Three Bean Chili

 The weather is changing and what better to warm our bellies than chili!  This is a simple, but yummy fast and easy dish.  We serve the chili with corn chips and a sprinkle of cheese (dairy free).

 

Tips:

* Adjust the heat for your taste buds.  The cayenne is going to give the most bite.

* I often add celery and carrots to my chili as well.  Shredding them makes them less noticeable!!

Gluten-Free Chicken & Waffles

Our family has a semi annual tradition of eating waffles and ice cream for breakfast.  I had to figure out a way to still enjoy this special meal with my little ones twice a year.  Because of travel we switched our waffles and ice cream to dinner so I added chicken nuggets to the menu to make it healthy!!! 

Many kids have picky eating habits when it come to special needs kids.  Chicken nuggets is a very common favorite, and they know when they are being given something that they aren't used to.  Tonight my kids gave me the reviews of "Awesome", "Good on the inside and out." and they were gone in time for their waffles with ice cream :)

 Tips:

* You can use regular flour and still create great chicken nuggets!!

* Remember not to use to much oil...when oil gets hot it expands.

* Temperature is very important in frying.  Make sure your temperature stays at 350 degrees.

 Tips:

* The biggest tip that I can give you is not to over mix your batter.  

Fold your egg whites into the batter don't mix them.  When folding take the batter from the bottom of the bowl and gently fold the batter into the egg whites.

* You can use regular milk and flour for these waffles as well!

Coconut milk ice cream is pretty yummy!  They even make coconut whipped cream :)

It Worked!!

 Our family loves treats as any family with little ones do, but when we had to change our eating habits a lot of our favorites weren't good for us anymore.  I have been playing around with the multiple ingredients that are required to match the texture and baking consistency of all purpose flour.  The thought came to me a few weeks ago though...can I make cookies with our gluten-free oats ground into flour????  I tried it today and it worked!  I won't say that it would work for all cookies, but we had success with our families favorite everyday cookies which was great.  I must say though that they are a bit more crumblier, but not enough to not make them and enjoy them!  They hold together quite well :)

Tips:

* If you aren't in need of a Gluten-Free Dairy-Free cookie then replace the four for all purpose and the Earth Balance for Butter!

Playing Catch-up

Life has been pretty busy as of late, but dinners have still been made.  Getting them up on the blog though is quite a different story!  Today I am trying to catch-up a bit though.  Enjoy!

 My husband enjoys a lot of flavor so I thought of him as I was mentally cooking this up.  The recipe is quite simple but the flavors are good.

 Tips:

* If you are a flavor seeker make two separate batches of the honey mustard sauce.  Use one for cooking and one for dipping the cooked pork chop into while eating.

 

 Tips:

* A tsp of cinnamon might be an added plus for your family.

* Use a hand mixer to combine all of the ingredients once they squash is cooked for a smoother puree. 

 Tips:

* If you don't have a loaf pan you can just form the meat loaf onto a sheet pan and skip the flipping step!  

* If you don't need your meat loaf to be GFCF I like to add 1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce or 2-3 TBS BBQ Sauce to our meat loaf.

* Corn Flakes also work if you don't have oats that are Gluten-Free.  

Can Dinner Be This Easy & Kid Friendly

We are BIG sports fans!  I was trying to create an easy dinner yesterday that could be eaten while watching Thursday night football.  I wanted it to be healthy and appealing to my little ones.  Usually they love anything they can dip chips into so I created a dip based on the chicken and salsa dinner that I have posted before.  Using a crock pot is always a plus too! 

Tips:

* You can always use store bought salsa that you enjoy.

* Heat can always be added but it is hard to take away.  If your family isn't keen on spices maybe back off on the green chili or serve it on the side.

* Dips are usually thick, but if you want it to be looser add more sour cream or salsa.

Brussel Sprouts You Will Eat!!

 Most kids will always tell you that they don't like brussel sprouts, but not mine!!  Today my kids picked them out at the store.  Remember that everything is better with bacon :) 

Tips:

* Make sure that you are liberal when you are cutting the bottoms off of your sprouts.  The bitterness will come out so that the yummy taste will stay in!!

* Make sure that the bacon is crispy and that you don't drain the fat, unless you plan on adding it back in slowly as needed.  The sprouts will not be greasy!

A New Twist on an Old Favorite!

 As I was starting dinner the other night and I realized I didn't have enough rice for the fried rice...what to do?  I looked in the pantry and saw the Quinoa sitting on the shelf.  Could I?  Would it?  Oh YES you can and you should :)  Quinoa is a great grain full of protein.  If you follow this recipe not only will you create a more healthy fried rice, but a tasty one as well :)

Tips:

*  When using Quinoa make sure that you rinse it in cold water to get all the bitterness out.

* If you don't have Tamari use Soy Sauce!

* You can use frozen or fresh carrots and peas.

Enough for a Party!!

I was recently asked to create two cakes using apples and caramel for a luncheon.  The luncheon was being held after a funeral of a dearly beloved woman.  Her dearest family and friends would be eating and her favorite dessert was anything having to do with caramel.   

I was of course up to the challenge :)  After thinking over what I could do for a few days this is what I came up with. 

I decided to work around a play on pineapple upside down cake.  The idea of not using water for the batter came from wanting to have cinnamon and apples in the cake batter.  Using sour cream tends to keep cakes moist and I made these cakes the day before so I was needing them to stay yummy for such an important event!  Give it a try, I hope you and yours enjoy!!

Tips:

* Serve Hot or Cold

*Check the cake with the oven light before opening the door.  (The cake will sink in the middle!)

* Store in the fridge.

Easy GFCF BBQ

*Tips

* Our family enjoys Udi's gluten-free buns.  They are dairy free as well!

*You can use any type of chicken your family enjoys.  If you use bone-in chicken add on a little more time to ensure the cooking process is complete.  The chicken should fall right off the bones for you!!

* Add or take away spice depending on your families preference.  The Cayenne is probably a good place to start :)
* You can make this sauce and use it to marinate and grill chicken, pork and beef as well :)

Did You Know?

 Our family has been over the moon excited about the new gluten-free Rice Krispies, using brown rice (which is better for you anyways) was the key!!  Not only has it provided a new choice beside the Chex cereals in the morning we can now enjoy our gooey treats again! 

 And play with our food!!

*I only use 5 cups of cereal so that they aren't hard, but gooey and don't cut your mouth.

What To Do With This Leftover Chicken???

 Do you ever open your fridge and see that leftover rotisserie chicken or fried chicken from dinner a night before and wonder what to do with it?  Chicken Salad is a great way to finish off the leftover meat that is usually no ones favorite pieces to eat.  Today I made a salad with fruit, but savory chicken salads are just as yummy!

Tips:

* Costco sells a GFCF rotisserie chicken.

Just Peachie!!

 I was talking to a friend yesterday and she was trying to create a few sweet recipes to add to her families diet changed menu.  Her family has a lot of food allergies and so often times the normal substitutions can even be bad for their family.  This got my creative juices flowing.  I looking in my fridge and remembered that I had just purchased some peaches...

 Tips:

* When mixing in corn starch always use cold water.

* Obviously you can use regular oats for this recipe.  If you are not worried about dairy you can use melted butter instead of the coconut oil.   

 *All purpose flour can be used instead of the ground oatmeal as well.

Tonight we topped our crisp with dairy free turtle ice cream.  The caramel went very well with the peaches :)  As the recipe states above though coconut whipped cream would be yummy as well!

101 Different Varieties

 There truly are a lot of ways to make granola.  Tonight I was playing on the idea of peanut butter and honey sandwiches.  I have been asked about substitutions for coconut oil and if you have an allergy canola oil would work just as well.  I like using the coconut oil for the added level of flavor (it is healthy too though)!   Obviously if your family isn't gluten free you can use any type of oats for this recipe as well.  I use organic peanut butter and the same holds true for that as well.  Use what you have in your home!!

 I enjoy parchment paper a lot.  I enjoy the less dishes to be washed thing, but also the double use of a funnel when the granola is done cooking. (see below photos)

Granola can not only be made many different ways, it can be eaten a few different ways as well.  Tonight dinner was warm granola right out of the oven topped with almond milk.  Tomorrow when I am making lunches I will place the granola into little containers for the kids to eat as a snack.  The final and I am sure most healthy way is as an ice cream topping!!  I am really of fan :)  I am sure that I will be adding to my granola collection so if this isn't up your alley make a request :)

"This is Yummy Sauce Mom!"

Tips:

*Purchase your chops at least an inch thick.

* You can stuff your chops with other greens besides spinach, bok choy etc.

*  You could also change up the cream cheese for ricotta or mascarpone.

 * Obviously you can make your own polenta!  By adding to the polenta though the taste becomes homade. 

* You can change this recipe and make it very creamy.  You can use real butter instead of substitute.  The Almond milk can be changed to heavy cream & last but not least add a 1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan or Cheddar cheese at the very end before turning off the heat!

Fish for Dinner...Dad Must Be Out of Town!

I enjoy fish, but Salmon isn't my my favorite.  I tend to lean towards white fish.  However this simple recipe makes the fish quite good.  I made three fillets and sprinkled each with one of the spices above.  My kids ate the fillet with Mrs. Dash and I enjoyed the Montreal Steak Seasoning fillet.  

Blackened Grilled fish is my favorite, but if you are in a hurry and aren't used to making fish a lot this is a great choice!

Our Back to School Menu

 Smiley Face Pancakes are easy to make and the kids love them!  I think that they only tips for this breakfast are these...

*Use a circle cookie cutter to make the perfect eyes.  I knife with a small cup works just as well.

*If you can't have normal whipped cream they do make coconut cream in the can as well :)

 Lunches for little ones with special diets can often times be hard.  The kids feel weird about not eating what others get to and that is never fun.  This year  I tried to make the kids lunch containers fun and exciting with vinyl stickers.  They are water proof and come in many different shapes, colors and fonts.  These water bottles and plastic containers will last the whole year and so will the stickers. 

 After school snacks can become monotonous.  On the first day of school I try to have something special for the kids. 

 Today we had cupcakes and yes they are good.  The Cherrybrook Kitchen makes wonderful mixes that are dairy, egg, nut and gluten free.

 Dinner this evening needed to be fast and easy. You might think that homemade spaghetti sauce isn't either of those things, but truly you can start and finish within a half hour. 

Tips:

* When you want veggies, but you don't like them crunchy or big shred them.  You save time not chopping them and they get soft very quickly.

* Season the meat.  Often times people just brown the meat and save the seasoning until the tomato products are in the pan.  Put the salt and herbs in with the meat and veggies for extra flavor.  Save the garlic for the end of the sweating of the veggies though so it doesn't burn and become bitter.

* If you like more sauce and less thickness add another can of tomato sauce. 

We really enjoyed dinner tonight! 

YUM!