Traveling Gluten Free in London!

Sorry for the absence. It has been one thing after another around here! First off, TJ broke his foot about 6 weeks ago while playing basketball at work. He had surgery and had to be completely off of it until 2 weeks ago. Now he is walking in a boot. It's been a long and frustrating last few weeks but T is getting there. TJ is usually a huge help around the house and with the kids but until recently he couldn't do much. So between that and him needing a little more help himself, I have been a bit busier. Thank goodness for our helpful families!
 
(TJ at the ER right after he broke it!)

We've also had a few other things pop-up here and there, including a trip to London! TJ's work wanted him to throw together an event so I tagged along! We are here now. And I love it!
Gluten free has been a bit tricky but here's what I've learned so far...

1. Delta airlines is pretty good with gluten free meals. TJ called a few days beforehand to request it. We were served the meal first. It was still airplane food, so nothing great. But they clearly labeled the tray "gfml", which made us feel much more comfortable with it. (btw TJ hates rice cakes but found if you spread butter on it and a little salt it's kind of like popcorn!)
 
Breakfast was another rice cake with honey (not too bad if you are really really hungry) and a banana.
2. Bring food you know is good. You only have so much space when traveling, so fill it with stuff you like to eat. We made some sandwiches before we left out of Rudi's gluten free bread that I bought from Sprouts. It was terrible! The flavor was fine but the bread disintegrated as we tried to eat the sandwiches! It was in the fridge section, so maybe that's why (should have been frozen)? I could have sworn I really like Rudi's bread! We also brought an assortment of chips and candy and snacks, so we were fine. Plus Delta peanuts are OK.
3. Airport food. You can almost always find at least a salad, just have a vinaigrette if you are questioning the dressing. We also saw some various chips at the little convenience shops that are good.
4. If you come to London you should go to Otto's. Cornmeal crust pizza is amazing! They were very friendly and said 99.9% of the time everything is gluten free. If it isn't, they know it and will tell the customer. They make their own sausage but if they run out they have to buy it and that sausage is not always gluten free.
 
They were in Notting Hill. The little restaurant was so fun! And they let you get a few different types of pizza on the same pizza (see pic). We had spinach and artichoke, pepperoni, and some kind of sausage one. I really liked all of them. The ingredients were super fresh.
 
Also they had this awesome poster up, in the bathroom. Yes, I made TJ go in and take a picture of it for me! What a nice husband he is!
 
5. Also we went to Zirris. They have gluten free pasta that they will cook up for you. It was pretty good. To be honest, nothing spectacular. The noodles were under done and had a little crunch. The one thing we both really liked was the chili-infused olive oil they used on TJ's dish. It was really yummy. I had the seafood mix with red sauce. The seafood was really fresh, so it tasted pretty good.

For breakfast each day we just ate at the hotel. They had a large buffet and a chef on hand to make fresh eggs, thank goodness. We did run into a snag on day 2 when we realized they put bread beneath the bacon and sausage to soak up the grease. Turns out we noticed a little too late and TJ was not well that day. He took some peptobismal tablets and had to keep working, poor guy! 

I'll post some more of our learning experiences soon!

Smoked Pork

Yes, this meat was as tasty and juicy as it looks!
We have an Orion smoker and really enjoy using it. It is a bit of work. You have to clean it, put in wood chips (I used mesquite, but apple is amazing) and apple juice, put in the seasoned meat (lawrys season salt, pepper and garlic powder), put charcoal all around the outside and light it. Cook 3 hours. It doesn't sound like much but it takes some time. But it was so worth it! Even in 104 degree heat! (Is it seriously only May?)
I have heard some grills can be used as smokers. We got the Orion from Home Depot for fairly cheap. Most anytime we are having a big group over we just smoke some pork or turkey. Makes life easy.
We shredded this pork and put it on some Udi's gluten free hotdog buns with BBQ sauce and pickles. Threw some corn on the cob in boiling water for about 5 minutes, and stirred up some coleslaw. T and I were in BBQ heaven! So much so, that I forgot to snap a picture of the whole meal, sorry. But it was as good-looking as you are picturing it in your head!
So nice to be able to eat something that tastes like

Gluten Free Pantry Brownie Review

Yum. We are currently making this and I licked the bowl clean! The cocoa in it tastes like a higher quality. The batter really is like regular brownies. My mom, who is a self-proclaimed "chocolate-snob"(Ghiradelli are the only chocolate chips she ever uses, nothing else is as good (at the regular grocery store, anyway)). She thought these were amazing, too!
The brownies are soft and gooey. The box recommends you freeze them for an hour, I think because they fall apart otherwise. We could not wait that long, but we did eat these with ice cream and the part that got really cold was more chewy. I loved the texture of these. I didn't notice any graininess or odd flavor that is so common in gluten free baking.
There was one small piece that was left in the pan overnight that my mom and I ate. It was still amazing. A little bit of the side was crispy, but most of it was still soft. The taste was just as good as last night.
It was just delicious! We will definitely buy this brand again.
Bytheway, the "Gluten Free Pantry" is produced by "Glutino", who also makes the best gf pretzels and these cookies. I'm officially a big fan!

My Mom's Spinach Salad

Bacon, swiss cheese, red onion...This is by far my most favorite salad! TJ really loves it too. It is light, tangy, and very addictive!

3 bunches spinach
1 head ice berg lettuce
3/4 lb. mushrooms
1&1/2lbs. Swiss cheese
1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled

Dressing:
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 red onion, sliced thin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp. dried mustard
1 tsp. salt
Poppy seeds (just under 1Tbs or so)

Make the dressing at least 3 hours prior to serving so it can marinate. Put all the ingredients in an airtight container and give it a good shake. Shake again before pouring it onto the salad, as the oil tends to separate.

This makes a massive salad, so I usually half it. If I know there will be leftovers, like if I'm making it for just our family, then I keep all the ingredients separated (mostly the dressing), otherwise it gets mushy after about 12 hours.

Prepare the spinach and lettuce by washing and making sure the bites will be manageable.
Shred the Swiss. Slice the mushrooms.

Toss as much of it together as you like! Put all the leftovers in separate airtight containers in the fridge. The dressing will taste even better the next day! It should last up to 1 week.

Gluten Free Banana Muffins

I love having muffins around the house. Something we can grab on the go or just snack on during the day.

This is my favorite recipe because it tastes like normal food and it even stays good for a few days. Most gluten free food does not taste nearly as good the next day. I just ate one of these from the batch I made Friday, so 4 days ago. It was a little dry compared to fresh, but it still tastes great!

2 cups gluten free flour (see below)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
2 cups ripe bananas (4-5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
Optional- 1/2cup nuts chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the dry ingredients (first 3) in a small bowl and briefly stir or sift.
I use my standup kitchen aid mixer, but a hand mixer would work great too. In a mixer or large bowl, mix the bananas until they are super smashed. Try not to leave too many chunks, it tastes better that way. Add in the eggs and mix well, make sure all the yolks are broken. Add the other wet ingredients- sugar, applesauce, oil, vanilla. Briefly stir. Add dry and mix until everything is combined.

Spray two 8x4 inch loaf pans, or muffin tins, or line tin with papers so you don't have to wash in between baking. This will make 36 muffins. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. 35-45 minutes for the bread, about 18-20 minutes for the muffins. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing the loaves from the pans (if you can stand it, I usually can't!)

Notes-
Flour
(you can use an all-purpose if you'd like, or just play around with different combos. I like 1/2c almond flour, 1 cup rice, 1/2c mix of whatever I have on hand (tapioca, soy, sorghum, cornstarch). The almond is a must for me because I love the slight nuttiness and texture it gives. Just make sure the total amount you use is 2 cups).
I used pear sauce instead of applesauce this last time and really liked it. I generally use unsweetened applesauce. Sometimes I'll replace a little of the oil with extra applesauce.
If I am feeling like being a little healthier I also use stevia in place of the sugar, but I prefer the taste the real sugar gives. I'm sure sugar in the raw would be great for this recipe.
Hope you enjoy these as much as my family does!

Glutino Cookie Review

We really like these gluten free cookies from Glutino. Both the vanilla and the chocolate are delicious. They taste a lot like regular cookies.
They are very similar in texture to Oreos, maybe a little harder. There is the slightest hint of the grainy texture that is so common in gluten free foods (usually it is from the rice flour).
Grandpa bought some for Kate a few weeks ago and she was in heaven! She probably would have eaten the entire box in one sitting, had we let her!

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).

Must-Have Gluten Free Flours and Staples

Gluten Free can be very expensive. To keep costs down I try to only buy things as I need them. But when my staples go on sale I try to stock up.
My favorite gluten free flours are rice, tapioca, sorghum and almond.
Rice is cheap and a good filler flour. The texture is what really gives away that it is gf.
Tapioca isn't very expensive either and it gives a glue-like texture. We go through it super fast because of the Brazilian cheese rolls!
Sorghum tastes like wheat but is a little more gritty. Really good for a "whole-grain" effect.
Almond is really good. I love the taste and creaminess it brings but you have to be careful because it is really dense. Also pretty expensive. I love using it in cupcakes, muffins and banana bread.
Xanthan gum is a must for any gf household. It is not cheap, but it will last a long time and make a huge difference in your baking.
I use gf oats in cookies and muffins a lot. It's another good filler that is more familiar.

Amazing Pinto Beans in the Slow Cooker

These beans are so yummy and amazingly easy. You just have to plan ahead so you can soak the beans overnight.

I usually do about 2 cups of beans. It won't look like much, but they expand a lot, like to 3 sizes bigger. I have a medium sized crock pot. It fits the 2 cups perfectly. If you did soak too much, leave the beans in the fridge and cook within a few days.

Rinse the beans once or twice in a large bowl. Fill with water so there is a good 2-3 inches above the beans. Soak overnight. In the morning drain and rinse really well.
(If you really want to do the beans but forgot to soak them you can parboil them)

Put beans in the Crockpot. Add 2 cans of chicken broth (Swanson's is gluten free). Fill with water until there is about 1 inch of liquid above the beans. Add 2t garlic powder, 1t cumin, 1t coriander and 1/2-1t chili powder (careful, the chili is spicy!). Cook on low heat for about 6-8 hours.
If the beans are old it will take a lot longer to cook. If they look like they aren't softening very much by hour 5, put it on high heat.
I love these beans because they have a really good flavor and there are so many different things you can do with the leftovers- put them in a quesedilla, throw them on a salad, throw them in with leftover rice and corn for a soup, put on tortilla chips with cheese and bake in the oven for amazing nachos. Anyway, they are good and really easy.

Brazilian Cheese Rolls

Brazilian Cheese Rolls

I LOVE these. They are a little taste of "bready" Heaven. This is my favorite recipe. We have tried a few different ones, but always go back to it because it is so quick and simple and delicious. All you do is put the ingredients in a blender and then bake in a muffin tin (I use a mini-muffin tin).
TJ really likes to add a little garlic powder to give it some extra kick. When I made these last night I used sharp cheddar in some and Habanero cheese in the rest. Both were amazing. Once we even used swiss cheese, I liked alright, but it wasn't anything to write home about. Also my cups of cheese are always heaping!

McCormick Vanilla Extract IS Gluten Free

Just in case you were wondering...
(the smaller bottles didn't have this last I checked)

Gluten Free Lasagna

The best gluten free dishes seem to be the ones with a small amount of "bready" stuff. Like lasagna. Here's my moms recipe...
1/2lbs ground beef or sausage
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can stewed, chopped tomatoes
3 cans tomato sauce
Italian seasoning to taste (about 2tsp)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pint sour cream
1 pint cottage cheese
1 egg
1/2-3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Parmesan
Lasagna noodles (The Deboles Gluten Free ones are really good).

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a large (9x13) glass casserole dish, set aside.
Cook ground beef or sausage until brown and cooked through. Set aside. Sauté garlic and onion until tender. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Put meat in and simmer.
In a medium bowl mix egg, Parmesan, sour cream, cottage cheese and milk.
Layer meat, cheese and noodles. There should be two layers of noodles. The noodles don't need to be precooked. If you like, put some mozzarella on top. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Let it set up for at least 15 minutes, otherwise it will be soupy when you dish it up.

Mexican-Leftovers Soup

I have a small amount of cornbread left from last night. The worst part about Gluten Free is it is never as good the next day. The cornbread is no exception. Mostly it just dries out a little, not horrible, but enough to make it so you have to eat it with a gravy or soup.
Earlier this week I made slow cooker pinto beans, and Mexican-style rice to have with tacos. We used some of the above leftovers as part of a salad with some chicken to go with the cornbread last night.
I still have beans and rice leftover, so I decided to throw them in a saucepan and make a soup. I also added the extra corn that I didn't use in the cornbread. I added a little Cumin, Coriander, onion powder and garlic salt. And some salsa. I let it warm through. I put a dollop of sour cream and some cheese on top. Serve with cornbread or tortilla chips! So fast, really yummy, and it used up my leftovers!

Gluten Free Cornbread with corn and cheese

I tried this variation of my usual cornbread last night and it turned out amazing!
I recently bought some sorghum flour and decided it should be a staple. I couldn't find it at my local Sprouts or Trader Joes, but it was at Basha's!

3/4cup white rice flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sorghum flour
2T sugar
2&1/2tsp baking powder
3/4tsp salt
1Tbs butter
2 beaten eggs
1cup milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2-1cup cheese (I used cheddar)
1/2cup frozen sweet corn, or whatever corn you have on hand)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients and set aside.
Melt 1T of butter in 10 inch cast iron skillet. Stir butter to coat.
In a small bowl combine eggs, milk, 1/4cup melted butter (you could melt in the microwave in this bowl before adding the other wet ingredients to save yourself a dish!) Add cheese and corn.
Add the wet to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour into hot skillet. Add a little extra cheese on top if you want!
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Gluten Free Cheesey Buffalo Chicken Dip

TJ is master of dips. He can whip up the yummiest dips in no time, including this Cheesey Buffalo Chicken Dip! Since he made it, the measurements aren't exact, but it's very forgiving.

1Tbs sour cream
1/2c velveeta (or generic Wal-Mart brand), diced
1 can chunk chicken
1tsp wing sauce (the kind we used is pictured)

In a sauce pan over medium heat put in sour cream and velveeta. Stir until smooth. Add chicken and sauce. Eat up!

If its too spicy you can easily add more cheese and/or sour cream. If you like more spice, put in more sauce!

I grew up thinking velveeta and any other similar "cheese" was super gross. My mom thinks it is the nastiest stuff in the world. TJ grew up the opposite. I don't mind a little on occasion when TJ makes one of his delicious dips though). If you prefer real cheese, you can definitely use that instead, add it after the sour cream and slowly melt while stirring constantly.

Gluten Free Lasagna Noodles

I really like these Gluten Free noodles. Just use them with your favorite lasagna recipe. I'll be making mine later this week. Lasagna has always been one of TJ's favorite meals. These noodles are so good I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between these and regular, wheat ones! I got them 2/$6 at Sprouts yesterday. Not super cheap, but not horrible. It's the cheapest I've seen them go, even during Sprouts "Gluten Free Jubilee" it's still the same price.

Love this!

Thank you Basha's for doing at least a little bit to make grocery shopping a little quicker! Fry's does this with some stuff too!
It's amazing how much longer grocery shopping takes. But I'm getting quicker. There is nothing that makes me happier than when I see "gluten free" right on the package or shelf!
My favorite listed "gluten free" things:
Chex (all flavors!)
Tortilla chips (the ones pictured and Doritos-do not get the flavored ones though!)
Guerrero corn tortillas
Quaker rice cakes, chocolate and caramel
Larabars
Skittles!

These kind of things are staples around this house.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip Quick and Easy

I used a double boiler for this, but on lower heat it would be just fine in a regular sauce pan.

1& 1/2 t chopped garlic
1& 1/2 t olive oil
1-1/2c chopped artichoke hearts (I used the kind pictured and really liked the flavor it brought to the dip)
2 c roughly chopped fresh spinach (you can also use frozen, just thaw and drain)
1/2c sour cream
1/2 (8oz)package cream cheese
1/2c mozzarella
1/4c Parmesan
Salt & pepper to taste

Sauté garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. Add artichokes and spinach. Just as spinach begins to wilt and cook down, add cream cheese. When cream cheese is melted down add everything else. Stirring often, cook until everything is melted and well mixed. It should be nice and goey, you know with the cheese all stringy when you pull the chip out of the dip! I also added a little spicy sauce to give it just a little kick. My lovely sister-in-law, Sherawn, compared it to Native New Yorkers Spinach and artichoke dip. Serve with tortilla chips for Gluten Free!

Gluten Free "Schar" Hazelnut Wafers

My mom found this at Walmart in their Gluten Free section. I really like this! They are crisp, light, and full of hazelnut flavor. I will definitely buy this next time I want a special treat, I'd absolutely choose it over a candy bar.