Thursday, April 28, 2011

Gluten Free.. CHICKEN Pot PIE!!!!!

This is the gluten Free Casein Free Chicken pot pie we made..
 move over marie calendar!!!!!!!
wanna see the mini?
yeah
we made a mini
We let Papa take this sweet thing to work...
He was sooo happy
it was simply FANTASTIC!
and best of all
good for us
no upset tummies
no headaches
no allergic reactions of ANY kind!
and yet..
pure comfort food!
even Baby Loved it!

those Little Jalepenos...

Snuck over from our other Blog....
"The Cornforth Adventures..."


It all started with some banter on Facebook..
about a little Jalepeno...
and some recipe the ROCKED someone's world
(thank you Kelly D forever) 
see I love Jalepeno poppers with cream cheese
but can't eat them now because I am gluten free (waY bummer!)
RIGHT?
then ...this discussion... on Facebook..
all about
a recipe that was found, 
 if I remember correctly... on Pioneer Woman..?
but then..who knows for sure..
it WAS facebook banter after all
it got all cut up like this
 Yes Length wise...
please note..
i washed my little Jalepeno first...
and dried it too...
yes, my Little Jalepeno got a Little bath
 Then I scooped out the inners..
IF you prefer it ...
on the "spicy side"..
 leave some whites in it..
the whites give it more... KICK
 Be sure to have some BACON in the house..
It works well to cut your strip in thirds..
I did NOT believe this.. and so .. in this tutorial...
I do not SHOW it...
but the bottoms of my
LITTLE Jalepenos get a bit soggy..
it is better to just COVER your Jalepeno like a blanket and secure it with a tooth pick...
rather than wrap it like a baby in a blanket ...
which is what you see here.. though.. this will work IN a pinch..
and still . will make you so happy
the brand of bacon does NOT matter, just so long as YOU like it
 Cream Cheese..
I think this would also be amazing blended with Chavre..
you can add herbs.. like..
cilantro.. or
spices.. but well...
sometimes simple is best..
WOW
 add your cream cheese
 It really doesn't have to be all perfect. just smear it all in there.. be generous
 Do the bacon to it. either wrap it.. or cover it with a 1/3 of a slice and spear it in place....
set it ON a rack on a cookie sheet or some dish..
you want your Little Jalepenos to be OFF the dish..
because the grease from the bacon needs to drip
and you do not want it just..
well...
sittin in it
 stick it under the broiler
I used my fancy new toaster oven...
since I wasn't making a huge amount...
can you see how wrapping kept the bottom a bit soggy...
my eagerness to have MORE bacon.. really jeapordized the Little Jalepeno..
but fret not..
I have never made the mistake again..
I have a standing supply of toothpicks IN THE HOUSE now..
JUST in case :) 
 Check it out!!
There they are ...
Simple
&
Amazing.
Thank you to Kelly
&
to all the Facebook folk to partook in that LIVELY Jalepeno discussion
&
and to the Pioneer Woman..if you were indeed the launcher of this recipe
my tastebuds are all appreciative..
hope you enjoyed this tutorial :)
I can't WAIT to see my brother's face when he eats one :)

Monday, May 17, 2010

learning curve

hoping to plunge back into my blog...
with my daughter as a guest blogger..
she's becoming rather the baker..
often times like that "Sandra" Chick who takes mixes and fixes them up better than before..
we NEED to do that
with all of us with Gluten issues
and a variety of food sensitivities and allergies..
so
that said..
hoping to be popping BACK into this blog
and adding new recipes
with vigor..
but with all things
oodles of grace sprinkled :)
as we are on a SERIOUS learning curve! :)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Spicey Red Cabbage Slaw!

Ok, it doesn't NEED to be spicey... but.. mine was.. I like spicey.. I like warmth in my food, especially when it's already a cold salad...  This is a great salad if you like to eat middle eastern, or Eastern Mediteranean foods.. I first stumbled across it when at my FAVORITE Vegetarean hotspot in Woodstock IL, EXPRESSLY LESLIE's... now mind you... THIS is NOT her recipe... she's NOT about to give me any of her trade secrets... her's is much much better.. but ... I simply can not always GET out there, and I can't afford to always Buy my salads.. so I shall try and try and try.. and so far... THIS is my closest attempt :)

1/2 head finely chopped red cabbage (I cut out the white core)
1- 1 1/2 small red onion finely chopped
mayo ( tricky... I don't have a perfet meaurement for you.. guessing about 1/4-1/2 cup...)
Lemon juice (again, adding JUST a smidgen at a time... so perhaps do as I did.. < 2 T to flavor)
Olive Oil
Tahini 2 t
Parsley
Cilantro
Sea Salt
Cumin
Hot Hungarian Paprika
HERE are my Exact ingredients for you :)  I think pictures are so much fun don't you?  They can really GRAB our attention, and help us in a store when we are shopping :)

now perhaps I did not need to use so much of the HOT Paprika, perhaps it would have been fine with a little less.... it was still wonderful...  But this is my favorite brand, I will not use another, and I HAVE tried so many others...   Perhaps there is some amazing brand that I haven't YET tried, but so far, THIS is it for me :)
HERE is my Cumin.. I am not exactly as SOLD on this brand as I am on my Paprika.. so if you have some fabulous suggestion, pour it in the comment section!  I like it fine, but, I don't feel emotional about it at all.. It doesn't clump bad, and tastes nice ... 
Here is my mayo.. it is lower in sugar, and frankly, THIS is the one made with CANOLA and NOT SOY... I have a really hard time with finding ANY mayo that is NOT SOY SOY SOY... just look at the Lables my friends... YOU will be suprised... Even at Trader Joes, my friendly Favorite Grocer, I can NOT find a single mayo that fits our families NEED to be as SOY free as possible...
so this is the MAYO for me :)  also, IF I remember correctly, Spectrum is GMO free food..
NOT that everything on my list is..
I have NO idea if ZIYAD is..
But it sure is one of the TASTiest  Tahini's I have YET had!
Have you had THIS yet?  YUM!



Here is my Sea Salt! :)  I like this particular one From Costco, because it has a grinder attatched... lame reason I KNOW!  but.. it grinds nice, and travels easy and is affordable... I do use other salts, but not today!

I had had great plans with these lemons I had purchase... but... alas they were MOLDY when I got them out. So glad I had my handy dandy Volcano Organic Lemon Juice!!!!!! :) always ready ALL the time, for those LEMON emergencies! :)  Also a great Costco purchase :)

 A lovely head of Cabbage, I only used 1/2  but ... perhaps I will make this recipe again tomorrow, the not as spicy version.... or maybe some other exotic food.... :)  hmmmmm hungry girl here!

red onions... I am NOT allowed to eat the other kind... which is fine with me, because these actually SIT with me better.. I DO NOT know why, but they DO :)

Cilantro... Lovely Cilantro... Smells of wonderful things, and PULLS out toxins & metals from your system! Who knew such a delicate little green herb could be such a mighty force to be dealt with in our bodies!


Parsley... once thought to be a boring herb, it really is exciting.. in bulk!  I use this like it is going OUT of style!  I only like to use flat leaf parsley and I buy 4-6 bunches at a time at my local grocer, I can NOT get organic so I do the veggie wash.. But in the summer you should see all my flower pots...
 Parsley parsley everywhere!!!!!!!!!!

here is the Princess, my darling Soux Chef (aka assistant) helping me by chopping in the herbs in the kitchen..

adding the herbs to the finely chopped cabbage & onions :)  pretty pretty!!!!


Tadah!  Isn't it pretty... That red thing is my spatula :)
Isn't it pretty?

So.. HOW did I do that?
Well..
chopping onions teeeeney tiny, and cabbage as small as I could with my fancy chef knife... Perhaps some of you are super cool with something like... a machine that does that... I AM not that cool...
so...
then THE PRINCESS chops the herbs in the bowl chopper thingy
and I mix the red cabbage & red onion
with the mayo & drizzle of olive oil & tahini & lemon juice
and stir and stir and stir...
adding a smidge more of this or that...
till it looks just right...
(so annnoying to you..right... which means YOU have to come back and read again the PERFECT recipe)
(you know when I get it PERFECT with EXACT measurements)
you do think that
that
COULD happen
right?
anyways..
stir stir stir..
adding cumin
sea salt
and paprika
WATCH the paprika
IT is what makes things hot..
you might be tempted to use NORMAL paprika
but ...
that is NOT adventurous AT all...
that is for BORING people
and really..it won't taste right...
so try it,... just add a little
and stir stir stir...
and have a taste...
then if it needs more add a LITTLE
and
stir stir stir....
lastly add your herbs
and stir stir stir...
taste...
how does it taste?
need more lemon?
or more cumin?
what do YOU think?
remember
those three spices are ALL that is needed
because LEMON
OLIVE OIL
and the TAHINE
really blow the normal OFF the roof of any mayo!!!!
most people I know who HATE mayo
LOVE this recipe
so Bon Appetite!!!

Monday, January 11, 2010

food depression...

is there such a thing?
may I have just COINED a new phenomenon?

yet there it is.
plain as day...

I am missing my foods...
and recently thrown into this NEW culinary world,
still struggling with energy levels,
and brain fog...

I want to confess to you dear reader..
even if there is NO one reading ...
that I am feeling blue..
I don't WANT to learn something new today...
perhaps tomorrow..
today...
I am weary..
today I wish I could order take out!

Today muddling through traffic to find myself at a whole foods
with three kids
did NOT sound like a good idea
so ...
we didn't do it..

Today the kids are eating
VERY bad for them Ravioli..
because
the Sexy Man I am married to
is far far away on a buisness trip...
and it's easy...

and as for me....
Taco Salad...
again...

it's NOT exciting...
at all....
it IS digestable...

It is
Newmans medium Salsa
Ground Beef (organic, browned & seasoned w/taco seasoning)
Iceberg lettuce (yes I KNOW it's not worthless, but have you SEEN how nasty lettuce is right now?)
Romaine lettuce (see it's balanced here I needed the other for the CRUNH ! )
RED tomato
green onions (oooooooodles chopped fine)
cilantro chopped fine
black olives (2-3 chopped fine)
Toss salad with everything in it...
boring but tasty... !

I used to add beans & corn & cheese & tortillas...
Now I added Iceberg for at least SOME crunch...
I thought of it... because ALL i wanted was a Taco Bell Taco...
crazy?
well... yea... I know.. but I thought about it..
and I can have everything BUT the cheese and the tortilla and the sour cream...
so I made it and put it in a bowl...
it's not bad...
but it's not...
Delicious....

suggestions welcomed..
prayers desired :)
I know...
I know...
THIS too shall pass..
and the twenty pounds I've lost in the past 2 weeks isn't chump change right?

gluten...

i really love gluten...
I love French bread..
I adore a good hearty German Rye...
I love English water crackers...
I love love love gluten...

but wonder...
if this love is mutal...
I am beginning to think
gluten doesn't love me...

perhaps this no bread diet
anti everything diet
is good...
when you love something
sort of IN THE EXTREME
the way you can when you are...
let's say... a TEEN
it's good
to go on Holiday
and then come back and see.
if you feel the same way..
because..

in the end....
I wonder if these "affections"
are really mutual
after all...............

pondering
while day dreaming of crepes
and missing the Crepe Man of Lyon....

Sunday, January 10, 2010

BPA Free lined Cans.... Eden foods!


So I was snooping around my very wonderful world of Organics when I stumbled across THIS article...
It made me think YOU might be interested... so  HERE  it is... CHECK it out... and let me know.. whatcha think !
I sure wish ALL cans were as HIGH quality as EDEN Foods...