Weekly Menu (9/30/12-10/6/12) and Circle of Mom's Top 25 Food Allergy Moms Contest

First of all...my blog is in the running for the Top 25 Food Allergy Moms.  If you enjoy my blog, would you take just a few seconds and click the link below and go and vote for Live Free, Gluten Free? You can vote every 24 hours, so please do! Thanks!

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• honeydew
• pears
• apples
• bananas
• avocado
• spinach
• carrots
• collard greens
• tomatoes
• green leafy lettuce
• strawberries

We also got the Mexican add-on pack which had:

• Avocados
• Limes
• Tomatillos
• Jalapenos
• Cilantro
• Onions
• Garlic
• Grey Squash

I also have lemons, zucchini, beets, potatoes, celery, and raspberries (from our bushes) to supplement the basket.


This week for breakfast:
For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• scrambled eggs
• fresh fruit
• cereal for the kids

For me:

• homemade yogurt
• smoothies (the strawberries, raspberries, spinach, avocados, bananas, beets, and maybe more will be used)
• water kefir with fruit puree
• hardboiled eggs
• fresh fruit
• baked oatmeal
• granola

This week for school lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread, ham sandwiches, beef jerky, or Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese
• fresh fruit or applesauce
• chips or crackers
• milk

This week for dinner:

Sunday:

• Spaghetti
• Green Salad
• Breadsticks
• Sauteed zucchini/grey squash 

Monday:

• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Schar Table Crackers and Blue Diamond Nut Thins (Smokehouse for the dairy-free ones and Pepper Jack flavor for the dairy-eaters)
• Strawberries and Raspberries

Tuesday:

• Tamales for the corn eaters and leftovers for me
• Salsa Verde
• green salad topped with avocados and tomatoes
• honeydew

Wednesday:

• Pulled Chicken Sandwiches on Udi's Buns or Lettuce Wraps
• Carrot and celery sticks
• Green Salad
• Honeydew and sliced pears

Thursday:

• honey oat pancakes (I promise I'll get the recipe up...it's fantastic)
• bacon
• sliced bananas and raspberries to top the pancakes

Friday:

• Corn Dogs (leftovers for me)
• Baked Potatoes
• Carrot sticks and apple slices 

Saturday: My hubby will be out of town...and I lack motivation to cook when he's gone...so, we'll be going to Pizza Pie Cafe, Juniper Takeout or Chick-fil-a.

Adopt a Blogger: Trish from Gluten Free in SLC

I'm taking part in Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger again. If you’re not familiar, Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger is a monthly event created by Sea at Book of Yum to help us gluten-free bloggers get to know each other and recreate each others recipes. This month it is hosted by Alta from Tasty Eats At Home. This month, I adopted Trish from Gluten Free in SLC. 

Both Trish and her husband have Celiac disease.  Trish also is intolerant to casein (just like me).  I love her blog, because (1) she's a fellow Utahn. I live in Logan, Utah, she lives in Salt Lake.  I am always checking her restaurant reviews before heading down to the Salt Lake area. She also has a page devoted to places she shops in Salt Lake, which comes in handy, too; (2) she also has some pretty fantastic recipes...and she loves millet flour like I do. :)

I made her chili colorado the other night for dinner and my boys both absolutely loved the sauce.  My older son proclaimed it was the best sauce for dipping tortilla chips.  And I have to say, it is a pretty dang good sauce, and the beef was so tender it was falling apart.  I ate mine with some quinoa, the rest of the family ate their's with corn tortillas and chips.

Note: In her recipe she cooks it on the stovetop, but made a note at the bottom that it could be done in a slow cooker.  So, I did mine in a slow cooker.  The sauce was super thin that way.  So, I made a roux using 2 tablespoons canola oil and 2 tablespoons millet flour, cooked that for a couple minutes, then whisked in about a cup of the sauce and added that mixture back into the slow cooker...it was perfect that way.

Hamburger Cupcakes (for my hubby's bday)

It was my husband's birthday on Monday.  Now, those of you that know me know that I go all out on birthday cakes.  I'm self taught when it comes to cake decorating, but I do try my hardest to make awesome cakes.  Well, I was pooped this weekend.  I shouldn't give excuses, I know if it was one of my kid's birthdays, I would have been killing myself to get their cake done.  But, my husband doesn't care what his cake looks like, or if he even has a cake...so I took the easy way out and made hamburger cupcakes: yellow cupcakes (I had a Better Batter mix I needed to use up), brownie patties, and buttercream toppings.

The kids said that they were the best hamburgers they had ever eaten.  I, myself, got horribly sick from all the sugar...white sugar definitely gives me nasty headaches and gallbladder attacks (I didn't realize it was causing my gallbladder issues were sugar related until I ate the cupcakes). So, it was a fun cupcake to make, but going forward, I'll definitely be making these without refined sugar if I want to actually enjoy them. :)

So, anyway, here's another birthday idea that is super easy to throw together...and was definitely a hit with the family.

Refined Sugar-Free Apple Fritters

I have a pretty fantastic Apple Fritter recipe, but I've been trying to limit my refined sugar intake...and these would just be an overload, and my digestive system would not enjoy that.  So, I made some the other night minus the white sugar and they were pretty good.  I glazed them with a homemade powdered coconut sugar glaze, but really they didn't even need it, they were sweet enough without.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesdays and Whole Food Fridays.

Refined Sugar-Free Apple Fritters
Fritter:
1 cup gluten free flour blend
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup So Delicious Coconut milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup chopped apple
canola oil or unrefined coconut oil for frying

Glaze:
1 cups powdered coconut sugar*
2 T So Delicious Coconut milk


Directions:  

Combine flour, coconut sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon.  Stir in milk, egg and honey until smooth.  Fold in apple. 

Heat oil on medium high.  If you are using coconut oil, make sure it doesn't get above 350F (that's the smoke point of the oil). Oil is ready when dough floats to top.  Carefully add dough to oil in heaping teaspoons.  Cook until brown, about 1-2 minutes, then flip.  Cook another 1-2 minutes, until both sides are browned.  Transfer briefly to paper towels to absorb excess oil, then transfer to cooling rack. 

Make glaze by stirring milk and powdered sugar together in a small bowl.  Dip warm donuts into glaze, and let set on a cooling rack (make sure paper towels are under the rack to catch the excess glaze).  Once set, dip the other side into the glaze and let set again.  Best served warm.

*To make homemade powdered sugar: blend together 1 cup coconut sugar and 1 tablespoon tapioca starch on high in a high powered blender (like a blendtec) for ~30 seconds.  This will make lots of dust, so let it settle for a few minutes before opening it up.

Weekly Menu (9/23/12-9/29/12) and Some News

So, I have some good news and some bad news (for our family, at least).  My younger son can now tolerate soy.  We still limit soy in our diets.  Really the only soy we have is soy sauce, and even then I prefer using coconut aminos...so nothing will change here on our blog for those of you that have soy allergies.  It's just nice having one less thing to worry about when we go out to eat.  The bad news is now I seem to have a sensitivity to corn.  The past couple of months I've been getting sick and I finally tracked it down to corn.  I don't appear to have issues with corn starch...but I'm working on eliminating it anyway, along with the rest of the corn sources.  For right now, my family will continue eating corn, just not me.

Total change of subject, but I need to tell you...I had the most fantastic ratatouille last week.  I used Julia Child's recipe, and it was as fantastic as I hoped it would be...go try it!

Now on to the weekly menu:

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• honeydew
• pears
• apples
• bananas
• avocado
• sweet potatoes
• carrots
• collard greens
• tomatoes

I also have oranges, zucchini, lettuce, potatoes, celery, grapes, and raspberries (from our bushes) to supplement the basket.


This week for breakfast:
For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• scrambled eggs
• hardboiled eggs
• breakfast bagel sandwiches (with Udi's bagels)
• fresh fruit
• cereal for the kids

For me:

• homemade yogurt
• smoothies
• water kefir with fruit puree
• hardboiled eggs
• fresh fruit
• baked oatmeal
• granola

This week for school lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread, ham sandwiches, beef jerky, or Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese
• fresh fruit or applesauce
• chips or crackers (we really like the Schar table crackers)
• milk

This week for dinner:

Sunday:

• Grilled Halibut and Chicken (for the non-fish eaters)
• Collard greens
• Corn on the cob (for my family)
• Baked potatoes/sweet potatoes (I prefer sweet)
• raspberries

Monday: My hubby's birthday! My husband want a date night out to Texas Roadhouse (I always get the filet mignon with steamed veggies and a sweet potato), so here's what the boy's will have:

• Tacos
• Carrot sticks and almond butter
• apple slices 

Tuesday:

• Chili (I'm going to thicken it with a millet flour roux instead of the masa flour)
• baked potatoes/sweet potatoes
• green salad
• honeydew

Wednesday:

• Chili Colorado
• Basmati Rice
• Corn tortillas for the family
• Diced avocados and tomatoes
• Green Salad
• Honeydew and sliced pears

Thursday:

• honey oat pancakes (I promise I'll get the recipe up...it's fantastic)
• scrambled eggs
• sliced bananas and raspberries to top the pancakes

Friday:

• Spaghetti 
• Green Salad
• Corn on the cob for the family
• Sauteed zucchini for me

Saturday: 

• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Schar Table Crackers and Blue Diamond Nut Thins (Smokehouse for the dairy-free ones and Pepper Jack flavor for the dairy-eaters)
• Grapes

Chile Rellenos Casserole

I made this a couple weeks ago for dinner...and I ate the whole pan, by myself.  I didn't do it in one sitting at least, but still, this is good and I ate it all! It is not a quiche, like some of the other chile rellenos casseroles you'll find.  I added flour to the egg mix and it changes it entirely.  The consistency of the egg, I think, is so much better this way.  You can make it with or without meat, I did half and half in my pan...both ways are excellent.  You could even try it without the dairy-free cheese, or decrease the cheese, if you want to.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Allergy Free Wednesdays.

Chile Rellenos Casserole
6 large fresh Anaheim peppers
2 cups Daiya Pepper Jack Cheese shreds (the whole package)
Optional: 1 pound sausage of choice, cooked and crumbled (chorizo, Italian, etc., I used leftover breakfast sausage that needed to be used up)
6 eggs
1/2 cup So Delicious coconut milk
2/3 cup all purpose gf flour blend
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Place peppers under a hot broiler and cook, rotating every few minutes, until skin is blistered and blackened. Place the peppers into a large brown paper bag and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes. Wearing gloves (I use the yellow rubber kitchen gloves) peel the skin off of the peppers, and make a slit in the side of each one, open, and flatten the chile. Remove the seeds and the membranes from each, then set aside.

Preheat oven to 450F and grease a 9X13 pan.  Place three of the opened, flattened chiles unto the bottom of the baking pan.  Top with half of the cheese and half of the sausage (if using). Place the remaining chiles on top and add the remainder of the cheese and sausage on top of that.

In a medium bowl combine the eggs and milk.  Whisk in the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and salt until smooth.  Pour the egg mixture over the peppers, cheese, and sausage.

Bake, uncovered, for about 15-20 minutes or until a knife come out clean.  You can eat this as is or serve it with salsa or hot sauce.

Weekly Menu (9/16/12-9/22/12)

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• green peppers
• green leafy lettuce
• cucumber
• broccoli
• oranges
• apples
• plums
• carrots

We also got the Italian pack add-on which had:

• eggplant
• zucchini
• mushrooms
• onions
• garlic
• herbs

I also have bananas, carrots, crookneck squash, potatoes, celery, grapes, and raspberries (from our bushes) to supplement the basket.


This week for breakfast:
For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• scrambled eggs
• hardboiled eggs
• breakfast bagel sandwiches (with Udi's bagels)
• fresh fruit
• cereal for the kids

For me:

• homemade yogurt
• smoothies
• water kefir with fruit puree
• hardboiled eggs
• fresh fruit
• baked oatmeal
• granola

This week for school lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread, ham sandwiches, or Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese
• fresh fruit or applesauce
• chips or crackers (we really like the Schar table crackers)
• milk

This week for dinner:

Sunday: We are visiting family...

• Hamburgers and Hot dogs (we're bringing our own buns)
• not sure what else (do you feel my stress)
• I'm bringing cookies to share, either Death by Chocolate Cookies, Smores cookies or Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (I'm working on making these refined sugar-free, hopefully I'll remember to write down what I did...I tend to forget to do that).

Monday:

• Grilled Chicken
• Ratatouille (using my eggplant, zucchini, crookneck squash, onions, green peppers, herbs, etc)
• Corn on the Cob
• Grapes

Tuesday:

• Thai Red Curry (or Green, haven't decided) Chicken
• Basmati Rice
• Vegetable Spring Rolls (using lettuce, cucumber, carrots, celery, etc. with rice vermecilli noodles)

Wednesday:

• Pizza
• Green Salad
• grapes

Thursday:

• apple fritters
• scrambled eggs
• peaches and raspberries

Friday:

• Tacos (I'll be having mine as a lettuce wrap)
• Green Salad
• Corn on the cob

Saturday:  I think we are planning on visiting my mother-in-law...if we end up not going, I think we'll just have Juniper Takeout or leftovers.

Teff Chocolate Pudding

I finally have gotten around to trying teff, and I love it. This recipe is adapted from one that was on back of the container of Bob's Red Mill teff grains that I purchased. My little one LOVES this pudding. The texture is exactly like the store bought puddings, it's thick and smooth...and it's healthy, I love it!



Did you know that whole grain teff releases starches as it cooks?  This allows it is pudding to solidify after you chill it (much like how your corn starch thicken gravy solidifies) But doesn't it look amazing in pudding form!?!

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Allergy Free Wednesdays, Allergy Friendly Fridays, and Whole Food Fridays.

Teff Chocolate Pudding

1/2 cup whole grain teff
2 cups water
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions
Cook the whole grain teff by placing it in a saucepan with the water and bringing it to a boil. Then reduce heat and cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the water is absorbed. It won't be fluffy like rice, it will be more goopy (is that a real word?) or even like a viscous syrup. Make sure to stir the mixture every once in a while, while it is simmering. The teff will stick to the bottom of the pan if you don't stir it.

Let the teff cool to room temperature. Once cooled, combine the cooked teff with the cocoa, honey, coconut sugar, and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and chill before serving.

Weekly Menu (9/9/12-9/15/12)

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• corn on the cob
• green leafy lettuce
• leeks
• broccoli
• oranges
• peaches
• plums
• strawberries

I also got the Italian pack add-on which had:

• eggplant
• zucchini
• mushrooms
• onions
• garlic
• herbs

I also have bananas, carrots, crookneck squash, potatoes, celery, pears, apples, grapes, blackberries, and raspberries to supplement the basket.


This week for breakfast:
For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• fresh fruit
• cereal for the kids

For me:

• homemade yogurt
• smoothies
• water kefir with fruit puree
• hardboiled eggs
• fresh fruit
• baked oatmeal
• granola

This week for school lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread, french toast sticks with maple syrup, or Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese
• fresh fruit or applesauce
• chips or crackers (we really like the Schar table crackers)
• milk

This week for dinner:

Sunday:

• Chicken and Eggplant Unparmesan
• GF Pasta (we like Jovial Pasta the best)
• corn on the cob
• sauteed mixed veggies (mushrooms, squash, leeks, broccoli, etc)
• Razzleberry Pie

Monday: 

• Clam Chowder
• Breadsticks or rolls
• Green Salad
• Corn on the cob

Tuesday:

• mini corn dogs
• orange slices, strawberries, and grapes
• Green Salad

Wednesday:

• tamales
• nachos
• black bean and corn quinoa

Thursday:

• Waffles
• scrambled eggs
• peaches and raspberries

Friday:

• Pizza
• Green Salad
• grapes

Saturday:

• Chicken Nuggets
• oven fries
• salad

Chocolate Cream Pie

Sunday I woke up and wanted Banana Cream Pie, but I didn't have any ripe bananas.  I thought of maybe making a coconut cream pie, but I knew I would probably be the only one that would eat it (I use coconut in everything, but for some reason my family won't eat coconut itself). So, it was definitely time to make a new cream pie.  I used semi-sweet chips for my chocolate, because that's what I had in my cupboard.  You could definitely use unsweetened chocolate instead.

Chocolate Cream Pie
1 8-9" pie shell, baked (instructions are below, for baking the pie shell, also the recipe for the pie crusts makes 3 single crust pies...I make a full batch and freeze what I don't need)
2 1/2 cups So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage or other non-dairy milk
1/2 cup agave nectar, maple syrup or honey
1/3 cup GF flour blend
1/4 teaspoon salt
2oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (~1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chips)
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Have the baked pie shell ready. To bake my pie crust, prep it as outline here. Once prepped and in the pie tin, prick the bottom ~8 times with a fork. Cover it with a double layer of aluminum foil and bake at 450F for 8 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool on a cooling rack.

In a saucepan, scald the milk and agave. In another saucepan, combine the flour and salt. Gradually whisk in the scalded milk.

Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cover and cook for two more minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chocolate chips until smooth.

Stir a small amount of the hot mixture into the beaten yolks, to temper them, then add the yolks into the hot mixture. Cook for another minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add in the coconut oil and vanilla. Let the mixture sit until lukewarm.

When the mixture has cooled, pour the mixture into the pie shell. Allow to chill in the fridge before serving with your non-dairy whipped cream or coconut whipped cream.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Allergy Free Wednesday.

Peruvian Roast Chicken with Red Potatoes

One of my favorite bloggers, Carrie Forbes of Ginger Lemon Girl is releasing her first cookbook: The Everything Gluten-Free Slowcooker Cookbook. I already have mine on pre-order.  I'm all for recipes that I can throw in a crockpot first thing in the morning, so I can have dinner ready when I get home.  And I really love Carrie's recipes, she was one of the very first bloggers that I followed when I changed my diet.

I got the chance to try one of her recipes from her upcoming cookbook and it was pretty darn good.  I made her Peruvian Roast Chicken and Red Potatoes yesterday for dinner.  It had just the right balance of spices and definitely changed up my regular roast chicken enough for me to really enjoy it again.  The chicken is served with a simple mustard-lime sauce and can I just say that the leftover chicken with that sauce makes for a fantastic sandwich the next day! Really, it was quite fantastic.

 

Go check out her blog and her new cookbook! Congrats, Carrie on your first cookbook!

Weekly Menu (9/2/12-9/8/12)

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• corn on the cob
• romaine lettuce
• tomatoes
• anaheim peppers
• avocados
• peaches
• pears
• grapes
• grapefruit
• and coconut oil!  They offered 64 fl.oz of organic virgin coconut oil as an extra this time and I was pretty excited about it. :D

I also have bananas, carrots, cherries, zucchini, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, red potatoes, potatoes, onions, crookneck squash, and raspberries to supplement the basket.


This week for breakfast: There is Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins to choose from, fresh fruit, and cereal for the kids; and smoothies, water kefir with fruit puree, hardboiled eggs, fresh fruit, and baked oatmeal for me.


This week for lunches: School is in full swing now for both of my boys: my older son is in second grade and takes a lunch from home, my younger son is in preschool and eats lunch at the sitters--she does an awesome job taking care of him. For myself, I plan on eating leftovers, I'll also have carrots and cauliflower with hummus everyday and a glass of water kefir with fruit puree (a good portion of my peaches and cherries will go to that). My husband always has sandwiches, chips, and a banana in his lunch (boring, but that's what he likes).

School Lunch for my older son (he can have dairy):
Monday:

• Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich on Udi's Bread (his very favorite lunch)
• Nacho Cheese Doritos 
• Grapes
• Milk

Tuesday:

• French Toast cut into sticks with maple syrup to dip
• raspberries
• Milk

Wednesday:

• Peanut Butter and Jelly Crepes
• banana
• milk

Thursday:

• Schar Crispbread with Cheese and Pepperoni 
• Grapes
• Milk

Friday:

• Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich on Udi's Bread
• Lay's potato chips 
• grapes
• Milk

This week for dinner:

Sunday:

• Roasted Chicken
• Red Potatoes
• Roasted Cauliflower and Brussel Sprouts
• Corn on the cob

Monday: 

• Chicken and Apple Sausages with Udi's buns
• Corn on the Cob
• Green Salad (with my lettuces and kale)
• grapes

Tuesday:

• Tacos topped with avocados and tomatoes
• green salad 
• corn on the cob

Wednesday:

• Chili
• Baked Potatoes 
• carrots and cauliflower with hummus or almond butter
• Sliced apple pears and nectarines

Thursday:

• Pancakes
• Bacon
• hashbrowns
• Grapes and oranges

Friday:

• Hamburgers on Udi's Buns (this is requested every week by my husband), I'm making mine spicy by topping it roasted anaheim peppers.
• oven fries 
• salad

Saturday:

• Pizza
• Green Salad
• fruit salad