try and try again

I made homemade egg rolls tonight. They were ok. Not great, but they did get eaten and NOT thrown in the trash, so for my first try.......I can live with that. I am not going to post the recipe cuz I need to practice and tweek it some more. Just wanted to remind myself to keep trying.

links for future reference

Pupusa.....some Mexican thing that sounds yummy
http://glutenfreebay.blogspot.com/2007/01/day-my-house-became-pupuseria.html

Fried Mozzerella sticks
http://glutenfreebay.blogspot.com/2007/01/mission-possible-gluten-free-fried.html

Quinoa and Peanut butter cookies
http://glutenagogo.blogspot.com/2007/01/ancient-harvest-quinoa-i-have-variety.html

tamales
http://glutenguide.blogspot.com/2007/01/gluten-free-tamales-delicioso.html

Rice Flour Mix...similar to what I already use, but has some good tips
http://glutenfreebay.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2007-01-19T16%3A40%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=7

I'd love to try some of the "fancy" recipes but seeing as I am cooking for 5 picky boys, it would really just be a huge waste of time. Pud Thai is about as exotic as I can get them to go and even then one doesn't like the shrimp, another picks out the "roots" (ie bean sprouts), etc...etc.... So trying to make something like Avocado and Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Fried Quinoa for this crew would be complete waste of my time, and THAT is a precious commodity.

Apple Pie Dump

Ok, so mom used to make this dump cake when we were kids and I made it as an adult, it was one of Sean's favorites, and mine too, but since not being able to eat gluten anymore I haven't made it.

Well, tonight I did some experimenting. And boy, oh boy was it yummy!!! and EASY... I really like simple and easy and fast..... yeah, you can take that anyway you want. ANYWAY.....

Here's what I did....

Apple Filling



5-6 apples, peeled and sliced
1/4 to 1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 to 1 cup sugar, I used half brown, half white (about 1/3 cup each, sorry i don't measure)
1/4 cup lemon juice, or one fresh lemon juiced
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice


Crumbled Topping

1 cupish of Pamela's Baking Mix
1 stick of butter, softened (NOT melted....Paula!)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup fresh chopped nuts, pecans, walnuts, etc (can be omitted)

Heat oven to 375. Mix all the ingredients to the apple filling and place in a 2 quart baking dish. In large bowl mix the crumbled topping ingredients until crumbly (hence the name crumbled topping), I used 2 knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. If you need me to explain "cut in the butter" shoot me an email or whatever. Sprinkle the topping over the apple mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until browned on top and apples are bubbly.

Let set a few minutes, serve with vanilla ice cream. mmmmmmm....good!!

I made spaghetti and meatballs, easy easy, so I had a few minutes to throw this together.....I had it all in the pan within 15 minutes or so.

PB & J

SO, Ya know how you're fixing the kid a PB & J (that would be peanut butter and jelly, for those of you not in the know!) and it looks soooooo yummy and you realllly want one, BUT 1...you can't eat thier bread and 2....gluten free bread just doens't taste the same unless toasted and 3.. who wants a toasted PB&J????

SO I am thinking I will jsut suffer through with my GF bread and PB&J... but THEN I think pancakes..... hmmmmmm. ..... I do have some leftover from yesterday ...... pancakes with PB&J rolled up and eaten. Now that could work.

So that is what I do.

It is YUMMMMY, hits the spot just right and now I have a new favorite. I can eat PB&J and not gum my bread to death. (plus pancakes are soft enough I can actually chew them with these stupid braces)

SO .... next time I make pancakes I am going to make a TON of them and store them in the fridge/freezer. I usually make a few extra anyway, and it is sooo easy to whip them up I have no excuse now.

Just wanted to share. I know SOMEONE out there will be excited about this discovery of mine!!

Homemade Ravioli

I have been cooking this week a little despite a nasty headcold.

I finally got around to making chicken ravioli this week also. They are SO yummy!!! And honestly they are not that hard to make. THe first few times took me forever, but now that I have made them several times they are going much faster.

I use one cooked chicken breast ran through the food processor. After that I have tried several different things. My favorite, and least healthy, is adding some Classico Brand sundried tomato Alfredo sauce and some shredded cheese (mozz, provel, etc.)

For the pasta itself, I have found Chebe mixes and they are fabulous for all sorts of things. Homemade pizza and crackers and little biscuits.....and now pasta. I have used several of the flavors. The other day I used the bread mix and added some fresh grated romano cheese to the pasta..

Follow the directions on the package. I roll the dough out pretty thin, but not too thin as you will need to stretch it some over your filling. Use a cookie cutter and cut an even number of shapes, pull of the waste and save it for the next batch.

At this point I have a shallow pot of water boiling and ready to go.

Place 1 tbsp or so of chicken filling on half the shapes, place another of the pasta shapes over that and with it in your hands, press the edges to seal. Place the ravioli in the boiling water and keep an eye on it till it floats, then lift it out with a slotted spoon and make the next batch. I pour an alfredo sauce ontop, or the rest of the Classico. Enjoy with a salad or broccoli or whatever...

Other fillings you could try would be a cup or so of ricotta mixed with some shredded mozzerella or other white cheese.......sundried tomato pesto mixed with the chicken and some cheese....... sauteed diced mushrooms with cheese........ thawed chopped spinach with ricotta and cheddar..... whatever you come up with, you can be creative with this.

Chebe mixes may be hard to find, I have ordered them online from Chebe itself. The whole foods store nearby sells them as do most organic/whole foods, or ask your local grocer, they may be able to get them.

http://www.chebe.com/

Sausages.....yuuuuummy!!!

I found these sausages last week at Sentry and NEEDED to share them with anyone who is even remotely interested. They are AWESOME and GLUTEN FREE!!!! I haven't tried all the flavors and there is one flavor that I will have to avoid, the mango something or other has gluten in it, but the rest are alllll good for me to try.

http://alfrescoallnatural.com/products/index.htm?pg=1&subpg=3

I made the Sweet Italian ones with spaghetti (Tinkyada Pasta) last week.....there was a little spaghetti left over, but all the sausage was picked out and devoured (and it wasn't by me!!).

We had the Apple and Maple sausages with pancakes for Sean's birthday and those were pretty yummy too. I am trying a few more flavors this week and ordering some more from online.

BTW.....for anyone interested I use Pamela's Ultimate baking and Pancake mix for pancakes. They are awesome and reheat better than the Bisquick pancakes I used to make before going gluten free. I just use the recipe on the back of the pkg. Even my sister, who is not gluten free, now makes these for her family.

ok...off to cook now......will be posting my ravioli recipe this week I do believe.....

Pork Chops...

This one isn't too terribly exciting, but it is one sauce that I just LOVE for pork chops and so I am sharing it.

Grill or broil pork chops with salt and pepper and garlic. Arrange on plate and drizzle sauce on top...

Plum Dijon Sauce

1 part dijon mustard
2-3 parts plum jelly

place jelly in micro bowl and soften for 30 seconds or so, stir in mustard until smooth, pour over chops. Also good with chicken.

That's it. I feel like crap today. Dh shared his cold with me, isn't that sweet???? Jerk. Just kidding, I still love him, especially since he took the boys skiing today and left me home with doodlebug to lay around in my jammies all day. ANyway...more about that on the non-recipe blog, maybe.

Crab Cakes.....and Mango Salsa

Crab Cakes...OH MY, is there anything sweeter on this earth than fresh crabcakes with mango salsa????? I think NOT!!!

Anyway, I used to get these incredible crab cakes from this little restaurant in Delafield, but now with this whole gluten thing I can't get them anymore. So I HAD to figure out how to make them for myself. My biggest challenge was bread crumbs. Gluten Free Bread, even toasted, tends to get a bit mushy and expand, so I needed to find something else to use. I found.....THis (sorry the pic is sideways, I forgot to turn it before posting, and don't know how to turn it now...)

says GLUTEN FREE right on the label. I believe I got it from Sentry. ANYHOOOooooooo..... So with that problem solved I was off to cook...

6-8 oz lump crab meat
~~~(I used a bag of crab meat from the tuna aisle and have used canned also)
1 tbsp mayonnaise
a sprinkling of chives
1 tsp chopped roasted red bell pepper
~~~(you can use fresh red bell pepper, but the boys wouldn't eat it then) whaaaaateverrrrr
dash of garlic powder, or a minced clove
1 egg
a dash of black pepper
1/2 cup of the corn flake crumbs
~~~(regular corn flakes are NOT gluten free!!!)
a dash of Italian Seasonings

dash of cayenne pepper

1 tsp lemon juice

so, mix all that up in a bowl and form into patties, they will be sticky. As you form them into patties, roll in another 1/2 cup of corn flake crumbs mixed with another dash of Italian seasonings, to coat the patties. set aside on a layer of foil or waxed paper.

Melt 4-6 tbsp butter in large saute pan and fry the patties in that, turning once during the process to brown the other side. Took maybe 6 minutes or so for the first side. Place in platter and ENJOY!!!!! Makes about 8 patties, depending on how big you make yours.

You can serve with whatever you like, but peronally I love mango salsa on mine......here's that recipe.

P.S. you can broil these in the oven on low instead of frying them in butter, (spray with olive oil, or etc before) but they just are not as good as frying. I don't fry anything really, except this treat. Sometimes you just gotta...

MANGO SALSA

1 mango, diced small small pcs
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 jalepeno seeded and diced
1/2 lime juiced
chives to taste
1-2 tbsp finely chopped fresh red bell pepper

mix it all up and eat it with chips or CRAB CAKES!!!!!!!! or grilled fish, or chicken, or whatever......

Please notice that I do not give exact measurements, that is because most of the recipes that I use can be altered to suit your taste, you can not mess this up....just keep adding things until it tastes how you want it to taste.

And, yes, for those of you who like to use fresh everything, I sometimes do not have time or energy, so I cheat. I use jarred roasted red peppers in place of fresh red peppers a lot, especially when the crunch of fresh isn't necessary. and/or I am out of fresh. I use freeze dried chives a lot, instead of fresh, sometimes I just don't have them. I use the jar of refridgerated fresh diced garlic a lot, or garlic powder, I hate fooling with fresh garlic cloves. I haven't yet but could use canned crushed pineapple in place of fresh ( the boys love fresh pineapple, so I have it around a lot).

Just because I am a busy mom who is on the run constantly does not mean that I can not serve great food to my family. I just have to be a little creative and substitute where I can, most of the time, you'd never know. Most of my recipes I can have served in under 45 minutes. Very seldom does anything take longer than that, and 45 minutes is actually a long time for me.

I hope someone out there enjoys these as much as I do.....

PIZZA!!!! and mudslides....

I LOVE Chebe products (except the cinnamon roll-up one, can't get it to turn out right).

ANyWay......So Sean is on call, apparently there is a baby boom going on right now, besides it being cold and flu season, so we have not seen him allllllll day. So that means PIZZA!!! Frozen for the hoodlums, and Chebe for me!!!

You all know what a pizza looks like, so I didn't take a pic.

Go buy a Chebe Pizza Mix at your local whole foods store or order some online (that's what I do). Grab one out of the cupboard and follow the directions on the back. Make sure you roll it very thin, and brush with olive oil. Half way through baking I flip it over so both sides get a bit crispier. (this is a Jen tip)

Then top with your stuff and throw it back in the oven for 10ish minutes.

Some of my favorite toppings are:

......Sundried tomato Pesto as the sauce with mushrooms and then I use the Sargento Cheese that has sundried tomato's in it.

OR......lots of veggies and a mix of cheddar and mozz cheese

OR......bacon and tomato and green olives (gives it a kick!)


Sorry for not too much going on here, we ate leftovers one night, had taquito's another night and here we are.......

OH......here's an easy way to make a Mudslide-type beverage.......mix Bailey's with Chocolate milk.....add a few ice cubes, you can blend it or drink as is with a straw, but be careful, they go down REAL fast.....

Corn, Black Bean Salsa and Chicken Taco's

Today is one of those days. Will start running in about 45 minutes (4:30) and won't be back home until 7:30ish. And of course I need to feed hooligans when we get home and try to have them in bed by 9pm. SO...it is another crockpot day, only this time it is for chicken taco's.

Corn Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can diced tomato (you can use on of the flavored ones too, most of them would work)
(Rotel works great in this also, if you want it to have a kick!)
a dash of olive oil
about 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar
some granulated garlic
black pepper
chives, fresh or dedydrated

Drain and rinse the beans until clear water runs through colander. Dump corn and tomato all in same colander to drain. Dump all that in a bowl. Add the chives, whatever looks good to you, ad a couple sprinkles of garlic and black pepper, a dash of olive oil and the red wine vinegar. Stir it all together and refridgerate.

**You can make this even easier by adding red wine vinegarette salad dressing instead of the oil and vinegar.

Is yummy good served with tortilla chips, as a salad dressing or just by the spoonful. Also is yummy to add avocado. Or mix with guacamole.

~~~~~~

Chicken Taco's

1+ lbs chicken breasts
1 pkg McCormick chicken taco seasoning mix ( or any of thier taco mixes)
1 small can of tomato sauce
1 can of water

Throw it all in the crockpot and turn on high for 3-4 hours, low if longer. Once again shred up the meat and serve it in tortilla's or on a salad or tortilla chips (like nacho's). Serve with black olives, sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, etc....etc.....whatever floats your boat.

**Most corn tortilla's are gluten free, and there are some pretty good brown rice tortillas made by Food for Life.

Sorry no pic of the chicken. Came home from soccer to find a whole in the wall in the hallway. Two boys will be grounded for quite some time. Anyway....such is life in a testosterone infested home.

BBQ Pork

Ok, this is for one of those days in which one child has a 3pm appt, another has a 5pm appt and someone else needs to be at guitar lessons at 6, AND darling spousal person is working until, oh lets say 7, and the 2 year old has decided he DOES NOT need a nap!!!! SO you come home in the afternoon after spending $200 at the grocery and throw the following in the crockpot....

1 pork roast ( I don't know the size, I never look, I just buy one that looks good)
1 bottle of BBQ sauce (Kraft will list any gluten stuff)
personally I use Saz's and/or Sweet Baby Ray's
1 bottle of water
1 small can of diced chili peppers (optional!!)

Put the roast in the crock pot, dump the BBQ sauce on top, add chili's, add water to the nearly empty BBQ bottle and shake to loosen any bits, dump into crockpot. Put lid on pot and turn on high if it is after 12pm, low if it is earlier. Leave it alone until dinnertime. Then use 2 forks and/or a knife and pull the pork apart, sort of shredding it. Whatever, just make it into small bite sized pieces and leave it in the pot, stir it all up.

In the meantime......you have 2 options.

1.) bake some potatoes
2.) make some mashed potatoes

Then get out the sour cream, shredded cheese (we like cheddar, or a cheddar blend), chopped dill pickles and let everyone make thier own plate.

You dump some pork into/onto your potato, then add cheese, sour cream and chopped pickles and eat. Add some corn or green beans or a salad on the side and you have a quick and easy meal.

there is no pic. sorry at 7:45 I just wanted everyone fed and in BED!!!! I forgot to take a pic.

BUT this is a FAVORITE meal of ours and the pickles make it all!!!! Do not leave out the pickle!!

check out my real blog for a pic of my new dishwasher.......even she likes the BBQ pork!!

Potato veggie soup

This is an old favorite that has a gazillion variations. The kiddo's LOVE this soup.



2 can's diced potato's (or whole new potato's chunked, if you can't find the diced)
+ 2 cans water
1/2 cup Hormel REAL bacon pieces
2 tbsp Better Than Boullion chicken flavor


1 can Progresso cream of mushroom soup OR a can of unsweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Idahoan Real Premium Mashed Potato



optional additions: 1 cup any diced or shredded veggie, green beans, carrots, corn, whatever your family will eat, or add nothing and leave it as potato soup.
**Another option is to turn this into clam chowder by adding the juice from 2 can's of canned diced clams (don't add the clams until the end or they will get tough)

In large stockpot, soup pot, whatever, dump the potatoes and add the 2 cans of water and whatever veggie you want. Add the boullion and bacon and stir to dissolve the boullion. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat and then turn heat down and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies are tender.


Turn heat to low, add the soup and potato flakes (to thicken, this can be left out) and clams if you are turning this into clam chowder. Add a little milk to thin or more flakes to thicken.


Serve with shredded cheddar cheese on top. (Not if you use clams though, yuck!!) Have with a salad and enjoy..... we will be tonight!!!

Hummus

This is a snack that Landon and I LOVE. We also serve it after school and at get-togethers. We use Baked Lay's potato chips to dip, but you can use veggies or any GF bread product you like. I am still working on a GF pita type thing to dip.



1 can garbanzo beans, drained

1 7oz can of roasted red bell pepper with juice

1/3 cup tahini (you can leave this out, but I like the nutty flavor it adds) substitute with plain yogurt or sour cream

1-2 tsp chopped garlic

a dash or 2 of basil



Dump everything in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You can add lemon juice (1 tbsp at a time) if it needs to be thinned out.


You can also add jarred jalapenos and some of that juice if you want a bit of a "bite" to your hummus.


More substitutions for the roasted red pepper:


small can of black olives with juice
artichokes with juice

Cheesecake...YUMM!!

Made this for New Years Day. All gone!!! But OH was it GOOD!!! And my first try at cheesecake since going GF over a year ago.



Crust:

1 pkg K-Toos (chocolate sandwich cream cookies)



Filling:

4 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 1/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 tbsp orange flavored liqueur, or orange juice

1 tsp grated orange peel



Sauce:

1 (10 oz) pkg frozen red raspberries in syrup, thawed

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cornstarch



Heat oven to 325. Place a pan of water in oven, this will keep the heat moist and help prevent the cheesecake from cracking as it bakes. ( a little trick I learned a loooooong time ago)


Run the cookies through a food processor until finely ground. Press into the bottom and part way up sides of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.


In large bowl, beat cream cheese at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. At low speed, add eggs, beating just until blended. Add orange juice and peel; beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Pour mixture into crust.


Bake at 325 for 55-65 minutes or until almost set. Cool 2 1/2 hour or until at room temp. Refridgerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Personally I think cheesecake is best when served the next day.


In food processor with metal blade, or blender, process raspberries until smooth. If desired strain to remove seeds ( a bit of a PITA, but worth it in my opinion) ( I used a double layer of cheesecloth to strain). In small saucepan, combine 3 tbsp sugar and cornstarch, stir in raspberry puree. (I used more sugar b/c my raspberry's were without syrup and I felt it was too tart, not sure how much I actually added, but at least 2 tbsp) Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Cool to room temp.


Just before serving, carefully remove sides of pan. Serve cheesecake with about 2 tbsp sauce drizzled on each slice. Store in fridge, if you are lucky enough to have leftovers.

First off.....GF flours and Banana Bread

I had MANY mishaps with GF flours. In the last few months I have discovered a flour mix that so far has been successful for me in all my old recipes that I have tried. I have been making my own mix which I found online. The mix is

2 cups brown-rice flour (extra finely ground)

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca flour

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232990

Authentic Foods Extra Finely Ground Rice Flour is the one I have found to be the best when using this mix. The others brands that I tried were too gritty, didn't rise, blah, blah, blah...

Anyway, one our favorite recipes was Banana Bread. I hadn't made it in a while (over a year) because I am NOT baking something from scratch that I can not eat. And besides that, I got rid of all the wheat flours and etc.

SO, anyway, I am now able to use my old recipe and the kids are LOVING it!!!



SO here it is:



2/3 to 1 cup sugar

2-3 very ripe banana's, smashed

1/2 cup melted butter

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp milk

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp xanthum gum



Add smashed banana's to large mixing bowl, mix in sugar, then add butter and eggs, til creamy. Don't over blend. Stir baking soda into milk and add to mixture. Add flour and xanthum gum together and mix thouroughly.


Pour into greased bread pan (or lined muffin pans) and bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Muffins will need a much shorter bake time, 30 ish minutes. If you are using a convection oven (which I do) then the cooking time is closer to 45min.


For a crunchy top, sprinkle top of unbaked bread with sugar before putting into oven.


Cool in pan, slice and enjoy.

--------

Now, just to forewarn everyone. I am one of those cooks who does NOT keep exact measurements of things. I cook according to taste and texture and etc. So any recipe you come across from me, may need to be played with to match your tastes.


For example, the Banana Bread can be adjusted by the amount of sugar, I prefer mine less sweet, so I use 2/3 cup, but you can easily add more if you like.


I'd love to add walnuts or pecans to mine, but the the kids wouldn't eat it, so I don't. But YOU can add 1/2 cup or so before baking.


Using GF flours can sometimes cause drier results, so if your mix looks a little dry add a bit more milk or water before baking (1 tbsp at a time), it should be a smooth batter, not thick or lumpy.

Good luck.......