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

Photo Source: Google

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