Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Gluten free road trip snacks

We are about to embark on an 18 hour drive for the Holiday. With a rambunctious 6 year old in a car, bored, wanting snacks and still on a gluten free diet.

So here are some of my ideas

Celery and peanut butter
Grapes
Ham and cheese roll ups
Fritos
GFHomemade chex mix
GF homemade cheese crackers
Apples
Popcorn
Peanuts
Cheese sticks
Beef jersey
Dried salted peas
Rice cakes with peanut butter(Quarker has some cross contamination issues)
Chocolate

What do you take on a road trip?

Creamy low fat cheese dip. (Also gluten free)

My son loves his cheese dip. With Fritos, hot dogs, on french fries or on a spoon. On just about anything.
The problem being I hate processed cheese. I hate him eating processed cheese.
We searched high and low for a creamy cheese dip that wasn't spicy.
Nothing worked. Either they were lumpy or too spicy or just plain nasty.
Do yourself a favor and grate your own cheese. It tastes better and it is cheaper too. Plus that bagged shredded crap has a coating that messes with the creaminess.

8oz sharp cheddar cheese. Grated
8oz low fat milk
1 t hot sauce
1/2 t dry mustard
2 1/2 t corn starch
1/4 salt

More to come later

Monday, November 5, 2012

Winter

It was cold this morning. 26 degrees to be exact. I needed something warm and filling. Bean soup fits the bill.

1lbs bean dried
1lbs ham diced
1 medium onion chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper

Soak beans overnight in salt water. This is an important step. Please don't skip it.

Drain soak water and rinse beans well.
In a cast iron pan add 1 T olive oil. Cook onion and celery in oil. Add diced ham. Cook until ham is brown.

In a crock pot add beans, 8 cups water and spices. Add cooked ham and veggies. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Serve with gluten free cornbread.

Will add picture when it is finished.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Sour cream veggie casserole (Gluten free)

My Grandma is a fantastic cook. I have fond memories of going to her house and eating cookies and cinnamon rolls. Which I am sure contributed to my waistline. It was worth it. :) She would always share. Everybody I know loves her cooking.
I learned to cook from watching her. I hardly ever measure. Spending those days cooking with her were the best. I am blessed to be able to spend as much time as I do with her. She is an amazing woman.
Some of my favorites are savory foods like ham loaf, baked steak and this veggie casserole. I changed the crackers in this to potato chips to make it gluten free. I think it is a pleasant change. I hope she agrees when I make this for her in a couple of weeks when we travel to Florida to visit.

24 oz frozen mixed veggies, thawed
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 sour cream (we use reduced fat)
1 cup celery, chopped
1 c mayo ( we use olive oil mayo for lower calories)
1 cup chopped onion
1 T olive oil
1 cup crushed potato chips

Cook celery and onion with olive oil until translucent. Let cool.
Mix celery, onion, cheese, mayo, sour cream together. Add veggies and pour into a 2 qt casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 25 min. Top with chips and bake 5 more min.

Pictures coming as soon as ours is finished baking.

This recipe is approved by my 6 year old.