Death by Paprika

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Jessica

Preggo Moment #1,274

I guess baby boy was thinking deviled eggs sounded good because I woke up from a nap this afternoon craving them.  This worked out well because today was an “egg day” for me so I was thinking that sounded good, to.  As I was mentally listing the ingredients I had on hand, I thought to myself, “I should figure out how to make these without mayo, you know, so they’d be egg free….”

Palm, meet face.  Face, meet palm.

So my second thought (well, my third thought after “DUH, stupid!”) was “how can I make these without a bunch of funky ingredients like the soybean oil in the mayo and the yellow No. 5 in the pickle relish?”  I remembered that I had just bought a perfectly ripe avocado at the store today and I had some plain Sabra hummus in the fridge.  Bingo!  A snack was born.

Just so you know, I did NOT make a whole dozen of these and eat them. :)   That would totally defeat the purpose of the rotation diet, you think?  I made 2 eggs, one of each flavor, and the amounts you see are just multiplied out to what I figure they would be.  So not an exact science, but there are so many variations of deviled eggs that you can give or take an ingredient or two, right?

These were SO good and I’m thinking they may make an appearance every 4 days when I have an “egg day.”  Not too bad of a craving to indulge in, if you ask me!

You can see I went a little crazy with the paprika for this poor egg on the bottom right.

Avocado Deviled Eggs (on the left)
Makes 2 dozen halves

12 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved, whites and yolks separated
1 1/2 to 2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
1-2 TB freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
Salt to taste
Cayenne or paprika for sprinkling- definitely use a light hand with the cayenne!

1.  Set your 24 egg white halves on a plate.  If you have one of those cool deviled egg plates, you get bonus points. :)
2.  In a bowl, mix the egg yolks, avocado and 1 TB juice until smooth, adding salt to taste.  If you see the mixture is too thick, add more juice as needed.
3.  Use a teaspoon to neatly fill the eggs with the mixture.  More bonus points for putting in a plastic bag with a snipped end and piping the filling in. :)
4.  Sprinkle the tops with cayenne or paprika and serve.  You lose your bonus points if you make a mess like I did. :)

Hummus Deviled Eggs (on the right)
Makes 2 dozen halves

12 hard boiled eggs, peeled and halved, whites and yolks separated
3/4 cup hummus (I used Sabra original flavor- gluten free)
Salt and pepper to taste (optional- store bought hummus will be more salty than homemade, so keep that in mind!)
Paprika for sprinkling…but don’t go crazy, now :)

1.  Set your 24 egg white halves on a plate.
2.  In a bowl, mix the egg yolks and hummus, until smooth, adding salt and pepper to taste.
3.  Use a teaspoon to neatly fill the eggs with the mixture.
4.  Sprinkle the tops with paprika and serve.

Obviously this is NOT an egg free dish, which is a rarity on this blog.  As always, please make sure your ingredients are safe for your particular food allergy needs.

 

Posted in Misc., Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sweet and Sassy Broccoli Slaw

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Jessica

If you’ve been following on Facebook, you know that I’m trying to drastically change my diet (and do the things my endocrinologist has been asking me to do for the last 7 months) and try to control my gestationally diabetic blood sugars these last 7 weeks.  I’m also getting my head in the game in preparation for this being a LIFESTYLE change and not just a DIET to get me through.

So far…I’ve cut out most grains and refined sugars and really focused on getting my carbs from veggies and fruits.  I had a taste of a blondie (blonde brownie with M&Ms and white chocolate chips) earlier in the week and within 30 minutes I was cranky and needed a nap.  I was amazed at how being off sugar for 2 weeks would make such a huge difference.  My goal is to also wean myself from caffeine and my beloved diet sodas (I know how bad they are for me…baby steps, folks!)

In an effort to incorporate more veggies and less sugar, I’ve been making this broccoli slaw and I’ve changed it up a little so I’m not using a store-bought salad dressing.  While I ADORE this dressing, it just doesn’t do anything nutritionally for me and is loaded down with junk, so I’m replacing it.  This is a great side dish for all of those BBQs and get togethers you may have this summer.  I’m sure it would make a great side for an Easter celebration as well!  It’s light and won’t weigh you down and honestly…it’s just plain easy!

Sweet and Sassy Broccoli Slaw

Sweet and Sassy Broccoli Slaw
Makes about 6 cups

Slaw
1 package of Broccoli or Rainbow Slaw* (find it in bags in the refrigerated part of your produce section)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 apple, diced
1/4 cup red onion, grated (I used my box grater)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional- I LOVE the organic ones from Trader Joe’s, but Craisins are peanut/tree nut safe as well)
2 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well, making sure to incorporate all of the seasonings.

Dressing (inspired by one from Sara Dean at Fit Healthy Moms!)
2 TB Honey**
2 TB Apple Cider Vinegar (love my Bragg’s!)
2 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-4 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I used 4, but 2 would work)
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a mason jar and put the lid on.  Shake until the dressing is well mixed.

Pour dressing on slaw and mix well.  This is good right away, but even better the next day.

*I normally would prefer to use veggies from a whole head of broccoli or cauliflower, but I tried shredding/grating the stem of the broccoli and it just is NOT the same.  There are all kinds of tough, fibrous pieces that you don’t really want to eat or pick out of your teeth.  I promise. :)   Feel free to sub 2 cups each of shredded green and red cabbage and 1 shredded carrot.

**The honey adds just a touch of sweetness, but if you can’t use honey, you could use maple syrup or agave nectar, but I’ve not tried them, so I don’t know how it would affect the flavor.  You could also omit the sweetener all together and add another apple to the slaw.  Either way, YUM!

As with all recipes, please make sure that the ingredients you use are safe for your particular food allergies. :)

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It’s a New Day….It’s a New Dawn…

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Jessica

And I’m feelin’…

Tired and old and 31 weeks pregnant (tomorrow!).

But I got a lot done today!  It’s too early for me to “nest,” but man, I got a lot done!  No excuses for not having a plan of what to eat or what to prepare.  I have our menu for the week worked out and I have ALL of my veggies prepped and ready to go!  I even have some veggies roasted to throw in my eggs tomorrow morning and a Greek Chickpea Salad *almost* ready for several lunches this week.

So…here are a few pictures of my VERY busy Saturday!

Allergy Free Apple Dutch Baby

This was my attempt at an allergy free version of a recipe I found in Family Fun magazine.  The kids loved the top but didn’t like the apples!  One more trip to the drawing board and we’ll see what happens!  I did have a bite and it was quite yummy, but MY breakfast consisted of plain Greek yogurt, a few drops of liquid stevia, chia seed and trail mix.

Today's haul from Kroger

This is most of what I got from my shopping trip to Kroger today.  Add a gallon of milk and a few cans of shaving cream and that’s about it.  I also had some other produce in the fridge, like peppers, celery and carrots.  I did end up going to Sam’s Club as well, and got 6lbs of chicken, 5 lbs of apples, 2 lbs of strawberries and a big, fat cantaloupe.  The chicken and fruit will carry us into next week, too.

Sunbutter Apple Sandwich with Raisins

This is my 4YO’s favorite new snack/lunch.  I can’t say I blame him, although I would put dried cranberries on mine. :)

Lunch!

Here’s my lunch for today:  roasted chicken, roasted asparagus, Sabra hummus, mixed peppers and strawberries.  YUM!

Easy Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce on Roasted Veggies

And tonight’s dinner: Easy Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce on top of a truckload of roasted veggies.  I roasted zucchini, mushrooms and peppers and topped them with the sauce.  And cheese.

Got Cheese?

In the interest of full disclosure, I always take my food pics BEFORE I add all the cheese.  Only because you’d never know what was underneath it.  Today’s meals make it look like I went all Paleo on you all, but I just can’t give up my cheese!!!  For the record, it’s a combo of Parmesan cheese and Cabot Tomato Basil Cheddar.  Those folks in Vermont know how to do cheese!

And now I’m off to:

  • put the leftovers away,
  • finish my Greek Chickpea Salad for tomorrow,
  • separate my 6 lbs of chicken,
  • do the dishes, and
  • watch a movie with Mr. A2A (if I don’t fall asleep before the end!!!)

Goodnight!!!

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“Type A” Wanna Be

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Jessica

I’m working on a written meal plan for next week, mainly for myself, to see if I can really tighten the reigns on this diabetic diet the last 8 weeks of my pregnancy.  It’s hard to believe I’ve been watching carbs and checking blood sugars for almost 25 weeks!  I’m doing OK and I’m still only on insulin overnight because my fasting sugars have been too high, but the dosage has not increased since Christmas and I’m hoping that I can avoid insulin before meals.

My goals are to:

  • Increase my veggies,
  • Decrease the amount of grains, and
  • Delete the sweets
  • Bonus: give up the caffeine and diet sodas before baby #3 gets here…this may be the toughest!

One thing about me is that I LOVE to see things written out and posted somewhere.  Meal planning for me involves printing a table on a Word document, writing in my “plan” and a using clip board to write out my ideas.

My issue is that I’m a free-spirited, creative, ADD, type B, disorganized, messy, cluttered mess.  I never stay on a project very long and have piles of unfinished things here and there (and everywhere!)  I always joke that I’m a Type A Wanna Be:  I make lists and lose them.  Kind of crazy, but very true.

We’ll see how long this lasts.  I have a long-distance friend that is keeping me accountable via text.  She’s been a real encouragement to me in a lot of areas and food has definitely been a big one!  And maybe I’ll even post my meals for the week here!  I’m still on the fence on that one…

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Banana Chai Oat Bars

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Jessica

I feel like I make some version of these bars every week.  The great thing is that they are SO good and SO versatile, that you can make them different every time.  The best part is that it’s really hard to tell that they are allergy free.  I’ve not ventured into the world of non-refined sweeteners yet, but I’m hoping to work on that soon.  You know, expand my repertoire. ;)

This recipe is a little different than the other oat bar versions because I use chia instead of EnerG Egg Replacer.  One chia egg equals 1 TB of ground chia and 3 TB warm water, usually mixed together.  Lately I’ve been adding my dry ground chia to the dry ingredients, making sure it’s blended into everything well, and then adding the water to the wet ingredients.  I don’t know why, but it seems to not get so gooey and I’m really liking the results!  It also makes it easier to incorporate than the normal blob you get from a chia egg.

Have I thoroughly confused you in the fact that I’m using CHIA as my egg and CHAI as my seasoning?  And my preggo mind is grasping this!!!

Anyway, here’s my newest version and so far, I think it just may be my favorite.

Banana Chai Oat Bars

 

Banana Chai Oat Bars

Makes 16 bars.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the following:
1 cup gluten free rolled oats
1 cup gluten free old fashioned oats
1 cup gluten free flour
1/4 cup gluten free oat bran (I really like Montana Naked Oats)
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 TB ground chia seed
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp chai seasoning (see below)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup safe white chocolate chips (I use Private Selection brand, sold at Kroger- they are PN/TN/G/E free)

Then add:
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup melted extra virgin coconut oil (LOVE Tropical Traditions!)
3 TB warm water
2 medium bananas (very mushy!!!)
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F.
2.  Generously grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
3.  In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
4.  Make a well in the center and pour in the wet mixture.
5.  Mix well using a fork or your hands.
6.  Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, turning once for even baking, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges.
7.  Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm.  Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Chai Seasoning (IC friendly!)

2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves (omit for IC friendly version)
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Combine all spices and store in an air tight container.

As always, please make sure that the ingredients you use are safe for your particular allergy.  When I use the term “IC friendly,” I’m going by what my sister can have.  If the ingredients listed are bothersome for your condition, please find an adequate substitution.

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Gluten Free Egg Free Chocolate Doughnuts

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Jessica

My son’s preschool class had a Valentine’s party a few weeks ago.  He had missed his Christmas party because we were out of town visiting family, so this was going to be my first, official, “what are we going to feed this kid at the party” event.  Our room mom, Kim (who also happens to be a fabulous cook!), has been so great at including me in planning and making sure that everything that is brought in is “Jonathan friendly.”  It’s a huge blessing and something that I truly thank God for!

Originally, I was commissioned to make some GF/EF/PNF/TNF brownies.  And even though I thought they were AMAZING, my son, who had never in his life had a brownie, was in tears as we asked him to try it.

On to plan B.

I had made pumpkin doughnuts before and he really enjoyed those, so I asked him what he thought about chocolate doughnuts.  He agreed that they sounded pretty tasty, so I went in search of a recipe that I could tweak to fit our allergy needs.  I found this great recipe for Chocolate Gluten-Free Donuts over at Gluten Free Recipe Box and it was top on my list to try!

They turned out great, and I was even able to make tiny ones in the mini-doughnut pan I got as a Christmas gift!  The kids at his party enjoyed them as well…as a parent or two!

Gluten Free Egg Free Chocolate Doughnuts

Gluten Free Egg Free Chocolate Doughnuts
makes about 12 regular sized or 24 mini doughnuts

2 cups AP GF flour mix (I used 1 part sorghum flour, 1 part tapioca starch and 1/3 part millet flour)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 TB ground chia seeds
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup + 2 TB dairy free OR regular milk- any kind will do!
3/4 cup + 2 TB honey
1/3 cup oil (any kind, but these would be AMAZING with coconut oil!)
3 TB warm water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1.  Preheat oven to 325F.
2.  Generously grease your doughnut pan with oil.  Seriously…don’t skimp.  They will stick!  I use a Misto with olive oil, which is not always an ideal flavor for baking, but you can’t taste it and I don’t buy the canned stuff anymore.
3.  In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
4.  Add the liquid ingredients until well incorporated.
5.  Fill each doughnut well about 3/4 of the way full.  Using a cup of water to the side, barely dip your fingertips in the water and smooth out the tops of the doughnut batter.  I make this the “bottom” of the doughnut when they are finished, but most GF batters only rise, but don’t smooth out.  As Carla says, “What you see is what you get!”
6.  For a 6-doughnut pan, bake for 15 minutes or so, until a skewer comes clean when you prick the doughnut.  10 minutes for a mini-doughnut pan (12).
7.  When they are done, gently turn the doughnuts out on a cooling rack.
8.  Icing is optional, but wait until they are completely cooled before doing so.

A few notes:

I iced the doughnuts with a glaze of 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1-2 tsp of milk.  I added some colored sugar sprinkles to the top to make them festive for Valentine’s Day.

I also recommend either eating these the day you make them, or only icing the ones you are going to eat that day and freezing the rest in individual baggies, then all put all of the baggies in a bigger freezer bag.  For some reason, my combination of ingredients made these dry out after a day.  The ones that were frozen and then defrosted were as good as the day I made them!

If you haven’t tried any of the recipes from Gluten Free Recipe Box, I encourage you to check it out!  There are SO many great recipes to be found!

As always, please make sure that all of your ingredients are safe for your particular food allergy needs.

Posted in Bread/Baked Goods, Breakfast, Desserts, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tuna Casserole Gets a Gluten Free Makeover

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Jessica

Most people have a love or hate relationship with Tuna Casserole.  I happen to love it.  It’s been one of those meals that I’ve been serving my family, from everyone in my house growing up, even my husband when we were newlyweds.  Early on, my mom made it with peas and a box of that blue mac and cheese.  Later on, we discovered a “fancy” recipe in one of her old cookbooks that used celery sauteed in butter and then had cream cheese melted in before you added the noodles and tuna.  I’m not really sure how I came to make the “cream of whatever” version, but it had been my go-to recipe until we had to deal with food allergies.

I was a little hesitant to try this with my kids, seeing as they are 4 and 2 and my son is SO picky these days.  I hate going through the trouble of re-making a favorite dish, only to have him turn his nose up at it or say it’s “gisgusging.”  But, I knew that at least me and my husband would like it and he would probably eat the leftovers, so I gave it a shot.

And it worked!  The whole time my son was complaining about how he hated tuna, he was shoveling in forkfuls of creamy, gluten free, tuna noodley goodness!

Gluten Free Tuna Noodle Casserole

Gluten Free Tuna Noodle Casserole
serves 6

4 cups of cooked, gluten free pasta, preferably shells or macaroni shape (I’m a big Tinkyada fan!)
2-12 ounce boxed of Pacific Foods Cream of Mushroom Soup (gluten free)
2 to 3 foil pouches of chunk light tuna (we like tuna, so I use 3)
2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 slices American Cheese
1-2 TB milk (optional)
Optional topping: 1/2 cup crushed gluten free crackers or bread crumbs mixed with 2 TB melted butter

1.  Preheat oven to 350F and grease a baking dish.  The one I used was 7×11.
2.  Stir all ingredients in a bowl, except for the cheese.  If the mixture looks a little thick for your liking, add a few tablespoons of milk.
3.  Pour mixture into the baking dish and top with cheese and then cracker crumb mixture.
4.  Bake for 30 minutes or until liquids are bubbly.
5.  Allow casserole to sit for 5 minutes or so before serving.  Enjoy!!!

As always, please make sure to check your ingredients to see that they meet your particular food allergy needs!

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Mini-Review: Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint- The Highlands, Louisville, Kentucky

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Jessica

Pizza.  Something I guarantee every food allergy “civilian” family takes for granted.  Taking the whole family out for a night of pie, or better yet, ordering in.  This is a totally foreign concept in our house!  Most of the time, we do one of the following things:

  • Go out to a pizza place and take along homemade gluten/egg/peanut/tree nut free pizza for our son.
  • On our way to a pizza place and stop by Annie May’s Sweet Cafe for a few slices of gluten/egg/peanut/tree nut free pizza for our son.  We love this option, but Annie May’s only does pizza on Saturdays, so while it’s an option and we love having it, it’s only one day a week.
  • Order pizza in and have homemade pizza for the boy.
  • Order pizza in AFTER the kids are in bed. :)
  • Make homemade pizza.

We’ve now added another option to our pizza predicament!  A few weeks ago I heard about Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint in the Highlands Neighborhood, Louisville, Kentucky and that they had a gluten-free crust.  I was immediately skeptical, though, because 99.9% of the times that I’ve looked at gluten free pizza, the crust has had one or more of our other offending allergens in it!

Until now!  Check out this list of ingredients: per comments on this location’s Facebook page

  • rice flour
  • tapioca flour
  • potato flour
  • water
  • olive oil
  • sugar
  • yeast
  • salt

Yeah.  I can’t argue with that too much!

On a whim, we decided to visit early on a Saturday night, which turned out to be a good time to go.  I didn’t go prepared with my whole arsenal of questions, but I thought I’d just give you an idea of how our visit turned out and then you can take that information and make phone calls or whatever and decide if this particular restaurant is a good option for your food allergy needs.

Is this MY gluten/egg/peanut/tree nut free pizza?!?!

Our son was able to enjoy a 9″ personal sized pepperoni pizza, which comes with 3 toppings, but he’s 4…he just wants the pepperoni!  The crust is super thin and nice and crispy on the edges.  The rest of the family tried their traditional crust (also available in whole wheat) with pepperoni and sausage.  Both pizzas were topped with Uncle Maddio’s own marinara and lots of mozzarella cheese.  You order your pizza just like you would order a sandwich at Subway, so you can see them making it before it goes into the oven.  They ring you up, give you a number and you seat yourself until they bring out your fresh, hot pizza, right to your table.

They also have salads available.  We tried the house salad with cheese and an Italian dressing that was pretty good.

House Salad with Cheddar Cheese and Italian Dressing

The gluten free crust was VERY good.  I am a huge fan of thin crust pizza, so I would probably get this next time and maybe order a smaller traditional crust for my daughter and husband to share.  I honestly don’t know that I would be able to tell that it was gluten free.  The regular crust was pretty good too, but I think the thinner crust got crispier, so I liked it better.

Was it the best pizza I’ve ever had?  No.  I’m a pizza snob from St. Louis and I have a special place in my heart for a cracker-thin pizza crust covered in gooey, creamy Provel cheese.  And they don’t have that anywhere but STL!

Was it a great place to go to take the WHOLE family AND get pizza for EVERYONE, all at once place?  YES!!!!  And we will definitely be back!  They have a ton of options for their pizzas and I love the idea of trying individual pizzas that everyone can get what THEY want!

Uncle Maddio's Gluten Free Pizza Crust with Pepperoni and Mozzarella

There are a few things you need to think about before heading to Uncle Maddio’s if you have food allergy concerns.  As I’ve said before, we are wheat free and we don’t have as many cross contamination issues as others, so please note the following (also, see UPDATE below from Aaron of Uncle Maddio’s):

  • The pizza crusts are pre-spread onto the pans and then covered in foil, so they are not just sitting out in the open.  I don’t know if the GF crusts are made in house or brought in from a more national level.
  • They offer 20 gluten free toppings, but all of the toppings are in containers, “Subway style”, so there is a risk of a piece of cheese falling into the olive container and vice versa.  The toppings are not segregated, except for the individual containers they are held in.
  • There are pesto sauces available for the pizzas, as well as what appeared to be almonds and walnuts in the salad making area.  We were OK with the pizzas, but chose not to allow our son to eat the salad because of this.  He didn’t really care…he just wanted pizza!
  • They offer Daiya cheese as an alternative to dairy cheese.
  • The workers wore gloves while they prepared the pizzas, but I did not see if they changed them for each order, mostly because I was wrestling my 2 year old at the time!  The guy that put our salad together did put on fresh gloves.
  • The spoon that is in the marinara is used to ladle AND spread the sauce on the pizzas, and it did not appear that there were different containers for regular and gluten free.

I listed all of these things not to point a huge finger, but to just let you know what I observed.  If you have questions about specific procedures or employee training, I would definitely make a call or go in and speak with a manager.  This just gives you an idea of whether or not this is a good place for you.  Those with moderate allergies to items served here should use caution and ask a ton of questions.  If you are looking at severe food allergies, have Celiac or are severely gluten intolerant, I would be hesitant to recommend Uncle Maddio’s to you.

That said, we had a great time and really enjoyed eating pizza as a family.  Uncle Maddio’s is definitely a place we are adding to our restaurant rotation!  My only other issue is that we need one on the Sunny Side of Louisville, in Southern Indiana!!!

UPDATE:  I was able to get a few of my questions answered by Aaron from Uncle Maddio’s.  Here’s what he had to say about some of the concerns I stated above:

Jessica,
Thanks for the write up on our store!  I’m glad you enjoyed your
visit and we look forward to seeing you back soon.  I wanted to
answer some of the concerns that you pointed out.  The gluten free crust is not made in house.  Gluten free needs to be made in a controlled enviornment.  When we make a gluten free pizza, we change our gloves.  We have a seperate container and laddle for the Tomato Basil sauce and when the pie comes out of the oven, we then use a seperate pizza peel, tongs, and cutter to handle the gluten free crust.   As for the regular glove use, we change them frequently but not on every pizza made.  Hopefully this will answer the concerns you pointed out for you and your readers!  Please feel free to contact me anytime at the email address provided should you have any further questions.  Thanks,

Aaron Simpson

I was not paid to endorse or review Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint.  We paid for our own meal and these are simply my observations and experience with the restaurant.  Specific questions not addressed here should be directed to your local shop.

Posted in Allergy Friendly, Restuarants | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Pink Chili

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Jessica

You’d think after all of the chili I consumed at our church’s Super Bowl Chili Cook-off over the weekend I would not every want to see a bowl of chili again.  WRONG.  For some reason, visions of new chili recipes have been dancing in my head for several days.

One of my favorite chilis that I always loved but can no longer order is from that bakery/cafe that sells insanely good bagels and your blood sugar spikes just for getting a good whiff of all the carbs in the place.  Turkey chili with chickpeas.  Yum.  My kids like both, so I thought I’d give it a whirl and see what I could come up with.  And the results…well…they are DE-LISH!  I love the combination of roasted garlic and tomatoes, creamy cannellini beans and firm chickpeas.  And topped with a little Cabot smooth sharp cheddar?  I was in heaven!

This would be so cute in a heart shaped bowl for Valentine’s Day, but really…serving chili to your sweetie?  Definitely not romantic LATER!

Pink Chili

Pink Chili
serves 6

1-1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey
1 medium onion, diced
4-6 cloves of roasted garlic (use 4 if using raw garlic)
2-14.5 ounce cans of fire roasted tomatoes
2 small cans or 4 cups of cannellini (white kidney) beans (can sizes range from 14.5-15.5 ounces), drained and rinsed
2 small cans or 4 cups of chick peas (can sizes range from 14.5-15.5 ounces), drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp black pepper

Garnish suggestions: smooth white cheddar, sour cream

1.  In a large stock pot on medium heat, cook ground turkey until most of the pink is gone.
2.  Add onions and cook until onions are translucent.
3.  In a food processor, blender or large bowl with an immersion blender, pulse tomatoes and roasted garlic a few times.  You don’t want them completely pureed, but just a little finer than how they are diced straight from the can.
4.  Add spices to the pot and cook for 1 minute.
5.  Add tomatoes, chickpeas, beans and chicken broth, stir and bring to a boil.
6.  Reduce to simmer, about 20 minutes or until some of the liquid has cooked off.
7.  Serve in bowls and enjoy!

 

As always, please make sure that all ingredients are safe for your food allergy needs.

Posted in Main Dish, Recipes, Soups/Chili | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Van’s Coupons!

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Jessica

Van's Wheat Free-Gluten Free Blueberry Waffles

Remember how much my family LOVES Van’s Waffles?  My kids eat them all the time and I really like the fact that they are free of gluten, egg and dairy!  Head on over to Mambo Sprouts for a coupon for $1 off of 2 boxes!  This would be great paired with a deal from Kroger (last week they were $1.99 after buying participating products) or Target, which has the lowest regular price I’ve seen on them, if your store carries them.

There are also some other great coupons for products that you might be interested in!

Posted in Allergy Friendly, Grocery/Product Deals | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments