Love it!

I've had this cook book for about a month now and I LOVE it! I have only had time to make 2 recipes out of it, but I have lots more marked. They are much "friendlier" recipes that the Gluten Free Girl and the Chef's cookbook, at least in my opinion. I got that book for a gift in November and was so excited but haven't found the energy to even make one thing in it, they are all so overwhelming. This books has recipes that look yummy, have ingredients I recognize and know where to buy (a lot I already have in the house) and they are on the simple side. I totally recommend it! 

P.S.- I made the meatloaf & the chicken and mushroom tetrazzini. Both got rave reviews! 

P.S. again- Going out of town for a few weeks, probably won't update much until March! Have a good couple weeks:) I'll let you know if I find any great gluten free places or foods in Southern California. 

Chinese Chicken Salad, gluten & dairy free

 I love Chinese Chicken salad and I especially loved the old recipe I had. Unfortunately it called for Top Ramen noodles and the Oriental Spice pack that comes with them. I know the noodles have gluten in them and can pretty much guarantee that spice pack has gluten as well as tons of msg and all sorts of other stuff that has an infinite shelf life, so I knew I couldn't use that recipe. 

I did some searching and came across a recipe on cooks.com that looked pretty good and I changed it a little bit so it'd be just right. It was soooo good, Kevin loved it too. I think it is equally as good as my old recipe, if not better. Plus it doesn't have an infinite shelf life, which I think is a plus:) 

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks (I poached mine)
• 3 tbsp gluten free teriyaki sauce
• 1/2 head iceberg lettuce
• 1/2 head cabbage
• 3 stalks green onion, I used the green & white parts
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 package maifun noodles (cook according to package directions, these are messy but so fun to watch puff up and cook, my whole family was quite entertained!) I used the Sun Luk brand, found them at Fred Meyer in the Asian food section. 

Dressing:

• 1/8 c sesame oil (I didn't have any, just used Omega 3 Vegetable oil)
• 1/8 c grapeseed or olive oil 
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Cook chicken and cut into chunks. While preparing the salad toss the cooked chicken with teriyaki sauce and let cool. 
2. Wash and chop lettuce and cabbage and mix together. 
3. Add sliced green onion and cilantro. 
4. Toast sesame seeds & almonds (I toasted them together at the same time). Let cool, then mix in with salad. 
5. Make dressing, set aside. 
6. Make maifun noodles according to directions. Let cool on a paper towel for a few minutes. 
7. Toss salad together and add maifun. 
8. This salad is best served cool, enjoy! 

Pamela's Gluten & Dairy Free Bread Mix

I was making corn chowder the other night and wanted some biscuits to go with it. I've tried a lot of different recipes for biscuits but haven't found one that I love yet. I decided to try Pamela's mix and I LOVED them. My whole family did. I made them in cupcake tins so they came out like little muffins. They were great with the chowder, but they are also really good with Nutella on them (what isn't though!). Kevin says they taste like a chocolate donut when you put Nutella on them, not bad!

*Unlike Pamela's baking mix, the bread mix is also dairy free which is a nice bonus! (Nutella however, is not.)

Valentine Candy List

This blogger always does a great job looking up gluten free candy for every holiday season. Here is the link for Valentine's Day candy. 

http://celiacfamily.com/gluten-free-valentine-candy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CeliacFamily+%28celiacfamily.com%29

AMAZING DEAL on gluten free products (or on any food Amazon Fresh sells)

Amazon Fresh is having a deal for first time customers today, you get 50% off your entire order. I just ordered over $100 of gluten free products for 50% off and they will be delivered to my doorstep on Saturday morning!
**This deal ends at 4pm today (Feb 3rd)

Check it out:

http://www.seattlemomsdealfinder.com/2011/02/new-amazon-fresh-customers-save-50.html

Almond Berry Muffins! Gluten, Dairy, & Egg free!

I found this recipe over a year ago on some website, printed it and tucked it away. I recently came across it in my recipe notebook and decided to make them and WOW! They are hands down my most favorite gluten free muffins I've ever made. My kids devoured them and so did I. I didn't use blueberries because I didn't have any, but I had frozen blackberries left from this summer, so I substituted those and they were fabulous! 

**I buy my almond flour at Trader Joe's, it is so much cheaper than anywhere else. 

Blueberry Muffin Recipe with Almond Flour (Gluten-Free)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together:

1 1/3 cups almond meal

1 cup sorghum (or brown rice flour, if desired)

1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not potato flour!)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

Beat in:

1 1/3 cups organic light brown sugar

2 tablespoons light olive oil

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water till frothy

1/2 cup warm water, more as needed, up to 3/4 cup

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat the batter until it is smooth, like a slightly thickened cake batter.

Add in:

1 pint fresh berries, washed and patted dry (I used blackberries, the original recipe I had called for blueberries, I think any berry will work just fine). 

Stir gently and briefly.

Plop the blueberry muffin batter into the twelve lined cups. You'll probably have some extra- for a baker's dozen. We made tiny mini-muffins with our extra better. 

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 23 to 25 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch. A wooden pick inserted into the center should emerge clean.

Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Gently pop the muffins out to continue cooling on the rack (don't cool them in the hot pan- they'll get soggy).