Gluten Free Cereal

Chex has gone gluten free!! Ok this might be old news but still exciting! Have you tried all of these different flavors? My favorite is Honey Nut Chex.






I once tried the Strawberry Chex, but I haven't seen them since then. :(


Here is a nice treat to make with the rice or corn Chex.



Gooey Almond and Coconut Chex Mix Recipe.

Ingredients:
1 (14oz-17oz) box of Rice OR Corn Chex cereal
1 (7oz) bag of sweetened coconut
1 (5oz) bag of almonds (about 1 1/3 cup)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) margarine of butter
1 1/4 cups light corn syrup (like Karo syrup)

Directions:
Spray a LARGE (the biggest you can find!) bowl with non-stick cook spray Pour in the entire box of Chex cereal, coconut, and almonds. Gentle mix together.
Mix together the sugar, butter, light corn syrup, and dash of salt in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a full boil, turn down to medium, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over the cereal mixture in the big bowl and stir evenly.
Spread cereal evenly on wax paper and let it cool (even though it's delicious to eat while warm, too!).

Once it cools, I bag it up in airtight container or Ziploc bag and it lasts for a couple of days.



Some other gluten free cereals that I have found enjoyable are...



Corn rice flakes with strawberries are tasty. Although very crunchy, my teeth are very sensitive and I have found that letting the cereal soak up a little bit of milk helps with a little less crunch.



I LOVE these corn flakes! Very comparable to regular corn flakes.



Gluten free Rice Krispies! What?
I love how convenient and available these are. I have been able to find these in most grocery stores. A





I love the Marshmallow Pebbles. My favorite cereal growing up was Lucky Charms and Marshmallow Pebbles remind me of them!




For a quick treat Fruity Pebble Treats are very convenient. I can't seem to keep these around very long when my husband gets into them! ;)




These instant oatmeal packets are made out of certified gluten free oats. They are easy and quick to make. Just calls for water and a microwave and whatever else you may like on top. My favorite is milk, cinnamon, and sugar.

As you can see we are all about quick, easy, and convenient food!


Happy eatings!!!

Betty Crocker

When Betty Crocker came out with gluten free mixes I was so excited I thought I was going to die!!
The best part of these are that they are available at pretty much every grocery store that sells Betty Crocker. Super convenient! Although just like another gluten free products they are a bit pricey.




I love love love this pancake mix!! There have been times when we are traveling and if we stay at family members houses we just take this box with us and borrow their stove to make these delicious pancakes! The recipe is on the back of the box.



Another recipe that I make with gluten free Bisquick is corn dogs! Another recipe that my husband loves and asks for frequently. Trust me, they taste better than they look!

• 1 cup Gluten Free Corn Meal
• 1-1 ½ cup Gluten Free Bisquick
• 2 eggs(beaten)
• 1 TBSP Sugar
• 1 cup Milk (you can use soy, almond, etc)
• Hot Dogs
• Sticks (optional)

Directions

Heat the oil for frying to about 350 degrees.  I used my Dutch oven.  You could use a fryer, or any method you choose.

In a bowl add Corn Meal, Sugar, and 1 cup Gluten Free Bisquick. Stir together. Whisk in 2 eggs, and 1 cup of milk.  The batter will be the consistency of thick pancake batter.  If needed add extra bisquick to thicken.

Now place the hot dogs onto sticks, or cut into bite sized pieces.  I cut my hot dogs in half to make kid sized corn dogs.  Really, it is up to you.

Once the hot dogs are prepared, roll them in batter until they are covered.  Quickly drop them into the oil and allow them to fry about 3-5 minutes until golden brown.  You may need to flip them once.

Remove and place on a paper towel lined plate.  Serve.

Makes enough batter for 1 package of Hot Dogs.

-FROM: http://afewshortcuts.com

I have not used this mix to make actual cake. I use to it make banana bread.
My husband loves this recipe for banana bread. He asked for it on a regular basis and usually it's all gone before I have a chance to get to it! Haha it's just that good! :)


Gluten Free Best Ever Banana Bread

Enjoy this great banana bread recipe made using Betty Crocker® Gluten Free yellow cake mix - perfect for a breakfast treat.

PREP TIME: 15 Min
TOTAL TIME: 2 Hr 40 Min
SERVINGS:16

INGREDIENTS

1 box Betty Crocker® Gluten Free yellow cake mix
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 medium)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of 9x5-inch or 8x4-inch loaf pan with shortening.
2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, mashed bananas, butter and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 9-inch loaf 55 to 60 minutes, 8-inch loaf 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Place sheet of foil over loaf to prevent overbrowning.) Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan; remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool about 1 hour before slicing.



I have a hard time getting the middle to not be doughy and for the outside not to burn. I use a glass bread pan and I cover it with foil while baking. I have had times where it turns out perfect and other times it turns out super dry. But we move so much and our elevation and humidity changes, that every time I make it I have to adjust. Hoping for one day I'll figure it out!




We love these cookies! It's nice to have when I don't have enough time to make a mix from scratch. Or sometimes I don't even have all the ingredients I need. This mix even comes with chocolate chips in it!
Maybe all cookie mixes do come with chocolate chips in it already.. I'm just not that familiar with them. :)




I think that this might be the best gluten free brownie mix that I have found so far. Brownie mix was one of the first gluten free products that we found that was sold in the stores back in 2003.
My husband also loves these and he asked for them on a regular basis.




I have not yet tried the chocolate cake mix. I have it in my pantry. Now just waiting for the right time to make it.

All of these mixes only call for water, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract depending on the mix.



Happy eatings!!!

Cheese cake

Cheese Cake is my all time favorite dessert!! I could eat it every day all day long!

The best part about it is my husband can't eat it so more for me! :)

I usually home make my cheesecake when I want some. But this year for my birthday I wasn't able to make it. So I went out and bought some. This was the only kind I was able to find in the Albuquerque area.
The Chuckanut Bay company offers gluten free New York Cheese cake. It is very tasty. I ate it without any toppings and it was still tasty. The crust was made of some kind of cookies. I like mine made of graham crackers.
But for a quick easy treat this will hit the spot!





I love making cheese cake! It's not too difficult. I like making them into cupcake size. This way I fee like I have more self control on how much k eat at one time.





I recently made and shared these with my family and I would say it was a success! I have been asked for the recipe which has inspired this blog post. :)




Here's the recipe-

Ingredients:
CRUST
1 1/2 cup crushed graham cracker
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
7 tablespoon unsalted butter(melted)
CHEESECAKE
2 ¼ cups heavy cream
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon vanilla powder
¾ cups Oreo Cookies, crushed

Directions:
CRUST
Combine graham cracker crumbs with sugar.
Add melted butter and blend until combined.
Press into pan. Set aside.
CHEESECAKE
Beat heavy cream until medium peaks form. Set aside.
Add cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla powder, lemon juice to a bowl and beat with a paddle attachment until smooth (approximately 3-5 mins). If you do not have a stand mixer or a paddle attachment a hand beater will work as well, but will take twice as long to achieve a smooth consistency.
Add cream cheese mixture to heavy cream and beat until incorporated.
Gently fold in Oreo cookies.
Fill chosen pan with a slight mound at the center, as the cheesecake will become slightly sunken at the center.
Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to set or overnight for best results.
Remove from refrigerator and smooth top to level with edges. Serve with whipping cream and garnish with mini Oreos.

A few notes:
I made these as Mini Oreo Cookies and Cream Cheesecake, but the recipe will work just as well in a 9 inch cheesecake pan or springform.
If you do not have vanilla powder you can omit it. I don’t recommend vanilla extract or it will end up coloring your cheesecake with a slight brownish color.
For best results refrigerate overnight.
Keep refrigerated up until 20 minutes before serving.



For the graham crackers I used Graham style crumbs by Kinnikinnick. They also sell whole graham crackers which will work but they take a while to break down into small enough crumbs.




I use mi-del chocolate sandwich cookies. Although any 'Oreo' like cookie would work just as well. It takes some time to get these crushed down. I use my ice scoop to mash them.





Happy eatings!!

Mac and Cheese

I LOVE Mac and Cheese!

The day I found Annie's Gluten Free Mac and Cheese was one of the best days of my life! :)




I love this stuff! It takes about 30 minutes on the stove. There is enough to serve 2 people nicely.




Recently I found these microwavable single servings. I love these! It talks 5 minutes to make and all you need is a microwave! Which sometimes that is all the I have the use of. On the packaging it says to not drain extra water after cooking it. Although I do but I add a little milk to give it a creamy texture. I also add shredded cheese which I cook for another 30 seconds in the microwave. Bam! Ready to eat. :)
I love how portable these are for how much I travel.


Happy eatings!

What!? You can't have Pizza?

The first question I am always asked, after people figure out what I cannot eat, is so what can you eat?
Simple- dairy products, fruit, Veggies, potatoes, rice, and meat as long as its not breaded.
For some reason people cannot wrap their mind around this.

No I can't have pizza from Pizza Hut, Dominos, or little Caesars. But I can make it gluten free myself! And it's lots healthier for you too!

Here is my favorite pizza recipe that I have found that is not from a pre made mix.

GLUTEN FREE ALL PURPOSE PIZZA CRUST
Contributed by: Barbara & Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods
Gluten Free Pizza Crust.

2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 tsp Sugar
3/4 cup Warm Water
1 Egg*
1 Tb Olive Oil
1-1/2 cups GF All Purpose Baking Flour
2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
Directions

Step 1
Combine yeast, sugar and water in a large bowl and let stand about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl. Add egg and oil to wet ingredients, then add dry ingredients. Mix with a hand mixer for a minute, adding a teaspoon of water if dough moves up beaters.
Step 3
Scoop onto greased pizza sheet. Wet your hands with water and spread dough over sheet and smooth. For a thicker crust, let rise for 10 - 15 minutes. Otherwise, continue with the baking directions below.
Step 4
Cover with favorite sauce and toppings. Bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes.
Notes
*Eggless Option: Combine 1 Tb Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tb Water. Let stand for 5 minutes, then use as egg.

You can find boy's red meal all purpose flour on Amazon for a decent price and it comes in bulk!



First time we had this pizza, our friend made it for us and she never has baked gluten free pizza before and it was so tasty!

Last night I made this 2 of these pizzas and I let the dough for one sit out for 20 minutes and it rose so much in the little of time.
Here are the difference between the two crusts...




This is the first one to cook and if you look closely its a very thin crust.
(Lactose free)



This is the one that sat for 20 minutes. It was very fluffy and airy.

A HUGE tip: when working with gluten free dough of any kind, usually it becomes very sticky. The best way to hand this is to keep you hands wet when working with the dough or even spray your hands with PAM.


First time I made this pizza I cooked it for 20 minutes because my husband likes his pizza crispy and very well done. 20 minutes was too long, the crust ended up being dry.
The second time I made it. I made his pizza for 18 minutes which was perfect for him. And for mine, which I didn't want to be as well done, I did it between 16 and 17 minutes.
Also with this pizza I used a round pizza pan instead or a cookie sheet. I have found that the pizza cooks best on a round pizza pan and it is easier to work with.
I recently bought my own round pan and I found an air pizza pan. Which I do NOT recommend. Because gluten free pizza dough is so sticky that you have to roll it out on the pan and putting the pressure on the air pan pushes the dough into the holes. It ends up being a HUGE mess! So this most recent time I covered the pan with aluminum foil and that seemed to work lots better!


Here is another pizza recipe that I have recently found. I follow this ladies gluten free blog which is glutenfreeschooling.com. She actually sends you weekly emails with information and recipes. I have been getting her emails for the last year+ and I am still getting emails. I love it!! She even has created videos of how to make certain things to give you tips and so you can see how the dough is suppose to look. Although you do have to buy those. She will tell you about certain kitchen tools she uses in her kitchen to help make cooking gluten free easier. Check her out!

Here is the recipe she shares in her email.
Simplified Gluten Free Pizza Crust (Corn Free, Yeast Free, Sugar Free, Rice Free, Casein Free)

(make 2 12" pizzas)

Ingredients:

12 oz. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour Mix

2 Tbsp. guar gum (1 Tbsp. xanthan gum, if you prefer that)

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. olive oil

8 oz. water

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven and pizza stone to 500 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt and guar gum. Add the oil and water (at room temperature) and mix/knead the dough by hand until is is smooth and pliable.

3. Divide the dough into two pieces. Place one piece on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough out into a circle that is approximately 1/8" thick and 12" diameter.

4. Move the crust to the hot pizza stone and bake at 500 degrees until the top of the crust gets just a hint of color. Remove the crust from the oven. Add all of your toppings, and then put back in the oven to bake until your toppings look well done (e.g. cheese starts to brown).

Note: Once I get the 1st pizza crust in the oven for the first baking, I start rolling out the 2nd crust. The 2nd crust has its first baking while we put the toppings on the 1st pizza. Then the 2nd crust comes out and the 1st pizza goes back in for its final baking.

We top the 2nd pizza and then put it in the oven to bake when the 1st pizza is ready to serve. The 2nd pizza is usually ready by the time we've served everyone, gotten drinks, and are sitting down to eat.


The pizza was great! The texture and taste was great! But I am not a fan of stone ware. It's not the easiest thing to clean.


Happy eatings!!

Celiac awareness month

Happy Celiac Awareness Month. Here are some fun facts about Celiac Disease! Let's make people more aware about Celiac Disease! :)






































HAPPY CELIAC AWARENESS MONTH!!! Wear Green

Restaurants

My husband and I move A LOT. And one of the many challenges that comes with it is figuring out what restaurants I can and cannot eat at. With Eating out you are going to have cross contamination more than likely if they prepare gluten in their restaurant. Just like you will get cross contamination in your own house if gluten is also prepared there.

But with eating out you cannot be afraid of asking questions. I don't love being the needy customer, so we stick to restaurants that we are comfortable with. Luckily when we do go to new places my husband is willing to ask for me when I don't want to! :) love him for that! :)

I dunno about you but.... When I eat out with friends I hate being the one to have to choose where to eat because of my diet. And so I am going to be listing all the restaurants I can think of that are gluten free even if I didn't have the best experience there. Just so you know you have options even though the menus may be limited. Having a choice of more than a salad is always a good thing!

So some of the restaurants that are nation wide that we eat at frequently are Outback Steak House. This is our top restaurant we eat at. I usually get the same thing every time. A 6oz Outback special with a sweet potato with extra honey butter and brown sugar and a side of broccoli without seasoning. And for dessert a flour less brownie that is topped with ice cream, whip topping, chocolate sauce, and chocolate shaving. Sometimes I go to Outback just to get the flour less brownie, it is divine! Outback has a wonderful and easy to read menu. Unlike lots of restaurants that they give you the gluten free 'menu' that turns into a matching game and about 20 minutes later you finally decide what you want but don't really know what your getting because the 'menu' has the name of the item but doesn't tell you what come on it. Trust me I have done that more times than I wanna admit. The only downside is the prices aren't listed on the Outback gluten free menu.

Our second restaurant that we eat out at which is mostly for special occasions is PF Changs. This place is so good! But is pretty expensive! They have a four course meal that is gluten free. I love love love their lettuce wraps. Which I have made at home before! Recipe is yet to come!
Another place that is a lot like PF Changs without the expensive price tag is Pei Wei. I love their gluten free Sweet and Sour chicken. Get it every time! :)

A good place for pasta is Noodles and Company. I have tried their Penni Rosa dish and their Pad Thai dish. I love the Penni Rosa dish, it is spicy and so I usually can't finish the whole thing in one sitting but I love left overs! And it reheats nicely. I usually get a chicken breast to go with it. But depending on the location they will tell you it is cooked on the Same grill as breaded meats. So it's enter at your own risk kind of deal. They have locations in Logan Utah, Orem Utah, Baltimore Maryland, Columbia Maryland, St Louis Missouri, and that's all that I can think of.

Red Robin has a gluten free menu but I have only eaten there once and I wasn't super impressed that I can remember. But I think I'll need to give that one a shot again.

The Olive Garden does have gluten free pasta. I feel like the pasta isn't the best, they don't cook it right. And I have a hard time paying for something that I could make in my own kitchen and that it would turn out better. But I am just giving my opinion about it and you may think otherwise.

Carino's Italian Grill- they have a good selection oh gluten free stuff. My all time favorite item on their menu is the Potato soup!

Romano's Macaroni Grill- I have only eaten here once. I thought the gf pasta was delicious. Although I was not impressed with anything else.

On The Border- I love this place! Although the only state I lived in that it was available to me was Texas. I always got the street tacos with chicken. 3 came with the meal and it was the perfect amount of food.


Jamba Juice- all of their smoothies are gluten free except Heart Defender the daily vitamin, energy, and happy heart Boosts/super boosts are not gluten free either. Even though they are gluten free they are not certified gluten free.

In the Fort Worth/Dallas metro area some of the Subway store have a gluten free bread. I loved it! I think that it needs to spend across the nation. I ate there so much while I lived in Fort Worth. The bread was small, def not 6" long. But gotta take what you can get. They tried hard with the cross contamination thing. They started off by wiping down the whole station. They even asked what kind of dressing I wanted and so they wiped down the bottle. The one person who was going to make my whole sandwich first washed their hands and put on new gloves and they didn't touch anything but my food. When I got it toasted they didn't touch the keys on the microwave someone else did. They did a great job. Luckily I had one down the strip mall of where I worked and I went in enough that they knew who I was and what I was going to get. But at other locations they didn't always do as great with the sanitation part. They also served a brownie with it. Yum!


In Rexburg Idaho, they have an Asian food place called Fongs! I grew up going to this place. But once I was diagnosed I had to learn new items on the menu. Thankfully my best friend worked there and she was able to find answers to my questions. But if you happen to be in town I highly recommend their number 13, broccoli with chicken and fried rice.

I didn't live in Maryland very long and so I didn't get to try out many restaurants there. But in Utah they have lots of different choices.
Zupas is one of our new favorites. They serve soup, salads, and sandwiches. I don't think they have gluten free bread. But the soups are to die for. They have 3 or 4 different gluten free soup options.
Pizza Pie cafe- I love Pizza Pie Cafe for when i am wanting pizza but which is also located in Rexburg Idaho.


Sweet Tooth fairy is my favorite place! They make gluten free CUPCAKES!! Best thing ever! You get to choose between vanilla or chocolate and then you get to choose your frosting. But be careful! I just found out the last time I went that some frostings they serve do have gluten in them.



A few sandwich places I have tried out are Jason's deli and McAlister's. Every location has different types of Gluten Free Bread. Some are really good and some not too great but edible. Jason's Deli has locations in Salt Lake City Utah, Albuquerque New Mexico, Fort Worth Texas, Tyler Texas, and Baltimore Maryland.
McAlister's is not as popular as Jason's that I have noticed. But they have locations in Texarkana Texas, St Louis Missouri, and Albuquerque New Mexico. Although not all locations have gluten free bread.

Fast Food- you have to be extremely careful with fast food, lots of cross contamination there. Most places cook their fries in the same fryer/oil as the nuggets. But for how much we move and travel I have to eat fast food or go without. So it's a personal decision what you do. After all you're the one who has to live with the symptoms.

The fast food place we eat at the most is Wendy's. their chili is gluten free. I usually get the chili with shredded cheese with a plain baked potato or a side salad and I put the chili on the potato or on the salad to make a taco salad. Tats much more filling than a hamburger without the bun.

Chick Fil A- they offer chicken nuggets the are NOT breaded!

Taco Cabana- their crispy tacos and nachos are gluten free. That's all the I get from there so I don't know much about their other items.


If you are ever in doubt always ask to speak with the manager or the chef.

Also I want to point out that Domino's Pizza does offer "gluten free" pizza. But because of the whole cross contamination thing it's not really gluten free. From what I have heard is they don't clean their work space when a gluten free pizza is ordered and they use the same pans as regular pizza.

Happy eatings!!!


- Posted from Haylee's iPad