Multi-Purpose Cheese Sauce

Homemade Cheese Sauce

 * You know the cheese sauce in  a jar, the canned cheese dip for Nacho's, canned Cheese Soup, and the Creamy Mac & Cheese?  This is the homemade recipe.  With NO artificial food coloring, preservatives or glue, I promise you will like this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon water

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin(plain stuff NOT Jello) or 1 tsp. guar gum

12 ounces Cheese, finely shredded (Sharp Chedder will give you a stronger, sharper flavor.  Colby or Mild Cheddar or any other cheese is fine)

1 tablespoon nonfat milk powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk (If you don't have whole milk, and add 2 tsp of oil)

2.       In a small bowl, combine water and gelatin and stir. Let sit for five minutes (or just throw all ingredients together)  Combine cheese, milk powder, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a food processor or blender, and pulse a few times to combine. Heat milk in microwave for 30 seconds at a time until hot. 

5.       With the food processor running, slowly add hot milk through the feed tube at the top of the bowl. Add prepared, thickened gelatin mixture. Stop food processor occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl, and continue pulsing until the mixture becomes perfectly smooth (a few minutes).  The more milk you add, the creamier the mixture will be.  This is the consistency of Cheese dip.  Add more milk, and you have cheese for Mac & Cheese (I love it over GF noodles).  You can store in a container in the fridge and use it as needed.

The Family Favorite Bean Meal!

This is a combination of my Dad Braithwaite's favorite "Daddy's Beans" with my Grandmother Teachout's "Baked Beans".  Altogether, it's The Family Favorite Bean Meal!  This makes 2 meals for my 6 member family, or it serves a family gathering.  Please half if your only wanting one meal.  Or, you could freeze one meal like I occasionally do.

9 cups of plain, rinsed canned beans (pinto, black, great northern, etc.) or 5 cups dried cooked and drained beans

4 hot dogs, sliced small

1 lb hamberger or turkey burger

1 1/2 c. brown sugar (dark best) or use part molases for a richer flavor

1 c. ketchup

1/2 tsp pepper

1 onion diced 

1/2 c. green pepper, small dice

1/2 c. celery, small dice

1/2 c. carrot, small dice

1/2 tsp. ground sage

1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (opt. but gives bbq flavor)

1 tsp. dry mustered powder

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Precook the first 3 ingredients (my hotdogs are frozen).  Toss all into large pot and serve when heated through.  Or, toss all into a crock pot and cook all day on low for dinner at night! 

tests

tests

Learning to deal with disphagia.

Well, add to the side effects of my surgery an inability to swallow.  It is unknown at this point how long it will last.  So, as I make up recipies to drink/imbibe, I will have them to resource here.

Ok.  Dr. prescription is for Thicken It! (or Thick It!).  Either way, its not paid for by insurance.  At walmart in el paso, it was $19 before tax.  That can is only slightly larger than a container of baby formula.  Not encouraging.

So, creative one that I am, I came home and am trying my own thickeners from my own cupboard. 

12 oz water, 3 ice cubes, 1/2 teaspoon Guar Gum, lime wedge, squeeze of Xagave.  Can taste the guar gum.  Use less next  time.

Orange Drink.
Pineapple Juice
Ice
Jello 1/3 packet
1/8 tsp guar gum
water.  Blend

Gluten Free Zucchini Bread by Bob's Red Mill

Every summer up north we were inundated with zucchini.  When I became aware of my Celiac disease, I had no idea what to do with all my zucchini until I came across this recipe.

Ingredients:
1/3 c. Oil
1 c. brown or turbinado sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 c. applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. Bob's Red Mill GF All Purpose Flour
2 1/2 tsp. GF Baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 c. shredded zucchini
1/2 c. chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, etc) optional
1/4 c. raisins
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Coat 2 8x4 loaf pans evenly with cooking spray. In large bowl, cream oil, sugar, eggs, applesauce and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Reserve 3 Tbs in small bowl and toss nuts and raisins (this way they don't sink to the bottom of the loaf pan and burn).  Mix together wet and dry ingredients and shredded zuccchini.  When combined, toss in gently the coated raisins and nuts.  Drop batter into loaf pans evenly and bake for 60-65 minutes.  Cover loaves with foil for last 20 minutes of cooking to avoid over browning.  Remove from oven and set on cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing from from pans.
*The more Bob's Red Mill ingredients or Gluten free ingredients you can find, the safer the end product will be.

Ham with Pineapple Sauce

Ham of any size: I prefer not a raw ham.  They scare me with the germ phobias.  Place the ham flat (or cut) side down in the pan.  For a fancy dinner, slice diamond shapes into the skin of the ham.  At each diamond point, shove in a whole clove, point part down.  This way the flower shape of the clove is visible. Mix one cup of orange juice with one cup of brown sugar and smear the paste over the ham. Bake at 325F, or as package directs for size and temperature for the ham.  You can continue to baste every 30 minutes with Orange juice mixed with 2 tbs of brown sugar.  Adding about 2 cups of water to the pan will ensure evenly moist ham.  this will impress the inlaws and any bosses coming over for dinner.

My shortcut, leave it in the oven and forget about it: Place ham cut side down.  Sprinkle with ground cloves.  Pour 2 cups of water in the pan. Cover and bake at 325F until you are ready to eat.  Serve with Pineapple sauce.

Pineapple Sauce (need to double for 12+ people)
1 c. brown sugar
1 Tbs. corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt
Combine in saucepan.
 81/2 oz crushed pineapple, juice and all
2 Tbs. Lemon juice (fresh tastes slightly better)
1 Tbs. Mustard -- the kind for hamburgers and hotdogs, not the powdered mustard

Cook over medium heat until mixture boils.  Boil for 1 minute.  Serve in a pretty bowl and ladle over lovely ham slices.  It is our family favorite recipe for  three or four generations now.

Chex Pumpkin Pie Crunch GF

Items needed:
small bowl
small microwaveable bowl
fork
large microwaveable bowl (7 cups or larger)
plastic flexible mixing spoon

Ingredients:
1/4 cup brown sugar (I like dark brown sugar because it gives a caramel flavor.  If only light brown, I add 1 Tbs    molasses.  To each, his own.)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 c. butter, margarine or oil
2 tsp. vanilla
6 c. favorite GF Chex cereal (could even use popcorn)
1 c. pecans (optional)

Instructions:
In small bowl, mix sugar and spices.  In the small microwaveable bowl, melt butter/margarine. Cool and add vanilla.  In the large bowl, put cereal/popcorn and nuts.  Pour cooled liquid over the cereal/popcorn and nuts.  Mix evenly.  Sprinkle sugar and spices over the cereal/popcorn and nuts.  Stir until coated.
Microwave for one minute and stir.  Repeat 4 more times or until mixture begins to brown.  Spread on waxed paper or cookie sheet until cool.  Keep in an airtight  container or storage bag.

Irish Mint Mousse

With my growing dairy intolerance, I have been frustrated by not eating my usual Mint Milkshake on St. Patrick's Day.  Knowing my family, celebrating St. Patrick's Day is a huge event because of our family heritage.  I thought really hard, and I finally came up with this dairy free dessert!

Irish Mint Mousse

Need:
Double Boiler or a 2 quart pan and a glass/metal bowl that will set inside it without tipping.
Hand Mixer
Measuring cups and spoons

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
pinch of salt
2 egg whites (large or extra large eggs)
1/4 cup cold water

1/4 tsp mint flavoring
2-3 drops green food coloring

Fill double boiler or pan 1/3 full with water.  Set on medium/high heat.  Place bowl on top.  Add first 5 ingredients.  Start mixing on medium speed, and then high speed.  Keep going for about 5-7 minutes, until swirls are seen and stiff peaks form when the beaters are turned off.

Pull off the heat, and beat for another minute or two to stiffen and cool.  Add mint and green food coloring.  Mix well.  Dollop into pretty tea cups or serving bowls.

My family and I loved this recipe!  I hope you do too!

Easy Info for Gluten Free Living

Obviously, if you have gotten to this post, you have access to a computer.  What you may not know is that you can have your very own Kindle for FREE on your computer!  Kindle has some amazing deals where you can get free copies of books or a deal of the day reduced price books.  I have in a few short months collected over 300 books, and almost all of them were for free.

On top of getting free books, Kindle has cookbooks - including Gluten Free cookbooks.  I have enjoyed reading the information inside them about what flours and grains they prefer using and different recipes they have come up with.  I can't tell you how much I love Kindle!

To download your free copy, just go to Amazon.com and look for the Kindle e-books line.  On the main page for Kindle, there is a link for downloading a free copy to your computer.  If you have a smart phone, you can also go to Market and download a Kindle app for your phone.  I have one on mine, and I use it daily. :)  Here is to reading -- cookbooks included.