Ham and Bean Soup

I've been absent from this blog for a long while as I found out I no longer have to eat gluten-free. My terrible pain stemmed from some medications I had been taking for the past 15 years and when I went gluten-free I switched medications so it was coincidental. I advocate eating gluten free as I lost weight and felt good but darn it- I craved bread. So I am back to eating regularly - and have gained a bit of weight in the process!

But tonight - since I feel guilty about not checking in here now and again- I made a gluten free Ham and Bean soup. Soaked a bag of beans for about 6-8 hours. Drained them. Chopped one onion, one carrot and a half pound of ham slices. Dearborn ham, mind you, one of the best here in the Detroit area. Dropped them all in the crock pot and added the beans. Put in a tablespoonful of "Better than Bouillon" Vegetable Base and a pitcher of water. Cooked for about 4 hours on high then simmered for another 2-3 hours on low. I was worried that there may be salt in the veg base and might screw up the beans but there isn't and they tenderized beautifully. The base has hydrolyzed soy protein and corn in it but no wheat products, so I think it would be OK for a gluten-free diet. Yum! Had a big bowl of it for dinner and I plan to bring my brother a big batch of it for tomorrow's lunch.

May your gluten-free quest be good. I know mine was hard but it seemed to take away a great deal of the stomach pain I had been having. I think it is good to take a break from wheat now and then so I'll try and check back in here a bit more often. Thanks for stopping by!

What's for Dinner? Chunky Chili!

It's my go to meal when I want a lot of something for leftovers - a big vat o' chili. Mom taught me a version of this recipe which is lifted from the Betty Crocker cookbook. Now, you hard-liner chili buffs, this is with beans and tomatoes and tomato soup. When I first had to eat gluten-free, I was so disappointed that I could no longer use Campbell's tomato soup which uses wheat. In this recipe I substituted Amy's - which is gluten free - but much more expensive.

Cooking a vat like this is much more art than science, so go to town with your own variations...

Basic Chunky Chili Recipe

1 lb ground beef
large onion - diced or minced if you don't like the chunky bits
3 medium tomatoes - diced, can use a can if you like
1T crushed garlic - about a clove
1 15oz can kidney beans - I like the dark red ones
1 can Amy's tomato soup - ready to eat not condensed
dash olive oil
1-3T chili powder to taste
salt


Heat up a big pot - preferably heavy - I use cast iron.
Add some olive oil to the bottom.
Have vegetables diced and prepped.
Toss in onions to lightly carmelize - watch em so they don't burn.
Add ground beef - I usually use chuck - it's got some fat for flavor.
Brown ground beef, add tomatoes, garlic and salt the whole mess to taste which will help the tomatoes break down.
Add can of kidney beans - don't bother to drain unless you are fussy.
Add can of Amy's tomato soup - let simmer about 10 minutes
Add 1-3 tablespoons of chili powder - more or less depending on your taste.
Let simmer at least a half hour. The older it gets - to a point! - the better.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and enjoy!







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MMM Cream Cheese and...

I've used it in cheesecake and spread it on ham to roll up for little appetizers, but I feel like I just discovered cream cheese with this new twist. Was wanting to make a BLT, but my gluten-free bread (store-bought) is so heavy and small - hard to layer a couple tomato slices and the requisite several pieces of bacon on it - so I made this BT spread and saved the lettuce in a green salad. Makes a great light dinner when you don't want to heat up the kitchen.

Bacon-Tomato Cream Cheese Spread

8 oz - 1 block cream cheese, softened
8 slices bacon - cooked and crumbled (I used the microwave stuff - fast and easy)
10 or 12 grape tomatoes - quartered
6 or 8 sundried tomatoes (I get the dried kind - very sweet, tangy and chewy)


Mash all of the above together. Serve as a spread on gluten-free crackers, rice cakes or as an open face sandwich on gluten-free bread. Garnish with cherry tomatoes or a bit of arugula for a nutty spicy flavor.

Raisin Nut Oatmeal bars

I tend to whip up these bar creations, especially when I'm craving something bread-like or sweet. It is a basic recipe:
Cream one stick of butter with one cup of sugar (more if you like it sweet)
Add 2 lightly beaten eggs and mix
Add vanilla - I use Cook's vanilla powder
Add some kind of flour about 1-2 cups
In this recipe I used 3/4 c. almond flour, 1/2 c. buckwheat flour and about a 1/2 c tapioca flour
Don't forget to add leavening - something to make it rise - in this recipe I used 1 teaspoon each GF baking powder and baking soda
Add oatmeal (gluten free of course...), nuts, raisins, chocolate chips any dried fruit or nuts you have on hand - if the batter seems stiff - add some applesauce.
I used a 8-11 inch pan - spread the batter thinner for a crispier cookie, thicker for a cake -like creation...
Bake until brown and set in the middle - test it with a toothpick or poke it with a finger to see if the middle springs back.
I baked these for about 20 minutes at 350F.

Try your own variations with what you have on hand. Don't wait to bake until you've got all the right ingredients - you may be pleasantly surprised by the results!

Peanut-butter Bars

As a wheat free newbie I'm constantly drooling over the cookies and treats that are brought to work functions. Well I whipped these up and brought them in and did they disappear fast! In fact this is the last one and I ate all the crumbs!

A gluten free-treat. I suppose you could make these as drop cookies, but I'm lazy and do them in a 9 x 9 greased pan.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1 c peanut butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 c. gluten-free baking mix
1 c.gluten-free oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)
optional
1/2 c chopped peanuts
1/2 c chopped apricots

Heat oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 9 pan.
Mix butter, peanut butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs beat well.
Add flour and oats. Mix.
Fold in peanuts and apricots (or whatever you choose)
Spread in pan. Batter will be thick.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch.


Enjoy!