Skiing at Brundage

Kevin and I had to work while the girls were on Christmas break. Nana and Papa took the girls to New Meadows and they got to go skiing at Brundage. I think that after a week of skiing Nana will be ready to head back to Albuquerque, NM.

Charlie gets a Snuggie for Christmas

Charlie loves to be under his blanket so we though that he would love a Snuggie for Christmas. The store was all out of blue so poor Charlie has to wear pink. He doesn't seem to mind. Pink is not only for girls.

Gluten Free Jello Pretzel Salad

New waffle maker

My Mom gave us a waffle maker for Christmas and it is so nice. We use Pamelas Pancake and Waffle mix to make the best waffles.

Christmas 2009

Christmas was finally here! I had a serious case of the BAH HUMBUGS! It has been a long year and I do have a lot to be thankful for, but I am looking forward to 2010. My Mom and Dad spent Christmas at our house. We cooked a turkey, stuffing, Jello pretzel salad, orange sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, baked apples, green beans and rolls. All of it was gluten free. I also made a sweet potato and pumpkin pie. After dinner we played a game of Apples to Apples. We had a wonderful day with our family.
The girls were up at 6:00 a.m. this morning wanting to come downstairs to see what Santa had brought. Joanne had made them each a blanket that they opened up the night before.


Kennedy wanted a new pillow for Christmas. She loved that it was a BSU Bronco.

Christmas Eve BINGO Party

It is our annual tradition to celebrate Christmas Eve at our house. Everyone brings a $5.00 wrapped gift and we play BINGO. My Mom makes clam chowder and I make the chili. Of course there is always a little karaoke to be had by most.

White Water Pizza

Kevin and I went to lunch today at White Water Pizza in Meridian and noticed the Gluten Free Pizza sign. The manager sold us forzen pizza crusts for $3.00 each. What a good deal. I am anxious to have Kennedy try it.

The Girls head to New Meadows

Christmas break and Nana and Papa took the girls to New Meadows. They will be back on December 23rd to spend Christmas here at home.

Tip Tap Toes Christmas Dance Recital

Tonight was Kennedy's dance recital. She danced to Your a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. She did a great job.

Breakfast Casserole

I created this recipe a couple of weekends ago and this weekend I added the fresh herbs to the recipe and it was a hit. Throughout the year I cut the crust off of Kennedy's bread and put it into freezer bags in the freezer. This is a great breakfast especially when we have company. They won't even know it is gluten free.

We have snow

This weekend was our first real snow storm. We ended up with only about 3 inches. It was enough to make the girls want to go outside and play.

Chocolate Chex Caramel Crunch

This recipe is delicious. Another good idea for taking to a party.

White Chocolate Popcorn

Every year I make this treat. This year I can't use rice krispies because they contain gluten so I have decided to add Koala Crip cereal.

Calvary Christian School Christmas Program 2009

Tonight was Karleigh and Kennedy's Christmas program at Calvary Christian School. Kennedy was dressed as an angel. They both did a great job singing their hearts out for Jesus.

Baking for the holidays

Wow I can't believe that it has almost been a year since Kennedy was diagnosed with celiac disease. Who would have ever thought that I would be buying organic and cooking with rice flour a year ago? This has been a rough year and looking back I am so glad that I am where we are. Kennedy looks so healthy and the trips to the doctors have decreased. I am hopeful that 2010 will be a healthy year for our family.

I have really been into baking since Thanksgiving. I enjoy trying to find gluten free alternatives that taste just as good as the gluten filled food. It is not easy, but I think that I have found a few top notch recipes. Most of are meals are made from scratch which makes it really time consuming, but I know that quick and easy is not always good for you. Kevin stands at the kitchen sink as I dirty up all of the dishes. He washes the dishes and then I dirty them back up. It is a constant circle of rotating dishes.

I do miss eating out at restaurants. We occasionally get to go out and eat, but it is very rare. The ease of going through a drive thru is no longer an option. I have to make sure that I always have food with us wherever we go.

Our house is gluten free and we all eat gluten free with her. I try not to make it seem that she is eating something weird or abnormal. I admit that when Kevin and I are away from home we do eat an occasional hamburger with a bun.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter 2 cups brown rice flour

1/4 cup cornstarch 2 tablespoons tapioca flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum 1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 whole egg

1 egg yolk 2 tablespoons whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.

In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

Add both of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and using the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 14 minutes.

2009 Christmas Tree Ornaments

Every year I try to find those perfect ornaments that symbolize the things that we have done, places we have been and things we need to remember. Usually it is a soccer girl, a trip to Florida or pictures of the girls. This year it is about finding peace. It has not been an easy road this year, but I am finally finding my way.

It is about the need for Starbucks. No matter how bad the day starts off, Starbucks can make things better.

And "C" is for Celiac. A devastating diagnosis, but we have managed to maintain our sanity. I have really tried to keep things as normal as possible during this first year of eating gluten free. Looking back we have come a long way. When Kennedy was first diagnosed in January 2009 I was in a tail spin trying to figure out what she could eat, shampoo to use and even a safe toothpaste. Even the grocery stores have started to carry more gluten free foods! YEAH!!

Boise State will be playing in the Fiesta Bowl January 4, 2010 in Glendale, AZ. We will be there to cheer for the Broncos. It was announced today that BSU will play TCU. Go Broncos.

Meat and Cheese Yum Yum's

I was talking with some friend's this week and we were remembering all the good school lunch's we had in New Meadows. Everything was fresh and homemade. One of our favorite lunch's was meat and cheese yum yum's. It was bread dough with bologna and cheese in the middle. I made the gluten free version tonight and they turned out great. I used the dinner roll recipe for the bread and I must say they were a hit.

Lazy Sunday

It is cold this weekend. This week it is suppose to get below 0!!! We usually catch some football games over the weekend. The girls like to lay on the floor with Dad. Today we have the fireplace going and a little extra heat from London and the blankets.

Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Tonight we made homemade pizza crust. It was great.

New York Cheesecake

Today I have decided to try my first cheesecake. I wanted to buy a gluten free cheesecake for Christmas, but when the price I decided to make my own. Pamela's Gluten Free Cheesecake on Amazon was $50.00. That is crazy. This cheesecake came out great. I used fresh lemon juice and I think that made it even better. This is a go for Christmas dessert.

Kennedy has Impetigo

I noticed that the last few days Kennedy's scar on her chin from her bike accident this summer started to have bumps. We took her to the doctor today and she has Impetigo. Impetigo is caused by one of two kinds of bacteria-strep (streptococcus) or staph (staphylococcus). Often these bacteria enter the body when the skin has already been irritated or injured. Children may get impetigo after they have had a cold or allergies that have made the skin under the nose raw. Because Kennedy has IGA deficiency she more likely to catch whatever is going around. Her doctor put her on an antibiotic to help the infection. She ended up vomiting for 4 hour straight tonight.

Our Christmas Tree

We decorated our tree for 2010. Claire loves to hang out under the tree. I think that she thinks that the dogs can't see her.

Sweet Rice Flour

11months into cooking gluten free and I have found the bomb. Sweet Rice Flour is made from glutinous rice (it does not contain the gluten fraction that is prohibited to the gluten intolerant). Often used as a thickening agent. Sweet rice flour is becoming more common in gluten-free baking for tender pies and cakes. It has the ability to smooth the gritty taste (that is common in gluten-free baked goods) when combined with other flours. LOVE THE SWEET RICE FLOUR.

Gluten Free Buttermilk Pancakes

These make great left overs for peanut butter sandwiches. I keep them in the freezer for a quick yummy breakfast.

Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie

EASYCHICKEN POT PIE

1 lb. chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I used canned chicken)2 Tablespoons of rice flour2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon pepper5 carrots, sliced/diced thin
3/4 cup of corn
1 pkg of sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup of sweet peas1/2 cup boiling onions or regular onions, diced
1 3/4 cup of chicken stock (homemade or gf brand)
1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped finely
3 Tablespoons of sour cream1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
Chop/dice/thaw the vegetables for the chicken pot pie. In a Dutch oven, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the 2 Tablespoons of rice flour, 1/2 teaspoon of dried mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cook about 2-3 minutes until bubbly and foamy. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock. Return to boiling. Add the vegetables and basil and simmer for ten to twelve minutes or until tender. While that is simmering you can prepare the gluten free pie crust(recipe is in my blog). Add the cooked chicken and the sour cream; combine well. Put the vegetable mixture in a 9×13 baking dish.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.Place the pie crust on top of the vegetable mixture or do a crisscross pattern. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Serves 6

Meeting Santa Claus

Today we went to Edwards Greenhouse in Boise to meet Santa Claus.

The girls both asked Santa for Nintendo DS games. Kennedy wanted to ask for a motorhome and Karleigh wants a baby brother. We told them that Santa's sleigh could not carry a motorhome and NO WAY ON THE BABY BROTHER!

The poinsettia's were beautiful.

Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits

Finally we have found a recipe that makes good biscuits. Not as good as Grannie Frannie's, but they are gluten free.

Thanksgiving 2009

I spent 2 days preparing Kennedy's gluten free Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted to make sure that she had everything that everyone else would be eating. I made gluten free macaroni and cheese, stuffing, cornbread stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes in oranges, gravy for the mashed potatoes, strawberry jello pretzel salad, rolls and pies.

I also made regular macaroni and cheese for all the other family and friends. It is a must have at Thanksgiving.

We spent the day at Bob and Karen Nelson's house in Caldwell, ID. Bob's family(Mom, Dad, Step Dad, Sister and nephew) all were there. Grannie and Gramps Loomis, Grandma and Grandpa Belnap, Micki, Aunt Dode and Niki came too. We all played Bingo at the end of the night. Grannie Loomis won almost all the prizes.

Gluten Free Stuffing

THE GLUTEN-FREE STUFFING From Glutenfreegirl.com

2 loaves gluten-free bread, diced into one-inch cubes, toasted and cooled
2 large ribs celery, medium diced
1 large yellow onion, medium diced
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Saute the onion and celery in olive oil on medium-low heat until they are translucent. You will be able to smell the onions cooking at this point. (Take a deep whiff. That's a beautiful smell.) Add the garlic, as well as the rosemary, sage, and thyme. Stir these in and cook until you can smell the herbs, about one to two minutes. Remove from heat.
Bring the chicken stock to boil on high heat. Place the egg yolk in a medium-sized bowl and carefully ladle two to three ounces of the chicken stock to the egg yolk, slowly, while whisking the mixture. Add the rest of the chicken stock to the egg mixture at this point. (Ladling a small portion of the stock into the egg first, and blending it, will prevent you from having scrambled eggs.)
Add the cooled celery, onion, and herbs mixture into the stock and egg mixture. Toss the bread cubes into this mixture and stir it all around with your hands (or a spoon), to coat the bread. Add the salt and pepper and toss the bread again. Place all of this into a greased casserole dish (big enough to hold three quarts) and cover it with aluminum foil. Bake for twenty minutes at 425°, then remove the foil and bake for another ten minutes. Take a toothpick and stick it into the stuffing. If it comes out clean, the stuffing is done. If not, bake until the toothpick comes out clean.

Gluten Free Apple Pie

I made Kennedy her own apple pies for Thanksgiving dinner. These turned out so good! A friend of a friend emailed me this pie crust recipe and it was hands down the best. I have made 5 pies in the last 4 day with different recipes and this on by far is the best.

Donna Jo's Dream Pastry Pie Crust

Dry ingredients:

1/2 cup tapioca flour (tapioca starch)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup potato starch (katakuriko in Japanese stores - this is NOT the same as potato flour)
1 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko flour - not the same as white rice flour)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Shortening:
1/2 cup gluten free margarine
1/2 cup butter

Liquid ingredients:

1 egg
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon ice water

Wax paper
sweet rice flour to sprinkle on the wax paper
lots of sugar for sprinkling on the top of the pie

Put the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them thoroughly with a fork. If you own a sifter, you could sift them together, but it is not necessary. Grate in the butter and margarine using a large cheese grater. Mix the dry ingredients and the shortenings up with a fork until the pieces of butter are distributed evenly - you don’t need to get the pieces of butter as small as they would be in a wheat crust. The size of “lima beans” may be a little large, but don’t go smaller than kidney beans! Anyway, mix up the liquid ingredients until well combined, then pour them in to the dry ingredients and mix together. Squish the dough into a ball and wrap it up to store in the refrigerator for one hour. (For the record, we have made this crust in the winter and gone straight to rolling it out, without refrigerating it. You wouldn’t do this when the air is warm in the summer, but it is ok to do this in the winter when it is cold.)

Divide the dough in half.

To roll out this crust, spread out a piece of wax paper, dust it with sweet rice flour or GF flour mix, or whatever comes handy, put one piece of the dough on top, sprinkle with more flour, spread another piece of wax paper on top of the dough, and roll out with a rolling pin. * The dough is now contained between two sheets of wax paper. Peel off the top piece of wax paper, flip the crust on top of the pie plate, adjust it to fit the dish and remove the other piece of wax paper. Your counter is clean, and your pie crust did not fall to pieces when you tried to put it in the pie dish! You rock!

Fill your pie, and then repeat the pie crust rolling maneuver for the top crust. Cut pretty holes in the top crust before transferring it to the pie, if you wish. After putting the top crust on the pie, sprinkle the top crust liberally with sugar - maybe 2 - 4 Tablespoons! Cut steam vent holes in the crust, if you forgot to do it before, and then bake the pie. This crust gets nice and brown and crispy, and it has a delicious buttery flavor! You bake it as you would any other pie crust (about 50 minutes at 400 degrees, for a two-crust fruit pie.)

Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls

I made these in preparation of Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted to find a good roll to go with our meal. These are the best that I have found.

BSU vs. IDAHO Game

Today was the annual BSU vs. IDAHO game at our house. BSU was playing at home this year and it was cold! Our house was filled with friends and family. We had about 18 adults and 13 kids that showed up to watch the game. BSU won the game 63-25!

Sausage Egg Muffin

We tried the Kinnikinnick English Muffins and they are a hit! There are only 4 in a bag and come frozen from the grocery store. I made sausage egg and cheese muffins and will freeze them. This will be a quick and easy gluten free breakfast.

BSU Womens Soccer Game

Today we went to our first college soccer game. BSU played Nevada in the WAC championship game. BSU won 1-0. The weather was great, it was 59 degrees out. It was a good experience for Karleigh to watch soccer at a higher level.

Organic Heinz Ketchup is NOT Gluten Free!!

It is so important to check labels each and every time you purchase food. I am not sure how this happened, but for 3 weeks we have been using Heinz Organic Ketchup. I remember looking at Heinz Ketchup and noticing that it was gluten free. I guess I assumed that they all were gluten free. Well that is not the case. The ONLY Heinz Ketchup that contains gluten is the organic!!!! UGH!!!! Kennedy has been eating it for 3 weeks. This is an eye opener for us to continue to constantly check with manufacturers on their products.

Fall day at Katherine Albertsons Park

What a beautiful fall day in Boise. We decided to go down to Katherine Albertson's Park in Boise and take some photos. The girls had a lot of fun posing for the pictures.