Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole... Gluten Free & Dairy Free!

Adapting recipes to be gluten free comes natural to me, like I could probably do it in my sleep! Dairy free on the other hand... that has been a bit of a struggle, especially when it came to casseroles.

I have not found a decent dairy free substitute for cheese.  It may be a lack of resources in my little community, or it may be that what I have in mind just doesn't exist. Either way, everything I've tried has been a fail.  Sour cream is another one that I haven't found a substitute for. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them! ;)

Cream cheese, milk, and butter I can manage, but a lot of casseroles (at least the ones I always used to make) have a ton of cheese and/or sour cream.  So finding casserole recipes has been a bit of a challenge.  Again... Suggestions are welcomed! ;)

But I'm onto something with this one...

Check out this recipe which gets two thumbs up!

Chicken Cordon Blue Casserole

2 lbs skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks
1 C crushed rice chex

1 t garlic powder

1 T nutritional yeast 

1 T chives     

Whatever other seasonings you like..

1/2 cup milk
1 egg, mixed with the milk

8 oz ham- diced

1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup

   *I make mine from scratch... I'll get the recipe posted soon for you!
1 C almond milk

1. Mix the crumbs, nutritional yeast, & seasonings together. 

2.  Dip chicken in egg and milk mixture, then toss with bread crumb mix, coating well.

3.  Brown in a little oil until golden.
4.   Place chicken in a baking dish, add ham.
5.  Mix soup with 1 cup of milk and pour over all.

6.  Sprinkly any remaining breadcrumb mix on the top.
7.  Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes, or until tender and bubbly.

Click here for the original recipe.

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! :)