Weekend Pancakes!

I love pancakes.  Breakfast has been by far the HARDEST part of going gluten free for me.  I don't eat eggs, so breakfast is quite the challenge these days.

So far Pamela's
http://www.pamelasproducts.com/product/Pamelas_Baking_
_amp_Pancake_Mix/13193.aspx
pancake mix is my favorite.  They are seriously delicious and you cannot tell they are gluten free.  This weekend I indulged in some of the blueberry variety.

I'm on the constant search for new ideas for breakfast sans eggs, so if you have any bright ideas - let me know!  Happy brunching everyone!

More posts soon...

I have failed miserably this year at posting.  It is something I want to make happen and will.  I got an iPad for Christmas and for whatever reason am having a hard time uploading pictures from it onto my blog.  So, I need to be better about using my computer and figuring out the glitches.

My sister is the best and got my a subscription to "Delight" - a gluten free magazine.

http://delightglutenfree.com/

I came home tonight to a new magazine in the mailbox!  The cover has "Make your own gluten-free bagels."  Can't wait to try it out!!  I seriously miss bagels.  Thanks, sis!

Until next time - happy gluten free eating!

Chicken Enchiladas

I love love love Mexican food.  So it is a good thing that eating gluten free means still being able to eat most Mexican food.

Chicken enchilada photo tour!

First, saute the onions in some olive oil and garlic for about 10 minutes.  Then, stir in about 

3 tbsp. of chili powder, 2-3 tsp. of cumin, and 1 tbsp. of sugar.  Cook for about a minute.  

Now mix in a can of tomato sauce, a cup of water and a few chopped up tomatoes.  Let simmer for a few minutes and then add the chicken breasts.  Cover and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes.  

Pull out the chicken and put on a plate to cool.  Then, you need 

to strain the onion mixture away from the sauce.  

Shred the chicken and add to the onion mixture.  Add about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce 1/2 cup of two different cheese of your choice (this time I used cheddar and mozzarella), and 1/2 cup of cilantro.  

Heat about 18 tortillas (6 inch corn rounds) in the microwave for about 20 seconds or more, so that they are soft and easy to work with.  Place the chicken mixture into each tortilla and place seem side down into a 9x13 pan.  This recipe around, I made two 9x13 pans.  Once you have put all the tortillas in the pan, put them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 5 minutes.  Then take them out, pour the enchilada sauce to cover them and spread another 1/2 cup of each type of cheese over them.  Place in the oven, covered for another 20 minutes.  

And there you have it!  Pure deliciousness.

Sidebar: I will work on making the blog full of better photos and make sure to 

include all the steps of the recipes I include.  Cheers to at least a good start at it!  

A Year of Gluten Free

I have not yet blogged in the new year, but I promise to be better about it this year. All I really have to say in this post is how incredibly excited I am to be gluten free all year this year! It has been about six months now and I'm so excited about another year of feeling healthy. So cheers to gluten free living in 2012!

Toasted Ravioli

I just got back from a trip to see my family in St. Louis for Christmas. Many of my favorite foods from St. Louis are full of gluten. Toasted ravioli being the one food I decided I could not live without on this trip. So I indulged and ate delicious toasted raviloi and am thinking I will never cheat again. It was not fun afterwards.  Not fun.  Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed them in the moment, but shortly after I felt it.

Now that I know what caused my stomach issues all these years and am feeling extremely well, I really don't desire to mess with it. Not at all. So I'm thinking gluten truly is gone for good from my diet and I'm ok with that. Sure, I miss a lot of foods but I haven't cheated at all since going gluten free and my body thanks me each and every day. I'd like to keep it that way!

So cheers to feeling well and staying gluten free!

Another Shout Out to Pizza Fusion

http://www.pizzafusion.com/

Pizza Fusion is delicious.  Really delicious.  After yoga last night, I decided to have some gluten free pizza goodness at Pizza Fusion.  Quite convenient since it is just up the road from my fabulous yoga studio.  I am still living in a hotel, so unfortunately eating out is quite common right now.  The staff told me I need to return on a Thursday, as that is "get a free gluten free brownie night." Yes, Pizza Fusion - I will return on a Thursday!

Snacks

Two of my favorite gluten free snacks lately are Cinnamon Chex (I got my sister hooked last time she was in the States and now she is sad, because they don't make it in the UK), and rice crackers with Nutella (or Kroger brand).

Delicious!  I am eating lots of easy snacks right now, as I am still in the hotel for at least another 5 days.  Sigh.  Still hoping everything will work out with the floors, my washer, a new sink, oh and insurance too.  What a mess!  At least I have yummy gluten free snacks and a nice warm hotel to stay in, as more snow is on the way!

Hotel Living

Staying in a hotel for the next however many days, while the floors in my condo get fixed.

Original projection time of being out of my place and in a hotel=one week.

Actual amount of time spent at the hotel=TBD.

Floors were too wet to start working on the floors yesterday...grrrrr.

Trying to maintain my current lifestyle, of eating fairly healthy and normal life.  A bit harder to cook so I can have gluten free food without buying a ton of stuff, so we shall see how the week goes.

Hoping to hear some good news tomorrow!

Gluten Free Thanksgiving Success!

Eating Thanksgiving entirely gluten free was a success!  I think everything turned out quite nicely and Mom and Dad approved of the gluten free meal!  I should have taken more pictures of everything, but here is a small preview of what we ate.

Making the cranberries...  Super easy.

• combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar and stir over medium heat until dissolved
• add a 12 ounce bag of cranberries and bring to a boil
• reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until cranberries "pop"
• I then added orange zest and stirred until dissolved
• let cool and then put in the refrigerator until serving

What else did we end up eating?

• sweet potatoes with marshmallows
• green beans with cherry tomatoes in a red wine vinegar/oil and shallot dressing
• turkey breast with gluten free gravy - simply used the strained, pan juices from the turkey, butter, and rice flour
• gluten free pumpkin chocolate chip bread
• gluten free apple crisp with vanilla ice cream

Overall it was delicious and I have more than my fair share of left overs!  Hope your Thanksgiving was full of great food and thankfulness as well!

Tday countdown

Well, Thanksgiving is obviously just around the corner.  My parents are coming for Thanksgiving and I decided that I wanted to stay in and cook, since it is my first gluten free Thanksgiving meal.  Over the years, most of our Thanksgiving meals have been eating out.  However, I am very excited about cooking and getting to make everything gluten free - hopefully the parents won't mind!  On a sidebar, I also have to move out of my condo for a week to FINALLY get my floors refinished, so it will be nice to stay home and start the packing process.

Here is what is on my list to make (could change!)...

• herb roasted turkey breast
• sweet potatoes with marshmallows
• green beans with cherry tomatoes
• gluten free pumpkin bread
• jello mold
• cranberry sauce
• gluten free apple crisp with vanilla ice cream

Too bad I don't like stuffing...  The Today Show just showed a gluten free stuffing.  

Another post to follow with pictures and what the meal ends up being.  It's almost Thanksgiving...I have much to be thankful for!!