GF Easter dinner

We had a ham. I normally don't like ham, but the Costco Kirkland spiral sliced ham is pretty delicious. And even with the glaze, it is GF!

For my signature mashed potatoes (shhh, don't tell) I do 2 packages of instant mashed potatoes, a huge container of sour cream, sharp shredded cheddar cheese & lots of real bacon bits (costco). Yummers! Use an oversized pot, because after you add all of the extras, it is a lot!

For a veggie, we normally have "green bean casserole". The cream of mushroom soup is NOT GF! So I have another secret recipe. I sauté green beans in olive oil wit a lot of garlic, and a fair sprinkling of Penzy's Northwoods Fire seasoning. It's pretty awesome.

For the family I made Pillsbury canned crescents rolled with cheese

We also served fresh pineapple with dinner.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter 2013

PDX Gluten Free Fair!

Can I get a "what what"? GF fair you say? Here in Portland?? Um, yes please!

Here are the details:
May 18, 2013
11:00am-3pm

Mittleman Jewish Community Center
6651 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland OR
(ID required for entry to the venue)
Free parking and overflow parking available

Enjoy samples of gluten-free foods & products from over 60 gluten-free companies, all in one place!

New Season's GF tour

I went to a New Season's GF tour today & it was actually pretty fun! My husband went with me because he is awesome & I wanted him to learn more about GF food choices. We went to the store in Happy Valley, OR. It was pretty sweet because it was just me, my husband & 1 other person!

Our tour guide, who was one of the district nutritionists was pretty entertaining. She was very animated & literally bounced down the isles. It cracked me up. She was very very nice though. The tour was scheduled for 1.5 hours, but ours took 2, which wasn't a problem for us. It wasn't boring at all, she kept it interesting & opened a lot of products for us to try. She also was honest about what products were good & which weren't so great. I appreciate the honesty. Of course we did some shopping along the way.

My husband is apprehensive about any product that is altered in any way. He found he liked most of what we tried!

Being gluten free isn't cheap. And New Seasons probably isn't the cheapest place to shop (pre-packaged products were cheaper there than at Bob's Red Mill) You can't beat New Season's customer service. I've been in for just regular shopping trips & employees offer to open products for you to try all the time. BTW if it's your first visit to New Seasons, tell the checker. They give you $5 off!

The bonus to the tour was not only all the info and samples, but she have us a few 10% off coupons. Check the website of your local New Seasons and look at their calendar. They have several tours they do. They recommend calling and making a reservation just in case.

Sassy's Family Restaurant in BC, Canada

I love breakfast food, however I am always worried about cross contamination. While searching my handy mobile page http://www.theceliacscene.com, I found a place called Sassy's. The page said they had GF options, so I called to ask questions. They assured me they were very informed about Celiac Disease & told me their website, so I could look at the menu. They had items marked with a (C) for celiac friendly!

 http://www.sassys.ca/

We went to the restaurant & everyone was SO friendly. The place was really cute. I ordered a GF meal & also informed my server that I had Celiac. She said she would make sure no cross contamination occurred. They had a GF toast option and it was the best bread I've had. It was of a normal size & was white. Yum! They had peanutbutter and jelly on the table so I made myself a PB&J sandwich for later.

My non-celiac family loved the food too.  It's nice that I can find a place where we can compromise.

I highly recommend Sassy's! Gotta love a place that tells you what wine goes with eggs Benedict!

Vancouver BC Aquarium

Overpriced crap food at the aquarium. However, they had a GF bun option. Sweet! After more investigation, I find their hamburgers have flour in them & the chicken for their chicken sandwich is marinated in a soy sauced based marinade. Luckily they had hummus with veggies! It's offered with flat bread but I told them I can't have that. At the register they also had GF chips. Not the best meal ever, but I realize I can't be picky while traveling. So far I haven't gotten sick & that is enough for me!!

Despite the food options, we had a great time! Very enjoyable way to spend the day in Vancouver BC!

A little piece of Canadian heaven

So far, in the States, most GF bread products I have found are frozen. A store in Canada called Superstore had a variety of fresh GF products, including these chocolate chocolate chip muffins.

The brand is "The President's Choice" which is a Canadian company. Do they even have a President in Canada? I am so confused. All hail the queen!

Anywho, I had to try these muffins. My kids got to them first. Aaron, 17 & Nolan, 13 asked for one. They both loved them and didn't notice any difference. (please note this package originally had 6 muffins but they boys got to them before I could take a photo) A while later, I tried one. It was delicious! Taste wise & texture wise I noticed no difference than with wheat based baked goods. I may have to buy some more for to take home. They also had blueberry muffins & fresh bread. Yummers! I may have to move to Canada, eh!

Thai Gem in Canada

We checked out a couple of places for food safety & settled on Pad Thai Restaurant that was right across the street from our hotel.

I am so newly GF that eating out scares me to death. Something I have to get over while on a road trip through Canada!

The restaurant smelled like heaven and I immediately told the server that I couldn't have gluten. He told me no problem & not to worry. He told me he would put NO GLUTEN on the ticket & that they could make everything GF. He even made suggestions & it really helped me feel better.

I had Pad Thai with shrimp & my favorite Tom Yum soup. It was the best Tom Yum I've had! I am sure we will be back!

http://padthairestaurant.ca/

Glutono GF Chocolate wafer review.

Glutino GF chocolate covered wafers. I love wafer cookies, so I was excited. I have a severe sensitivity to sugar free options. Artificial sweetners taste yucky to me. This has pure cane sugar, but even my son tasted an aftertaste. Bummer. Message me any cookies you know of!!!

Hit the road Jack & don't ya come back

Tomorrow we are taking a road trip to Canada. As a newly diagnosed Celiac, I've been avoiding eating out, so I am pretty nervous! We will be in Vancouver & Victoria. Let me know if you have any hints or know of any restaurants I can trust. I have my trusty celiac cards I had made to explain my needs to restaurants. Anyone else have something like this?

Domino's Gluten Free Pizza

You hear the news.....you get excited.  Yippee!  Then....wah wah wah.  Dreams crushed.

I first heard about Domino's GF crust & was kinda excited.  It has really good reviews.  Then the news story hit.  Their GF crust is not recommended for people with Celiac's Disease.  Major cross contamination issues.  They also state you can not buy their dough & prepare the crust at home because their policy states they do not sell raw ingredients.  Bummer!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57429388-10391704/dominos-new-gluten-free-pizza-crust-not-recommended-for-people-with-celiac-disease/

GF Pizza with Butternut Squash Sauce

I've never had a GF pizza crust. For today's experiment I used a pre-made frozen GF crust I got at Just Delicious Diabetic Bakery in Clackamas, OR. http://www.justdeliciousbakery.com. I asked & they didn't have any cooking instructions. I cooked it with the toppings in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes. In the future I will pre-cook the crust a few minutes before topping it. I would love suggestions for homemade GF crust recipes. I love a big doughy pizza crust but I know that probably isn't an option anymore.

Today it's really not all about the crust. I experimented and came up with something yummy. It sounds weird, bear with me.

For the sauce:

1 10oz bag frozen diced butternut squash

1/4 cup white wine (drink the rest of the bottle while you cook!)

1 heaping tablespoon diced garlic

1 tablespoon pesto sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan

Simmer squash in white wine until it pretty much turns saucy. Add Italian seasoning, pesto & garlic. Transfer ingredients and cheese into food processor and blend till smooth. This made enough to do 2 smaller pizzas or 1 large one.

Spread sauce into crust

For the toppings I used:

Hand torn spinach

Sliced green onions

Diced sun dried tomatoes

Cooked chicken breast

Crumbled goat cheese

Bake in oven approx 10 minutes

The family verdict:

I really liked it. I love trying new things :-)

Husband gave it a thumbs up

21 year old said it was pretty good

17 year old said it wasn't bad

13 year old didn't care for it

They all ended up pretty happy because I also made them a huge meat (pepperoni & spicy Italian sausage) pizza AND a creamy pesto pizza with chicken and bacon on regular crust.

Shepard's Pie

I know this looks like a big pile of cheesy potatoes with meat.....and it pretty much is. Mmmmm comfort food! This is something I created about 8 million years ago (I am at least 10 million years old) Tonight my darling husband made it. Even my kids can make this. It's very simple.

Brown 1lb meat in skillet with onion & garlic. Spread in bottom of a casserole dish.

Add gravy. My hubby used beef bullion, corn starch & Worcestershire sauce. I haven't had time to search GF gravy mix or jarred gravy. Our standard McCormicks is NOT GF :-( Comment if you know of any.

Add a vegetable. I personally prefer frozen peas and carrots. In this picture my husband added green beans. We just use whatever is in the freezer.

Layer on mashed potatoes. We just use instant. Easy-peasy.

Top with cheese of your choice.

Bake in oven on 375 about 20-30 minutes or until everything is heated up.

Serve & enjoy a full belly. This is very hearty. My family likes to add ketchup and/or hot sauce.

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas

This is a family favorite.  I always make double what I think I will need.  My family loves to pour BBQ sauce over the leftover pork and make pulled pork sandwiches.

It is a good meal to make when you have a dinner party, because there isn't a lot of effort when meal time comes around, so more time for me to socialize.  I always prep this the night before, so in the morning, I can just turn the crock pot on and go.

 

 I used the recipe on this website (photos are my own)
http://www.handletheheat.com/2013/02/slow-cooker-pork-carnitas.html

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder

1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup salsa
Tortillas, cilantro, avocado, limes, shredded cabbage etc. for serving

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directions:

Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Add the garlic, onion, and jalapeno to the slow cooker. Pour the lime juice, orange juice, and salsa into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until tender.
Shred the meat with two forks and return to slow cooker to combine with the leftover sauce inside.
Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread the meat evenly over the sheet. Pour some of the sauce over the meat. Broil for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the edges of the pork are browned.

I found the best gadget for shredding meat.  They are called Bear Paws.  I won't lie, I kind of feel like Wolverine when I use them.  You can find them on Amazon.

Don't forget to add homemade salsa and guac to your meal.  Here is my post about homemade salsa: Salsa Madness

 

 

Hearty GF cornbread taco casserole

Adaptation of a recipe I found. My family chowed on this & it was fairly simple. I made a HUGE batch due to all of the boys in my house. You can half it for a smaller batch. I used an oversized rectangle pan.

Prepare 1 batch of Bob's red mill gluten free cornbread mix. I used the whole bag. Obviously you can use regular cornbread too.

Spray dish with GF non stick spray (Pam states on their website they are not GF) spread cornbread mix in bottom & cook as directed. The GF didn't get as crumbly as regular but in this recipe it didn't make a difference.

As that cooks, brown 2 lbs hamburger (I used elk or you can use turkey) with GF taco seasoning. McCormicks is GF. When brown, add 1 29oz drained can of black beans & heat through.

Separately mix 1 large container sour cream with 2 cups shred cheese of your choice & a cup if finely diced onions. Ed doesn't like the texture of onions so I used some dehydrated flakes for flavor.

Mix that in with the hamburger & put the spread on top of cornbread. Heat at 375 till cheese is melted (about 15-20 minutes)

Top with shredded lettuce (buy the pre packaged shreds!) diced tomatoes, olive slices & salsa. We let everyone top theirs individually how they wanted. Keep in mind not all salsa is GF. Most are, but some brands like Resers is not. When in doubt use your ipiit app or just google the product & "gluten free" the answer usually comes up.

It's very hearty and all 5 family members gave it 2 thumbs up. We don't have enough leftovers for a full meal for everyone, but enough for the kids to grab for lunch.

Homemade GF Egg McMuffins

Easy breezy. I recommend a jumbo muffin pan. Spray cups with GF spray. Crack 1 egg into each cup, bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Build your sandwich with a GF English muffin, the egg, meat of your choice (Canadian bacon, sausage patty, bacon) reserve 1 slice cheese for later.

Seal in a zip lock back. Refrigerate or freeze. If you freeze, I recommend thawing in fridge overnight. Put in microwave safe plastic dish with lid for 50 seconds. Add cheese, microwave another 5-10 seconds.

Quick and easy breakfast.

Salsa Madness

H

Salsa madness!

It's hard to give you any real directions on salsa. Here are my ingredients

 

Roma Tomatoes halved or Tomatillos peeled, washed and halved
Sweet Onions cut into sections
Jalapeños sliced
Lots of fresh cilantro
Fresh lime for lime juice
Salt

You can use a small chopper or a food processor. I like using my small chopper because it is easier to taste and make adjustments as you go along.

For the verde (green) salsa: husk the tomatillos, wash them, cut in half & place face down on a foil lined baking sheet. Put under broiler for 5-7 minutes.

Everything else you just adjust by taste. The reason you use Roma tomatoes over other varieties, is that they are less juicy.  No one likes watery salsa!  I wait till the end to add salt & lime juice. 

Serve with GF chips.  Our favorite is Juanita's

A hint I have from my salsa making experiences is to wear gloves when cutting jalapeños. You can get major finger burn from the capsaicin...not to mention accidentally rubbing your eyes. I especially have that problem, because I have long nails, so I don't get all of the capsaicin from under my nails. I often find the next day that my fingers feel like they are on fire. Gloves are always a good option, but in a pinch, I simply use a zip lock bag over my hand.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Yay!  A holiday that is gluten free!  My family loves Corned Beef & Cabbage.  For corned beef, simmer with spice packet 1 hour per pound.  We had a honking 12 pound brisket, which we cut in half & cooked in our jumbo stock pot for 6 hours.  Add red potatoes, baby carrots & heads of cabbage (I quarter them) the last hour of cooking. Skim the fat off the corned beef after cooking when it is still really hot.  I just used a big meat fork to kind of slice it off.  Comes off really easy.

This is 12 lbs of corned beef, 5 lbs red potatoes, 5 lbs baby carrots & 2 heads of cabbage.

Chicken Satay with homemade peanut sauce and curry vegetables

As usual I make huge batches so you can cut that down. Feel free to adjust to your family's preferences. This feeds 4-6 (depending on how many are teenage boys)

5 lbs boneless skinless breasts cut into skewer size chunks. Rub with olive oil & season with salt, cumin & Penzey's Sate seasoning. Put in zip bag to marinate 3+ hours (I did 7) 

Soak bamboo skewers in water with lime juice. You have to soak them if you BBQ them so they don't catch fire. Soak them at least 15 minutes. BBQ or Traeger skewers till cooked.

Peanut sauce to go with satay:

1 can regular coconut milk
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 cup chunky peanut butter
7 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons fish sauce

Spoon the cream off the top of the can of coconut milk into a large saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Stir frequently until the cream softens and becomes liquid. Add the red curry paste and when you can smell the curry, turn down the heat to medium and add the rest of the coconut milk. Add the peanut butter and cook, stirring constantly, for about a minute. Turn the heat to low and add the brown sugar and stir until blended. Remove from heat and stir in the fish sauce. Serve room temp or slightly warmer.  Next time I will spice this up a little with some cayanne pepper.


Veggies
5 diced sweet potatoes (or reg potatoes, I uses sweet because they are a complex carb & better for my diabetic husband)

10 cups fresh spinach (it seems like a lot, but shrinks to nothing)

2-3 jar GF curry sauce. I used Sharwood's red curry sauce, but you could use green or yellow too. Of course check the label to make sure it is GF. The amount of bottles depends how saucy you want it. I used two and the potatoes were fairly dry but had the curry flavor. I am sure I could make my own curry sauce, but I am taking baby steps into cooking. 

I added a couple of tbsp olive oil in an XL large skillet & wilted the spinach. Then I added diced potatoes & simmered in sauce 15-20 minutes until potatoes were soft.

You can add rice, but was super filling without.

Diary of a mad gluten free woman

Hi, my name is Jeny and I began my gluten free journey on 3/3/13 (2 weeks ago)  My story in a nutshell, is that 7 months ago I became very sick & was progressively getting worse.  At one point I had to take time off work and wasn't able to leave the house.  I honestly was not getting a lot of help from my doctors, but luckily I am a research geek & advocated for myself.

I went into see my doctor with a list of blood work I wanted done. One of those tests was for Celiac Disease.  I received a positive blood result, which was confirmed a few days later by a biopsy.  So I jumped head first into the Gluten Free (GF) world.  Luckily there are SO many GF resources online & I live in Portland, OR, which I have heard is one of the best cities to be gluten free.  We shall see!

When I went GF the results were immediate.  I had SO much energy, my "brain fog" was lifted, my tummy troubles disappeared, as well as the general feeling of just being ill.  I never want to look back.  

This blog is to document my accomplishments and failures as I learn to live GF. Also, my attempts at domesticity.  I've never been a enthusiastic or creative chef, but hopefully you CAN teach an old dog new tricks! Woof!  I will be reviewing GF items, posting recipes & sharing my experiences.  I am sure there will be a lot of growing pains for me going GF.....as well as for my family.