The Gluten Free Life

During the last few months our oldest son has been on a gluten free diet.  I just wanted to report that it hasn't been nearly as difficult as I thought it would be!  It has caused us to eat healthier whole foods, eat out less, and think more!   For the most part I use all the same recipes that I always have.  I use gluten free flour and it generally turns out just fine.  Today we made Puffy Oven Pancakes from my usual recipe and they were delicious. 

Ingredients

2

tablespoons butter or margarine

2

eggs

1/2

cup flour

1/2

cup milk

1/4

teaspoon salt

2

cups assorted fresh berries 

Powdered sugar, if desired

Directions 

• 1 Heat oven to 400°F. In 9-inch glass pie plate, melt butter in oven; brush butter over bottom and side of pie plate.
• 2 In medium bowl, beat eggs slightly with wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in flour, milk and salt just until mixed (do not overbeat). Pour into pie plate.
• 3 Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until puffy and deep golden brown. Serve pancake immediately topped with berries. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Mac and Cheese Deluxe

Mac and Cheese Deluxe

7 oz. ziti with lines
2 c. cottage cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (2 c.)
Paprika

Cook ziti, drain well. Combine cottage cheese, egg, salt, and pepper.Add shredded cheese. Stir in cooked ziti. Turn into greased 9x9-inch baking ban. Sprinkle with paprika. Bale in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 45 minutes. Serves 6.

Two Winning Recipes

 My mom and sister tried this bread recipe and then emailed it to me.  It is so easy and so delicious! 

Artisan Bread

3 c flour

1/4 tsp yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 c  water plus enough to clean dough off the sides of the bowl and form shaggy ball (be careful, you don't want too much water!)

3+ Tbs vinegar

Whisk dry ingredients in bowl, add wet and stir until a shaggy ball forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 8-18 hours.

Transfer to counter, knead 10 times and form into a ball. Place on parchment paper or small pie plate and let rise until double about 2 hours. 

About 30 min before baking preheat oven to 500 and place a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot inside (a big pan with a lid). Make one slash across top of loaf. Pick up by the paper / pie plate and transfer into the hot pot. Put the lid back on and place in the oven. Reduce the temp. to 425 and bake for 30 min. Uncover the loaf and if needed bake for up to 20 more min. Until golden brown, or 200 degree internal temp.

Amish Oatmeal

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 cup brown sugar (I used less)

3 cups oats

2 tsp. baking power

1 tsp. salt

1 cup milk

2 apples, peeled and diced

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup craisins

Combine all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes in a 9-inch square pan.  Spoon into bowls and serve with half and half or milk on top.   

I doubled the recipe.

All of my kids thought it was so yummy.  My four year old keeps asking me to make it again!  

Easy Chicken and Potatoes (crock-pot recipe)

Easy Chicken with Potatoes

(crock-pot)

Recipe from Elise Sykes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

½ c. Italian salad dressing

1 tsp.  Italian seasoning or mix basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, and garlic powder to equal 1 tsp

½ c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

4 to 6 med. Potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges or thick slices

Place chicken in bottom of crock-pot.  Sprinkle with half of the Italian dressing, spices, and the grated cheese.  Put the potatoes on top or around the chicken.  Sprinkle with the rest of the dressing, spices and cheese. (I just buy the packets of Italian dressing, make half the packet and sprinkle the rest for the seasoning.) Easy!  Cook on low for about 6-8 hours, or until the chicken is done and potatoes are tender. You can sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top before serving.

Menu Planning- 5 Simple Steps to More Organized Meal Plans

Recently I have had a few friends ask me about meal planning.  Simply put, this is what  I do:

1.  Find all your favorite recipes and organize them in a way that works for you.

I chose to use a binder.  I only put recipes in that I have cooked several times and I know my family loves.  In a perfect world each recipe would be beautifully type, but I just had my oldest daughter help me hole punch my recipes and put them in.

2.  Choose a theme for each night.  

This is an idea that I learned from the "Food Nanny,"  (look at her website, it is a great resource)  This is a great way to narrow your search for each day.

Our themes are:
Sunday- Crock-pot
Monday- Chicken
Tuesday- Italian
Wednesday- Meatless or Seafood
Thursday- Mexican
Friday- Homemade Pizza
Saturday-  Beef

3.  I prefer to divide my recipes in my binder into different categories for quick menu planning.  

Yes, it is true, some meals that are crock-pot are also chicken.  I just choose which group I want to store it in.

4.  Write out your plan.  

Menu Planning takes time.  For many years, each week I sat down and planned my menu.  I slowly transition to planning my menu every 10 days and then every 2 weeks.  Now I plan for 3 months at a time.  It is nice to have the plan set up.  I just type what is for dinner on my google calendar that  I do all of my planning on.  When something comes up or I need to change what we are having for dinner it is easy for me to move that nights plan to another day.  There are only a couple of repeat dinners in a 3 month time period.   I love to have a variety of healthy meals.

5.  Write out a shopping list.

I plan for 3 months at a time.  I go to Sam's Club at the beginning of each month and buy things that we will need that month: cans of chicken broth, diced tomatoes, frozen chicken, diapers. . . Each week I write out a menu for what I need to get at the grocery store that week.  In an ideal world I would only go to the grocery store every other week, but we always run out of produce, milk, or someone needs a birthday present for a party or a special treat for school, so I end up at the grocery store every week.