Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I am having a green salad today!  I recently went to assist my daughter, who resided in the panhandle of Florida.  I was able to walk to the Walmart, there, and I bought these yummy looking noodles.

They really were yummy!  I used them to make mac and cheese for one of our meals.  The leftovers were not too bad, the next day, either!

Pumpkin Pie for Your Birthday!

I love pumpkin pie!  Especially homemade pumpkin pie!   I am the gluten intolerant person in my family.  I originally made gluten free pumpkin pie with a cereal crust which came out like a graham cracker crust.  My husband did not really like the graham cracker type of pie crust, so when he found Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pie Crust Mix, he started making the pie crusts and all I have to do is make the filling!  I love this arrangement!  Frankly, I have always disliked making pie crusts, except for that amazing cereal crust that you just mix together in a plastic bag, and with my husband willing to make the crust we both win!

We use the big can of Libby's pumpkin pack and I just use the recipe on the side of the can.  He makes the crusts (two) and I pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie pans and into the oven they go.  Each bag of Bob's GF Pie Crust Mix makes two pie crusts.

This time I used the two shallower pans, so I had a little extra pumpkin mixture left over.  He had some of the dough scraps he had rolled into a ball, so he rolled it out and I lined my mother's little casserole dish with the dough and poured the pumpkin pie mixture in.  It looked amazing, and it looks amazing baked!

We got two regular pies and one deep dish pumpkin casserole pie from what we made up.  We are having it tomorrow with Cool Whip and lactose free ice cream.  Yay for tomorrow!

Manini's Gluten Free Pizza Dough

I found this amazing 'already-made' GF pizza dough at Fred Meyer, in the deli section.  If you cannot find it on the cooler shelf, just ask at the deli counter, as they keep it in the freezer and only put a couple out at a time.  I bought two packages and put one in the freezer and the other in my fridge for a couple hours before I used it.  

It makes wonderful pizza!  We love it!  I always plan on taking a photo when the food comes out of the oven, but I get so excited that I forget about a photo until the food is gone.  I just followed the instructions on the back of the bag.

This is how it looked, on my well-traveled pizza pan, just before I placed it in the oven.  The rest is history.

Baked Eggplant Sandwiches are the best!

I have been meeting more and more people who are growing eggplants for the first time.  There are some great gluten free eggplant recipes out there.  My most favorite is Baked Eggplant Sandwiches.  I have purchased gluten free panko at Winco for a long time, but they seem to have discontinued it.  I did find some amazing gluten free bread crumbs, with Italian seasoning, at Albertson's.   All the other ingredients are naturally gluten free.  This recipe is one my husband and I make together.  It makes it go faster.  Make sure you have plenty of time, because you bake them for 12 minutes, then turn them and bake another 12 minutes, then you let them cool, a little, while you make the filling, then bake them for 15 final minutes.  

It is easy to make these, it just seems a little time consuming, but when you taste these wonderful little hot melty sandwiches, you learn to just enjoy the time it takes to make them.  We usually start something in the DVD player, and pause it when we get to the "making the filling" part, or pour some wine . . .

And they are gluten free! YUM!

Most of the Best Teas Come Loose, so Here Is What To Do

 I am a tea drinker.  My husband has become a tea drinker, and our favorite diffuser is just not all that great.  You put the loose tea in a diffuser, then put the diffuser in your hot water, to make tea.  Most diffusers leak some tea leaves into your tea cup or pot.   Lightbulb!  I am a sewer, so why not sew some tea bags and put a couple teaspoons of loose tea in each bag? 

I bought one yard of muslin at the Craft Warehouse, and cut it into 5-inch strips, then I sub-cut those strips into 3-inch pieces.  I folded them in half and sewed them on two sides, then added the tea leaves, then chain sewed the tops closed, leaving about 5 inches of thread between each bag.  They have a double thread to use to dip them into the hot water.  Simple, brilliant!  I know.   Make some tea bags and settle into a cup.

Always Ask About Ingredients When Eating Out or Participating in Pot Lucks

I always ask what is in dishes, when dining out, and especially at pot lucks.  It sound ridiculous to think someone's homemade chili might have gluten in it, but you did not make it, so you do not know.  When the party who brings it says, "I don't know what's in it. My wife made it,"  do not eat it.  I always bring a main dish, that I want to eat, so I know for sure there will be something there I can eat.  My co-workers know I have celiac disease, so they do a good job of bringing things I can consume.  It has not always been this way.  I am very lucky to have such thoughtful co-workers.  Bless my old boss, who brought quarts of mint chip ice cream to a St. Patrick's Day pot luck, but I could not eat it, due to being lactose intolerant as well.  I had a very hard time breaking it to her.  I buy quarts of mint chip frozen yogurt at TCBY.  It tastes just like creamy ice cream.

I always ask at restaurants if they have gf soup, because I so seldom get to have it.  Ask before ordering clam chowder.  The only place I have been that does not use good old wheat flour, is the state of Maine.  Beef and barley soup is not gluten free, because of the barley.

We broke down and bought a different brand of Air Fryer

We ordered the GoWise from Amazon Prime, so we got free shipping, and it was over $60.00 less than that other one.  This one opens and closes very smoothly.  We managed to use it over three times and it still works!  It seems much more durable than that other one. 

The first thing we made were the kale and potato balls.  We may have overdone it on the kale, but what the kale?!  They were yummy!  Okay, and they are much healthier than deviled eggs.

Air fryer?

My husband and I went to an air fryer demo/cooking thing.  We decided to get one and we bought the Power Air Fryer.  We do not recommend this brand.  The pan was difficult to reinsert and during the third use the thing had an E1 error and would not work.  We returned it and received our $159.00 back.  The baked potatoes (2nd use) were very good.  I think maybe if we want French fries, would could decide to splurge and just go out!  It would also help me be thinner, not to have that capability at my fingertips.  Yes, despite the ability to use less or no oil, one can get fat from eating so very many potatoes.  Bad for the blood sugar levels and all that!

Baked Veggie Enchilada!

My husband bought a couple vegetarian cook books 1)Forks over Knives, and 2) Plant Based Cook Book.  Today he made the Baked Enchiladas for dinner.  Wow! They were fabulous!  Then he baked he Nilla Wafers.  Both recipes are from the Plant Based Cook Book, by Trish.  The cookies are yummy and better than Nilla Wafers.  We ate the enchiladas before we thought of taking a photo.  I may remember to take a photo of the cookies in the morning, if there are any left.  Now that my husband has used an actual vanilla bean in a recipe, he is unstoppable!!

Egg Plant Tortilla Wraps

Tonight we sliced an egg plant thin and fried it in a tiny bit of olive oil. We sauteed garlic and onions. We put them in whole grain tortillas with lettuce and salsa.  They were fabulous!  Try using egg plant to make your tortillas!

I joined the Continuous Health Improvement Plan at my work.  My husband gets to come to all the meetings and we have been learning a lot about clogged veins and free radicals, and we are learning about letting our food be our medicine and our medicine be our food.  The course came with a text book, work book, and a cook book. 

After you cook the potatoes, you must let them cool,
then you grate them. Do this part in advance.

A week ago, we made the Potato Rosti recipe.  If you plan on having it for breakfast, do prepare the potatoes the night before, so it is quick to make the patties and broil them in the oven.  They were wonderful. 

almond butter; can you believe it?

We made stir fried onions and carrots to go with them.  Because of the potato prep time it took quite awhile to get our breakfast made, but they were yummy.

We stir-fried the onions and carrots,
while the potato patties were in the oven.

They were so enticing, and we waited so long for them
to be finished, I forgot to take a photo until after I
had eaten most of my stir fry!

The best gluten free store bought bread yet!

Isn't it nice, the products just keep getting better for the gluten intolerant and usins that have Celiac Disease?  Yes. Absolutely!  I was recently at a quilting retreat and a friend brought a loaf of gluten free bread.  We were all building sandwiches with cold cuts, cheese, tomatoes, purple onions, condiments, and what-have-you, and I thought it so thoughtful that someone brought gluten free bread.  I had never seen this kind, but it sure beat the socks off the one that was, up until now, my favorite!  It is from the Franz bakery.  I don't have to drive clear across town to purchase it. It is available at Fred Meyer and Albertson's.  Oh, I have made many a good tuna sandwich and PBJ on this very fine, moist wonderful bread, which is the usual slice of bread size instead of the mini slice of bread size that all the gf breads have been since day one of gluten free breadism.  A real size sandwich, with bread that tastes like bread should.  Praise the Franz Gluten Free bread!!  I thought it might be too soft, even after 5 days, to make decent French toast with, but it was wonderful. It was the best French toast I have had since before I could no longer consume gluten.

Rumor Heard: Winco Has GF Bread

A co-worker told me that Winco has gluten free bread.  I was rather surprised.  It is worth a look.  There are so many not good GF breads out there.  I either get fresh baked at Jake's Gluten Free Store on Fairview Avenue or I get Canyon Bakehouse brand at Whole Foods on Broadway in downtown Boise.  The truth is all the baked products and pasta are not healthy for us no matter what they are made out of.  Those starches just turn into sugar.  But it is better to have a PB&J sandwich with a glass of milk, than some big Mexican platter, if you are trying to eat healthy and watch your weight.  I enjoy quilting so much, I have been making toasted tuna sandwiches after work, so I can get right to doing what I love.  Having gone without bread for so long has made me really love toasted tuna sandwiches, too!

Easy Bread To Make At Home

One of the very first off-the-shelf gluten free bread mixes I enjoyed is Chebe Bread.  The mix used to come in a bag, which was very convenient.  I could toss a couple packages into my luggage, when I flew down to visit my daughter.  It kept me from having to seek out places to shop for GF groceries, while I was visiting.  I still enjoy Chebe Bread today.  It is quick to mix up, roll out and bake.  I like the texture and the herbs.  The photo below is of the Focaccia bread.  I bake it on my pizza stone. It is so good with soups and stews.

Tortilla Soup

If you have not tried Tortilla Soup, I highly recommend it.  I first had it at my favorite local Mexican restaurant.  I asked the waitress to let me know if it was gluten free. She checked and it was.  A bowl of their Tortilla Soup is a meal in itself.  I have since tried some recipes and developed my own. I do not see the reason for using stewed tomatoes when diced are easier. Plus, if you use diced tomatoes that have green chilies in them, you do not have to buy green chili's to put in the soup. If your favorite salsa has green chilies and cilantro, those are ingredients you do not have to buy in addition to the other ingredients.  Also, if you do not wish to burn your ears off, you can reduce the amount of chilies by using diced tomatoes without the chilies already in them or use less cumin. Cumin has some heat, so I recommend just one teaspoon for the pot.  Following is my recipe:

Happiness and Peace Come in Big Bowls

The employees of The Division of Medicaid, where I used to work over seven years ago, made a cookbook.  One of the recipes was for Monster Cookies.  It has oatmeal in it and no flour of any kind.  I knew right away this was something I could eat that was yummy!  The reason they are Monster Cookies is because it is a monster of a recipe.  I cut the recipe in half, yet it still calls for 9 cups of oatmeal. Yes. No kidding. Go to the dollar store and buy a huge plastic bowl to mix this up in.  I bought two. One I use for making Monster Cookies and the other one I keep in my bathroom to soak my feet in!  Both bowls bring me happiness.  But let us get on with Monster Cookies.  Following is the recipe:

Stuffed Stuff!

Stuffed bell peppers and zucchini are healthy, hearty, and makes my taste buds happy!  If you have a recipe or method of preparing stuffed bell peppers and/or zucchini, use it!  Just leave out the bread, breadcrumbs, crumbled crackers, or what have you. Leave it out or substitute in corn flake crumbs or crunched up wavey potato chips.  I buy Kellogg's Cornflake Crumbs. They come in a box, already made into crumbs!  Bake as you normally would.  I use browned ground beef, chopped onions, cooked basmati rice, celery salt, garlic, S&P, a little tomato sauce.  Mix it together and spoon into peppers and zucchini. Sprinkle some cornflake crumbs on top with a little butter.  Yummmm.