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.... :)