Kitchen Chaos

Yes, it is December. Yes, it is cold. But this is east Texas and our idea of cold is in the 40's so the idea of making ice cream isn't completely ridiculous. Or is it? Wait! Don't answer that. The ice cream did turn out pretty good. It has potential anyway. I was drooling over the strawberry coconut and peach coconut and so I picked up a bag of frozen blackberries (that is what Daisy wanted even though she didn't know what project I had in mind). The blackberries just didn't interact with the coconut milk well. They were like two shy junior high kids at a dance, they were both there but neither was very noticeable. Hubby suggested peaches because the coconut and peach would play well. He also suggested raspberries because it would contrast nicely with the coconut. Junior was annoyed that I put in all the seeds. He didn't seem to care that it was God who put in the seeds (and they were a little annoying). I wonder how almond milk would do with t

Every year there are last minute "disasters," things don't turn out exactly as planned. Luckily everything this year turned out eatable at least. Although it may not have been as pretty or as tasty as planned. So here is what we had: Brined Turkey - This is the first year that the turkey was too salty. We made the vegetable broth instead of using store bought chicken broth and Hubby didn't taste the broth to see if it tasted good and so added extra salt (homemade broth always needs more salt than I think. Dressing - my in-laws did try to make a gf dressing but it was too bitter (they used just soy flour) so they went ahead and made the regular version. So we quickly threw together a dressing that was gf/df. For a first try, it did taste pretty good, I think I want to play with it a bit more before I post the recipe. Gravy didn't turn out well, it needs alot of work because I didn't stick to the recipe. Sigh. Dinner was waiting on the gravy and so I tr

I kindof combined two recipes and then didn't follow either very well. But it was yummy. We all loved it (except Junior who still thinks he doesn't like coconut. insert eye roll here.) I found this recipe from Whole Foods website and this recipe from Aprovechar. I wanted to make the coconut whipped cream but didn't have any safe yogurt and forgot to chill the bowl and beaters. It made really soft peaks but it fell in the fridge - not that it affected the flavor. It was still yuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmy.

When I was in high school one of the women where my dad worked brought some of this and he liked it so much that he got the recipe. I think this was one of the first times I had tried sweet potatoes without marshmallows (gag) and loved this. I used to make this with all purpose flour and regular milk and was one of the competitors in a sweet potato cook-off my family did here . Since we have gone gluten-free it is not something we can eat anymore so we remade the recipe. It tastes just as good as the original but is gluten-free and dairy-free. We have reduced the amount of sugar in the topping and increased the sweet potatoes to make it less sweet. Plus we made it gluten-free and dairy free and something we could all eat.

As I pull my focus off of what I can't eat and learn more about what I can eat, my food horizons are broadening. Instead of whining about not being able to eat boxed macaroni & cheese (where most of the nutrition is probably in the box), I am planning meals with kale and polenta and garbonzo beans and sauerkraut and flax and . . . . Well, you get the idea. I could complain about how cold cereal tastes disgusting with soy or rice milk (my kids like it though) or I can make smoothies and gf waffles and migas and other stuff that would be healthier. I think that we tend to get in dietary habits and without something significant to shake us out of those habits, we stay in them. Or maybe I am the only one who has planned a week of meals and realized they are all similar in some way (mostly chicken, mostly beef, mostly tex-mex, or mostly pasta). The first week I planned out the menu for the week that was dairy-free and gluten-free, I thought it would be simple. Then I went

I had decided that a pot roast sounded wonderful. Yum. I love a good pot roast. For some reason my sisters don't but I love them. My normal method is to drop the meal in the slowcooker with some onions, potatoes, carrots and a packet of onion soup mix. Except I didn't have any onion soup mix, and I forgot to check at the store for any, and I don't even know if it is gluten-free/dairy-free. So I instead thought about what makes onion soup the deliciousness that it is and the answer is onions caramelized into oblivion. Note that this is more of a method than an actual recipe mainly because it kindof depends on what you like.

I enjoy hosting adn cooking special dinners. Typically I have too much that I want to cook, too much to try to do, and I can't do all that I would like to do. This year may be different. With us on a full gluten-free dairy-free diet it is going to be more challenging. So with that in mind here is what I am planning so far (the recipes, where available are linked): Brined Turkey - I have never been a fan of ham so turkey is a given Dressing - my in-laws are going to make this. My father-in-law is intrigued with the idea of making it gluten-free and dairy-free. gravy - it's a must have this one is gluten-free but not dairy free. Maybe use unsweetened rice milk. sweet potato casserole - I am working on making it gfdf cranberry sauce - yum, one of my favorites bread or rolls - I have no ideas on this one, I need to get busy baking to see what I can find. Any suggestions? mashed potatoes - made with ghee and some kind of milk. I don't know what kind, poss

When I did the gluten-free thing before, it was just me and I mostly just reduced the gluten. I tried not to blow it very often, or at least not very big. So if we went out for pasta, I didn't eat the rolls. Surprisingly, I did reduce the gluten enough to feel better but when I began to sense that maybe I needed to reduce it more, like completely, that is when I quit. It was too much. Because I hadn't gone completely gluten-free, it wasn't a major sudden change in how I felt when I gave it up. So yesterday, we had a late breakfast and then I cleaned out the freezer (got rid of the gluten and cheese in there). Then we had to head over to a 4-H event where we were selling trees, then tae kwon do, then back over to the tree sale. Then at 6:30 I realized we had skipped lunch and I was beyond rational thought. I suggested we blow our diet. and we did. in a big way. We went to Pizza Hut, I had a deep dish pizza because I have never liked pizza on crackers (thin crust).

As I have said, my kids are less than delighted with our new diet. In fact they have complained about it a fair bit but today I redeemed myself in their eyes. I made pancakes and chocolate cookies. I actually made 2 batches of pancakes, one a Bob's Red Mill and the other a variation on Alton Brown's Dutch Oven Hoecakes . I made the Bob's Red Mill according to the directions using vanilla soy milk but then needed to add a bit more milk because it was too thick. The hoecakes I added 1 tablespoon of sugar and didn't put in the corn (someone thinks he doesn't like corn.) Daisy loved the hoecakes although she did say that if they were very big, they were too cornbready. I agree with her, the cornbread flavor is more noticeable on the larger one. It seems the good size is silver dollar pancake size. She also liked the Bob's Red Mill pancakes, she said she would be happy with either one. Junior prefered the mix but his hoecake was pretty big so that may be the

Both of my kids love participating in the 4-H County Food and Nutrition contest. Daisy has to go into another room with three adult judges and then gets judged and ranked. Her first year she won first place for applesauce bread, last year I don't remember how she placed with her baked apple. This year she won first place again! She made Butternut Squash and Chicken Pasta which is so perfect in the fall.

Both of my kids love participating in the 4-H County Food and Nutrition contest. Junior is considered a "Clover Kid" and so he isn't really judged - he gets asked questions but his ability to answer isn't scored. His dish for 4-H Food and Nutrition was Baked Cheese and Pasta - well Macaroni and Cheese but he didn't do macaroni noodles. His dish has been more challenging for me just because of various problems. The first time he made it, I forgot we were doubling the recipe when we added the cheese. So it only had half of the necessary cheese. It was good, just not cheesey.

Well , I reorganized things so that I think it is going to be easier to find, maybe. Everything that is not gluten-free or dairy-free is labeled as such in the title.  I am going to try to rework them to make them gluten-free and dairy free and then I will repost them with the changes to make them gluten-free and dairy-free. (Some I don't know if they could be reworked or if it would be worth all the effort.) I am going to get rid of the categories gluten-free and dairy free because I am going to try to only post such things anyway. Not to mention, those two categories will get very overloaded. I also fixed all the recipe posts so that you don't have to scroll through the whole long recipe to get to the next post. If you want to see the whole thing, just click "more." I did this because I was getting annoyed looking through my own blog for recipes and having to scroll through so much. _______________________________________________ Last night I cooked the my

Ok, I am on the upswing again. I will figure out this gluten-free dairy-free thing. I found a recipe for buns, called the "wonder bun" that I just had to try.And if didn't taste like cornbread but like real, live wheaty bread. It is a bit too dry for us to use as rolls for a meal but for hamburger buns it would be great. I wish I had found this pre-gluten free days just because it is a quick throw together bread that is great for the sandwiches that need a denser bread (like hamburgers, sloppy joes, and the like). Yep, it is that good. I would have totally eaten it instead of store bought, nutrition-less buns. And it is quick. The recipe is for one but you can easily make more, just cook one at a time for 90 seconds in the microwave. I may play later to see if they can be oven baked at the same time (which would be easier when making several) but for right now the microwave is great. There is a video here on how to make them or you can read a blog post here

I want to meal plan, I would love to meal plan. It is just difficult when the list of things that can be cooked is so incredibly short. Or maybe I should say the stuff that I know we can cook and like. I don't have a list of quick and simple throw-togethers that I can quickly and easily make. My old standbys were spaghetti or mac & cheese - both are on the no-no list. I am also trying to cook with less tomatoes. Awful, I know. I just got to thinking about how I crave pasta and tend to put tomatoes on everything and wondering if I have an intolerance to tomatoes. So that has got me wondering, if you don't have gravy and don't use tomatoes, what else is there? Seriously. I have no ideas. Tonight I cooked little steaks (top round maybe, I forget) cut them in thin slices and then cooked them some more with onions and cranberries because I couldn't think of anything else. Luckily it wasn't that bad but my kids really hate the nights mommy throws random stuff

This is one of the easiest, quickest throw-togethers. The hardest part is the mashed potatoes and if you aren't doing dairy-free then you can pick up mashed potatoes at the local fried chicken place. This is something I have been making for years - although not often because Hubby is less than thrilled with vegetarian meals. Normally I do add the cheese and have buttery potatoes but that doesn't fit in with the dairy-free. Sheperdless Pie

First, I need to say, Monday doesn't count. Not at all. We were traveling and it is difficult to eat gluten-free dairy-free on the road. So today it started for real. I have to say, the hardest part is the mental part. You know the part of me that is screaming "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN'T EAT CAKE AND MAC&CHEESE AND PIZZA EVERY DAY?!?!?" Not that I eat that way every day, but it is a different mindset. There are so many things that are naturally gluten-free & dairy-free but most of it isn't convenience foods. I could do mac&cheese but instead of 3 for $1 it will cost more like 3 or 4 dollars. I have got to learn how to cook again while avoiding what I need to avoid. I know I have problems with gluten and I suspect my daughter does. My son has problems with milk (I may too but I don't really crave it so it isn't a big deal for me.) So here is our meal plan for the week and if you notice, none of it is really weird. Recipes and results wil

Our 4-H group starts off each year with having a cookie contest for the first meeting. The kids make the cookies and then judge but there are 2 divisions, 12 and under and 13 and up. Then for snack they have the cookies. Can you say "sugar high"? Daisy made her cookies with almost no help - I got stuff off of high shelves for her and put them in and out of the oven but that is all I did. She did Cowgirl cookies that I found on Bakerella 's website (I would directly link to the cookies but the site is down right now for maintenance). They were a bit too dry and crunchy that night but the next day they were really good. Junior made Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies. Have you ever heard of them? They are the perfect fall chocolate chip cookie! Yummmm! We really weren't sure how good they would be because really, pumpkin and chocolate. together. But we loved these. Again, I got the recipe from Bakerella although we did not frost ours. Because I was tired. and it was

Ok, I have to be honest this is more of a method than a recipe. The nice thing about soup is it is really difficult to ruin it - unless you burn it and there is no rescue that I can find for scorched soup. If you know of one, let me know please. Anyway, since the whole family wanted to come down with (or fight) some sort of respiratory illness (kids had "the crud", Hubby has sinus issues, and I am trying to come down with the crud) I thought it was the perfect opportunity for Chicken Noodle Soup. Junior thought it was a horrible idea until I let him help me decide what to put in it. So here is what we did:

I have a horrible tendency to save stuff because it is special until it is no longer special - it is ruint (yes, that is a word here in the south). If I have plenty, then I am not that concerned - like with jam I usually get several jars, so I go ahead and eat them. But if I don't have very many - I really want to save it. Just before Christmas 2007, we stopped at this little winery about a 1 1/2 hour drive from here and picked up a bottle of raspberry wine (I really didn't like dry wines at all then and mostly went for dessert wines.) And we brought it home and I saved it. And saved it. And saved it. We really don't drink very much wine, just the occasional glass with dinner. and I kind-of forgot about it. I finally opened it 2 weeks ago and it was nearly vinegar. So I poured the whole bottle into a plastic juice pitcher, added some Braggs apple cider vinegar and covered the pitcher with a paper towel I taped on. You have to use an apple cider vinegar with the "

When my family wants Chicken and Dumplings, this recipe is what they are craving, not any of that stuff with bisquick or canned biscuits or tortillas. It isn't a quick simple meal, but it does make a huge amount. I always freeze half of it either to eat at another time or give to someone else.

This is another dip that my mom made while we were there, this one is a creamier dip while the other is a salsa-y dip. Yes, that is a real category of dips and no, I didn't make it up. I really didn't.

My mom made this on our recent family reunion and it was yummy. She didn't put it in individual martini glasses but it still tasted delish. Shrimp, tomatoes and avocado combine to form a wonderful dip.

I thought I would add a new category that is stuff my kids have cooked. For the most part, these are fairly simple recipes. I don't use very many mixes though, I want them to know how to make a bechemel or gravy or cornbread without a mix. You know your child better than I do though. If they can't make an edible peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then they probably aren't ready for the more complicated stuff. Some of the other stuff posted is something kids can cook, but mine haven't yet. So look for the label Kids Cook .

This stuff is amazing. Seriously. It will make you turn your nose up at that yellow stuff. Velvetta & Rotel tomatoes will not satisfy you any more. Ok, maybe not but it is really good.

Hubby took a double batch with him the other night to work because some of the people he works with were curious about Daisy's dish. He brought home an empty container and rave reviews. You might think that is is an easy crowd but I have NEVER gotten all positive reviews. There is always some guy who's mom made better, or thinks it is too sweet. edited to add: We took some to our Bible study class, and made a double batch. They loved it, and there were several requests for the recipe. And I did it with the less butter! This is the dessert that Daisy won the 3rd place award award in the youth fair. There were over 300 kids competing and there were 8 others in her category. Not only do the kids have to make something that tastes good, but they also have to be able to talk about how it was prepared, nutritional value, what they learned. They also have to serve it and not do anything like play with their hair, lick their fingers, any thing you wouldn't want your

A baguette is an incredibly easy yeast bread to make with no complicated ingredients. The first bread I made was "white bread" and that had a fairly long list of ingredients. This is much simpler. This is the bread that Daisy made to go in her pineapple bread pudding for youth fair.

This dressing comes with a special recipe for salad complete with apple and cranberries and is probably pretty good. I have never made it though. I have only been interested int the dressing. This dressing is amazing. Think of a tart lemonade. It's good on a salad, good as a fruit dip, and good as a marinade.

I have to confess, I thought split pea soup would be gross. I am not too fond of canned peas (I don't pick them out of things though) and that was my thought of what this would taste like. I was wrong. It doesn't happen very often, but yes I was wrong. Hubby also was not thrilled with the idea of trying it, but he likes it as well. About the only way I can think of descibing this is a spring vegetable soup. It just tastes like spring. This is great with grilled cheese, or bread or any number of things I can't eat. 10 cups water 1 pound dried split peas 1 pound ham cut into pieces or ham bone 1 medium onions 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 2 or 3 carrots chopped 2 or 3 celery stalks chopped Heat water and peas to boiling, boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and put in crock pot. Let sit for one hour then plug in crockpot. Toss in remaining ingredients. Cook on low for eight hours or high for 4 hours. Ok, now a confession: if your family

Oh my. This stuff is the best ever. If you ever had that jarred muck in the store, and thought it was gross, try this. It's like apple pie and applesauce had a child. Great on toast or applesauce bread. My kids love it in peanut butter sandwiches. A fruit butter is fruit cooked down slowly with sugar to make a spread. Butters use less sugar than jams or jellies and so would be somewhat healthier. With the really sweet fruits, butters can taste better because of the less sugar; peach butter is divine, but I find peach jam too sweet.

I got this recipe from Recipezaar.com - one of my favorite places to get recipes. Apparently the person who posted it on recipezaar, found it on Hillbilly Housewife 's website. In any case, this is a yummy filling recipe that even my "I don't like black beans" Hubby liked as well as my "I don't like soup" son. I served it with the gluten-free corn bread which went nicely. Oh, why dried beans? They are cheaper, lower in salt, and that's what I had. I had bought the beans before finding a recipe, I know a bag of beans will make a good sized pot of soup. I am not sure how many cans it would take. I think this recipe could be converted to gluten-free it just has the bullion cubes which have wheat and I am not quite sure how to replicate their flavor with ease.

This stuff is absolutely wonderful!!! It is a bit unusual, but great on chicken or fish. Katie's Peach Salsa

Absolutely Yummy Gluten-Free Cornbread recipe came from my Grandmother's Mexican Cornbread dish. Its a wonderful meal and really isn't spicy-hot. I have made it somewhat healthier than her original which called for bacon drippings and I am pretty sure more than 1/3 of a cup (I think it was 1/2). I am pretty sure this could be done even healthier but I haven't really puttered with it too much. First the Mexican Cornbread recipe and then I will do the regular cornbread. Oh, I make this in a number 8 cast iron skillet (which for some reason means 9 or 10 inches) and it fits perfectly.

Another post I was going to do before Christmas but didn't. I love sweet potatoes and it doesn't have to be a major holiday for me to make them though, so I will go ahead and share.

I had planned on following a recipe I found for gluten-free gravy but I couldn't find it. I did remember it used a gluten free cream of soup as a thickener -- so that is what I did, and then made the rest up. Here is the recipe

Just so you know, I am not against the canned stuff. I just like the homemade so much better and it is so simple. Hubby likes the canned stuff. With the canned shape. EWW. Ok maybe I am against the canned stuff but it is more of a personal choice thing. I won't force anyone to eat homemade if I am not forced to eat canned. But this is really good. and since you make it to your taste, you should like it too.

I was going to do this post before Christmas . . . but it didn't get done. Since it was full of goodness, I finished it and am going to run it now. I know, its after Christmas but really except for the turkey these would be good any night. Just not all at once. So here it is - - - My Christmas challange Menu Every time I have a holiday dinner at my house I tend to go a little nuts. See the thing is, while I hate to cook dinner every night, I love to do something like Thankgiving or Christmas. I just don't know when to stop.

For some reason I have never had this classic Southern dish and so thought I would try it this year. I had gotten the recipe after reading A Year of Crockpotting and reading some of the comments on her first trial of black eyed peas. Anyway the recipe I sort-of used is right here . I say sort-of because I added way too much cayenne. The recipe called for 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and since I couldn't find that I used ground red pepper. A little over 3/4 of a teaspoon. I should have used 1/4 teaspoon.