Chicken Noodle Soup

It's not surprising that we needed to make this soup. With 3 kids in school, there's bound to be some germs brought into our home.  So I made this soup to boost the family's immune system.  No one really wanted to eat what I made, but I ran some over to my mother because she wasn't feeling well. She enjoyed it.

Chicken Noodle Soup
by Carol Fenster

1 teaspoon of canola oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup of chopped onion
6 cups of gluten free low-sodium  chicken broth (ie. Swanson Natural Goodness, Progressive)
1 small carrot thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning ( I didn't use this seasoning this time)
1/4 teaspoon table salt (we use sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (I use black pepper)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 bay leaf (didn't use that this time)
1 cup uncooked gluten-free noodles (or past shape of choice ie: Heartland's Finest Ingredients, Debole's, Pastariso, Scharr)
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons of dried parsley
* 2 teaspoons of garlic (for the extra boost to the immune system)


1. Heat oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add the celery and onion. Cook 3-4 minutes until soft and slightly browned.  Add the chicken broth, carrot, poultry seasoning, salt,white pepper,nutmeg and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook covered 10-15 minutes.

2. Add the noodles and chicken. Simmer until chicken is heated through and noodles are done.  Stir in the lemon juice.  Serve immediately, garnish each serving with a sprinkle of parsley (optional).

Nutritional Information:
Calories 290
Fat 10g
Protein 24g
Carbohydrates 27g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 944mg
Fiber 2g

Weight Watchers Points: 6

Crispy Corn-Chip Pie

This is another recipe that we tried today from Carol Fenster.  I love her cookbook: Gluten Free Quick & Easy. The recipes have been fairly easy to follow for a new cook like myself, and the family usually have had positive reviews.  This is one of them.  I like this recipe because depending on how flavorful aka spicy you make your chili will determine how spice this recipe turns out.

Crispy Corn-Chip Pie
by Carol Fenster

1.2bag or 3 cups of gluten free corn chips divided (read the labels but the majority of corn chips are naturally gluten free. I used the store generic)
2 cups of Kelli's White Bean Chili (found on page 282 in her book) OR other chili of your choice. (I used her Southwestern Chili)
1 can (14.5 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained.
1 teaspoon purchased gluten -free Mexican seasoning (McCormick, Spice Islands, Smoky Southwest - I didn't add this, because I didn't want it super spicy)
1 cup gluten-free Mexican salsa (Pace, Tostito)
1 cup Shredded sharp cheddar cheese (optional if you need it to be DF/use an alternative cheese)

1.Preheat the oven to 350F. Generously grease a 7x11 inch baking dish.
Place 1 1/2 cups of the corn chips in the bottom of the dish.  Spread the chili over the corn chips.
3. Combine the pinto beans with the seasoning and spread on top of the chili. Pour the salsa over the chili. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top, then sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups of corn chips on top.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly.  Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories 785
Fat 28g
Protein 39g
Carbohydrates 102g
Cholesterol 51mg
Sodium 1,320mg
Fiber 33g

Duh moment.

So as many of you know, I've been slowly replacing my personal products that are gluten containing products with gluten free.  I've been so frustrated with my hand lotion thinking it doesn't matter. I'm not ingesting this stuff why does it matter?  For the last 3 or 4 years my hands have been breaking out in blotches, then these blotches peel.  Well it turns out that the gluten in my hand lotions and other products have been bothering my system.  Well the last few nights I've been using a all natural hand lotion, couldn't figure out why the blotches were getting worse...you guessed it gluten.  So I looked at the ingredients and guess what: Wheat germ was listed on the product. Can we say "Duh!" lol.  Just goes to show that you have to read, read, read labels. Never take them for granted.

So far in regards to lotions and some other personal care products, the only brand that I've found that is entirely gluten free, after calling the company is Say Yes to Carrots product line. She said the entire line is gluten free. So the next time I'm at Target, I need to take that leap and purchase the lotion. It's just so expensive. 

A few other products that are gluten free so far that I have found is: Burt's Bees Acne Solutions(great for tween/teens ) and the Deep Cleansing cream. Almay intense i-color and the Almay mascara is as well, or according to the company it is. Bare essentials face powder is as well.

God Bless
Carlena

Hamburger Helper...

Today, my husband and 2 youngest boys, went and checked out the newest Super Walmart in our area.  I know that some people have very strong feelings for or against  the Walmart stores...but that is for another entry. =) As we were going down the aisles and checking out prices, imagine my surprise when I saw several of the items that we normally buy that are gluten free available at the Super Walmart.

Here are a few of those items: Hellman's Mayonnaise, Koop's brands are, Earth Balance butter (GF/DF/SF options) and Betty Crocker cake mixes, brownie and cookie mixes have gluten free items or are gluten free. (Which are still pretty expensive @ $3.78 a box) And then I saw some new items: Bisquick's GF mix ( just like regular Bisquick, but smaller) and 3 Hamburger Helper mixes. Tonight the family and I had the Beef fried rice mix.  It's ONLY gluten free, it is NOT casein/dairy free, soy free, or egg free. So if you are having to have any of these extra diet restrictions this food is NOT for you guys.  With that being said, it was good, coming from a box. lol.

Listen to me, coming from a box. =) Not to long ago, that's what I considered home cooking. I've come along way baby. If the other 2 types of hamburger helpers are anything like this one, they will be great to have on hand for those nights when you need something relatively quick or if you don't really want to think about it.

God Bless

Crisp air.

It's my favorite season of the year: FALL!  I love the cool air in the morning, I love smelling the start of wood stoves/fireplaces burning wood. There's just something magical about all the seasons, but nothing does it better then fall I think.  When there starts getting that crispness in the air, I start thinking about stews, soups, and other comfort foods. This weekend I got a craving for Meatloaf, and Pumpkin pie. Not necessarily in that order, but I made them anyways. They turned out okay.  I got mixed reviews on the meatloaf and my son Spencer has been chomping at the bit to get into the pumpkin pie (His absolute favorite)

Meat Loaf
by Carol Fenster

1lb of raw lean ground round
1/2 cup of GF bread crumbs, rice flakes, quinoa flakes or potato flakes
2 tablespoons of dried minced onion
1 tablespoon each Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of GF Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1/2 teaspoon of table salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Half of glaze mixture (listed below)

Glaze:
1 can (8oz) of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon of packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon of GF Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon of ground all spice

1. Preheat oven 350F. Generously grease 5 x 9 inch pan, an 8 inch square pan or standard 12 cup muffin pan.
2. Using your hands or a potato masher, combine all the meat loaf ingredients in a large bowl. Or place the ingredients in a plastic freezer bag, a seal and knead with your hands until the mixture is well blended.
3. Combine all the glaze ingredients in a bowl, adding half to the meat loaf mixture. Press the ground beef mixture into the pan.  Brush the remaining half on top of the meat loaf.
4. Bake the loaf pan 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Bake the muffin-size meatloaf loaves for 30 minutes or until done.  Let stand 5 minutes.

The Dr. Oz. show

The word is starting to finally get out in regards to being gluten intolerant or having Celiac Disease.  On today's show of Dr. Oz. He had Elisabeth Hasselbeck (Thanks to her book "The G free Diet") I discovered that I was gluten intolerant and was able to end 8 years of suffering for me and my family.  The animation that he had showing how this affects your body, was great.  It was neat to see and better understand how it does that.

Here's the link to that:
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/celiac-disease-advantages-gluten-free-diet?hs317=billboard_1