Yum! Yum! Mommy!

Back. Not Gluten Free. Still Yum Yum Mommy

I had a huge hyperplastic thymus removed from my chest a year ago.  This tumor was  placing white blood cells in my intestine, causing what we thought was mild celiac.  I no longer have WBC's in my gut now that I no longer have the tumor.  So I am a gluten eater now.  I still have tons of gluten free recipes here.  I will still make recipes which do not have gluten, and will mark them as such.  I no longer cook for a husband, but rather a variety of people and an almost three year old.  

Let's get started!

Sloppy Joe's Easy, But Not Manwhich

I now have my daughter 5 days a week and cannot afford to be lazy about not cooking.  I am coming out of the fog of a divorce, and it is just time to start food blogging again.  This is the most easy peasy kid's recipe, and had my daughter actually taken a bite, she probably would have liked it, but I have so accustom her to crap, she needs to be retrained.

Sloppy Joe's Easy Peasy

• 1lb ground turkey or beef
• 1/2 medium sized white onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup any barbecue sauce
• 1 cup catsup
• 1 can green beans, drained and minced
• any kind of bread you want to put it on

With a pan on medium high, start to brown your meat, add all your spices and onions, after the meat gets halfway brown and the onion is starting to get soft, add the garlic.  Let the meat finish cooking, while the onions and garlic get thoroughly soft.  

Next, add the catsup, barbeque sauce, and green beans.  Place on low simmer for 5-7 min, stirring every min or so, you can add a little water or broth if it looks dry.

Serve on any bread you like.

I put it on white bread, and cut out circles, in the hopes that my preschooler would go for it, next to the wonderfruit of a banana.  We sat at the table in a tantrum.  But this is what the plate looked like.

Arroz Con Pollo

 Break out your gluten free beer cause you are gonna need it for this.  My step mother is from Peru and this is how she makes Arroz con Pollo, a Latin favorite in every country it seems.  

Babe complained this was too for white people.  I have altered the recipe in some places to give choices for umph and to appease Babe or keep it like I cooked it.  Which Oli and I liked just fine.   I put Sriracha on top for some spice.  But I am in love with Sriracha.  

Yum! Yum! Mommy's Arroz Con Pollo

• 4 TB olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 2-4 cups cilantro, chopped (about 1-2 bunches)
• 4 cups rice
• 6-8 cups GF beer/GF chix broth* (mixed how you choose, I used too much chix broth.  I would go 6 cups beer, 2 chix broth and up my salt next time)

On medium high heat in a 7 quart heavy bottomed pan, heat oil and add onion, cook until softened.  Add garlic.  Cook until fragrant.  Then add chix breast and cilantro.  Add salt and pepper, stir all to combine.  

Add rice.  Stir all to combine.  Add your liquids at this point.  

Keep on medium high at this point until it boils, then cover and reduce to medium low.  Cook for about 40 min.  Stir to fluff and serve.

*I stirred mine occasionally and got a risotto like consistency.  Babe didn't like it.  I think he would  have liked it if I use 6 cups fluid and never stirred it and the rice stayed together more. Your choice 

TJ's Vanilla Pudding

 I saw this at TJ's and since it has no actual gluten ingredients, though it does list that it is made in the same facility with every allergen known to us freaky allergy types, though it states they have good practices.  Whatever that means.  

I also kind of wanted to see what something not JELL-O was like.  

I kind of like the JELL-O version better.  

This is nice because it is pure white instead of artificially colored and it is made with cane sugar, but I venture to say too much cane sugar.  It uses cornstarch as a thickener, but two other chemical substances.  It makes it frothy like steamed milk but grittier.  Not very pleasant.  

I added a chopped banana to it and it actually tamed down the real vanilla and too much sugar flavor that overwhelms it.

I don't think I would buy this again, unless I was putting in a non sugar pie crust, with unsweetened whipped cream on top and some kind of natural fruit to cut the sweetness, this would be the only way to make this work.

I bought the chocolate too.  Will report. 

Peach Crisp

I think I was overwhelmed by some illness when I made this of the peaches I posted of way back.  But it was delicious and eaten quickly and very easy to make.  

Yum! Yum! Mommy's Peach Crisp

• 1 quart peach meat, coarse chopped, juices included
• 2 TB corn starch
• 1 tsp GF vanilla
• 1.5 cups GF oats
• 0.5 cups Pamela's Ultimate Baking Mix
•  1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
• 0.5 cup softened butter

Heat your oven to 375 degrees.  In a 9x9 pyrex baking dish place your peach meat and juices.  Mix your cornstarch with 2 TB cold water, add vanilla, and mix with the peaches and their juice.  Set aside.

In a bowl mix oats, baking mix, brown sugar, then mash together with the butter.  Drop in large pieces on top of peach meat.  Bake in oven for 45-60 mins or until topping is browned and peaches are bubbling.  

Let cool so the peach mixture can set and the top can crisply settle before eating.  Yum Yum.

PEACHES

As I said before, we have a mini peach tree in our backyard.  Babe harvested a whole bunch for me.  I wasn't smart enough to take a picture of the bowl full of them, but here they are peeled.   They were so ripe, I had a hard keeping them together.  They are delish.

And here is the meat and JUICE they produced.  I just pulled the meat off.  I barely had to use my paring knife.  Oli is kind of crazy today, so I don't know if I will have time til after nine, but I am determined to make a crisp today.  I already made more smoothies. 

But I have gluten free oats, agave syrup, butter, and brown sugar.  Sounds like heaven doesn't it?  More to come.

Fresh Peach, Banana, Vanilla Bean Smoothie

We have a peach tree in our backyard that puts out mini peaches.  I am sure there is a technical name for this kind of tree, but I don't know it. The peaches are a little acidic, so I added the agave syrup, but you don't have to if you don't want to. 

Babe asks my to use agave syrup because it has a lower glycemic index and he is all about losing weight (did I mention he isn't overweight).

I flash boiled, and then sunk the peaches in hot water, and peeled their skins off, then cut off all the meat and I  had about 3 cups left. Babe tells me we still have more out there so expect a cobbler/crisp recipe soon.  

Yum! Yum! Mommy's Fresh Peach, Banana, Vanilla Bean Smoothie

3 cups fresh peach meat

1 fresh, ripe banana

1 vanilla bean, split, seeds removed and placed in blender, husked disposed of

1/2 yogurt

2 TB agave syrup

Put it all in a blender and press whirl.  It will be pretty room temp, so if you want it chilled. Chill your peach meat first.  Makes two delicious 16 oz smoothies, or  four 8 oz smoothies.

Slurp!

Multiveggie, Cheese, Turkey, and Pasta 3rd Stage Baby Food

I don't have a picture of this, because really does 3rd stage baby food look good?  No, but does my husband think it tastes great?  Yes.  Will Oli, I am sure as she has her father's tongue, yes.  It was just to hot for her to taste at the time.  This recipe is a bit time consuming but it makes a ton and you can freeze it and just add it to your collection.  

The pasta for Oli was not gluten free, I used star shapes. I tried using a trick another mother gave me for chopping up the gluten pasta before cooking it, but it didn't work for my brown rice pasta.  It turned it to dust before even half of it was chopped.  It might work better in a food processor, I will try that next time.  So my continued suggestion is to chop up brown rice spaghetti into small enough pieces and add it to the dish at the same time you will add the pasta in the recipe.  In order to remain gluten free.

Yum! Yum! Mommy's Multiveggie, Cheese, Turkey, and Pasta 3rd Stage and Beyond Baby Food

• 1 lb ground turkey
• salt and pepper
• 1 sweet potato chopped (I bought fresh cut sweet potato fries and made the chopping easier)
• I butternut squash peeled and chopped (I buy mine already peeled and chopped large, then chopped it smaller)
• 2 yellow neck squash, 1/2ed and grated
• 1 head broccoli, chopped as finely possible
• 3 cups GF chicken broth
• 1/2 pound pasta of your choice, small enough for your child
• 1 cube butter
• 6 TB Pamela's Ultimate Baking Mix or flour
• 1 quart half and half
• 1 pound white cheddar (I used goat)
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (I didn't have nutmeg, so I used pumpkin pie spice)

In a 5 quart pan brown the turkey and salt and pepper it.  In another pan place the sweet potatoes and butternut squash, place either in your steam topper, or your steamer in your pot, or use your rice cooker, or however you do, and steam them both together until soft.  

If your turkey browns before the squash and potatoes are done, just keep it on low and keep it a stirring.  Make sure you break it up into little pieces.  

Once the squash and sweet potatoes are soft put in your blender with 1-1 1/2 cups GF chicken broth or whatever it takes to get it to blend until smooth.  Add it to the turkey mixture.  Add the broccoli and the squash to the turkey, sweet potato, squash mixture, with the remaining chicken broth, or enough broth that it will simmer.  Cover and let simmer for 20 min, stirring frequently.

At this point cook your pasta.  

After your pasta is done and your mixture is coming done to simmering.  Take the pan you steamed your squash and potatoes in and rinse it out.  Melt the stick of butter in there and then add the flour mixture of your choice and whisk until it gets a little browned.  Then slowly add the half and half letting it thicken as it goes.  Eventually add all the half and half and wait for it to bubble and it should be the consistency of heavy cream or a little thicker.  Now add your cheese and the nutmeg and white pepper.  Whisk until all the cheese is melted.  Now pour this mixture into the turkey mixture.  Add the pasta too.  Stir to mix and taste for salt and pepper.  

Now you have a lot of baby food, that tastes really good.  I think my husband is going to have it as a side to his steak tonight.  He doesn't care that a kid with 6 teeth can eat it.  It just tastes really good.

Apricot Balsamic Glazed Salmon

I made this two weeks ago.  I haven't posted it because I didn't take a picture.  We had a friend over, I was tired.  I just wanted an easy meal and I didn't want to have to fuss, and I feel taking a pic with my iPhone and posting it is sub-par and not acceptable.  But this recipe is so tasty, makes fish so easy, and seem so fancy, that I cant not share it with you.

Along side of it, I served rice.  For the rice, I chopped up a head of broccoli into pretty little pieces, put it with two cups of rice and 3 cups of GF chicken broth in my rice cooker (with added salt and pepper, because in this family we don't worry about things like blood pressure or bloating, we worry about tasting our food) and pressed the button down. Then fluffed and mixed it when it was done.

When I served it, in my living room, eating on our laps, my guests were impressed by my very gourmet side and my very gourmet fish.  It took me 10 min max to prep and 20 min to cook, and they were way to impressed for that.  There were not leftovers and everyone was satisfied, and went, "what was that on the fish, it was soooooo good?"  When I explained, they were balled over at the simplicity of it all.

I tell you people keeping it simple keeps it good.  

Here ya go.

Yum! Yum! Mommy's Apricot Balsamic Glazed Fish

• 4 fillets firm fish (halibut, sea bass, salmon, or the like)
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 all fruit apricot jam
• salt and pepper

Heat your oven to 400 or 350 depending on how your oven cooks.  Mine cooks pretty right on, so I used 400.

I used my fall back cryovaced fish which I defrosted in room temp water.  I cut it out of the bags and rinsed it off and paper towel dried it off.  I covered a baking tray with sides with aluminum foil (cause I only care about the environment sometimes:).  I salt and peppered the fish.

I then whisked together the vinegar and jam.  I spread it all over the fillets.  I didn't spread it thick or thin or whatever.  I just made sure all surfaces were covered and used all the concoction.

I cooked them for 20 min or until they felt firm, or flaky if you are really worried about doness.  But medium rare fish is in these days, don't cha know?.  But unless you bought your fish at Whole Foods that day, I would go all the way to flaky.  That is my two cents anyway.

There you have it. And if you did my rice trick, you have a complete meal.  Enjoy. 

Sorry about the pic.  It looked like fish.  

Do You Like Smoothies? Yoplait Smoothie

 I was at Costco and impulse bought this.  I made it this morning with a banana thrown in for fun and it is delicious.  I would buy it again since Olivia is a smoothie lover and Babe digs them too. 

They come in individually packaged packages which make two huge smoothies each.  That is kind of nice, so over time it doesn't become one huge frozen block.  

I cut Oli's down with half and half since I used 1% milk to make it fit through the straw in her sippy cup.   

Some Things About This Blog

Go below this post, new posts will appear under it, this is a perma post.

I am an undiagnosed Celiac, as of yet.  I have lymphocytes and delicate architecture of my duodenum.  After a two year gluten fest, I am to being GF (as I was for 3 years prior).  My whole immediate family joins me in the venture, because I cook so well in it

I always use kosher salt

I always try to use GF prepared products, tell me if I am wrong

This blog can be used by anybody not just a GFer.  Most of my recipes just use real ingredients.

To comment on a post you have to click "permalink" at the bottom

Feel free to email me with any of your needs/comments

Most of the time my Pamela's Ultimate Baking Mix can be substituted with Bisquick if you are not GF