A Recipe from The Pioneer Woman...Zannie's Black Eyed Pea Dip

So right before I was diagnosed w/ Celiac Disease in 2011, I discovered The Pioneer Woman and started gathering up Ree's recipes to try. But before I had the chance to try any, I found out I had Celiac Disease. So I thought her yummy recipes would be pretty much off limits, or would have to be tweaked a lot to make them GF. But here's a great dip from her website that can totally be made GF!  Check out the recipe here...

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/zannies-black-eyed-pea-dip/

Just make sure the brands you use are GF!

GF Cream Soups...and a great recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Stew

So my hubby made a trip to Whole Foods the other day and brought home lots of great GF goodies for me! My favorite so far, Pacific Natural Foods Organic Cream Soups! I cooked with regular cream soups all the time before going GF, but can't use those now...I've seen recipes for homemade GF cream soups, but haven't given that a try yet...So I was thrilled to find these.

Here's my recipe for slow cooker beef stew... 

1 & 1/2 lbs. of boneless beef stew meat

1 12 oz. container Pacific Natural Foods Organic Cream of Mushroom condensed soup 
(I have also used the Pacific Cream of Chicken condensed soup instead, and it turned out just as yummy!)

Lea and Perrins worcestershire sauce (L&P is gluten free :))

salt and pepper

1/2 of a small onion diced

fresh carrots and celery 

GF Brown Rice (I use Uncle Ben's Fast and Natural Brown Rice)

Directions:

Put stew meat in slow cooker.

In medium bowl combine soup, a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, diced onion, and salt and pepper

Pour soup mixture over meat and stir to cover meat.

Cover and cook on low 12 hrs. (or high 6 hours).

About halfway through cooking, cut up carrots, and celery. Put on microwave safe plate and heat in microwave for 5 minutes.  

Then add the veggies to the slow cooker and stir.  Replace lid and continue cooking. 

Serve w/ GF brown rice.

Yummy GF Chocolate Truffles

I have made oreo truffles for years. The original recipe comes from kraftfoods.com. These truffles are so delicious, I had to find a way to make them gluten free.  Who knew something with just three ingredients could taste so wonderful?!  Here's the recipe...

Ingredients~
1 package gluten free oreo-style cookies...or about 25-30 cookies (I used Kinni-Toos chocolate sandwich cream cookies)

1 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese or Philadelphia neufchatel


2 boxes Baker's semisweet Baking Chocolate squares
(or you can use 1 package GF semi-sweet chocolate morsels such as Enjoy Life semi sweet chocolate mini chips)

Directions~
Crush cookies to fine crumbs in blender, place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese and mix with electric mixer until well blended.

Roll cookie mixture into balls and place on wax paper covered baking sheet.

Melt the chocolate squares according to pkg directions.  

If you are using the chocolate morsels,  just melt them in the microwave 15-30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until melted.

Dip balls in melted chocolate and place back on wax paper.

Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

*For easy dipping, place truffle in melted chocolate, roll gently to coat, and lift truffle from chocolate using 2 forks, allowing excess chocolate to run off before placing on wax paper.

This recipe is linked to...

Full Plate Thursday
http://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com

GF Lotions

The Celiac Diva has a great list of GF lotions! Great as Winter is coming! http://www.theceliacdiva.com/gluten-free-lotions/ I just picked up a bottle of California Baby Super Sensitive Everyday Lotion at Babies R Us! Tried it and love it! Free of gluten, soy, oat, dairy and nuts :) It says face and body lotion, but it has already done wonders for my dry hands, yeah!

Letter From ConAgra Foods

Here is a portion of a letter I received on Nov. 2, 2011 from ConAgra, makers of Hunts products as well as other products like Swiss Miss. It lists their products that DO NOT contain gluten.

"Since wheat is a major food allergen, if it is used in the product it would be listed in the contains statement following the ingredients list. The flour used in many of our products is wheat flour and you should avoid these products if you have gluten sensitivities. If any ingredient in the product includes rye or barley, it will be listed in parentheses immediately following the ingredient. Oats do not contain gluten, but they frequently have been exposed to wheat or barley and are not recommended for celiac patients. If Natural Flavors, Artificial Flavors, or Spices listed in the ingredients list contain wheat, rye or barley, these ingredients would be listed in parenthesis immediately following the ingredient. Some fermented or distilled products such as vinegar may be derived from wheat. Most of the vinegar in our products is distilled and through the distilling process protein gluten is removed.

Products That Do Not Contain Gluten*
Category/Brand/Items
-Cocoa: Swiss Miss all varieties
-Hebrew National: all items except Franks in a Blanket
-Wesson oils: all varieties
-Peter Pan Peanut Butter: all varieties
-Popcorn: Act II microwave, Orville Redenbacher jar and microwave excluding Crunch n Munch or Poppycock)
-Pudding: Swiss Miss & Snack Pack, excludes those containing Tapioca
-Spreads: Parkay, Blue Bonnet, Fleischmann's and Move Over Butter
-David Seeds: all varieties
-Tomato Sauces: Hunt's tomato paste and sauces excluding pasta sauces
-Tomatoes: Hunt's all varieties
-Ketchup: Hunt's all varieties
-Reddi-Wip: all varieties
-Egg Beaters: all varieties
*These items have been identified as not containing gluten. They are not currently routinely testing to affirm they contain less than 20ppm gluten for a ‘gluten free' claim.

We always advise consumers who may have sensitivities to recheck the ingredient list on each package. Products are oftentimes reformulated and the ingredients may change. If you have additional questions about your personal dietary needs, please consult your doctor or a registered dietitian. "

Crock Pot Pork and Rice

This is a simple but yummy crockpot recipe for GF pork and rice...

What you'll need:

4-6 boneless center cut pork chops

1 bottle Annie's Naturals Tuscany Italian Dressing

Salt and pepper

Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Fast and Natural Instant Brown Rice

Directions:

Put pork in the crock pot and sprinkle with salt and pepper
Add the dressing
Cover and cook on low 9 hrs. (I cook on high 3 hrs, then low 3 hrs)
Cook rice according to package directions

Serve pork and sauce over rice

Add salt and pepper to taste

Linked to Gluten Free Wednesdays~http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/ and It's a Keeper Thursdays at http://everydaytastes.com/

Skittles and Starburst!

I was trying to find out today if Skittles are gluten free, and found something online saying that it says "gluten-free" right on the package, so I looked and sure enough, it's right there on the package! So I looked at Starburst bag, and it also had "gluten-free" right on the label! Was so happy to see this...if only every label was this easy to read.... :)

Recipes I Can't Wait to Try....Pumpkin Pie

So for Thanksgiving I tried the pumpkin pie recipe from glutenfreecooking.com over in my links... It was wonderful! I couldn't figure out what I was going to do for a crust, then remembered that I had some GF Bisquick, and sure enough, found a recipe for a GF Bisquck pie crust online. The pie turned out delicious! I think the next time I make it, I will try it without a crust at all and see how that turns out! Check out the recipe!

My first gluten free Holiday season...

I was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease about three weeks ago, so this will be my first Holiday season being gluten free...Everyone brings different gluten-FULL dishes for our
get-together, so I've been searching for great GF dressing and gravy recipes, and yummy desserts too. I'm going to attempt some of these jewels and just take them along with me to our family Thanksgiving. I also found this list of holiday tips at recipes.com http://www.myrecipes.com/healthy-diet/gluten-free-holiday-tips-10000001858214/

Muffins in the Morning...

This morning I used King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Muffin Mix to make some yummy muffins! I stirred some blueberries into the batter too. The muffins turned out great! My 4 yr old LOVED them and hubby ate two! I will definitely be making these again, and trying different fruit in them...maybe strawberries next time! YUM :)

Unbelievably Fabulous Fruit Dip

This is a recipe for fruit dip that I have used for years....I was so thrilled when I discovered that the only two ingredients in it were GF! It's so delicious, sometimes I just eat it with a spoon...no joke :)

As always, double check ingredients for yourself if you're GF :)

1 jar Jet Puffed Marshmallow Cream

1 block Philadelphia Cream Cheese or 1/3 less fat Philadelphia Neufchatel

Put the ingredients in a bowl and combine with a hand mixer. Mix till combined and smooth. Serve with fruit...my faves ~ strawberries and pineapple!

The original recipe uses the full fat cream cheese. The 1/3 less fat recipe is oh so yummy too though :)

Potato Soup

Over the years my mother-in-law has passed down a few of my hubby's favorite recipes.  This is one she shared with me years ago.  Super simple Potato Soup!

4 potatoes peeled and chopped into small/med pieces
1/2 of an onion diced
celery salt

carrots diced (optional)
salt and pepper
1 stick butter
4 cups milk
Real Bacon Bits
Grated Cheddar cheese

Place potatoes in a large pot with onion and add water till potatoes are just covered.

Add a few dashes of celery salt and then salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I add carrots too at this point, it's up to you, yummy either way!

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are very soft and water has cooked away. I usually cook about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, till potatoes are mushy... Watch it carefully, if potatoes cook too long they will stick to the bottom of the pot.

Add  butter and milk and a little more salt and pepper to taste.

Cook uncovered over low. Heat till soup is warm and has thickened to your liking. I also like to add in some bacon bits at this point to give extra flavor!

Top the soup with grated cheddar right before serving.

Going Gluten Free

Three weeks ago, my Dr called with the results of my blood tests....fairly certain that I had "Celiac Sprue" as he called it. Now, I knew what this was only because the chic on "The View" has Celiac Disease...shoot, I even bought her book 5 years ago thinking just maybe I had it too...I cooked one GF meal, and trashed the book...ironic, huh? Even so, after his call, I cried....and cried....and cried...for, oh, about three days... partly out of grief for all the food I thought I would never be able to eat again, and partly out of fear about what could happen if I didn't follow the GF diet. I know, three days of crying....maybe a bit dramatic. But I LOVE good food....I had no idea what I was going to do....I felt LOST!

I began searching the internet for any info and recipes I could find....and it began to seem not quite so scary....By the time the results came back from my follow-up test, I had already accepted it and so here I am, two weeks gluten free...

So I am searching sites, checking ingredients, and learning as I go, one meal at a time....This blog is an attempt to organize all things gluten free...This way, everything will be in one place which will hopefully make learning to be GF a little easier...and if it helps someone else along the way, then that's icing on the gluten free cake :)