Everyday Gluten Free

Wild Rice Soup - Dairy Free and Gluten Free

2009-01-20T07:16:00.004-06:00

On Saturday, we brought lunch over to our friends Mike and Amy's house. They have a dream of a baby girl, who recently has been producing a larger-than-normal amount of spit-up. Since Amy's nursing, she's been altering her diet to try to help the baby. So far, eating dairy free has helped.

When I decided to bring them Wild Rice Soup, I realized that I not only had to modify it to be gluten free, but I had to modify it to be dairy free as well.

I used this recipe. I subbed oil for butter and rice milk for half-and-half to make it dairy free. Then to make it gluten free, for the 3/4 cup all-purpose flour I subbed a 1/4 cup brown rice flour, a 1/4 cup sorghum flour, and a 1/4 cup tapioca flour.

The soup was not very creamy; it ended up being brothier. But it was very, very good. So I'm definitely saving this recipe to use again!

Artichoke Spinach Chicken – Gluten Free

2009-01-15T20:01:00.001-06:00

The Artichoke Spinach Chicken that I made yesterday turned out pretty good. I will definitely make it again, but it wasn’t my all-time favorite meal or anything.

Artichoke Spinach Chicken – Gluten Free

2 chicken breasts, uncooked
1 package of frozen spinach, thawed
1 can of artichoke hearts, quartered
½ cup mayo
S & P to taste

Put everything in the crock pot and cook for 6-8 hours on low. That’s it!

I served it with rice, but it makes a very nice meal by itself.

It didn’t look very photogenic, so I decided not to take a picture. Also, it smelled a bit *weird,* but when we ate it, it tasted fine. So don’t be put off by that.

I have a loaf of bread kneading in my bread machine, so I’d better go check it!

Weekly Menu

2009-01-13T21:32:00.003-06:00

Here's what I have planned for this week:

Monday - Taco salad
Tuesday - Tomato soup and grilled cheese
Wednesday - Artichoke spinach chicken
Thursday - Egg salad
Friday - My company Christmas party
Saturday lunch - Wild rice soup
Saturday dinner - Tim's company Christmas party
Sunday lunch - Salsa chicken
Sunday dinner - Salsa chicken soup
Monday - Pancakes, or as my Dad calls them: Pandogs

One of the advantages to working in HR is that I get to assist with planning the annual Christmas party. We're having the party at our local Elks Club, and they have a gluten free option (Rosemary Chicken, I think). We actually have one other employee who also eats gluten free, so now we both get to go and eat without fear!

I'm just making up the recipe for Artichoke spinach chicken, so if it's good, I'll let you know.

On Saturday we're going to bring our wild rice soup over to our friends' house. They recently had an adorable baby, and they received an interestingly random-sounding game for Christmas, so I think we'll have a good time!

Head over to Org Junkie to find some more great menus!

Frugal Picture Frame Idea

2008-12-28T08:04:00.002-06:00

I made this fun frame for my sister Rae. It says, “Sister: a very useful thing.”

If you’re a fan of the Tintin comic books, you may remember that Tintin once said, “Concussion: a very useful thing.” That’s where this saying comes from.

I decoupaged letters I cut out from the newspaper onto a bright pink frame. I love decoupaging; it’s so fun to do and almost always ends up looking great!

And of course you could always use a more *normal* saying. Rae and I are both a bit weird, so I like it that my gift reflects our oddity.

I was really happy with the way this gift came together. It was a thoughtful and frugal idea, if I may say so myself!

Chocolate Peppermint Pie - Easily Gluten Free

2008-12-26T15:18:00.001-06:00

Tonight Tim and I are going to visit some really good friends of ours. They’re like my second family, really. One of the girls, Bekka, has Celiac disease, so it’s easy for me to eat at their house.

I’m bringing along a gluten free Chocolate Peppermint Pie. I used Glutino chocolate dream cookies for the crust. It looks so good, I can’t wait to try it!

Raspberry Cranberry Pie - Gluten Free

2008-12-24T19:48:00.000-06:00

I made another Raspberry Cranberry pie, for Christmas this time instead of Thanksgiving. I paid more attention to what I was doing so I now have an actual recipe, albeit a simple one.

Raspberry Cranberry Pie

30 oz raspberries, fresh or frozen
18 oz cranberries
Sugar to taste
¼ cup minute tapioca
½ cup tapioca flour
Two pie crusts

Combine the berries and add sugar to your preference of sweetness. Mix in the minute tapioca. Let stand in the fridge over night or longer.

Prepare the pie crusts. Mix the tapioca flour into the filling and pour into the bottom crust. Cover with the top crust and follow the crust’s baking directions.

And there you go!

I always have a little extra crust, so I made two little pie tartlets for some gluten free friends from church. I hope they enjoy them!

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Chicken Rice Casserole - crock pot

2008-12-23T19:40:00.002-06:00

This dish isn’t Christmas-y at all, but it’s a tasty and simple dinner recipe!

Chicken Rice Casserole in the crock pot

2 Chicken breasts
2 cups uncooked rice
3 cups gluten free chicken broth
2 cups water
S and P to taste
Shredded cheese – optional

Put the rice and chicken in the crock pot and cover with broth, water, and S and P. Cook 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low. Sprinkle with cheese about 30 minutes before it’s done if you wish. We didn’t do that this time, so you won’t see cheese in the picture. I put some parsley on the chicken, so that's why it's greenish.

It’s really that simple, and really that good! As long as you use gluten free chicken broth, it’s naturally gluten free.

Christmas Cookies!

2008-12-23T07:05:00.002-06:00

When my friend Morgan told me she was going to do some gluten free Christmas cookie baking, I directed her to Carrie’s gluten free cookie roundup at GingerLemonGirl. Once I browsed through the plethora of cookie recipes, I decided that I needed to do a gluten free cookie baking day, too.

I have a friend from my church who was diagnosed with Celiacs two weeks ago. So I invited her over and we baked cookies all morning and afternoon last Saturday!

We made Chocolate Chip Cookies (of course!), Cranberry Orange Cookies (since I have a love affair with cranberries), and Sugar Cookies.

I’ll definitely be saving these recipes to use again. The cookies were so scrumptious!

On a side note; yes the sugar cookies are a donkey and a pig. Unfortunately I don’t have any “Christmasy” cookie cutters, just barn yard animals. But, I figured there were probably donkeys and pigs in the stable when Jesus was born, so it works!

Chicken Black Bean Soup

2008-12-18T19:38:00.003-06:00

I learned a very good lesson this week, one that many of you probably have known for years.

I found out that dried beans don’t fully cook in a soup in the crock pot for 8 hours on low.

I made Chicken Black Bean crock pot soup on Wednesday. Even without the beans being fully cooked, it still was quite tasty. I’ll definitely make this soup again, but not in the crock pot next time. I think it’ll turn out better on the stove. Or maybe a combination of crock pot and stove.

Here’s what’s in it:

16 oz. dried black beans

1-2 chicken breasts

28 oz diced tomatoes and juice

4 cups gluten free chicken broth

2 onions, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

16 oz frozen corn

Coriander to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

I just threw everything in the crock pot (minus frozen corn), and turned it on low all day. Next time I think I’ll cook everything except the corn and beans in the crock pot, cook the beans on the stove, and then add the beans and corn just before I serve it. That way the beans won’t be crunchy, which is always a plus!

I work with an elementary girls group at my church on Wednesday nights. This past Wednesday we were supposed to dress up like Christmas. Here’s what I came up with:

I’m a Christmas tree! I had on brown pants (which you can’t really see) to be the tree trunk, green to be the boughs, ornaments hung up with care, and an angel on top!

Weekly Menu - Gluten Free

2008-12-15T21:25:00.004-06:00

Thanks to Diane for the breakfast burrito idea. We’ve used up quite a few of our tortillas on those, and, boy, are they yummy!

I survived my crazy busy week, and now I’m on to a calmer and more relaxed week. Of course I’m trying to do Christmas shopping and baking, and trying to get caught up on the housework that was put on the back burner last week (laundry, anyone?), but for the most part, it should be a nice week.

That doesn’t take into consideration the fact that I’m sure I’ll be staying super late at work since open enrollment is closing and the enrollment forms can’t enter themselves… That would be stellar if they could!

I’m going to try a few new recipes that have been floating around in my head, so I’ll actually have food stuff to put up here on my blog.

Here’s what I have planned for a naturally gluten free menu:

Monday – Burgers and rice
Tuesday – Rice noodles
Wednesday – Chicken black bean crock pot soup (recipe to come later this week)
Thursday – Tomato soup and sandwiches
Friday – Chicken nuggets and mashed sweet potatoes
Saturday lunch – Chicken and rice casserole (again, recipe to come later this week)
Saturday dinner – Split pea chowder
Sunday – Cobb salads

Weekly Menu

2008-12-08T19:47:00.002-06:00

I'm playing with the symphony this weekend for their Holiday Pops concert, so I'll be at rehearsals Tuesday and Thursday. That means that I need something quick and easy for dinner on those two nights.

We also have a ton of tortillas left over from when we had salsa chicken last week. So, I need some creative ways to use them up.

Monday -Bean burritos
Tuesday - Tortilla pizzas
Wednesday - Chili
Thursday - Chili again, I think
Friday - Cheesy chicken rice casserole
Saturday lunch - Egg sandwiches
Saturday dinner - Eat out, I think, since I have a 2:00 show and a 7:30 show. Not much time left for cooking!

I sometimes feel a little anxious about eating out before a show. I prefer to eat something that I know will not make me *sick*. Maybe I'll come up with something to throw in the crock pot Saturday morning. That way I won't have to cook in between shows, and I'll get to eat at home.

Do you have any creative ways of using up corn tortillas before they go stale?

Cranberry Raspberry Pie - Gluten Free

2008-12-08T19:43:00.002-06:00

Here's another picture of my cranberry raspberry pie. I was so happy with the way the filling held together. It didn't get at all soggy.

Thanks to Blondin for taking this photo!

Blue Cheese - Gluten Free?

2008-12-02T21:19:00.007-06:00

Gluten Free Kay asked me about the blue cheese that I had on Thanksgiving. I served Amablu blue cheese. I emailed Amablu to ask if their cheese was gluten free and received a response in 18 minutes. Here’s what Beth at Amablu said:

“That is a very common question and I’m glad you asked. Our Amablu products, including our blue cheese, gorgonzola and our award winning St. Pete’s Select blue cheese are all gluten free. We are careful to purchase our Penicillium roqueforttii from manufacturers that culture without the use of wheat or rye breads.

We here at Faribault Dairy take pride in making handmade, all natural, award winning cheese and ultimately strive for you, the consumer to have a pleasurable palate experience. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.

I hope you enjoy your blue cheese experience.”

I have a fond connection with Amablu. My grandfather worked in the sand caves in Faribault making blue cheese many years ago. They shut down the caves for a while, and then recently the Faribault Dairy company bought them and began production again.

My sister and I have very thin skin, so you can easily see our veins beneath it. We like to say that we have blue cheese coursing through our veins. When people ask how we can eat moldy cheese, we say, “It’s in our blood!” We follow in the footsteps of our grandpa!

Gluten Free Thanksgiving Dinner - Yum!!!

2008-11-28T18:49:00.000-06:00

Well, Thanksgiving is all over with. We had a great time with family and lots o' food. Here are a few pictures from our meal.

We had cheese and crackers and deviled eggs for appetizer. Tim and I were really looking forward to the special cheeses. We had creamy havarti, dill havarti, Dubliner, Gruyere, and blue. Of course, most blues are started on wheat bread, so be careful about eating blue cheese.

Then we started the meal out with a fresh julienne veggie salad with a homemade raspberry vinaigrette and popovers. I used the popover recipe from the Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. They didn’t “pop” a lot, but they tasted just like their glutenful partners.

We got out our china for this special meal. I just love the look of our accent plates!

The main course consisted of too much food. We had a beef roast with lots of onions, mashed garlic sweet potatoes...

green bean casserole...

Carrie’s sweet corn pudding, cranberry salad...

and cranberry sauce.

Then, much later in the day, we had our dessert: raspberry cranberry pie and chocolate pie. Can you tell that we like cranberries in my family?

For breakfast this morning we had fruit soup (a family tradition) and a Swedish coffee cake from the Gluten Free Gourmet Makes Comfort Food that really turned out great! I’ll definitely be making that recipe again!

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too. And don’t forget to give thanks!

Thanksgiving Menu

2008-11-25T20:40:00.000-06:00

Sorry I’ve been *absent* recently. I have so much to do to get ready for Thanksgiving!

My mom, sister, and great-aunt are coming down tomorrow to stay through Friday. I’m glad I’ll have a bunch of extra hands to help in the kitchen!

I’m so excited for our Thanksgiving meal! We’re already prepping some of the food and I just want to eat it all right now!

Here’s what we’re having…

Appetizers
Cheese and crackers
Deviled eggs

Dinner
Julienne veggie salad with raspberry vinaigrette
Pot roast (I know, I know, it’s not turkey, but it’s still so good!)
Garlic mashed sweet potatoes
Green bean hot dish
Carrie’s sweet corn pudding
Pineapple salad
Popovers
Cranberry sauce

Dessert
Cranberry raspberry pie (with this pie crust recipe)
Dark chocolate pie
Ice cream

Oh, I’m getting hungry just typing this out.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that my family members have unusual diets. I don’t eat gluten, my sister’s a vegetarian and doesn’t eat tomatoes or peppers, and my mom doesn’t eat wheat, potatoes, and corn. It’s a challenge to cook for all of us, but I think I have enough here to satisfy everyone.

I’ll post some pictures and recipes later this week.

My Thanksgiving guests will be leaving Friday afternoon, and then my cousins and two of their friends will be coming Friday evening to stay through Sunday. I’m pretty sure I won’t have too much blogging time; I’ll be having way too much fun!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-19T20:40:00.000-06:00

I’m getting excited for Thanksgiving. We’re having my Mom, sister Rae, and Great-aunt Cheryl down for a few days. They’ll be here the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so I’m going to put them all to work in the kitchen helping me prepare the big meal! I’ll be glad to have the help!

I really enjoy planning out a special Thanksgiving meal. I’ll post our menu and food pictures next week. I should tell you that we’re going to have a raspberry cranberry pie to whet your appetite!

Tim and I have been setting aside some extra money each week to help fund our Thanksgiving meal; we couldn’t afford such an elaborate meal on just our $50.00/week grocery budget.

It’s nice to have the extra money in cash so that we know how much to spend and don’t over spend. And it’s nice that it doesn’t all have to come out of our checking account in one fell swoop.

Here are just a few things I’m thankful for:

Tim
My family and in-laws
My church and pastors
My friends
My job
My home

Really, this list could go on and on.

Thank you, Lord, for all of your blessings!

Chicken Soup Variation

2008-11-16T20:40:00.001-06:00

I had a semi-failed experiment last week. I had a great idea, but looking back, I should have realized that it wouldn’t play out quite like I intended it.

I thought that I should make sweet potato dumplings to go in my chicken veggie soup. So I made some mashed sweet potatoes and dropped them into the boiling soup by spoonfuls.

Of course, they dissolved!

The end result was still very good. The sweet potatoes thickened up the broth and made it a little creamy.

Sometimes “failed” experiments can end up with good results!

Chili

2008-11-14T20:40:00.000-06:00

I made a huge crockpot full of chili on Monday. Chili is so easily gluten free! Here’s what I put in it:

Beef broth
Tomato sauce
Diced tomatoes
Ground turkey
Carrots
Celery
Onions
Turnips
Corn
Black beans
Cumin
Chili powder
Paprika
S&P
(And a little Franks to my individual serving, of course!)

It’s a little thinner than most chilis, but I like that it’s full of veggies.

And the turnips are a nice substitute for potatoes. You can hardly tell the difference!

The corn bread that I made was actually the recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook. I subbed a mixture of sorghum, brown rice, and white rice flours. It turned out crumbly, but so good! I think I’m going to use that recipe from now on.

Yummy Fruit!

2008-11-13T20:40:00.001-06:00

We had a few dollars left over in our food budget this week, and since Wal-Mart had pomegranates on sale for $1.88, I thought I’d get one.

It was quite juicy and flavorful, although after I finished getting the seeds out of it, I was full of red juice!

Soup Menu

2008-11-10T20:40:00.002-06:00

I’m still recovering from my wisdom teeth removal. I’m brushing and rinsing 4 to 6 times a day, as recommended.

I mixed together water and tea tree oil to make a mouthwash, since tea tree oil has always helped me heal super quickly! It does taste pretty gross, though.

We’re sticking with soups this week because of the afore mentioned reason, and since it’s in the 30’s outside, if we’re lucky. It went from very nice out to very cold in just a few days!

Sunday dinner – tomato soup
Monday – chili with corn bread
Tuesday – chicken veggie soup
Wednesday – chili served over mashed sweet potatoes
Thursday – chicken veggie rice soup
Friday – split pea chowder
Saturday lunch – spaghetti
Saturday dinner – small steaks

Soups are such a nice way to warm up on a cold day. Another nice way to warm up would be a hot water bottle, but I can’t find one to purchase anywhere! I’ve mentioned before that our microwave died months and months ago, and we never replaced it. Apparently the only hot packs that you can buy now are one you have to heat in the microwave. I’d love to put a hot pack on my cheeks to help the swelling in my jaw go down, but I think I’m out of luck until I come up with a microwave-less alternative.

Let me know if you have any ideas!

Check out Gluten Free Goodness for some great gluten free menus.

There's more menus at Org Junkie, as well!

Frito Bars!

2008-11-08T20:40:00.000-06:00

Here’s that frito bar recipe I promised. I made them for our election party on Tuesday, and they were just about finished off. Luckily I saved one for a picture!

I’m sure I got this recipe from somewhere, but I couldn’t find it anywhere online, so sorry I’m not giving credit for it.

Frito Bars

10.5 to 12 oz. bag of frito corn chips
1 cup white Karo syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter, crunchy or creamy
Chocolate chips to top, at least 1 cup

Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Crunch up the chips in the bag and spread them in the bottom of the pan.

In a medium saucepan, bring the Karo syrup to a boil. Add the sugar and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. (Don’t you love dissolving sugar in sugar!) Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter.

Pour over the chips and mix together. Melt the chocolate chips and spread over the top of the bars. Cool, and enjoy!

Thanks!

2008-11-07T22:34:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I survived my wisdom teeth surgery. I had a pretty hard time coming out of the anesthesia, like I went under at 8:15 am and didn't fully recover until 8:00 pm, and that was after throwing up 13 times!

Needless to say, I had a pretty miserable day yesterday. Tim was so sweet; he stayed home with me all day and helped me in every way possible. He's the best!

I'm feeling a TON better today. I'm still not up to par, of course, but I'm on the way. I've still got dry sockets and infections to worry about.

I hope to post about my favorite Frito Bars tomorrow!

Weekly Menu, Again

2008-11-03T22:00:00.004-06:00

I'm having my wisdom teeth out on Thursday. Not really so fun. But it definitely affects our menu for this week. I'm not planning on having a ton of food on Thursday and Friday. I'll probably just stick with jello and split pea soup.

So Tim's in charge of cooking whatever he wants to eat. That makes menu planning a little bit easier.

Here's what we've got in the works:

Monday - Veggie Beef soup, leftover from last week
Tuesday - Election Party at a friend's house, Go McCain/Palin!
Wednesday - Squash, and something with 1/2 lb ground turkey
Thursday - Tim - Mac'n'Cheese, Sarah - Jello
Friday - Split Pea soup, if I'm up to it
Saturday lunch - Sunday school Barn Party
Saturday dinner - Something with the other 1/2 lb of ground turkey

How's that for a specific menu? It's at least a rough outline. I don't really know what to expect when I have my teeth out, so we'll just roll with the punches this week.

I like having a menu with naturally gluten free foods like squash, soups, and meat. Of course Tim get's the special treat of having "real" mac'n'cheese since I'm not sharing it with him; and by real I mean Kraft (obviously anti-gluten free)!

As usual, you can find tasty menus at Org Junkie.

Pie Crust

2008-11-02T20:40:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Tenille for posting about this great pie recipe! (Or, should I say "Awesome")

I’m planning on making a raspberry cranberry pie for Thanksgiving, but I hadn’t found a pie crust that I liked yet. I tried this one out a few weeks ago, and it was very good!

I made it with a top crust just because I like it that way. I'm sure the crumb crust would be nice too.

I definitely would recommend it.

Reminiscing

2008-10-30T22:31:00.001-05:00

I was browsing through my old high school yearbook today. Thinking back on those days, I realize how many things I did wrong, how many bad attitudes I had, how many opportunities to touch other peoples’ lives I let slide by.

Now don’t get me wrong; I was a good kid. I was one of the six valedictorians out of my class of 350. I was involved in music (of course). I was in the concert band (playing French horn), the symphonic band (playing percussion), jazz band on and off, pit orchestra, marching band, pep band, chamber orchestra on and off, concert choir, and chamber singers. I even managed our football team for a season.

I think that in high school I was just focusing on all of the wrong things. I always wanted a boyfriend, and now I’m desperately glad that I didn’t have one. I always wanted to be “popular;” well, that’s not really true. I enjoyed being a bit of an oddball, actually. I think what I mean is, I wanted to be accepted.

I was so blessed to have a great group of friends. They helped me get through a rough time in my life with their faithful support and their unconditional acceptance. Without their friendship, I don’t think I would have made it through half as well as I did.

I just know that if I was able to do high school over again with the attitudes I’ve developed and with the life experience I have now, I would have done a much better job.

Oh, and while I made my bread tonight I listened to PFR’s album “Them”. Another *totally high school* flashback.

Dinners and a Movie

2008-10-28T21:57:00.002-05:00

We had Tim’s family staying with us this past weekend. We had planned on having brats for lunch, but that fell through, so we get to have them for dinner a few times this week! I think we’ll also take some in our lunches tomorrow.

My in-laws all wanted to eat at Panera, even though I told them that it’s fairly difficult for me to eat there. I ended up having a salad (no chicken or dressing, please) and a hot chocolate with soy milk.

Then later Saturday afternoon we went to the cinema. We saw “Eagle Eye,” which ended up being quite good. It has one of my favorite actresses on it: Michelle Monaghan. Unfortunately I got “motion sick” and had to go sit in the lobby and eat ice chips for the last half of the movie, but I’d like to see it again once it comes out on DVD. I’ll do a lot better with it on a small screen.

Here’s our menu for the week, including lots o’ brats.

Monday – spaghetti
Tuesday – brats and rice
Wednesday – tomato soup and grilled cheese
Thursday – brats and squash
Friday – crepes
Saturday lunch – sandwiches
Saturday dinner – out, I think

Check out Org Junkie for over 350 menus!

Goulash

2008-10-25T10:39:00.001-05:00

Another quick and easy meal that I made last week was goulash. I don’t have a real recipe for this, so the measurements are just guesses.

Goulash

16 oz. Tinkyada pasta, or other gluten free pasta, cooked
½ lb. ground turkey (easier on the budget than a full pound of ground beef)
Diced onion
Tomato sauce
Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses

Cook the ground turkey and onions together. Add the tomato sauce and heat until warm. Add some S & P if desired. Add hot sauce (like Frank's) if you want; I always do!

Stir in the cooked pasta and some parmesan. Sprinkle mozzarella on the top and place under the broiler until the cheese melts.

I usually make this in my all metal stockpot so it can go straight into the oven.

Crock Pot Chicken Soup

2008-10-23T22:31:00.005-05:00

I made some quick and easy meals last week, and yet I was a putz and didn’t blog about any of them!

Here’s how I made my chicken soup.

Crock Pot Chicken Soup

1-2 chicken breasts
Carrots
Onions
Celery
Garlic
Gluten free chicken broth
Frozen veggies, like corn, peas, etc.
Salt and pepper
Dill and any other seasoning that you like.

Put the chicken on the bottom of the crock pot and sprinkle seasonings on top of them. Then add the raw, uncooked veggies and pour in the broth, enough to cover the meat and veggies. Cook all day on low. Add the frozen veggies about 30 minutes before serving. Take out the chicken and shread/cube it, and add it back in the soup.

You could also add cooked rice just before serving. Or turn it into chicken dumpling soup with a little gluten free Bisquick-type mix. That’s what we did one morning for breakfast and it was yummy! Some of our friends think we’re crazy, but we like having soup for breakfast.

*I was just browsing other gluten free sites and found out that Diana recently made a crock pot chicken soup, too. Check out hers over here.

Conductor Video

2008-10-20T18:53:00.004-05:00

Bernstein – West Side Story, Finale from Jason Weinberger on Vimeo.

This is totally random, but check out this cool video of the conductor I play under. I love how expressive his face is!

I just did a concert with the Symphony yesterday. It was mostly Latin music, and, of course, Hoe-Down by Copland. It was a fun concert!

I Need Help!!!

2008-10-20T07:20:00.001-05:00

The last two loaves of bread that I made stuck to the bottom of my loaf pan. I have a non-stick loaf pan that isn’t scratched at all, and I always generously grease it with shortening.

But still, my last two loaves had their bottoms ripped off as I tried to get them out of the pan.

You can imagine how frustrated that made me!

Do you have a tip for making your bread not stick? Do you think I need to buy a new loaf pan even though mine isn’t scratched? Should I grease it with something else?

I’d appreciate any advice! Thanks!

Weekly Menu

2008-10-14T21:06:00.004-05:00

Better late than never, right?

Tuesday - Cheeseburger bake
Wednesday - Chicken veggie soup
Thursday - Goulash
Friday - Pancakes and eggs
Saturday lunch - Chicken and rice
Saturday dinner - French toast

I can't believe that I haven't posted my goulash recipe yet. I'll put it up later this week.

Check out Org Junkie for more menu ideas.

Biscuits and Gravy

2008-10-13T18:08:00.000-05:00

Last week I used the leftover sauce from my alfredo pie to make a sort of Biscuits and Gravy for breakfast. Although we had reservations at first, both Tim and I really liked it!

I just mixed the alfredo sauce with some cooked ground turkey, warmed it up, and poured it over biscuits. It was a great way to start the day!

I used Mrs.P's Yeast Rolls recipe, although next time I think I'll put in a but more flour. It was quite sticky!

(Sorry for the blurry picture; I don’t know what happened.)

Box O' Snacks

2008-10-12T21:17:00.000-05:00

Look at all of these tasty gluten free snacks that my kind Mother sent to us!

What fun it was to open up an unexpected package of treats. Apparently there are some pretty cool stores out in Washington, since I’ve never seen these brands in Iowa.

I especially like the Mary’s Gone Crackers Sticks and Twigs, chipotle tomato flavored. Also, Pamela’s Organic Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chunk cookies were to die for! Those were gone in about three days.

We took the rest of these snacks (not the gravy mixes or soap bar, of course) on our weekend trip. Together with the caramel corn, we were eating good! At least snack-wise, haha.

Caramel Corn

2008-10-10T17:03:00.001-05:00

Since we're going on a trip this weekend, we made a batch of caramel corn for a snack. We used this recipe here, but made just a half recipe.

Apparently we took it too literally when it said to boil for five minutes without stirring. It burned a bit on the bottom of the sauce, so next time I think we’ll stir occasionally.

Other than that, it turned out pretty good!

Chicken Alfredo Pie

2008-10-09T20:33:00.003-05:00

I made a Chicken Alfredo Pie for my friends who just had the baby, and I made an extra one for Tim and me!

It’s quite similar to my spaghetti pie, but with chicken instead of beef and with alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce, although I’m thinking those changes are pretty self-evident!

My spaghetti pie recipe calls for 8-10 oz. pasta, but I've been doing less recently and it's been working better. I now do about 6 oz. cooked rice noodles.

Frugal Baby Gift Idea

2008-10-08T21:10:00.001-05:00

This is completely off the topic of gluten free, but it is a frugal idea.

My friends just had a baby girl last week. She is just a gem, so cute and small. They named her a good Old Testament name: Hannah.

Since I took Hebrew in college, I made her a name placard with Hannah written out in Hebrew, a Bible verse from Hannah’s prayer in I Samuel, and a little picture of a girl. What do you think of it?

It only cost me $1.50 for the frame and time. I think it’s pretty neat, but I love the Hebrew language. It’s read from right to left, and it’s so beautiful written and spoken.

Even if you don’t know Hebrew, you could make a name placard with the meaning of the baby’s name, a Bible verse to go along with the name’s meaning, and a picture.

In my Adult Sunday School (the young married group), it’s good to have a frugal baby gift idea, because people keep having babies! We’re expecting one more this month, one in November, and one in February. That’s all I know about for now, but I’m sure there’ll be more!

Weekly Menu

2008-10-06T21:24:00.002-05:00

Here’s our weekly menu:

Monday – Chicken Alfredo pie
Tuesday – Tomato soup and sandwich
Wednesday – Pizza
Thursday – Barbeque chicken
Friday – On the road
Saturday lunch – Sandwiches
Saturday dinner – Somewhere in Chicago

We are going to Dubuque, IA, on Friday and then heading to Chicago on Saturday. I have a friend in school there, so I’m looking forward to visiting with her!

Traveling can be hard to do gluten free, but it’s more difficult on the “dining out” budget for me. This weekend we’ll probably do fast food on Friday for dinner, pack a lunch for Saturday, eat out somewhere nice for Saturday dinner, and then have breakfast and lunch at our friend’s house on Sunday. Hopefully we’ll make it home in time for dinner.

Check out Org Junkie for her yummy Thanksgiving menu. I guess in Canada it comes earlier!

Hope over to Gluten Free Goodness to get some more gluten free menus.

Pepperoni Pasta

2008-10-03T21:52:00.001-05:00

After being inspired by a link I found on Org Junkie, I made this pepperoni pasta.

I sautéed some onions, celery, and carrots in olive oil with 3 cloves of crushed garlic. Once they were tender I added a cup of Carrie’s cream soup base, a can of mushrooms, and some turkey pepperoni. Of course I added salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.

Then I tossed in 8 oz. of cooked Tinkyada brown rice pasta.

I added some parmesan cheese and Frank’s Red Hot just before I ate it. It was so simple and naturally gluten free. We’re definitely having it again!

Yummy Gluten Free Brownies

2008-10-02T16:36:00.004-05:00

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Mix (or sift) together:
1 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a separate bowl, mix together:
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Melt together:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup unsalted butter

Slowly pour the melted chocolate/butter into the eggs while beating on low with an electric mixer.

Add the dry ingredients and beat on medium until combined. Pour batter into a greased 9x9 pan and smooth flat with a spatula. The batter will be quite thick.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

I created this recipe for my mom. She doesn’t eat wheat, potatoes, tapioca, or sorghum, along with a bunch of other foods. And since she doesn’t keep xanthan gum in her pantry, wheat-free baking is a challenge for her.

She called me a few weeks ago and asked if I had a good gluten free brownie recipe. I pulled out my trusty Bette Hagman cookbook, but her brownie recipe called for potato starch, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum. So that was out of the question!

Hopefully this recipe will work for you Mom. I hope you like it!

Chicken Nuggets

2008-09-30T19:26:00.003-05:00

We had chicken nuggets tonight (instead of yesterday) for dinner. I followed this recipe here that I found on Gluten Free Frugal’s website.

The nuggets turned out really good. They do look a bit unusual, but the second you bite into them, you know you’ve found a keeper!

Weekly Menu

2008-09-28T20:23:00.005-05:00

I'm following Carrie's lead and using some cream soups this week. I think we have some fun meals planned; we’re trying to get out of the rut of having the same boring meals over and over.

Sunday dinner – Tater tot casserole (thanks to Carrie)
Monday – Chicken nuggets (thanks to GFF)
Tuesday – Pepperoni pasta, slightly amended (thanks to Org Junkie)
Wednesday – Spaghetti
Thursday – Chicken salad
Friday – Breakfast for dinner
Saturday lunch – Sandwiches
Saturday dinner – Cheeseburger bake

I also have some of Carrie’s ice cream in my freezer right now, although I made it chocolate chip instead of cinnamon!

I’m going to be posting my brownie recipe sometime this week; it just depends on when I have time to make them, so check back often!

Check out Kimberly at Living Free for a great gluten free menu round up.

And, as usual, you can find anything and everything over at Org Junkie's menu round up.

Friday Evening

2008-09-27T00:36:00.002-05:00

We just got back from a fun evening with friends. We had great food and a great time playing card games.

They made us steaks on the grill which were so YUM! We also had mashed potatoes with Velveeta, sour cream, garlic salt, and butter. I’m definitely going to have to try making those at home. I never would have thought to put Velveeta in mashed potatoes.

We played the card game Hand and Foot. Tim and Darci were on a team and they kind of killed Doug and I. Then we played Liverpool Rummy. It was our first time playing, and we truly enjoyed it. I especially did, since I won! It must have been beginner’s luck.

Now off to bed for me; it’s way past my bedtime!

Buffalo Beef

2008-09-24T20:56:00.001-05:00

We had this last Monday (like last week’s Monday), and it was pretty good.

To make the sauce, I just mixed together some Herb Ox (gluten free) beef broth and some Frank’s Red Hot sauce (also gluten free). I thickened it with some water and rice flour.

I just love anything buffalo. I seem to crave the really vinegary sauces, like Frank's. I wonder if I have some deficiency in my diet that would cause me to crave vinegar? My friends all think it’s pretty weird, which it is.

Grocery Trip

2008-09-23T20:39:00.003-05:00

Both Tim and I have been down for the count these past few days. My cold hit on Saturday and Tim's came to fruition on Monday.

Now this isn’t just a sniffly nose – sneezy thing. No; in addition to that, there’s the fever, the body aches, the sore throat, and a few other things just for fun. We’ve both been pretty miserable.

Which means... Chinese food delivered for dinner on Monday and leftover Chinese food for dinner on Tuesday.

I actually went to work today, so on my way home I stopped to pick up two movies from the Family Video ("Head Over Heels" and "28 Days"), and I also stopped by the grocery store and got this:

Yup, that’s ice cream, bananas, and a steak. It’s weird what you crave when you’re sick!

High Five

2008-09-20T09:05:00.001-05:00

We're out-of-state today for a wedding, so I'm just going to give a quick "high five" to Frank's Red Hot sauce.

I love this sauce! It has a really great flavor, and a good zing to it, too.

Not only is the "high five" for making such a great sauce gluten free (and MSG free and kosher, by the way), but specifically for stating it's gluten free-ness on the questions page!

I love it when it's easy to confirm that something is gluten free.

Thanks Frank!

Baking Bread

2008-09-18T07:12:00.011-05:00

Well, I promised my bread recipe, so here it is. I've adapted it a bit since I posted about it here.

Dry ingredients:
1 cup white rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup sorghum flour
½ cup dry milk powder
3 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 tablespoon pectin
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon gelatin

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons gluten free apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups and 2 tablespoons water

Yeast:
1 ½ teaspoons bread machine/quick rise yeast

Mix together all of the dry ingredients (excluding yeast).

Beat the eggs, and then add the olive oil and vinegar and beat again.

Pour the egg mixture into the bread machine pan.

Add the water to the pan.

Pour the dry ingredients on top of the wet. Make a little well in the dry ingredients and pour the yeast in it.

Set your Breadman TR875 to the gluten free setting, lock the pan in place, and hit start. I use a little spatula to scrape around the edges of the pan a couple times in the first few minutes.

After the kneading cycle (20 minutes) scoop the dough into a greased bread pan. I’ve found it quite important to shape the loaf in the bread pan.

Cover and set to rise in a warm place. After it’s about doubled in size, put it in the oven, preheated to 350 degrees. Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes.

Check for doneness with a thermometer. It should read between 200 and 210 degrees in the middle of the loaf. A huge "THANK YOU" to Carrie at Ginger Lemon Girl (AKA Gluten Free Baking Goddess) for tipping me off to this thermometer trick. It really helps to figure out when the bread is done. In fact, Carrie has a great post that you should check out that's all about baking bread.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

This makes great toast (I’m having some right now) and it makes a nice sandwich, too!

Like I've mentioned before, I measure out the dry ingredients for two loaves and keep one for the next time I need it!

Bread, Tonight

2008-09-18T07:12:00.004-05:00

I really haven't fallen off of the face of the earth. We just have not been eating anything too exciting recently. We had tomato soup two nights in a row. We did have Buffalo Beef on Monday, so I'll put up something about that; it was pretty good!

The AWANA kids club started at my church last night, so that makes my Wednesdays pretty crazy. And tonight I'm working our church's booth at our local fair from 6-8. After that, I'll put up a post about my bread. My recipe and methods have evolved since I last posted about, so check back tonight or tomorrow!

The Ultimate Egg Sandwich

2008-09-15T16:19:00.000-05:00

Tim had to go in to work yesterday evening, so he picked up a Dominos pizza to share with his coworker. He doesn’t get the chance to have “regular” pizza very often, so this was a treat for him.

So I was cooking dinner all for my little lonesome. We have a half a pound of stew beef in the fridge waiting to be made into buffalo beef, so I swiped a few pieces and made myself… The Ultimate Egg Sandwich!

I put in just a few pieces of the stew beef cut into strips, some cubed ham, Carl Buddig corned beef, onions, green peppers, and cheese. It was very yummy and quite filling. I think I overloaded on protein!

Oats and Honey Pancakes

2008-09-14T18:04:00.004-05:00

I tried making Oats and Honey Pancakes for lunch today, and they turned out alright, actually. They are a little unusual, but they make a nice variation to regular pancakes. I used gluten free rolled oats, but I think gluten free steel cut oats might work a bit better.

Oats and Honey Pancakes

¾ cup brown rice flour
½ cup gluten free oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup milk

Whisk together all of the dry ingredients. Whisk together the eggs, honey, and oil. Then add the milk to the wet ingredients and whisk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix.

Cook in a preheated pan, flipping once as you would a regular pancake. Feel free to sprinkle on some chocolate chips!

Do Not Try This at Home

2008-09-13T13:43:00.000-05:00

I repeat, do not try this at home.

I attempted to make homemade gluten free croissants. Needless to say, they did not turn out good. I will attempt it again with a better rolling pin and a majorly tweaked recipe, so if it works out, I’ll let you know!

Beef Burgundy

2008-09-11T22:32:00.002-05:00

½ lb. stew beef
½ onion, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup beef broth; I used Herb Ox Gluten Free bouillon cubes
1 cup red wine, technically Burgundy
1 extra bouillon cube, un-dissolved
½ cup water
¼ cup rice flour
4 oz. can of mushroom pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the beef and onions in the olive oil. Salt and pepper the beef. Put the beef, onions, beef broth, and wine in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Test the meat for doneness.

With a slotted spoon, take the beef and onions out of the crock pot and set aside. Pour the sauce into a sauce pan and heat to boiling. Toss in the extra gluten free bouillon cube.

Whisk the rice flour into the water and slowly pour it into the boiling sauce while whisking. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens. Add the mushrooms, beef and onions.

Serve over rice or rice pasta.

I don’t have a lot of wine on hand; we just don’t use it all that often. I will occasionally use it for cooking, like today; but I only have a bottle of fairly cheap merlot (like $6.00 at Target!). I used that for my “beef burgundy,” so it probably was technically “beef merlot.”

But whatever it was called, it was good! It's a keeper!

Tag - How Fun!

2008-09-09T21:54:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Jennifer of The Dzioba Family for tagging me for this fun get-to-know-ya game. Here's how it works.

1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. List 6 random facts about yourself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
5. Let each person know they've been tagged by commenting on their blog
6. Let the tagger know the entry is posted on your blog

Fact #1
I played trumpet in fourth grade, and then switched to percussion in fifth because I wanted to play the timpani. I was horribly disappointed when I found out that you don't play timpani until at least middle school (at least in our homeschool band that's how it worked). I made it into an honors band in sixth grade where I got to finally play the timpani. And I found out that I hated it! Well, now I love timpani and all the rest of the percussion family.

Fact #2
I had one pet dog - Jed - and one pet rabbit - Michal - when I was growing up.

Fact #3
I have a Bachelor's of Music degree and work in human resources!

Fact #4
We just switched to flannel sheets on our bed and I can't wait to get all comfy in the warmth of the flannel.

Fact #5
One of my life goals is to see an albino deer.

Fact #6
I use aluminum free deodorant and fluoride free toothpaste.

Now, let me see... who should I tag?
Paul and Nicole at Catchlight Imaging (seriously cool photos!)
Carrie at Heart of a Servant
Sarah at In Light of the Truth
Kay at Gluten Free Kay
Tenille at Gluten Free Frugal
Sara at Shane's Girl Heart and Soul

Better Late than Never...

2008-09-09T21:42:00.001-05:00

Here’s our menu for the week:

Wednesday – Tomato soup and grilled cheese
Thursday – Beef burgundy
Friday and Saturday lunch – Camping with Sunday school group
Saturday dinner – Buffalo beef
Sunday lunch – Bean burritos
Sunday dinner – Cobb salad
Monday – Rice and lentils

Last week we didn’t have anything too exciting. Nothing was really blog-worthy. We did have quasi-lasagna. It was lasagna without ricotta cheese L, without meat, and with more cheddar than mozzarella. I filled it with onions and garlic and it turned out alright.

Ode to Autumn

2008-09-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday morning it was 90 degrees out, and by 5:30 in the evening, it was 70 degrees. Today I think the high was probably around 62 degrees. What a rapid and drastic change! Autumn is definitely coming soon, if she’s not here already.

I’ve always loved Fall. I love wearing hooded sweatshirts and slippers. I love the changing of the leaves; not so much the raking of the leaves, but the colors are beautiful. I love cuddling with my hubby in bed under four blankets and slowly warming up.

I love making chili and other soups and stews. I love baking hearty muffins and making popcorn. I love anticipating Thanksgiving and Christmas and planning traditional holiday meals. I’m already thinking about what to make for Thanksgiving.

Fall is such a special time of year. I’m excited for it to come.

Apple Cobbler

2008-09-04T20:24:00.002-05:00

I made Apple Cobbler for our Sunday school party on Labor Day, but unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of it. Here’s my recipe:

Apple Cobbler

6 medium apples, peeled and sliced
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice

Topping:
¾ cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown rice flour
¾ cup gluten free rolled oats
½ tablespoon cinnamon

Grease the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange the apple slices in the pan. Mix together the sugar, 1 T. cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, and pour evenly over the apples.

Mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly. Spread over the apples.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Thanks to Gluten Free Kay for the inspiration for the topping!

Cricket

2008-09-03T20:42:00.003-05:00

There's a cricket outside my window that is literally so LOUD, that I feel like I'm going INSANE! So, instead of posting about Apple Cobbler, I'm going to shut my window and go to bed!

I'll share about my wonderful (if I may say so myself) Apple Cobbler experience tomorrow.

Weekly Menu

2008-09-01T09:30:00.002-05:00

We have $27.57 left in our grocery budget until Saturday. This is doable for us, but it will be very tight since I need to buy rice flour and tapioca flour. Here’s what we have planned for meals this week:

Monday lunch – Hotdogs, corn on the cob, fruit
Monday dinner – Cookout at a gluten-conscious friend’s home
Tuesday – Salsa chicken
Wednesday – Split pea chowder
Thursday – Vegetarian taco salad
Friday – Rice and lentil hotdish
Saturday lunch – I’ll be at my state’s Celiac conference, so Tim can make something impromptu for himself; he’s a great cook!
Saturday dinner – Pizza

Check out some more great menus over at Org Junkie.

Also check out the gluten free menu swap at Gluten Free Goodness.

We’re going shopping today. Unfortunately I think that ALDI is closed. That’s where we get our cheapest groceries, so we’ll just leave our ADLI items for a quick trip on the way home from work tomorrow.

Did you know that Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894? I just read a little from Wikipedia about the origins of Labor Day, and even though it seems quite emotionally driven (“Oh the poor working people need a break”), as a working person myself, I’m not complaining about getting a day off. Actually, I’m having a great weekend of getting stuff done (obviously not blogging, though) and having fun, too!

A part of me wishes I had a three-day weekend every week!

2008-08-28T17:38:00.000-05:00

Recently my bread has been turning out a flat little rectangle that is twice as wide as it is tall. I was getting sick of having miniature sandwiches! Yesterday, my bread was so pretty I had to take a picture of it and post it. Yeah for normal-shaped bread!

Homeschooling

2008-08-27T17:43:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Carrie and Ms. Tee who commented on my first post about my past. They both found it interesting that I was homeschooled, so I thought I'd talk about that in a little more detail.

My sister and I both loved being homeschooled. Now, I’m not naïve; I do realize that homeschooling is not for everyone. Just in our case, it worked out quite well!

We would do our schoolwork in the mornings (usually), and then have the whole afternoon for fun stuff. I remember learning fractions by helping my mom double or half recipes. I remember my mom countless times telling me to look up a word in the dictionary to figure out how to spell it or what it meant. (By the way, that fostered a lifelong love of the dictionary and using words correctly, even though it drove me crazy at the time!)

A normal week would look like this:

Sunday – church
Monday – homeschool band (when we were a little older)
Tuesday – swimming lessons, in season
Wednesday – evening church
Thursday – co-op with other homeschooled families

Friday and Saturday were let free for impromptu playtimes with friends or special trips downtown or whatnot. You can see that we didn’t suffer from social deprivation in any way!

I loved the days when we’d be going somewhere in the morning, like band or co-op, and we'd pull up to a stoplight next to a school bus full of kids. We would always laugh because they would look at us like, “Why aren’t you in school?” And we were in school!

Homeschooling taught me how to really learn. When I started public school in 9th grade, my natural sciences teacher would keep saying to the students, “You all learned this in 6th grade; why don’t you remember any of it?!” I sat in my seat and thought to myself, “I never learned this specific information before, yet I’m acing (literally) every test!”

Homeschooling gave me a love for learning as well. Even today, I love to study new subjects or go more in depth in my favorite subjects (music, theology, ancient languages, science, etc.).

(I could talk about this forever and ever, so I’d better call it quits here, since I need to finish up making dinner.)

If you are considering homeschooling with your children, I would heartily recommend it!

About Me

2008-08-25T21:07:00.004-05:00

Since Tim and I had tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner, and since we're planning on eating from the cupboard all week, I thought I'd share a little bit about myself.

I'm the youngest of two girls. My older sister is two years, eight days, and a few minutes older than me. I grew up in the Minneapolis area (Minnesota), and actually didn't mind the snow.

Now, one of my cousin (who was just visiting last weekend) has a memory like an elephant. She can tell you vivid details from each year of life. She'll say something like, "I loved playing kickball in second grade, but I didn't like it as much in third grade.." I don't have as specific of memories, and I really don't have as good of a timeline in my head.

My sister and I were homeschooled until highschool; I think that's why the grades all run together in my memory. I really loved being homeschooled. I think it's a great way to go! I could go on and on about it, but I won't do that right here and now. (I may do it some point, though.)

When I was young, I enjoyed reading and playing make believe with my sister. We had so much fun pretending to live on a farm and ride horses. We'd also pretended to be on space ships, and built forts, and played with dolls and Lincoln logs and legos. Oh, what fun we had!

Because we were homeschooled, we did a ton of fun stuff! We were in a homeschool band, went on field trips with other homeschooling families, went to the nature center, and had a weekly co-op meeting. We made wonderful friends, many of whom are still our good friends today.

I was blessed to have such a good childhood. I'll tell you more about my older childhood years later this week.

Let me know if you have a specific question about me that you'd like me to answer!

Saturday Breakfast

2008-08-23T12:50:00.001-05:00

Here's what we had for breakfast this morning.

There's nothing on it, no sauce or dressing or whatnot. Just fruit. Sometimes simple is gooooood!

Mac 'n' Cheese - Finally

2008-08-21T19:13:00.004-05:00

I've finally come up with a Macaroni and Cheese recipe that I like! After having two failed attempts, I'm glad I stuck with it.

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons rice flour

1 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground mustard

16 oz. Velveeta, cubed

16 oz. uncooked rice pasta

Prepare the rice pasta as directed on the package. Will that is cooking, melt the butter in a sauce pan or stock pot. Once it's completely melted, add the rice flour little by little while whisking to create a roux.

Then whisk in the milk. Once it's blended with the roux, add the seasonings. Then add the cheese and stir constantly until it's melted.

When the pasta is fully cooked, add it to the cheese sauce, and there you go!

Yummy!

CVS Money Saving Trip

2008-08-19T16:02:00.001-05:00

Eating gluten free can be expensive. I love it when I can save money on non-food products, so I have more dollars left for food!

Here's the deal that I got today at CVS that definitely helped stretch our food/consumables budget this week.

What I Got

CVS vitamin E oil - 0.78 (on clearance)
2 Oral-B Indicator toothbrushes - 3.98
Revlon mascara - 6.49
Advil Children's - 5.79
Advil PM - 5.29
CVS sunblock - 1.99
Hefty ultra-flex garbage bags - 6.49

Coupons I Used

2.00 off CVS skincare product
1.00 off 2 Oral-B toothbrushes
1.00 off Revlon
1.00 off Advil PM (CVS store coupon)
2 - 2.00 off Advil products (manu. coupon)
19.97 in Extra Care Bucks

How Much I Spent and Got Back

I spent $2.25 out of pocket and got $12.79 in ECBs back.

I normally wouldn't be able to get garbage bags for $2.25, let alone all that other fun stuff, too!

I usually go to Money Saving Mom to find CVS deals, but I put this one together all by myself! (I'm beaming with pride!)

Rice and Lentil Hotdish

2008-08-18T19:45:00.004-05:00

Rice and Lentil Hotdish

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice

1 cup uncooked lentils

3 cups gluten free chicken broth

3 cups water (naturally gluten free, haha)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon coriander

1/8 teaspoon dill

Put all ingredients in a rice cooker and cook just as you would when cooking rice.

This made enough for dinner for Tim and I with leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Thanks to Sister Rae for introducing me to lentils. They're not as scary as I thought they'd be. They're a cheap and tasty source of protein.

Menu for the Week

2008-08-18T19:23:00.004-05:00

Here's what we've got going on food-wise this week:

Monday - Rice and Lentil Hotdish
Tuesday - Chicken Stir Fry
Wednesday - Baked Sweet Potatoes
Thursday - Gluten Free Pizza
Friday - Leftovers

On Saturday my Sis and Cousins are coming to stay with us through Sunday. Boy, will Tim be out-numbered or what?!! We haven't set the menu for their visit yet, but I think we'll be going to HuHot for lunch after church.

Check out OrgJunkie's Menu roundup for other great menu ideas!

Vegetable Beef Soup

2008-08-16T09:00:00.006-05:00

I know veggie beef soup is a little out of season right now, but I rarely eat according to the season anyway. So Wednesday morning I threw this in the crockpot and cranked it on. The house smelled so good when I came home from work! I love not having to cook when I get home. Also, I love not having so many dishes to do; I just had the crock to wash, and I think that Tim actually washed it!

Here's what I put into my soup:

1/2 pound stew beef

baby carrots

onions

garlic

celery

turnips

2 cans of diced tomatoes

I also put in a few cubes of Herb Ox beef bouillon. I was reading the ingredients and *thought* it looked gluten free, then turned it around and there it was in big, bold letters: "GLUTEN FREE."

My in-laws are visiting for the weekend, so I'll stop in on Sunday to give you a weekend food update.

Bean Dip

2008-08-14T22:03:00.006-05:00

Tim and I had this for dinner on Monday. It also works great for parties. You can make it on a disposable aluminum pizza pan and just throw it out so you don't have to bring home a messy platter.

Bean Dip

1 can of gluten free refried beans
1 packet Ortega taco seasoning (it's gluten free)
shredded cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 medium onion, diced
black olives, lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, just about whatever you want
salsa

Since I was making this for dinner, I heated the beans up first. If I'm taking it somewhere, I just leave them cold.

Mix half of the seasoning packet into the beans. Spread out the beans on a platter or pizza pan. If the beans are warm, add the cheese next.

Mix the other half of the seasoning packet into the sour cream, and layer that on the beans.

Next, throw all of the veggies and stuff on top. Finish it off with salsa.

Serve with chips or toasted tortillas!

(Aren't those roses pretty? Tim got me three for our three year anniversary. He's the best! )

SWEET DEAL!!!

2008-08-12T19:30:00.003-05:00

Super 8 Motel is having an "8" party this month. You can get a hotel room for just $8.88! You have to register online at exactly 8:00 pm EDT and be one of the first 800 registrants, but it worked for me! We're going to have a little one-night getaway for $9.95 plus gas money.

I had checked with the specific hotel that I wanted in advance to be sure they had rooms. I also typed out my address, email, phone #, and check card # into a Word doc. I refreshed the promo page right at 8pm and copied and pasted my info into the form.

Apparently I was one of the first 800 to complete registration. I'm "Super" excited for a little getaway trip!

Thanks to MoneySavingMom for alerting me to this great deal.

Menu Monday

2008-08-11T21:41:00.002-05:00

The in-laws are coming to stay this weekend. We always have a very nice time together, but since we've been gone so much recently, the housework has exponentially multiplied. That makes for a semi-stressful week. At least we have our menu set and grocery shopping out of the way!

Tuesday - Macaroni and Cheese
Wednesday - Beef Stew
Thursday - Beef Stroganoff
Friday - Pancakes and Bacon
Saturday lunch - Chicken on the grill
Saturday dinner - Eat out (perhaps Montage since they have a gluten free menu!)
Sunday lunch - Chicken Peanut Stir Fry
Sunday dinner - Sanwiches
Monday - Rice and Lentil hotdish

Check out more menus here.

Me and My Fam

2008-08-09T13:54:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture from my Mom's wedding a few weeks ago. It's me, my sister, and three of my cousins.

I'm in the back middle, and going clockwise from me we have Blondin, Tini, Bevo, and Rexi (my sis). Those are all nicknames, rest assured. My family is weird, but not that weird.

(I love you guys!)

Bread Making Tip

2008-08-09T07:45:00.001-05:00

I just put a loaf of bread in the oven, and thought that I'd share a time saving tip.

When I make my bread, I measure out two sets of dry ingredients and use one immediately and keep one for the next time I'm baking. It really saves time since there are so many different ingredients in gluten free bread.

And, you only have to wash your measuring cups once! Yeah!

Cobb(ish) Salad

2008-08-08T17:48:00.001-05:00

If you saw my menu on Tuesday, you know that we had a salad for dinner Tuesday night. I'm not sure exactly what goes on a Cobb salad, but mine was pretty tasty just the way it was.

It had turkey bacon, eggs, cheddar cheese, Carl Buddig corned beef, onions, and carrots on it! It was filling, healthy, and delicious! And, naturally gluten free!

Camping Food

2008-08-07T19:36:00.007-05:00

Here's one of our meals from when we were camping:

As you can see, it's taco salad. Yummm! I love it that taco salad is gluten free. It was so easy to make, I'm sure we'll have it next time we camp!

Budgeting

2008-08-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

Check out my friend's new blog here. Carrie's a veteran of gluten free blogging; a link to her Ginger Lemon Girl blog is on my sidebar. I'm excited to see where she goes with her new blog about living frugally.

Menu Plan Tuesday?

2008-08-05T21:10:00.003-05:00

Here's my menu for the week.

Monday - Eggs and sweet potato hashbrowns (yummm!)
Tuesday - Salad
Wednesday - Eat out, our 3rd anniversary!
Thursday - Goulash
Friday - Sandwiches on the road
Saturday - At a wedding
Sunday dinner - Spaghetti
Sunday supper - Taco dip

We're going to Tim's cousin's wedding this weekend. Luckily for me, Tim's Grandma has Celiac, so I'm pretty sure that there will be something for me to eat. Since the Matriarch of the family has to eat gluten free, I'm always guaranteed to have something to eat at family gatherings.

Check out some more meals here.

I'm Baaaaack!

2008-08-04T16:42:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm back. Back to cooking three meals a day and doing dishes. Back to wearing dress clothes instead of tee-shirts and flipflops. Back to humidity with no lake breezes. Back to thinking about meal plans and budgets.

And for some reason, I just want to be back at camp.

I really had a very nice vacation last week. The weather was great. I enjoyed many hours of fun with family and friends. We played Hand and Foot, Settlers of Catan, and made lots of music (piano, singing, percussion).

The chef at the camp was well versed in gluten free cooking, so I got to just go through the buffet line and say that I needed a gluten free meal, and it was always there! He made a great bread, although it fell apart a bit. It was nice to not have to think about it at all.

I'll put up our menu for this week later. We're going to be travelling to a wedding this weekend, so this will be a short week.

It really is good to be back. Now if only I could wear shorts, a tee-shirt, and flipflops to work!

Camping

2008-07-26T19:22:00.001-05:00

We're officially camping now. I'll be back in town Sunday, 8/3, so if you don't see any new posts between now and then, don't panic! I will be back and blogging again.

I may find time (and, if I'm lucky, a computer with internet) at camp, so I might put up a post or two, but don't count on it.

Have a great week!

Delinquent

2008-07-25T07:05:00.003-05:00

I've been such a delinquent blogger this week. Sorry!

Here's what's going on in my life that made for such a busy week: we going camping! But not only that, my mom's getting married today, too.

So, I'm working a half day today and then driving three hours to get to the wedding. My mom asked me to bring a chocolate chip cheese cake for the reception, so I had to make that in between summer band concerts and packing. Also, I'm going to play a little piano at the reception, so I had to find time to practice. And at work, today is the "end of the month" for me since I'll be gone next week, so I was *crazy* busy (read - going in early, staying late)!

So, between work, packing, practicing, summer band, and baking, I've not had much free time.

We're going to be tenting at a family Bible camp next week for a quasi-family reunion on my mom's side. We'll have some meals provided by the camp, and we'll cook some meals on our little camping stove. I called the camp to register and I mentioned that I couldn't eat any gluten. They said that wouldn't be a problem at all. I said something about bringing my own loaf of bread, and they said that the cook had some gluten free bread on hand! How exciting is that?!

My sister will be eating dinners with us and our little camping stove, so meal planning was difficult with her being a vegetarian and me a gluten free. Here's what we finally landed on:

Monday - Vegetarian taco salad
Tuesday - Soup and sandwich; Sister Rae will bring butternut squash soup and I'll bring split pea chowder
Wednesday - Rice and lentil hotdish

I'm really looking forward to this next week, but I'm also really looking forward to being done with preparations for next week.

Muffin Maniac!

2008-07-21T06:51:00.003-05:00

I was a muffin making machine yesterday! I made 71 muffins.

We are going camping (tenting, literally) next week, so I'm in the gluten free snack-making mode this week. I made some blueberry muffins adapted from a recipe in The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, some chocolate chocolate chip muffins that still need to be tweaked before I share the recipe, and some of my Mom's banana muffins.

It got quite hot in my kitchen with my A/C being out and the oven being on for about 4 hours! But it was worth it. I know I'm going to appriciate having a muffin for breakfast or for a snack at camp next week.

Banana Muffins

2 cups white rice, brown rice or quinoa flour, or any combination of the three.
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup (or a little less) sugar

1 1/2 cups ripe banana, about two large
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup canola oil (I substitute about half applesauce)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease two muffin tins.

Mix together the dry ingredients. Mix together the wet ingredients.

Blend together the wet and dry ingredients, but don't overmix. At this point you could add 1/2 cup of walnuts or fold in about 6 ounces of chocolate chips (I always do this!).

Fill the muffin tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cook on a wire rack.

Thanks for this great recipe Mom!

Bean Burritos

2008-07-19T23:01:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure if anyone was curious, but here's what my bean burrito looked like before I rolled it up:

That's refried beans, scrambled eggs, sour cream (of course!), salsa, jalapenos, lettuce, and cheese on a corn tortilla. I only had two as they were quite filling! I liked having the egg to provide a little extra protein in addition to the beans.

This was one good naturally gluten free meal!

Hey, this could even be breakfast!

What do you like to put in your burritos?

Nice Little Compliment

2008-07-17T16:03:00.000-05:00

We're having a pot luck at work this Friday. I like not having to pack a full lunch, although I do usually still bring a little something since who knows what I'll be able to eat!

When I was looking at the sign up list, a coworker approached me and asked what I was bringing. I told her that I was bringing a Cherry Cobbler. I've been craving it ever since I made it for the Fourth o' July.

My coworker said something about how I always bring good stuff to the pot lucks, and that compliment just made my day. How funny is it that I always bring something that's gluten free, and everyone still loves it?

Walgreen's Trip

2008-07-16T16:45:00.005-05:00

I don't shop at Walgreen's all that often, but they do have some good deals from time to time. This week they had enough deals that I thought I'd better stop by. Here's what I got:

Here's the breakdown:

Vive Pro Shampoo - 4.99, free from BOGO store sale
Vive Pro Conditioner - 4.99, free from BOGO man. coupon
2 Cutter Advanced bug spray - 2/3.00, used 2 $1 off store coupons
3 Mini Highlights - .19 each with store coupon
10 pack Paper-Mate pencils - .39 with store coupon
Powerade - .89 with store coupon, used $1 off man. coupon

Total = 2.54

I couldn't have gotten all of this stuff for that price even at the dollar store!

About the BOGO deal, it took me awhile to wrap my head around using a BOGO coupon on a BOGO sale. Normally, I would have marched up to the register and paid 4.99 for both shampoo and conditioner because of the BOGO store sale, right? So when I use a BOGO coupon, Walgreen's is getting reimbursed for 4.99, so they aren't loosing anything. And Loreal is getting exposure for their hair care products. I wouldn't normally buy Loreal Vive Pro without a good deal, but now that I'm going to try it, I could really love it and buy it in the future.

Needless to say, I was pretty happy with the way this deal went down.

Monday - Spaghetti
Tuesday - Eat out with Pastor and wife
Wednesday - Refried Bean Burritos
Thursday - Pizza
Friday - Chicken Alfredo
Saturday Lunch - Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Saturday Dinner - Crepes
Sunday Lunch - Stirfry
Sunday Dinner - Meatloaf
Monday - Oven Fried Chicken at our friends' house
Tuesday - Stroganoff

Wow, that's a lot of food. I'll have to work hard to not use my whole two week budget of $100 in one week!

Check out some more menus here (thanks Org Junkie).

Thrifty Bridal Gifty Idea

2008-07-12T16:56:00.000-05:00

Since I'm all out of food pictures (apparently I just don't like using my stove or oven when my house is 85 degrees!), I thought I'd post about a frugal gift idea I had. After all, this blog is about saving money while living gluten free.

I attended a bridal shower for my cousin and came up with a cool gift idea. I enjoy being crafty, and I especially like to decoupage. My cousin sent out these beautiful blue wedding invitations, so I decided to make mine into a magnet.

That white-flowery-plant-thing was also from her invitation.

I made another magnet with certain words that I cut out from the invitation, like the names, date and time, locations of the ceremony and reception. Hopefully these magnets will adorn her fridge for many years to come!

Redecorate

2008-07-11T16:49:00.003-05:00

Tim and I painted our living room last weekend. It was a larger task than we had originally thought, but we pushed through. The toughest part was being without our central air (it pooped out on us).

Here's the before picture. Pretty bland, right?

Here's the after picture. That's Chateau Stone on the right and Potato Skin on the left, in case you couldn't tell ;)

Cherry Cobbler

2008-07-10T07:03:00.003-05:00

I was so excited when I finally broke down and bought Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats. Really, for the price (I think it was $6.99), they're going to last me a long time.

For the Fourth of July I made Cherry Cobbler! I really love cobbler, so I was super excited about trying this tasty dessert gluten free. Thanks to Gluten Free Kay for the great recipe.

I modified mine slightly from Kay's recipe. To start with, I am not even close to being as wonderful of a gardener as she is, so I don't have my own cherry trees. I just bought a can of *horror of horrors* premade cherry pie filling. Also, I don't have a 7x7 baking dish like Kay used. So I made it in my 9x9 cake pan and increased the ingredients by 50%. It did need to bake a little longer because of the bigger size.

Cherry Cobbler turned out to be a cheap and super easy dessert. I'm for sure making this again (soon, hopefully).

Weekly Menu - Eat from the Cupboard

2008-07-08T08:08:00.006-05:00

I've declared it "Eat from the Cupboard" week. Tim and I are going up to stay with his parents on Friday, so we only have three more dinners at home. It just doesn't make sense to do a whole shopping trip for just three meals. Here's what we're doing instead:

Tuesday: Dinner at our friends' house. Since our central air died on us two weeks ago, and since today is supposed to be super humid (again), our friends graciously invited us over to their home for dinner. That way we get to be in A/C, and we don't have to use our stove.
Wednesday - Chicken Soup
Thursday - Veggie Quiche

Head over to Org Junkie to check out other menus for the week!

Fourth o' July and Spinach Frittata

2008-07-07T06:55:00.003-05:00

One would imagine that I should have more time to do blogging on the weekend. While this might normally be true, this past weekend, even though it was longer than average, buzzed by in a flash!

On the Fourth we had some friends over and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. We had cherry cobbler a la mode for dessert. We played croquet and our friends' 4-year-old son "won." Honestly, he really did do a good job. Then we made s'mores around our fire pit. I just used some chocolate chip cookies instead of graham crackers. They were yummy!

With the kids' bedtime rapidly approaching, our friends went home (they live a minute and a half away). Tim and I followed them over a few minutes later and once the kids were sleeping, we played Hand and Foot (card game) until midnight! It was a very nice day.

On Saturday, Tim and I tackled a project that's been on the back burner for a few weeks: painting the living room. That literally took up the whole day. And most of Sunday besides church time.

So here's Monday morning rolling around again and I have all these great ideas for posts! Let's start with our dinner from last Wednesday: Spinach Frittata.

I sauted some onions and celery, and I thawed the frozen spinach (it was on sale at Hy-Vee!). Once the onions and celery were tender, I added black olives and the spinach. I then poured some beaten eggs over it all, covered it, and cooked it.

Tim and I both enjoyed it!

Macaroni and Cheese, Take 2

2008-07-04T10:26:00.004-05:00

I tried making baked macaroni and cheese again. It turned out better than the first time, but still not really great.

Since I baked it, I added an egg to bind it together, but that just isn't working out for me. So, next time: no egg. Sister Rae helped me make a really tasty cheese sauce, so next time I just going to work from that.

I suppose that by the time we have kids (I'm not sure when that will be), I'll make the best macaroni and cheese in town!

Weekly Menu, a little late

2008-07-03T06:58:00.005-05:00

Even though it's a little late for my menu, I thought I'd share it anyway since there's a few things I'm excited to try!

First off, a big "Thanks" to Carrie for posting the latest "Go Ahead Honey, It's Gluten Free" round up. While I was struggling to find meals for this week, I headed over there and found some great inspiration!

Tuesday - Macaroni and Cheese (again, kind of a flop; I'll tell you more later)
Wednesday - Spinach Frittata
Thursday - Spaghetti (rice noodles and tomato sauce)
Friday - Cookout with Friends. We're having burgers, corn on the cob, fruit salad, etc.
Saturday lunch - Grilled Sandwiches
Saturday Dinner - Taco Salad
Sunday - Shepherd's Pie a la Gluten Free Kay
Monday - Spinach Risotto thanks to Rachel

Thanks to Laura for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

(This menu is links-filled!)

Upsidedown Cupcakes

2008-07-01T07:03:00.010-05:00

Since it is the time for picnics and barbecues and cookouts, I love Kate's idea to host a virtual gluten free BBQ party with an alphabet theme! Visit Gluten Free Gobsmacked for Kate's other creative inspirations.

As a late signer-upper, I picked the letter "U," and I have no regrets. It forced me to think outside the box; although Upsidedown Cupcakes are not a new inverntion by any means, I did tweak them just a little.

Here's what I ended up with:

Pineapple Upsidedown Cream-Filled Cupcakes

Your favorite yellow cupcake batter, (I used the Lemon Sheet Cake recipe from Bette Hagman's Revised Gluten Free Gourmet)

3 T. butter

1/3 c. brown sugar

pineapple slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter and brown sugar over medium low heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, divide between the 12 cups in a regular muffin tin (no need to line).

Cut the pineapple slices into fourths and arrange two pieces in each muffin cup, pressing them down into the brown sugar butter mixture.

Pour the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Flip out upsidedown onto a cooling rack.

Pineapple Cream

1 block cream cheese or neufchatel, softened

1 can crushed pineapple, drained

1/4 c. sugar

4 oz. cool whip

With an electric mixer, mix together the cream cheese and pineapple. Add the sugar and continue to mix. Add the cool whip and mix for just a few seconds.

Cut the cool cupcakes in half horizontally, spread with the cream cheese mixture, and replace the top. Serve immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Budget Update

2008-06-29T17:24:00.004-05:00

Tim and I just about made it through our switch to cash for groceries for the month of June. And, we ran out of money about a week ago. We want to set it up so we can save money, but also so we can succeed in our budget.

We're going to try switching to taking out cash every two weeks instead of once a month. So the Saturday after we get paid, we'll take out $100 for groceries for the next two weeks. Hopefully it will be easier to gauge how much money we should (or shouldn't) spend in two weeks as opposed to one month.

I'll let you know how this works for us. We still might adjust the amount after a few cycles of two weeks, but I know this will save us money in the long run.

Breakfast

2008-06-27T08:13:00.002-05:00

One of our favorite breakfasts is French toast. I have many memories of waking up when I was a little girl and going into the kitchen. My dad would be dressed for work and making a few pieces of French toast for his breakfast. I think that must be where I get my love for it from.

French Toast

6 pieces of bread
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk or non-dairy sub
Cinnamon

Whisk together the eggs and milk. Dunk the bread pieces into the mixture and arrange on a preheated and oiled griddle or frying pan. Sprinkle cinnamon on top. Cook on both sides until light brown.

In the picture above, I had dipped some egg slices in the batter and tossed them in the pan. I then put a tiny dollop of butter on each piece and covered it with cinnamon. I just cooked them right along side the French toast until they were soft.

Gluten Free Simple on a Budget?

2008-06-26T08:05:00.003-05:00

I enjoyed reading Gluten Free Frugal's post on a gluten free budget. I'm in tune with her desire to create simple, fast, cheap, nutritious meals. So many blogs are full of these recipes for extravagent dishes. Like a fruit salad that would take a half an hour to make! And would cost more than our entire dinner would usually cost! I prefer mine; it's cheap, good, and takes just a few minutes to whip up.

I strive to keep things simple. I don't need or want a complicated life.

Hearty Muffins

2008-06-25T06:59:00.003-05:00

I just took a few pictures of my "hearty muffins," but they all came out quite blurry. I thought that I could at least tell you about them instead.

I didn't have a recipe for these, and I didn't keep track of what I was putting in them since it was after 10:00 at night and I just wanted to go to bed! Next time I make them I'll try to create a recipe to share.

I put raisins, shredded carrots, a banana, apple sauce, sorghum flour, and rice flour in my hearty muffins, and boy are the hearty! They're pretty dense and full of good stuff!

I want to thank my Sister Rae for inspiring these muffins. She would often make something like them (but with wheat) when we were younger.

Food for a Busy Week?

2008-06-24T07:09:00.003-05:00

This week my church orchestra is playing for the services at our church association's national conference. My very talented music pastor is in charge of all of the music for the conference; it's a great honor.

What this means at the Tim-and-Sarah household is: fast, fast, fast meals! I get off of work at 3:30. Today and Thursday we need to leave from church at 4:00, Wednesday at 2:00. Luckily I have the best boss ever, so he'll let me leave early on Wednesday. Fortunately (and unfortunately) the conference is close enough that we will come home every evening, but it's still a 2 hour drive each way!

Tim came up with a great idea of what to have to dinner. Last night I put together a lasagna and this morning (as I'm typing this), it's in the oven. Later this morning it will go in the fridge, and each afternoon we'll just heat up a piece! We'll have a plum or apple with it, and maybe some carrot sticks or something.

I'm also making some hearty muffins. I kind of just threw everything together, so hopefully they'll turn out! Tim's making Chex mix for the road, so I think we'll all have a good time. I'm really looking forward to the conference, but it's going to make for a busy week!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

2008-06-22T16:59:00.005-05:00

I got a lot done around the house yesterday. My clothes are put away, the dishes are done, my coupons are clipped, and I made chocolate chocolate chip muffins!

Like my recent mac'n'cheese experiment, these muffins were good, but they could be better. I'll wait to put up the recipe until I get them just right. But, hopefully the picture will be inspiring to you!

Life

2008-06-21T10:09:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry I've been such a putz this week! I can't believe I haven't posted since Wednesday!

Well, this whole week has gone like that: I have clean clothes folded and sitting smartly right on the living room floor (for a few days!), I haven't clippped my coupons from last Sunday (and now it's almost Sunday again!), and my toilet is beginning to get a ring around it! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

I don't like having weeks like this, were every second of my time is scheduled. Here's Wednesday for ya: I got up and went to work, I had to leave work right on time to run to church to pracitce for my solo on Sunday, I then had to be done practicing at a specific time in order to get home and make dinner so we could get to city band practice on time, then leave city band practice early to go to church band practice, and then go home at 10:30 and bake my bread that's been rising since 6:30. 11:45 rolls around, and we finally get to go to bed. (I do realize that I probably shouldn't have let my bread rise that long since it has eggs in it, but I haven't gotten sick yet!)

So, that was one day from my week. With gorcery shopping on Tuesday, city band concert on Thursday, and bringing dinner to a couple from our church who just had a baby on Friday and then going to our friends' house after that, it makes for a busy week. All pretty much fun things, but put them all together, and I get overwhelmed!

I haven't been cooking anything really worth mentioning. Here's my menu for the week. It's pretty much basic food. Hopefully next week I can try some more daring entrees. I am going to try mac'n'cheese again since I have half a block of Velveeta in my fridge still. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for your patience this week. Next week doesn't seem to be shaping up any better, but I'll work on getting some posts up in the morning. I think I'll put up one about French toast! Yummy!

Macaroni and Cheese

2008-06-18T17:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was my first attempt making Macaroni and Cheese from scratch. It turned out alright, though not great. I'll definitely be tweaking this recipe after I consult with my sister Rae (she's a cooking whiz!). So, I'm not going to share the recipe this time, but if I get it just right, I'll let you know!

Weekly Menu

2008-06-16T19:10:00.003-05:00

I didn't post my menu last week, although I did have one. For some reason I just never got around to posting it. Here's what I've got lined up for this week:

Sunday dinner - Taco Salad
Monday - Split Pea Chowder
Tuesday - Macaroni and Cheese
Wednesday - Stir Fry
Thursday - Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
Friday - Pizza
Saturday lunch - Crepes
Saturday dinner - ???

As always, check out Org Junkie for more menu plans.