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.

thank you~

Thanks for the nice emails and recipes coming in!

I am glad new people are finding kill.the.gluten helpful each day.

My family is moving to AZ this summer, so I am a bit crazed at the moment. However, I hope to get things going more regularly in the fall and a little here and there until then.

Thanks for hanging in, we are still here.

Liz

hello again, friend!

Thanks for still stopping by!!!! I know it's been a little slow around here, also thanks for the recipes I have received via email and not yet posted- I appreciate them and read each delicious one.

My husband made hummus from scratch this weekend, getting it up shortly.....

pizza

pizza!

RAD Winner

And the winner is........LISA!!


Congratulations!!!


Lisa, email me (kill.the.gluten@gmail.com) your address so I can arrange to have your Mary's Gone Crackers sample pack mailed to you right away.


Feel free to visit their website to learn more about the history of the company or purchase their products: Mary's Gone Crackers

RAD! Giveaway

Mary's Gone Crackers has a whole series of flavorful gluten-free crackers!

I got my own loot of samples last week and I couldn't be more pleased with the strength and durability plus the punch of flavor each of the varieties (Black Pepper, Onion, Original, Herb, Caraway) comes with every crunch. I don't see many options for gf crackers that makes me stray far from the corn chip, but this is a definite yes. Good for regular snacking and fancy enough to display at a party with a yummy cheese spread.

LEAVE A COMMENT BY THURSDAY AT MIDNIGHT

as the random winner will get their own variety samples pack sent to them.

In my photo I dipped the original flavor in Jalapeno Chutney.

p.s. Isn't this the BEST name possible for a cracker company? I love it.

p.s.s. if you don't win you can order some from amazon.com or their website.

gf frosting

Gluten Free Cream Cheese Frosting
thanks to Tara from California!

3/4 cup cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon gf vanilla

Mix cream cheese and butter, then add vanilla and sugar.

salad

Always a good night for salad. I like to take the opportunity of having leftover meat from another meal (ham, chicken, pork, etc.) and make a light, healthy dinner out of it. I think of it as a night off so to speak. Toss in your favorite veggies and salad dressing and there you have it: dinner!

Featured in this photo: Ham, spring mix, tomatoes, avocado, and these cute little mini cucumbers I found at Costco.

soup

Healthy Choice Chicken with Rice is gluten-free. Hoorah!

chicken fajitas

Chicken Fajitas

4 chicken breasts, sliced

1 medium sized onion

2 peppers (any color will do)

McCormick Taco Seasoning (amount to taste)

Corn tortillas, heated to warm

Cook up your onion in a tablespoon of oil until tender and add chicken. Once chicken cooked through add peppers and seasoning and simmer at low-med temperature for about 15 minutes or until peppers are slightly tender. Serve with any desired topping in warm corn tortillas. I like topping mine with cheddar cheese, salsa, sour cream, and tomatoes with a side of refried beans.

salad

Salad

I have eaten this salad at a couple of parties this year.

Spring Mix of Greens
ripe avocados, sliced
strawberries, sliced
candied walnuts or pecans (just toss in pan with butter and sugar)
Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing (desired amount)

Mix all ingredients and toss. Serve as soon as possible for freshest taste.

RAD! Winner

WINNER:

Congratulations Catholicmommy!!!!


Email me your address and I will pass it along to my contact so you can get your copy right away.

R.A.D.

Readership Appreciation Day II


This time it's an awesome Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide!


Triumph Dining published The Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide, The Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Guide, and dining cards for 10 different cuisines. They just published the 3rd edition of their Essential Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide, which is today's give-a-way.


You can check them out and find out more at http://www.triumphdining.com/


Leave a comment by Wednesday at midnight.
A winner will be randomly chosen.

gf cookies again

This recipe again, just with chocolate chips instead. Never gets old!

Masitas De Cerdo Fritas

My husband made this recently and I love it. Of course, Frank's hot sauce made it even better.

MASITAS DE CERDO FRITAS

Fried Pork Chunks

2 1/2 lb. fresh pork loin

12 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 large onion chopped

1/2 cup sour orange juice (or 1/4 cup orange & 1/4 cup lime juice)

2 cups water

1 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 fresh onion sliced into rings

lime wedges

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

Cut pork into 2 inch chunks. To prepare marinade: mix together garlic, chopped onion, orange juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, oregano, cumin and salt. Pour over pork chunks and marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Remove meat from marinade. Place in pot with two cups of water and 1/2 cup olive oil. Simmer, uncovered until all water boils away -- about 30 to 45 minutes. Brown the pork in the oil until crispy on the outside -- DO NOT overcook! Add onion slices and saute briefly. Garnish with lime wedges. Serve with rice and plantains. You might want to say that it came out dry and that next time, I'm going to slow cook it to make it nice and tender and then brown it in olive oil to make it crispy.

Bread

Since opening up kill.the.gluten in April of 2007, we have gotten well over a dozen emails asking us about bread. How to make it, special tips, and guidance. I am honest to say I will never be an expert on making bread. I buy gluten-free bread from Whole Foods. I am a bit of a cheater that way. Maybe someday I will have the desire to tackle such a feat. And when I do, I will check out this excellent post about making bread over at gluten a go go.

So those of you yearning to make bread, give her site a go!

Italian Chicken and Potatoes

Sorry for the bad photo, we were eating dinner so fast cos it was so yummy that I forgot to take a photo until the last piece of chicken was being devoured. Simple crock pot recipe! Better photo and recipe ready for tomorrow (Cuban meal!).

Italian Chicken and Potatoes

4 chicken breasts
1 cup Italian dressing (I probably added another cup to entirely cover the chicken)
1 cup grated parm cheese
4-6 peeled potatoes, cut into wedges

Put all ingredients into crock pot on low 6-8 hours. Stir around occasionally. I like to serve it with a salad. Might be good with corn or steamed carrots on the side.

Chicken Peanut Mole with Cilantro Rice

Recipe and photo from Marci in Texas. Thanks Marci!

Chicken Peanut Mole with Cilantro Rice

Mole Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (I just use 1) cut in 1/2" strips
1 c. chopped onion1 t. chopped garlic
1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chiles (I use a 10 oz. Rotel can)
1-3 teaspoons chili powder, to taste (I use 2)
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1 T. baking cocoa
1/4 t. cinnamon
2 T. chopped cilantro

Rice Ingredients:
4 cups cooked rice
1 t. cumin
1 t. salt (can be ommitted)
1/2 c. Sweet Orange Marmalade (I use the Walmart brand and it is great)
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions for Mole:
- Spray skillet and cook chicken over medium-high heat until golden brown. Remove from skillet.- Spray skillet again. Add onion, cook until softened. Add garlic, cook additional minute.- Stir in broth, tomatoes, chili powder, peanut butter, cocoa, and cinnamon. Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer.- Place chicken in sauce. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes to combine flavors.(Sauce may be pureed in blender until smooth if desired - I haven't tried it personally.)

Directions for Rice:- Cook rice as directed but add cumin and salt. - Once rice has cooked add marmalade and cilantro; combine ingredients with fork.

We love the combination of the spicy sauce and the sweet rice!

Congratulations, Kelleen!

You will soon get to experience the Namaste Joy!

Email your address to me at: kill.the.gluten@gmail.com

breakfast

This recipe and photo is from Erin in NYC. She wanted to let us know this is her all-time favorite breakfast she eats almost every day. Thanks Erin, looks healthy & hearty!

I make one cup of uncooked quinoa with 2 cups of water. It makes 4 servings of quinoa. I add a small handful of mixed, unsalted nuts (chopped up), some dried cranberries, dried raisins, a dash of cinnamon, a tiny bit of milk and a little less than a tablespoon of the Splenda Brown Sugar blend. I keep the pre-made quinoa in the fridge so I heat it up the whole bowl with all the toppings in it. The milk makes it less dry. Quinoa is a high protein grain, its gluten free and it satisfying in the morning.

Reader Appreciation

Dear Readers!

This is my first Reader Appreciation Day.

Thank you for reading, sharing your tips and ideas, and sharing my joy in discovering the beauty of a yummy gluten-free find. I offer you three bags of my favorite brownie mix, Namaste Brownies.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post within the next 48 hours. I will randomly select the winner, who will then email me their address so I can send the reward (p.s. only shipping within the US).

Good Luck!

Liz

Mashed Potatoes

Thank to Amy in California for this recipe!!!

Moose Mountain Mashed Potatoes

6 large potatoes, washed and unpeeled
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 oz. cream cheese
1 c sour cream
2 oz. butter
¼ to ½ cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes and onion until tender. Drain, mash, then beat until smooth. Add cream cheese, sour cream, and butter. Beat well. Add milk while beating until potatoes are light and fluffy. (A little looser than you will want at the table as they will firm up when baked.) Salt and pepper to taste.

Place in an ovenproof dish and bake at 300 for 30 min.

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P.S. We has leftover Hawaiian Chicken and the chicken + (bbq/ pineapple) sauce made a sweet gravy-like topping that went perfect with these potatoes! I think it's a nice combo I will plan another week.

Gluten-Free Peppermint Patty Cookies

Adapted from a recipe I got from Allyson in Utah.

Gluten-Free Peppermint Patty Cookies
Makes about 24 cookies

1 pkg. gluten-free chocolate cake mix (I used Gluten-Free Pantry's)
½ c. shortening
1 Tb. Water
2 eggs
1 tsp. peppermint extract*

Peppermint patties
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 365°. Mix above ingredients, except for peppermint patties and powdered sugar. Roll batter into 1” ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place 2” apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes. Let cool a couple minutes, and while still warm place a peppermint patty into the center of each cookie and press down.

*(checking to see about gluten- might need to omit this ingredient)

"cookie pie"

After my toddler watched me

mix Pamela's chocolate gluten-free cookies in a blender,

mix with 2 tsp. of butter

and bake (350 for 10 minutes),

then fill with chocolate ice cream

he spent the following 8 hours asking me when we could eat "cookie pie".

So cookie pie is what it's now called in my home. And we took a suggestion of a reader's comments a while back and put magic shell chocolate topping on top! Yum.

Note: I let the ice cream sit on the counter to soften while I prepare the cookie shell and it works well.

breakfast

Arrowhead Mills has a good gluten-free pancake mix that is nice to have on hand. I have not used it for anything else, so please share if you have found this mix to be yummy used any other way. Their products have been available in my regular grocery store's organic section (Safeway).

An easy dinner to have is breakfast: pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

chicken wings

We made these at my house growing up. No restaurant can compare.

It's best to set up your stations like this:

1) raw, uncooked chicken wings next to the stove

2) Fry pan with crisco (melted about 1/2 inch deep) and a mesh cover to shield the grease (got mine at Target)

3) Large pot with hot sauce mix*

4) Crock pot on low for finished product

I had the grease on medium heat, filled it with wings and cooked them until they were golden brown. Gave them a dunk in the hot sauce mixture and then they are ready to eat. Don't forget to have fresh trimmed carrot and celery sticks with ranch for dipping and cooling off your mouth. It's an easy process, but takes a bit of time if you want to make a lot. Start well before meal time and store them in the crock pot until everyone is ready to eat.

* You can use all sorts of hot sauce mixes. I used Durkee growing up, but was only able to find a random hot wing sauce bottle from Louisianna as a nice replacement. I added about 1/4 cup of Red Hot, 1/2 stick of butter, and 10 dashes of tobasco. Keep it on low.

burger

cheeseburger!

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.

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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!