Gameday... In a Crockpot!

Having not quite fully recovered from my recent mandatory vacation in the hospital  I wasn't up to preparing some crazy hard meal for the last Bears game.  But I was SOOOO ready for some good food!  That's where my crockpots came in handy!


Sticky Crockpot Drumsticks

click for the original link from Farm Girl Gourmet

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce- of course make sure it's GF!
• 8  garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger- (I didn't have any fresh so I used 1 T ground ginger)
• 2 teaspoons sriracha (or other hot pepper sauce)
• black pepper
• 10 chicken drumsticks, skin removed and discarded
• cilantro & toasted sesame seeds for garnish

 In a sauce pan add the honey, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sriracha and season to taste with black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sugars have dissolved and the sauce is beginning to thicken. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

In the bowl of a slow cooker, add the skinned chicken drumsticks and pour the sauce over. Move the chicken around a bit with tongs to coat completely. Put the lid on and cook on high for 4 hours, flipping chicken a couple of times during the cooking process. Just before serving, sprinkle with torn cilantro leaves and sesame seeds.  Serve over rice and enjoy!

Perfect Crockpot Rice & Veges

2 C Uncooked Rice- Can be brown, white, or a combo

2 1/2 C Chicken Broth- You could try vegetable broth too

4 C Chopped Veges- Anything you heart desires- I used carrots, asparagus, mushrooms, and red onion

2 Cloves of Garlic- Minced

1 t seasoned salt

1 T Teriyaki Sauce- Make sure it's GF!

Throw everything in another crockpot and stir it up.  Set it on low and let it cook for 3 hours.  DO NOT stir it... trust me, you will only make it mushy!  Be patient and leave it alone!

This recipe is very forgiving and always turns out perfectly! 

The food turned out amazing!  Too bad the game didn't as well :( 

Oh well, better luck next week guys!

This little lady was not too happy with the outcome of the game :(

Where the heck have I been?!?!

 

Hey friends!

 

I've missed you!  How in the heck have you all been??

 

Summer is always a busy busy time for me.  Shine by Kat gets very busy and I developed some major guns with the whole wax on wax off business (and my vacation account also bulks up too... thank goodness because I am in need of a real vacation)!  I spent my summer with cars and had tons of fun making them look gorgeous.  Another perk is that all breaks in detailing are spent poolside! :)

 

Then fall brings the beginning of the school year and meeting all my new little preschool friends!  Cars and kids have been keeping me occupied.. two of my very favorite things!  Then harvest starts and I feel like a single woman again because my husband is working all hours of the day/night.  We had some friends get married in October and Mr. Kat and I were both in the wedding.  A lot of time was spent helping get ready for an amazing wedding, most of which I missed...that is a CRAZY story, that I will have to get you caught up on.

 

The end of that crazy story puts me somewhere that I had defnitely never planned on being and sincerely hope I don't have to visit again anytime soon!  That would be the hospital!   I went form the ER, to the church for the wedding (against Dr's orders!), and back to the ER, only to be admitted into the hospital for the next few days. I know...crazy right?! 

 

I was in shock!  I sat there for the majority of my stay thinking... "Am I seriously in the hospital right now?  What the hell happened to me?"  I'm only 27, and take such good care of myself. I NEVER eat anything I'm not supposed to. It just goes to show what this crazy little thing called celiac does to us.  Despite our best efforts it still manages to wreak havoc on our bodies. 

 

 

This pretty much sums up how I've felt recently...

I'm sure many of you can relate... unfortunately

 

 

 



 

 

I'm not ready to tell my story just yet, mostly because I don't really know what there is to tell at the moment. I have been not so patiently waiting to see a REAL gastroenterologist and get some REAL answers.  As soon as that happens and I can hopefully ditch this even more restricted diet that has become my life as well as all these heavy meds, I will fill you in on what is  happening with my bad ass immune system!

 

Until then you get to hear about the usuals.... I have some recipes I have just got to share, and I also want to tell you about how my husband made our 4th anniversary the best one we've had yet (Hint... it involves cars)! :)

 

 

Gluten Free Beer Bread!

Usually it takes me a bit to think of what I want to do for dinner, but yesterday I knew right away that I wanted ribs and beer bread!

Why I wanted ribs and beer bread so bad is beyond me... but Mr. Kat thought is was pretty funny.

It wasn't so hard to find a recipe for gluten free beer bread online, and it looked super easy... only four ingredients and 25 minutes... can't beat that!  

 

Grandpa's Beer Bread - Gluten Free

Ingredients

• 2 cups Gluten Free Bisquick
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 whole egg
• 12 oz gluten free beer- I used Magner's Pear Hard Cider

 Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
• Grease a 8x8 glass baking dish.
• In a large bowl, mix the GF Bisquick and sugar.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and beer.
• Add the egg/beer to the Bisquick/Sugar. Mix well.
• Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 min.

Yum!!

This turned out perfectly!  You could really taste the hint of pear from the cider so I'm excited to try it with some other flavored ciders and see how it turns out... I'm thinking blueberry next!

You Find Out Who Your Friends Are... The Ones Who Make Cookies!

I was just reading a blog post about coping with celiac disease and it really got me thinking.   Whether newly diagnosed, or a seasoned veteran of  good ol' celiac there is always a bit of a struggle which hits some of us harder than others.

For a lot of us that stems from the fact that this disease demands a complete lifestyle change that will never go away.  I try to live my life in the moment, taking each day as it comes, but sometimes that doesn't always work.  Occasionally the reality that I will have to live like this for the rest of my life sneaks up on me from where ever it is that I keep it suppressed and it tries to hurt me.  But then I look at everything I have to be thankful for and push that thought right back in place... somewhere at the back of my mind that is close enough to remind me to take care of myself, but far enough away that it doesn't bring me down.

Some celiacs don't have the ability to see it like I do, and I credit my support system for helping me do that.  Don't get me wrong, there are ignorant people in my life who do not understand the severity of this disease, but the number of people who understand it and want to take care of me far outweighs the number of ignorant ones, and I am so thankful for that.

We just had our 4th annual Thank Dank 5K this past weekend.   For those of you who don't know what that is...We lost an amazing man to a car accident, so each year we put together this trail run to raise money for a scholarship in his name.  Family and friends work hard to raise money, promote, and organize this event.  It can be a bit stressful and a lot time consuming to make it all just right, but I love being a part of all that and seeing it all fall into place.  Watching the community, friends, and family all band together to thank him for everything he gave us (including his amazing daughter, Charlee James who he never got the chance to meet) during his short time with us makes it all worth everything we put in to make it happen.  The reason this is significant to this post is because first of all his death is a harsh reminder that life is too short so you need to be thankful for every day, and second of all that the support of family and friends will carry you through even the toughest of times and that support will always be there.

And even though there is so much that goes into making this weekend run smoothly.... there are always gluten free cookies!  In comparison to what the weekend stands for cookies are really not important.  They would be my last priority for such a busy weekend, but someone is always looking out for me, and despite everything going on... I always have cookies. 

Those cookies seem so miniscule when looking at the big picture, but it is just another reminder that I have amazing people in my life who love me.  These are the people who carry me through those hard times when this disease tries to bring me down.  They are constant reminders to be thankful that it isn't worse, because I know it could be.  They never make me feel like I am making a big deal out of nothing, and never show even an ounce of impatience if I need to vent a bit about anything celiac.  They cancel any little pity parties that I might occasionally try to throw for myself and give me a much better reason to have a real party.  Then they always have plenty of gluten free food and drinks anytime we get togther for those parties and always act like it was no big deal to put together.  I hope they all know how much that means to me, because  I don't think I could ever tell them in words.

Here are those cookies that make me smile more than any other cookie I have ever had!  Thank you friends!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

 

1 C natural peanut butter, smooth or crunchy

1 C sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 t vanilla extract 

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a mixer, mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla on low speed until well combined.

Scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough 1 1/2-inches apart onto the baking sheet.

Flatten the dough balls with a fork, making a cross pattern on the cookies.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until they are golden around the edges. Allow the cookies to rest on the counter for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Happy Thank Dank Day and Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Charlee James and I (and papa & penny su) leading the Fun Walk!

 



Mama won 3rd place.... for her age group! :)  Go Mama!

What a great way to end a great birthday weekend!

 

Let's celebrate 27.... How About A Watermelon Rita?!

I always celebrate birthdays at my absolute favorite restaurant ...Mi Margarita!  I'm telling you guys if you are ever in the Illinois Valley area you must try it.  They make the BEST margaritas... we had peach raspberry last night... yum!  The food is amazing! The chips and salsa... perfect!  The best part is the staff!  They are all so friendly and take such good care of me and my food issues.  I never have to worry that I might get glutened there... ever!


Anyway... I'll share a margarita recipe with you in honor of my birthday and cinco de mayo weekend!  It's not Miguel's, but it's still yummy... I hope you like it!


Fresh Watermelon Ritas

1/4 C agave nectar- more or less to taste
2 1/2 cups cubed seeded watermelon
3/4 cup white tequila
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup triple sec
2 cups crushed ice, or as needed
1 lime, cut into wedges
watermelon slices

Place watermelon in a blender or food processor. Pulse until pureed.  Stir watermelon puree into a large pitcher with nectar, tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.  Place a small amount of salt or sugar into a saucer. Rub edge of margarita glasses with a lime wedge to moisten. Lightly dip the rim of the glass into the saucer to rim the glass; tap off excess salt or sugar.  Fill rimmed glasses with crushed ice; pour margarita mixture into glasses and garnish with lime wedges and watermelon slices to serve.

  

I enjoyed more of Mi Margarita's food this weekend... They are one of our amazing sponsors for Thank Dank!  They donated food for all of us volunteers this year!  It was so delicious and everyone loved it!  Thank you friends at Mi Margarita..... from ALL of us!






In case you are wondering....
The kids loved my Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes!  Especially the part about them being special treats that don't make Miss Kat's tummy sick!  They are all such sweeties!

Sadly Penny Su did not get to go to school for my birthday snack and share... it was a rainy rainy day, and she is not allowed inside school... so they will have to settle for seeing her at the all class picnic... which will be here before we know it.  We only have 5 more days of school!  Yikes!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake!

Everytime one of the kids brings a chocolate chip cookie cake to school for their birthday I practically drool over it!  They always smell sooo good and I just want to eat it... I would settle for just one bite!  Obviously I practice my (and any other celiac's) super hero power... self control, and don't... But that doesn't mean I stop thinking about it.

So I decided long ago that I would attempt to make a gluten free version for my birthday snack and share this year.  I found a chocolate chip cookie cake recipe online (Thanks Lindsay!) that I am going to adapt to be gluten and dairy free.  We will see how this goes... Wish me luck!



Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

3/4 C Dairy Free Butter- room temperature
3/4 C Dark Brown Sugar
1/4 C Sugar
1 Egg
2 t Vanilla Extract
2 C GF All Purpose Flour Mix- I have been loving Stashu's lately
2 t Cornstarch
1 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Salt
1 1/4 C Dairy Free Chocolate Chips

Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy (about 3 - 4 minutes).  Mix in the egg and vanilla.  Into another small bowl sift together the flour, cornstartch, baking soda, and salt.  With the mixer set on low add the flour mixture to the butter mixture gradually.  Stir in the chocolate chips... the dough will be thick.  Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight.  When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place parchment paper into the bottom of your pan to help prevent sticking.  Spread the dough out in the pan.  Bake for 18 - 20 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden.  Remove from the oven and let cool for a couple minutes before removing from pan.  Cool completely on a rack.  Add frosting and enjoy!

This should make one 8 or 9 inch cookie cake... but once again I am breaking more rules!  I am going to make these as cupcakes for the simple fact that it will be easier to serve to all the kids that way.  I got some adorable colorful polka dot cupcake liners and am going to hope for the best!  Once they are all slathered with frosting I'm sure they will be just fine!  Kids love anything with frosting right?! So they should love my snack and share!

Speaking of shares!... If you read my last post you probably already guessed the big surprise!  Miss Penny Su is coming to school!  The kids are going to be soooo excited!  At least I know they will love that part of my snack and share! :)

I bought myself an early birthday presents this year!  They make me smile.. and they were on clearance! :)


 

It's May... Celiac Awareness Month!!

Happy May Day all..... and more importantly, Happy Celiac Awareness Month!!

How are you all celebrating??  How are you spreading awareness??

I LOVE seeing so many food and cosmetic companies putting the words gluten free on their products nowadays!  Let's keep up the good work and keep spreading awareness so we can see more and more of that!

I apologize, I have been sooooo busy that I haven't been posting as much as I would like to.  All through our month I am going to try to do a post each week.  What would you all like to hear about??

In my next post I will share with you how we are celebrating my birthday at preschool!  I'll give you a couple hints....

Yum!!... You don't want to miss this! :)

AND....

Yellow Cake With Chocolate Frosting.. It's Gluten Free, Easy, and Delicious!

 

My family knows the importance of the words "yellow cake with chocolate frosting!"  Every celebration featured that exact treat as THE center of attention.  That is until I was diagnosed with Celiac disease.  Then the YCWCF love was stifled a touch.  But with "Christmas In May" (as my papa calls it because my mama, grandma, sister, and I all have birthdays in May... it's an expensive month for papa!) right around the corner I decided it was time to bust out this recipe and perfect it.

 

Lucky for me this recipe is already gluten free, and easily converted to dairy free too.  My parents had a local cake lady (shout out to Wanda Cakes!) make this exact cake for me for my 21st birthday party (that was soooo long ago!...I'm going on 27!...yikes!) and it was AMAZING.  Of course she has her special touch and noone could even tell it was gluten free.... even in an age that wasn't so gf friendly (before Kim K and a bunch of other celebs tried to jump on the bandwagon and before celiac disease pretty much started attempting to rule our population).  I'm telling you it was so good that I almost cried!  Of course that was the first time I had had cake in two years so it was a pretty emotional experience.  I had never attempted this recipe myself.. and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to live up to Wanda's... but you never know until you try.

Gluten Free Yellow Cake

 

1 1/2 cups white rice flour 3/4 cup tapioca flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

4 eggs 1 1/4 cups white sugar 2/3 cup mayonnaise 1 cup (almond or coconut) milk 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

 

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and rice flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
2.	Sift the white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum together and set aside.
3.	Mix the eggs, sugar, and mayonnaise until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, milk and vanilla and mix well. Spread batter into the prepared pans.
4.	Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Cakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then frost, if desired. As for the frosting.... there is really no recipe.... Grandma taught me!  You dump a bunch of powdered sugar in a bowl, add some butter (pretend butter in my case), vanilla, cocoa poweder, and (almond) milk.  You know just a dab of this and a pinch of that... Grandma style!  Keep tasting and mixing until you get it just right.  And then if it is just right you better keep tasting just to make sure! :)  Grandma used to make extra frosting and save some in a bowl for me to snack on... some of my favorite childhood memories!  Slather that Grandma frosting all over your cake (don't be chinsy... make it thick!), add some sprinkles, and you are ready to celebrate any occasion.  Enjoy!  I sure enjoyed mine!

Here is one of the May Birthday Girls! 

She is going to be 91 on the 6th!

She makes the BEST chocolate frosting!

I'm A Catholic & A Celiac... And I Want Communion Too!

Well, I guess I'm dead inside then!  I don't like to believe that I don't have life within me.... I don't think God wants me to believe that either. However the Catholic church is making it unnecessarily difficult for me to "have life within" me.... And sadly it is pulling me farther and farther away from the faith that I thought my whole life was based around.

I admit, I used to cheat my Celiac disease. I cheated every single time I walked up to the alter. I knew all along it wasn't good for me, but I couldn't stand the thought of not receiving Communion. I told myself that God gave me this disease and he wouldn't punish me for participating in my faith. But I started having more health issues and realized I was looking at it backwards. God did give me this disease, and he wasn't going to punish me for taking care of myself.

So I quit cold turkey. No communion for me.... and I absolutely hated it! Despite my best effort to feel and think otherwise I still struggled with the fact that I was feeling guilty and unholy. I couldn't participate at mass in the only way I knew... the way that had been drilled into my brain since I first stepped foot in Catholic school at age five. I felt left out and judged. I found myself dreading going to church because I didn't want to face those feeling. I found my mind wandering while I was in church because I didn't feel the need to focus on something that I couldn't partake in. For the first time in my entire life I found myself flat out losing my faith... And it was depressing me.

I shared my thoughts and feelings with my husband and family. They all made efforts to make me feel better. But talk all they want, I was not going to feel better about this situation until I could again participate at mass. My mama, who works at the church, talked to the priests about getting gluten free hosts and I started to get some hope back... But then...It. Was. Crushed.

The Vatican apparently has this ridiculous rule that the host must contain a certain percentage of gluten to be used in holy communion. I have many issues with this absurd doctrine.  I have done A LOT of research on this topic, but I will just touch on the big picture here.  I don't want to preach to you, just simply share my personal struggle and thoughts on this issue.

First of all we Catholics believe that priests have the power to consecrate the "bread" into the body of Christ.   That is huge deal... the entire basis of the Catholic religion.  In my opinion, if you are given that kind of power does it really matter what that "bread" is made of? I mean honestly, in retrospect the contents of the "bread" are minuscule when you look at the big picture here. They are taking a substance and turning it into the body of Christ! Does it really matter what that substance is made out of? I really don't think so. 

Can anyone prove with complete certainty that the actual bread Jesus used at the last supper contained wheat?  And even if it did does that really make a difference?  Celiac disease was not a problem at that time... sadly it is now.  The reality is that the church needs to change and evolve to fit the needs of it's current time and members.  I doubt if I showed up to the last supper and told Jesus that I couldn't eat that bread that he would say "well you are shit out of luck then"  Don't think so!

Some may argue that if we truly believe that it is no longer bread, but the body of Christ, does it matter if there is gluten.  You aren't eating gluten... you are eating the body of Christ.  Yes I believe that in my heart and soul, but my intestines are just functioning organs and they sadly can't believe and don't know the difference between the two.  So something had to change.

I pondered whether my faith was what had to change.  Do I need a fresh start, a new religion that will accept gluten free bread more readily?  Other churches have no problem getting gluten free hosts for those that need them.  As I sat crying in the pew while I watched everyone else go up to communion on Palm Sunday I decided that a new faith was most definitely NOT the answer.  That thought was more like the devil tempting me.... well guess what devil.... ain't gonna happen!

The answer is that I need to work for a change.  And what better time for a change than now!  The institution of a New Pope means new ideas, new growth, and new perspectives!  I started with going back to the priest at my parish.  I sent him off to chat with the bishop of our diocese armed with a photograph of some gluten free communion wafers. 

 

He came back and told me to go ahead and order them! I happily started shopping!  Sadly the online store that I found them for sale on warns right on the page that they are not acceptable for Catholic Communion.  So I don't know what to think or feel about this.  Him allowing me to order them and use them is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't fix the entire problem.  The Catholic church is still denying the needs of it's members.  I will chat with him in more detail on this and go back to the drawing board.  We will see what happens from here.  I'll keep you posted.

 

 

Do I have any Catholic Celiac followers out there??  How do you deal with Communion?  There are "low gluten" hosts available... have any of you tried them without problems?  Personally they scare me, and seem to me like they are just a poor excuse for a real solution to the problem (on the part of the Catholic church- I place no blame on the nuns making them). 

 

Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for the effort that the nuns making them put into it... thank you ladies for being on Team Celiac Catholic!  Those wonderful women are doing everything that the Catholic church is allowing them to do to help us Celiacs, and I am so grateful for that!  Now if we can get some higher up Catholics to think like they do!  I'll say some prayers for a step in the right direction!  Join me will ya?!

 

 

 

 



But I Want A Chocolate Bunny Too!... Gluten Free & Dairy Free Chocolate

I made it happily through Valentine's Day this year... which is a success for multiple reasons... Yay me!  The main issue this year was that I am now completely dairy free.  Chocolates are what  Valentine's day is made of... so what's a girl to do??  Figure it out... that's what!

I found this recipe for Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge.  It's just five ingredients... that are all gluten and dairy free!  Yay!  I quickly mixed it all up with my hand mixer and poured it into some adorable heart molds.  After licking the bowl, I could hardly wait for them to be solid enouch to remove from the molds.  Once this happened they didn't last long! :)   I'm telling you... these are addicting.  So I didn't allow myself to make anymore! 

The bunny was about to come and as I was picking up stuff for Easter baskets I decided that Easter would not be the same without chocolate bunnies for me too.  I found a silicone bunny mold, and some egg ones too!  So I whipped up another batch of chocolates for Easter.  I shared them with my family and everyone loved them so I figured I should share the recipe with you all too... here it is!



I used this mold.... how cute!

Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (slightly melted, but not hot)

1/2 cup good quality cocoa powder

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

1/4 cup mild raw honey

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract - I use my vanilla I picked up in Mexico...yum!

Preparation:



Put all ingredients in blender, hand mixer, or food processor.  Mix until everything is smooth and nicely combined. (It will be very liquid-y.) Don’t over-mix.  Pour the liquid fudge into whatever mold you choose, or even muffin tins.  Place in the refrigerator until the fudge has hardened.  That's it... now eat up! Store in the refrigerator. 

So easy and so good!  I'm telling you... the hardest part is waiting for it to harden!

I had the fabulous idea to add some GF Rice Krispies to some of mine and they taste just like a crunch bar.  I also chopped up some almonds in my food processor and made some almond ones too.  Yum!  I wonder what I will think of next....Oh the possibilities!

Hello Products... Seriously Celiac Friendly Oral Care



I was walking through my local Target last week and some new products caught my eye.  They were saying Hello to me too... so cute!! They were in colorful bottles and modern packaging and they advertised themselves as "seriously friendly oral care" and 99% natural.   I thought to myself... Ok, you might have some potential.  Let's see if we can be friends.  So after I quickly scanned the ingredients I emailed them.



Aren't they cute!?!



I recieved a quick friendly response that made me smile... All of the products are gluten free!  They really are friendly, and not just regular ol' friendly, but Celiac friendly!  I can get on board with that!  So I headed back to Target and picked out some new products to make my mouth happy.

They have interesting flavors to choose from and I didn't know where to begin (mojito mint anyone??).  I played it safe and got the mouthwash in sweet cinnamint.  Yum!  They are right you don't want to spit it out.   I want them to make gum so I can taste is all day long!  There is no alcohol so it doesn't burn at all, just leaves your mouth clean and fresh.  The price was also pretty decent too!  Which my husband and wallet love! :)

I'm a mojito girl!  Love them!  It's not officially summer until I have a mojito with fresh mint from my garden.  So I kept thinking about that mint mojito flavor.  I like the cinnamint so much that I just had to try the mojito mint!  I picked up the breath spray.  It's not a mojito, but it's yummy, and completely acceptable for me to indulge in on my lunchbreak from work. ;)

or...

I'll take both please and thank you!!

I told them that they should consider putting gluten free right on the label!  What do you guys think?  Either way know that they are gluten free, and that you will most likely find something you like!

This post made me think about sharing my famous secret mojito recipe with you all...

We will see how I feel about that when summer rolls around....

Penny Su's Birthday!... Corn Dog Casserole and Doggie Ice Cream!

Penny's birthday, or what we call her birthday, is March 12th.  Since we rescued her we don't know her real age or birthday, so we celebrate the day she came into our lives as her birthday.  This March 12th, we will have had her for three years.  The vets thought that she was about one year old when we rescued her so we are saying this is her fourth birthday.  She is growing up too fast!

Y'all know I love to find reasons to celebrate anything and everything and thus have a get together with good food, friends, and family.... so yes I have a birthday party for my dog!  Call me crazy if you want but it's super fun... you should try it!  It is even better being that it is so close to one of my favorite holidays... St. Patricks Day!  So we gather at the Red Roof Inn to celebrate the day that our lives changed for the better by saving another life.. and I absolutely love it!

Let's start with the Corn Dog Casserole... for the humans of course!  Very fitting huh?!

Corn Dog Casserole (from Taste of Home)

2 cups thinly sliced celery

2 tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups sliced green onions

1-1/2 pounds hot dogs

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups extra creamy almond milk

2 teaspoons rubbed sage

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 packages (8-1/2 ounces each) corn bread/muffin mix*
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheese, divided**

In a small skillet, saute celery in butter for 5 minutes. Add onions; saute for 5 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Place in a large bowl; set aside.   Cut hot dogs lengthwise into quarters, then cut into thirds. In the same skillet, saute hot dogs for 5 minutes or until lightly browned; add to vegetables. Set aside 1 cup.   In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sage and pepper. Add the remaining hot dog mixture. Stir in corn bread mixes. Add 1-1/2 cups of cheese. Spread into a shallow 3-qt. baking dish. Top with reserved hot dog mixture and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 12 servings.

*I have used Bob's Red Mill corn bread mix to make this, but it comes in larger packages than the standard 8.5 oz packs, and it is not my favorite.  This time I used my own cornbread mix that tastes just like Jiffy.  I'll share the recipe soon... I promise!

**I separated the casserole before I added the cheese.  This way I had one that was dairy free and one regular.  My husband tested them both and said they tasted pretty much the same... so I suppose the cheese isn't needed.

 Of course the birthday girl needs a special treat.... and she loves this Doggie Ice Cream!

Doggie Ice Cream

4 C plain yogurt

1 mashed ripe banana

2 T peanut butter

2 T honey

Mix all of the ingredients in a blender and freeze in ice cube trays... you can be fancy and choose shaped trays! When frozen, microwave for a few seconds, unmold, and place the treats in a plastic bag. Store in the freezer.

The humans definitely need dessert too....

Gluten Free Easy Grasshopper Bars (from Betty Crocker)

 Bars:

1 Box Betty Crocker GF Devil's Food Cake Mix

1/3 C Vegetable Oil

2 T Water

1 Egg

Frosting:

1 Container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting*

1/4 t Mint Extract

4 Drops Green Food Coloring

Glaze:

1 oz Unsweetened Baking Chocolate

1 T DF Butter

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir bar ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes.  In frosting container, stir in mint extract and food color. Spread over bars. In small microwavable bowl, microwave glaze ingredients uncovered on High 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Drizzle over frosting. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 6 rows.   Makes 36 bars

* I don't use that frosting... I make my own DF frosting with the mint extract and green color!  It tastes just the same with out all the dairy or icky plastic ingredient list...

Homemade GF Puppy Treats

I just did a post on the importance of gluten free/grain free dog food for all doggies, regardless of whether or not they have issues with gluten.  I explained the reason why this food is so much better for your pet and gave different options for you to choose from if you wanted to jump on the bandwagon.  You can find all that info here.

One other option to improve the diet of your pet is of course to feed your pet real foods.   This is certainly more time consuming and expensive, but definitely worth it if you have the resources.   If I had all the time in the world I would do this more often for Penny Su.  But reality is that I am lucky to have enough time get a nutritous dinner on the table for Mr. Kat and I so that doesn't happen as much as I would like.  But I try.  On Sunday mornings she gets scrambled eggs.  She LOVES carrots, so If I can't do anything else I will at least throw some shredded carrots on top of her food in her dish when she has her dinner. 

Having said that, I need to stress that I wouldn't recommend having your pet survive solely on real foods, because it can be very difficult to ensure that they are getting exactly what they need from their diet.  If you want to go this route completely you have got to know what you are doing.  I cannot stress this enough!  Educate yourself, talk to your vet, read books, just make sure you are not doing more harm than good.  It is easy for dogs to develop nutritional deficiencies because of an improper diet.  Also, there are many foods that dogs can't tolerate that humans can.  Despite your best intentions you could cause a lot of problems. So make sure you have a very, very good understanding of exactly what to do if you plan on going in all the way or just incorporate SOME real meals/foods into their diet and rely on any of the great brands of gluten free/grain free dog foods out there to do the rest.

I like to incorporate real foods into Penny Su's diet my making homemade treats for her.  Her favorites are peanut butter banana, carrot, apple, or pumpkin.  They all smell so good (Mr. Kat may or may not have sampled some of the homemade dog treats)!  She absolutely loves them, and I love the fact that I know exactly what is in them.  I get to reward her with something she loves and I know it is healthy for her.  I found these recipes from various sources (some which I can't remember now... sorry :/)  and changed them around to make them all gf.  I'll share a few of my favorite recipes for her with you. 

Penny's Favorite Carrot Treats

 1 Medium Ripe Banana
1 C Shredded Carrots- Chopped
1/4 C Unsweetened Applesauce
1/8 C Water- more as needed

1 1/2 C GF Oat Flour- plus some for kneading

1 C GF Rolled Oats

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a pan with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl mash bananas with the carrots.  Add water and applesauce and stir.  Add flour and oats.  Stir and knead until dough forms.  Roll to 1/2 in thickness and cut out shapes.  Bake for approximately 25 minutes.  Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for 6 months.

Pumpkin for my Pumpkin

1 egg

1/4 C canned pumpkin

1 T dry milk
1/8 t sea salt
1 1/4 C brown rice flour

Preheat oven to 350.  In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin until smooth. Stir in dry milk and sea salt.  Add brown rice flour gradually to form a stiff, dry dough. Roll onto a lightly floured surface. Knead more if necessary.  Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ thick and use a cookie cutter to cut out doggie bone shapes. Place bones on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack before feeding to your doggie.

Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats

1 Banana

1 C GF Oat Flour

2/3 C GF Rolled Oats

3 T Peanut Butter

1 Egg- beaten

Preheat oven to 300.  Mash the banana in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Set aside for 5 minutes.  Roll into small balls and flatten into coin shapes.  Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes until the treats are golden brown and have a firm bottom.  Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.

I hope your furry friends enjoy these treats as much as my Penny Su! :)

Who can resist this face?!? :)

Of course I will give you a treat!

Gluten Free Pets... Why? & How?

I have a really special puppy named Gidget.  I grew up with her since I was in grade school, and we have made a lot of memories.  She never left my mama's side through her struggle and defeat of breast cancer.  She helped me through the depression I struggled with after the psycho came to my school.  How do puppies know how to do that?  They are always there at just the right time, quietly comforting you when you need it most.  We have definitely bonded!

But I never thought we would share such a strong bond or that she would share in one of my struggles in a very different way. You see, my Gidget has Celiac Disease.  Well at least that's what I call it.  The vets call it a gluten allergy, but gluten is gluten, and it destroys both of us just the same.... so I'd say that is a quite a bond to have between a human and a pet. 

Celiacs love to share stories about their diagnosis.  So you may be curious... How did you figure out your dog had Celiac?!  It started with her constantly biting at her feet.... my goodness... it was as if she wanted to chew them off!  She also had A LOT of ear infections, and would scratch at her ears all the time.  She was having digestive issues as well, and our puppy who was usually so good and pottying  where she was supposed to was having accidents.  We never really considered the possiblity, or the coincidence, that she would have celiac!  But when the vet said to try a gluten free diet and see if it helped, I just knew that it would..... and it did!

Now she is a healthy almost 17 year old puppy!  She can't hear well, and can't see out of one eye because her sister scratched it when they were playing, but other than that the vet says that she is extremely healthy for her old age!  Yay Gidget!!  We are all so proud of you!

Me and my girls on our wedding day!

I'm sure that she wouldn't be fairing so well had we not figured out that she had Celiac... like so many others that struggle with this disease that can be such a pain in the you know what to diagnose.  But as many of you know... once you recieve that diagnosis and get over the shock of a complete life overhaul, you feel one million times better!  And that was our Gidgey girl!  Once we switched her treats and food she was acting like she was a puppy again, and still does to this day... even at 17!  So it is something to think about if your pets are having symptoms that resemble your own, or symptoms that just seem to want to hang around.  I know it made a world of difference for our Gidget, and it really isn't that difficult to ensure that your pets are gluten free.  My parents ensure that both of their girls are all gluten free, and my Penny Su is also GF, just for the simple fact that it is better for her, and then I don't need to handle unneccessary gluten when caring for her.

It is more expensive to go this route when it comes to caring for you pet.  You do get what you pay for when it comes to dog food, but I feel that it is more than worth it, and here's why... Dogs are carnivors so grains aren't a part of their natural diet, and their simple digestive systems aren't designed to deal with the grains that make up typical dog foods.  This means that regardless of whether or not your pet has issues with gluten it is much better for their digestive system and overall health to be fed a grain free, or at least gluten free diet.  I could go into a whole big scientific explanation, but I'm sure you don't really want that so we will keep this short and sweet.  Bottom line is that today most pet foods on the market are made up mostly of grains or carbs.  When you take all those fillers out there is much more room for real proteins, fats, and just more vitamins and nutrients!  So when you go grain free you end up getting nutrient packed food that is actually easy for them to digest and absorb all the good stuff in it.  Otherwise you are feeding them a bunch of carbs that are hard to digest and all it is doing is making it really difficult for them to absorb the little bit of good stuff that does make it into the food.  Sounds like a no brainer to me!  I know my girls are all definitely worth the extra money!


 

Penny and I both sleep better knowing that she is GF!

You are probably wondering what choices you have and what we feed our girls.  There are a lot of options out there for gluten free pet foods, and also completely grain free foods. Same goes for treats. Here are a few of our favorites....

 

BLUE FREEDOM:  This is completely grain free!  They have wet and dry choices for both dogs and cats.  Penny is currently loving the formula for small breed adult dogs.

BLUE BUFFALO WILDERNESS:  Another completely grain free food from Blue for both dogs and cats.  They line also has some options for treats.

Taste Of The Wild:  They offer a lot of flavors of grain free foods, I'm sure you can find at least one your pet will love.

EVO:  They offer different flavors for different life stages that are all grain free.


There are A LOT more options out there depending on what your pet likes and what your wallet allows!  These are just some of the ones that we have tried and our girls have approved of!  Stay tuned to learn about what kind of treats our girls get!



My Love Affair With Dermorganic!

I had been thinking about trying Dermorganic products for a long time.  I was hesitant because they are a bit pricey and I didn't want to put in the effort of ordering them and paying to have them shipped when I wasn't sure if I would like them or not.  I had been having so many issues with trial and error of all these new GF products that I just didn't want to waste the time or money.  But, when I saw them at my local Marshall's of all places I couldn't leave them on the shelf.... and I am so glad I didn't!



I love these hair products!   I got the Daily Conditioning Shampoo and the Intense Hair Repair Masque, and I adore them both!  They are all gluten free of course (it says so on the bottle!), and they are also pH balanced and free of sulfates, parabens, artificial preservatives, salts, dyes, and propylene glycol.  They are vegan and cruelty free too.  Check out the links under the pictures for more information and the ingredients.



Daily Conditioning Shampoo

The Daily Conditioning Shampoo is made with facial cleansers so it is gentle on my hair and sensitive skin.  I only need a tiny bit for it to lather up really nicely and it leaves my hair feeling perfectly clean, yet not stripped.  It smells good too!








Intense Masque Hair Repair



The Intense Masque Hair Repair is amazing!  It immediately makes my hair feel so soft and smooth.  While I am rinsing it out I can't stop thinking about how amazing my hair feels!  My hair is so much more manageable when using these two together. 



You don't have the use the Masque everyday, and they do offer a Daily Moisturizing Conditioner if you don't want to.  I have not tried because I am dealing with dry Midwest winter here and can use all the help I can get.  I have never felt like everyday use has weighed my hair down or is too much for it.  In the summer I will probably order the DMC and see how that works for me when the weather is not so dry.



I did warn you all that these products are pretty pricey.  But, the bottles are HUGE so I think they will last forever.  I literally use one tiny pump of the shampoo and two of the conditioner and I have long hair that is fairly thick.  I have been using them for a few months and feel like I haven't even put a dent in them, so I plan on not having to repurchase for a long time.... but when that time comes I will definitely be repurchasing!




Facial Moisturizer



As much as I love the hair products, the star of the show for me has got to be their Facial Moisturizer.  I adore this stuff!  I have had such a struggle with my skin lately because it has become so sensitive to gluten, and I was honestly so depressed about it.  For starters it is very hard to find products that are gluten, oil, fragarance, and silicone free.  So there was a struggle to begin with, and the few options I did find were either not moisturizing enough, too much so, greasy feeling, drying, gave me a rash, made me breakout...I mean nothing was working!  My skin was just unbalanced and unhappy... and so was I!  But this stuff made a world of difference and I can't explain to you guys how much I am in love with it.  It is $20.00 for 3.4 ounces, which lasts me a really long time so I didn't think that was so bad... and it is definitely worth it for something that works so well (you can buy a 1oz size too if you just want to try it out!).  It goes on so smoothly and abosorbs quickly.  It is oil free, but still packs in all the vitamins and benefits of argan oil by getting them from the argan fruit instead of using actual oil.  It feels just right both alone or under makeup.  It makes my skin feel comfortable and happy and that definitely makes me smile! :)  

   

 Bottom line.... go buy these products...end of story! You will thank me....Your welcome!! :)