gluten-free registry

Thanks, Rob and Lisa from Washington, for this awesome tip!

Gluten-Free Registry is a site that has you plug in your state of interest (where you live or where you plan to travel to) and many gluten-free restaurants, bakeries, caterers, etc. appear at your fingertips. I am eager to use it and super appreciative of their effort preparing and launching this. Read their press release here.

By clicking on my state, CA, from their map I just found a gluten-free bakery in a town about 15 minutes away. Brilliant site.

Tortilla Beef Caserole

Thanks, Marci in Texas, for sending the recipe and photos in. The books looks like a wonderful kitchen helper, I will keep my eye out for it.

Tortilla Beef Casserole

1 package (about 17 oz.) refrigerated fully cooked beef pot roast
(or 1 can roast beef – the canned chicken beef at Costco are my best friends!)
1 jar (16 oz.) salsa
6 corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 ½ cups canned or frozen corn kernels
1 cup canned black beans or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend

1.Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spry.
2.Drain and discard gravy from pot roast;cut or shred beef into bite-size pieces.
3.Combine beef, salsa, tortillas, corn and beans in large bowl; mix well. Transfer to prepared casserole dish. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

---

Marci tells us: I found this recipe in a new cookbook I bought at Costco, One Dish. This is my second week with the book and I LOVE it! It was only $10 and has tons of easy recipes that are either gluten-free or easily made gluten-free. We had this tortilla casserole tonight and thought it was super delicious and easy to make!

Gluten-Free French Fries

Can you tell we love cheese?

Cheddar Fries are gluten-free. But check your labels, not all french fries are free from gluten!

These happen to be Ore-Ida Golden Krinkles. Here is their gluten-free list of products.

baked chicken over corn

I posted this meal before, it's becoming a staple in my home. I just like this photo better than the last time.

Campbell's Soup: Gluten Free

I finally found (at Target!) one of the few Campbell's soups that is gluten-free: Chicken Broccoli Cheese (an potato). I was curious about the flavor and texture and can finally report on it.

It's a bit light for a meal. I found it flavorful enough for something out of a can. I think it would be perfect tossed with some cooked gf noodles (penne, linguini, or spaghetti) along with two cooked cans of the soup, perhaps with some gf biscuits. Nevermind the potatoes in it, it's not chunky enough that it would be noticable. It serves more like a thick sauce than a chunky soup.

It will be a repeat purchase to stock in my pantry, but it needs something more with it. I hear a caserole waiting to be improved with this addition....let me know if you discover it's perfect recipe/ dinner mate.

Campbe;;s

Chicken Rolls

These are Shelly Bennion's photos and her recipe. I love the one of her darling son eating the goods. p.s. my oldest has the exact same shirt!

Chicken Rolls

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat two muffin pans with non-stick spray or butter.
RollsYou can use your favorite GF roll or muffin mix. Choose a recipe or mix that prepares light & airy rolls. We used Kinnikinnick Bread and Bun mix. Prepare the mix as per the directions. Set bowl aside.

Filling

2 (12.5 ounce) cans of cooked chicken breast

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (or neufchatel for less fat)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder*

1/2 tsp. black pepper*

1/2 tsp. onion powder (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh onions)*

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)*

You can substitute the garlic, onion and parsley for flavors and spices of your own*

Topping

1 package GF crackers, crushed (we used Glutino and added Mrs Dash for flavor)

1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:

Drain chicken. Separate breast meat with a fork. Mix in cream cheese until it is evenly spread. Add garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, parsley and mix thoroughly. Mix in pecans.
Place 1/8 cup of muffin dough into each muffin mold (should fill bottom 1/3/ of muffin tin). Roll a small ball of chicken mix in your hand. Place into the dough and push down. Cover with a scoop of muffin dough. Use a frosting knife to spread the dough around the chicken.
Coat the top of the roll with butter and then sprinkle with crushed crackers. Bake as per the directions on the roll/muffin mix.

Serve with your choice of sides. Our boys like it with rice and steamed broccoli!

Thanks, Shelly! These look awesome!

gluten-free meatballs

gluten-free meatballs

1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)

1/2 to 1 cup corn meal

2 eggs

about 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

In a large bowl beat the eggs and add uncooked ground beef into bowl. Mix well with hands. Add corn meal to desired consistency, I like it to stick well together. Add seasoning and mix well with hands again.

Roll them into 1 inch balls and place in fry pan lightly greased. I found it best to cook them as if they are triangles, flipping them from one of three sides over and over once browned using tongs. Serve with gf spaghetti and I enjoyed it this week with my homemade tomato sauce. Yummy!

vacation!

kill.the.gluten will be on vacation for 2 weeks.

check back with us then for some new recipes and tips!!

Merry Christmas!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies!

If I could hand you anything I have posted on this site, it would be this cookie. It's my new favorite post. Please, trust me on this one. Get yourself these ingredients and try them out this week. You and your family will thank me.

Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Gluten-Free Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons gf vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups rice flour

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together until fluffy; add sugar and cream well.
2. Add egg, salt, vanilla, and almond extract; mix well.
3. Add flour and mix until incorporated.
4. Chill dough for several hours or overnight.
5. Roll batter into a ball with hand (think silver dollar size) and press flat with fingers. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 375 degrees just until edges begin to brown (this is 12 minutes in my oven).


Here is the frosting recipe I use from a Betty Crocker Cook Book:

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk

Mix sugar and butter. Stir in vanilla and milk; beat until smooth.

Big Dutch Babies (German Pancakes)

This recipe is from Kristen:

My daughter who is 4 1/2 has Celiac! I make this recipe for my entire family and we can't tell a difference from using real flour!

Big Dutch Babies (aka: German Pancakes)

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup rice flour

4 Tbsp. butter/margarine

Mix all ingredients and beat well. Melt butter in an 8x8 baking dish. Pour batter in dish and bake for 20-25 minutes at 375! Eat it with jam and powdered sugar (our favorite) or syrup!

ENJOY!
Double the recipe for a 9x13 pan!

***

Thanks for sending this to us, Kristen!

Hawaiian Chicken Bowl

Recipe from my friend, Ronna.

Hawaiian Chicken Bowl

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple
1 bottle (16 oz) [gf] barbecue sauce
4-6 cups rice, cooked
Steamed broccoli
Ranch dressing

Place meat in 3 1/2-5 quart slow cooker. Combine pineapple and barbecue sauce and pour over meat. Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Layer in bowls: rice, chicken, broccoli, and a little ranch dressing. Makes 4-6 servings.

*I used pork and it still turned out awesome !!!

Potato Soup

Fabulous recipe adapted from my friend, Erin in New York.

Potato Soup

4 T butter, melted
1 onion, chopped
4 T rice flour
3-4 C chicken broth
3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1/4- 1/2 C cream or milk
cheddar cheese, grated as garnish
ham, chopped (optional)

Cook butter and onion together until onions are soft, then add flour and cook for one minute. Add broth and cook until it boils. Add potatoes (and ham if you desire) and simmer. Once potatoes are soft add salt, pepper, and cream.

--

This is great for lunch, but needs something more to have it as a dinner. Salad or maybe ham steak?

Instant Food

I like to stock up the pantry during winter with quick food, especially for the busy nights I don't have time to cook a big meal.

1) Campbell's Chunky Chicken Broccoli Cheese soup is gluten-free.

2) My husband also loves Miso soup, but not all of them are gluten-free so check your labels well! It normally comes in a box with several packets (think Lipton packaging). The best we have found comes from Trader Joe's.

3) Stagg Chili (not my photo) is another good one to have on hand.

+++

We have some great recipes that have been sent in to us [thank you!], I am hoping to make some of them and post with photographs. If it gets too hectic I may post and add photos another time.

+++

I am looking for cookie/ candy/ treat recipes for this month so as a community we can share what we bake. What will you make to eat and share with your neighbors this holiday season? I can tell you Lindsey's caramel is amazing and gluten-free!

I have a superb sugar cookie and frosting recipe you will love to use. It should be up later this week.

muffins

Gluten-Free Pantry Muffin and Scone Mix

It would have been nice to know there were not blueberries included in this package for the muffins. I probably could have read the back. I wish I had baked them a little longer for the browning on top to occur.

Taste- my husband and son enjoyed them, but I only ate a couple. I will prefer a mix with the berry in it already. They were easy to make and I would get them again.

Tip from afar

Miriam from Israel sent in some of her tips:

1) A wonderful homemade gluten-free flour: 2/3 potato flour mixed with 1/3 rice flour.

2)You can use hummus flour to make yummy pancakes (light and fluffy).


Thanks, Miriam!

*I have not seen hummus flour around, but I will keep watch for it!

Stuffing

Gluten-Free Cornbread Sausage Stuffing
This recipe my husband figured out and is a big hit with the celiac and non-celiac crowds alike! Let's start with the homemade gluten-free cornbread and below is the stuffing recipe.

Cornbread
White corn meal
Butter
Eggs
Salt
Water
Baking powder

Make the cornbread the night before. Follow the cornbread recipe on the package. No sugar. Just corn meal, eggs, water, butter, salt, baking powder. Once it comes out of the oven, slice it up all crazy and leave it uncovered overnight.

Stuffing

Next day:

Two packages of spicy sage sausage
Two large white onions
5 cups water
6 chicken boullion cubes
salt
pepper

- Brown the sausage and set aside. Keep the sausage grease.
- Quarter the onions and then slice. If you don't like slices, dicing is acceptable as well.
- Throw some olive oil in a fry pan and slightly brown onions.
- Add the sausage
- Prepare the chicken boullion
- Get a giant pot and put your crazy sliced up cornbread in it
- Slice up the cornbread some more
- Add sausage and onions and grease and stir like the devil
- Add a lot of sage and pepper and salt
- Pour in your chicken boullion slowly. Pour about half in, then stir. Keep adding boullion and stirring until you have your stuffing at the right consistency. I personally like mine less dry.
- Add more sage, pepper, and garlic to taste
- Stuff bird if you feel like it, but I never do

Fillback's Fried Rice

Recipe from Deborah in Arizona.

Fillback's Fried Rice

4-6 cups rinsed white rice

cooked ham, chicken, or pork, diced

5-6 eggs, beaten

3 carrots, julienne

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 cup [gluten-free] soy sauce

salt & pepper

1-2 bunches green onions, chopped

Place rice in large pan and cover with water plus 1". Boil until almost dry or approximately 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Scramble eggs in large wok. Add meat and carrots and cook 3 minutes. Add cooled rice, spices, and soy sauce and mix thoroughly. Lift rice from bottom, do not stir. Add green onions and hear for 10 minutes.

*may add peas as desired

Prairie Bread

Mike in California told us about this Prairie Bread from Whole Foods. Apparently, it's the best GF bread he has ever eaten. He put turkey, alpine swiss, and tomato between two toasted pieces. Mayo, pepper, and parmesan cheese cover the insides of the toasted bread.

Thanks, Mike!

***

Here is their contact information for their GF baked goods:

Whole Foods Market Gluten-Free Bakehouse

2800 Perimeter Park DriveSuite C

Morrisville, NC 27560

email: Glutenfree.Bakehouse@wholefoods.com

kill.the.gluten goes public

WE HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS!

We are changing the way we do things here at kill.the.gluten.

Melanie and I have discussed how some recent positive changes in our lives have given us both the opportunity to evaluate how we spend our time. We are both experiencing a re-prioritizing of sorts and have found that we would love your help keeping this blog alive and kicking. Because we do love it and have heard from many of you how much you love it.

We have decided to make this a community gluten-free recipe blog!

We think it's a great idea. Help us continue to contribute helpful meals, tips, product ideas for the ever-growing celiac family out there. We know there is a need, our readership stats and google searches tell us so. We would love for you to join us in contributing to this yummy space!

Here's how you can:
1) it can be a meal, product you love, or gf tip to share

2) send us a photo of the meal or product to kill.the.gluten@gmail.com
(it doesn't have to be fancy or perfect)

3) the recipe should be somewhat easy

4) the meal has to be YUMMY

5) tell us who you are
(your name, link to your site if you have one, state you live in, anything you want us to include in the posting)

Looking forward to working with each and every one of you!!!!

Cheers,
Liz and Melanie

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

I finally mastered the green chili enchilada recipe using a can of gluten-free cream of chicken soup (it was runny the last time I tried). I followed the recipe we posted before. This time I boiled the can of soup first and slowly whisked in rice flour one teaspoon at a time until desired thickness. It was so good our little family ate the entire thing. My toddler had three helpings. Yummy.

I will repost the adjustment to the recipe that worked for me.

Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

1 can of gf cream of chicken soup

3-4 teaspoons of rice flour

8 oz sour cream

1 small onion, diced

1 (16 oz) jar green salsa, I use Herdez Salsa Verde

1 (4 oz) can green chiles

2 cups chicken breast, cooked and shredded

2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1 dozen corn tortillas

In a saucepan boil the soup and gradually add the rice flour with a whisk until desired thickness (will thicken upon cooling). Set aside to cool. Pour into a large bowl and add sour cream, salsa, and green chiles, onion, and stir. In a 9x13 pan, spread a small amount of sauce. Layer 4 tortillas, chicken, sauce mixture, and cheese. Repeat layers two more times. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 oven 30 minutes, or until heated through.

toasted pumpkin seeds

I realize I should have posted this several days ago, as I imagine most other families may not wait so long to carve their pumpkins (we are doing ours tonight, so seed photo to follow).

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Detatch seeds from pumpkin pulp and rinse well. Coat seeds well in vegetable oil and place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and bake until golden brown (400 degrees around 20 minutes on the top rack, check often).

Chicken Topped

This is a meal I tried to recreate from one a friend brought our family. Simply layer the following items, bottom to top in a caserole dish:

frozen corn
chicken (seasoned with salt, paprika, pepper)
sliced avocado
sliced tomato
cheddar cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, cover and bake another 30 minutes.
Serve with rice and/or salad.

Baby Shower Food Week!

Fruit Dip

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 (6 oz) container strawberry yogurt

1/2 tub Cool Whip

Beat cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla. Stir in yogurt, and then add approximately half the container of whipped topping. Chill. Serve with apples, strawberries, pineapples, cantaloupe, grapes, or other yummy fruit.

This is just one of a thousand ways to make fruit dip. This recipe is light, and tastes really good. I've used different yogurts for different flavors, and it always comes out delicious. My sister Beka skewered the fruit, which was an awesome presentation. And we all know it's all about the presentation.

Baby Shower Food Week!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

1 package gluten free pretzels

1 (12 oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

In a ceramic or glass bowl, pour chocolate chips. Place over double boiler to melt, or melt in the microwave at 30 second intervals. Dip pretzels and place on wax paper. Place white chocolate chips in a quart-sized freezer Ziploc bag. Melt in microwave in 30 second intervals, squishing to melt. Snip tiny corner of freezer bag and drizzle over the still warm pretzels. Let cool in refrigerator.

These pretzels are the bomb. Seriously. I'm pretty sure I ate more than I served at the shower. Pick a good chocolate for better results. And this brand of pretzels is fantastic. I could not tell the difference, and neither could anyone else. I'm going to have to try making pretzel jello with them. The only down side is that they are not super big, so it took a while to make these. But worth the effort for a chocolate-covered pretzel deprived pregnant girl and her chocolate-covered pretzel deprived sister. BTW, I found these at Sprouts. They were a little pricey, $5 for a bag. So savor them. And for heavens sakes, dip them in chocolate.

Baby Shower Food Week!

Knorr Spinach Vegetable Dip

1 package Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix

2 cups sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well

Mix all ingredients and let chill for a few hours to blend flavors. Serve with veggies or gluten free bread cubes.

I know I already posted this, but now I have a picture. And I can't get over how easy and good this recipe is. I'm sure probably all of you already make this, but if you don't, try it. It's an awesome shower food. I mean, who doesn't love a good veggie tray? It makes you feel like all the other junk you're eating is balanced out.

Baby Shower Food Week!

So my celiac sister is pregnant, and we just threw a shower for her. It was kind of fun to have an entire party that was gluten free. So to inspire you in your baby shower endeavors, this week we will be posting the different foods we served for our celiac sister to her non celiac friends.

By the way, isn't she lovely?
Here's a sampling of what's to come.

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 tsp GF vanilla
2 eggs
3 cups white rice flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix flour, baking soda and salt together, and then add to the butter mixture. Stir well. Roll into balls. Bake in a 375 oven for 8-9 minutes, or until slightly browned on top. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let cookies cool for a couple minutes. Remove and place on wire rack to finish cooling. Frost as desired.

So all I did here was take Liz's White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies and omit the chips and nuts. I tried rolling them out and using cookie cutters, but the cookies turned out very flat. Verrrrrry flat. Rolling them into balls is key, as it cooks them before they have a chance to spread too much. I love the taste of these cookies, in fact many couldn't believe they were gluten free. There is a slight texture issue. They seem to stick to your teeth a bit, but there I go again downplaying the cookies and my sister Beka would be very upset. I used cream cheese frosting, but only because that's what we used on the cupcakes. Cream cheese frosting is not good for cookies that need to be stacked, but it tastes delicious.

GF Pantry Ginger Spice Cake Mix, and Frosting

Gluten Free Pantry Ginger Spice Cake Mix
Plus Lemon Butter Frosting

I've tried this mix before and have been pretty happy with it. It's especially good warm. When you cool and frost it, it becomes a little dry, but not excessively so. My daughter gave this a thumbs up.
We used lemon butter frosting, which complements the cake very well. It gives the cake a little zest. All you do is add a lemon juice instead of milk to your butter frosting recipe. Soooooo good. I'll give you my recipe, but it's just an approximation. I never measure when I make frosting, I just add a little liquid if it's too stiff and dry, or a little sugar if it's too runny. I continue to alternate the two ingredients until I have my desired amount.

Lemon Butter Frosting

1/4 cup butter
2-4 Tbps lemon juice
2-4 cups confectioners sugar

Beat butter. Add 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 2 cups confectioners sugar. Beat well. Keep adding lemon juice and sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Kudos, My Guests

Many thanks to our guest chefs:

Lindsey Johnson and

Adriana Velez!

Thanks to these ladies

for letting me feature their delicious skills

here on our kill.the.gluten space.

Hopefully I will be back on track

making regular meals or snacks to publish.

If not, you know where Lindsey and Adriana

are cooking in the event I have light posting

on my scheduled days.

Guest Chef: Adriana Velez on Chicken Curry

Southern Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Recipe, post, and photo by Adriana Velez of What I Made for Dinner.

Maybe you've been eyeing that Vietnamese cookbook on the shelf. Maybe you have some of the ingredients on hand, but not all of them. Maybe you have a craving for broccoli.

I tweaked a curry recipe from Cafe Vietnam, by Annabel Jackson. My "edits" are in italics below.

2 medium-sized potatoes, cut into chunks

Nah, too much starch. Let's do broccoli instead.

vegetable oil for frying

8 shallots, minced

Don't have 'em, so skip 'em.

4 stalks fresh lemon grass, minced

Oops, only have two. Oh well.

Pound and tie instead of mincing -- I like to remove my lemon grass after cooking.

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 fresh hot red chilies, minced

Omit, since we're feeding Jasper [age 4] as well.

2 tablespoons mild Indian curry powder

1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/4 coconut milk

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

fresh Thai basil leaves (optional)

1. Shallow-fry the potato pieces in hot oil until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and set aside. Hah, don't have to do this step now.

2. Heat a little oil in a pan and saute the shallots with the lemon grass, garlic, and chilies until soft. Awkward with the whole lemon grass, so add that at next stage. I did add some fresh ginger at this stage, though, just for fun. Add the currypowder and stir for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until it is opaque.

3. Add the potatoes, salt, coconut milk, and chicken stock. I added broccoli at this point, but I should have waited even longer and added it after 15 minutes or so. I also threw in some chopped red bell pepper the last five minutes. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Garnish with Thai basil leaves, if using.

Ahh, exactly what I wanted.

Meet the newest member of the Gluten Free Team

It's official.

My dearest daughter has celiac disease, like her mother. The blood tests were off the charts, but the endoscopy confirmed it. Here's her tale. Hope you don't mind that it's not a recipe.

My sweet baby was a very sweet baby. Easy, and happy. Except when it came to going #2. She struggled with this from about the time we started her on solids. It was horrible, really. Constipation was a constant companion. She would withhold which would just make matters worse. We are talking about a baby here, and yet she would still hold it until she couldn't any longer. The doctor suggested improving her diet, reducing milk, adding more fiber. We even used stool softeners and, yes, suppositories. (I wonder if she's going to like me telling you this?)

Anyways, when she was 2, I was diagnosed with celiac. I wanted to get my two children tested, but the pediatrician didn't see the need. You see, I have giant children. They literally are amazing growers. And apparently, children with celiac, aren't. Or so he said. So I didn't press for it. But in the back of my mind, I knew.

Every well child checkup after that went pretty much the same. The doc would marvel at her 95th percentile stature and tell me I had no need to worry about celiac disease. Even though she still was having bowel issues such as abdominal pain, gas, constipation, and fatigue. I would nod and say okay but secretly I knew something was wrong, and I knew she was going to end up with a diagnosis some day. I almost started hoping that her growth would stop so I would have a reason for her to be tested, you know, a reason besides that whole motherly instinct thing.

Now I don't blame her doctor. He's amazing, caring, funny, and great with my children. We've had the same one for 4 years now and I couldn't be happier. But I also know that I know a little bit more about celiac disease than the average gluten-eating person, even maybe more than the average pediatrician. So this year I was a little more persistent at her well child. The doc heard my concerns and told me he'd write a lab order, if I wanted him to. I didn't cave in to his expertise, and so I took the order in my clammy little hands and had her blood drawn that same day, before my courage waned.

I was not surprised at all at his Saturday morning phone call. Tests came back. He referred us to a GI. Apparently a normal reading for the celiac panel is 5 or under. Her numbers were greater than 100. Because they stop counting at 100.

We met with the Pediatric GI. He was also great. Her endoscopy was scheduled for a week later. But it was only to confirm. He told me that in his experience, children with those kind of numbers from their labs are positive for celiac 100% of the time. 100%? Well then why do the endoscopy? It seemed a bit redundant. But we went.

The endoscopy was pretty scary, for both of us. She worried about it for the entire week. I was okay up to the point that they put that little mask over her nose and mouth and she fell asleep. Umm, you know how to wake her up, right? She's not dead, right? Because she looks like she's dead. I was ushered out for the rest of the procedure and waited in the children's hospital parents room. Too antsy to do much of anything, I watched the other parents. I wondered what their children were in here for. I thought of all the horrible diseases and maladies that possibly afflicted their small babies, and I was so grateful for celiac disease. So grateful. Here was something I could help her control, something I already knew how to control, and she could live a long, healthy, gluten free life.

Once it was over, the GI took me into a small room to discuss the results. The biopsies wouldn't be done for a few days, but she had the scalloping of her duodenum, indicative of celiac disease. Were any of us surprised?

I went in to her recovery room, where she was still a little high from the anesthesia. She hadn't been able to eat all morning, so they gave her a popsicle. She didn't like feeling drugged, and her throat was sore, and she wanted to go get something to eat. I couldn't wait to take her home.

On the way back to grandma's to pick up her siblings, she wanted to stop and get food. I thought for a minute. Ummm, there aren't really any fast food places that have healthy gluten free food. So what have I been eating? French fries and milkshakes. Yeah, I can't feed that to my child for lunch. For the first time I thought, Wow, this is going to be different. Not only do I need to feed my daughter gluten free, but it needs to be healthy. Maybe this will be good for the both of us.

So now we have a whole new world of gluten free living to enter. What on earth do we pack for her lunch? What about birthday parties and class parties? Do I need to start baking more gluten free foods so she doesn't feel deprived? Do I tell all her sunday school teachers, and piano teacher, and all the other adults that give her treats? Or do I trust her to remember to check labels and ask if things contain flour or wheat?

I'm super lucky in that she's not a picky eater at all. In fact, she loves vegetables and fruits and grown up food of all kinds. I know that this will be hard at first. But most new things usually are, and as she starts to feel better, I know it will be easier and easier.

I'm so grateful for celiac disease. It really could be so much worse.

Guest Chef: Adriana Velez on Pork Chops

Herb-stuffed Pork Chops

Recipe, post, and photo by Adriana Velez of What I Made for Dinner.

I sliced boneless pork loin chops lengthwise in half and filled them with fresh herbs. Then I smeared a mixture of olive oil, toasted sesame seeds, salt and pepper on either side before grilling. I threw the herbs in whole, stems and all, so we discarded the herbs before eating. I loved the taste of the herb-infused pork, but in retrospect it does seem a pity to interrupt a thick, juicy, toothsome chop like that. So I'm not sure I'd do it again without first mincing the herbs and mixing with blue cheese or something fatty like that.

Baby artichoke hearts featured as the side dish in this photo.

Two Layered Cheesecake

Gluten-Free Two Layered Cheesecake

I got this recipe from my sister, her family loves it so much they ask for it as dessert for birthdays! I would say this is probably the best gluten-free dessert I have ever had.

Need for bottom layer:

3/4 cups sugar

2 pkgs. 8 oz. cream cheese (cut into small squares)

3 eggs


Need for top layer:

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. [GF] vanilla

1/2 cup sugar


Make bottom layer first....mix cream cheese and 3/4 cp sugar until fluffy.Add 1 egg at a time and beat well. Mixture will be thin. Pour into agreased 9" pie pan and bake 50 minutes at 325 degrees.

Make top layer....mix sour cream, vanilla and sugar. (I make it and keep it in fridge while the bottom is baking.)

Take bottom layer out of oven after 50 minutes and let it cool just a bit until the bottom layer forms a shallow hole. (kind of sinks down.. I would say takes about 5-10 minutes for this to occur- [see photo below].) Then place top mixture inhole and bake again for 20 minutes at 325 degrees.

I love it plain, but you could easily add fresh fruit on the side or served on top.