "carb free" option. They really ought to advertise it as the "gluten free" option because that's why I got it. It was pretty delicious except for the overuse of the mayo. Eat this with caution as it went down the same line as all the bread sandwiches. Here's the link to the Subway article if you are interested. I would go back to my once a week visit if they did this!
http://www.qsrweb.com/article/183399/Subway-expands-gluten-free-test
Recently I've been having a craving for salted caramel cupcakes. There used to be a bakery in Wichita that made them and they were to die for. They've gone out of business but I was thinking yesterday how I wish I could get one of those. Then I thought.....why not make some myself? So my next big experiment is going to be GF Salted Caramel Cupcakes. I have a family thing coming up mid-September that I am planning on trying them for. This is slightly scary since doing this involves actually making caramel, something I've never done before. I can handle the actual cake part but the caramel is going to be tricky. I'm hoping they will be good. Look for an update on that in a few weeks.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Hawaiian Sweet Bread and Zucchini Cake
Over the 4th of July weekend I did a couple different GF recipes. The first was the Hawaiian Sweet Bread recipe from the Aug/Sept issue of Living Without. See the website for the recipe if you don't get the magazine. This recipe worked pretty good. I had some trouble getting my bread to rise. I finally put the bread on my deck in the sun to rise and that worked better than anyplace in our house. Apparently the house was too cool. My loaves rose pretty good but I think they did need longer. They were almost to the top of the pan when I took them out of the oven and then they sank as the cooled. So next time I'm going to focus on fluff. The taste of the bread was good though.
I also made a chocolate zucchini cake for the 4th of July party we had. I used the GF flour mixture and it worked wonderfully! This cake is a good one for substitution. It came out really moist and was as tall as the cake would have been with regular flour. I just got the recipe from a local church cookbook. We served it with homemade ice cream. Delicious!
I also made a chocolate zucchini cake for the 4th of July party we had. I used the GF flour mixture and it worked wonderfully! This cake is a good one for substitution. It came out really moist and was as tall as the cake would have been with regular flour. I just got the recipe from a local church cookbook. We served it with homemade ice cream. Delicious!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Zucchini Bread, Cherry Limeades, and Guacamole
Cherry limeades...what an awesome summer treat. These are GF I want to post the recipe because they are just so darn good. The last couple of weeks my husband and I have been making cherry limeades every evening. We got into making our own a couple of summers ago after my mother-in-law made some for us. She used to work at Lo-Mar so she knows all the secrets. Lo-Mar had the best cherry limeades. I'm probably giving away the family secret here but they are so good I just have to share.
Melinda's Cherry Limeades
-2 limes
-grenadine (or other flavoring of choice)
-simple syrup
-club soda
-ice
1. Make simple syrup. We use 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. To dissolve the sugar, heat the water and sugar on the stove.
2. Fill cup 1/3 full of ice. We make ours in a 32 ounce cup.
3. Squeeze juice out of both limes. The recipe says to use 6 ounces of simple syrup. We usually use less. Less syrup makes the limeade more tart, more syrup makes it less tart. You can play around with that.
4. Fill cup almost to the top with club soda. Then add grenadine. Stir. I usually pour in enough grenadine to make the limeade nice and red and then taste. If it's not enough cherry I add more.
TIPS: We tried POM pomegranate juice the other day. It's good but not as good as the cherry version. You can add any flavor you'd like just like they do at a certain drive in fast food place. We get our cups from gas stations. They come with plastic lids most of the time which is also handy if you want to make one and take it somewhere. Instead of using a lime press, we've found it easier to use a lemon press. The lime one was really too small for our limes. We buy those at Sam's. You can get a big bag of them for around $3 instead of paying .50 for one at a grocery store.
My next recipe is guacamole. Also GF but not why I'm posting it. Five years ago I wouldn't have touched the stuff with a 10 foot stick. I don't know why. Probably because I never ate it growing up so I was assuming I didn't like it. But my husband talked me into trying some and I've been a fan ever since. For some odd reason we decided to try making our own the other night. I thought it was awesome! The only mistake we made was buying an avocado that was too firm. It didn't mash well so the guac was kind of lumpy.
Guacamole
-2 avocados
-cilantro
-1 Roma tomato
-2 Serrano peppers
-small white onion
-1 tsp. salt
-lime juice
1. I put the cilantro in a food processor with 1/4 of the onion. I also put in 1/2 the tomato (take out seeds and ribs) and 1 1/2 of the peppers (take out ribs and seeds). I pureed it up as best as I could.
2. I got the avocados out of their skins and mashed them up in a bowl with the food processor mix and the salt.
3. Sprinkle with lime juice and mix some more. This should keep it from browning, at least for a little while.
TIPS: This is also a recipe you can play around with. If you want it hotter, use more pepper or leave some seeds in. The cilantro is something that you'd have to add to taste. We threw in maybe 8-10 leaves. When we were done eating, we put in more lime juice and covered it with plastic that was tight against the dip and put it in the fridge. The next morning the top was brown but the stuff on the bottom of the bowl was still green and good to eat.
This last week I also made gluten free zucchini bread with a homegrown zucchini. It is pretty good. It's even been approved by my sister-in-law. I think that's the ultimate test of a GF recipe. If non-GF people like it then it's good. Here's the recipe I use for that.
Zucchini Bread
-3 eggs
-2 c. sugar
-1 c. oil
-3 tsp. vanilla
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 cup nuts (optional)
-3 c. grated zucchini
-1 tsp. salt
-3 c. GF flour mixture (see here) or regular flour
-1/2 tsp. baking powder
-2 tsp. cinnamon
1. Combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix well.
2. Add rest of ingredients. Mix well.
3. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
This make 2 loaves.
And aren't those the simplest directions ever?
Tomorrow project - gluten free Hawaiian sweet bread. I'll let you know how it goes.
Melinda's Cherry Limeades
-2 limes
-grenadine (or other flavoring of choice)
-simple syrup
-club soda
-ice
1. Make simple syrup. We use 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. To dissolve the sugar, heat the water and sugar on the stove.
2. Fill cup 1/3 full of ice. We make ours in a 32 ounce cup.
3. Squeeze juice out of both limes. The recipe says to use 6 ounces of simple syrup. We usually use less. Less syrup makes the limeade more tart, more syrup makes it less tart. You can play around with that.
4. Fill cup almost to the top with club soda. Then add grenadine. Stir. I usually pour in enough grenadine to make the limeade nice and red and then taste. If it's not enough cherry I add more.
TIPS: We tried POM pomegranate juice the other day. It's good but not as good as the cherry version. You can add any flavor you'd like just like they do at a certain drive in fast food place. We get our cups from gas stations. They come with plastic lids most of the time which is also handy if you want to make one and take it somewhere. Instead of using a lime press, we've found it easier to use a lemon press. The lime one was really too small for our limes. We buy those at Sam's. You can get a big bag of them for around $3 instead of paying .50 for one at a grocery store.
My next recipe is guacamole. Also GF but not why I'm posting it. Five years ago I wouldn't have touched the stuff with a 10 foot stick. I don't know why. Probably because I never ate it growing up so I was assuming I didn't like it. But my husband talked me into trying some and I've been a fan ever since. For some odd reason we decided to try making our own the other night. I thought it was awesome! The only mistake we made was buying an avocado that was too firm. It didn't mash well so the guac was kind of lumpy.
Guacamole
-2 avocados
-cilantro
-1 Roma tomato
-2 Serrano peppers
-small white onion
-1 tsp. salt
-lime juice
1. I put the cilantro in a food processor with 1/4 of the onion. I also put in 1/2 the tomato (take out seeds and ribs) and 1 1/2 of the peppers (take out ribs and seeds). I pureed it up as best as I could.
2. I got the avocados out of their skins and mashed them up in a bowl with the food processor mix and the salt.
3. Sprinkle with lime juice and mix some more. This should keep it from browning, at least for a little while.
TIPS: This is also a recipe you can play around with. If you want it hotter, use more pepper or leave some seeds in. The cilantro is something that you'd have to add to taste. We threw in maybe 8-10 leaves. When we were done eating, we put in more lime juice and covered it with plastic that was tight against the dip and put it in the fridge. The next morning the top was brown but the stuff on the bottom of the bowl was still green and good to eat.
This last week I also made gluten free zucchini bread with a homegrown zucchini. It is pretty good. It's even been approved by my sister-in-law. I think that's the ultimate test of a GF recipe. If non-GF people like it then it's good. Here's the recipe I use for that.
Zucchini Bread
-3 eggs
-2 c. sugar
-1 c. oil
-3 tsp. vanilla
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 cup nuts (optional)
-3 c. grated zucchini
-1 tsp. salt
-3 c. GF flour mixture (see here) or regular flour
-1/2 tsp. baking powder
-2 tsp. cinnamon
1. Combine eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix well.
2. Add rest of ingredients. Mix well.
3. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
This make 2 loaves.
And aren't those the simplest directions ever?
Tomorrow project - gluten free Hawaiian sweet bread. I'll let you know how it goes.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Passing on a Link
A fellow gluten-free gal passed this link on to me so I thought I'd share with everyone. It's good for people who eat gluten-free and those who are trying to cook for those that are gluten-free. It's how to read labels to tell if something has an ingredient containing gluten in it. I hope you find it useful. I thought it was pretty interesting.
Gluten Free Label Reading
Gluten Free Label Reading
Monday, June 6, 2011
Vacation - Philadelphia
I've been kind of slow on updating this. But I've been kind of busy lately and haven't had a whole lot of new information either. However, we did go on vacation a couple weeks ago to Philadelphia and I have some interesting information to pass on.
First I have to say, we loved Philly (we can call it that because we've been there). We also went to Hershey and Lancaster County. If you're considering it and looking for activities to do (or not do), let me know. I won't post them all here, but it was a great vacation!
I was looking into GF places to eat in Philly before going. I figured since it was a large city with a diverse population there would be more options than you tend to find around Kansas. I hadn't had a whole lot of luck until I found a Facebook page called Living Simply Gluten Free Philadelphia. It's awesome because it has a whole bunch of information about places to go. Since I only found this website about a week before we left, I decided to email them to find out their best suggestions without having to go through all the information. And they came through big time! The creator of the website wanted to know my preferences. Then she sent me a big list of places based on the budget I told her and our favorite types of food and where we were staying. It was so great!
Because of our time constraints, we only got to two places that had GF options. Most of my meals were hot dogs with no bun which is not exciting or healthy. The first place we tried was Giorgio On Pine. It was fantastic! We had a stuffed portobello appetizer. I had the gluten free prosciutto and arugula pizza. My husband took one for the team and had GF spaghetti so that I could try it. It was good stuff! The portobello was probably my favorite. And we had creme brule for dessert.
We also stopped at Sweet Freedom Bakery. I picked up several items to take along and try. I had two different cookie sandwiches, a vanilla cupcake, and a samoa cupcake. My favorite, by far, was the samoa cupcake.
Hershey was, of course, a great place. I love candy and I can eat almost everything they make. Can't go wrong there.
Lancaster County was hard. It's known for it's Amish community so everywhere you go there are homemade pies, breads, whoopie pies, cookies, etc. I managed to avoid most of it. I did have a small piece of bread because I wanted to try the fresh butter at one place we stopped. If you are there, definitely get the Lapp Valley Farm ice cream. I don't think there are words to describe how amazing this ice cream was! We had chocolate marshmallow. If I could have brought it home, I would have!
That's just a quick update. I guess the best thing I learned is that if you are planning on going somewhere and can find some sort of web page like I did, don't be afraid to ask! I would never have found Giorgio had I not asked and it was good!
First I have to say, we loved Philly (we can call it that because we've been there). We also went to Hershey and Lancaster County. If you're considering it and looking for activities to do (or not do), let me know. I won't post them all here, but it was a great vacation!
I was looking into GF places to eat in Philly before going. I figured since it was a large city with a diverse population there would be more options than you tend to find around Kansas. I hadn't had a whole lot of luck until I found a Facebook page called Living Simply Gluten Free Philadelphia. It's awesome because it has a whole bunch of information about places to go. Since I only found this website about a week before we left, I decided to email them to find out their best suggestions without having to go through all the information. And they came through big time! The creator of the website wanted to know my preferences. Then she sent me a big list of places based on the budget I told her and our favorite types of food and where we were staying. It was so great!
Because of our time constraints, we only got to two places that had GF options. Most of my meals were hot dogs with no bun which is not exciting or healthy. The first place we tried was Giorgio On Pine. It was fantastic! We had a stuffed portobello appetizer. I had the gluten free prosciutto and arugula pizza. My husband took one for the team and had GF spaghetti so that I could try it. It was good stuff! The portobello was probably my favorite. And we had creme brule for dessert.
We also stopped at Sweet Freedom Bakery. I picked up several items to take along and try. I had two different cookie sandwiches, a vanilla cupcake, and a samoa cupcake. My favorite, by far, was the samoa cupcake.
Hershey was, of course, a great place. I love candy and I can eat almost everything they make. Can't go wrong there.
Lancaster County was hard. It's known for it's Amish community so everywhere you go there are homemade pies, breads, whoopie pies, cookies, etc. I managed to avoid most of it. I did have a small piece of bread because I wanted to try the fresh butter at one place we stopped. If you are there, definitely get the Lapp Valley Farm ice cream. I don't think there are words to describe how amazing this ice cream was! We had chocolate marshmallow. If I could have brought it home, I would have!
That's just a quick update. I guess the best thing I learned is that if you are planning on going somewhere and can find some sort of web page like I did, don't be afraid to ask! I would never have found Giorgio had I not asked and it was good!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Wild Thyme Cafe & Bakery
I had heard about a place in Wichita called Wild Thyme Cafe & Bakery so I decided to stop by and try some baked goods this weekend. I got a frosted sugar cookie, brownie, and a dinner roll. There wasn't much selection when I got there because it was like 3:50 on Saturday afternoon and they close at 4 for the weekend.
This is half the cookie I got. It was a butterfly. I decided that I should take a picture of it before I ate it all. It is AMAZING! I highly recommend their sugar cookies. The cookie was a basic sugar cookie taste. But the frosting is wonderful. It has a really good flavor with a hint of lemon maybe. YUMMY! I also have to say that I enjoy the cookie being decorated so beautifully. Some things that are gluten free are not appetizing to look at let alone eat. So it feels good to have a place to get beautiful and delicious treats. If you are ever near Wild Thyme you have to stop. I have not had a chance to try my brownie or roll. Both smell good if that counts.
I got a copy of the menu and they have salads that come with gluten free bread. They can also make several types of sandwiches with gluten free bread. It also says that they have cupcakes, cookies, bars, brownies, pies, and cakes they can make gluten free. I'm assuming that since gluten free is just an option and not the norm that most of this stuff is exposed to cross-contamination with regular wheat flour. So be aware of that.
I'm definitely looking forward to going back and trying other things.
I also stopped at Whole Foods in Wichita. Not the real Whole Foods but a locally owned chain in Wichita. They have a HUGE selection of gluten free products if you haven't stopped there.
I also read about an interesting product in a magazine this week. They are called No Oodles. They are noodles made from yam flour and are gluten free and apparently have no calories. I'd like to try these too but they are only available at select stores right now. I believe the closest one is the real Whole Foods in Kansas City (not the chain of Whole Foods in Wichita). I'm hoping to get there in a couple weeks. I'm also interested to see what that chain of Whole Foods has available for gluten free products. I've read they have a good selection also.
I got a copy of the menu and they have salads that come with gluten free bread. They can also make several types of sandwiches with gluten free bread. It also says that they have cupcakes, cookies, bars, brownies, pies, and cakes they can make gluten free. I'm assuming that since gluten free is just an option and not the norm that most of this stuff is exposed to cross-contamination with regular wheat flour. So be aware of that.
I'm definitely looking forward to going back and trying other things.
I also stopped at Whole Foods in Wichita. Not the real Whole Foods but a locally owned chain in Wichita. They have a HUGE selection of gluten free products if you haven't stopped there.
I also read about an interesting product in a magazine this week. They are called No Oodles. They are noodles made from yam flour and are gluten free and apparently have no calories. I'd like to try these too but they are only available at select stores right now. I believe the closest one is the real Whole Foods in Kansas City (not the chain of Whole Foods in Wichita). I'm hoping to get there in a couple weeks. I'm also interested to see what that chain of Whole Foods has available for gluten free products. I've read they have a good selection also.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
An Interesting Dilemma
Tonight I had an interesting problem. I think it's one of those things only people who eat gluten free food might understand. I don't even know if they would understand.
I decided to make macaroni and cheese for supper. When I started eating gluten free I had some boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese that I couldn't eat anymore but I kept them to use the cheese flavoring with my gluten free pasta. I decided I'd use one of those tonight. I got to the step where you put the cheese packet on and when I dumped it out, three worms fell out into my pasta. Totally disgusting, right? Normally I'd just throw the whole pot of pasta away but now I have an interesting dilemma. First, I spent almost 15 minutes boiling these noodles because gluten free pasta takes longer than regular pasta. Second, I'm starving because it's almost 6:30. Third, gluten free noodles are expensive. I used almost half a bag which is probably $3. They're not 50 cents a box like glutenous pasta. And fourth, I can't just go to Subway and get a sandwich instead so I'm kind of stuck.
So I decided I'd just pick the worms out and make my pasta anyway. I got two out okay but lost the third in the pot somewhere. Now I have an even bigger problem. I was really looking forward to this macaroni and cheese. I finished making the mac & cheese and decided to eat it anyway. I'm assuming that the worm got cooked in the pot, right? I picked around at it tonight and didn't find the worm in tonight's serving so I guess at lunch tomorrow I'll have to look extra close again. I guess if I don't ever find it, I ate it. People in other countries eat insects all the time. It was a tiny worm so it can't be that bad. You're probably alll gagging right now.
After I started thinking about what had happened I realized I probably seem totally crazy for doing that. But that was some goooood mac & cheese. I haven't had mac & cheese in quite awhile so it's worth it. The only semi-good way I can come up with to rationalize this is that the last few weeks have been totally crazy and my brain is fried. How ridiculous has my life become when I decide it's okay to eat macaroni & cheese with worms in it?
I decided to make macaroni and cheese for supper. When I started eating gluten free I had some boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese that I couldn't eat anymore but I kept them to use the cheese flavoring with my gluten free pasta. I decided I'd use one of those tonight. I got to the step where you put the cheese packet on and when I dumped it out, three worms fell out into my pasta. Totally disgusting, right? Normally I'd just throw the whole pot of pasta away but now I have an interesting dilemma. First, I spent almost 15 minutes boiling these noodles because gluten free pasta takes longer than regular pasta. Second, I'm starving because it's almost 6:30. Third, gluten free noodles are expensive. I used almost half a bag which is probably $3. They're not 50 cents a box like glutenous pasta. And fourth, I can't just go to Subway and get a sandwich instead so I'm kind of stuck.
So I decided I'd just pick the worms out and make my pasta anyway. I got two out okay but lost the third in the pot somewhere. Now I have an even bigger problem. I was really looking forward to this macaroni and cheese. I finished making the mac & cheese and decided to eat it anyway. I'm assuming that the worm got cooked in the pot, right? I picked around at it tonight and didn't find the worm in tonight's serving so I guess at lunch tomorrow I'll have to look extra close again. I guess if I don't ever find it, I ate it. People in other countries eat insects all the time. It was a tiny worm so it can't be that bad. You're probably alll gagging right now.
After I started thinking about what had happened I realized I probably seem totally crazy for doing that. But that was some goooood mac & cheese. I haven't had mac & cheese in quite awhile so it's worth it. The only semi-good way I can come up with to rationalize this is that the last few weeks have been totally crazy and my brain is fried. How ridiculous has my life become when I decide it's okay to eat macaroni & cheese with worms in it?
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Convention
Yesterday I found the dorkiest thing ever! It's a whole convention about gluten free stuff! And I kind of want to go! Here's a link to the website if you are interested. Gluten Free Expo It's in Dallas in October and I keep trying to convince my husband to go with me but I don't think I'm getting anywhere. It looks interesting. One of the speakers scheduled in Chicago is the Cake Doctor whom I love. And I think the vendor fair would be great. It'd be nice to taste stuff and make notes on what's good instead of having to buy stuff and find out if it's good after baking it. So we'll see. I really think I might go. We'll see if I get my husband talked into going with me.
I found something else I really like. I've been looking for a good pizza crust. I found some Udi's pizza crusts a couple weeks ago at Green Acres and they are really good. They are the best we've had so far. Like most gluten free things they are fairly small and fairly expensive for two crusts but they taste really good. So if you can find them near you, try them out.
We made another batch of confetti cupcakes tonight. They were the first baked good I've eaten in two months. We just don't bake stuff very often because then we have to eat it by ourselves. And people have brought stuff to work or church but I can't eat any of it. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed that cupcake. It's amazing how much I miss stuff like that. I eat a lot of chocolate instead but nothing beats a good cupcake.
I found something else I really like. I've been looking for a good pizza crust. I found some Udi's pizza crusts a couple weeks ago at Green Acres and they are really good. They are the best we've had so far. Like most gluten free things they are fairly small and fairly expensive for two crusts but they taste really good. So if you can find them near you, try them out.
We made another batch of confetti cupcakes tonight. They were the first baked good I've eaten in two months. We just don't bake stuff very often because then we have to eat it by ourselves. And people have brought stuff to work or church but I can't eat any of it. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed that cupcake. It's amazing how much I miss stuff like that. I eat a lot of chocolate instead but nothing beats a good cupcake.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Chebe Sticks
I've been meaning to post this for awhile now but I've been kind of busy at work so that hasn't happened. A couple weeks ago we had some soup for supper and since I can't put crackers in my soup I like to have something else I can use to soak up the soup. Kent made these Chebe sticks for me and they were really good. We had garlic and onion with cheddar cheese. I tore them into pieces and put them in my soup like crackers and they were really good that way. They are also good plain. Here's a link to the Chebe website. They have several other gluten free products. I'm looking forward to having more breadsticks. Kent said they were also easy to make. Just mix them up, shape into sticks and bake.
Kent was gone a few days this last week and I was working late. Normally on days like those I stop by Subway or Pizza Hut on my way home to get myself supper. I was driving home and was so hungry and I remembered how easy it used to be to grab a cheese pizza. That made me sad. I really miss pizza and subs. So I came home and made myself a gluten free grilled cheese. It's one of the first times I've really missed being able to eat those types of things.
Kent was gone a few days this last week and I was working late. Normally on days like those I stop by Subway or Pizza Hut on my way home to get myself supper. I was driving home and was so hungry and I remembered how easy it used to be to grab a cheese pizza. That made me sad. I really miss pizza and subs. So I came home and made myself a gluten free grilled cheese. It's one of the first times I've really missed being able to eat those types of things.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Easy Recipe
I was sitting here thinking of things I could make for supper and I thought of this recipe and though I should share it. It's a Hamburger Helper-style recipe that uses gluten free noodles. It would also be good with regular noodles but those of us that occasionally rely on the simpleness of Hamburger Helper and have had to quit, it's a good substitute. I got it from a recipe book called "Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Cookbook for Kids and Busy Adults".
Skillet Supper
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups water
1 15 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. oregano
2 cups gluten free elbow macaroni
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. When meat is browned, stir in the water, spaghetti sauce, and oregano. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Stir in macaroni. Cover the pan and simmer for 6 minutes until macaroni is just cooked, stirring frequently. Stir in cheeses. Cover pan and let stand for 1 minute or until cheese is melted.
In my first experience with this recipe we discovered that the noodles really need more than 6-7 minutes to become tender. Great for leftovers!
Skillet Supper
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups water
1 15 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. oregano
2 cups gluten free elbow macaroni
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. When meat is browned, stir in the water, spaghetti sauce, and oregano. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Stir in macaroni. Cover the pan and simmer for 6 minutes until macaroni is just cooked, stirring frequently. Stir in cheeses. Cover pan and let stand for 1 minute or until cheese is melted.
In my first experience with this recipe we discovered that the noodles really need more than 6-7 minutes to become tender. Great for leftovers!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Birthday Treats!
My birthday was last week and it's tradition for me to take treats to work. Normally it's funfetti cupcakes with rainbow chip frosting. Obviously I can't have that anymore. So as mentioned before, my husband made me confetti cupcakes with rainbow chip frosting from Anne Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten Free and they were awesome! You couldn't even tell they were gluten free. If I remember correctly he just added some sour cream, orange juice, and pudding. The confetti is decorator sprinkles that melt when you bake them. And you might notice they were in princess cupcake wrappers. A not so subtle insult from Kent.
Along with the cupcakes, I tried making gluten free bread this week. Actually Kent baked it. It's so good. It took longer to rise than the recipe said it would but it came out in the end. It's white bread. We've toasted it to eat with soup since saltines are out. We also made garlic bread out of it and Kent used it for a grilled cheese. I highly recommend this particular brand. As you will notice it's over halfway gone. I got it at Green Acres in Wichita but I'm sure it's available elsewhere.
Along with the cupcakes, I tried making gluten free bread this week. Actually Kent baked it. It's so good. It took longer to rise than the recipe said it would but it came out in the end. It's white bread. We've toasted it to eat with soup since saltines are out. We also made garlic bread out of it and Kent used it for a grilled cheese. I highly recommend this particular brand. As you will notice it's over halfway gone. I got it at Green Acres in Wichita but I'm sure it's available elsewhere.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
My First Gluten Free Christmas
I've been in the process of working on this post now for a week and a half. I've decided it's time to get it done. I am an accountant and January 1 starts our busy season so in the last week I've worked 13 more hours than I generally have been. So I've been a little tired and I go home at night and sit on the couch not doing anything and go to bed at 9. But anyways, back to my post.
I feel like I should get one of those Christmas ornaments like you get for "Baby's First Christmas". We got one as a gift for our first Christmas we were married. The figurine who is me has blond curly hair but she's super skinny so I guess that's OK. And she looks tall.
I thought I'd post a few things about Christmas. My mother-in-law made a gluten free lasagna that was delicious! My usual lasagna usually has a lot of tomato sauce and not so much cheese. Hers had a lot of cheese and less tomato sauce and I think I like that better. She used some fresh mozzarella and ricotta. I love ricotta! She also made a loaf of Pamela's gluten free bread for supper and it was also really good. The next day I toasted it for a chicken salad sandwich. That made a good sandwich. You couldn't even taste that it wasn't real bread.
When we were at my mom's she made gluten free chicken noodle soup. Instead of egg noodles she put in gluten free shells. It was so good. I never make homemade chicken noodle soup.
We went to my mom's again yesterday for a family dinner. For dessert we had gluten free yellow cupcakes from a recipe out of Ann Byrn's book The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten Free. I've used her books for regular cakes and always loved them. These cupcakes were great! They were a boxed yellow gluten free cupcake with some stuff added. It made them taste homemade. I had two! My birthday's coming up and my husband is making the same recipe for me except adding confetti to it. He always makes me a batch of funfetti cupcakes with rainbow chip frosting for my birthday treats for work so he's going to see if this recipe can be the new substitute. I'm looking forward to them. I hope the people at the Sterling co-op are, too, because that's what you're getting this year.
When I started this blog we were only a couple days into the new year and I felt like I should comment on that. So here it is. I guess I'm looking forward to 2011. I don't know why I wouldn't. My grandma asked me the other day if I wondered what would happen this year. I guess I hadn't thought of that. It was a Deep Thought by Grandma Arlene. I'm know I'm looking forward to April 16th and that's as far as I've gotten. That's the day my job gives me my life back. We're also thinking about going to Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. I'm pretty excited about that! I found an all gluten free bakery in Philadelphia I might just check out and I think we might go to the QVC studios for a tour. I love QVC! We're also considering another trip to Disney World. I hope everyone has a happy new year and good things come to you this year. I guess we'll see what happens!
I feel like I should get one of those Christmas ornaments like you get for "Baby's First Christmas". We got one as a gift for our first Christmas we were married. The figurine who is me has blond curly hair but she's super skinny so I guess that's OK. And she looks tall.
I thought I'd post a few things about Christmas. My mother-in-law made a gluten free lasagna that was delicious! My usual lasagna usually has a lot of tomato sauce and not so much cheese. Hers had a lot of cheese and less tomato sauce and I think I like that better. She used some fresh mozzarella and ricotta. I love ricotta! She also made a loaf of Pamela's gluten free bread for supper and it was also really good. The next day I toasted it for a chicken salad sandwich. That made a good sandwich. You couldn't even taste that it wasn't real bread.
When we were at my mom's she made gluten free chicken noodle soup. Instead of egg noodles she put in gluten free shells. It was so good. I never make homemade chicken noodle soup.
We went to my mom's again yesterday for a family dinner. For dessert we had gluten free yellow cupcakes from a recipe out of Ann Byrn's book The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten Free. I've used her books for regular cakes and always loved them. These cupcakes were great! They were a boxed yellow gluten free cupcake with some stuff added. It made them taste homemade. I had two! My birthday's coming up and my husband is making the same recipe for me except adding confetti to it. He always makes me a batch of funfetti cupcakes with rainbow chip frosting for my birthday treats for work so he's going to see if this recipe can be the new substitute. I'm looking forward to them. I hope the people at the Sterling co-op are, too, because that's what you're getting this year.
When I started this blog we were only a couple days into the new year and I felt like I should comment on that. So here it is. I guess I'm looking forward to 2011. I don't know why I wouldn't. My grandma asked me the other day if I wondered what would happen this year. I guess I hadn't thought of that. It was a Deep Thought by Grandma Arlene. I'm know I'm looking forward to April 16th and that's as far as I've gotten. That's the day my job gives me my life back. We're also thinking about going to Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. I'm pretty excited about that! I found an all gluten free bakery in Philadelphia I might just check out and I think we might go to the QVC studios for a tour. I love QVC! We're also considering another trip to Disney World. I hope everyone has a happy new year and good things come to you this year. I guess we'll see what happens!
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