Apologies and Reorganization

I would first like to apologize for the lack of recipes being posted over the last few weeks. I had become very busy with my daily work (currently looking after and tending to my family) and forgot to post my last triumphs and fails. I do have many to post soon along with my families review of the meal they were given.

I have also decided to organize this blog a lot better. Along the top, you notice tabs that correspond to different main elements (ie soups, chicken, beef, etc) that would be found in a specific dish. If you are looking for something in particular all you have to do is click on the tab and it will take you to a list of recipes that I have posted. You then click on a recipe and it will take you to that post. 

It is my hope that more individuals with gluten allergies or sensitivies will begin to use my blog as I convert favourite dishes, deserts etc. 

For now I leave you to try the recipes I have already posted as I head into the kitchen to prep dinner for my family dinner tonight while the little miss slumbers.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Pasta is a staple dish in our house. It is always requested by someone in some shape or form. This time I decided to make meatballs with our spaghetti. I am not a fan of fried foods so I decided to bake the meatballs instead. Bellow you will find my recipe.

Ingredients:

500g lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced well
1 egg
1/4 cup of goats milk
1/2 crushed gluten free Breton Herb and Garlic crackers
1/2 tsp of pepper
dash of salt
1/2 tsp of gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
3. Form the meatballs, any size will do - cooking times will vary.
4. Lay meatballs on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and cook.
5. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure they are cooked through before removing from oven.
6. Place meatballs onto a paper towel to soak up any excess grease.
7. Add to sauce and let simmer for a few minutes.

* You can also put the meatballs off to the side and allow family members to put them on their plate without sauce or you can freeze them for later use.

I have tried many variations of this recipe and this is the first time my entire family ate them all without complaints. I actually got complements on how they were yummy and requests to make them again.

Pulled Pork

While I am not a pork fan, my family is. They particularly enjoy the finer side of pulled pork. I personally could go without pork in my diet, but will on occasion cook pork dishes to appease the family. Recently I decided to try my hand at a pulled pork we could all enjoy (I have a hard time finding a barbecue sauce that does not make me ill).

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

1 pork roast
1 large onion sliced
3 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp oregano
2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Slice onion and layer the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together and rub onto the roast.
3. Place roast into crock pot. Cook on high for 6 hours or until roast falls apart when touched.
4. Shred and serve however you choose.

My family was very excited to have pulled pork sandwiches, until they opened the crock pot and noticed it was gooey like they thought it would be. I was dismayed. I had prepared a dish that I thought they would enjoy that I could also eat without issue. My intent was to eat it over rice with broccolette.

In the end, I pulled out what I was going to eat and they smothered the rest in barbecue sauce making it uneatable for myself. They enjoyed it though and have asked for it again. Next I know to pull out what I am going to eat first and then let it cook for a little longer to soak up the sauce.

Mini Turkey Meatloaves

My husband loves a good meatloaf. I personally find all that meat gross. So in return, I choose a healthier meat and a way of presenting it so it does not overwhelm myself. There is just something about seeing a slab of ground beef in my bread pan that turns me off of wanting to eat it.

In response to his enjoyment of meatloaf, I decided to make mini meatloaves in my muffin tins instead. As a result, my little guy will also eat the smaller amount meat over the loaf pan option.

I hope you find these as enjoyable as I do

Mini Turkey Meatloaves

Ingredients:

500g lean ground turkey
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 zucchini, sliced and diced
1 egg white
1/4 cup gluten free Breton Herb and Garlic Crackers, crushed to almost a powder
1 tbsp gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp thyme
1/8 sea salt and black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Lightly oil a 12 cup muffin pan
3. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and divide among the 12 muffin cups
4. Bake for 40 minutes, until browned and cooked through

Now, I also have to appease the masses and had to cover some with .... ketchup. I made 6 with and 6 without.

After a filling meal, I will make this again in a heart beat. Everyone liked it, even my mushroom hating oldest child. You will notice that I will find many ways to hide vegetables in my children's food.

Chicken Pot Pie Biscuits

I love chicken pot pie, but always dreaded trying to make it taste good as I have yet to perfect the most perfect gluten free crust that my family will enjoy and be none the wiser about it not being the real thing.

I found the following recipe Chicken Pot Pie Biscuits and thought now would be a good time to try my new Betty Crocker Gluten Free Biscuit mix. I had to make a number of modifications to this recipe to ensure that I would be able to eat it along with my family.

This will now be the recipe that I follow next time I make this dish for my family.

First I had to come up with a substitute for the cream of chicken soup to make it gluten free and I have yet to find one premade in a can (cringe) that I like.

Gluten Free Cream of Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup of goats milk (you can use cows milk or another favourite milk)*
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 table spoon olive oil (butter or margarine work as well)
1 gluten free chicken bouillon cube
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

1. Whisk together the milk and cornstarch.
2. Add the olive oil, bouillon cube and salt, heating to a boil while whisking until bouillon cube is fully dissolved and combined. Reduce heat and simmer a few minutes or until it thickens.

(I am going to try making different cream of soups with this recipe.)

My next step was to prepare the chicken, I baked one breast in the oven and let it cool.

I prepared the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Biscuits according to the box (hopefully I will come up with a non boxed version of amazing biscuits).

Then I followed the remainder of the Chicken Pot Pie Biscuits recipe to create my own new recipe.

Ingredients:

12 - Gluten free biscuits
1 cup diced chicken breast
Prepared gluten free cream of chicken soup
2/3 cups shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups frozen vegetables, thawed
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon of minced onion
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Dice cooked cooked chicken.
3. Separate the biscuit batter and place into a cup of a lightly greased 12 hole muffin pan, pressing the dough up the sides to edge the cup.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, soup, vegetables, onions, cheddar-cheese, parsley and pepper. Mixing well to combine.
5. Spoon chicken mixture into the prepared biscuit cups.
6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
8. Serve and enjoy.

Over all, I was impressed with how easy this was to prepare and how while it cooked, I could prepare the salad we had with it.

Will I make it again? For sure! Everyone enjoyed it. I even have left overs for lunch tomorrow.

*I use goats milk since my son and I both have a dairy allergy (yes another thing I am allergic too and hopefully the only thing my son is.)

Update on the Beef Ragu

Although, I did not enjoy this dish to the point that I could not consume it past sampling while cooking, my dear husband enjoyed to the point he also ate the large amount of left overs. My son requested the pasta dish again.

So, in an attempt to please them, I will give this dish another try.... but it will be greatly improved upon. Sometime in the future I will fiddle with this recipe and make it taste better.

Beef Ragu

I have officially had my first Pinterest fail.

I thought I would give a beef ragu a try. It is a dish I recall my grandmother making often and I remember enjoying it.

My inspiration came from Ragu Gluten Free with Veal, Beef, Chicken or Turkey. The fact that it was already gluten free made me very happy and thrilled to try this dish.

As it was cooking I tried the sauce and was immediately turned off. It reminded me of vomit. Sorry but it did. I had my husband try it, my son try it and even my oldest daughter try it. Each had a different flavour that they tasted.

I was really tempted to NOT finish and find something else quick to eat. My husband encouraged me to finish out the recipe and see what would happen. Sadly, even after I mixed in the starchy water and then the noodles and everything, it still left me turned off.

My husband ate it, my daughter ate it and my son ate it. My daughter complained the entire time and my son ate off his father's plate claiming it was better than his. After all was said and done and my husband had his second plate, he announced that he added sugar to it. Ummm ok....

Will I make this dish again, not a chance!

Creamy Mozzarella Chicken Bake

I am an avid chicken lover. I always say that I could survive off of just chicken, rice, fruits and vegetables. My family, not so much. As a result I have to come up with new, interesting and tasteful ways to get them to enjoy chicken as much as I do. Again I took to Pinterest and found a delectable chicken recipe.

The inspiration for tonight's meal comes from Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake.

The only change I made was using mozzarella cheese instead of swiss cheese as I already had it at home. I also made sure that my other ingredients were all gluten free. I served it with potatoes and a garden salad.

After my family ate it, they decided that it needed less salt. They did eat it all and my husband laid claim to the left overs for tomorrows lunch. When asked if they would like it again, they all said yes.

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the meal since I was trying to move fast while the baby napped.

Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

My family and I really enjoy eating a lot of peppers. The colours and flavours are exciting and something my little guy enjoys eating not only cooked but raw as well. I am always looking for different ways to prepare peppers and thought I would give a recipe I found on Pinterest a try.

The original recipe can be found at Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup.

I did not have to change this recipe in any way, other than using a gluten free chicken broth from a tetra pack over making my own homemade broth.

It was good and very filling, have lots of left overs. Everyone ate it and did not complain, they did offer suggestions though.

1. It cannot be called a soup, it is more like a casserole as there was very little broth left over after cooking.
2. Needed sour cream.
3. Less rice next time. I only used 3 cups and found it much.
4. Hot sauce makes everything yummy.
5. If you want it more like a soup add more liquid.

Will I make this again, for sure. It is a stick to the bones warm meal for a terribly cold night. The added bonus that I can freeze this for later use is fantastic and convenient for my busy family. The option of the crock pot or stove top also makes it easier to prepare.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Tonight, I made a very delicious Sweet and Sour Pork dish that my entire family loved, even the three year old which is a bonus. There were no left overs and they complained that there were not enough for seconds (guess it was that good).

The recipe I used came from Sweet and Sour Pork. I did have to make some changes to it so that I could safely eat the meal as well. My family never even noticed a difference and I did tell them of the changes I made. I have a nut allergy as well as Celiac Disease and as we progress through my adventures in cooking gluten free and converting recipes you will come to learn about many more allergies.

My recipe for this dish is as follows:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 teaspoons peeled and finely chopped fresh organic ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 (14 ounce) can of pineapple chunks in juice, undrained
9 tablespoons lower sodium gluten free chicken broth
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons lower sodium gluten free soy sauce
1 tablespoon gluten free cornstarch
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
3 cups hot cooked brown or white rice
1 green onion, cut diagonally into thin slices

Directions:

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
2. Drain pineapple, reserving a 1/4 cup of juice. Combine the reserved juice, 6 tablespoons of chicken broth, ketchup, sugar, apple cider vinegar and gluten free soy sauce in a small bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves.
3. Combine cornstarch with the remaining 3 tablespoons of chicken broth in another small bowl.
4. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium/high heat. Stir-fry pork mixture in hot oil for 5 minutes or until pork is done. Remove pork from pan; keeping warm. Add onion, bell peppers and water chestnuts to pan and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until crisp but tender. Add in ketchup mixture and bring to a boil. Stir in cornstarch mixture, pineapple chunks and pork mixture with any accumulated juices. Cook for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens.
5. Serve over rice and garnish with green onion slices.

I hope you find this as enjoyable as my family and I did. Sadly I did not take a picture of the dish before it was all gone.

Chicken Tacos

My family absolutely enjoys tacos. I personally have to be in the mood for this dish. I try to eat an assortment of meats, which means having two beef items in a row is not something I enjoy doing (especially since I am not a huge beef eater). Instead of using ground beef I used ground chicken.

The following is my recipe for chicken tacos.

Ingredients:

Meat:

500 g of ground chicken
1 packet of gluten free taco seasoning
1 cup of water

Toppings:

1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 cup of chopped lettuce
1 cup of grated cheese
Salsa
Sour cream

Another toppings you prefer.

Taco Shells or Soft Tortillas or if you are like me lettuce leaves (iceberg is not a good option, you want something tougher).

Directions:

1. Pour 1 tbsp of oil into skillet and brown the ground chicken fully.
2. Add 1 cup of water and 1 packet of gluten free taco seasoning to ground chicken and bring to a boil.
3. Let simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
4. Let mixture cool and serve.

I allow my family members to make their own tacos.

Again this will be a dish that I will make every so often for my family. With the discovery of a gluten free taco seasoning made by Club House I was happy since I did not have to worry about something making ill in the meal.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

Beef stew was a dish I always made while living at home with my mom. For some odd reason after I left and met my husband, I never made it again. That is until October 19 when I decided to make it again but in the crock pot. I remembered I had pinned a recipe on Pinterest, looked it up and made the ingredients list. I took note of what I needed to change and what could be left the same.

The original recipe can be found at Slow Cooker Beef Stew.  I am sure the original is delicious, but I made it better; I can actually eat it without getting sick afterward.

The following is my version of Campbell's Slow Cooker Beef Stew.

Ingredients:

3 cups (750 mL)  potato cubes or mini potatoes, halved
2 cups (750 mL) each, sliced carrots and celery
2 small onion, cut into wedges
2 bay leaves or 1 tbsp dried leaves
1 1/2 lb (750 g) stewing beef cut into cubes
1/4 cup (60 mL) potato flour + 1/2 tbsp for drippings
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground black pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) canola oil
1 tetra pack of gluten free low sodium beef broth or homemade broth
1/2 tbsp (7 mL) gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh thyme leaves or dried leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Combine vegetables in 4 1/2 qt (4.3 L) slow cooker. Add bay leaves
2. Place stewing beef, flour and pepper into a sealable plastic bag and toss to coat beef.
3. Brown beef well on all sides in heated oil over medium-high heat in large non-stick skillet. Place beef on top of vegetables in slow cooker.
4. Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and garlic to skillet and combine well with pan drippings, add in 1/2 tbsp of potato flour. Pour mixture over beef and vegetables.
5. Cook, covered, on High setting for 4 hours (or low for 7-8 hours) or until beef reaches internal temperature of 165 F (74 C) and is fork-tender. Discard bay leaves before serving.

Suggested Tip:

Resist the temptation to take the slow cooker lid off to check the stew. Heat and steam will escape, interrupting the way that the meat and vegetables cook and lengthening the time until the stew is ready. (I did not follow this tip, rather I checked the tenderness of the potatoes, carrots and meat at the mid point of cooking).

It was a hit with my family. It was so good they ate it the next day (actually my oldest begged to have it for dinner). I found it tasted better the next day reheated.

Will I make it again? For sure! I will even prep all the vegetables prior and create freezer meals with it; it was that good.

To Pesto or Not to Pesto....

It is my hope to move my family from a lifestyle of processed, easy to obtain foods by just opening a jar or a box into a more healthy fresh make it yourself lifestyle, even if it takes a bit more time to prepare. With that, I grabbed more fresh fruits, vegetables and even herbs and spices.

On October 18, I tried to make a homemade pesto. I received a lovely bunch of cilantro and parsley, in my organic fruits and vegetable box. I took to Google to look for a recipe and came upon one that looked promising.

I found the following

Cilantro Parsley Pesto

Ingredients

2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs

2 cups loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 large garlic clove, minced

3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Pulse herbs, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor until finely chopped. With machine running, add oil in a slow, steady stream. Pesto can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 2 days.

I obtained this beauty from Martha Stewart's website. Figuring she knew what she was talking about since she makes her living this way.

I was wrong.

It was easy to prepare and did not take to long. But something was missing and a flavour over powered it. Could I pin point what was missing, no. Could I figure out what flavour was over powering, no.

My family ate it, with the exception of the 6 month old and the 3 year old who said it was gross after one tiny bite. When asked what the others thought of it, my husband and 15 year old both said it was missing something.

Will I make this recipe again? Who knows, but the only way it will be made again is with the addition of added elements that I will have to toy with until it is perfect.

Welcome!

First of all, welcome to my blog about my adventures in cooking gluten free.

This is not an easy task, as I live in a home with four other members who are not gluten free (thankfully). I am the lone suffer of Celiac Disease. I am though, not the only family member (on my side of the family) to live with Celiac Disease, my father as well deals on a daily basis with the same struggles I do. While my husband and three children sit back and eat whatever they wish, I must be very careful and diligent in reading every thing before I consume a food item.

It was recently while pregnant with my third child that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to take an even closer look at what I was eating. I thought, by buying my gluten free foods already prepared that I was doing fantastic and providing myself with healthy foods. I was wrong. It was my OB/GYN who pointed out the high sugar content of my processed gluten free foods versus if I made everything myself and only consumed foods that were already naturally gluten free.

I made the necessary dietary changes in the last few months of my pregnancy and sadly with insulin maintained sugar levels. My husband and I both agreed that we would make this a permanent life style change. Needless to say, that never happened. I slipped back into my old habits and the ease of buying overly processed foods that are essentially killing me.

Recently I sat back and watched the food choices the older three members were making, while I diligently made fresh homemade baby food for the youngest. I was appalled and ashamed at what I was seeing. I watched as my son choose a bag of chips over eating an apple. I watched my oldest daughter eat a row of Oreo's over eating some sort of fruit and my husband, well he was the ring leader.

I have given them a week to get rid of as much of the garbage foods as possible before I purge my cupboards of the garbage and start to make my family eat healthier meals. Even if it means retraining their brain to the ways of eating healthy fruits and vegetables and not chips, cookies and pop.

It is my goal to cook gluten free while cooking for the rest of my family who are not gluten free. It is my goal to create delicious meals that my family will enjoy while at the same time, not contaminating my food and making myself terribly ill for the rest of the day and the day after that.

I have already begun the process of converting recipes and trying out foods on my family that I am sure will soon become family favourites.

Please join me on this adventure, as I post what we are eating and how I made it gluten free if necessary. I will post recipes, sources of recipes, my families review of the food item and if I will ever make it again or continue to play with the recipe until it is perfect.

For now, I leave you to explore the blog page and other resources on the web.

✿ Rachel ✿