Jar Love: Gluten Free Cupcakes in a Pinch

I'm starting yet another weight loss challenge on Saturday in hopes of recapturing that fat-burnin' fire I once had. (Fingers crossed it works this time.) So obviously I'm looking to bulk up over the next couple of days cramming whatever I can down my face while I still can.  Makes perfect sense.

Time for preschool? No problem! Let's make cupcakes for preschool! We can cover Chemistry, counting, colors, hygiene, practical life skills, and fun all while Mommy gets her sugar fix. I call that a win-win.

After a fun preschool session a counter top full of cupcakes greeted the oldest three children as they returned home from school. Dee and Jeigh were thrilled, but poor Elle who has Celiac disease... "But what can I eat?" A question this sweet kid has to ask way too often. "Uhhh...What can you eat?" I was all out of gluten free cake mix and time. Time to improvise!

As they say, Necessity is the mother of invention and so I present today's edition of "Jar Love": Gluten Free Cupcakes in a Pinch!

While this isn't the most ideal "cake" recipe it definitely got us by on this day. And in record time. Less than 2 minutes from start to finish! And finding yet another use for my beautiful jars?? I'm a happy girl!

I found a recipe for "gluten free bread in a cup in seconds" a while ago on Pinterest originally from a blog called One Good Thing by Jillee. I have used this recipe several times when I needed some gluten free bread in a hurry for Elle though I usually leave out the sugar since it tastes a little too sweet to me. I've used a bigger flat bowl to make a pizza crust too. Again, not ideal, but when it comes to gluten free sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

For cupcakes I doubled the sugar in the original recipe where I didn't feel it would be sweet enough for a cake. Make sure to check out her post and the other variations (sugar and spice, Italian, chocolate, cornbread!) she has there.

Gluten Free Cupcakes in a Jar
(adapted from One Good Thing by Jillee)
Time: SERIOUSLY 2 MINUTES!!

1 large egg
1 tsp water
3 TBSP buttermilk (or 3 TBSP milk plus 3/4 tsp vinegar, stir and let sit for a few minutes. You could also use a milk substitute such as almond, rice, or soy milk.)
1/3 cup Bisquick All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Mix
2 tsp sugar 


Grease a wide mouth pint jar. Mix wet ingredients together in jar. Add Bisquick and sugar and mix until moist. Clean off edges of jar and smooth the top of the batter. Microwave for 85 seconds. Lightly touch top to make sure cake is cooked. Microwave for a few seconds longer if still uncooked on top. 


Allow the cake to cool a little in the jar then run a knife between the cake and the jar and carefully slide out. Allow cake to cool completely on a rack or plate and then cut into 2 or 3 cupcakes. Frost and enjoy!

We struggle with gluten free baked goods in our house. Elle doesn't seem to like many of the mixes and recipes I've tried so far. Gluten free ingredients and mixes are atrociously expensive so I get really frustrated with spending so much money on something that my girl only takes a bite of and pushes away refusing to eat anymore.

I can hardly blame her; a lot of gluten free breads, cakes, cookies, etc range from tolerable to repulsive. I was pleased she found this quick and easy substitute acceptable. She actually ate the entire cupcake!  Add that to all the win we are made of today and I think this calls for another cupcake! Gotta get them all out of the house before Saturday, right?

A Happy to Be Gluten Free Recipe: Chicken Taco Soup

This week we discovered that my four year old niece has Celiac Disease and Type I Diabetes. I really can only half way imagine what her parents are feeling right now. I remember when my little four year old was diagnosed with Celiac. It was devastating.

While not immediately life threatening, Celiac can lead to a plethora of problems in the future, including infertility, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, depression, etc. It was terrifying to hear these things could be in my little daughter's future. Plus, it was just so overwhelming to learn I could no longer feed her gluten. Gluten...which is in...everything.

There definitely was a steep learning curve and mountains to climb as we have learned how to live with Celiac. And that was only one major health issue. My poor little niece has diabetes to contend with on top of all that. We really have had her in her hearts and prayers this week.

I have posted a few gluten free recipes on my blog. I want to help however I can, so I plan to post more in the future...starting now...

Here's what we had for dinner tonight...Chicken Taco Soup!

Delicious, healthy, easy to throw together, and gluten- and dairy-free. There are lots of beans in this soup which makes it a great source of non-animal protein. I'm running a half marathon (plus three miles) tomorrow morning so I'm hoping this will power me through. Even if it's "gas-power". ;)

Love my little helper!

Chicken Taco Soup (adapted from a friend's vegetarian taco soup)

Olive oil
1 or 2 cans chopped green chilies
1 medium onion, chopped
3 TBSPs homemade GF taco seasoning (or 1 pkg taco seasoning)
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Great Northern white beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14 ounce) cans of peeled, cut tomatoes (or 1 qt canned stewed tomatoes)
1 can yellow hominy (or corn)
1 can white hominy (or corn)
1 pound chicken, shredded (My canned chicken breast works perfectly for this!)
2 TBSP salsa (optional)
2 to 3 cups of water
1 to 2 tsps chicken bouillon, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté onion and chilies in oil for about 3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese, and sour cream.

A few notes...This can very easily be a vegetarian meal; just leave out the chicken and bouillon!

If you are using chicken, a rotisserie chicken, such as the ones they sell at Costco, works very well for this recipe. Or you can just prepare some chicken breasts and shred them.

The beans are flexible, in that, you could put in whatever beans you have on hand. Black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, etc.

This recipe was my first encounter with hominy. If you've never had it, you've got to give it a try! Hominy is a form of corn, but it's just not the same. It has a fantastic, almost chewy texture which I love. It can be found near the canned beans in your grocery store or in the ethnic food aisle.

I love this recipe because it is a "dump it all in and simmer for a bit" kind of recipe. Whether you eat gluten free or not...this is a yummy meal. Hope you like it as much as we do.

Jar Love #7: Cream of Something (Gluten-Free!)

When it comes to good, old-fashioned home cooking, there is a standby ingredient that millions of home have sitting in their pantry or cupboards. Millions of homes including my own.

Campbell's Cream of Mushroom/Chicken/Celery/Potato/Broccoli Soup

Only in my home, those cans are collecting dust and have been since Fall of 2011. Well, more like Summer 2005.

Campbell's soup may be convenient and tasty and a key part of great recipes, but they're also full of dairy and gluten; two things two of my little ones can't eat with a dairy allergy and celiac disease. I really try to avoid the chaos of preparing three different meals for my family--life is crazy enough as it is--so Campbell's Cream of Whatever hasn't been on my shopping list for awhile. And the recipes that call for it have been off the table too.

No Cheesy Potatoes.
No Chicken and Rice.
No...Uhhh...It really has been so long since I've cooked any of those recipes that I can't even remember what they are.

Forget about the gluten and dairy! Those classic red and white cans are full of sodium, fat, and a bunch of other unhealthy junk. AND they're just so darn expensive. Was it really so bad that my children's food issues prevented me from using any Campbell's Cream Soups? Probably not.

But come on. What really goes better with ham than Cheesy Potatoes?

Well, thanks to Pinterest and this "Cream of Something" recipe we can have Cheesy Potatoes again! AND I have a way to use some of the non-fat dry milk that's been sitting in my food storage for who knows how long! AND I get to use my jars for easy mixing and storing! *happy tears flood eyes*

Cream of Something Recipe (slightly adapted from THIS recipe):

1 cup non-fat dried milk
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup beef/chicken/veggie bouillon (granules or powder, NOT cubes)
4 TBSP dried minced onions
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Pour all ingredients into jar. Screw on lid and shake jar to mix thoroughly. Label lid with preparation instructions (For the equivalent of one can of condensed cream soup: mix 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cup water. Heat in sauce pan on medium until thick.) Store in pantry.

I was rather skeptical the first time I tried this recipe. Could this really taste that good? Will this mix actually thicken? It worked perfectly! It does NOT taste exactly like Campbell's soup, but it is delicious nonetheless in it's own way. And it has to be healthier than the canned stuff. Less preservatives, salt, and fat. And most importantly for us, it's GLUTEN FREE!

So what did I use it for? Well, Cheesy Potatoes of course! Even though it's gluten-free, it's not dairy-free, so Dee had to eat the shredded potatoes minus the delicious, creamy sauce, but he's used to it. He was pretty pleased with his plain potatoes. (Say that three times fast!)

So, just to reiterate why this Cream of Something mix is so fantastic...
...gluten free!
...no mystery ingredients!
...lower in sodium and fat!
...uses up some of that Non-Fat Dried Milk you have sitting in your food storage!
...less expensive!
...can be stored in a jar! Feelin' the Jar Love on this one for sure!

No Bake Cookies (Dairy and Gluten Free!)

No Bake Cookies. Cow Pie Cookies. Gorilla Poop.

Call them what you will, these little treats are too yummy and too easy to whip up. And yes, I do say "too easy" as in "too easy to completely destroy my healthy eating plans". They're packed full of sugar and peanut butter and that's probably why they taste so darn good.

I hear there is a healthier--yet still delicious--recipe out there disguised under the name "Energy Bites". I intend to give them a try on a day when I have a little more willpower. But today we're making No Bakes and I'm wandering down Memory Lane as this was one of the first recipes I remember making on my own as a kid.

Now that I have kids of my own, things are a tad more complicated. With one that can't have milk and another that can't have gluten, I look for ways to make my old favorite recipes work. With a little butter-flavored shortening, some almond milk, and a lot of gluten-free oats this one WORKS!

Gluten Free/Dairy Free No Bake Cookies:
(Adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff No Bake Cookies recipe)

In a medium saucepan, mix and bring to a boil for one minute:
2 Cups sugar
2 TBSP shortening (or butter)
2 TBSP cocoa
1/2 cup almond milk (or soy milk or cow's milk)

Remove from stove top and add:
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)

Mix ingredients until most of peanut butter is combined.

Add 2 cups of Quick Rolled Oats (Gluten Free) and mix until all is evenly incorporated. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper on counter top. Cookies will "set up" as they cool.  

I don't understand how this works, but these cookies taste even better the day after they are made. My advice? Make a double batch so you have more for tomorrow. ;)

P.S. Make sure to visit my weight loss blog for the healthier Energy Bites recipe.

A Happy to Be Gluten Free Recipe: BBQ Chicken Salad

I suppose it's cheating to post this recipe on the blog, but I have no shame...I'm posting it anyway. This recipe is hardly new or inventive or complex. It's as simple as it gets, but it's healthy, easy, gluten free, and dairy free. It just doesn't get any better than that at our house!

BBQ Chicken Salad
chicken breasts
Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
lettuce
canned black beans
canned corn
tomatoes
olives
onions
cheese
tortilla chips
Ranch salad dressing
more BBQ sauce
sour cream
avocado
WHATEVER you like on your salad!

In the morning, throw a few chicken breasts in the crock pot along with some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (gluten free!). Set on low and fuh-get-about-it.

As dinner time approaches, set all your salad toppings in bowls on the table. Rinse the beans and corn after opening and draining the cans. Chop up the tomatoes, grate the cheese, mix up the sour cream. You get the idea.

After sitting in the crock pot all day the chicken is tender and flavorful. Stir it around to shred it up.

Bring it to the table and dinner is served. Everyone can make their salad to their own liking.

Personally, I like to skip the cheese, olives, and sour cream (more calories than I need by dinnertime). Instead I mix together a little BBQ sauce and Ranch in a small bowl and spread it over my salad. It makes a great salad dressing.  (Obviously those who are dairy free need to skip the Ranch and cheese.) I also crush tortilla chips over the top to give it a little extra crunch. Lots of tomatoes and black beans for me and my tummy is happy. As is my daily calorie allowance too.

Hunter. Gatherer. What's for Dinner???

I don't know if it is true, but I feel like I have spent the majority of my Monday with food. Thinking about food. Planning about food. Searching food out. In my house and then again in the store--Make that storeS. Pulling junk food out of my begging children's hands. Loading food into my cart. Unloading food on to the conveyor belt. Loading food again into my cart. Only to unload in my car. Reload. Unload. Dating food (as in writing the date on the package of food and not engaging romantically with my groceries. Although...I nearly fell head over heels for a carton of ice cream back in the freezer section). Storing food. Cramming food into the deep dark recesses of my freezer, fridge, and storage room. Handing food to starving kids. Cramming food into my own mouth...

Two weeks of meal planning, four different grocery stores, and $200 later...

...I was ready to pay a restaraunt to make dinner tonight. Which I did. Shame, shame.

Alright, alright. One last hurrah before two weeks of cooking all that food I so diligently secured in my home.

I am hunter-gatherer. Hear me roar.

This meal planning business burns time like politicans burn money. But man oh man, do preparation and planning ever preserve me from nightly pain. In feeding a child who is allergic to milk and another child with Celiac Disease, weekly meal planning is vital. I have found, through a great deal of trial and an even larger amount of error, that if I am prepared, I shall not fear when dinner time rolls around every night.

Anyone need some ideas? I'm sharing my two-week meal plan and linking up to the wonderful websites that give me new and spectacular ideas when it comes to feeding my family gluten and dairy free. My current favorites are Cooking Gluten (& Dairy Free) and EZ Gluten Free. There are even a few of my own recipes (adapations made where needed to keep my little family safe).

Monday (30): Gluten/Dairy Free Beef Stroganoff Eat Out as a Family Night
Tuesday (1): Gluten/Dairy Free Beef Stroganoff
Wednesday (2): Chicken Noodle Soup (I just use my own homemade recipe. When it comes to the point of adding the frozen egg noodles, I ladle some out into a separate pot and add gluten free noodles for Elle. The rest of us get to slurp down those delicious darn-near-as-good-as-homemade noodles.)
Thursday (3): Chicken Ranch Tacos (Dairy/Gluten Free)
Friday (4): Steak, baked potatoes, roasted asparagus
Saturday (5): Date Night <---A girl can dream...Nachos (Feliz Cinco Day Mayo!)
Sunday (6): Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches, homemade potato salad, watermelon

Monday (7): Chicken Chimichangas
Tuesday (8): BLTs, fresh fruits and veggies
Wednesday (9): Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan, green salad
Thursday (10): Beef Stew, homemade cheddar biscuits
Friday (11): BBQ Chicken Pizza
Saturday: Wild Card (leftovers or popcorn)
Sunday: Impossible Mini Bacon Cheeseburger Pies (Dairy/Gluten Free), oven fries, veggies

To all you moms/hunter-gatherers out there...Good luck and may the fork be with you!

A Meal in the Life of a Food Allergy Mom

Saturday was a busy day of  lawn work, paying bills, paper work, traveling to watch my younger brother compete in a college track event, laundry, and a dozen other odds and ends. Before I knew it 7 pm was breathing down my neck, along with a herd of ravenous children wondering if Mom was ever going to feed them.

Dinner???
Oh, right. I'm usually in charge of that.
Umm...Dinner.
Let's see...

As I've whined related before, whipping up dinner at my house isn't the easiest task. With one son allergic to milk in any form and a daughter with Celiac Disease, coming up with a dinner for everyone is...complicated.

Saturday, after a few moments of panicked brainstorming, I alighted upon a dinner solution: The good ol' classic, Mac n' Cheese!

Easy.
Quick.
Crowd pleasing.

Right???


Putting all four burners to work: 1- Gluten-free mac n' cheese, 2- plain elbow noodles, 3- regular Kraft mac n' cheese, and 4- steamed broccoli. Four separate spoons to avoid cross contamination. Two timers and one clock to time each one out. Two parents working together to make sure nothing gets burned or spills over.

Say "CHEESE! and macaroni!"

Well, at least we got "crowd-pleasing" down.

I'm not whining again. I promise. We're getting our system down as we make everyday adjustments to keep everyone safe, healthy, happy, and well-fed.

I just have to laugh and record these moments. Moments where an "easy" dinner like mac n' cheese turns into a carefully choreographed dance around a busy, hot stove and a mountain of dirty dishes afterwards.

All in the life of a food allergy mom.