The Gluten-Free Homemaker

EverydayHealth.com is kicking off the new year with a gluten-free recipe contest.  The winner will receive 32GB iPad with Wi-Fi in addition to four Gluten-Free Apps and Everyday Health Apps.  Now that’s a prize I would love to win!  However, I won’t be entering this contest because I will be one of the finalist judges.

In order to enter this contest you must register for membership (it’s free) on the Site’s Community Group—“ New Year, New You Challenge." Three finalists will be chosen according to who has the most comments.  You must also be registered to comment.    The finalists will then be judged by the Gluten-Free Guru panel.  For more detailed information read the Gluten-Free Recipe Contest Official Rules.

I hope that many of you will participate in this contest.  You do not have to be a blogger to enter.  Just register and submit your favorite healthy, delicious, gluten-free recipe and ask your friends and family to comment.  You will be helping the gluten-free community by sharing your great recipe, and you might win an iPad as a result.

Labels: gluten-free recipes

Last Christmas I gave a number of food gifts.  I combined them all in a nice basket, but of course I don’t have a picture.  I thought I would highlight a few of the ideas I used, though, and I do have a couple of pictures of individual things.



Roasted Cinnamon nuts – just click the link to see the recipe I used.  You can find other recipes online.  Some are spicy too.  They are easy to make, and most people enjoy nuts.  Nuts can be expensive.  I bought large bags of them at BJ’s which made it more economical.




Herbes de Provence – For some reason I can’t find the recipe I used for this, but recipes abound on the internet.  Most use lavender, which I wasn’t able to find, so I used one that contained thyme, basil, oregano, and rosemary.  I specifically bought spices in jars that I liked so I could use them to package the mix.  I made the labels on the computer and printed them onto label paper (which I happened to have). The bottle show is the one I’m using, but the ones I gave away were full.














Vanilla extract – It takes several months for this extract to reach a good flavor, but even though it wouldn't be completely ready in time for Christmas, you could still give it as a gift and tell them is needs to sit a couple more months before use.   I started making vanilla well before Christmas, but had trouble deciding how to bottle it.  I looked in craft stores and didn’t find anything I liked.  I ended up buying salad dressing just for the bottles.  I don’t have a picture of them, but they were round glass bottles.  The salad dressing was put into canning jars and the bottles were cleaned thoroughly.

I think food gifts are an excellent way to go at Christmas, especially if you don’t know what some one has/doesn’t have or what they need/don’t need.  Everyone eats!  Just remember to take into consideration special diets and eating preferences and whether or not someone is likely to use it.  A single man who never bakes isn’t likely to appreciate the vanilla extract, but might love home made cookies!

For more edible gift ideas see Gluten-Free Holiday: Gifts of Good Taste and The Holiday Food Fest (not necessarily gluten free).

Labels: gluten-free recipes, miscellaneous

Since the theme of this week’s Friday Foodie Fix is pumpkin, I thought I would put together a collection of my gluten-free pumpkin recipes.  There are a lot of other great pumpkin recipes out there these days, and you will find more soon when Heather puts up this month’s collection of “Go ahead honey, it’s gluten free” recipes.  You fill find it at her blog, Life, Gluten Free.

Pumpkin Pudding (sorry, no picture)





Pumpkin Spice Muffins










Pumpkin Pie









Pumpkin Roll







What is your favorite way to eat pumpkin?

Labels: gluten-free recipes

Zucchini is one of our favorite vegetables, so when I decided to try my hand at a garden this year, I had to put in a zucchini plant. I’m happy to say that it is thriving.

Since today’s Friday Foodie Fix ingredient is zucchini, I thought I would remind you of a couple of my favorite zucchini recipes from my recipe index. Click on the link or the picture to view the recipe.

 

Zucchini muffins – This recipe can also be used to make zucchini bread. One recipe makes one loaf. I usually double it and bake two loaves at a time.

 

 

 

 

Zucchini rotini – A delicious vegetarian casserole.

 

 

 

 

 Ratatouille – I’ve never made it on the stovetop or in a crockpot, but I think those would be good summer time options for this dish.

 

 

Egg & potato skillet – This should actually be called egg, potato, and zucchini skillet. Sorry the picture is so dark. This is great for any meal.

 

 

Zucchini & onions – Definitely our favorite zucchini side dish. I learned this recipe from a cousin. Simply sauté zucchini and onions in butter (or olive oil) with plenty of dill weed. I usually start cooking the onions first because I like them well done, but I like the zucchini still crisp or at least not mushy.

Do you have a favorite zucchini recipe?  Visit The W.H.O.L.E. Gang for more zucchini ideas.

Labels: gluten-free recipes

This week, Karina posted a great roundup of gluten-free recipes for summer picnic fun, and Carrie listed her Top ten 4th of July recipes.  With the holiday weekend just a few days away, I thought that was a good idea and put together my own gluten-free recipe roundup.

From The Gluten-Free Homemaker:

• Beef barbecue sandwich
• Warm Chicken & Potato Salad
• Hamburger buns
• Brownies
• Carmel topping
• Cheesecake
• Chocolate bundt cake

From a few other blogs:

• Pulled pork – Celiac Family
• Roasted potatoes, mushrooms & green beans – The W.H.O.L.E. Gang
• Balsamic chicken with garlic – Living Without Wheat
• Lemon Garlic Pork Tenderloin – Fire and Salt
• Smoked salmon Alfredo – Celiacs in the House
• Warm spinach pasta salad – Feeling Better Gluten Free
• Summer Pasta Salad – Blog Schmog
• Pigs in a blanket – Brenna Kater, the Ocean Skater
• Roasted vegetables – The Gluten-Free Gourmand
• Chocolate peanut butter cake – Fire and Salt

From the Web:

• Red, white, and blue delight – Family Fun
• Fruit flag – Family Fun
• Peanut butter and strawberry sundae – Family Fun
• Barbecue checklist (no recipe) – Family Fun
• Red, white and blue parfaits – Better Homes and Gardens
• Honey chicken kabobs – Disney Family Food
• Sensational sirloin kabobs – Disney Family Food

I’ll be taking a blogging break for a few days while my husband and I celebrate our 20th anniversary. You’ll probably hear from me again on Tuesday when I tell you about a new gluten-free web site. Enjoy the holiday!

Labels: gluten-free recipes

I feel pretty bad that it's December 15 and the only decorating I've done is putting up the Christmas tree. I would have done some over the weekend, but our puppy was spayed on Thursday and her recovery has been time consuming, tiring, and interesting. I think she's healing well enough, but she's been fearful, especially at night. She has also developed a new way of expressing herself--howling. She now howls at a number of things. Do you think it has to do with the full moon we had the other night? Anyway, back to Christmas.

I haven't gotten out our nativity set which is usually what I put up after the tree. It's not really anything special as far as nativity sets go, but it's special to us. Even though I can't show you a picture, I thought I would tell you where it came from. My mother-in-law had a tradition of giving a nativity set to each of her children the first Christmas they were married. I enjoy the decoration not only because it reminds us of the reason for Christmas, but also because it reminds us of my mother-in-law. It's even more special now that she is gone. I hope it is a tradition that we will follow with our kids.

Earlier, I wrote about our Christmas tree, and why we use an artificial tree. In this picture you can't see the variety of ornaments we have on the tree, but you can see the red balls. I put those on to help tie it together and I always like the way it looks. The balls are not glass, but are covered in satiny fibers. They look pretty and shiny and don't break if they fall on the floor!



Now, how would you like to have some warm fruit punch? I got this recipe from my mom years ago. People always enjoy it, adults and kids. This recipe uses the crockpot, but I'm sure you could adapt it to the stove top.

Warm Fruit Punch

Ingredients
8 c. water
12 oz. frozen cran-raspberry juice concentrate, thawed
12 oz. frozen orange juice, thawed
6 oz. frozen lemonade, thawed
1/4 c. sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp. cloves
orange slices

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in the crockpot. Heat on high for 3 hours, then turn to low. Remove the spices. (I use a tea ball for the cloves.) Garnish with orange slices. If you have a keep warm setting that would be perfect for serving the punch. It's so easy!

Labels: gluten-free recipes