Allergy friendly Mac N' Cheese

I've always loved mac n cheese but just never knew how to make it with out casein products. I found this mix by Namaste and thought I would give it a try. Even though it's not up to par with the other mac n cheese mixes, it's still really tasty and I don't feel so guilty eating it! This mix is free of gluten, wheat, soy, corn, potato, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and casein. Even though it's tasty by itself,  I like to add a little extra protein with it. So why no cut up some hot dogs! These hot dogs are by Painted Hills and they are the best ever. Plus they don't have any preservatives, nitrates or fillers. Give them a try, they're amazing!

Summer Pasta Salad

I love when summer comes around and I get to make my fun pasta salads. I can literately put anything in pasta salads....especially all the goodies from our garden. Here's one I just made so I thought I would share it with you. The sausages in here are from Aidells. These ones are their chicken and apple smoked sausages. They do not contain gluten, msg, and dairy or soy products. Give them a try! Here's what you will need for this pasta salad.

1 Package of noodles (I used Goldbaums Penne rice pasta)

3 Aidells sausages cut up

1 Small head of broccoli

2 Cooked chicken breasts cut up

1 Can of cut up olives

1Tbsp. snipped fresh parsley

1Tbsp. snipped fresh basil

1Tbsp. snipped fresh cilantro

1/4 C. Olive oil

3 C. Cut up spinach

Boil and drain your noodles and set aside. In a medium pan, cut up sausages and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then add the cut up broccoli and add a little water. Keep the sausages and broccoli covered for about 5 minutes on low heat (this way the broccoli will still have a little crunch to it). After the last five minutes, add the sausage and broccoli mixture to the noodles with the olive oil and stir until the noodles are coated. Then add your cut up cooked chicken along with the rest of the ingredients. You can serve these salads warm or cold. I prefer then warm but on hot summer days you'll enjoy them cold. Enjoy!

Strawberry Pound Cake

  

I remember when I was little and I always like the cherry cake mixes. Something about the flavor with the vanilla frosting just left my mouth dancing. Well after I baked this pound cake it reminded me of this childhood memory. I randomly saw this at the grocery store and it was on sale, so I thought lets give it a try. This mix is naturally gluten free, caesein free, dairy free, egg free, soy free and nut free. Even though you do have to mix in eggs and milk, you can use a substitue. I used the eggs but I substituted the milk with coconut milk. For the topping I just blended some hucklberries and blueberries together. I'm sure the best would be strawberries and a whipped topping though! Give it a try, I don't think you will be disappointed. If you can't find these mixes at the store you can go to their website at http://www.mixesfromtheheartland.com/.

Cinnamon Rolls

Ok, so if you want a delicious melt in your mouth cinnamon roll, then this is the recipe you need. Our good friend Debbie made these for us last night. She is amazing with her creations in the kitchen since her husband was recently diagnosed with food allergies. I never thought a cinnamon roll would taste this amazing being that it's gluten free, soy free, egg free and dairy free. Thanks for the recipe Debbie! For this recipe you will need the following:


1 cup rice or coconut milk

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup sugar



1 ½ cups Namaste Perfect Blend Flour

¼ cup potato starch flour (not potato flour)

½ cup tapioca flour

½ tsp xanthan gum


2 tsp. GF baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 pkg (2 ¼ tsp) yeast



Filling

¼ cup butter, softened (don’t melt it)

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 ½ tsp cinnamon



Glaze

Rice or coconut milk

Powdered sugar



First, combine the milk, oil and sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Heat till warm, not hot.
In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add the milk mixture and blend well. Dough will be very sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for a full 10 minutes. Grease an 9” round cake pan.
Generously flour your surface. (A silicone mat is perfect, because the dough is so soft and sticky.) Turn the dough out onto the board. Pat it down and flip it to coat.

Pat the dough out into a 16”x 9” rectangle; about ¼ inch thick. Now spread the softened butter over the dough (fingers work well for this). Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the rectangle, and smooth evenly out to the edges.

From the long side of the dough, roll it carefully into a log. If it tears, just press it back together. Cut the log into 12 pieces. Place them in the pan. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, then put a strong rubber band around the pan.

Place the pan of rolls in a sink of hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the pan. Let rise 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Turn them out onto a plate or tray immediately. Let cool about 5 minutes, then drizzle with glaze. Incredible!

Carrot Cookies

Eating these cookies always reminds me of Easter. My grandmother would always make them for us and then send us home with a plate of them. One would think that they might taste a littel funny with the carrots but the carrots actually add a sweetness to them with out the taste of carrots. They are amazing and I have to keep the tradition of making these carrot cookies even though my grandmother is no longer around. Give them a try and let me know what you think! You will not be disappointed. You can also add a vanilla icing to them for an extra sweet taste to them. For this recipe you will need:

1 C. Butter or butter substitute (room temperature)
3/4 C. Sugar (I use raw sugar)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 C. Cooked carrots (cut them up small and steam until tender)
2 Eggs
2 C. Flour (I used Namaste Perfect Blend Flour)
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Mix until all ingredients are creamed together. Then add the carrots, eggs, vanilla and baking powder and mix until all are combined. Once they are combined slowly add in the flour and mix for about a minute on low so everything is mixed in well and it breaks the carrots down a little more as well. Bake for about 10-12 minutes and enjoy!

Easter Treats!

Get togethers can be so hard for those of us with food allergies. I hate it around the holidays when friends and family bring those goodies that use to be your favorite, but now you can't have them. But with these treats you won't care! The treats here are chex krispies and brownies....two of my favorites. These chex krispies are super easy to make and they taste fabulous. For these you will need:

3 Tbsp. Butter or butter substitute

1 bag of *marshmellows

4 C. Chex cereal

*Make sure to check your bag of marshmellow because some of them have gluten in them!

Melt butter on low in a big pan. Once the butter is melted, add the marshmellows. Keep stiring until all marshmellows are melted. Once everything is melted, take the pan off of the burner and add the chex cereal. Mix well and put in a greased pan. Let cool for about 15 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

The brownies that are my absolute favorite are from Trader Joe's. They have an amazing fudgy and rich taste to them that I have missed for a long time. They aren't like those other mixes that are cake like, grainy, and dense. Oh, they just melt in your mouth. Don't be surprised when you mix all the ingredients together and see that the texture is really wierd. They don't look right but trust me, it's right. Just also make sure not to cook them too long. The very first time I made them I kept adding an addition 2 minutes to them and they were hard as a rock! You have to try these because they are fabulous!!! Let me know what you think.

Birthday Cake/ Flour mixture

All I really wanted for my birthday was a really rich gluten free, dairy free and soy free cake....and I got just that! If you haven't tried Namaste flour and mixes I would definately reccomend them. The Perfect Flour Blend contains sweet brown rice flour, tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, sorghum flour and xanthan gum. It is absolutely hands down, the best flour I've used. As far as the cake goes, its really fluffy and tastes exactly like a "normal" chocolate cake. I hate it when a lot of gluten free desserts etc. are really dense and "heavy" feeling. Here's a couple pictures of what the flour and mix looks like. If you try any Namaste products let me know what you think about them. As far as the frosting goes for the cake, I pretty much just threw a bunch of things together....turned out great though! I creamed some butter (or butter substitute) with powdered sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, and a little bit of coconut milk. Let me know if you try any of these!