Saturday, January 31, 2015

My Favorite Gluten Free Hash Brown Casserole

This Hash brown Casserole is an easy recipe that's great for a quick side!  I also sometimes make it to eat for a warm lunch through the week!

Ingredients:

1 32 oz bag of Ore-Ida Tater Tots
1 carton Pacific organic GF condensed cream of chicken soup
1 carton Pacific organic GF condensed cream of mushroom soup
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup onion (I sometimes substitute onion powder)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Defrost tater tots in microwave and mash with fork till broken apart.
Combine tater tots with remaining ingredients.
Stir till well mixed.
Pour mixture into 9x13 baking dish.
Bake for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!


Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Real...

The Gluten Dude shared a touching letter he received from a 12 year old with Celiac Disease.  You can read it here... http://glutendude.com/celiac/celiac-attitude-is-everything/

The letter made me think about our family, and I wanted to share this...

I love this quote from Shauna James Ahern's book Gluten Free Girl...

   "I have a confession to make.  I used to suspect that people who claimed they had food allergies were making it up--or, at the very least exaggerating. 
   How could anyone get so sick from a little wheat?  Or some milk? A handful of walnuts?  It seemed to me that people who ate wheat-free bread were just looking for attention.  Granola heads. Pale people with no real vitality.  
   Watch out for what you doubt.  It might just become you."

 Before my oldest son was diagnosed with a nut allergy 6 years ago, I might have said the same thing.

 But food allergies are real.

Our younger son was diagnosed with the same allergy 4 years ago, and our daughter was diagnosed 2 years ago.  Then I was diagnosed over three years ago with Celiac Disease.

For our family, food allergies are real.

My husband and I have said many times, unless you have a food allergy or a child with a food allergy, you just aren't going to think very much about ingredients and labels. We meticulously check labels on everything,  and for us it's just become a part of life. And thankfully there are lots of safe foods my kids can enjoy.

Last year, my son brought home a treat bag from his Valentine's Day party, and before I could check the candy inside, my daughter had eaten one of the chocolates from the bag.  She became very ill; I had to administer an EpiPen and we spent the rest of the day at the hospital.  That day, food allergies were very real.

It sometimes makes me sad that my kids have to take their own snacks to friends' birthday parties or miss out on things because of their allergy.  And, yes, their nut allergy scares me... Earlier this year, on a school field trip, we were all eating lunch when one of the kids pulled out and started eating a bag of nuts.  My 7 year old son commented that he couldn't eat nuts.  The child started asking me about my son's allergy; what would happen if he ate nuts or touched nuts...I explained that it could make him very sick.  The child then got up, ran over and rubbed his hands all over my son's shirt. I was horrified!  It broke my heart that someone could do something like this to my child!

Now, with Celiac Disease, it's different.  No, for me it's not immediately life threatening, as the peanut allergy could be for my kids.  But still, it's something I have to watch extremely carefully in order to stay healthy now and to avoid more serious health problems in the future.

Yes, food allergies are real...and sometimes even overwhelming. I suppose until you or someone you love has an allergy, you don't fully understand how serious it can be.  But food allergies are no joke.  They are a part of everyday life for our family and for so many others too.

   

Monday, January 26, 2015

Gluten Free Country Style Steak with Gravy

Here's one of my family's favorite recipes! Super simple and yummy! Great with mashed potatoes or rice! 

GF Country Steak with Gravy

2 pounds. beef cubed steak
GF Flour, enough to dredge steak (I use Betty Crocker all purpose GF rice flour)
Olive oil, enough to use for browning steak
Salt and pepper
1 carton Pacific Naturals Organic GF condensed cream of chicken soup
1 pkg GF brown gravy mix (I use Simply Organic Brown Gravy Mix)
Water (1 soup carton full)
Salt and pepper to taste

Dredge the cubed steak in flour and brown in vegetable oil just until brown on both sides.

Salt and pepper the steak just a little while browning. 
Place browned steak in a greased 9x13 dish.
In separate bowl, mix together the GF cream of chicken soup, gravy mix and water. Whisk thoroughly until blended.
Pour over steak. 

Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.



Saturday, January 24, 2015

EpiPen Co-Pay Offer

As a mom of three kids with nut allergies, I am never without EpiPens! I wanted to share this info, just in case you don't know about it... On the EpiPen website there is a discount voucher you can download just by answering a few simple questions.  In some cases I have paid $0 co-pay when presenting this at the pharmacy!  Sometimes I have had to pay a few dollars, but it's still a drastic discount from the full price of the EpiPens.  Here's the link.

https://www.epipen.com/en/copay-offer

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Cranberry Congealed Salad



This recipe is super simple and always a family favorite!!

Ingredients...

1 small box cherry jello
1 10oz can crushed pineapple
1 can Ocean Spray whole berry cranberry sauce

Combine 1 cup boiled water with the Jell-O in medium baking dish and stir until dissolved

Pour in cranberry sauce and stir till combined

Pour in crushed pineapple

Stir till mixed well

Cover and refrigerate for about eight hours or overnight.


Linked to Gluten Free Fridays at http://vegetarianmamma.com


Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Dip




At every holiday gathering this year, someone brought a buffalo chicken dip, and I am so happy to finally have the recipe!!  It has become my new favorite thing!  And I'm thrilled to be able to make it gluten free :)  Here's how I do it...

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (can add more if you like)
1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce (can add more if you like)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
2 12.5 oz cans Hormel Premium Chicken Breast (can use just one if that's all you have :))

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Place cream cheese in medium baking dish and spread till smooth

Mix in salad dressing, wing sauce, and cheese. Stir in chicken.

Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through. Stir.

Serve with tortilla chips :)


Linked to http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/gluten-free-wednesdays-january-7/
http://vegetarianmamma.com/gluten-free-fridays-124-lets-share-some-gfree-recipes/