This one of my families all time favorite recipes! These egg free macaroons are packed with coconut oil goodness (I think that means they actually make you lose weight...right?), sweetened with honey, and accented with vanilla. Simple ingredients, simple instructions and simply delicious. Best of all they are EGG FREE for all of you "eggfreebies" (yea, that's my new word). Paleo/Vegan/Raw/
Egg Free Vanilla Bean, Coconut Macaroons (A Guest Post At Mommypotamus)
This one of my families all time favorite recipes! These egg free macaroons are packed with coconut oil goodness (I think that means they actually make you lose weight...right?), sweetened with honey, and accented with vanilla. Simple ingredients, simple instructions and simply delicious. Best of all they are EGG FREE for all of you "eggfreebies" (yea, that's my new word). Paleo/Vegan/Raw/
10 Days of Gluten Free Cooking Tips Wrap Up & Giveaway Winner
Last Friday we wrapped up "10 Days of Gluten Free" hosted by Linda Etherton, author of Gluten Free Homemaker. During those ten days I shared some of my favorite cooking tips! Just in case you missed any of them, here they are in published order:
- Cooking Tip #1 -- Buy a High Quality Knife and Learn How to Use It
- Cooking Tip #2 -- Use Your Slowcooker
- Cooking Tip #3 -- Mise En Place
- Cooking Tip #4 -- Preventing Cross Contamination in Your Gluten Free Kitchen
- Cooking Tip #5 -- Have 1 Really Good, Heavy Duty, Oven Safe Skillet
- Cooking Tip #6 -- 5 Super Easy & Quick Naturally Gluten Free Meals
- Cooking Tip #7 -- 7 Frugal Gluten Free Cooking Tips
- Cooking Tip #8 -- Cooking Ahead of Time: Ready Made Meals in Minutes
- Cooking Tip #9 -- Spice It Up: Gluten Free Herb & Spice Mixes to Keep on Hand
- Cooking Top #10 -- Keep It Safe: 10 Basic Food Safety Tips
This was by far one of the most fun blogging events I've ever had the honor to be a part of! Many, MANY thanks to Linda Etherton for coordinating the event, the awesome giveaways, and for including my blog in the series!
Also many thanks to my faithful readers who shared their favorite cooking tips each day of the event! Lastly, many thanks to Carol Fenster for providing a copy of her cookbook, "100 Best Gluten Free Recipes" as the giveaway for my cooking tips series!
Also many thanks to my faithful readers who shared their favorite cooking tips each day of the event! Lastly, many thanks to Carol Fenster for providing a copy of her cookbook, "100 Best Gluten Free Recipes" as the giveaway for my cooking tips series!
If you have a moment, try to stop by ALL of the participants of this wonderful blogging event, and let them know you enjoyed the series! They all did an amazing job and shared some truly wonderful tips on making life gluten free a little bit easier!
- Getting Started - Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
- Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House
- Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog
- Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat
- Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal
- Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free
- Kids – Lynn @ Lynn’s Recipe Adventures
- Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva
- Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry
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Congratulations to Apryl D. of Apryl Deeter Photography, winner of the Carol Fenster Cookbook:
She was comment #13.
Many thanks for reading Apryl!!
Make It Gluten Free Tuesdays: Quick Broccoli Casserole Recipe
I don't know about you... but what you see above? That's my favorite kinda recipe. That's Michael's Aunt Terri's Quick Broccoli Casserole. It's FAMOUS at our holiday meals and family reunions. I love hand-written recipes shared with friends and family. It's kind of rare now-a-days. A lost art of sorts. I love this recipe because it's very similar to one my great-grandmother used to make as well. She loved Cheez Whiz (which believe it or not IS gluten free!) and cream of chicken soup. I mean really... whose mom DIDN'T love "already-prepared-casserole-super-star", cream of chicken soup?
Admittedly, I enjoy just having recipes like this... reading them... treasuring the love which went into sharing them more than I do actually making these recipes (which use super processed products)... AND I think they are still super fun to share. And for the food nazis (just to be clear)... I am NOT suggesting you go out and fill your pantries with processed franken-food -- I'm just sharing with you how to change those favorite recipes IF you would like to do so! See how easy that is? No need to rant and rave.
And I can't tell you how often I get an email asking something along the lines of... "So my grandmother used to make this recipe with so-and-so, and so-and-so... how in the WORLD can I re-create that gluten free?" So I thought it would be a fun series on this blog to share hand-written recipes I have from my grandmother, my great-grandma P., and various friends and neighbors and tell you how I would make them gluten free. Sound like a plan?
Would you like to join me? I'd like to make this a weekly link up series. You can share how you would make a recipe healthier, how to make it gluten free, dairy free, egg free, allergen free... etc... I love seeing these old recipes and I love figuring out how to make them new again!
So here's how I would make this recipe gluten free:
Aunt Terri's Quick Broccoli Casserole
revised to be gluten free (with dairy-free options)
printer-friendly version
Ingredients:
1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup green pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil for dairy free)
1 recipe gluten free cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup COOKED rice
1 small (8 oz.) jar Cheez Whiz (if you're dairy free, check out this homemade dairy-free cheeze sauce instead)
1 small (5 oz.) can evaporated milk (if you're dairy free, try using full-fat coconut milk)
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped broccoli
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Saute onion & green pepper in butter in a hot skillet. Stir in cooked rice, Cheez Whiz, milk, and soup. Stir continuously until cheez whiz is melted. Thaw broccoli and drain any liquid. Add drained broccoli to a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Pour sauce evenly over the broccoli. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes until hot & bubbly. Yields 6 servings.
Now if you'd like a healthier version of gluten free broccoli casserole?
Here are great options:
- Tasty Eats At Home - Alta's Dairy Free Broccoli Souffle
- Gluten Free Mommy's Broccoli Casserole
- Spunky Coconut's Broccoli Casserole
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Now it's your turn!
Do you have a favorite family recipe that you re-created to be gluten free? It can be a new post, an old post, a post you've edited! Just link back to my page to be included! That's it!
Fesenjan - Persian Chicken in a Walnut & Pomegranate Sauce
Fesenjan - Persian Chicken in a Walnut & Pomegranate Sauce
One of the great dishes of Iran! In an Iranian home if a guest is to be honoured they are cooked this dish. I highly recommend this dish, it is delicious!
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled & finely sliced
½ tsp turmeric
450g/1 lb walnuts, ground & reserve a few whole for serving
900ml/1 ½ pint chicken stock
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper
4 chicken legs
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 lemons, juice only
50g/2 oz sugar
To serve
Basmati rice, cooked as per packet instructions
Method
1. In a large frying pan heat 2 tbsp of oil and fry the onions and turmeric until soft and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large casserole. Add the ground walnuts, chicken stock and seasoning. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan and add the chicken, fry until browned all over. Add to the casserole and make sure to cover with the sauce. Cover the casserole and simmer for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Skim any excess fat from the surface of the casserole.
3. In a small bowl mix together the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and sugar and add to the casserole, stir through and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Season to taste, if needed.
4. To serve, arrange the chicken on a bed of rice and pour over the delicious sauce, scatter over the remaining walnuts.
Gluten Free Weekly Menu -- Chocolate Chip Cookies
So I just read over at Celiac Family that the theme for this week's Gluten Free Menu Swap is CHOCOLATE.. uhh... I think I can handle that... how many ways can I add chocolate to this week's menu? :-P
Since chocolate is the menu theme, it gives me a perfect excuse to make a batch of Michael's favorite chocolate chip cookies. I might even make a batch of almond flour chocolate chip scones from The Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. Hmm... what else could I do? I think I might make a quick 20 minute chili and add a little cocoa to the spices... cocoa and chili is such a crazy good combination!
This Week's Menu 5/20-5/26:
- Sunday -- Sandwich night using Udi's bread, we weren't too hungry after a large breakfast/lunch
- Monday -- Pan-grilled steaks with mushrooms and served over wilted spinach with cooked apples on the side
- Tuesday -- Barbecue chicken, quartered red potatoes, and green beans
- Wednesday -- Ground turkey & zucchini one pot meal
- Thursday -- Southwestern Salmon Burgers from "The Almond Flour Cookbook" pg. 53 by Elana Amsterdam w/ salad and/or sweet potato fries -OR- breakfast for dinner
- Friday -- Quick gluten free pizza & salad
- Saturday -- A quick 20 minute chili recipe with added cocoa powder... I'll share the recipe soon if it turns out well!
Make sure to check out more gluten free menus with the Gluten Free Menu Swap! This week hosted by Heather of Celiac Family. You can also get hundreds of menu ideas with the weekly menu share at OrgJunkie.com.
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| Stella & Dot Anabel Necklace -- my exercise goal reward this month!! |
Exercise Plan 5/20 - 5/26:
The plan I'm doing this month is to walk 28 miles total using Leslie Sansone walking DVD's. They are more challenging than they sound! Trust me! I already have 19 miles total so far this month! SO my goal for this week is 8 miles throughout the week. At the end of the month if I meet my goal, I'm going to treat myself to a piece of Stella & Dot jewelry. My friend Clara is now an independent stylist with Stella & Dot and I hope I can slowly build up a collection of pretty accessories as I meet my workout goals!
GLG Disclosure:
The Stella & Dot links above go directly to an online trunk show hosted by myself and my Stella & Dot Independent Stylist -- Ms. Clara Ogren. If jewelry is purchased via those links I will receive a small credit towards a "trunk show" gift and Ms. Ogren will receive a small commission.
The opinions regarding Stella & Dot jewelry are my own and I did not receive compensation for this post.
The opinions regarding Stella & Dot jewelry are my own and I did not receive compensation for this post.
R.O.C.K. Highlights: How To Be A Gluten Free Kid
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| Designed by Jennifer Yandle |
A few months ago Shirley of Gluten Free Easily started sharing online reports about each meeting of her local gluten free support group. I thought it might be a neat idea to do something similar here on my blog. I think it will be an interesting contrast to see the different topics and ideas shared at another type of gluten free support group.
I started my local gluten free support group in January 2010. It took six months for me to have the courage and enough people to put together a meeting, but we did it! We had 6 people at our first meeting and that included myself, my husband, and my fearless mother-in-law! Our first meeting focused on local gluten free resources and restaurants who could cater to a gluten free diet. We began having monthly meetings and eventually added what we call "coffee breaks" several times a month. The coffee breaks were more informal times just to get together and chat, have coffee, and talk about all things gluten free in our area.
As the group has morphed and changed over the past two years we now have bi-monthly meetings and once-a-month coffee breaks. We now have about 25 active members who come to our meetings and over 45 members we connect with locally through email and facebook. Recently our group became affiliated with Danna Korn's R.O.C.K. (raising our celiac kids) support group. I chose for our group to join this organization over other national groups because the premise of the group 1) is to have a positive attitude towards being gluten free! Life is good! And even though being gluten free can be a challenge, it doesn't have to be a sad or negative experience! I love Danna's philosophy on this!
Secondly, this organization will meet the needs of many in our area who are raising gluten free kids! I felt there was a primary need for us to make sure that kids felt included and welcomed in our gluten free support group!
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| "Mommy, What is Celiac Disease" by Katie Chalmers |
The focus of our ROCK Party last Saturday was How to Be a Gluten Free Kid! We really felt like we needed an introductory meeting to truly welcome parents and kids into our local group since we became a ROCK group. This meeting was simple and straightforward. Two members of our group Erin P. and Nancy C. helped me to plan out this meeting. We decided to have games out for children, have a local face painter to paint faces and hands (she kindly volunteered to come and help us for free!), and have lots of delicious gluten free food and snacks for the kids.
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| Barrett's Unusual Ice Cream Party By Michelle King |
To begin the meeting I just shared new announcements, introduced myself, and then welcomed people to try all the delicious gluten free foods we had available.
The focus of the meeting was the reading of two children's books: "Mommy, What is Celiac Disease" by Katie Chalmers and "Barrett's Unusual Ice-Cream Party" by Michelle King.
After reading the stories to the children (and parents) in our group we spoke with author Katie Chalmers through a SKYPE interview. Mrs. Chalmers answered questions for our parents especially regarding how to handle kids being gluten free in school and how to inform other parents and teachers. She shared with us why she wrote the book, lunches she made for her children, how she handled going out to eat etc...She was a delightful person to speak with!
The rest of our meeting was a laid back question and answer session among the adults of the group, while the children played with balloons, games, and enjoyed the gluten free food that was shared.
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| GF Grilled chicken nuggets from Chick Fil A |
Erin P. asked our local Harris Teeter (a grocery store which sells many gluten free foods for us!) to donate helium-filled balloons for our kids. Nancy C. & her husband Merle spoke with a manager at our local Chick Fil A, who volunteered to send a huge tray of gluten-free grilled chicken nuggets to our group. (Many, MANY thanks to our local Chick Fil A! We love you guys! We often meet at our local Chick Fil A for our monthly coffee breaks because the kids can play and we can all eat safe gluten free grilled chicken, waffle fries (dedicated fryer!), fruit, and salads!)
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| Gluten Free KIND Snack Bars! YUM! |
Primarily for the blog, I was contacted by KIND Snacks, Inc. and Gallo Lea Organics of Asheville NC if I would like to try samples of their gluten free food. We shared these foods with our group and they were a HUGE hit!
We were sent 4 different varieties of the KIND bars to try, along with a cute giveaway package that included KIND gluten free granola and different varieties of the bars! We used this as a door prize for parents! KIND Healthy Snacks was founded in 2003 and all of their bar varieties are gluten free! They contain all natural ingredients that you can actually see in each bar and can easily pronounce! The philosophy of the KIND Snacks company is that they choose healthy, tasty, convenient, wholesome, economically sustainable, and socially impactful products to share with consumers.
These bars were a hit with the kids and adults of our group. We gave away tons of samples of the bars and included them in goody bags that we gave to our kids.
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| Gluten Free Homemade Pizza Kits from Gallo Lea Organics -- Great for your pantry! |
Gallo Lea Organics out of Asheville, NC (love working with local companies!) sent us 3 pizza kits to use at our gluten free support group! I went to the church early (where we meet) to make the pizzas before the meeting. I didn't realize how FAST and easy these pizzas would be to make! It literally good less than 30 minutes to put these pizzas together and bake them! The mix uses all natural gluten free ingredients with whole grains, NO gums, yeast, salt, and citrus acid (vitamin C) to help preserve it. All you do is mix the dry ingredients with warm water, pat out onto a pan lined with the parchment paper (that's included in the kit) and bake. You prebake the crust for about 5-10 minutes and then add toppings (the sauce is included!) and bake for another 5-8 minutes until the toppings are heated through. That's it! Safe, delicious, gluten free pizza is served in less than 30 minutes! I made one pizza with regular cheese, one with cheese & gluten free pepporoni, and one with daiya vegan cheese (I had to eat pizza too! lol).
Seriously easy to make and our group really loved the flavor of the crust! One member mentioned that he thought it tasted similarly to a "whole wheat" pizza crust. All the kids ate the pizza and loved it! I'll never forget the reaction of one of our newest members, a young boy with a wheat allergy. When it was time to eat he came up to the food table and I told him he could eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING on the table. His little face just lit up with sheer delight that there were no restrictions at this table! It was a wonderful moment I'll never forget! We had absolutely NO pizza leftovers! All the ingredients are organic and you can purchase the mix directly from Gallo Lea's website.
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| Michael's Favorite (Gluten Free & Dairy Free) Chocolate Chip Cookies |
Several of our members made gluten-free snacks to share with everyone! I made my husband's favorite chocolate chip cookies. Erin P. made gluten free cake pops using my gluten free yellow cake mix. She put them on lollypop sticks, covered them in melted white chocolate and sprinkles and placed them decoratively in a pink basket! Super cute! Nancy C. made her favorite chex snack mix and gluten free banana bread. I also brought fresh fruit (apples & grapes) to remind kids about naturally gluten free, super healthy food choices!
Here are the recipes Nancy used that she shared with our group:
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| In place of flour, Nancy uses her own gluten free flour mix for the flour in this recipe: 2 cups white rice flour + 1 cup sorghum flour + 1/3 cup tapioca starch/flour Then add 2 teaspoons xanthan gum and you're all set. |
My husband Michael made goody bags for all the kids. He placed a KIND bar in each bag along with popular gluten free candies such as Tootsie Rolls, Starburst, and Jolly Ranchers.
This turned out to be one of my favorite gluten free support group meetings we've ever had! We had both children and adults really having fun, laughing, enjoying gluten free pizza and grilled nuggets. Sharing stories, talking, and just feeling good about being gluten free! And honestly, I think that's what a support group is all about! Our ROCK party in July will hopefully be a gluten free cookout at a local ballpark. I'll be sure to share all the details with you about how we put that together and how well it goes!
MANY, MANY thanks to the vendors and children's book authors who provided their products and materials for our May ROCK Party! We had a great time and loved these products!
GLG Disclosure:
The companies and authors listed in the above post provided samples of their products and books for the purpose of providing a review, if I chose to do so.
This is not a sponsored post and I did not receive compensation.
The opinions in this post are my own and those of my local gluten free support group.
Gluten Free Cooking Tips #10 -- Basics of Food Safety
Cooking Tip #10
Keep It Safe: 10 Basic Food Safety Tips
It’s always important to take heed of basic food safety tips when preparing food in your own kitchen. Getting food poisoning is no laughing matter and you not only want your food to be gluten free, but you want it to be stored and prepared safely as well. A great resource for food safety tips is: FoodSafety.Gov (easy to remember right!)
- Buy a thermometer for your refrigerator. Many that are specifically made for refrigerators will have a color-coded guide to help you know how cold your fridge is. By quickly glancing at the thermometer you can make sure your fridge is keeping perishable foods at the correct temperature.
- Have a separate cutting board for meats, fish, and vegetables. If you don’t have a separate cutting board, make sure to wash it thoroughly with hot soapy water and with a vinegar rinse between cutting meats and vegetables. Vinegar will kill most harmful bacteria.
- Keep your counters clean with a homemade vinegar or bleach spray. Both will kill germs and help to make your counters a safe area to prepare foods. (My husband makes this by simply filling a spray bottle with 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water + 2 tablespoons dish detergent. This is the most used cleaner in our home, we use it to clean everything from the kitchen floor, to the sinks, to the counters, to the bathtubs!)
- WASH YOUR HANDS. Before you cook, if your hands get dirty while you’re cooking, between handing meats and vegetables, when you’re finished cooking… always wash your hands with hot, soapy water. Wash, wash, wash, WASH those hands!!
- Rinse off the tops of canned goods with hot soapy water and pat them dry before opening. Bacteria, rodent feces, and bugs can often end up on top of canned goods while they are in storage before they hit grocery store shelves. To prevent those things from getting into your food when you open it, simply wash the top of the can.
- Use a clean hand towel whenever you start preparing a meal. Hand & kitchen towels can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Wash kitchen towels with a small amount of bleach to thoroughly clean them.
- Once a month thoroughly clean out your fridge with hot, soapy water. Meat packages often leak when defrosting, fruit & vegetables can go bad and leave liquids on the shelves. It’s a good practice to sanitize your fridge at least once a month. A box of baking soda will also help to cut down on any odors in your fridge. Replace once a month.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours after cooking.
- Remember this simple rule: Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
- In our house a general rule of thumb is to either freeze or throw out leftovers after 3 days. And like your mama said, “If in doubt, throw it out!”
Reader’s Tip of the Day:
“Use fruit & veggie baby food puree to add extra fiber & vitamins to your diet. For example to add some hidden veggies to a meal you can add pureed squash and sweet potatoes to a soup or casserole.” – Christina B.
Please visit each topic in "10 Days of Gluten Free"
From: May 7th - May 18th
- Getting Started - Linda @ The Gluten-Free Homemaker
- Resources – Wendy @ Celiacs in the House
- Traveling – Karen @ Gluten-Free Travel Blog
- Eating Out – Heather @ Gluten-Free Cat
- Frugal Tips – Janelle @ Gluten Freely Frugal
- Baking – Jules @ Jules Gluten Free
- Kids – Lynn @ Lynn’s Recipe Adventures
- Lunch Boxes – Tessa @ Tessa the Domestic Diva
- Shopping – Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry
10 Days Gluten Free GIVEAWAY!
Included with this awesome series is a giveaway on each blog once the two weeks are over! I will be giving away a brand new copy of Carol Fenster's cookbook, "100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes." This is one of my FAVORITE gluten free cookbooks with an awesome collection of Carol's absolute best recipes.
The Giveaway Nitty Gritty:
- This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents 18 and older.
- You are allowed one entry per "10 Days of Gluten Free" blog post for a total of 10 entries on this blog.
- Enter by leaving a comment (WITH an email address to contact you) on this post (and other 10 Days of GF posts).
- The giveaway begins May 7, 2012 and ends at 11:59 pm eastern time on May 18, 2012.
- No purchase is necessary.
- Odds of winning are based on the number of entries.
- The winner will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email.
- The winner will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen