Awesome weekend

We had a full Saturday.  A nerf gun birthday party,  team pictures, a scrimmage game, an easter egg hunt , followed by playtime with Nana then a family dinner.

How to have a gluten free Italian dinner

So I woke up the day after Valentines and felt a little sad cause I really wanted an Italian Valentine's dinner and I can't just go to a restaurant and get it. So, instead of waking up depressed, I woke up hyper and ready to cook.  So, I got on Pinterest and looked at what I had in the fridge and pantry and got to preparing my evening.  Well I ended up preparing enough food for an Army, so naturally I invited the in-laws for dinner, and they were excited. Here is what I planned all gluten free of course:  Parmesan meatloaf, salad, home-made bread in the bread maker, chicken parmesan casserole, and chocolate Italian love cake.  I just used gf Italian bread crumbs for the casseroles and Betty Crocker gluten free chocolate cake mix for the Love cake. Unfortunately my bread did not turn out good, I guess there is only one way that the flappy metal turner thing fits in the bread maker and I put it in upside down and the dough never mixed. Grrrr!!! But My Mom is awesome, I can always count on her for emergency recipes.  So here is my Mom's recipe for Gluten free Italian Cheese Bisquik Bread:
1/2 cup onion or 1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup of milk
1 1/2 cup of bisquik, I used gluten free
1 cup grated cheese, I used Italian blend
2 Tblsp parsley
2 Tblsp Italian seasoning gf
couple shakes of rosemary
couple shakes of dill optional
2 Tblsp of melted butter

preheat oven to 400 degrees
Greese an 8 inch round cake pan
Combine egg and milk and add to bisquik - mix together (you want this moist, so if it seems dry, add a little milk, should be sticky
Add onion or your onion powder, half of the grated cheese and all of the seasonings, Stir.
Spread dough into pan, Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Drizzle the melted butter on top. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden brown, depends on your oven.
I got the meatloaf  and casserole prepared then put in fridge to put in the oven later. I already made the cake and put in the fridge.  I will post pictures later when the dinner is all ready. I am excited.  I'm going to go take a bath then a nap now.  Happy Valentine's weekend everyone

Happy Heart Day

Valentine's day was pretty good. I was able to get a massage ,then volunteer at my sons school for 5 hrs , I got to help out with his party at school , we made a yummy dinner and had a family game night at home. I even found some gluten free boxed chocolates.   We played Just Dance ,Wheel Of Fortune and the game of Life.   My sister in law came over too. Seeing my husband and his siblings in the same room is funny , I always thought I was competitive but boy do they hate to lose , it is quite comical.   I posted 2 photos. One of my fellas at Opryland a month ago cause it's the most recent photo I have of them together and one of my sons bag he decorated for his v-day party.  It is supposed to be a raccoon but we think it looks like a fox. Thank you Pinterest!

safe for now

I found out yesterday that my son does NOT have celiac diesease yet, but it  really isn't the type of autoimmune disease that skips a generation, so they want to test him every year. I have it, my Dad has it and we are pretty sure my Grandma had it.  Thank goodness I don't have to make a 7 year old eat gluten free just yet, cause as difficult as it was for me, it would be soooo much harder  for him. So yay, we are safe for now.  I have to have my iron checked constantly cause my anemia is so bad due to the Celiac disease.  My iron levels were so good at the appt that he lowered my dosage and said I had the best good cholesterol scores he had ever seen. Woo Hoo

Successful family dinner party

My in-laws used to have a family dinner one day every week, but now that they are both retired, we are trying to share the family dinner expenses since they are penny pinching. I should have had dinners before they retired, I just never thought of it and when someone offers to cook for you, you take them up on it, cause let's face it as a mother, you never have someone cook for you, you always have to do the cooking yourself.
So, my brother-in-laws awesome girlfriend and I are going to alternate months of hosting dinners and the in-laws will have one a month.  As my month got closer and closer, I got more nervous. It is not easy to make an entire gluten free meal good enough to please even the gluten eating people.  I think I was successful though. I had a Honey Baked Ham gift card and their meat and glazes are gluten free. So, I had salad fixings, ham, gf corn bread, mashed potatoes, baked beans, buffalo chicken casserole and gluten free chocolate chip cheesecake.
The buffalo chicken casserole, I found on Pinterest but it didn't have a link. I used only half the hot sauce to make it not as hot. It was definitely loved,  so here is that recipe: 

Loaded Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole:2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cubed (1")8-10 medium potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes1/3 cup olive oil1&1/2 tsp salt1 Tbsp. black pepper1 Tbsp. paprika2 Tbsp. garlic powder6 Tbsp. hot sauceTopping:2 cups fiesta blend cheese1 cup crumbled bacon1 cup diced green onionPreheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray a 9X13" baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mixture as possible. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy and browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the left over olive oil/hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. In a bowl ix together the cheese, bacon and green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mixture. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.Serve with extra hot sauce and/or ranch dressing.

 

gluten free bean soup

Well I do believe I'm getting a sinus infection.  So in the crockpot I have prepared bean soup.  Other dental offices give us things around Christmas time to say thanks for referring patients to their office. Usually we get a bunch of things with gluten in it, but this year one office brought each employee of several offices a jar of Great Northern Beans, a package of country ham pieces, a recipe card and a honey baked ham gift card. Jack Pot!  I was so excited to get something other than cake, cookies or biscuits. Hubby has thrown the recipe card away, but he loved the soup and that is what I'm making today. Here it is from memory:
big jar of Great Northern beans
can of rotel
2 tbsp of instant potato flakes
1 cup of water
1 package of country ham pieces
in crock pot all day on low setting
yummy!!!
Jason is my spice Dr, after it has cooked all day he tastes it and adds things, he usually adds, onion powder, garlic powder, a pinch of cayenne pepper and sometimes he will sprinkle cheese on it in his bowl.
Stay warm today, it is coooolllld!

New Year, New Me

For most people their New Year's resolution is to lose weight. This year I decided mine would be to cook more. We are only a family of 3 so I can get away with cooking every other day when there are left overs.  My first year with the celiac diagnosis I was so consumed with what I couldn't have and last year I started to focus on what I could have. I have been finding a ton of normal recipes that I may just have to tweak one or two ingredients to make it gluten free.  I have been cooking up a storm but our new favorite recipe is this Chicken Parmesan Casserole.  It is (was) delicious and no left overs at all. Even picky Jack devoured it. All I have to change was the croutons, I just used Schar gluten free bread crumbs I found at the Priceless IGA store.  Woo Hoo. I love finding great resipes all three of us love. I will definitely  be making this again.