Gluten Free Menagerie

Hot Dog Boats!!

2008-03-05T15:52:00.000-08:00

Another easy meal! It's especially great for kids! What you do it buy some hot dogs (Hebrew National is what I use), and slice them down the middle but DON'T cut it all the way to the bottom. Open them up and lay them on a cookie sheet. Preheat the oven to about 350 and put them in. While they are heating, make instant potatoes (just make as much as you think you'll need for how many people you're serving). Take the hot dogs out and pile a bunch of potatoes on top of each one. Next take some Processed American Cheese (like Kraft), or, if you choose, just use regular cheese - and put a thin slice on top of the potatoes. Put them back in the oven just long enough for the cheese to start melting - then serve! Yummy!

Frito Pie

2008-02-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

Yummy! Love Frito pie! It's so simple! Buy lots of Fritos, the regular (not scoop) shape are best, but try what you want. Get the Original Stagg Chili and heat it up. When it's hot enough, pour a SMALL amount in the bottom of the bowl for each person. Next, fill each bowl as full as you'd like to with Fritos, then pour as much chili over the top of it as you want! In my opinion, if you let the bowls set for a few minutes, the Fritos soften a bit (but don't get soggy) and it makes it lots better! You can serve this with Sour Cream as well! Anyway, hope you enjoy it!

Gluten Free!!!!

2008-02-15T14:05:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have not posted for a while, lots of stuff happened, but I'm back now! And with good news! No more expensive mayo! Best Foods Real Mayonnaise is now labeled Gluten Free! Just for those who don't know! I'll see if I can come up with another recipe now that I'm back on my feet, so hopefully that'll happen soon!

Tuna Casserole

2008-02-04T20:30:00.000-08:00

Mmmm. Love tuna casserole. I LOVE casserole. The only problem? Most of them call for some sort of soup that I can't have. I usually don't feel like specially preparing the soup, so, I actually found something to use! Health Valley has a bunch of soups that are great! They are usually found in the health food/natural food section of the grocery store. It's in a bright yellowish-green can. It's Organic, but again, it's not too expensive! You can read the label if you'd like to make sure it's ok for you, but it basically is made up of lots of herbs. Be careful if you use this soup for any recipe! Most "normal" soup cans are about 10 3/4 oz. This one has 14.5 oz! So, I had to compensate, but it turned out wonderfully!
Also, I used a certain kind of tuna for my casserole, but any kind will do fine. I used StarKist Chunk Light Tuna in Vegetable Oil. Don't know why the Vegetable Oil kind tastes better to me, but it does. For the topping, which was supposed to be bread crumbs and butter, I improvised again. I looked up substitutes for bread crumbs and it came up as crackers. As I know from the meatloaf I made before, a substitute for crackers is potato buds (lots of substituting, but it works). Tried it, Loved it! Hope you enjoy this recipe! It's delicious and easy to make!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 can Health Valley Cream of Mushroom Soup (14.5 oz)
1 can tuna (again, I used StarKist Chunk Light Tuna in Vegetable Oil).
1/2 grated cheddar cheese (I used a little more, we are cheese lovers in this house).
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups minute rice, uncooked
1 pkg frozen peas OR 1 can of peas (I like the canned sweet peas with this recipe).
2 1/2 to 3 Tb. butter
1/2 cup potato buds

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 1 1/2 quart (casserole) dish (grease it if it's not non-stick), mix together the milk, water, and soup. Next, stir in the tuna, cheese, salt, rice and peas. In a separate bowl melt 2 1/2 to 3 Tb. butter and mix it with the potato buds - sprinkle potato buds over top of casserole. (If you want more "breading" then feel free to double it). Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. You may want to test it before you serve it, cooking time can vary depending on what oven you have.
I had this tonight but I didn't have any peas and it still turned out great. Anyway, that's it for now, I hope it turns out delicious for you as well!

Guess What's Gluten Free?

2008-01-31T21:56:00.000-08:00

The other day my husband bought a bunch of Yoplait Yogurt and I decided I really wanted one. Just in case, though, I thought I'd check out the ingredients again - as I always do now. Lo and behold, at the bottom of the container it said GLUTEN FREE!!!! Now, I'm not sure if they have everything labeled at this moment, but they have actually started the process. I had an Original in the flavor of Strawberry Cheesecake. It was really good. It was even better knowing it was GF!!!! WooHoo!

Blueberry Pancakes (for Dinner)

2008-01-29T18:16:00.001-08:00

Mmmmm. I was never a fan of pancakes, but I love these ones! I get Bob's Red Mill Pancake Mix, which is usually in the health food section and make it according to the package instructions. Now there are a few options here, and you can do whichever you want. I've tried them all and they're all good!
First off is to buy a can of blueberries - OR - a can of blueberry pie filling - I found that the Comstock brand is GF. After you've mixed the pancake batter together, drain blueberry juice (if you bought just plain blueberries in a can) into a small pot and then put as many blueberries as you'd like to the pancake mix. We love l0ts and lots of blueberries! Yum! Now, when I cook the pancakes, I usually use a large spoon and flatten/spread out the batter to make it almost like a crepe. However, you can just make regular pancakes, they both work!
While you are cooking your pancakes, you can start on the syrup. Add as much pure maple syrup to the blueberry juice as you'd like to, and then heat it up. It's delicious. If you have the pie filling, you can just heat up a bunch of the filling, and you can add maple syrup to it as well if you want to.
Whether or not you use the blueberries, here are a couple more things you can do for syrup that I really enjoy. The first one is actually found on the back of the pancake mix I mentioned above. It's at the very bottom and it's made of just cinnamon and butter and sugar. Sounds weird, but it's the most delectable thing you've ever tasted! Especially if you do it right. Just a hint, when it says to soften butter-soften it, don't melt it!
The second one your can do with any kind of jam/jelly you prefer. Just scoop a couple of large spoonfuls into a small pot and add enough water and/or maple syrup to make it a thick syrup. Heat it up, and Ta Da! You have syrup!
I always make eggs, and bacon or sausage - or corned beef with the pancakes! Mmmmm.
Hope this all makes sense, I just typed this up at the last minute between my baby's bath and dinner, so, if you have any questions, feel free to email me! Thanks! I hope you enjoy it!

GF "Hawaiian" Burgers.

2008-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

Mmmm. These are good for GF and Non-GF. Prepare some thick Hamburger patties and cook them - I usually use a George Foreman grill. Toast buns, if preferred. For GF, my favorite brand for bread is Kinnikinnick, they have hamburger and hot dog buns, and I really love their English Muffins, I usually use them for everything. I put mayo on the bun, then the hamburger, a bunch of the BBQ sauce, a pineapple ring (found in the canned fruit section), and usually I add a bit of shredded coconut. If you'd like to add more things (like lettuce, etc.) then try it out, if you want less, do that too. Sometimes I forgo the bun and just eat the hamburger and dip it in the sauce. Whatever you feel like. I love this recipe because it's so flexible! Happy Eating!

GF Homemade BBQ Sauce

2008-01-23T15:51:00.000-08:00

Yummy! My dad found this recipe and I LOOOOOOOOVE it! It's totally worth making and if you have storage containers or those condiment bottles then you have BBQ Sauce for a good while and you can use it whenever you want to! As usual, comments will be in a different color!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Ketchup again, Walmart has GF Ketchup
1/2 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. onion salt
2 tsp mustard it was originally mustard powder, but if you want to know that it's really gluten free, I used the regular kind of mustard from Walmart
2 Tb. Worchestershire Sauce
3 Tb. Vinegar I believe we used White Rice Vinegar, but you can try what you'd like to
1/4 cup soy sauce La Choy is GF, however, my favorite soy sauce is called "Bragg's Liquid Aminos." I know it sounds weird, but it's really, really good!
1 tsp. Chulula Sauce or just Tobasco sauce, but we like the Chulula the best, and it can be found with the other hot sauces or in the Hispanic Food isle.

DIRECTIONS
Mix all of the ingredients very, very well! It needs to be refrigerated, and can be used for just about anything! I first had it on Chicken, but I made it for my husband and put it on "Hawaiian Burgers." Of which I will post later! Enjoy!

Super Bowl!!!!

2008-01-22T12:22:00.000-08:00

It's hard enough as it is to get everything ready for all the sports finals, it's even harder when you have Celiac - especially if you are a kid. So, I thought I'd list some candy and drinks (and chips) that are great! Most of these are listed "Gluten Free" on the company's website.
Skittles
Starburst
Tootsie Rolls
Snickers
Mug Root Beer (Diet too!!)
Sierra Mist/Sprite
Pepsi/Diet Pepsi
Coke/Diet Coke
Mountain Dew
Dr. Pepper
As for Alcohol, I know Outback Steakhouse actually has a list of Gluten Free beers, etc. (I don't drink, so, that's as good as I can do in this area).
Tostitos
Tostitos with a hint of Lime
Velveeta Cheese (if you want to check on this one, do it)
Pace Salsa - I prefer mild, but whatever you like!
Walmart's Smiley's Fruitsnacks
There are organic versions of many of the popular chip brands, usually found in the health food/natural food sections. They have things like Cheetos, Doritos, etc. (AHH, I said organic! Don't worry, these are not WAY overpriced).
Fritos
Lays
Ruffles
If you want something ranch, get a $3.00 pint of it at Outback, yummy! They also have some very good Honey Mustard Sauce for the same price!

I am going to add a couple of recipes that are great! Such as BBQ sauce! Mmmmm. Hope you find what you like!

The Best Meat Loaf Ever!!!!

2008-01-17T18:54:00.000-08:00

Wow, I tried this Meat Loaf recipe last night and it was awesome! I changed it a bit to make it Gluten Free, but that in no way ruined it! Oh, and if I have any notes, they'll be in a different color.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup Walmart Ketchup is GF, as well as Heinz
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 cup Idaho Potato Spuds Yes, instant Potatoes!!!!!!!!

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan. I used a glass Pyrex loaf pan, 3.5 x 4.5 x 2.5, Or1.5 Qt (1.5 L).
2. Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.

The best part is you can cover it with the sauce made from the Ketchup and brown sugar (it melts together when you cook it). We didn't even need to use A1 or anything! Also (I actually didn't do this, but perhaps I will next time), my husband told me we could have steamed some vegetables (Carrots, Potatoes) and put the sauce over them as well. Guess you could try it!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Thanks!

"Chebe" Bread

2008-01-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

I LOOOOOOOOOOVE Chebe bread! If you haven't tried it yet, you definately should! You can buy it at most health food stores (check out the link at the bottom of the page) - however, if you're like me, the stores that carry it are more than a half hour away! So, I found this recipe online! It did not say it had a copyright so I am going to post it for you! Oh, and if I have any tips, they will show up in a different color!

Chebe Bread

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. salt (optional)

2 cups Tapioca Flour

2 eggs

6 oz. grated cheese (cheddar or Parmesan)

Garlic Powder (optional)

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375.
Put vegetable oil, water, milk, and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Boil until a white foam appears (doesn't take too long). Remove from heat and add Tapioca Flour to the hot mixture with a wooden spoon. Let it stand for 15 minutes. Mix in eggs and cheese. Form balls (about 1 1/2 inches round) with greased hands. Bake on a lightly greased sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, and you can add butter to them when finished.
You don't have to use cheese!
Also, you may want to check one of the pieces when the cooking time is up. They tend to be gooey inside, but you don't want it to be TOO gooey. Just make sure there's not too much "goo." Taste it, and if it's good, you're done! Otherwise, just pop them back into the oven for a few more minutes!
Sounds weird, I know, but we all love them here! Try it!