Chickens doing the Hula

We had this at Brian's cousins house one night and loved it. Again, it was a really easy thing for us to make so it's in the rotation of dinners in our house!

Hawaiian Chicken
Marinade:
(You can buy a teriyaki marinade, but because we do the GF thing, this was just as easy and we had all of the ingredients in the house.)
1/2 cup GF soy sauce (We use LaChoy)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 glove garlic (I put it though a press, but you could chop it up or smash it to release the flavor)

We have marinaded the chicken breasts for as little as 2 hours and as long as 6. It just depends on when you remember to put it together. I am not very good at that part.

1 can pineapple rings
Provolone cheese slices

Grill chicken and pineapple rings. (The pineapple doesn't take as long, so put that on as the chicken is finishing up.) Place a pineapple ring on top on the chicken once it is done and top with provolone cheese. Once the cheese is melted over the pineapple and chicken serve on a bun or over rice.

Super yummy!!!

Mary Jo and her Fantastical Bars

This recipe is my Aunt Mary Jo's. It is awesome and very easy. Not to mention DELICIOUS!

Yellow Cake Mix Bars

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

Mix together

2 eggs

Mix with above ingredients.

Add 1 box yellow cake mix (Betty Crocker makes a GF cake mix that we have used and liked) and combine.

Then add 1 cup chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 min.

That's it! I almost always have the ingredients in the house, so it makes for a really quick dessert when we need something last minute. 

Chili of the White Variety

I got this recipe from a friend of mine and I love it! You can cook the chicken in the crock pot with all the other ingredients and it shreds and falls apart beautifully, but you can also cook the chicken in the oven first, then put all the ingredients in the crock pot and cook. If you choose to cook it that way, it will only take 2-3 hours in the crock pot.

White Chicken Chili
3 or 4 chicken breasts (preferably thawed, but I have used frozen)
2 15 oz. cans of Northern Beans
1 16 oz. jar of GF salsa
1 lb Monterrey Jack cheese - cubed or shredded to melt
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Or another canned diced tomato blend that you like)
1 tbsp. GF taco sauce

Cook 4-5 hours in crock pot on medium. The longer this is able to sit, the better.

*As always check your ingredients if you are making this recipe gluten free. We use Pace salsa and Ortega taco sauce. Right now they are gluten free, but I check the labels consistently for any changes that may have been made.

Soups On!

This is so easy to make. It is what I call a "dump soup" because all you need to do is open a bunch of cans and DUMP it in the pot! It is in the regular rotation at our house all through the winter. Thanks Aunt Theresa for the recipe!

Southwest Soup
1 lb.  chicken breasts (I use 3 or 4 chicken breasts - depending on how big they are, or get a rotisserie chicken and use the breast and some of the dark meat too.) Cut into bite size pieces.
1 small onion - chopped (or half of a medium onion)
4 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cans corn - drained
2 cans black beans - rinsed and drained
1 32 oz. box of chicken broth (gluten free if desired)
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chili - NOT drained
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

*This is the amount I make for my family and it is enough to have leftovers. If you would like to make a smaller batch decrease ingredients by half. It will also freeze well.

Dump all ingredients into a stock pot and heat. Eat when ready!

We like to eat this like a salsa with tortilla chips.

Enchilada!

Are you wondering why I am posting all of these recipes? Well, let me tell you...

Brian has work wives. Yes, work wives. It isn't enough to just have me. He has not one but TWO work wives. I don't think he was looking for them. He must have a helplessness about him and some women must be drawn to that. Or, he is starting to produce estrogen. Either way, when we have a lot of left overs from dinner, Brian will bring extra a share. (Yes, he did well in kindergarten.)

On top of sharing my meals with the ladies, he proceeded to show them our Google Calendar. Each of us in the family has a color that shows up on the calendar when we have things going on. Well, there is also a dinner calendar. I plan meals for about two weeks, and buy groceries accordingly. It has taken me a LONG time to work this out, but when Natalie was diagnosed with Celiac, I had to plan more. I didn't have a choice. No more fast food or Campbell's Soup casseroles for us. There are also weeks that I don't plan because I fell off the wagon, but I try and do it because it helps us eat healthier meals.

So, the wives have wanted a couple of my recipes and I thought this was the easiest way for them as well as others to get some new dinner ideas.

This is one of Brian's favorite meals that I make. My mom used to make enchiladas using Hormel Chili instead of enchilada sauce. Imagine my surprise that while grocery shopping one day, I found sauce specifically for ENCHILADAS! However, I did not notice that the sauce came in mild and hot, and I proceeded to buy the hot. I make sure to check the label now. I adapted my mother's recipe and came up with this. Enjoy!

Enchiladas
1 lb. hamburger
2 cans refried beans
2 c. shredded cheese (I use Colby Jack, but you can use what you have in the fridge)
1 or 2 cans enchilada sauce - depending on how many you are making
2 packages of burrito size flour tortillas
lettuce
salsa or tomato or both
avocado
tortilla chips
sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown hamburger in large pan and drain grease. Add refried beans and 1 c. shredded cheese. Mix and warm until smooth and cheese is melted. Scoop meat/bean mixture into tortillas. I usually use a soup spoon and put two heaping spoonfuls into a tortilla and roll it up pretty snug. Continue to do this until all mixture is used. For me, this usually makes about 10-12 enchiladas.

If making 4 enchiladas:
Use one can enchilada sauce. Spray bottom of glass 8x11 or 9x13 with cooking spray. Pour small amount of sauce onto the bottom of your dish and spread around to coat. If you forget to do this, your enchiladas will stick to the bottom of your baking dish. Place 4 enchiladas into your dish and pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas. Cover with foil and bake for 30-40 min until sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven, take off the foil and top with 1 cup cheese. Put back into oven uncovered until cheese is melted. Serve with taco toppings. Enjoy!

BONUS!
What I love about this recipe is that sometimes I will just make the enchiladas and wrap 4-5 of them in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. When I want to make them, I grab them out of the freezer, put them in a dish, cook and dinner is done! You can thaw them or cook them frozen. Just follow the steps above. If you are cooking them frozen, they will take 50-60 minutes.

GLUTEN FREE
I know you think I've lost my marbles saying this recipe is gluten free. Because, its not. But when we have enchiladas, what I will do, is save some of the meat/bean mixture for Natalie and spread it on corn tortillas for her and cook it on the stove top, like a quesadilla but with beans and meat instead of just cheese. I have tried using corn tortillas instead of flour for this recipe, but haven't quite mastered it yet. The corn tortillas get all cracked and crumbly. Also, be careful which enchilada sauces you are buying. Some are gluten free and some aren't.

Skyrockets in flight. Mexican Delight!

One of our family favorites AND makes quite a bit, so there is always leftovers. Thanks Sarah for sharing this recipe with me.


Mexican Delight

1 lb hamburger

Onion 

Salt & Pepper

1 ¼ tsp. oregano

1 ¼ tsp. sugar

1 ¼ tsp. cumin

1 small can tomato paste

1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce

¾ cup uncooked rice (makes about 1 ½ cup cooked)

Brown hamburger with onion, salt and pepper (to taste)

I don’t really measure out the onion I just put in as much as I think is a good amount, My guess is about ½ medium onion or 1 small onion

Drain grease. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, oregano, sugar, and cumin. 

Cook rice and add to tomato/meat mixture.

I put this on top of Fritos but I have used taco chips too. 

Top with regular taco toppings: sour cream, cheese, salsa, lettuce and avocado.

COOKIES!

'Tis the season for cookies. For the second year in a row now, Amy and Joe have borrowed our kitchen to make Christmas cookies. Last year they each took a day off of work and had the house to themselves. This year, they decided to come over on Black Friday and spend the day with us. Well, they did an amazing job. Buck-eyes, melt-a-way mints, fudge, chocolate covered cherries, candied orange peel dipped in chocolate, peanut-butter kiss cookies, macaroons, Andies mint chocolate cookies, and crispy marshmallow peanut cluster cookies (which are actually called Almond bark cookies, but I like my name better.) They made a few more than that, but I either don't know the names of the cookies or forgot what else they made. Now, when I hear cookies, first I think, YUM, then I think, GLUTEN. Well, Amy and Joe made all of these cookies and of all of them, only three of them contained gluten. I just think that is awesome and this is my public way of saying "THANK YOU JOE AND AMY" for keeping Natalie in mind while cooking in our house. You are awesome. Thank you for finding gluten free flour and switching a couple of the recipes so Natalie could be included in your baking. You rock!

So Brian and I can each devour a whole plate of Buck-eyes. These are peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. Need I say more? But the crispy marshmallow peanut clusters have become my second favorite and they are so easy. These were one of the cookies that were not gluten free because of the rice crispies, but that was easily remedied when I went to the store. Here it is! Enjoy!

Crispy Marshmallow Peanut Clusters
10.5 oz bag of Mini Marshmallows
2 lbs. Almond Bark
3 c. peanuts
6 c. rice crispies
1 c. peanut butter

Natalie helping with the mixing!

In a large bowl combine marshmallows, peanuts and rice crispies in a large bowl. Cut almond bark into chunks and melt in a double boiler. Once melted and smooth, remove from heat and add peanut butter. Once peanut butter is melted into the almond bark pour over dry ingredients. Mix well and spoon onto wax paper. Allow to cool down before you try and take them off the wax paper. I put them out in the garage so they would cool down faster. Enjoy!

Elena, please note the Diet Coke. I kept it in the picture just for you!

Popcorn Cake

We made this last night and it is so easy and very delicious!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
16 cups unbuttered popped popcorn
2 cups M&M's
1 cup lightly salted peanuts
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 10 oz. bags of marshmallows (mini or regular)

Grease an angel food cake pan or Bundt cake pan with oil or nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the popped corn, M&M's and peanuts.
In a saucepan, melt butter and vegetable oil over medium low heat. Add marshmallows and stir continually until marshmallows are melted. Pour over popcorn mixture.
Stir to combine.
Spoon mixture into the prepared cake pan. Using your hands or the back of a spoon, press firmly so that the mixture is compacted.
Cover with foil to keep moist. Let it sit for 3-4 hours or until firm.
To serve, invert cake pan onto a large plate or platter. You may need to go around the outside of the cake with a butter knife to help it release from the pan. Serve at room temperature.

No, this is not the cake I made. I forgot to take a picture before we devoured it.

I made this recipe in an angel food cake pan but next time I might try spooning the mixture into muffin tins for individual servings. This recipe also makes quite a bit. I would also consider cutting the recipe in half depending on what it is for. Enjoy!

Peter Piper

So every once in a while I come across a recipe that goes over well with my family. Here is one of them.


I started searching for a recipe when we got a bunch of peppers from some friends. These friends of ours have a garden and have been so kind to share what their garden has produced this season. Tomatoes, jalapeños, banana peppers, green beans, zucchini, squash...seriously, its been awesome. The last time we saw them they gave us a bunch of peppers, so I got inspired. I am not a huge pepper fan but my family is, so I went searching for a stuffed pepper recipe that looked tasty and that was gluten free. After looking at many, I combined a bunch of them and this is what I came up with. Give it a try and see what you think!


Sausage Stuffed Peppers
6 medium red or green bell peppers, cleaned and cored
1/2 lb sausage
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatos (I used a roasted garlic and onion)
1 cup uncooked rice
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil
1 teaspoon freshly chopped oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
4 slices mozzarella cheese (or 2 cups shredded)


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 4-5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking dish and set your cleaned and cored peppers inside of it. Use balls of tinfoil to prop them up if you have trouble making them sit correctly.
Cook rice as directed and put into a large mixing bowl.
In a large pan over medium-high heat, brown the sausage. Drain grease and put browned sausage in the mixing bowl with the rice.
Add the olive oil to the pan, and add the onions, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes, until the onions are tender. Add the can of tomatoes and heat through. Pour into bowl with rice and sausage. Add parmigaiano reggiano and herbs and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper.
Fill the peppers with the sausage-and-rice mixture. Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, until stuffing is bubbly. Top with mozzarella and return to oven until cheese is melted (you may want to turn on the broiler for this.)  Enjoy!

What can Gluten do for you?

On Friday, a second grade teacher came to me with an interesting question. So interesting, I had to write about it. She came to me because she has a boy in her class that was diagnosed with Celiac Disease this year. Her question: Do you know if going on a gluten free diet can affect behavior in a negative way?

Huh. Let me think about that.

This boy, before he was diagnosed, was a pretty average second grade boy with really no behavior problems in the classroom. He is a bright student and able finish whatever work he was handed. Now, it seems, he has a hard time focusing and can't get work done in the classroom. It's like he has TOO much energy.

This is my understanding of a gluten free (GF) diet:

• If you are diagnosed with Celiac Disease treatment is a gluten free diet - nothing made from wheat, barley or rye. Period. It is not something you can grow out of.
• It is not an allergy. It is an intolerance.
• A gluten free diet is a very healthy way of living. You want to loose weight - go GF. I swear you will see the pounds melt off. You want to lose more? Cut out lactose too.
• Many parents of children with autism or ADD/ADHD may try a GF diet instead of medication. The thought here is (I think, please don't quote me) that our bodies use energy to digest food. Gluten is a difficult protein for our intestinal systems to process and uses a lot of energy. Some of us have no issues, while others may. Take gluten out of a child's diet and their bodies are able to use that energy, that used to be used on digestion, on other things such as focusing and brain function

So, back to my teacher friend. I got to thinking about her question and her second grader. This child had been ill for a while. His body "bogged" down with gluten and unable to process it. Since going GF, he feels great and almost has extra energy. His body almost feels too good; if that is even possible. His system worked so hard for so long that he may have just been too tired to focus on anything else, therefore portraying him as a mild mannered kid. Now, its like he is looking at the world through new eyes. As his teacher says it is almost as if he is over stimulated.

This whole situation was SO interesting to me. Everything I have written above is completely my opinion. The bulleted points are things that I have learned over the years and what I understand about the disease.

On that note, Twin Cities R.O.C.K. had their 9th annual Celiac Walk in Victoria, MN. It was the biggest turnout yet with 1,300 people participating and over $46,000 raised. Natalie loves to go and we get loads of free information and samples. It was great.

GOULASH

I think my blog is turning into a recipe site. Oh well. I love goulash because I think there is a million different ways to make it. I feel that if it is to be a true goulash it must have noodles, hamburger and ketchup. Just my opinion.

Here is my version of Goulash Hotdish.

Goulash

1 lb. Hamburger

1/2 onion (diced)

2 cloves garlic (diced)

2 cups elbow macaroni (uncooked) (We like Tinkyada GF)

2 cups water

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)

1/4 cup barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is GF)

3/4 cup ketchup (Heinz is GF)

Lawry's Seasoning Salt

Shredded Cheese

Brown hamburger, onion and garlic in large pot. Depending on how much grease produced by the meat, you may want to drain it. I used a leaner hamburger so I didn't have to drain any of the grease. Season to taste with Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Add macaroni, water, tomatoes, black beans, katchup and barbecue sauce. Stir well, cover and let simmer until macaroni is tender. Serve in bowls and top with shredded cheese. 

Easy and only takes about 20 minutes. Also Gluten Free if you use the right kind of macaroni, ketchup and barbecue sauce. Enjoy!

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Bread? We don't need no stinking bread!

My new favorite lunch:

Butter Leaf Lettuce

Butter Leaf Lettuce

Cream Cheese

Meat (sliced turkey or ham)

American Cheese

Sliced Pickles

Schmear the cream cheese on a piece of lettuce and top with your choice of meat and cheese. We added pickles too because we love pickles in our household. Roll up and enjoy. It is so yummy!! Instead of cream cheese, I put ranch dressing on Brian's because that's how he rolls. Mo and I, however, could swim in a vat of cream cheese. I believe you could slap some onion and a piece of tomato on there as well. 

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Who loves meatloaf?

When Natalie was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I signed up to get daily recipes from Gluten Free Club. I didn't have to sign up for the club to get the recipes, so, game on. Every once in a while they will send a recipe that uses mostly "regular" food. Yesterday they sent a meatloaf recipe that is amazing! I changed it a little, but it was still very good!

Here it is.

Italian Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs. ground pork
3 eggs
1 cup cooked rice
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons dried chopped chives

2 cloves chopped garlic (or you could add onion)
1 teaspoon dried basil + 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 cup ketchup 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
    
Mix all ingredients together well in a very large bowl.
    
Press mixture into a loaf pan (the temps and times are for glass loaf pans.) Bake  for 55 minutes.

**I put the mixture into jumbo muffin tins (greased) and filled them with the meat mixture 3/4 full. Individual serving sizes are fun! They may not need to be cooked 55 min. I think I cooked mine for 45-50 min.
    
Remove from oven and pour off some fat.
    
Cover tops of meatloaves with a generous layer of ketchup.
    
Bake 15 minutes longer.
    
Cool 10 to 15 minutes before cutting loaf. 

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