Cornbread Stuffing

Cornbread Stuffing

*Pamela's & Gluten Free Pantry both have a good stuffing & the Natural Kitchen in KW sometimes carries one called the Baker's Rack (this is the one I used at library class)
*follow directions on package.

Pre-made GF cornbread, day old & crumbled
1 C Onion, chopped
1 C Celery, chopped
Pork sausage, crumbled & browned (I used plain ground, Kroger brand)
1 C to 2 Cups Chicken stock, just enough to moisten stuffing slightly ( you will have to eye it)
Salt/ pepper
1 & 1/2 tsp Poultry Seasoning
4 T butter (Earth Balnce is dairy/casien free)
In a deep skillet or large pot, heat butter & add in celery & onion. Saute’ for about 4 minutes, add in pork sausage, break up & brown. Add salt/ pepper & 1 tsp poultry seasoning. When fully cooked, add crumbled cornbread and 1/2 tsp of Poultry seasoning & s/p to taste. Add chicken stock slowly as you stir. Put in a baking dish, cover with foil and heat through right before ready to eat. 20-35 minutes.
*this can be made ahead of time & reheated day of.
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Nana’s Fruit Salad
4 - 5 red apples, peeled, cored, cut into bite size pieces
1-2 large cans of mandarin oranges, drained
1 can whole cranberries
1 1/2 C chopped pecans
1 C coconut shreds
Bag of marshmallows (I use Kroger brand)
Gently mix together all ingredients, serve or refrigerate. Needs to be be prepared day of.
*dip cut apples in lemon/water mixture to keep color
*top individually with whipped cream

**Check all ingredients... to be sure they are Gluten Free before using!

Thanksgiving Recipes

Jenny’s Simple GF Pumpkin Pie


Start with “Gluten Free Pantry” Perfect Pie crust mix

*make according to directions – (makes 4 -8 in crusts) as for me it made 2 crusts, I used glass pie dish.

*key to the crust is to keep butter (Earth balance) chilled before cutting it into mix, follow directions.

*Also I did use sugar in the crust.



Pumpkin mixture

½ C sugar

¼ C brown sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tsp ground pumpkin pie spice mixture (I used Spice Islands brand)

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz) Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin

12 oz can coconut milk

2 ½ T instant Tapioca



Pre-heat oven 425 degrees F.

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Beat eggs in a larger bowl. Add in wet ingredients, spices, & Tapioca. Mix well.

Pour into (unbaked) pie shell. Bake in oven 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then Reduce temperature to 350 F & bake 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Serve or refrigerate.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c fava bean flour (bob's red mill)
1 c brown rice flour (i used x-tra fine)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter (I used dairy free)
1/2 c organic granulated sugar
1/2 honey ( I didn't have honey so I used molasses)
1 c creamy peanut butter
sugar for coating

mix first five ing. together, Cream butter sugar & honey & beat 'till fluffy (or at least creamy), about 5 mins. add peanut butter & blend, slowly add dry ingredients. allow dough to sit for 1 hour before baking.
preheat oven 350 degrees. line cookie sheet w/ parchment paper.
using a small ice cream scooper or a melon baller, scoop a ball of dough & roll in sugar, then place on cookie sheet. using the tines of the fork, press cookie slightly to flaten & turn fork & press again to get that peanut butter cookie look that we remember from when we were kids.  Bake for 8-10 minutes. they will seem underbaked, but no worries they will be perfect. Don't overcook....they dry out easily.
Come Eat!

Chicken salad Rice-Noodle Stir-fry

asian salsa (make ahead of time)

5 green jalapenos, minced
1/2 c minced garlic
2 tbsp roasted red bell pepper  (from jar)
1/2 c rice wine vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
pinch of sugar
1/4 tsp salt

saute & cook down for about 10 mins
set aside to cool

1 pd chicken (no bone) cooked 2 hrs in crock pot w/ 1/2 c pesto (dairy free)
1 pkg hodson mill angel hair Rice noodles (cooked & set aside)

2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1tsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
3 green onions, minced or small chop

1st have chicken cooking in crock pot. mix up asian salsa (you can mix up double amts & keep xtra in fridge for about 1 month), set aside.
when ready to for dinner.....shred chicken or chop in food processer, saute oil & onion in pan or wok; add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar,        6 tbsp of pre-made asian salsa,  add chicken & leftover juice, last add noodles. serve w/ lime wedge. place leftover salsa on table...you will want to add more.

I am not great w/ giving directions.....it really is simple to make, especially because you can make ahead & assemble when ready to eat.
feeds approx. 4

GF German Chocolate Cake

German chocolate cake

Betty crocker GF devil's food cake mix
1 stick nondairy butter or coconut oil
coconut milk (canned)
enjoy life chocolate chips (nondairy)
vanilla & coconut extract
* I used egg replacer or you can just use amt of eggs on directions of box
bag of shredded unsweetened coconut
bag of pecans chopped
1 c brown sugar
1 c reg sugar
***you will not go by directions on box

dry cake mix, softened butter stick, 1 1/4 c coconut milk, 1 T vanilla & 1 T coconut extract .....mix well
then add eggs or replacer & mix well. add 3/4 c choc. chips. mix lightly. cook 350 degrees according to box or till center is done...do not over cook. cool

topping:
use a sauce pan to slowly melt: 1 c coconut oil, 3/4 c coconut milk canned, 1 c brwn sugar, 1 c reg sugar, 1 tsp vanilla & 1 tsp coconut extract, 1/2 c choc. chips, stir till melted, once melted...add 1 bag pecans & 1 bag coconut. immediately pour onto mostly cooled cake. spread evenly.
AND COME EAT!
and yes you need all these ingrediants....otherwise it will tast like a gluten free cake. With this recipe....you will be able to fool anyone! 

Italian Sausage pasta sauce

2 T. olive oil (more if needed)
6 Italian sausage links (Johnsonville is gluten free)
1 cup chopped onion
1 whole grn bell pepper
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoe paste
1 cup white wine
couple cloves of minced garlic
1 T brown sugar
3/4 T each chopped dried rosemary, basil, & marjoram
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

* in a skillet add olive oil & brown sausage (don't cook through), & saute' onion & bellpepper, add white wine, cook 5 mins
*in crockpot add all other ingrediants,
 *transfer sausage, onions & bell pepper to crockpot
*cover & cook 4-5 hrs (till meat is cooked through)
*before serving, cut sausage into slanted pieces, serve over fav. GF pasta

Corpus Christi, TX | KRISTV.com | - Corpus Christi Fattest City In America

Corpus Christi, TX KRISTV.com - Corpus Christi Fattest City In America

"Devil's Flour".....things that you just have to laugh at.

A while back when all this first started...I was doing my best to cook gluten free, but I was still unaware my son was Celiac. I guess I thought he was just allergic to wheat & really it all started because we were doing a "healing diet" to get his asthma under control. And through a course of amazing events we figured out that there was something to this Gluten free diet thing. We became 100% gluten free rather quickly. I have to admit the type of person I am, this all made me a little manic or obsessive you might say. In the beginning ....I hadn't quite de-glutenized my kitchen yet or pantry for that matter. Having not done this yet made things terrifying. I constantly was washing my hands, wiping down the counters, using a zillion utensils to make sure there was no cross contamination. I washed everything before I used it....it was a very stressful time for me. Well finally I decided to commit to this (didn't take long), which really meant cleaning out my pantry & fridge & getting rid of wooden spoons, stoneware, cutting boards, ect.  I talked to a church & donated 2 big boxes & 2 bags of pantry items to a needy family, & gave friends a big box & couple bags as well. I thought it would help to give it to a needy family, but to tell you the truth....things were tight & it was just hard to give our groceries away. Some things I had just bought a couple days or the week before. I was glad we were able to give it to someone, but I also couldn't help, but cry. I was finally finished & my pantry was empty (& I have a huge walk-in style pantry). I had no idea what we were going to eat or fill it up with. I started thinking of what I could put in there, but none of it was food. The best I could come up with...was expanding my craft closet. So at the end of it all....I took this time to clean all the empty shelves & sweep the floor where all the sodas would sit. I just had a few things to move out...a bag of pantry items that were half eaten or used (things I couldn't donate since they were open). As I was moving them out...the bag RIPPED & a whole big bag of white Glutenous Flour fell to the floor. The clean pantry now splattered w/ what I like to call "devil's flour" & it splattered into the kitchen and on to me. I think at that point I just broke down....couldn't take it anymore. Do you know how hard it is to get flour off the flour & mind you ...don't forget how crazy I am about cross contamination!
Now five months later we have almost filled our pantry back up with gluten free goodies & healthy good for us food and I have some space for other items, but not so much that it makes me worry about what we are going to eat. Now I wonder ...do we need to go save the needy family from all those terrible snacks & sodas & glutenous pantry items we gave them???
On another occasion...maybe 2 months later....after I thought my kitchen was totally de-glutenized. I accidently cooked his GF waffles in our old toaster....I didn't realize it 'till after I got home from dropping him off at school. Amazingly enough...he did not get sick, but just incase the toaster is gone.
Then most recently, my older son Kasen had picked a science fair project that involved making cupcakes with the "devil's flour". I thought no problem...we can do this or should I say "I CAN DO THIS". Well I washed my hands so much ...they were raw and I wish I was exaggerating. The project turned out great, but I now know,  no matter what.... our house is forever more... gluten free. Project or no project.

Chicken & vegtable noodle soup

1-2 lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bitesize pieces
3 containers of organic chicken broth (HEB brand- personal preference)
bag of carrots (already peeled -the kind kids snack on)
bunch of asparagus - chopped into bite size pieces
4 stems of kale - cut off stem & chopped
handful of cilantro (chopped) (read that cilantro is good for metal detox)
small onion (optional) chopped
2 bay leaves
sea salt/garlic powder/ pepper
your favorite G/F linguine pasta (broken into smaller pieces before dropping into water)
olive oil

In a stock pot or dutch oven, add olive oil,  med. heat, add chicken pieces - s/g/p. sear chicken, do not cook all the way through. add chicken broth to pot. add carrots, kale, onion, & bay leaves. Bring to boil & turn down to low heat. Cook 1 &1/2 hrs on low, then add cilantro & asparagus, cook another 30 mins on low. During last 30 mins, boil water for noodles. add 1 tbsp. olive oil to water before dropping in noodles (this helps G/F pasta from sticking) cook noodles per directions, drain & rinsing is key for G/F pasta.
*do not cook noodles & soup together (g/f noodles need to be rinsed)
I keep them separate until ready to serve.
COME EAT!

This was something quick & easy to make while we were all sick. (just throw it in the pot & forget about it for awhile)

Cameron's Apple Crumble

1/2 cup GF flour or use GF apple cinn. muffin mix (Hodgson Mill)
1 1/2 cup GF oats (BobsRedMill)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup agave nector
3 med. apples (peeled, cored, chopped into small pieces)
1/2 cup butter (we use Earth Balance- dairy free, soy free)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice

• Preheat oven 350 degrees
• toss chopped apples w/ lemon juice & place in lightly buttered or oiled baking dish (coconut oil)
• In a bowl, mix gf flour, gf oats, & brown sugar
• melt butter, add to mixture & mix
• toss mixture w/ apples
• place in oven, bake at 350 for approx. 30-40 mins

*Cameron was on pbskids.org and found a recipe similar to this & printed it out for me to make. So I believe the orig. came from Caillou's kitchen!! haha. I am so proud of him for taking an interest in what he eats.....so thankful. I made a few adjustments....so now it's Cameron's apple crumble. As Cameron would say......Come eat!

Thai-Style Ribs

Slow cooker recipe

prep: 10 mins

cook: 6 hrs

marinade: overnight

3 1/2 lbs. pork baby back ribs, racks cut in half (I cut mine into individual ribs so I wouldn't have to cut them up while hot)
12 oz organic apple juice
3/4 c G/F soy sauce
1/4 c creamy peanut butter
1/4 c minced cilantro
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger (I used sushi ginger)
1 garlic clove, pressed (I used 2 tbsp minced garlic from jar)
2 tsp sugar (optional-I didn't use sugar & it was great
garnish : fresh cilantro sprigs

*Place ribs in a large shallow dish or zip-top freezer bag
*combine juice & next 6 ingrediants in a small bowl w/ wire wisk. Reserve 3/4 c mixture in refridgerator for dipping. Pour remaining mixture evenly over ribs; cover or seal, & chill 8 hrs, turning occasionally.
*place ribs & marinade in slow cooker. Cover & cook on high 1 hour. Reduce heat to med, & cook 5 hours.
* warm reserved 3/4 c sauce 1 1/2 - 2 mins, until throughly heated. Serve w/ ribs. garnish

2-4 servings

**(I did make a few changes to recipe to make it a little easier & this is also a revised G/F healthier version of recipe .....I believe the orig. came from a Southern Living cookbook)
~I served this dish with Basmati Rice & steamed asparagus. (brown rice would would make it healthier)

Label Reading 101

Label Reading 101

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Recipe

Easy No Name Cutlets (Jen original)

cubed steak or (I used *deer cutlets-they were pounded to look just like cubed steak)

1 can rotel

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 sm onion, chopped

olive oil or coconut oil

half bottle of white wine (use a wine that tastes just as good to drink * if it tastes bad to drink it will taste bad to eat)

Rice (I like Basmati, it's a long grain, brown or white)

salt, pepper, garlic powder

Directions:

• 
  
  put can of rotel in crock pot on high (do this first, you don't want to add hot meat to a cold liquid, it will cause meat to be tuff)
• 
  
  in skillet, heat oil on medium, add half onion & half bell pepper
• 
  
  add cutlets & season w/ SP&G ( brown or seare, do not cook all the way through) *cutlets should be cut to the size of fifty-cent piece or a little bigger)
• 
  
  add them to crock pot, then start second batch, add oil as needed to skillet
• 
  
  second batch same as first, onion, bell pepper, meat, add batch to pot
• 
  
  add wine to skillet, scrap bottom of skillet to get brown bits off bottom, adds great flavor
• 
  
  let alcohol boil & cook out, few minutes, then add to crock pot
• 
  
  cook in crock pot 4-6 hrs serve over rice & or veggies

*best to use a stainless steel skillet, it browns better than non-stick pans - not to mention it's better for your health

*if olive oil smokes it has already turned rancid, so if worried about keeping temp. low enough, then just use coconut oil.

Cameron's Cornbread

Bob's Redmill G/F Cornbread mix (love it)

Cameron made it just like the directions said....which called for eggs, milk, oil or butter.

We used coconut milk (SoDelicious brand), coconut oil & it was so delicious. next time we will have to try it w/ jalapenos. It kind of tasted like like a cross between a biscuit & cornbread. And it stayed moist the next day....as you may know G/F products usually dry out quickly.   Yummy!

Health update as of Feb. 25, 2010

Kendall has lost a total of 45 lbs. since Oct. '09

Cameron is now Medicine FREE! He had one maintenance asthma med. left (flovent 44) that we were weaning him off & he took his last puff about 3 1/2 weeks ago. Praise GOD!
Kendall also has not used his asthma meds since this all began. Cameron was on so much that it took much longer to safely wean his body off. His poor body has never worked on it's own 'till now.

Invitation to Health.....no thanks "Crazy Mom"

This is a letter I sent out to friends to inform  them about all the awesomeness & craziness we have been experiencing. We were so excited (and still are) about sharing with others how God is working in our lives. It's just so amazing that we can't keep our mouths shut....we want to scream at the top of our lungs. In my mind (while this is all panning out for us)....I think back at how so many people we run into everyday have said "how they want to lose weight" or "have a sick child" or even sick themselves. So in my most nieve, caring heart....I thought it would be a great idea to share this information we feel so fortunate to have. We invited so many people, we honestly thought we wouldn't have enough food or places to sit. I was even planning the next one before I even got through this one.
All this sounds really great in my head, but what I have come to understand is... I am now what I like to call the "Crazy mom". I have a friend she uses the term "Granola Crunchy mom". (I like that one..lol). Please know this does not offend me at all. I am so glad to be the "crazy mom" rather than the mom that has a child with Asthma! I do have to admit, it really bothered me at first...because in my mind I just wanted to tell how this changed our lives & maybe somehow it could change someone elses as well. Mostly because I look back at all the signs Cameron had & all the tests we had done & all the Drs. we had seen,  no one told us nutrition plays a major role in our health. Drs. just prescribed more meds. & people around us just refered us to more Drs.  Anyways, what it boils down to is....I wished someone would have told me sooner ....I couldn't keep this info to myself. Don't worry I haven't lost faith, but maybe now I will go about it in a different way. I have even had a couple people call me and ask about what we are doing. I also know that even if our story only helps one person even if we don't realize it....it will all be worth it. So I will keep screaming as long as I can!
Now on w/ the *letter I sent out....week of December 10th, 2009.

*Dear Friends,
I am sending out this letter to let everyone know how God has been working in our lives.
Cameron (my 5 yr old) was diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech and has been working with a speech therapist since he turned two (Diagnosed by 3 separate therapists). For the last year and a half he has been seeing 2 therapists 4 times a week for 30 mins. a session, with little improvement. Even when things seemed to be going well he would have severe setbacks & it just seemed so difficult for him just to find a word.
In addition to speech issues he has severe Asthma & Allergies....which means he was on a ton of meds. including: the highest doses possible of Flovent, Singulair, Flonase, & Albuterol & that was when things were going well. Meds were even more severe during sick months (Pulmicort, Xopenex & Zyrtec). He has been on 90% of these meds since he was less than a year old.
Right around the end of summer I started realizing we couldn't go on living like this ....things weren't getting better and I was worried about allergy season starting. First I started taking him to be adjusted by a Chiropractor (Dr. Matt & Dr. Dorene Witter).
Then we started vitamin supplements and started doing a lot of reading & staying up late googling.
I would say we started to see improvements in less than 2 weeks & he just keeps getting better everyday. Along with vit. supp.....we have also changed his diet. Dietary changes include being Gluten free, Casein free & yeast free. We also give him a probiotic supplement for yeast overgrowth. His diet mostly consists of organic meat, org, vegetables, org fruit, some brown rice on occasion, healthy oils, & eggs. We go by the advanced nutrition plan in the book Maximized Living. Overall we have been doing vit. supp., dietary changes, chiropractic care all together for about 17 weeks. Around week 6 & 7 both therapists reported amazing changes in his speech and both feel like he is coming away from being Apraxic (neurological dsorder) and leaning more towards just having Phonological issues. Just three months ago both therapists were reporting how he was regressing and things weren't looking good...now we are seeing steady, consistent improvements & jumping ahead like he never had Apraxia of speech. It is unbelievable!
As for Meds. he is no longer taking Flonase, Singulair, Albuterol, & we just lowered the last med. (Flovent) to the lowest possible dosage. Asthma Dr. feels confident he will come off Flovent as well; in a couple months....we just have to do it slowly so his body adjusts to all these changes. After talking to his Asthma Dr (who was stunned by his rapid progress)...he suggested that I tell others about our testimony. So having said that, let me tell how this all came about. This would not have been possible without prayer & God laying out this plan just perfectly for us. All the glory goes to God !
It all started in a prayer group in our Bible study class on Sunday morning. I had asked for the group to prayer for Cameron’s asthma to be gone. (I was tired of praying just to get by to the next asthma episode....I wanted it to be gone) Now I have to admit I had never prayed for God to just heal Cameron completely...matter of fact I prayed for his illnesses very seldom, mostly because I just figured this is what we were dealt & I shouldn’t complain. We are very thankful & I just think my image of what God could do was way too small. I think I am finally realizing how BIG ....God really is! What’s even better and this is just the icing on the cake...Kendall has also benefited dramatically from this change in our life. He has lost over 30 lbs & his asthma is gone as well. How amazing - we asked God to heal Cameron & he is healing our whole family.
Now if this isn’t enough....we found out this last week that Cameron has Celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten found in wheat, barley, rye, & possibly oats. When Cameron eats a food that contains gluten his body has a toxic reaction and attacks itself. The only treatment is a lifelong gluten free diet ....which is what we are already striving to do. There are no meds or cure for Celiac disease only good nutrition. Now it does get more complicated, but overall how amazing is that ... God placed the treatment in our hands before we even knew the diagnoses. God is amazing!
Now what does this information have to do with you? Well we have benefited so much from what God has placed in front of us that we would be selfish to keep it to ourselves. After all the doctors & specialists we have seen, Drs. Matt & Dorene Witter are the only ones that have taken the time to help us find the root cause to our health problems. So I asked them to do a health talk in our home to talk about all the things they have so graciously been teaching us. And I say graciously because they have gone far and beyond the typical office visit. It is worth listening to....just look at my family. So take a look at the invite & let me know that you are coming!

*another reason for posting this invite is to show a glimpse of our history, mainly Cameron's. Kendall has his own amazing story.

Genesis 1:29 NIV

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food."

Welcome to my Blog!

The reason I am doing this blog is to help someone that is in the same shoes I was in 6 months ago. In August 2009, we began a journey to heal my son from what we thought was just Asthma & realized along the way he had Celiac disease. We are very thankful to know this information & believe that not only did this diagnosis help Cameron, but it also saved my husbands' life. And only God knows what this change is doing for myself & Kasen. This has been a tuff 6 months for us, but I wouldn't change it for the world. * I would like to share more about our med. history & how this all came about ...because it is just amazing to see how God worked in our lives, but I think it will have to wait 'till a bit later. It is very lengthy & I know it will make me cry all over again....so bare with me while I work on that.
Now back to reasons for doing this:
My hopes are that parents will see that this can be done (meaning dietary changes) & you can still enjoy life to the fullest. I believe that we are enjoying life much better than ever before & I can't say that any of us are missing anything. I don't know how many times I have heard a parent say "wow what exceptional kids you have, mine would never eat that or go along with these changes the way yours have". Well I have news for you ....my kids are just like every other kid out there. It is not easy for the parents or the kids, but it does get better & easier with time. You just have to decide you want health for your child & family. I also believe Prayer & patience is formost! ....Our lives have been changed completely ONLY by the GRACE of God.
I would also like to share recipes, articles, & encouragement. We have been helped by a few exceptionally awesome people and so I would also like to share about them as well.
We have seen tremendous things happen with a Gluten free/ Casien free diet, but we have also seen that chiropractic care, vitamin supp, speech therapy have all played a major role in Cameron's health & well being. I know that we can not do one with out the other.
Hopefully this blog will be helpful to your family. I know just getting this out will be helpful to me as well.
Blessings