When I was first diagnosed I went through all of my recipes and moved all my casserole recipe cards to the back of my card file. After discovering this soup base and getting the hang of making soup as part of making dinner; I added casseroles back into our menu plans.
I love this cream soup! I keep this soup base mix in a container so I can make it quickly for any recipe. I have modified it a little bit, the original recipe was from Bette Hagman. The original recipe added dry bouillon to the mix and I don’t. Waiting to add the boullion makes it possible to easily flavor it for chicken or beef.
I have been using this container for 12 years. It has a small crack; I think it is time for a new container!
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Better than Bouillon is my favorite! It must be kept in the refrigerator, once it is opened.
Mix the dry ingredients and keep in an air tight container until ready to make cream soup.
Making the Soup
In 1/4 C water stir 3-4 Tbs mix (How many Tablespoons you use, depends on how thick you want it).
Put the mixture in a sauce pan and add 1 cup water and 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon and stir. Option to add butter at this stage. Stir and thicken on med-high.
This is a great naturally gluten free dish! I have been making this for more than 20 years and it is still one of my favorites. However, I absolutely love the flavor of a good lemon and I always have! Love to eat them, use them in recipes, love their smell and they are so bright and sunny to have in the kitchen!
Lemon Juice
I like to get my lemons from Costco because I can get a lot for less (usually). Personally, I prefer to use fresh lemon juice in my recipes. I also love to put lemons or just the juice in my water. Lemons are really good for your liver!
A good juicer is nice to have in the kitchen. I use ours frequently and love that it has a little rubber ring around the bottom that keeps it from sliding. It is one of my kitchen “must have” tools!
Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
I cut and juice 4-6 lemons depending on how juicy they are. I like to have enough liquid for my bouillon to be in and really give the chicken a lemony flavor. You can play with this and figure out how much juice you prefer.
I spray the baking dish with a non-stick spray (I like the ones that use olive oil). and then place the chicken in the pan. I prefer using boneless, skinless chicken tenders approx 2 lbs. I have done 1/2 chicken breasts and cooked 4-6 pieces and either way it comes out wonderfully!
In the liquid ,you put about 3 or 4 tsp of Better than Bouillon dropped in the thick parts of the juice throughout the pan. I drop a little here and a little there but you could add the better than bouillon to the juice before putting in the chicken and mix it together first. I gauge how much juice I want according to the chicken and I like the juice to come up a little more than half way on the chicken pieces.
Sprinkle the garlic powder, tarragon, and parsley on top. Next, salt and pepper to taste. (I use grinders and just grind a little of each across the top.)
Depending on the size of lemons you use and how thick you slice them depends on how many lemons you need to cover your chicken. I used 3 or 4 lemons.
Cover with tin foil and bake on 350 Degrees for 45 min.
I serve with chips and dip or mashed potatoes. A nice green salad on the side is good with this too.
2lbsChickenboneless, skinless (works for 1/2 chicken breasts of chicken tenders)
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Squeeze approx 4 lemons. Can do more if you want more juice.
Spray pan with non-stick spray
Put chicken in baking dish.
Put lemon juice in baking dish.
Drop Better Than Bouillon in the deeper parts of the juice throughout the pan. I drop a little here and a little there rather than putting the full teaspoon in one place at a time.
Sprinkle the garlic powder, tarragon and parsley over the top of the chicken.
Directions for Fresh Homemade Lemonade with an option for Raspberry Lemonade
You will need 6 Lemons.
Squeeze with the lemons with the juicer and put juice in a pitcher.
3/4 -1 cup sugar (if you like it a little sweeter do the 1 cup)
Fill the pitcher to 2 Liters.
Mix well and chill
For a variation you can add strawberries or raspberries. If you do this wash them, cut greens off and any bad places out. Put them in a bowl with a couple of Tablespoons (out of the 3/4 cup) from the sugar you will add to the lemonade when it is all put together. Because the fruit is so sweet I wouldn’t do more than 3/4 cup of sugar when adding more fruit to the lemonade. Let the berries with the sugar sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. This helps to soften them and draw out their juices. Put the berries into the juice with the sugar and then add the water and stir well.
Since going gluten free, I don’t do breakfast cereal anymore. (Or at least not very often.) It’s not that there aren’t gluten free breakfast cereals it’s just that I no longer prefer them. So, typically we make waffles, eggs or smoothies for breakfast. We eat eggs frequently and so I like to find new ways of doing my eggs. They can get really boring.
We discovered Smoked Gouda at our daughter’s wedding. It was a favorite cheese on the cheese platter. Love this cheese and it’s smokey flavor! So, I wanted to use it more and had to find a way!
Smoked Gouda. . . a twist on breakfast
So, I fried my egg and I either use some oil (olive oil or coconut oil) or butter in the pan to keep it from sticking. I love butter! I know it’s not the healthiest option but. . .
Salt, pepper and basil
Salt and pepper and for a little extra flavor I sprinkle some basil on the frying egg.
I like my eggs over hard: broken, not runny yoke. I do my husband’s over easy: yoke is runny but whites are cooked.
While the other side is cooking I place slices of the Smoked Gouda on top to melt.
Olive oilcoconut oil or butter melted/heated in pan to keep from sticking
Instructions
Put oil or butter in pan and heat up. I cook on a medium heat. Salt, pepper and sprinkle basil. If you don't like a runny egg, break the yolk now with the edge of your spatula. When bottom of egg is fully cooked, flip egg over to cook other side. If you like a runny egg yolk be careful to not break it and flip gently.
Place cheese slices on top of the cooked side of the egg. When the cheese is melted it is usually done, if it isn't done to your liking cook a little longer.
At a Gluten Intolerance Group Conference, several years ago, I got to hear Jules Shepard of GF Jules speak. She talked about how food is emotional. We have emotional attachments to the foods we enjoy. Usually because of who made it or when it was eaten and the memories surrounding the circumstances where the food was eaten and with whom. Sometimes, what we long for most is the memories that eating that particular food brings up in our minds and hearts. Gf cooking and recipes have come a long way in the 12+ years I have been gluten free. Almost anything you want to cook can be found.
My Grandma didn’t drive. She had been a pretty bad car accident and refused to drive after that. So, every 2 weeks my mom would drive to downtown Salt Lake City where my grandma lived and take her to do her shopping. During the week, Grandma took a cab to and from work but it was hard to get all the other things done. I often went with my mom on these shopping trips. We went to lunch and often it was to Pepperidge Farms Restaurant (I think that is what it was called. . . it was Pepperidge something.) It was my favorite restaurant to go to with my Grandma. They had the best French Dip sandwiches!
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This is one of the things I have missed a lot in going gluten free! I was so happy to find some gf baguettes! The perfect bread for doing French Dip Sandwiches!SCHAR | Baguettes- [Gluten Free]
This is the perfect bread for making gf French Dip Sandwiches as well as hoagies. They make a smaller version that is about half this size but it is close to the same cost as buying the long ones. So, we get the long ones and then cut them in half.
Cut them in half and then in half again like so. Then, they are ready to put on a baking sheet or stone. (I love cooking with stoneware! If you have cooked gluten on them make sure you either replace them or cover them with tin foil when cooking anything that is gf. Stoneware holds onto the gluten because it is porous.)
Cut 1/2 of a large onion, 1 green pepper and mushrooms into slices. Put some butter in the bottom of a frying pan and sautee your veggies. I don’t measure my butter but I probably start out with about 3 Tbls butter to keep them from burning and to add flavor. You could do oil to make it a little more healthy. Salt and pepper veggies to taste. Add more oil or butter if needed.
You need to get your water boiling. I did 8 cups of water and 8 tsp of Better Than Bouillon Beef Base to make our Au Jus and some salt and pepper to taste. After the Better Than Boullion has been mixed in (dissolved) I turn the temperature down to low.
I do extra au jus because if I don’t, we always run out and I am scrambling to make more. Adjust the amount for what your family likes and uses.
I like the roast beef from Costco, the Kirkland brand, found in the meat and cheese (Deli) section of the store. (Deli sliced lunchmeat- pre-packaged)
I throw the lunch meat into the broth. This way the meat is warmed up and they share flavors. I put 3 slices per sandwich.
Toast the bread on broil until just golden brown. This should only take a few minutes 2-3, keep an eye on them. (I have started dinner on fire on broil, before! Huge bummer especially when gf bread costs so much!) The toasted bread is perfect for soaking up the au jus and not falling apart, too much.
I remove the “tops” from the baking sheet. I load up the “bottoms” with the meat, using tongs to do so. Then I put cheese slices on top of the meat. We used Monterrey Jack this time, but you could do Swiss, or Mozzarella. Broil until cheese is melted and then remove from oven. Load your veggies on top of the cheese. Tongs work great to place the veggies. Then place the top of your bread on to the sandwich!
With a ladle we fill bowls for dipping with the Au Jus. Dip, soak, enjoy!
Gluten Free Loaded French Dip Sandwiches
Shannon LeMmon
We cooked for 4 people and used 3 baguettes and a little more than half of the roast beef that was in the package. We put about 3 slices of roast beef per sandwich. *Prep time really depends on how long it takes you to slice the vegetables. This is what is going to take the most time and then sauteing them.
It had been a hard summer and I wanted to do something that the kids would remember. So, I surprised them with this wacky game of Alice in Wonderland croquet! It would at least be something to remember!
We had a very old set of croquet. I think most of the balls were missing and the hoops you shoot the balls through are bent. From Amazon I ordered a bunch of flamingos. The first set I ordered wouldn’t work for the mallets, but they were fun. We kept them and used them as the places to hit your ball to instead of the hoops. We finally found the right set of flamingos and my hubby drilled a hole through the back, so they could go on the croquet mallets with their heads resting on the top of the mallet. We probably should have glued them to the mallets.
By his leg you can see the flamingo markers we were aiming for.
Also, from Amazon I found a hedgehog that rolled up into a ball and whoever was the Red Queen got to have that for her ball.
It’s a really cute stuffed animal and you can unroll it and it is adorable. Rolled up it just looks like a ball of fur.
From the party store I gathered things to represent the 6 characters we needed. 6 because that is how many people would be playing.
A headband for Alice
Mad Hatter!
A giant pocket watch for the White Rabbit It’s Time! We are late!
Red Queen “Off with her head!”
A big bow tie for the Door Mouse
A crown for The White Queen Doesn’t she look thrilled?!
We drew characters to see who would be what
I was the Red Queen and the dog kept stealing my ball (hedgehog), so I kept yelling: “Off with her head!” I also kept changing the rules (since I was the Red Queen) and made sure that I won the game! I gave myself more points and took points away from others. It lead to some good discussions about boundaries and consistency. As well as building trust. It was all in good fun and not serious!
We used irregular balls because this is wacky croquet and not actual croquet. Pretty much whatever we could find around the house. The dog loved chasing all the balls and disrupting the game and it added to the fun!
Then we ended our game with some flamingo cupcakes!
We made cupcakes from a gluten free cupcake mix, frosted them with gluten free frosting and sprinkled with colored pink sugar. Then we added some plastic pink flamingos to the top for decoration.
Potato skins are a yummy gluten free snack, lunch or appetizer!
Potato skins are relatively easy to make and they are naturally gluten free! However, it does take time for the potatoes to cook and cool enough, so you don’t burn your hands. (Like I usually do, because I want them, NOW!)
You will also need 6 or so pieces of cooked bacon cooled and crumbled. Cook the bacon while the potatoes are cooking. Also, slice the onions while the potatoes cook. You will want to give your potatoes about 30 minutes to cool down. If they are too hot to handle, wait a little longer.
I always intend to make extra bacon (What’s that?!!!!) when we have bacon, but funny thing, everyone loves bacon! Then, there’s my husband who can’t help himself, but to share some with the dog. So, having “extra” bacon is really hard to come by.
Baked Potatoes1 potato = 2 potato skins bake as many as you want to eat
6strips of cooked baconcooked and crumbled
3or 4 green onions sliced
Grated cheeseI like a cheddar mix
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream- optional
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Once potatoes are cooled- cut potatoes length-wise so you have two long halves.
You want a thin edge around the whole potato. So, 1/4"-1/2" from edge of potato score with a knife where you want to scoop out the middle of the potato. Be careful to not go through the potato skin.
Use a spoon to scoop out the middle of the potato, leaving 1/4-1/2" of potato on the skin. Be careful to not scoop away the bottom of your potato.
Place the potato skins on a baking sheet.
I like a lot of cheese so we fill the middles up with lots of cheese!
Sprinkle crumbled bacon and onion slices on top of cheese
Bake for 5-7 min or until cheese is melted. (May need to cook longer if potatoes have been in refrigerator.)
My daughter is going to school in a colder place than where we live. On average, it is 20 degrees cooler where she is than where we are. I found this wonderful, Fluffy Infinity Scarf- free pattern, and thought it would be perfect to help keep her warm! I have been wanting a really nice infinity scarf pattern and this is definitely it! It was fast and easy to put together!
What I Used and Adjustments I Made
I used 3 and 1/2 ish skeins of yarn. I chose the Lion Brand, Wool-Ease, Thick & Quick. It is 80% acrylic and 20% wool. There are 87 yards in one skein. It is machine washable and dryable. (Always a plus!) I used a size “M” hook. However, I made some alterations to the pattern.
*Make sure you check the gauge I had to adjust the pattern because I love the size of the stitches with the “M” hook but my gauge made it huge! The full pattern ran to a full 12 inches! So, I knocked of 10 stitches and had 4 clusters across. So, instead of chaining 32 I did 22ch.
Also, the instructions weren’t clear for row 1. Through trial and error I realized that after the *ch 3- you should then skip 3 ch and then do the DC4tog in the fourth stitch. I didn’t understand that right away in reading the pattern.
It is still thick enough that she can pull part of it up, over her head and keep her ears warm. She wore it out all evening and loved it! It kept her really warm!
I am so tempted to make this into a blanket! It would be so pretty and warm!
Saturday we were at the farmer’s market. We went to meet a lady that does gluten free wedding cakes. We wanted to taste some of her products and find out how much she charges. (My daughter is getting married! So, much to do!) We got there late because we were checking out reception centers on our way and we barely made it! Many of the vendors had already closed up and/or were cleaning up. On our way back to the car, we were offered free produce! Free yellow squash and zucchini. Our garden isn’t great this year and so, we were excited to get some!
Tonight we will have Lasagna Toss with yummy, fresh zucchini and yellow squash! I am so looking forward to it! I found this recipe in a church cookbook and it was easy to make gluten free! I had to switch the noodles for gf noodles and I like a mixture of cottage cheese and ricotta cheese. This recipe makes making lasagna super easy!
Lasagna Toss
Ingredients:
1 pkg gf noodles (shells or twist or shapes) 1-2 (14 oz )jar spaghetti sauce
Chunks (bite size) of fresh vegetables-yellow squash and zucchini are our favorites – Sautee or simmer with meat and sauce until veggies are soft
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook gf pasta according to package, drain. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic, drain off excess fat. Stir in sauce and simmer until meat is cooked. Add vegetables while it is simmering. Remove 1 cup meat sauce; set aside. Stir cooked pasta into remaining sauce. Place ½ pasta mixture in casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. In bowl, mix together a little Parmesan with the ricotta and cottage cheese and parsley. Spread ½ cheese mixture on top. Place remaining pasta mixture on top of cheese; spread remaining cheese and reserved meat sauce and mozzarella and Parmesan on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover and bake 20-25 minutes
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Garlic Bread
6 slices of gf bread
gf garlic spread (we use Johnny’s Garlic Spread & Seasoning) follow the directions on the bottle. Johnny’s calls for 1 cup butter but we usually cut it in half and do 1/2 cup butter and 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Johnny’s.
We toast the bread in the toaster and then put the spread on it while it is warm. So, yummy!
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