Gluten Free on a Budget? What's coming up next:

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Hello my Gluten Free Yummies,
I think going gluten free can be intimidating for many people as they feel they're not going to be able to afford it.. Honestly, gluten free living is expensive. For some of us, we have no other option but to add that extra $50 a week to our grocery bill. I am going to be starting a new series "Gluten Free on a Budget." I hope you'll follow me along as we experiment with different gluten free foods for, not necessarily using gluten free products but using what we have in our pantries!!
Also, beginning in September, I will be making our own baby food for our son and I can't wait to share that with you all too!!

Follow me along as we explore gluten free on a budget!!

Angela

Food Safety

My Mom sent me an interesting article about food safety around the holidays. So, I thought why not take a moment to talk about proper food handling.I think it's one of those topics that isn't really talked about as much as it should be. Here are just a few tips to keep in mind in the kitchen!

1. Proper handling and preparation for thawing food. I bet you all are guilty (raising my hand) of thawing food on the counter, going to work and coming home and cooking the meat? That is a big No, No! When thawing meat if you're in a pinch, put it in an ice cold water bath, this will take approximately 20-30 minutes. The best way to thaw meat is to put it in the refrigerator overnight and thaw at 40 degrees.
2. FAT TOM: Keep this in mind, it's an easy way to remember what food born bacteria NEED to grow... All of these items are what food needs to grow bacteria so make sure you're keeping proper safety when using them.
1. F- Food high in protein and carbs; meats, cheese, dairy, ect.
2. A- Acidic foods
3. T-Time, bacteria grow at specific times of food being prepared and stored
4. T-Temperature danger zone! 41-135 Keep prepared food cold at 40 degrees or below and hold hot food at 136 and up.
5. O- Oxygen,some bacteria thrive on oxygen, cover and package properly
6. M- moisture, keep moisture away from food
3. Always temp your meat when cooking to ensure proper temperature. Here is a list of the types of meat and their proper temperatures:
1. Poultry: 165
2. Ground Meat: 185
3. Pork: 145

These are just a few simple things to keep in mind while you're preparing food :)

Happy Monday,

Angela

Confessions!

Hi my Gluten Free Yummies!

As much as I enjoy being in the kitchen; baking, cooking, entertaining and creating, I must admit I don't enjoy photographing my food! I have so many recipes that I haven't posted because quite frankly, I'm not a photographer! I am really bad at taking pictures and remembering to do so! It actually takes me longer to get a good photo of my recipe than getting it made and put together! Another confession of mine is that I am by no means artistic, I can decorate a cake and make a plate look fantastic but I cannot draw a stick figure to save my life! Often times I wish I had the talent to capture the beauty and excitement with photographs! Practice makes perfect!

Just a little bit of a confession from yours truly,
Happy cooking!

Angela 
:)

Blueberry Vanilla Crumble Muffins

Blueberry Vanilla Crumble Muffins:

What you'll need:

Muffin tin and liners

For the muffins:

1C All Purpose gluten free flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 C Oat flour
3/4 C Granulated sugar
2TSP Baking powder
1TSP xanthan gum (Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 TSP Salt
1/3C Vegetable Oil
1 Egg
1tsp Vanilla
1/3 C Milk
1 C fresh blueberries

For the crumble:
1/2C raw sugar
1/3C oat flour
1/4 C Cold butter
1 1/2TSP Cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Combine; flour, sugar and all the dry ingredients. Sift to remove lumps
Place vegetable oil in a 1 Cup measuring cup. Add one egg and enough milk to fill to the one cup line.
Add vanilla.
Mix the wet into the dry. Don't over mix, you want it to be lumpy. Fold in blueberries.

Line muffin tin with liners and spoon in mixture.

In a separate bowl combine raw sugar, oat flour, cinnamon and cold butter. Mix until tiny beads appear from the cold butter sprinkle over top of each muffin before baking.

Bake 20-25 minutes. Take out and cool on a rack (if they make it there :) )

Product Review Marshmallow Treats

Brown Rice Marshmallow Treats:

These were my least favorite treat so far. These were really dry and grainy, they were hard to chew and difficult to enjoy. I have made my own rice crispy treats with the brown rice cereal and they were much better than these. I don't suggest spending your money on them, if you want a marshmallow treat, make them yourself! I think that they were a waste of money. I guess you can't like everything you try, right?

Bummer!

Perhaps, I will share my recipe in the next few days?! Stay tuned :)

Italian Pasta Salad

I am happy to say that the Bionaturae Organic Gluten Free Pasta really stood up to its test! The cold Italian Pasta Salad was amazing!!!! It even lasted through the next day, the texture was still soft, it wasn't gritty, grainy or hard. It was perfect!! Here is my pasta salad recipe.

1 pound Bionaturae Organic Gluten Free Pasta
1 package of pepperoni
1 block of mozzarella cheese (cut into small chunks)
1 small red onion or one half big red onion
3TBS extra virgin olive oil
1TBS white vinegar
2 TBS red wine vinegar
1TBS white balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper
1 TSP garlic powder
1/2 TSP onion salt
1 TBS Italian seasoning
1/2 TBS parsley


Boil water, add 1 TBS salt and pasta, cook 10 minutes. Drain

Add to a big bowl; pasta, pepperoni, onion, oil vinegar and seasonings. Mix well. Let cook a few minutes before adding the cheese as not to melt!

Serve cold and enjoy!

The best thing about this recipe is it is very versatile! You can add, take out or put anything you want in it! It's my favorite summer pasta salad!

Happy Cooking!

Product Review



Bionaturae Organic Gluten Free Pasta. I don't think I've ever been so excited to share a review on a pasta before, I love this product!! The texture of the macaroni when cooked is the closest to regular pasta that I've had. The consistency and the texture remind me of any regular fusilli. Many gluten free pastas have a film that's left on it after cooking, leaving you to rinse the pasta, this one did not It had a smooth texture, felt durable, and heavy to withstand sauce. It is by far the best gluten free pasta that I've had in the many years of being a Celiac. The price of this is similar to all the other gluten free pasta choices, maybe a penny or two more. In my opinion it is very worth the extra pennies. As a hot pasta dish it was exactly what I've been searching for. I feel this would make a fantastic cold Italian pasta salad. This weekend I intend on trying that and will post a recipe and a review on the cold dish.

I recommend this to anyone who misses the texture and consistency of regular pasta!

Enjoy

Garlic and Sausage Pasta Recipe

Garlic and Sausage Pasta

1 package of Bionaturae Organic Gluten Free Fusilli pasta
1TBS salt
1 package of sausage (I used portabella sausage links)
1 red pepper
1 clove garlic
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Bring 3 quarts of water to a full boil, add 1 TBS salt and pasta, cook 10 minutes.

While water is coming to a boil, heat a skillet with 1 TBS olive oil. Chop red pepper into small pieces. Mince garlic. Cut sausage into 1/2 inch rounds. On medium low heat add red pepper, garlic and sausage, season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 10/15 minutes. Once sausage is fully cooked through, add 1 TBS Parmesan cheese, stir and remove heat, cover until pasta is done.

Drain pasta then toss pasta with the sausage, peppers, garlic and cheese. Drizzle 1TBS over the pasta.

Serve hot and enjoy!

I chose to use this Bionaturae pasta.... Check back tomorrow for a product review of this AMAZING pasta :)

Happy Cooking!

Angela

Roaster Pans!

Photo Source: Google
This is the exact Roaster Pan I use.
The sticker is off of mine.

Ever wonder how to get that perfectly roasted bed of vegetables under that beautifuly crispy golden brown chicken? Simple, use a roaster pan! This inexpensive kitchen tool will get you that absolutely perfect chicken (turkey, roast whatever floats your boat) on top of those tender mouth watering vegetables. I've always wanted to get the perfect meal but would cook my food in a baking dish. I found my chicken to get dry and my vegetables were still crunchy after two hours of cooking... The roaster pan will change your experience. I swear by that! Here is my simple recipe for a lemon roaster chicken!

1 Whole chicken, 3-5 pounds
1 Onion
1 Lemon
salt, pepper to taste
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Carrots
3 Potatoes
2 Stalks Celery

Cut your carrots, potatoes and celery to one inch chunks.
In the bottom of the pan add your cut veggies, salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil on top
Clean chicken, cut onion in half and stuff inside of the chicken.
Salt and pepper your chicken, cut lemon in half and squeeze the juice of  the whole lemon on top of chicken then stuff the lemon inside.
Drizzle about 1/4 C olive oil all over the chicken.
Cover and bake 350 for 1.5 hours uncover for a half hour.
Temp your chicken to make sure it is 165 degrees in the breast of the chicken.
Take chicken off of vegetables and put on a plate, cover with aluminum foil.
Put veggies back in oven on Broil, High with no cover for 10 minutes while chicken is resting.
Carve chicken and serve.

I will tell you that the roaster pan is the key to a wonderful tasting chicken and vegetables.
Enjoy!

Easy Pulled Chicken BBQ

Yummy!

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes when I'm in the mood for chicken barbecue. It's too hot out to even considering firing up the grill so, here is my easy way of making pulled chicken BBQ!

One pound of chicken
2 cups of water
A generous amount of your favorite rub (Apple Wood Rub is my favorite)
1/2 cup Your favorite BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's)

In a skillet add chicken with a generous amount of your favorite rub. Add two cups of water and cover on medium-low for fifteen-twenty minutes.
Once chicken is finished cooking pull out of liquid. Reserve two tablespoons of the liquid. With a fork shred the chicken pieces. Add 1/4 cup of BBQ mix well with the shredded chicken. Return to skillet and add the remaining BBQ and two tablespoons of the liquid. Warm on low for about 3 minutes. Serve with your favorite sides :)

Cross Contamination

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Hello my fellow gluten free yummies! I just wanted to take a few moments to chat about cross contamination! Just a few things someone may not realize when cooking gluten free. I think the most important part to understanding the safety of a gluten free diet is getting to know the importance of eliminating cross contamination. Although Celiac Disease is not a food intolerance, eating gluten is what causes someone to have a flare up- I describe this as being just as serious as a food allergy. For some, it only takes a little crumb to irritate their insides. Cross contamination can happen very easily and you may not even realize it. An example, taking a knife and putting it in the peanut butter jar, touching a piece of regular bread and then placing the knife back into the peanut butter jar, contaminates the peanut butter and is no longer gluten free. It only takes a trace amount of gluten to send someone into a full blown "celiac attack". Yes, I refer to the flare ups as "Celiac attacks" because for many that's what it feels like. It's important to wash surfaces well and keep all gluten away from the gluten free items. Below I've listed a few things you may want to take into consideration when cooking gluten free.

• Sharing a toaster with gluten contaminates all gluten free products
• When preparing gluten and gluten free items on the stove be sure to use different cooking utensils
• Many cooking sprays have wheat as an ingredient
• Wash all surfaces before cooking gluten free
• Have a designated area to prepare gluten free when also cooking with gluten 
• When in doubt, throw it out!!

These are just a few things to consider when preparing gluten free food. As always, read labels and be sure you're taking the necessary precautions to keep your kitchen safe!

:)

Jewel Black Raspberry Bushes

We have these gorgeous jewel black raspberry bushes in our yard and when doing a bit more research on them, I got even more excited to eat the berries! Black raspberries have less sugar and more fiber than red raspberries which make them more filling. Their harvest season is pretty short, just for about three weeks, the beginning of July until around the end.
Eating these berries, be prepared to find a more firm texture. They're less juicy than red raspberry but, they're still sweet. Their appearance are that of a short blackberry and look like little caps. What I found to be interesting is the berries start out red and turn black when they're ripe.I feel like these will make a fabulous jam (hint, hint hubby!). I love finding treasures like this in my yard... Some of the best things in life do come free!! :)
I have never found these in my grocery store but if you get a chance to try them, you won't be disappointed!

Crispy Potatoes??

Ever wonder how to get those crispy hash browns at home like you get in the restaurant? Here is how you can make those delicious hash browns from a sack of potatoes!

• Shred your potatoes in a cheese grater.
• Use a clean kitchen towel and dump the potatoes on to the towel. You're going to want to be sure it's not your favorite kitchen towel.
• Now, this part takes a little muscle and is the most important part to getting that crispiness you desire... Ring the cloth with the potatoes in it. Ring it until no more water comes out. Then, ring it out some more to be extra sure you get out all of the moisture :)
• Season your potatoes to your liking
• My favorite seasonings are: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Seasoned Salt, Onion Powder and Parsley (my go-to seasonings)
• Your next move depends on how you want your potatoes cooked. You can bake them by spreading them out on a greased baking dish, with little pads of butter on top and put them into the oven for a half hour on 425.
• Or, you can pan fry them in two tablespoons of  butter or oil.
• This is just a super easy way to make those to die for hash browns at home :o)

 

Happy Cooking!!

Lets Talk Risotto Plus Product Review

Risotto is one of those dishes that you have to baby through the entire process. As much as I love to cook and find risotto to be fun to make, many people steer away from it because it's so intimidating. Well, fear no more my fellow gluten free risotto lovers! There now is a quick and easy product out there that I tried for the first time today. This risotto was so easy, only took 20 minutes. It reminded me of just quickly cooking up rice. The flavor was great and it had a creamy cheesy consistency. I would add a little more parmesan cheese as it was lacking that burst of parmesan that you think of in a traditional risotto. If you love risotto and don't love the process of cooking try this Lundenberg Traditional Italian Risotto!

Thank You

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I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my blogs. I especially would like to say a huge thank you to my Uncle Nicky. His patients and encouragement while helping me start my blog has been wonderful. I would also like to thank my husband, friends and family for their ever growing support, without them I wouldn't be where I am today!  I hope that with my passion and love for cooking I can encourage you to get in the kitchen. Cooking gluten free doesn't have to be intimidating or difficult. It is supposed to be fun! If you have any requests for a recipe or if you would like to see a product review please feel free to let me know! I really enjoy the feedback I have been recieving from my readers.
Thank you again for taking the time to come by and read my page! Now go, get in the kitchen and create some great food!

Angela

Carrabba's Restaurant Review

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My husband and I went to Carrabba's Italian Grill over the weekend for dinner and surprisingly they had a gluten free menu. We placed our order to go and the service was very quick and they were accommodating to my needs. There wasn't much on the menu that sounded appealing to me. I was hoping for some sort of pasta to choose from since Carrabba's is an Italian restaurant. However, there were no gluten free pasta choices. Quite a bummer. Dinner itself was okay, I ordered the Chicken Bryan, it had a little lump of goats cheese and sun dried tomatoes on the top. When I took my first bite I was hoping for a super flavorful dish but didn't get what I was hoping for. The chicken was a little dry and the seasonings on the chicken didn't marry well. Although the vegetables were my favorite part. They were very fresh and cooked perfectly. If I go back for dinner, I will choose a different menu item.

Banana Bread Recipe

Mom's Banana Bread

What you will need:

1/2C shortening
1C sugar
3 very ripe bananas
2C Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
1TSP baking soda
1TSP xanthan gum
1/8TSP salt
1TSP vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan with shortening.
In a large bowl cream shortening and sugar.Add the bananas and stir until smooth. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Sift to remove lumps. Slowly add flour mixture to shortening, sugar and bananas. Mix until smooth. Add vanilla and stir until just combined. Bake 54 minutes or until golden brown and tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Enjoy!

Pancake Mix Review

I am a sucker for pancakes! I had yet to find a good gluten free pancake mix that would satisfied my craving for hardy, traditional pancakes! When I stumbled upon the Maple Grove Farms All Natural Gluten Free Pancake and Waffle Mix at our local Walmart I gave them a try! To my surprise, they were amazing! Crisp and mouth watering on the outside, fluffy and airy on the inside. They had a hardy and buttery flavor with a slight hint of vanilla, a great combination. One note; if you're searching for a traditional buttermilk pancake, I'd use buttermilk instead of regular milk when mixing the batter. I will surely be making these again. :)

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

My Mom's best friend, Debbie makes this cheesecake that is just to die for. My Mom requested I make it for a picnic. Please enjoy this as much as my family did!

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust:
1 Box Gluten Free Graham Style Crackers (I used S'morables)
1/3 C of melted butter
1/4 C of granulated sugar
1/2 TSP ground cinnamon

Filling:
3-  8oz packages softened cream cheese
3/4 C granulated sugar
1/3 C sour cream
3 TBS Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour
1 TSP vanilla extract
3 eggs lightly beaten
1- 12oz package white chocolate chips
1/2 C melted seedless raspberry jam

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325
For your 9 inch spring form pan wrap outside tightly in foil.
Fill a 13x15 glass baking pan with one inch of hot water.

In a stand mixer put the box of graham crackers on low for 10 minutes until the crackers are crumbled. Add melted butter, sugar and cinnamon mix until moist. Press into your 9in spring form pan that is wrapped in foil.
In a large mixing bowl cream softened cream cheese and sugar. Add sour cream, flour and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in eggs slowly. Remove from mixer and fold in white chocolate chips. Pour into prepared crust.
In a microwave safe dish pour 1/2 C raspberry jam, microwave on low 30 seconds until melted.
Add spoon fulls of raspberry jam to top of cheesecake and swirl around with a knife.
Carefully set in glass baking pan filled with one inch of hot water.

Bake for 80 minutes, until center of cake is set. Cool on wire rack and refrigerate overnight.Remove sides of spring form pan just before serving.

Enjoy!

Happy Fourth of July

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Happy Fourth of July! Thank you for the soldiers who fight for our independence and for the courageousness of you all! I hope everyone has a fabulous day filled with happiness, fun memories and yummy treats :) 

Buttercream Frosting

Fool Proof Buttercream Frosting

What you will need:

3 Cups Confectioners Sugar
1/2 Cup Softened Butter*
3 TBS Vegan Shortening
1 TSP Vanilla
1-2 TBS Vanilla Almond Milk*

In an electric mixer cream butter and shortening.
Slowly add confectioners sugar one cup at a time, on low speed, mix until crumbled (will look like little white peas). Add Vanilla and mix well. Slowly add 1TBS at a time of vanilla almond milk, until you get a firm consistency that stands firm. You can always add more liquid if needed.
After you've mixed the frosting you can add any additional coloring that you want, just be sure that it's still the consistency of butter cream. Again, you can always add more sugar if needed.


*NOTE: Softened butter and room temperature milk are the fundamental keys to the success of any butter cream frosting. Keeping your dairy at room temperature will help keep the frosting smooth and not lumpy.

Dream Muffins

Dream Muffins

These muffins are Vanilla Oat flavored but my sister likes to refer to them as "Dream Muffins," well that name just stuck. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family !

What you will need:

¾ C Raw Sugar                

1/3 C Shortening

½C Vanilla Almond Milk

1 TBS Pure Vanilla Extract

1 ¼ C Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oat Flour

1 ½ TSP Baking Powder

½ TSP Salt

½ TSP Xanthan Gum

 

Preheat Oven to 350

Line cupcake tin with cupcake liners

In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum. Sift to remove any lumps.

With an electric mixer cream shortening and sugar, slowly add the flower mix and almond milk, alternating. Fold in vanilla.

 

With an ice cream scoop, fill liner ½ way

 

This recipe makes about 10 muffins; I like to double the recipe!

 

Bake 20-25 minutes

Frost with Butter Cream frosting

Living Gluten Free

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When you think of gluten what is the first thing that comes to mind? Wheat? Gluten is much more than wheat, it can be found in a variety of different products- that's not just food I'm talking about. Yep, that's right. Gluten can be found in anything from the food you eat to the toothpaste you use! I have a few tips from my experience that you may find helpful and a bit less overwhelming when making the transition for both your shopping experience and dining out:

Your shopping experience:

• READ, READ, READ LABELS! Reading the labels are going to be the most important thing when searching for gluten free items
• Second to reading the labels is knowing what to look for:
• Wheat is the obvious culprit
• Barley
• Malt
• Contaminated Oats
• Carmel Coloring
• Some products that are advertised as gluten free have the tiny print on the back reading "may contain gluten" or "processed in a facility where wheat may be present" stay away from these products

When dining out:

• Be sure to advise your server of your dietary needs, these days many people understand when told you can't eat gluten
• Choose "safe" items from the menu
• eggs, no toast
• salad, with olive oil and vinegar
• plain chicken
• ask what the ingredients are in seasonings
• Don't be afraid to ask questions. No restaurant wants their customers to leave sick!

These are just a few tips I have to share today. Every week on Monday I will be doing a Living Gluten Free series. This series will include topics such as tips for: dining out, local restaurants (my experiences) and shopping in the supermarkets! Living gluten free doesn't have to be overwhelming or stressful, make it fun and know what to look for. :)