Recipe for Labor Day Weekened!

Herbed Turkey Burger w/ Zucchini Buns

 

Recipe for Labor Day Weekend!

 

This looks WONDERFUL! I'm thinking with Labor Day Weekend coming upon us that these will be on the menu! Stop over at Queen Of Quinoa's blog to get the recipe, there is no Quinoa in this recipe  ;0)   She has a nice listing of recipes and they are all gluten free. Many can be easily made corn free and dairy free too.

 

Enjoy!

Moe

Are you a good mom?

I've been pondering that question for awhile now as I've been sick again with corn allergies sneaking up on me from somewhere. I've been miserable and tend to make everyone else miserable during this time. ( or so I think!)

I read a blog post about stay at home moms and as I read through it, I got thinking about what in my mind a good mom is and what a good housekeeper is. Well here is what I came up with, that I picture in my own mind when I think of a good mom and how my home should look.

A clean bedroom, toys picked up and kids playing well together.

The house is always neat, never any dirty dishes in the sink and bedrooms are neat.

Clean house, everything in it's place, bedrooms neat and tidy and no piles of dirty laundry.

 

Smiling happy kids, no dirty dishes, no piles of dirty laundry and clean bedrooms.

Where on earth did I ever get the mindset that this is what my life should be like with my family? Of course there is no dirty laundry, dirty dishes, piles of mail and magazines, messy cluttered kids rooms or toys all strewn about. These are FAKE homes, they are sets/props in which people/actors PRETEND to be homemakers, wives and mothers. Wow can our perspectives on life really be that inspired and convinced by years of media? I'm saddened that I allowed myself to believe this lie, of how things should be in my life. Is this what the Lord has for me? Am I reaping His very best for my life and my family?  Here is a link to the blog post, I hope it helps you to gain the perspective that the Lord has for you and your home. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevinwax/2012/08/

May you find blessings in your family life this week.
Moe

Happy Independence Day!!

I am blessed to live in this wonderful country know as the USA!!
It's been a busy time for all of us I am sure. I've not been feeling 100% as I think I have been getting traces of corn in my diet somehow, the culprit may be some brown sugar that I bought from Kroger, the ingredients should have tipped me off, it just said BROWN SUGAR. Guess what? You can't grow brown sugar, so it must have something else in it. I called and they can't tell me if it contains corn, but said it could. THANKS FOR NOTHING! So they have lost my business.

So since I know that we are all busy this time of year, I thought I would post a few blog postings that have really touched my heart. And this one sure did. It revealed to me that I needed to ask our son for forgiveness in the area of being snappy when he wants my attention through out the day. I get engrossed in something like cooking, reading labels or trying to find something to eat that is gluten free, corn free and any of the other things that I am allergic too free....lol...besides a celery stick or carrot stick...hahaha.

Doing or Being? is the name of the blog post article. Read it and put it to good use this summer before school starts again and we get super intense on getting things done. I think that this hit me hard as I just read in my daily devotions of Martha/Mary and how Jesus responded to Martha, he made time for her, listened to what she thought she needed and did not get snappy with her, even though he was busy teaching with Mary and others at his feet.

Luke 10:38-42
^{38 "}Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
⁴⁰ But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
⁴² But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Happy Independence Day!
Moe

Sugar & Spice & every thing nice

My frugal gal friends have given me a tip about Penzeys.com a wonderful looking spice company. They have a very nice catalog that you can request, they have coupons and specials. They also have retail stores, none near me, but you might look them up. The catalog is not just a selling point for their products, it contains readers stories and recipes. It's well worth requesting.
I have not ordered from them as of yet, spoke with a helpful customer service rep today regarding gluten/corn in their products and I was referred to an email address. So I am waiting to hear back from them.

I cooked up one of the recipes Classic Saffron Rice and it was WONDERFUL! I used some ground Saffron that I got from a friend that went on a missions trip down to Grenada, I plan to take her a bowl of it to sample when I see her tomorrow. Everyone here liked, had a nice mild flavor, next time I think I will add a touch more. The recipe can be found in the latest edition Spring 2012 catalog. I don't have permission to post the recipe, so just call or email them and ask for a catalog. The issue that I got offers a coupon $5.00 off a purchase of $10.00 or more! I plan on using that if I get good news on the products not containing corn/gluten.

Recipes can be found here for many yummy looking dishes.

Please let my readers know if you have ever bought anything from Penzeys Spices.

Thanks & Bon Appétit,
Moe

Cooking Flops & how to unflop them!

Going to attempt to make a loaf of bread today without corn. That is a hard one when you are gluten free as corn is such a wonderful ingredient. I've not had a slice of bread in over a month and must have one! lol. So here goes!

Well......I'm back....lol. No bread!  I ended up beating the egg whites for too long, so I made Meringue Cookies instead!

These were really good! The kids kept coming back for more, so you know that they were good! lol.......Kids won't come back for seconds on something that does not taste good. I used farm fresh egg whites and they are filled with chocolate & peanut butter chips......YUM!

Onward to the bread, here it is cooking in the oven. I won't be able to taste it for several hours since the recipe says that it's way too gummy to eat when warm, so it's suppose to cool for a few hours.

I'm hoping for a taste as good as Panera Breads......but since it's gluten free, I won't get my hopes up. The best gluten free bread I have ever had was from Schar, but it's around $8.00 per loaf and I just won't pay that price for bread. My husband works way too hard to waste almost an hour of his paycheck for a loaf of bread!! I might just have to snag an end off this bread and try it when it comes out of the oven. YUMM!

Gluten Free Easter Candy link

Gluten Free Easter Candy check this out and find out what goodies you can have for Easter. Of course they don't have a corn free listing, but those of you who can eat corn, enjoy your Easter treats.

According to Hershey, they are corn free and gluten free.

Moe

Corn FREE & Gluten FREE products

Corn FREE & Gluten FREE products

I do need to add a small disclaimer here, this product does contain Xanthan Gum & Citric Acid, which can contain corn and can cause allergy issue with those that are very sensitive to corn products.

Awhile back I was at the Amish Salvage store and I came across a jar of Grandma Hoerners All Natural Pumpkin Butter, it was 18.2 oz for $1.25. The ingredients looked safe, but with corn you just never know, so I bought it figuring my guys could eat it if I was wrong. I called the company the other day and they were very quick in getting back with me. I spoke with Matt Beyer and asked my normal corn questions.....lol. Since I call so many places and they are clueless about corn allergies and tell me "Why would we put corn in our product?" They are thinking corn as in corn on the cob........hahaha.  Well Matt knew exactly what I was talking about and even shared some other corn free products that they sell. I did a little happy dance while on the phone with him, I'm sure he thought I was bananas
(oh wait, I can't be bananas since I'm allergic to those too!). Here is the website to check out the products Grandma Hoerners carries, now they do have some products that do contain corn, so make sure to read the ingredients.

Tomorrow I will do a review of the Grandma Hoerners All Natural Pumpkin Butter. I plan on making some cupcakes and then using my Cuisipro Cupcake Corer that I bought from Amazon.com. Love that thing! It really perks up gluten free cupcakes!! I will bake the cupcakes and then core out the middles and fill with the pumpkin butter, sounds good? We shall see.


Have a blessed day and remember what the Easter season is really about.
Moe

Gluten free & Corn free listing

Came across this great listing today and thought I would share. Gluten free & Corn free listing.
Of course double check to make sure that these are still correct as manufacturers are always changing ingredients and suppliers.

Moe

Changing things up a bit.

Had some time to mess around on here tonight. Changed some pictures while my dear sister-in-law took our son for the evening after we went out for all you can eat fish fry.......lol. I ate my allergy free chicken pot pie and crustless pumpkin pie, but had fun socializing with the all you can eat fish fry eaters. Ran in to our neighbor who has cancer and shared with us that he will be going to The Cancer Treatment Centers of America this month for a 2nd opinion, prayers for him and his journey would be appreciated.

I've taken Kiara's idea and started thinking more about what I CAN eat instead of what I CAN'T eat. Grocery shopping is still hard since corn (one of my main allergies) does not have to be listed on the label. I actually called Kroger foods today to find out if their cream cheese and brown sugar were corn free, the lady acted as though I was an alien....lol. She told me that cream cheese in itself does not have corn in it, but Kroger cannot control what the cows that provide the milk for the cheese eat in the field, they might eat corn.........LOL.  I shall be calling again on Monday to speak with yet another helpful agent.

I did get an interesting allergy sheet in the mail from my doctors office regarding corn allergies. Yet another laugh out loud fest. The first item that is listed is milk and it's only to be bought in glass containers, ah, yes, where am I to find that? Then there is the listing of "not to be consumed from waxed cardboard containers." Yes corn is really in everything. I'm thinking that is what a large part of the health issues in America are all about gluten and corn.

Today I went for blood work and I don't know how many vials of blood that they took, but it was a lot! They are doing more allergy testing through blood this time. I go back at the end of the month, so we shall see what the doctor says then. I'm not really noticing any difference besides not having a flushed face during or after I eat. I also think potatoes factor in somewhere as my joints ache the day after I have eaten them.

Big grin here, I can hear little baby peep cheeps coming from the basement chick nursery, so sweet.

I've found some great allergy-free cookbooks that I will share next time. I'm reading through them to see which ones are worth heading on over to my favorite hang out Amazon.

Have a great weekend!
Moe

How to save money when eating Gluten Free (or on any special diet)

I got this listing from a gluten free group that I frequent. Some great ideas here! Sometimes I know we feel like a prisoner to our required diets, so I thought this cartoon was cute!
Moe

Here are some tips from Teri Gruss on cutting costs while eating
gluten-free.

How To Cook Gluten-Free on a Budget - Cut Gluten-Free Food Costs Now!
By Teri Gruss, MS

Here are 6 practical tips and resources to help you save money on the
extraordinarily high costs of gluten-free foods. Plan ahead and you
really can save on your monthly gluten-free food costs- and at the
same time eat delicious, healthy gluten-free foods.

1. Focus on cooking with foods that are naturally gluten-free

Fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, nuts and seeds, meats,
poultry and fish are all healthy, delicious, gluten-free foods. Focus
on planning a gluten-free menu based on these naturally gluten-free
foods. Pound for pound these foods offer a lot of nutritional value
for the buck, compared to refined, processed gluten-free products.

2. Make your own gluten-free foods rather than buying expensive,
processed products

Savings can be substantial when you make your own gluten-free foods,
especially breads and snack foods. Another advantage in making
homemade gluten-free foods is better flavor and healthier ingredients.

3. It is convenient to keep a few packages of commercial gluten-free
mixes on hand. But you can save a lot of money by making your own
mixes. Measure, mix, package and refrigerator or freeze and you have
created your own fresh convenience mixes. Along with saving money,
when you make your own gluten-free flour mixes, you can customize them
to your own tastes and nutritional needs.


4. Join forces with other gluten-free families and friends to lower
costs. Websites like amazon.com and Shop Gluten Free Grocers sell
gluten-free foods in multi-pack cartons, including pastas and flours.
Amazon's Shop Gluten-Free Groceries website offers free shipping on
orders over $25. Bob's Red Mill sells 25 pound bags of several of
their gluten-free products, including tapioca flour and all purpose
gluten-free baking mix. They also sell 4 bag cartons at discounted
prices.

5. Join a local support organization. You'll meet other people, who
like you, are battling the high costs of gluten-free foods- join
forces, buy in bulk and save money.

6. Use coupons

Nancy Lapid, About.com Guide to Celiac Disease recently blogged about
a website that offers printable coupons for gluten-free products.


Tips:

Once a month prepare your favorite gluten free convenience mixes. I
like to make 3 pound bags of all purpose baking mixes. This amount
generally lasts for several weeks. Use it to make homemade breads,
pancakes, waffles, cookies and pizza crust. Making mixes ahead of time
is SO much more convenient than making mixes every time you need a
gluten-free flour blend for a recipe.

Once a week bake your favorite gluten-free breads, wrap them up and
freeze. Remember, making homemade gluten-free bread is like mixing a
cake batter. Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat. Pour in a
bread pan, let rise and bake. Homemade gluten-free bread is faster and
easier than making traditional wheat-based yeast breads. So don't
shudder at the thought of making gluten-free bread every week. It
requires less time than you think! The savings, not to mention
superior taste and texture make it worth the minimal effort!

Make gluten-free cookie batter and refrigerate or freeze to use as
needed. There is really no need to buy expensive, ready-made mixes.
Mixing and storing cookie dough, like making bread is faster and
easier than you may think.

Make and freeze gluten-free pizza and pie crusts, which become
economical convenience foods, ready when you need them. Use a food
processor and this task is very fast and again, much easier than you
imagined.

Develop a dependable gluten-free recipe file. This will save you not
only money, but time and disappointment. I have a constantly growing
"favorites" recipe file- my "go to" recipes that I know work and taste
great. This not only saves money, it's healthier.

What You Need

Dependable, favorite gluten-free recipes
Gluten-free raw ingredients- purchased in bulk if possible
Homemade gluten-free flour blend mixes
Motivation
Shop with a grocery list and don't shop when you're hungry!
Consult with an accountant to see if you can deduct a portion of your food costs

rice casserole with bacon and spinach

This recipe looks so yummy!  rice casserole with bacon and spinach I plan on making it this week. I think I can make it corn free if I make my own broth.

Hope you have a wonderful week! We have a busy week coming, we are having a homeschool gathering to watch the Michelle Duggar DVD "Tea with Michelle Duggar" and then doctor and dentist appointments galor, husbands birthday and final school work to be done. With lots of nice spring weather on hand I'm thinking we will have some outdoor time too.

Still working on cleaning out the pantry, baked a turkey from the freezer (did you know that Butterball Turkeys all contain a solution made with corn that is injected into the turkey?  GGRR), used up some canned artichoke (ds made those last night sauteed with garlic and olive oil) I of course did not eat them since the can of artichoke hearts contains 'corn'.

We just can't get away from corn in this country, wonder if that is another reason why we have so many health issues in this country.

Thanks Kiara for the post about allergies.

Moe

Permission to whine?

I finally went for allergy testing, nothing for wheat (they still think that I may be gluten intolerant) showed up but corn did and corn is also IN EVERYTHING and causes stomach issues when you are allergic to it. Corn allergies can actually mimic Celiac Disease (without the villi being effected). 

So I pretty much have solved my problem with going wheat free since by not eating processed foods I pretty much cut out corn too by accident. And the 2 times that I thought I had gotten gluten last summer, I think it was actually corn. The one time I got sick I was eating Puffed Corn snacks and the other time I had Fritos.

Both Gluten and corn allergies are very similar in the way that the effect you.

So no corn, corn syrup solids, cornstarch, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose and all those other fancy junk sugars, ect. Corn does not have to be labeled in the USA since it's not considered one of the top 8 allergen :O(

They can sneak it in under names that we would never think of as CORN.

I am also allergic to

watermelon

red apples
grapes
pears
peaches
bananas
apricot
strawberry
raspberry
tomato
sweet potato
corn
almonds
Scallops (I don't like seafood anyway!) YIPPEE!  lol.
Thankfully I'm not allergic to chicken or eggs! We'd have to sell the farm.  lol

So any one want to refer me to a blog about corn allergies and cooking?

Here are some interesting places that corn hides, baking powder, powdered sugar, table salt,
hot dogs, candy, frosting, cold cereal and many more things.

I'm really thinking that the Lord is working with me (feels like hammering me!) on not making food a little god in my life. I love food and I love to cook. All the years that I was sick with stomach issues (we now know I was sick with food allergies) I spent my days thinking "What am I going to eat?" Where do I have to go today & what time should I eat so that I am not sick away from home?" So pretty much my thoughts revolved around food and what and when to eat so that I could function in my daily life. There are foods that I can eat, I just need to THINK before I eat (who wants to do that?). I have the "wilderness attitude" that the children of Israel had. "I'm tired of Manna and I'm tired of quail! I deserve better than this!"  Read the book of Numbers chapters 11 & 12 in the Bible and you will understand what I am talking about.

 I would covet your prayers in learning to deal with this. I go back to the doctor in one month to try some sort of rotation diet (not sure what that is).

Moe