Gluten Free Thanksgiving (Also, I am a slacker when it comes to posting)

This year was my first venture into gluten free thanksgiving cooking and I did a pretty darn good job, even if the little gluten free monkey that is my son didn't eat any of it.  He stuck to the mashed potatoes, but ended up eating a pretty big stack of them.  He also ate berries.  I guess that's pretty close to what they ate at the first Thanksgiving.  But I digress...

Gluten Free Gravy

I got this idea from my teacher/chef when I was taking Culinary Arts classes at Cuesta Community College.  He said to cook either potatoes or rice under the turkey and then take a hand blender and just mix it all together after the turkey was done.  You can add either water or turkey stock in order to make it the thickness you want.

I used rice.  I made a 14 lb. turkey and used 1 cup of rice and 1 cup of water.  If I did it over again, I would only use 1/2 - 3/4 cup of rice and the same amount of water because the gravy came out super thick.  However, it was incredibly tasty.  Because the rice cooked along with the turkey, it soaked up all the drippings and deliciosity that the turkey gave off.  When I put it in the blender (because I don't have a hand blender yet and we were cooking at Aunt Cindy's house) it was a bit whiter than gravy usually is, but the flavor of it was outstanding.  I would claim that it is among some of the best gravy I've ever had, gluten free or not.

Unfortunately, I have no picture.  Fail #1.

Gluten Free Stuffing/Dressing

First of all, don't judge me for not stuffing my turkey.  I got enough of a guilt trip from my mother.  She blames California and these new "hippy" ideals that I have picked up since moving here.  I have been properly shamed, however, I stand by my no stuffing the turkey stance.

In case you didn't know, I use Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey recipe because I have never tasted a better turkey.  He says to not stuff the turkey!  If it's good enough for  Alton Brown, it's good enough for me!

Ok, enough defending.  I made a variation on Tyler Florence's Cornbread Stuffing featured in his Fig-Glazed Roast Turkey recipe.  I made the fig glaze and then got totally distracted and forgot to put it on the bird.  But that's OK because the turkey was still delicious.  

Instead of his cornbread recipe, I used my own gluten free recipe.

Golden Sweet (Gluten Free) Cornbread

1 cup corn flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Mix the dry ingredients.  I then mix the eggs, milk and oil in a measuring cup and add them to the dry ingredients together.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 min or until toothpick comes out clean.  They also make great muffins (approx 16 regular size muffins).  Make sure you spray or lightly grease the pan or muffin pan.

I then used that cornbread in  Tyler Florence's Cornbread Stuffing recipe.  I added a bit of extra turkey stock to make sure it didn't dry out.  I got pretty positive reviews on both the gravy and the stuffing, so I consider it a success.  

Unfortunately I have no picture  Fail #2.  (Actually the stuffing is in the picture to the right in the rectangular dish)

I do have some pictures of my family all enjoying our Thanksgiving feast.  I am still trying to figure out how to make a gluten free green bean casserole.  Not only does Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup have flour in it, but so do French Fried Onions.  I cannot seem to wrap my head around a green bean casserole that is lacking those two things.

So that is my Gluten Free Thanksgiving story.  Many Thanksgiving dishes don't have gluten (cranberry sauce, yams, mashed potatoes, vegetables) or can easily be made gluten free.  I would hate to think that people are under the impression that it is hard to have a gluten free holiday. I think the hardest thing (but the most fun part!) is making things so that you can't tell they are gluten free.  I don't want to have to make two separate things just because the gluten free kind is gross!

So that was Thanksgiving.  Christmas is coming up soon and I am going to attempt a gluten free gingerbread cookie.  Let's just hope I remember to take pictures!

The Adventures of the Gluten-Free

As many of you know (since, you know, its on Facebook), my soon to be 2-year-old son, Ryan has recently been diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  Celiac is interesting because without the presence of gluten, technically, there is no disease.  While there is no history diagnosis in my family, there have been some weird digestive issues that have been chalked up to "barking spiders" or "not settling well".  But since doing a little research, it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of the digestive issues in my family came from different levels of gluten sensitivity or Celiac Disease.

Gluten sensitivity and Celiac disease are two different things.  Just like being lactose intolerant and having a milk allergy are two different things.  If you're sensitive to gluten, eating it might cause some indigestion, gas, stomach pain, vomiting, but you're not causing damage to your intestines.  Having Celiac disease means that your body cannot digest gluten at all.  We saw pictures of Ryan's small intestines and nearly all the villi were gone and there was scalloping on his intestines signifying (according to our pediatric gastroenterologist) significant damage caused by the gluten.  When Celiacs eat gluten it causes physical damage to their bodies and a higher risk of stomach and intestinal cancer as they get older.  Not to mention it causes all those other symptoms too, as mentioned above.

The great thing is that Celiac Disease diagnosis starts with a simple blood test.  If you think you might have it, you can just go get a test.  But don't stop eating gluten if you're going to do this!  As I mentioned above, no gluten, no disease.  In order to get an accurate diagnosis, you have to have gluten in your system to get positive results (there's a lot of scientific stuff behind this as to what the test is looking for which you can find here).  If you get a positive on the blood test, the next step is an endoscopy which will biopsy your small intestine.  If the biopsy comes back positive, you've got Celiac Disease!  Yay?  Wait, that's not right...

One reason that a diagnosis can be important is that gluten free alternatives can be tax deductible.  Yes, you heard me right.  That's because the only treatment for Celiac Disease is a gluten free diet.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that some of those gluten free alternatives can be pretty expensive.  I've found that brown rice noodles can be anywhere from 2-4 x the price of regular whole grain noodles.  Gluten free crackers, cookies, pretzels, and other pre-packaged goods run about the same.  Finding alternative flour types has been easy, but the price.... whoa!  Oat flour, Almond flour, Soybean, flour or mixtures of them are anywhere from 4-9x the price of regular old wheat flour.  Right now that's not such a big deal for me, as my kid is small and is in his picky eating phase, but as he gets older and I have to make him real meals, it is going to get pricey.  As long as you keep receipts and keep that doctor's diagnosis note on hand, if you get audited, its no biggie.

Eventually, we will probably be a mostly gluten free household.  However, right now, since Ryan's meals are almost exclusively oatmeal (yes, oats are safe!), rice noodles and broccoli, I haven't had a ton of chances to experiment.  Today, however, he poo-pooed his normal lunch and I thought, well, he's been interested in cheese, maybe he'd like some cheese on his noodles!  He was very excited by this idea until the cheese sauce was actually ON the noodles.  Then he freaked out and looked at me like I had lost my mind.  How DARE I put anything on his noodles.  So, I made this mac & cheese.  I my Mom's recipe used oat flour instead of regular flour and used brown rice rotini (from Trader Joe's  *love*).  Instead of breadcrumbs I used... Rice CHEX!  Mom always said that's what kept it nice and creamy, so I had to find something.  Chex is great because nearly all their cereal is gluten free.

I haven't eaten any yet because I took it out of the oven and I was so excited by how gorgeous it was that I had to come share it.  I will update with the taste reviews.

I've also made gluten free chocolate chip M&M cookies which are way too good.  I used the Toll House recipe on the back of the bag, but had to add nearly 3/4 cup more flour as the consistency was way too loose.  I can taste a slight difference, but I think if you didn't know they were gluten free, you wouldn't be able to notice.  I also used mini chocolate chips and mini M&M's since I made the cookies small for small hands.  That does not, however, keep me from eating them.  

Chicken, Chicken, Chicken, Wings!

For Christmas I got a subscription to Food Network Magazine.  I also got Anne Burrell's How to Cook Like a Rockstar.  And I am having a blast.  I haven't cooked anything from Anne yet (she is hands down my favorite chef on the Food Network Channel), but I am looking forward to making something this weekend.

Like the movie Julie & Julia, I'd like to cook every recipe in her book just to see if I can.  She also gives great tips and tricks on techniques that I'm looking forward to reading.

So far here are some of the recipes I've made.

Roast Chicken with Apricot Stuffing

Roast Chicken with Apricot Stuffing with Roasted Carrots and Peas and mashed potatoes (my own).  I didn't make gravy with it, but I feel like I could have with all the delicious drippings in the bottom of my roaster pan.  If I made it again, I would.  I also was unable to find fresh marjoram, but used dry.  Since I'm not sure what the difference was, I didn't notice any, and it was fantastic.  The stuffing is something I might try at thanksgiving.  I really liked the sweetness the apricots added to it.  It also had no butter in it and yet was so moist and delicious.  The peas and carrots had a more spicy, savory spice mixture on them and went really well with the sweetness of the chicken.  And the spice rub I put under the skin... holy moley, that was good.

My chicken also came out a bit browner than the picture, but I blame my oven that can't seem to find a temperature to settle on, and I'm certain the temperature in the oven does not match the one I've set on the dial.

Chicken Wings:

This month in the magazine are 50 different kinds of chicken wings to make for your superbowl party.  Last weekend, in order to enjoy our 49ers victory properly, I made Chinese Barbecue Wings and Blackened Wings for a nice sweet/spicy duo.

Chinese Barbecue Wings:

Chinese Barbecue Wings

Spread 3 pounds chicken wings (split at the joints, tips removed) on 2 oiled rimmed baking sheets and roast at 425 degrees until very crisp, about 45 minutes.
Heat 1/2 cup minced scallions (I put mine in the food processor) , 1/3 cup hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons each butter, honey and grated ginger, and 3/4 teaspoon sesame oil.  Toss with the wings.

I brought my sauce mixture to a boil just to make sure it was all combined.  These wings were out of this world.  Some of the best wings I've ever had.  I like this sauce recipe for regular old chicken, and just throw it on some rice.  Two thumbs up, 4 stars, all that jazz.

Blackened Wings:
These wings are grilled and they get a nice char on them which really enhances the blackened flavor.

Grilled Blackened Wings

Toss 3 pounds chicken wings (split at the joints, tips removed) with 1 1/2 teaspoons each Cajun seasoning (I used World Market's Cajun seasoning mix that I got for Christmas from my MIL, Debbie.  Had a really nice heat to it), paprika, cayenne, dried oregano and thyme, kosher salt and pepper.
Grill over medium heat, turning, until cooked through 15 to 20 minutes.  I let them cook about 8-10 minutes on each side and moved them around my uneven cooking grill according to how cooked they got in the first part.

The great part about these wings is that they are really nice and spicy without making you need to chug down your beer to put the fire out.

Cola-Glazed Wings:
Since my 49ers are playing Atlanta in Atlanta, I thought it only appropriate to make Cola-Glazed wings for the birthplace of Coca-Cola.  These wings are also grilled, so you can use the same directions for grilling a the Blackened Wings.

Boil 1 can cola, 1 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons pureed chipotles in adobo sauce until reduced to 1 cup.  Toss the wings in vegetable oil and grill, brushing with the cola sauce in the last 5 minutes.

I'll let you know how that goes.
And accompanying our Cola wings will be Roasted wings with Taco Mac sauce, another Atlanta original.  I can only hope the 49ers destroy Atlanta as I will be destroying these wings.

They've also got a great collection of recipes for easy, quick dinners under 500 calories.  We've tried one so far, but I'd like to get a few more reviews in before I write them up for you.


I highly recommend making some wings for your super bowl party, and since there are 50 in this little book, I'm happy to share any of the following recipes that sound interesting:

Fried Wings: Classic Buffalo Buffalo Supreme Five-Alarm Jalepeno-Cheddar Spicy Moroccan Vietnamese Buttermilk-Battered Cajun Buttermilk Chili-Ranch Old Bay Italian Breaded Chicken Parmesan Ancho-Peach Beer-Battered Soy-Honey Sesame-Pecan Falafel Chipotle Kimch Curry-Chutney Basic Boneless

Roasted Wings: Steakhouse Rosemary-Lemon Horseradish-Crusted Maple-Bacon Sweet Mango Barbecue Teriyaki-Orange Honey Mustard-Pretzel Ginger-Scallion Thai Chili Taco-Spiced Bacon-Taco Mole Jamaican Lemon-Garlic Aioli Pesto Pizza Fra Diavolo Garlic-Chorizo Popcorn

Grilled Wings: Hawaiian Carolina-Style Tequila-Lime Thai Peanut Tandoori

Sloooow cookin' Is the Name of the Game

You know what's great when its cold?  Crockpots.  Well, technically that is a brand, so I guess it would be slow cookers. Slow cookers are great and if you don't have one, maybe one of my recipes will inspire you to get one.  I love my slow cooker because I can throw everything in to it in the morning and its ready by dinner.  I can get all the breakfast and dinner dishes done before lunch.  Well, if Ryan cooperates.

I've made barbecue, chili, my Adobe Beef, Green Chili Pork tacos, and Beer Tri-tip.  You can make beef, chicken, pork, or vegetarian dishes.  The meat always comes out tender and juicy, and usually you can make enough food for days.

Ok, enough with the jibber jabber, and on to the recipes!

The Last Time I made Chili:
(I call it this because it always comes out different!  I really liked my last one though, so here it is.  Mostly I use the same ingredients, but that measuring thing always gets me!)
20 oz ground turkey
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 large green pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
2 can tomato sauce
1 McCormick Chili spice pack (you can find it near the taco spice packs, on the sauce aisle)
2-4 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp cumin
4 cans of beans (I like 1 black, 1 kidney, and 2 pinto, but whatever you've got, or whatever's on sale works)

Heat the olive oil on the stove in a good size pan.  Add the green pepper, onions, and garlic and saute them until the onions are translucent and the peppers are tender.  Add turkey, cook until browned.

Throw all the ingredients into the crock pot. You could also easily make this vegetarian by skipping the turkey all together.  If you like a beanless chili, forget the beans and double the meat. You can add more tomato sauce, if you like a soupier chili.  If you're going to serve the chili over something (like hotdogs or potatoes), I'd advise 3 cans.  Cook on Low 6-8 hours or on High for 4 -5 hours.

I made cornbread to go with out chili and also roasted butternut squash.  I thought the squash went really well just thrown on top of the chili, as I said last time.  Just because you're serving dinner in a bowl doesn't mean you get to forget the vegetables!

Green Chili Pork Tacos
2-3 lb pork shoulder (loin would work too, or a few pork chops)
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes
2 4 oz cans green chilis
2 tsp cumin
1 cup water

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and brown the pork on each side about 6-8 minutes.  Add it to the crockpot along with all the other ingredients.  Cook on Low for 6-8 hours or until the pork is tender. Cook on High for 4-5 hours.

Serve this with corn tortillas, sliced avacado, sour cream and cilantro.  I also made Pico De Gallo and a Corn and Bean salsa for a little variety.

These are just a couple examples of what to do with your slow cooker.  The great thing about cooking this way is that you can almost always throw it all in and forget it.  Roasts and stews work well too, but I usually add my vegetables about half way through, so they don't get too soft.  The secret to slow cooking is to make sure there is enough liquid in some form (tomato sauce, water, broth) so that your food doesn't dry out

To Stuff or not to Stuff...

Alton Brown's Good Eats Roast Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving!

So here's my question.  Do you stuff your turkey?  With so many "other" ways to cook a turkey, how many people still roast a stuffed bird each year?

I recently spoke with my mom who nearly disowned me because I am not stuffing my turkey.  I like Alton Brown's Roast Turkey recipe.  He brines it and roasts it, but with no stuffing.  Instead he uses aromatics like sage, apple, onions, and rosemary to flavor the bird.  I did it last year and it was a mighty juicy turkey.

Typically on Thanksgiving, or at least for the past few years, we have gone to some friends' house where they smoked a turkey last year, and I believe plan on doing it again.  Well, you can't very well stuff a smoked turkey.  For one thing, it would take forever to cook it.  And for another, who wants smoked stuffing?  That just doesn't excite me.

The Gravy

What about frying a turkey?  You can't stuff a fried turkey.  Although, I'm convinced only rednecks fry turkeys in their back yards, holding a can of beer, saying things like, "Hey, Billy Joe, watch this!" as they plunk the frozen projectile into the hot oil.  Or maybe I've been watching too many YouTube videos.  I'm sure many people have safe fried turkeys on their thanksgiving tables.  I know my dad did it one year, minus the beer and the redneck friends, of course.

The Turkey, unstuffed

So is it against everything that is tradition to not stuff the bird?  Mom says I'll never hear the end of it, but look at this scrumptiously, golden delicious bird.  How can you say that's wrong?

My turkey this year, the one pictured here, was perhaps the best turkey I have ever eaten.  The breast meat was juicy and tender.  The gravy was sumptuous, with such a concentrated flavor that I really wanted to just drink it.  The stuffing was still delicious, and all the people at both my Thanksgivings told me so.

Sorry, Mom.  I'll keep my turkey unstuffed, and my dressing on the side.  But thanks for the recipe!

Falling for Squash

I love fall.  I love the smell of fall.  I love Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (but not until AFTER Thanksgiving, people!).  I love cooking chili and soup, and all those other cold weather things that smell up the house.  I especially love fall because of squash.

Before becoming the main food preparer in the family, the main way I got squash was mashed.  And that's OK.  But then I discovered squash and how incredibly versatile it is.  My mom and I made this Texas Beef Brisket Chili Recipe and it has squash in it!  It's from Bon Appetit, so really how could it not be good? (And its good, really good)

At the local San Luis Obispo Farmer's Market, I decided to get a butternut squash.  Instead of boiling and mashing it, I diced it up into cubes, tossed it in some olive oil, sprinkled some salt and pepper on it and roasted it in the oven like I do potatoes.  Suddenly, a whole new world of squash opened up!  Another time I sliced it up into little fry shapes and made them a little southwest with some chili pepper and cumin.  Who knew the sweetness of a Butternut Squash would go so well with a little spice!  Roasted squash is also a nice addition to chili.  It's a great vegetable to throw in at the end.  The sweetness can sometimes cut some of the spice and add some low calorie filler! Needless to say, I don't remember the last time we had mashed squash.  Now if only I could get Ryan to eat it!

Acorn squash is another fall favorite, but as far as I'm concerned, it should be mashed.  I make it like my mom did, face down in a pan of water.  Then flip it, fill it's little concavity with butter and brown sugar and enjoy!

Summer is a great time for squash too.  Zucchini and those cute little yellow summer squashes make a great saute with some onion.  I use about 3 Tbsp of the Land O' Lakes Light butter and it makes a fantasticly buttery sauce.

Similar to squash are sweet potatoes.  (If you're wondering the difference between sweet potatoes and yams like I did, go here)  What Thanksgiving dinner is complete without sweet potatoes?  Ok, maybe they are complete here in California, but not in the South.  My sister especially likes the sweet potato casserole with the brown sugar and marshmallows on top.

Inspired by a Lean Cuisine called Beef Barbacoa, I made a slow cooked beef in a spicy sauce and on a separate occasion, I made the chipotle sweet potatoes that accompany it in the frozen meal.  With the beef, I made a "clean out the fridge" type casserole that had in it... you guessed it, squash!

Spicy Adobe Beef
2-3 lb Tri-tip or pot roast
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomatoes with green chilis (also called Rotel)
1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 Tbsp chopped garlic (about 2-3 cloves)
1/2 large onion, diced

Throw it all in the crock pot and cook it on low for 6-8 hours.  A warning about the chilis!  I used the whole can and it was HOT.  I like it hot, but if you don't, scrape out the seeds inside, or just use 1 chili per pound of meat.  And use the adobo sauce.

Black Bean and Rice Casserole

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups diced, roasted butternut squash
1/2 cup (or so) Spicy Adobe Beef juice
1 cup Mexican Blend shredded cheese (or whatever you've got)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the rice. Combine all the ingredients in a casserole dish.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Cover for first 20 minutes and then uncover for last 10 minutes for 30 minutes of total cooking time.  Makes about 6-8 servings.

When you serve these, put the beef and the sauce on top.  It is so good!  It has a kick though, so the rice casserole helps to calm that down.

If you'd rather try the Chipotle Sweet Potatoes:

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes
1 lb uncooked sweet potato, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp Land O' Lakes Light Butter
2 Tbsp Fat Free Milk
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Cook the sweet potatoes in salted, boiling water until tender.  Drain and transfer to bowl.  Add the Butter and milk and combine until creamy.  Add the chili powder and cumin.  Salt to taste.

So as a reminder, add some squash to your next meal.  You might find it a nice addition to chili, casseroles, or just as a great side dish.  Happy Fall!

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

I don't remember if it was Chili's or Applebee's (because honestly, who can tell the difference between the two), but I remember watching TV and seeing a commercial for Bruschetta Chicken and thinking, wow that looks good.  And my next thought was, hey, I can make that!

When Aaron and I began our weight loss journey, which happened to coincide with having a child and realizing that going out to eat all the time was pretty ridiculous, one of the things we gave up was going out to dinner unless it was worth going out for.  That pretty much meant that we needed to go out for dinner for things that we couldn't get at home or things that were really good.  Woodstock's Pizza, for one.  Chinese food, Sushi, those kinds of things.  But we didn't want mediocre, so we have our favorites and once a week or so we hit those restaurants.

One of the things that helped me realize how much I love too cook is finding things I like and making them myself.  So after watching this commercial, I decided to do just that.

Bruschetta is delicious   It's great on little toasts as an appetizer, or in this recipe just slap it on some grilled chicken, add pasta, and enjoy!

I never did get a chance to try that Bruschetta Chicken that I saw on the TV, but this has become a really tasty and healthy favorite in my house.

Bruschetta Chicken

Bruschetta Chicken with Penne Pasta and grilled Squash

2 boneless, skinnless chicken breasts
4 oz. whole grain spaghetti
2-3 cups bruschetta (recipe follows)

Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper then place on grill (I like my George Foreman for this for easy clean up, but the grill outside works too!).  Cook the spaghetti and divide into two servings.  Should be approximately 4.25 oz of cooked spaghetti.  Slice chicken and place on pasta.  Divide Bruschetta in half and spoon it on.  You can really have as much of the Bruschetta as you like.  Enjoy!

My homemade Bruschetta with Basil from my garden!

Bruschetta:
4-6 Whole Roma Tomatoes
1/2 cup of Fresh Basil (or so)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 tsp kosher salt (or so)
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper

Dice the tomatoes, chop the basil and throw it with all the other ingredients in a bowl together.  For best results let it marinate for a few hours before serving the chicken.  The measurements are approximate because I am really bad about measuring, so play around with it and just make sure it tastes good!

I really like this recipe for a light dinner.  The biggest things to watch for is not to serve yourself too much pasta!  One serving is 2 oz of uncooked pasta and most of the time, that is enough.  Serve a nice salad or steamed broccoli on the side.  If you're grilling outside, corn, squash, zucchini, or anything else grillable can go on right with your chicken!

I have a few more copycat recipes coming.  One is Lean Cuisine's Chili Lime Chicken and the other one is their Ranchero Braised Beef.  Don't be afraid of copying, they say that it is the sincerest form of flattery.  Plus you can save money and tons of calories by making it at home!