Randomocity.

boil cauliflower til tender. Add butter. mash. YUM.

These are going under the polish sausage and sauerkraut.

polish sausage and diced onion.

added sauerkraut after onions get tender.

gf potato and onion perogies next to polish sausage and kraut on top of mashed cauliflower.

The pierogies. From Good Nabors in Mt Zion. 8 dollars for 2 pounds.

The Sauerkraut. Kroger. Obviously, lol... dont remember the price. cheap i think.

The GF Smoked Sausage. This is also what I use in Ben's spaghetti that he really loves. 3~ish dollars at Kroger

I need lots of these. Great GF on the go food. Good for days running errands, long days at work, or a quick option when i am just dying for drive thru food.... I will be keeping one of these in my big ole purse. 4.99 at Good Nabors in Mt Zion.

THESE ARE THE GREATEST GLUTEN FREE FOOD EVER EVER EVER. EVER. REALLY. EVER. 2 or 3 dollars at Country Nutrition in Decatur. Totally worth it. TOTALLY.

Great gf snack for Ben. Or me :) 79 cents each at Country Nutrition in Decatur.

Snickerdoodles... Very moist and perfect size for Ben to have one. 6 dollars at Kroger.

I love Boulder Canyon chips. I cut where it says gluten free out of the picture. It is always above the word BOULDER at the top. Now, if they would just make their Salt n Vinegar chips gf I would marry them.

More filling than Tuna Helper. Uses corn flour noodles instead of wheat flour. Ben and I really like it.

Writer's Block

Ben helped me cook this weekend. We made Smoked Sausage Spaghetti! It was all gf and we both LOVED it. Even had breadsticks that I bought from Good Nabors in Mt. Zion, IL.... made by the Grainless Baker. Here are the pics :)

Grainless Baker Twistix

Smoked Sausage (John Morrell) and Spaghetti Sauce (Reggiano's from Aldi)

AWESOMENESS. These are imported from Italy, seriously... not a word of English on the package.

He ate 2 plates :) Finally a winner!

Update* Ben is doing great with his new gf diet and I have noticed a huge change in his attitude and bathroom habits.

Ohhh, and try this!

http://www.gopicnic.com/Special_Diets/Gluten-Free-Meals

Pic - less

I should have taken pictures for the last two days but hey... I know it looked awesome! Yesterday was a thrown together kinda Jambalaya. Smoked sausage (john morrell brand) sauteed with minced onions and a minced clove of garlic.. and drained and dried canned corn.. and finally cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, and a little bit of red pepper flakes and cooked rice. It was tasty but next time I will make sure I have a can of stewed tomatoes or even a few fresh tomatoes to stir in. Tonight I am making boneless BBQ beef ribs (ALDIS, THEY LOOK GREAT TOO) and I am roasting a huge pan of Asparagus and 2 ears of fresh corn... (the yellow and white kind... mmmm) When I roast veggies I always do the same thing to them no matter what veggies I am roasting. Olive Oil, a generous amount of coarse salt and some coarse ground pepper. Ben had rice pasta with sauce and smoked sausage, carrots with peanut butter, strawberries with a bit of sugar, and for a snack he had a blueberry Yoplait yogurt. (full fat!) Weare doing pretty good, I still would love to be back on my perfect 55 day streak again. How did I do that ????

Hit It With A Hammer.

I have had flank steak before. It tends to be chewy and tough. It is a less expensive choice while on a budget, though. Here is how I make it work. put it in a LARGE Ziploc freezer bag. Add olive oil and spices you like. I used season salt and Cajun seasoning... a little sweet / hot mix. Then because I have limited resources, I get my hammer and WHAM!!! Beat the crap out of the steak. The meat will thin and widen considerably. The oil and spices are pushed into the meat by force, you can get your aggressions out, and it tastes good after cooked. I cooked the steak on HIGH heat for a bit less than a minute and flipped it and did the same on that side. Then I put the entire pan into a 400 degree oven until when I pushed on it with my finger it was getting firm. Not too firm or it will be tough not matter what care you took in the prep, remember that you need to let meat rest before cutting it. This does 2 things... Keeps the juices trapped in the meat for a juicy steak and it also finishes cooking the meat a bit more. I like medium to med well. I also roasted 2 beetroots ( fresh beets) in the oven with olive oil and salt. Stirring occasionally until fork tender. I also made homemade coleslaw. I took a green cabbage, chopped it up semi-fine and added T. Marzettis slaw dressing. No wheat in there :) I had an awesome supper. for breakfast today, I had eggs over medium with just a little sprinkle of shaky cheese for added richness. Ben is still GF to except for last night when Grammie and Papaw took him out to dinner. Special occasion, I guess... I told them he could eat whatever he wanted to eat this time. My mom said he didn't hardly eat. He didnt eat at home either. Must not be growing right now. He still loves that I make his lunches and snacks. He feels special :) Today he had Cinnamon Rice Chex for breakfast and I made him GF chicken Nuggets, mixed veggies, and applesauce for lunch and Quaker mini rice cakes for snack time.

Loves Lunch.

Ben is really getting into the GF thing. He loves that he gets a special lunch everyday. I try to stick close to the daycare menu. Today I had to make gf Mac and Chz before I took him to school because I called and found out the daycare was serving mac and chz. A sandwich would not even compare if they had mac and chz... a fit would be thrown, I'm sure of it. Ben's menu this week....

• Tuesday - Pb and J on Udi's bread with mini cheddar rice cakes, carrots, and strawberries.

• Wednesday - Ham sandwich on a gf hoagie. ( half the hoagie), gf Boulder Canyon chips, broccolli, mandarin orange slices, and an Udi's snickerdoodle cookie.

• Thursday - Quinoa elbow noodles with spaghetti sauce, (Hunts 4 chz), a little mozzarella cheese shred on top, green beans and applesauce

• Friday - Annie's GF Mac and Chz, John Morrell brand hotdog (all John Morrell brand processed meats are gf, or at least I havent seen one that isnt gf... find in smoked sausage/hotdog section at Kroger), greenbeans, strawberries.

Ben is a happy camper and the extra work is worth it. I feel much better and will get on the ball with my pics asap.

Pink Food.

I made the best dinner tonight! Polish Sausage, sauteed with red onion, sauerkraut, butter and brown sugar... and fresh Beets! I peeled, sliced and roasted one beetroot and drizzled olive oil and a good amount of sea salt then roasted it until it was fork tender. The food all turned bright pink but was DELICIOUS. Seriously, Ben liked it. (because it was pink he tried it..lol) I have two more beetroots in the fridge to use and I am ready to try more stuff with beets. They are pretty and sweet but hardy. The only downside is red hands. WHICH I DONT HAVE! My friend Stephanie Wisely of Wisely Used Herbs makes an odor out soap that removed the beet juice from my hands and the cutting board! I washed them immediately but with regular store bought soaps that still didn't work. Shout out to Stephanie! Go here for your own soaps and such... http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Wiseley-Used-Herbs/193102270706764

Ugghhhhh

I have got to get back to my GF cookin. It is so much tastier and I feel so much better. I am starting Ben on a GF diet as soon as I talk to his pediatrician and get a note signed for daycare because I will have to provide his food at school. This crap is toooo expensive. No wonder America is Obese. All we can really afford is mac n cheese and ramen unless we are seriously thrifty or rich. I am neither. Guess I will be working on that! BIG Grocery shopping in the morning after my AM route. I have been tooo lazy and unmotivated this past week. I swear if I don't have to go to work or school, I don't make it anywhere. It was kind of nice though. A little staycation and lots of Ben and Mommy time. I will post pics of something GF and tasty tomorrow. Gotta get back to it.

Not feelin' like it...

Here are some pics.. I have been really sick for quite a while but now I am starting to feel better and getting my energy and motivation back. I wont be doing recipes tonight, it's time for bed... but I will post pics of a few different meals.




Chef Salad with homeade GF croutons

I will say that in my grocery shopping endeavour today, I finally found a hotdog / polish sausage / smoked sausage brand that is definitely GF! John Morrell brand at Kroger says NO ALLERGENS NO WHEAT and NO *other things* too. Can't remember them all.

Thyme Roasted Chicken and potatoes

Fresh Pineapple is GF and delicious. AND on sale at Kroger for 2 for 5 bucks :) Dont be afraid of them, they are AWESOME.

Udi's Muffins and GF BLT Pizza

I have been busy and have let my Gluten addiction get to me. I crave breads and crackers and real tasting thick crust pizzas and sandwiches on bread.... So, back on the wagon! I have been eating my usual string cheese, dried fruit, nuts, cinnamon chex, etc (not all at a time) for breakfast. My Amys meals at lunch or whatever Gluten Cootied crap I have picked up somewhere, supper has just felt so difficult lately. Prepping and cooking and cleaning. bahhhh. I really have to be in the mood! Today I made myself just do it anyways. I will talk about my Thyme Roasted Chicken and New Potatoes in the next blog. First I need to catch up on pics and stuff.


These ROCK! I have to hide them from Ben or he cries because I wont let him have one. Seriously, these are 6.99 for 4 muffins and they are so chocolate~y. Krogers has them and Country Nutrition has them. They are available in Lemon Poppyseed and Blueberry, also.

Udi's crust
Olive oil drizzled, Parmesan sprinkled, plenty of fresh parsley
Add mozzarella, then already cooked bacon and bake until golden brown
wish i had tomatoes! cut into 4ths and added romaine lettuce that was tossed in mayo (should use ranch) and covered in coarse fresh pepper. I would cook the tomatoes under the cheese for moisture next time.. in addition to fresh diced tomatoes on top. will have this again but it needs a bit of tweeking.

Keeping It Simple

Today was a busy day that began with me oversleeping and missing my morning route at work. For breakfast I had Glutino Cheese flavored crackers and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. For lunch I took an Amy's Veggie Lasagna to work and a piece of string cheese. For supper I had cereal because I still didn't feel like cooking. LOL Some days just go like that. I need to go shopping tomorrow. WOOOWEEE!!!

After Pics of Aromatic Pork Roast

You wish you had some, huh? I will be eating this for supper again tonight :)

Pork Roast..

I am writing this while my Aromatic Pork Roast is cooking. That is how excited I am about this recipe. I got it partly from a cookbook but changed it alot. You know by now how I am about following directions... I mean recipes! Here is the before picture and if I am not in a pork roast coma I will post the after.

Olive oil, salt, pepper and pork tenderloin from Kroger. (plain and unseasoned)
Use kitchen scissors to cut up fresh Rosemary leaves and sprinkle. The recipe calls for 2 TBL dried rosemary so that means 4-5 TBL fresh.

You have no idea how great my house smells with all of the aromatic veggies and herbs warming in the oven. Fennel, Onion, and baby carrots with olive oil drizzled and salted and peppered. You need a good salting to the veggies.

I am cooking Jasmine rice (aromatic itself... like jasmine flowers) and going to make a gravy from the drippings in the Pork tenderloin pan. WOOOOO....

Lazy Days Can Still Be GF!

I had a bad day. Just emotional and crappy. No particular reason. So I wanted to go to the drive thru. BADLY. I didn't wanna cook. Thank goodness I had gone to the grocery store and have been making a concerted effort to keep yummy, quick, GF food in the house. Here is what I ended up with. Much better than disgusting sodium, fat, greasy, someone else's poopy hands holding, gross fast food. :)

The orange stuff is Hummus. Google it and then go buy some. It is great with veggies or crackers or pretzels. Ben likes it if I tell him it is cheese...lol It doesn't taste like cheese.

Wanted to show a pic of the Hummus lid.


Oh, and lunch was an Amy's GF microwavable meal. Breakfast was Kroger Private Selection Deli Lower Sodium Turkey and a Yoplait Yogurt. Yes, both are GLUTEN FREE!