The Gluten-Free Homemaker

It’s been a while since I’ve done a surfing Saturday post. I actually had a little time this week to do some stumbling on the Internet. I thought you might enjoy a few sites I found.

Baking Powder & Soda Information – I knew some, but not all of the information here.

Baking Ingredients Information – Information on wheat is included, but there is other useful baking information here.

Some Healthy Recipes – Most are naturally gluten-free, even the desserts.

Recipe Goldmine – Recipes for just about everything including home remedies, household cleaners, crafts, and pet treats.

For those of you who enjoy funny dog pictures like I do:

Random Dog Pictures – Keep scrolling down. There are some really good ones.

Enjoy your weekend!

Labels: surfing Saturday

I first learned about quinoa soon after starting on a gluten-free diet. I was glad a pronunciation was given many places where I saw the word, because I was saying it wrong. If you don’t know, it is pronounced keen-wah with emphasis on the first syllable.

Nutritionally, quinoa is a great addition to any diet.  According to my box of Ancient Harvest Inca Red quinoa, 1/4 c. dry contains 6 grams fiber and 6 grams protein along with 20% RDA phosphorus, 12% RDA iron, and 5% RDA riboflavin. For more useful information visit the Quinoa Corporation web site.

I admit quinoa hasn’t been a big hit at our house, but it hasn’t been a complete dud either. When preparing it as a side dish, I have found two things that help my family enjoy it. 1. Cook it in chicken broth. 2. Mix it half and half with rice. Usually I use white rice because it cooks in the same amount of time. Of course, the lack of nutritional value in white rice makes it a bit of a trade off. I cook it in my pressure cooker using 3/4 c. white rice, 3/4 c. quinoa, and 2 1/4 c. water/broth. I cook it under low pressure for 5 minutes.

More water is needed when cooking it in a regular pot, just follow the package instructions (1 c. quinoa to 2 c. water.) If there is too much liquid at the end of cooking time, remove the lid and cook it a little longer.

I have added quinoa to soups and casseroles, which my family doesn’t seem to mind. I have not tried it in salads, but I know some people like it that way.

There are two types of quinoa, traditional and red. I prefer the red, but I can’t say why. Maybe it has a firmer texture. For more quinoa ideas, visit Diane’s Friday Foodie Fix blog carnival. 

What is your favorite way to prepare quinoa?

Labels: vegetables and side dishes

I’ve made a new button for What’s for Dinner Wednesday. What do you think? I made one size (instead of a large and small) that would fit in a sidebar if desired. The code for this new button is on the guidelines page. I found the picture in the Microsoft clip art gallery, and I thought it was more inspiring than an empty dinner plate.

So here is the roundup of gluten-free dinner links for the month of May.

May 26 - Warm Chicken & Potato Salad

Gina (Roasted Vegetables)
Rachel (Mediterranean Lemon Chicken)
Cinde (Fried Rice)
Wendy (Turkey Cutlets w/Sauce)
Diane (7 Minute Egg Salad)
Jessie (Stir Fry Kid Style)
Heather (Southwestern Chicken Salad)
Jen (Peanut Noodles w/Shredded Chicken)

May 19 - The Store Bought Dinner

WendyGK(Savory Crepes)
Rachel (Goulash)
The W.H.O.L.E. Gang - Pesto Shrimp on Polenta Portobellos
Jessie (Easy Noodle Dish)
Brian (Chicken Noodle Soup)
Gluten Free Portland (Fried Rice)

May 12 - Scallops with Broccoli & Garlic

Jessie (Soup)
Brian (Pot Roast w/ GF Gravy)
Heather @CeliacFamily (Pork Chops w/Black Beans)
The W.H.O.L.E. Gang - Blueberry & Blackberry Crumble Pie!
WendyGK (Smoked Salmon Alfredo)
Rachel (Steak Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette)
LindsayE (Chicken & Veggie Stir-Fry)
JoAnn (Crockpot Garlic Chicken)
Daniel Munday, Sydney's Fat Loss Expert

May 5 - Zucchini Rotini

Brian (Pork Tenderloin)
Gluten-Free/Dairy-FreeLiving (Mango-Balsamic Glazed Chicken)
Jessie (Hamburger Sanity)
WendyGK(Pizza/Pasta w/ Ramps
The W.H.O.L.E. Gang -Mediterranean Tuna Pasta with Artichokes
Rachel (Cheesy Egg Bake)
JoAnn (Beef Adobo Salpicao and Garlic Fried Rice)
Stacey (Cabbage Saute)

Thanks to everyone who has participated!

Labels: What's for Dinner Wednesday

Welcome to What’s for Dinner Wednesday (gluten-free style). This blog carnival takes place on Wednesdays and is about compiling gluten-free dinner ideas. At the end of my recipe you can add a link to a dinner idea on your blog, or follow the links to other blogs. Be sure to check back for new links. If this is your first time participating, you can read the guidelines here.

The other night I had some leftover chicken to use and came up with this quick meal. I peeled and cooked gold potatoes in the pressure cooker, then cut them into large chunks. While the potatoes were cooking, I sautéed a bunch of leeks in olive oil. I warmed the leftover chicken in the oven.

In a large bowl, I combined the potatoes, leeks, and chicken.

In a small bowl I whisked together:

• 1 Tb. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. olive oil.

You might want to increase the amounts. I knew my family wouldn’t like a lot because of the vinegar. I drizzled this over the potato salad as I carefully tossed it. I served it with a garden salad.

It wasn’t a meal that everyone was thrilled with, but they didn’t dislike it either. I would make it again, maybe using onions instead of leeks to add stronger flavor. What would you add to this dish to make it flavorful?

Mr. Linky has been having problems. If the box is not there, leave your link in the comments and I'll add it manually.

Gina (Roasted Vegetables)
Rachel (Mediterranean Lemon Chicken)
Cinde (Fried Rice)
Wendy (Turkey Cutlets w/Sauce)
Diane (7 Minute Egg Salad)
Jessie (Stir Fry Kid Style)
Heather (Southwestern Chicken Salad)
Jen (Peanut Noodles w/Shredded Chicken)

Labels: What's for Dinner Wednesday

For my son’s graduation party I decided to have finger food desserts such as cookies and brownies. The problem was that my favorite brownies, while soft and moist, tend to fall apart rather easily. I really didn’t want lots of brownie crumbs all over the floor, so I changed the recipe slightly and was very pleased with the results. I didn’t think to add the chocolate chips until I made these again today. They are a great addition. These brownies are still soft and moist, just a little sturdier. I think I’ll be sticking with this recipe.

One thing I like about this recipe is that it makes a 9 x 13 inch pan of brownies rather than and 8 x 8 inch pan. All I changed in the recipe was the flour mix and I cut back on the sugar slightly. I used Bette Hagman’s basic gluten-free flour mix. It contains:

6 parts white rice flour
2 parts potato starch
1 part tapioca starch

Gluten-Free Brownies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. butter
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder
• 3/4 c. white sugar
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/3 c. gluten-free flour mix
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions
In a large sauce pan, stir the butter and cocoa over low heat until melted. Remove from heat and, using a wooden spoon or stiff spatula, add the sugars. Stir in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour mix, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum. Add this to the sauce pan and stir until all the flour is moistened. Stir in half the chocolate chips.

Spread the batter into a greased and rice floured 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool before cutting.

This post is linked to Chocolate Obsession Wednesdays at Sweet and Savory.

Labels: cookies/bars, dessert recipes

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I found several Bette Hagman cookbooks at the library. I didn’t have to read long to realize I needed a heavy duty stand mixer. All I had at the time was a good hand mixer. Mom to the rescue! Yes, my mom traded her KitchenAid mixer for my hand mixer (hardly a fair swap, but that’s how moms are).

I know some of you are thinking about how that stand mixer was used to mix wheat batters and doughs.  That’s where my dad comes into the picture. He carefully and thoroughly cleaned the mixer. I recall the use of toothpicks to get into tight places. I was very sensitive to gluten at the time, and I never reacted to anything made with the mixer, so he must of done a great job.

If you are new to the gluten-free diet (and plan on baking), you might be wondering why a stand mixer is necessary. I find it invaluable for two reasons:

1.  Gluten-free bread dough is not kneaded like wheat dough, but it does need to be mixed very well. A stand mixer does the job best.

2. A stand mixer can handle greater quantity than a hand mixer. Gluten-free dough is much thinner than a wheat dough. While a hand mixer might handle mixing it, the amount of dough can be too much for the beater size.

The Big Question: What Mixer Do I Buy?

I’m no expert, but from what I have read, KitchenAid is the most highly recommended. They are expensive but they last for years and years. That still leaves you with many choices, though. KitchenAid stand mixers range in size and power as well as price. Carol Fenster uses a lower end 4.5 quart model that she is happy with.

I have considered replacing my mixer which has a handle to lift the bowl. I think I would like a tilt head model better because I find it difficult to scrape the bowl. I would love to have input from my readers about what you use and like.

Labels: tools of the trade

As you know, the past week has been intensely busy for me. We ended up starting a number of painting projects in the house that I hadn’t really planned on doing before the graduation party.  Once started, however, they had to be completed. That meant lots of easy dinners for us.

I have become quite good at putting together quick dinners and making do with what we have in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Sometimes, though, I don’t feel like cooking at all. On those days, I turn to grocery store fast food and purchase my stand-by no-cook meal. It includes a rotisserie chicken, potato salad, and bagged green salad.

Of course, when you’re on a gluten-free diet, you have to be careful about purchasing these products. The most important thing is to read labels. Sometimes that’s tricky with the rotisserie chickens, because the ingredients can be on the bottom of the container, but do whatever you have to in order to check the ingredients. I usually stick with a plain, unflavored chicken. Some of the flavored ones are okay, but they are much more likely to contain gluten than the plain ones.

Potato salad is often gluten-free. Remember, any wheat has to be declared and that’s the most likely offending ingredient. I don’t think you would find rye, but always keep an eye out for barley.

A green salad is pretty easy, but remember some bags come with croutons, and make sure you grab a gluten-free salad dressing.

I’m sorry I don’t have a picture for you this week. I was too busy for that. Now, I need some yummy dinner ideas for this week. Please join us by adding your link to a gluten-free dinner idea. If this is your first time participating, you can read the guidelines here.

Remember: It doesn’t have to be Wednesday’s actual dinner.

1. WendyGK(Savory Crepes) 2. Rachel (Goulash)

3. The W.H.O.L.E. Gang - Pesto Shrimp on Polenta Portobellos 4. Jessie (Easy Noodle Dish)

5. Brian (Chicken Noodle Soup) 6. Gluten Free Portland (Fried Rice)

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Labels: What's for Dinner Wednesday

By now most of you have heard of and read reviews of The G-Free Diet by Elisabeth Hasselbeck, which means my review will be somewhat repetitive. For what it’s worth, however, here are some of my thoughts on the book.

What I liked:

The book is easy to read and has lots of good, practical advice. It will be especially helpful for those just starting out on the gluten-free diet, but I found some useful tips in it also. Elisabeth Hasselbeck has a positive attitude toward the diet and focuses on replacing rather than removing food. She also puts things in perspective and says to those with celiac disease,

“As you begin making adjustments, you might understandably overlook the silver lining here, which is that you have the unique ability to make yourself feel 100 percent better.”

I like the personal nature of the book. Mrs. Hasselbeck begins with her story, gives personal examples of right and wrong responses, and shares what living a gluten-free life looks like for her. She even includes a few family recipes.

While the author herself has celiac disease, and that is the focus of the book, I’m glad she includes the idea that some people can have a gluten intolerance without having celiac disease. I also think the chapter entitled “The Autism Connection” was a nice addition to the book.

The book is divided into three sections:

Part I: I’m Allergic to What?
Part II: Going G-Free
Part III: More Great Reasons to Give up Gluten

The “Points to Remember” at the end of most chapters are useful summaries and do draw attention to important points.

What I didn’t like:

The use of the word “allergy” really bothered me, and here’s why. Although she clearly states in chapter 2 that celiac disease is not an allergy, she does not explain why she uses the term allergy a number of times throughout the book. I understand that there are times when using the word allergy is more simple and effective for a particular situation, but she doesn’t explain that.  For someone new to the diet,  it could be confusing, and for someone reading only part of the book, it could be misleading.

Sadly, Mrs. Hasselbeck still avoids foods that have moved from the unsafe to the safe list. She has not stayed up to date on research or simply doesn’t trust it. Many people reading her book will follow suit.

The idea of using the gluten-free diet for weight loss baffles me. I won’t take the time to go into that.

At the end of the book, Mrs. Hasselbeck says, “My primary goal, in writing this book, is to promote the awareness of celiac disease.” I think she did that to some degree. However, many people do not read a book from cover to cover. They pick it up and read parts that sound interesting.  Many parts of The G-Free Diet, taken out of context, could be misleading, and could result in people adopting the gluten-free diet without getting tested for celiac disease.

Conclusion:

This book could be a big help to someone who is newly diagnosed and starting out on the gluten-free diet. It is not a perfect book, however, and should not be anyone’s sole resource for celiac disease or the gluten-free diet.

Labels: books

As many of you know, I’ve been rather busy in recent weeks with my oldest son’s graduation. The graduation was Saturday and it was a wonderful event. I will treasure the memory of it. The party at our house also went well. Thankfully, with most of the graduates having parties at the same time, people were party hopping and didn’t all show up at once. It was nice having a stream of people coming and going. We also had family on my side and my husband’s side of the family who were able to be there. The weather prediction sounded bad, but we ended up being to enjoy our backyard for most of the party.That was a blessing.

Now I have a little more time to devote to this blog and reading many of your blogs. I have gotten behind on reading RSS feeds and returning comments, some of which I will not catch up on. However, please know that I truly appreciate all your comments.

In addition, I have a mini laptop computer (one of those really little ones) that crashed a couple of months ago. I finally passed it on to a very kind and generous friend who was able to fix it for me. Yeah! That means it will be easier for me to keep up with reading and will enable me to Twitter more often.

While life with teens is never slow, and the spring weather is calling me outdoors, I look forward to sharing more time with you!

Labels: miscellaneous

As I mentioned here, my oldest son is graduating from high school. Even though he has been homeschooled, he will have a graduation ceremony with some other homeschooled students at our church. The graduation is this Saturday and we’re gearing up for a huge party at our house afterwards. That means I won’t be blogging much this week, so I decided to combine What’s for Dinner Wednesday and Dianes’ Friday Foodie Fix (this week is garlic).

I love garlic, and I think it goes perfectly with broccoli and scallops. This recipe was very simple. I didn’t make a sauce, but you certainly could.

Bay Scallops with Broccoli and Garlic

Ingredients
I didn’t measure amounts. Just use enough scallops and broccoli for your size family and adjust the other ingredients accordingly.

• scallops, rinsed and drained (I used 1 1/2 lbs.)
• fresh broccoli, cut
• minced garlic (I used about 1 Tb.)
• olive oil
• butter

Instructions
In a large skillet, heat some olive oil and add the scallops. I used frozen bay scallops which were small so I just used a spatula and stirred them some until cooked through. If using large scallops, cook them on one side, them turn them and cook the other side. Remove the scallops from the pan using a slotted spoon. Pour out any liquid.

Add a little more olive oil and add the broccoli. Stir fry until tender but crisp. Move the broccoli to the edge of the pan and add about 2-3 tablespoons butter in the center. Add the garlic and stir occasionally as it cooks, about 1 minute. Return the scallops to the pan and mix them with the garlic and butter. Stir the broccoli in from the sides of the pan.

I served it over a mix of white rice and red quinoa.

Labels: main dish recipes, seafood, What's for Dinner Wednesday

For Mother’s Day we had a late lunch at Uno Chicago Grill. Even though I wasn’t thrilled with their gluten-free pizza the last time I tried it, I decided to give it a second chance. I was surprised when I saw a third option on their menu—veggie pizza. The first time I got plain cheese and thought I would try the pepperoni this time, but the veggie option sounded better.

The gluten-free veggie pizza comes with onions, mushrooms, and peppers. When I asked the waitress about the peppers, she said they use red and green peppers. I asked her to hold the green peppers, however, my pizza arrived without any peppers. It also arrived barely warm. I think they heated it and then it sat for a while while the other meals were still cooking. Being incredibly hungry, though, I didn’t bother sending the pizza back.

I found the veggies gave the pizza more flavor, making it more likeable than the cheese pizza. Unfortunately, I was more disappointed in the crust than the first time. It completely fell apart. Not only did it break vertically, but it came apart in layers horizontally (if that makes sense). It’s a good thing I was so hungry, because I didn’t really care. I just enjoyed the veggie flavors, my family, and the ease of eating out.

Happy Mother’s Day (belated) to all you wonderful moms!

Labels: gluten-free news

There is some celebrating going on at our house. My oldest son turned 18 today, and next week he graduates after 13 years of homeschooling. That makes it a celebration for him and for me. One down and two to go! In his honor, I decided to repost this article that I wrote back in August when my blog was brand new.

Originally posted 8/24/08

The other day my 17-year-old son asked how long it had been since I was diagnosed. It will be eight years this fall. He said he thought we should have a party when I reached 10 years. A party? To celebrate finding out you have a disease? That's not what he meant, and what he said was very encouraging to me. He thought we should celebrate the fact that I have learned to cope so well. He was old enough to remember the changes we had to go through, but he is very aware that much of the food he enjoys today is a result of my having to learn to cook all over again. While he knows that it's hard, he sees a lot of good that has come from it, and he sees me as being someone who succeeded in the face of a big challenge.

My thought was, it's like climbing to the top of a mountain. You don't celebrate the mountain, you celebrate the experience and the success of getting to the top. Celiac disease is still there and it's pretty big, but I'm on top of it and enjoying the view. I hope you are too, but if you're just starting out and the view from the bottom isn't so great, be encouraged. The trail has already been blazed, and there are plenty of people to help you on the way. You can make it to the top and celebrate with the rest of us.

Labels: celiac disease

As I mentioned in my zucchini muffins post the other day, we were given some large zucchini. Since it’s been cool here, I didn’t mind turning on the oven for one of our favorite vegetarian dishes. This dish has lots of dairy in it, and I don’t know if there are substitutes. Sorry dairy free folks. If you like dairy, though, you’ll enjoy this.

This flavorful recipe originally came from a magazine, but I cannot remember which one. I do remember finding it while sitting at the orthodontist office, but that’s not much help. I have made a few small changes. You’ll notice in the picture that I used fusili because I was out of rotini.


Zucchini Rotini
Ingredients

• 12 oz. rotini, cooked
• 24 oz. cottage cheese
• 3 Tb. Italian seasoning
• 2 c. shredded zucchini
• shredded mozzarella to taste
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained

Instructions
Combine the cooked pasta, cottage cheese, seasoning, and zucchini and put in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Spread the tomatoes out on top and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes, then broil for a few minutes. This would also be good with some mozzarella mixed in, but I have one kid who doesn’t like a lot of cheese. If you really like tomatoes, use two cans.

For more recipes, visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays and Tasty Tuesday.

Labels: main dish recipes, What's for Dinner Wednesday

 

Today is the day Starbucks begins offering their gluten-free Valencia Orange Cake.  The kind people at Starbucks sent me a gift card so I could try it out, and I did.  The verdict: It is very good!

 

As the name implies, the cake has a nice orange flavor. It was very moist and had a pleasant texture. There was no gritty feel to it. Two of my kids had a taste and liked it. One particularly liked the orange flavor, but thought the cake was a bit too moist and felt mushy in his mouth. Being that the first ingredient is eggs, I did notice a slight eggy taste, but I didn’t mind. While it does have plenty of calories and sugar to go along with its great flavor, I’m glad it at least has 9 grams of protein.

The cake is a terrific tasty treat, and I (along with the gluten-free community) am grateful to Starbucks for making it available.  If you haven’t tried it yet, you should. Not only will you enjoy eating it, but you will be letting Starbucks know they made a good move.

Nutrition Facts:	Ingredients:
Calories – 290	Whole eggs
Total Fat – 16 g	Valencia Orange Pulp
Saturated Fat – 2 g	Almonds
Trans Fat – 0 g	Sugar
Sodium – 40 mg	Orange Peel
Carbohydrate  – 32 g Dietary Fiber – 4 g Sugars – 23 g	GF Baking Powder (sodium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, rice flour)
Protein – 9 g

Labels: gluten-free news

(another variation of the recipe)

I looked at the clock. It was 5:30 p.m., and I knew I didn’t have time to fix the dinner I had planned. I hadn’t even thawed the meat.  Tomorrow is shopping day, so I didn’t have any fresh meat in the refrigerator. I did bake a loaf of gluten-free sorghum bread earlier in the day, but I needed something to go with it. I put on my creative thinking cap, pulled some odds and ends vegetables out of the frig and came up with this:

That’s right. Veggies on eggs. Here are a few comments that came from the family:

• Oh, that will make a nice picture.
• I never would have thought of serving asparagus with eggs, but it’s good.
• Scrambled eggs go well with anything.
• This is good.

The Recipe:
I chopped up and sautéed in butter: asparagus, orange pepper, leeks, and green onions. I set the veggies aside and scrambled the eggs in the same skillet. I made two eggs per person and added seasoned salt. I then spread the eggs out on a platter and topped them with the veggies. I served it with the fresh bread which everyone loves.

There was one more comment that came from the table as I finished off a few stray veggies, “Mom just took a leek.” Sigh. Smile. Life with four guys. You gotta laugh.

Although it’s not time for What’s for Dinner Wednesday, I wanted to tell you about tonight’s dinner. I also wanted to participate in the. If you haven’t visited Erin’s blog, she has lots of great inexpensive dinner ideas. She also has a child who eats gluten free.

For more great recipes, visit  Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, $5 Dinner Challenge, and Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Labels: egg, main dish recipes, what's for dinner

Woman’s Day magazine publishes a monthly menu plan which is also available online. Although it’s not a gluten-free menu, many of the meals can easily be made gluten free.  If you need ideas, this page has menus and corresponding shopping lists going back to January of 2008. 

A couple of features I like about their menus are Meatless Monday (self explanatory) and Planned Leftovers (On Sundays, you cook extra meat which is then used in a different way on Tuesday.) While recipes are not provided for every aspect of each meal, there is a recipe or instructions for part of it. The rest is easy to figure out. For example, the menu for May 16 is mustard-glazed salmon, rice pilaf, and asparagus. A recipe for the mustard glaze is provided with instructions to spoon over salmon filets and bake. You are on your own in making the rice pilaf and asparagus.

Take a look, Woman's Day Month of Menus might inspire you!

Labels: miscellaneous

Friends gave us a couple of large zucchini last week. I had one left that was getting soft and shriveled so I decided it would be best to put it into a baked product. We had these muffins for breakfast this morning, and everyone loved them. I’m going to give you the single recipe, but I always make a double recipe of muffins. We like having them around for snacks or breakfast the next morning.  Remember, you can substitute any gluten-free flour mix for the total flour amount. 

Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. brown rice flour
• 1/2 c. sorghum flour
• 1/4 c. potato starch
• 1/4 c. tapioca starch
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 c. oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tb. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. shredded zucchini
• 1/2 c. chopped nuts*

Instructions
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Make a well in the center. Add the oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir with a fork to mix well. Stir in the zucchini and nuts.

Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.

*Toasting the nuts before adding them to the batter brings out their flavor. It is best to toast them whole and then chop them.  I usually forget that, however, and toast them after they are chopped. You just have to watch them very carefully because they will easily burn.

View Printable Recipes

Labels: bread recipes, breakfast recipes

Today’s Friday Foodie Fix ingredient is strawberries. The last couple packs I bought were not very flavorful or sweet so for now I’m sticking with frozen strawberries.  BJ’s Wholesale Club has large bags of Dole frozen strawberries or mixed fruit that come out to $1.50 per pound. Given that the fruit is ready to eat with no seeds, pits, caps, or rind to remove, I think that’s a good deal.

Last summer, my kids learned to love fruit smoothies, but what they like most is more of a slushie. Why buy frozen ice cream bars or popsicles when you can have a delicious real fruit treat ready in minutes?  The kids like making their own in our Magic Bullet. They put fruit in the cup, add juice and water to cover the fruit (I make them use half and half instead of all juice), and blend it up. On a hot day, it is refreshing, tasty, and naturally gluten free!

Smoothie ideas abound, and I don’t have anything original to add. However, I will mention that one of my favorite ingredients to put in a smoothie is oatmeal. I start by grinding it to a coarse flour texture, then I add the rest of the ingredients.

The smoothie shown here contained 1/4 cup oats (gluten free), frozen strawberries, rice milk, and a little agave nectar. Yum!

For more ideas on using strawberries, visit The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.

Labels: appetizer and snack recipes