Creamy Beef Pasta

Creamy Beef Pasta

I was boiling the pasta and browning the beef and realized I didn't have any spaghetti sauce.  So we went with this instead!

Brown 1 lb ground beef
Add crushed garlic, dried parsley, dried basil, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste

Pour in coconut milk (about 1 1/2 cups), then add 1 Tbsp of cornstarch whisked in cold water.  Whisk as you add it to avoid lumps.  Will thicken in about 1 minute.

Boil Pasta (I like Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta in elbow shape), drain and add to the mix.

To be honest the kids weren't fond of it, but my husband and I loved it!  Next time I'll leave a bit of the beef and noodles with less seasoning for them...but it is definitely a keeper.

Favorite Products List! (Frequently Updated)

I'm going to start a list and add to it with time, I remember the hardest thing about food allergy shopping is spending lots of money on mediocre food.

I am a "scratch" baker and prefer to always make my own but the gluten free really has limited my ability.  I'm starting with favorite products and hope to branch out as I become more confident with gluten free ingredients.  For now it is keeping my baking alive to be able to use some of these premade flours/mixes to experiment with and having the frozen food for convenience is so helpful.

These products are all Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Peanut-Free, Tree Nut-Free (except coconut).  Most are also Egg-Free, however we tolerate baked egg fine so there are eggs in some of the baked goods.

King Arthur Gluten Free All Purpose Flour:  This is amazing flour with a great texture.  I have now baked sugar cookies, cakes, pie crusts with direct substitution into regular recipes.  I am still adding xantham gum.

So Delicious Coconut Milk Products:  We have switched nearly 100% to coconut based "milk" products.  The texture is amazing without the graininess of soy products and the ice "cream" is creamy!

Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread: best in my opinion for baking and topping everything.  Nice flavor, melts well, works well in recipes.

Ancient Harvest Pasta: great texture, al dente!  Doesn't get slimy and has a nice neutral pasta flavor.

Sunbutter-a life saver!  I don't even MISS peanut butter.  Sunbutter tastes so nice and the texture is perfect for recipes.

Enjoy Life: love the chocolate chips-I use them for baking, trail mix, snacking.

Van's Foods: Frozen waffles!

French Meadow: mini frozen cakes, muffins, tortillas-and my local Safeway is now carrying them!

Ian's: Corn Dogs!  Chicken Nuggets!  Fish Sticks!  Alphabet fries!!  Classic kid food available allergy free.

Udi's : Gluten Free Bread/pastries that tastes good.  I'm particularly fond of the cinnamon raisin bread toasted.

Dr. Lucy's Cookies: nice crunchy crispy cookies.

Gluten Free Bisquik: lovely for quick baking, pie crust, muffins, pancakes.  Light, neutral flavor (doesn't taste like beans like some flour mixes!)

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mixes: Yellow cake, chocolate cake, BROWNIES!  The chocolate cake and brownies are particular favorites.  They have a nice texture and hold up to decorating.  These do call for eggs-and I haven't tried them egg-free.

Reactions

Food reactions are always so scary-especially when it is a little one who is having the reaction.  For us reactions can vary from stomach upset, urgent bathroom trips, hives, breathing difficulty and in one case shock requiring hospitalization.  Generally I can stem it by using Benadryl and we've thankfully never needed the Epipen that I carry everywhere.

It is so important to read labels.  I thought I had it DOWN with my son's allergies-and then Baby Girl had to go and throw me a curve ball.  She is allergic to green peas-easy, right? 

Not really-apparently many many gluten free items have pea protein added.  All the Kinnikinnick brand items I looked at today had pea protein....and I just found that it is also in Amy's GF/DF Mac & Cheese-I was so excited to have this for my kids to eat but no more (and I just bought 4 boxes!).  

Last week the kids devoured two boxes of this and Baby Girl started having hives and severe bathroom troubles....I couldn't figure out why.  I thought maybe they had mixed it up with the Dairy Cheese- Now I know. 

So READ LABELS Mamas!  

"Creamy" Chicken Enchiladas: gluten-free, dairy-free

This is one of my son's favorite dishes, it is pretty basic but I'm including the research I've done about the allergy aspects of the ingredients.  I started making this back when I only worried about dairy-free and now have made it several times since we've gone gluten-free.  It is quick and easy once you have the ingredients on hand!

I start with about 1 1/2 - 2 # chicken-I like to use chicken thighs and breasts and boil it about 20' in salted water.  If you want to make it even quicker you can purchase a whole roasted chicken at the store.

Just be sure your "helper" doesn't eat all the chicken!

Shred the chicken with a fork and toss it in the bowl to mix with:

1 large onion, diced

1 can sliced black olives

1 28 oz can La Victoria RED Enchilada sauce or Las Palmas RED Enchilada Sauce (the green is unfortunately not gluten free).   I usually use two-a hot and mild, mild in the chicken mix and hot for the topping.
La Victoria
Las Palmas

Several large tablespoons of Tofutti Sour Supreme (contains Soy & see attached about their response about gluten)
Is Tofutti Gluten-Free?

Wrap in gluten free tortillas (or alternately you can layer like lasagna), pour another can of sauce over top and bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pumpkin Pie and Whipped Cream? Sure thing!

My favorite pumpkin pie is a modification of this recipe:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1937,159168-252205,00.html


The lemon extract really makes it! I just use So Delicious Coconut milk beverage in place of the milk and it is delicious.

Whipped Cream-I've seen many variations of this on vegan websites. Often they add other ingredients but I think the simpler the better.

Take a can of full fat coconut milk, refrigerate it upside down for several days. (I try to remember to always have one in the refrigerator so it is always handy). Flip it over, take off the top and pour off the liquid into a bowl (don't discard yet!). Put into your refrigerated mixer bowl (works best if everything is quite cold), and begin to whip it! It takes a little longer than whipping cream, I'd estimate about 5 minutes. You may add a little of the liquid in if it seems too thick, just be careful to not make it too liquidy. You can add a bit of sugar and vanilla if you like before it is done whipping. The nice thing about it is it doesn't separate so you can make it a little in advance. It holds up nicely in the refrigerator.

I've also read that the coconut milk works in the fresh whipped cream dispensers-I plan to purchase one of these before the holidays as a little gift to myself.

Whipped cream dispenser

Now with the gluten issue I need to just find a fabulous pie crust recipe and we'll be golden for the fall!

Birthday Cakes!

Since we can't just purchase birthday cakes over the years I have done them all myself-now friends are asking me to decorate for them too!

Top 8 Allergen Free Pre-School Snack List

I've always preferred to just supply my own food-I always have alternatives in my bag in case there isn't a safe food option for my kids.

BUT at our new Toddler Group the other parents said they wanted to be sure to bring only safe food for Baby Girl and another little boy who has food allergies in our class. Between the two of them we've covered most of the Top 8 allergens....

Baby Girl: Wheat, dairy, nuts, eggs & green peas. Friend Boy: peanuts, dairy, egg and soy.

His mom and I came up with a "safe" snack list of ideas for the other parents to bring. This group is 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 years old and so we have to avoid things that are also common choking hazards due to the preschool rules.

Here is the snack list we came up with, would love to add to this so any suggestions appreciated!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK LABELS!  Ingredients often change and you can't assume it was safe because it used to be!

• Fruit/berries/melons
• Veggies (except green peas!)
• Applesauce
• Hummus
• Olives
• Rice
• Beans
• So Delicious Coconut Milk/Yogurt (sold at PCC, Top Foods, Whole Foods and Safeway)
• Cereals: Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Kix, Trix
• Freeze dried fruit “chips” (such as the Costco Real Fruit Slices or Trader Joe’s packages.)
• Lundberg Brown Rice Cakes-salted or nonsalted-(Quaker Rice cakes are not safe)
• Jello/plain fruit gelatin
• Van's Free frozen waffles (marked Gluten & Dairy Free)

A few notes:

Please keep processed food packaging so we can check the ingredients.

Gluten-free Bisquick mix is easy for making muffins & biscuits and can be found at Safeway among other stores.

Please avoid adding margarine, mayonnaise, dressings as these often have dairy/egg in them unless specifically marked dairy/egg free.