Gluten Free Roadtrip

It takes some serious prep-work to be gluten free. You can't just pull in to the nearest fast food like we used to. Between all the stops (including dropping off our car and putting all our stuff into another car) and just driving it took us 12 hours each way to get from Mesa, Arizona to Draper, Utah. Around 1300 miles.
Here was the meal plan...
I baked my favorite gluten free bread the day before we left and sliced it all up. Then in a medium sized cooler I packed sandwich-ready lettuce, cheese slices, turkey, squeeze mayo and mustard. I had some nut thins crackers, Glutino pretzels, Lay's stax chips, apples, Larabars, and carrot sticks. We drove caravan-style with my family, so we all stopped together to eat. They went through a drive through and we just put together our sandwiches.
It's not quite as convenient, but I feel so much better eating this over the greasy junk we used to eat. And I certainly feel better about giving it to my kids, too.
On the trip back home we had a bunch of food to take back with us. Including a couple gf hamburger buns. We stopped at a small supermarket and got a rotisserie chicken that we looked up to make sure it was ok. The lady behind the counter was very friendly and said she had a relative with Celiac too. We had some BBQ sauce and made some sandwiches. The rest of my family got some chicken strips and stuff from the deli.
We bought a drink or some fresh cheese curds or whatever looked good to mix it up. It worked out really well.

Gluten Free Pancakes

Kate really loves pancakes! For her birthday yesterday she wanted them for breakfast. I have no idea how many I ate, but it was a lot! These were very tasty. Kate has been snacking on these all day too. So here is the recipe I used...

Preheat and spray with non-stick cooking spray a griddle or skillet to medium high. In medium bowl mix together...

3 eggs
3 Tablespoons oil (next time I'm going to sub with applesauce)
2 cups milk

Beat with a hand mixer until frothy or foamy. Add...

1 & 1/2cups rice flour
1/2cup gf oats (can be left out, I just felt like an extra grain plus a fun texture)
3Tbs Tapioca
1/3cup Potato starch
1/2tsp baking soda
1/2tsp baking powder
1/2tsp Xanthan gum
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat mixture until there are no lumps. Spoon onto hot griddle.
Once the batter is set, flip and cook other side until brown (took another 30 seconds or so).
Eat warm with your favorite syrup or toppings.

Streets of New York Pizza 2

Streets of New York is so amazing! Best gluten free pizza. I'm pretty sure I could eat 2 pizzas by myself, no problem. I was able to take a quick picture before we scarfed all of the pizza and wings!
And yes, the wings are also amazing. Really good flavor and of course gluten free! Apparently they have $.50 wings Monday-Thursday when you eat in, and $7 gf pizza! I can't wait to try this out! 2 of my most favorite things in the world, a good deal and pizza! The wings are a great bonus, too.
Btw, I would love to get paid to put this good word out, but sadly, I am not. Maybe if I do more posts on this someone over there will be kind enough to share the recipe or at least send a freebie...? No? Ok, I still love you.

Gluten Free in Utah

Sorry for the lack of posts, we have been in Utah. My youngest sister, Heather, and TJ's younger brother, Kyle, graduated from BYU this last week. We are so proud of both of them. We decided to pack up the whole family and drive up to celebrate!
We had a big group that included my parents, grandpa, and 2 brothers and their little families. TJ's parents came too. The trip went surprisingly well for having 3 small kids (5, 3, & 6 months). Between all the stops it took about 12 hours driving each way. But it was fun to be with both of our families.

Bridget's birthday was while we were there and Kate's birthday is tomorrow. It was also TJ's sister's birthday. So we had a little party with everyone.
I actually had planned to make cupcakes with my yummy cupcake recipe, but I forgot the Xanathan gum! It is a very important ingredient. Luckily, my mom found a little bakery close by that is strictly gluten free. I think we may have to go back to Utah just for this little shop...

 

Eleanor's Bake Shop. A nice little place that is family owned and operated. The neat thing is that most everyone in the family has Celiac disease. The very best thing about this place is there is no cross contamination because they don't have anything not gluten free. That and it was delicious! I don't think I could tell the difference between theirs and not gluten free.

Pizza by the slice

I couldn't take a picture quickly enough! (hence the few bites already taken!) This has to be the best gf pizza crust I have had. It isn't super thin! It isn't really thick, but it is the thickest gf I have had. And it is chewy! TJ was in heaven.

 

We got these beauties for the party.

Top left to bottom right, Strawberry, Hummingbird (pineapple, coconut, banana), Triple chocolate, Chocolate cherry, Orange chocolate, Raspberry cream cheese.

I loved every single one of these! They were the perfect texture. So moist and soft. The frosting was amazing too. Kate had the strawberry cupcake. She sat there licking the frosting for about 5 minutes! 

To keep me from eating the above before we got to the party I treated myself to this amazing snicker doodle...

Best Gluten Free Restaurant Pizza

Streets of New York has the best gluten free pizza by far. It is thin crust, but it has a chewiness to it that no other gf crust has! It is amazing.
In our area (Mesa, AZ) they offer a 10 inch for 10.95 plus $1 for each additional topping. Your pick of just about any topping, even a variety of cheeses and meats.

Pizza and french bread are the things I miss most. You can find good sandwich bread recipes, good cupcake recipes, Pie recipes or other desserts that are gluten free, but a good pizza is rare. T and I have been toying with a pizza recipe that I am excited to share once we nail it. Until then, Streets of New York has my heart.

Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes

Bridget frosting her cupcake.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Dry Ingredients
1 cup Sorghum or brown rice flour

1 cup Tapioca flour
1 cup sugar
1/2tsp salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
Wet Ingredients
1 cup milk (of your choice, I think coconut would taste really good)
1 egg
3Tbs oil (of your choice)
1 Tbs Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon juice
(Optional) 1-2 Tbs Jell-o mix

Preheat oven to 350. Sift the dry ingredients together. Add the wet and mix well, but be careful not to over mix or beat (or they will be tough). Bake 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

The first batch of these I didn't use the Jell-o. They were a little more muffin-like. The next day they tasted just like my mom's buttermilk cake (which is one of my favorites). The good thing about that is they are really light. You can use any frosting you want, especially a rich chocolate frosting and it would compliment it very well.
Or...if you want a little more flavor from the cupcake I used strawberry Jell-o. It gave the flavor just a little pick-me-up. I used whipped cream for the frosting and the whole family loved it. The Jell-o made the texture a little more gooey.
I am excited to make these again with a yummy chocolate frosting!

Easiest Homemade Maple Syrup

I love homemade maple syrup. The store bought kind is fine, but I prefer not having that "processed" flavor. And I am way too cheap to buy a really good, expensive kind just for a breakfast topper. If I am going all out on breakfast toppings I want strawberries and whipped cream. Anyway, I like to make my own syrup. Cheap, easy, and quick.

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp maple extract or flavor

In small sauce pan boil water. Add sugar. Return to a boil. Add maple flavor and remove from heat. serve warm.
I keep the extra in the fridge for a week or two.

So easy.

It is very runny and not thick and gloppy like the store bought stuff, but the flavor is great and it is fun to play around with it. My dad is the best at making Swedish pancakes for breakfast. Sometimes he adds rum flavor or almond extract to the syrup (same time as the maple). Delicious.

Gluten Free Crepe Recipe

I grew up on these. In my family we call them Swedish pancakes because my great-grandma was from Sweden. We ate these by the dozens with homemade maple syrup on Sunday mornings. My mom tells stories about when she made herself sick trying to beat her older brother in a contest of who could eat the most Swedish pancakes. The pancakes themselves are a tradition. One that I want to carry on to my kids. So I was pretty excited when I tweeked the recipe to be gluten free and it turned out to be every bit as good as the original.

3 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sorghum
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 Tablespoon oil

Put everything in the blender. It blends best if you add the flours after the other ingredients and while the blender is running, otherwise it sticks to the side.
Preheat a 10 inch skillet on medium, medium-high. Slap on some butter or non-stick spray. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the warm pan. Pick the pan up and turn it so the batter can coat the skillet evenly. Let cook about one minute. You know it is ready to flip when the batter is all the same color, no longer runny and white. It is kind of like flipping an omelet, if it isn't cooked enough it will not flip well and turn into a runny mess. Once flipped, cook an additional 30 seconds or so.This is what you want it to look like...(with syrup)

This is from the pan being too hot...

It bubbles immediately after you pour in the batter...(just turn it down a little)

The perfect Swedish pancake...

One more very important tip, the two flours both like to sink to the bottom of the blender if they sit too long. If you just blend every couple of pancakes the problem is solved! If you don't, you have a sludgy mess at the end and some very stiff last few pancakes.

Of course these are amazing with strawberries and whipped cream or any other way you have eaten a crepe before!

Best Gluten Free Bread Recipe

BEST GLUTEN FREE BREAD

I have a friend who is friends with the gal who does this blog. She has some great recipes that I have tried and wanted to try. Her bread recipe is really good. I used her basic recipe to come up with this bread that works a little better for me. I will be making this regularly from now on. It's amazing.

3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1&1/3 cup warm milk (room temp.)
1 Tablespoon honey, (I used 1/2T agave because I was out of honey)
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 cup rice flour (brown or white)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup other flour- millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat (I didn't have any of those so I filled my 1/2 measuring cup 1/3 of the way with soy and 2/3 with almond)
1/2 cup corn starch or potato starch
3 teaspoons Xanthan Gum
1 &1/2 teaspoons salt
2 &1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Put eggs in mixer or large bowl, beat. Add all wet ingredients and give a quick stir. Add everything else Except the yeast. Mix 2 minutes on medium. Add yeast, mix another 2 minutes on medium, scraping the sides occasionally to make sure everything gets in there.
Spray glass bread pan with non-stick spray.
Let rise at least 40 minutes, longer if possible.
I put mine in the oven on "warm" for about 30 minutes, then turned the oven off and left it in there for about 2 hours! It was piled pretty high on top. But it turned out really good. Just make sure it doesn't completely spill over the sides.
Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 35 minutes.

If you are wondering about the random oats, I felt like trying it out, but didn't want to do the whole loaf because I knew TJ would prefer it without.
In Kim's recipe she adds 1/4 cup of add-ins (flax seed, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, etc.) I added all 3 when I made this the time before and it was really yummy, turned it to whole-grain bread. I think I will add in the above on occasion to mix things up, but I really liked it as just plain bread.

P.S. This makes excellent sandwiches!

Celiac or a bug?

How do you know when a kid is really sick?
Earlier this week Bridget (non-celiac) was complaining all day about her stomach hurting. We thought maybe she's a little constipated so we gave her some Miralax in apple juice. I guess it helped. She has stopped complaining about her stomach anyway.
The next day Kate (celiac) complained her stomach was hurting too. She was at grandma and grandpas for a while and slip-ups can happen when there are a lot of wheat-products around. She has diarrhea and bloating when she has a lot of gluten, but it's hard to tell if she is really sensitive yet. She didn't have diarrhea.
Anyway, Kate is the kind that asks for medicine because she likes the taste. She may have been glutened or she may have had a bug or she may have needed some extra attention. I don't want her to use celiac as an excuse just because she can. But I also don't want to not believe her when she is really sick. How can you tell if your kid is really sick or just had a little gluten?

Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Bread Review

We tried a new bread, Canyon Bakehouse Mountain White. Really good. It has a great texture. It holds together for sandwiches surprisingly well. The only problem is eating it just by itself, there is a little bit of a funny taste. It's not bad, just a little off. It's slightly soapy tasting. It's not an issue if you eat it with other stuff or as toast.
But it is nice to have great textured bread on the counter!

Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets

Crispy, juicy, flavorful, and easy....

Chicken breast, cut into thin chunks (no more than 1/2 inch thick, so they cook thru quicker)
4 eggs
2 tablespoons Italian Dressing
1 cup rice flour
Corn chex, crushed
Grated Parmesan cheese
1tablespoon oil ( any kind, canola, olive, peanut, coconut...)
3 bowls

Heat pan on medium high with oil in it.
In bowl 1, beat eggs and Italian dressing.
In bowl 2, put in rice flour and salt and pepper to taste.
In bowl 3, crushed corn chex. (I used a small food processor, but you could just put them in a baggy and smash with a rolling pin!). Grate Parmesan and mix into chex.

Put the chicken in the egg mixture, then flour, back to the egg, then the chex, and into the pan.

Cook until juices run clear and there's no pink. Do not flip these back and forth more than a few times, or else the batter falls off. I used tongs to flip these.

The chex give a good crisp. And I love that they aren't deep fried, it keeps them much more light.
Kate was in heaven, she and Bridget ate about 1/2 the batch, which is pretty impressive for such little girls! We'll be making these again soon.
(sorry I didn't take the picture of the 3 bowls until we were almost done).