Sunday, September 30, 2012

What's for Dinner Tonight?!?!?

Hunny loves me tonight!! Stuffed Baked Potato with Corn, BBQ Chicken and Colby Jack Cheese! Sunday comfort football food at its finest!! And but of course it's GLUTEN FREE!!
Have a great rest of the weekend!!

Sparkle Sparkle
&
Don't Forget to SHINE
XX
-B

Pumpkin Butter





Found this great recipe on Pinterest the other and wanted to share it with you.  Just in time for that crisp autumn air and the food filled family holidays.  Enjoy!!
Sparkle Sarkle
&
Don't Forget to SHINE!!
XX
-B


P.S. Oh and of course its GLUTEN FREE!!

Pumpkin Butter
  (found on Oh She Glows)



Ingredients:

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree, approx. 3 1/2 cups or fresh
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2-1.5 teaspoons ground ginger (optional, sometimes I omit)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice


Directions:

1. Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil, covered with lid ajar (I prop it with a wooden spoon). Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer, covered with lid ajar, for 35-45 minutes, stirring frequently. Be careful as the mixture bubbles and pops!

2. Remove from heat and let it sit for a few minutes before removing lid. Adjust spices to taste. Stir in lemon juice. Once cool, pumpkin butter can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Makes enough to fill one large mason jar or about 3.5 cups.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Rockin' Ranch Chicken

So it's been awhile since my last post (it's been a busy, but fun summer). I'm sorry for  being gone for so long but, now I'm back with your soon to be favorite fall/winter dinner. I can't take full credit for this recipe, but I can say that I definitely made it fully gluten free! My neighbor was telling me about this recipe that she made for dinner the other night and told me is was amazing. So amazing, there wasn't even left overs for tomorrows lunch. Its super easy and only takes a few ingredients and a crock pot(what an amazing invention)to make. Alrighty so let get down to the  list of things you will need:

1. A Crockpot
2. 4 or 5 Boneless Skinless chicken breasts
3. 1 whole red(looks more purple to me) onion(cut into pieces)
4. 5 potatoes (any kind you like, but we chose russet since they make great smashed potatoes)( peel or not to peel doesn't matter just cut in 1/2s then 1/3s)
5. Garlic( Again any kind you want to use is fine. I used 4-5 cloves of a bud of garlic and pressed it through the garlic press thingy)
6. 1 cup or so of water( on the heavier side if you would like some extra dipping sauce — my hunny says this is a must)
7. And I saved the best for last the Ranch Dressing( I used hidden Valley Ranch Homestyle(never had a reaction and company says its GF. But you can really use any kind you would like — let me know if you found any great GF ones) about half a regular sized bottle is what I used, but based on preference you can go as little or as much as you would like.


Now for the easy part… you throw it all in the crock pot (minus the ranch dressing) and cook on low for 8 hours. An hour before its done add the dressing.  When its finished I took the potatoes and onions out and made smashed potatoes as a side(a little butter & milk in the mixer or by hand), or you could just serve the potato pieces as is, either way its delicious. Lastly add some salt to the potatoes and chicken if you would like.


This meal was so easy and the best part was that it is entirely Gluten Free! Not one thing left over for lunch, thats for sure.  My family now claims this as the best dinner ever. Lets see if I can change their mind the next meal I cook up.  Hope you all are enjoying your summer!!

Sparkle Sparkle
&
Don't Forget To Shine
XX
-B                                                       


Thursday, June 21, 2012

Mixin' it up



So recently, my lil sis (she also has celiac disease) has started really exploring the whole world of gluten free cooking and baking. She has really motivated me to start trying some new options. I haven't done much since I was diagnosed and have kept it very simple with my eating habits. So since things are slowing down on the home front, I think I might take a stab at it! To start off on my own baking and cooking exploration, I decided to start with the basics. First up different mixtures of flours to replace the glutenous flours of my past. Here are a few I recently found online. Try them out and let me know which you liked best or even if you found the holy grail, ALL PURPOSE MIXTURE, that can be used for everything and has the same taste and texture of regular flour!

Sparkle Sparkle
           &
Don't Forget To Shine

XX

-B

P.S. The beautiful illustration is from - Deliciously G-Free By Elisabeth Hasselbeck





3 c brown rice flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
3 c corn starch

2 c soy flour
, sorghum flour or garfava flour
1 c masa harina






2 c rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum





2 1/4 cups superfine rice flour
1/4 c potato starch
2/3 c tapioca flour
3/4 c sweet rice flour
1/3 c cornstarch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum





1 ½ c sorghum flour
1 ½ c potato starch or cornstarch
1 c tapioca flour
½ c corn flour or almond flour or bean flour or chestnut 



1 c rice flour
1/2-3/4 c potato starch
¼ c tapioca starch/flour
or

3 c garfava bean flour
2 c potato starch
2 c cornstarch
1 c tapioca flour
1 c sorghum flour
or

2 c rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca starch/flour

or

2/3 c garfava bean flour
1/3 c sorghum flour
1 c cornstarch
1 c tapioca starch/flour
or
1 c rice flour
1 c cornstarch
1 c tapioca starch/flour
1 Tbsp. potato flour




Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Go, go, going!!



So with four kids I'm a pretty busy broad!! Therefore I'm on the go constantly and there are times we have to grab some fast food on the go. For me that can be super tricky, since my biggest fear is getting sick all over again. So more often then not my family gets to eat and I'm sitting there starving till we get home. About a month ago my friend found these bars called think thin(not what your thinking they are not a diet product) they are gluten free, natural, meal replacement type bar that you can grab and keep in your bag or car for those times that you are starving. They taste great especially the peanut butter, high in protein and fill you up! These have saved me so many times, from a BBQ with no GF options to running errands longer than expected! So next time your out pick up a few they are lifesavers!

Sparkle Sparkle
&
Don't Forget to SHINE!!

XX
-B

Sunday, May 27, 2012

All dat and a bag of chips


Tortilla chips are one of my favorite snacks, especially Tostitos Restaurant Style.  Each bag says it is gluten free, as well as the Frito Lay website.  But after some research I found out that not every bag is.  Depending on the plant where they were made, they can either be comlpetely gluten free or be made in a plant that also processes wheat based products.  Apparently (according to a celiac.com community member ) after calling Frito Lay she found out that based on the code under the price stamp that you can see if your bag had been processed in a plant that also processes wheat products.  If the 2nd or 3rd numbers in the series of numbers is a 71 or 45 they have been made in a plant containing other wheat products.  So there you have it Tostitos unraveled.  If you still are alittle weary with the Tostitos, try Gaden of Eatin' Yellow corn tortillas, I usually get them from Whole Foods but I have seen them at BJ's Wholesale and Stop n Shop too.  They are amazing!! Also visit www.celiac.com, this website is filled with info to answer any question you may have.

Sparkle Sparkle
           &
Don't Forget To SHINE!!

XX
-B










products.  

Sugar and Spice, some COOKIES would be NICE!!

After scouring in internet looking for Cookie Recipes I finally found one that was delicious from the The Food Network. It's a pretty easy cookie base.  If need be you can probably add things like peanut butter and such, and get the same results.  Enjoy and I hope you having a amawazing Memorial Day Weekend!!

Sparkle Sparkle
           &
Don't Forget to SHINE!
XX
-B
 SIDENOTE: Thanks The Food Network!!

                       The Chewy Gluten Free Cookie Recipe




Ingredients

  • 8 ounces unsalted butter
  • 11 ounces brown rice flour, approximately 2 cups
  • 1 1/4 ounces cornstarch, approximately 1/4 cup
  • 1/2-ounce tapioca flour, approximately 2 tablespoons
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
  • 10 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 1/4 cups
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract - make sure its GF (kirkland brand from costco is)
  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips - make sure they are GF (try Trader Joes Brand they are GF)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.
In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xantham gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
Add both of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and using the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 1 hour. Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating the pans after 7 minutes for even baking. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the pans for 2 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Store cooked cookies in an airtight container.