Marshmallow Popcorn

Marshmallow Popcorn

1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 16oz bag mini marshmallows
24 cups popped popcorn (about 3 microwave bags)
1 cup white baking chips

Pop the popcorn. Sift out the unpopped kernels and place into a large buttered roasting pan. (I sift mine out by pouring the popcorn into a large bowl and then using my hands to put it into the roaster. All the kernels usually fall to the bottom of the bowl.)
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar and continually stir with a wooden spoon, until the sugar is dissolved and a little bubbly (this takes just a couple minutes). Add the marshmallows and stir constantly until they are almost all the way melted.
Pour over the popcorn. Stir the marshmallow mixture into the popcorn (kind of like rice krispy treats). Sprinkle the white baking chips over the mixture and stir again. Serve immediately or cover.
So my dearest celiac daughter has this problem with school parties. See, they always have cupcakes or cookies, things full of gluten that she can't eat. This is a treat that will keep her happy and her tummy happy. Plus, pretty much all kids like it. It can be put into individual bags or made into popcorn balls, although always remember to butter your hands before you try handling it. Yum.

Bacon Ranch Salad

Bacon Ranch Salad

Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Eggs, hard boiled and diced

Colby Jack cheese, shredded

Tomatoes, chopped

Salad, bagged

Ranch dressing

Salt and Pepper

Mix all ingredients together and enjoy.

This is like one of those side salads you get at a BBQ restaurant that is really not a side salad but a meal. It is sooo good, and this coming from a person who doesn't even like ranch dressing all that much. I love that this is an easy gluten free meal when I don't have a ton of time, or energy.

3 Month Supply Menu: Month 2

The beginnings of my food storage closet.

Hello again! So we've already planned out our first four dinners, it's time to move on to the next. Here are my next four dinners:

Chili

Taco Meat

Jambalaya

Enchilada Pie

And here are our ingredients lists:

Chili

1 package ground beef/turkey

1 package chili seasoning

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles

1 can pinto beans

cheese, sour cream, green onions

Taco Meat

1 package ground beef/turkey

1 packet taco seasoning

1 can pinto beans (or baked beans)

1 can Rotel

tortillas or chips

lettuce, sour cream, cheese, salsa

Jambalaya

1 package Italian sausages

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 onion

1 stalk celery

1 cup rice

1 can stewed tomatoes, mexican style

1 chicken bouillon cube

1/2 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp red pepper

Enchilada Pie

olive oil

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 package ground turkey/beef (1 lb)

2 tsp cumin

1 can Rotel

1 package enchilada sauce mix

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 can green chiles, diced

1 can corn

1 can black beans

12 corn tortillas

2 cups cheddar jack cheese, shredded

sour cream, salsa, guacamole

We take out all the extras and fresh goods which are bell peppers, cheese(this can freeze so feel free to add it in), sour cream, green onions, lettuce, celery, and guacamole (feel free to add any of these into your plan, I'm just working on the basics). And now we multiply everything left by 8 (remember, I'm using a 12 meal menu, as explained here). Our shopping list should look like this:

Chili

8 - packages ground beef/turkey

8 - packages chili seasoning

8 - cans tomato sauce

8 - cans Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles

8 - cans pinto beans

Taco Meat

8 - packages ground beef/turkey

8 - packets taco seasoning

8 - cans Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles

8 - cans pinto beans or baked beans

8 - dozen corn tortillas or

8 - bags chips

Jambalaya

8 - packages Italian sausages (smoked freezes longer)

1 - container dried minced onion

8 - cups rice

8 - cans stewed tomatoes, mexican style

8 - chicken bouillon cubes (I use Knorr)

1 - container thyme

1 - container bay leaf

1 - container red pepper

Enchilada Pie

1 - bottle oil

8 - packages ground beef/turkey

1- container cumin

8 - cans Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles

8 - packages enchilada sauce mix

8 - cans tomato sauce

8 - cans green chiles

8 - cans corn

8 - cans black beans

8 - dozen corn tortillas

A few tips:

• Feel free to just buy cans of gluten free chili. I would say that one can is about 2 servings, so plan accordingly. This is much easier and I plan on doing that for half my supply. However, I personally like the homemade stuff. So the other half of my chili will be made from scratch. But I also like making things difficult, so don't listen to me.
• I have searched online and found places that sell #10 cans of dehydrated bell peppers and celery inexpensively. This might be something we add into our food storage, as we would only need 1 #10 can of each.
• For almost all of my meals, water is needed. Don't forget to store it as well. I currently have 6 gallons of bottled water per person. Each 24 case of water bottles you buy is 3 gallons, so we have 2 cases each. I know I need more, but it's a start.
• I searched online and found that you can freeze tortillas. I would place each package in a freezer bag first, to avoid freezer burn. I also bought a bag of masa harina, which is the flour needed to make corn tortillas. I haven't perfected the skill yet, but once I do I'll show you how to do it. The recipe only calls for flour and water, how easy!
• All of these recipes call for meat, but feel free to leave it out. They all have protein coming from beans, except the jambalaya. I did research on this and found that you can freeze smoked sausage for longer than fresh sausage. I will probably be buying this kind instead. Carefully wrap all meats in heavy duty aluminum foil before freezing, to prevent freezer burn. Date them as well.
• Most of my food storage recipes call for similar ingredients. I am trying to incorporate the ability to make many different types of meals out of the same ingredients. Notice all the Rotel, black beans, and corn. Am I being very inventive? Probably not. But my food storage is about feeding my family food they will eat. I know they will eat these meals. I know that if I tried to get them to eat tuna casserole, my family would run far far away from me. My point is, if your family won't eat it, don't store it.
• My taco meat recipe can be used many different ways. If you have lettuce, make a salad. If you have tortillas, make burritos or tacos. If you have chips, make beefy nachos.

I hope this is helping you understand the 3 month supply food storage system. I am not using crazy flours or difficult ingredients here. Just the basics. Except chips. I can't live without those. And Diet Dr. Pepper. How long do you suppose the shelf life is on soda?

Chicken Pasta Salad

Chicken Pasta Salad

1 box spiral noodles, gluten free

1/2 lb bacon

1 1lb chicken, cooked, cooled and shredded

8 mini carrots

1/2 bell pepper

2 tomatoes

4 green onions

1 cup corn

1 packet dry Ranch Dressing

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

Slice the bacon into 1 inch pieces. Fry until crispy and remove to paper towels to cool. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook 1 minute less than the package says (mine said boil 8-12 minutes, I boiled for 7 minutes.)

Slice the carrots, dice the bell pepper, slice the tomato into bite size pieces and thinly slice the green onion.

When the pasta is done cooking, immediately strain and then put the pasta into a bowl of cold water, adding ice (this step is important to keep the pasta from continuing to cook and becoming mush). Let cool.

Make the dressing by mixing the ranch dressing powder with the mayo, milk, and sour cream. Let stand for a few minutes to thicken.

When all ingredients are cooled down, gently toss them all in a large bowl, folding in the dressing and being careful about the pasta. Serve immediately.

I saw a friend making pasta salad the other day and haven't stopped thinking about it, it looked sooo good. I personally have never tried making one before now. Can I tell you that this was delicious? Maybe it's because of the bacon, but I loved it, my husband loved it, my kids loved it (mostly, I mean it does have vegetables).

The ingredients complemented each other nicely, although it was just what I happened to have on hand. I'm sure most veggies would go good in here. The dressing was an experiment, and turned out well, although you could thicken or thin it to your liking.

The most important step would be to make sure your pasta stops cooking immediately, hence the ice water bath. The pasta I used was just a rice spiral and so I was worried about it being obliterated in all the prep, but it held up well. I can't vouch for leftovers though, as we had none.

Are you searching for something?

Do you sometimes get frustrated trying to find a recipe we've posted? I know I do. So we've added a search engine, down there above the labels list. It will search all of our pages here at kill.the.gluten, which should help you locate older recipes. The results will display below the search bar. Let us know what you think. Does it help? Are the results accurate?

Thanks!

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

*not my picture

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

1/4 cup butter
1 8oz box macaroni, gluten free
1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1-2 tablespoons rice flour
1 13-ounce can evaporated milk
2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large heavy skillet. Add the onion and pepper and seasonings and saute for a minute or two. Add the uncooked macaroni and saute for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.

Add the water and bouillon cube. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the macaroni is almost done. Add the rice flour and stir well. Stir in the evaporated milk and cheese. Simmer and stir until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

This pasta is very rich and creamy, plus, simple as pie. You could easily add chicken to this for a hearty meal, or you could just serve it as a vegetarian dinner with a salad. I personally, love it as is.

My most favorite gluten free macaroni that I've found is the one pictured above, Ancient Harvest Quinoa Elbows. They retain their shape better than the rice pastas I've tried, plus I can find them at my local grocers, which is really what it's all about. Check often when you are simmering them in the water, you want your pasta to be a little undercooked before you add the milk and cheese.

I would've taken a picture of this recipe, but it's really good hot and we ate it. I blame the children. Trust me on this one, it is yummy, nothing like those boxes of mac n cheese with powdered sauce. Not that there's anything wrong with that. And leftovers will make you happy the next day, although they will not be quite as saucy.

***************

By the way, for all you readers you are still reading:

You Rock! We will do our best to answer emails timely, post recipes consistently, and be overall better gluten free bloggers. Because you make us happy. Celiac disease is awesome, isn't it?

3 Month Supply Menu: Month 1

Can you believe we are posting again? Are you there? Hello?

**************

To kick off our new found resolve to consistently post on kill.the.gluten, Liz and I have decided to talk Food Storage, gluten-free style.

This is a task that has haunted us both, as we know we should keep some food in reserves, but how do you even start when a food intolerance is involved? It seemed very complicated. We are here to tell you that it isn't. But it does take a little time.

We are going to start with our 3 Month Supply. Planning your 3 Month Supply of food is a matter of gathering a list of meals, making a list of ingredients that you would need for each meal, and multiplying it by a number that would equal a total of 90ish meals. Sounds complicated, right? Let me show you.

I started by looking for recipes that I had made often, had few ingredients, and used mostly non-perishables. My first month of dinners looks like this:

Spaghetti
Shepherd's Pie
Tortilla Soup
Spanish Rice

I then take each and list the ingredients like this:

Spaghetti
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I use a packet and add tomato paste, but the jars are good too)
8 oz spaghetti (for the rest of the family)
4 oz spaghetti (for the celiacs)
1 lb ground beef

Shepherd's Pie
1 lb ground beef
4 cups potato flakes
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
Olive oil
1 onion
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2-4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Cheddar cheese

Tortilla Soup
Olive oil
1 Red bell pepper
1 onion
1 1/2 lbs chicken
1 can green chiles
1 can corn
1 can pinto beans
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 can diced jalapenos
4 chicken bouillon cubes
chips, cheese, sour cream, salsa

Spanish Rice
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
olive oil
2 cups rice
5 bouillon cubes
1 can green chiles
1 can olives
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can red beans

Now these are just the first 4 dinners of a 12-dinner menu rotation that I'm using. Some use 9. If you plan for 12 dinners, you need to multiply all of your ingredients by 8. If you plan a 9 dinner menu, you need to multiply all of your ingredients by 10.

I also take out the fresh items that aren't necessary for the meal. In these recipes I would omit the bell peppers, chips, cheddar cheese, salsa. I also substitute for fresh items where possible, so I would use dried minced onions and garlic salt in place of the fresh stuff. Don't worry, I'll show you what I mean.

This is what your list of items to buy from the store should look like when you are done:

Spaghetti
8 - jars of Spaghetti sauce
4 - 16oz packages spaghetti
4 - 8oz packages gluten free spaghetti
8 - lbs ground beef

Shepherd's Pie
8 - lbs ground beef
32 - cups potato flakes (not packages, cups)
8 - cans corn
8 - cans green beans
8 - cans Italian style diced tomatoes
8 - cans tomato sauce
1 - bottle oil
1 - container dried minced onion
1 - container Italian seasoning
1 - bottle Worcestershire sauce

Tortilla Soup
1 - bottle oil
1 - container dried minced onions
12 - lbs chicken breasts
8 - cans green chiles
8 - cans corn
8 - cans pinto beans
1 - container cumin
1 - container garlic salt
8 - cans diced jalapenos
32 - bouillon cubes (not packages, individual cubes)

Spanish Rice
1 - container dried minced onion
1 - container garlic salt
1 - bottle oil
16 - cups rice (not packages, cups)
40 - bouillon cubes (not packages, individual cubes)
8 - cans green chiles
8 - cans olives
16 - cans stewed tomatoes
8 - cans red beans

Now I know that it looks like a lot. But here's how you do it. You check the sales each week. When an item from your list is on sale, you buy as many as you can. If you bought just one item extra each time you went to the store, you would have your supply sooner than you think.

I tried picking meals that would do well without the meat. However, I am storing frozen goods, because I have room in an extra freezer. I would suggest that if you do decide to store them, you divide up larger packages into smaller ones. Like ground beef into 1 lb increments, double bagged in freezer bags. I will also eventually add in cheese, as it can freeze, but haven't gotten that far yet.

I didn't divide out the potato flakes, rice, and bouillon into packages, as these vary. When you go to buy, check to see how many cups or cubes are in the package and divide accordingly. If your bouillon comes 6 to a package, you need 7 packages for the Spanish Rice and 6 for the Tortilla Soup. I am a round-upper, not a round-downer.

This is meant to help you start your own plan. You do not have to follow my plan. There is a lot of information out there about food storage. The biggest thing that you need to remember is ROTATE. These items are not meant to last for years and years. Make sure that as you are purchasing, you put the new items behind the older ones.

And where you store them is important also. Pick a place that you will be able to access easily and has a constant temperature that's not too hot and not too cold. I'm putting mine in my hall closet, which is right around the corner from my kitchen. You will need to organize well, so you know what you have and what you still need to buy. Liz will post on that later, she has a great system.

In the meantime, we hope to get more recipes up. It's been a while, but we are excited to be back.