Berry Baked Oatmeal - Gluten and Dairy Free

***One of my children has become severely allergic to oats...so while I do make this for the rest of the family occasionally, I don’t do it very often.***

Baked Oatmeal is pretty much my favorite.  

It super simple.  It's super healthy.  You can make it the night before.  It makes great leftovers. Everyone loves it. It feels like a dessert for breakfast.  

You just really can't go wrong. Berry Baked Oatmeal is one of our favorites.  

Berry Baked Oatmeal - Gluten and Dairy Free

**You can make this even easier by assembling it the night before. Then just pop it in the oven in the morning.**

 6 c. oats 

1 c. applesauce 

1/3  c. brown sugar

2 eggs (or another 1/2 c. applesauce) 

2 1/4 c. milk of choice (or water) (I use half canned coconut milk to make it extra yummy)

4 tsp. baking powder 

1 tsp. salt 

1 heaping tsp. cinnamon 

2 tsp.  vanilla 

2 c. frozen (or fresh) mixed berries 

Cinnamon and sugar for the top 

Combine all ingredients directly in a 9 x 13 pan. Stir until well combined.  Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the top. Bake at 350* for 40 mins, until set. 

We eat it two ways: 

1)  Cakey - sliced on a plate, like a piece of cake

2) Milkey - in a bowl chopped up with milk 

Enjoy! 

Creamy Crockpot Chicken Potato Soup - Dairy and Gluten Free

When I first started eating dairy free I missed eating "creamy" things.  It's a feeling, I think, more than anything else.  You know:  that feel in your mouth of eating creamy things.  Odd, right?

So, when I started making soups dairy free and I wanted a creamy soup, I found I could blend up the potatoes and it would make a nice creamy base.  No cream, milk, butter, or anything!

It was a miracle! A dairy free diet miracle! 

It looks orange because I can't help but add all the veggies (carrots) I can find to any soup I make.  But it tastes just like normal potato soup. 

Creamy Crockpot Chicken Potato Soup - Dairy and Gluten Free

10 medium sized potatoes, unpeeled and diced 

4 c. chicken broth 

1 c. water

2 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts

small, diced onion (optional)

4-5 carrots, finely diced 

2-3 stalks of celery, finely diced 

2 c. cabbage, finely diced 

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper 

kale, finely diced

Add, all ingredients, except kale, to crockpot and cook on high for 4 1/2 -5 hours.  Remove the chicken and shred.  Before returning use an immersion blender in the soup and blend to desired creaminess.  (Alternately you can put the soup in your blender and blend it.)  I like to keep a few chunks, but make it pretty creamy.  Add the chicken back in.  Add the kale.  

Enjoy! 

Spicy Pork Roast - Gluten and Dairy Free

 Do you ever get those sirloin tip pork roasts at Costco? They are a great deal and super yummy.  

Spicy Pork Roast- Gluten and Dairy Free

1 1/4 Tbsp paprika

1/4 tsp. black pepper 

pinch of red pepper 

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. oregano 

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder 

2 Tbsp olive oil 

Mix all spices with olive oil and let sit for a few minutes to thicken.  Rub into pork roast, covering all sides.  Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place a cookie rack on top.  Cook roast on the rack in 350* oven for about 1 1/2 hours.   Check to be sure roast reaches internal temperature of 145*. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. 

Enjoy! 

Simple Chicken Salad - Gluten and Dairy Free

 The most simple meal you could ask for . . . you can assemble it in 5 minutes, literally. 

Your welcome. 

Simple Gluten and Dairy Free Chicken Salad

1 can of GF chicken, drained and rinsed 

mayonnaise (make sure it has distilled vinegar only)

1 stick of celery, diced

1 medium apple, diced 

hemp hearts (optional)

salt 

pepper  

Mix all ingredients together.  Serve on safe bread, crackers, or even with tortilla chips. 

Enjoy! 

Gluten Free Dairy Free Spaghetti

Growing up, my mom basically made all the food, but occasionally on Sunday's my dad would cook.  He had two specialties: spaghetti and mashed potatoes. 

They were delicious.  His spaghetti was full of meat and perfectly flavored.  His mashed potatoes, we often joked, were grey due to the enormous amount of pepper he would add.  But they were so good.  

Now, I make both and think of him often.  My spaghetti sauce is his same recipe . . . just with all the extra vegetables I can conceivably add.  'Cause you know me:  veggies for the win!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Spaghetti 
~1 lb of ground beef
diced onions
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (chop up the tomatoes a bit)
2  cans of tomato sauce (8 oz)
1 tsp oregano*
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp sugar*

Optional:  add these to sauce after browning the hamburger: 

chopped bell peppers, any or all colors
2 finely diced carrots
2 finely diced celery
chopped mushrooms (or canned)

(*My dad never measured these spices, so neither do I. Just add to your taste, or follow these amounts if it makes you feel better.)

***If you are going to make zucchini noodles, like we do, start them first so they will have time to "sweat". See directions below.***

Brown the ground beef.  Add all the veggies, if using, and cook until tender.  Add tomatoes and sauce.  Add spices.  Turn heat to low and simmer.

*Sugar is often added to tomato sauces, because it neutralizes the acid in the tomatoes.

We love to eat spaghetti with zucchini noodles.  The GF noodles available are not our favorite, but having zucchini noodles makes this meal perfect!

To make zucchini noodles: 
Grate zucchini's with a mandolin, or spirilizer
Place in colander to drain
Heavily salt
Allow zucchini to drain, or "sweat" for 20-30 mins


Enjoy! 

Allergen Free Candy List

Every candy oriented holiday that comes around has me searching labels, googling brands and candy, and trying to answer over and over again: 

"Can I eat it? Can I eat it?" 

My ever wise teenager suggested that I post a list on here. 

Yes, good idea, teenager! 

These candies are all FREE of my kids allergens* (except red food dye - but that child knows how to avoid it): 

*Airheads 

*Altoids

*Bottlecaps 

*Candy Canes 

*Candy necklaces/bracelets

*Charms Blow Pops 

*Circus Peanuts 

*Dots 

*Dum dums 

*Everlasting Gobstoppers

*Fun dip**

*Good and fruity

*Hot Tamales 

*Jelly Bellies 

*Jolly Rancher hard candy
*Laffytaffy

*Lifesavers 

*Lifesavers Gummies

*Mike and Ikes 

*Nerds 

*Pixy Stix**

*Runts 

*Skittles 

*Smarties 

*Smarties brand Conversation Hearts 

*Sour Patch Kids 

*Starburst 

*Sweetarts 

*Swedish Fish

*Tictacs

I'm sure this list will be changing with time:  things added to it, things taken off of it.  

But for now . . . here it is!  Lots of "safe" candies to eat!



*It is always wise to recheck ingredients and make sure everything is safe, as ingredients are known to change over time.

**Pixy Stix and Fun Dips are the WORST CANDIES EVER.  I allow my kids to have them, under one condition:  They must be eaten outside. I have swept up one too many piles of spilled, colored sugar which immediately turns to stickiness when around children.  

Pumpkin Cinnamon Apple Chips

 I have tried doubling this recipe and still . .  . the piggies children scarf them down in 5 seconds flat and argue about who ate the most. 

A good sign, I'm thinking. 

I will triple it the next time I make it. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Apple Chips - Allergen Free

3 medium apples

pumpkin pie spice 

Thinly slice the apples and sprinkle with the spice. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 200*. Bake the apples for 1 1/2 hours.  Flip the apples over and bake for another hour.  Check to see if they are done.  If you'd like them crunchier keep them in longer.  

**The key to this recipe is to start well in advance to when you'd like them to be done! No dilly-dallying with this one! 

Simple Oven Baked Chicken- Gluten and Dairy Free

This chicken is great for a little bit fancier meal, that you just can't spend too much time on.  Which is pretty much the story of my life:  I want it to be nice, without putting forth too much effort. 

What does that say about me? Lazy? Actually busy? Pathetic? 

Not sure. 

Simple Oven Baked Chicken - Gluten and Dairy Free 

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, defrosted and sliced in half

olive oil 

1 1/2 tsp. parsley

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic 

1 tsp. basil

Preheat oven to 400*. Brush both sides of chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with the spices.  Bake in 9 x 13 pan, uncovered, for 40-45 mins, until chicken is white in the middle. 

Enjoy! 

Lemon Garlic Chicken - Gluten and Dairy Free- Instant Pot too!

EDIT: Instant Pot version below - using frozen chicken! Also you can cook rice in the instant pot at the same time!

You can make this awesome recipe 3 4 different ways!
Just pick what ever suits you best and enjoy the delicious food that follows.
Lemon Garlic Chicken 

1 tsp. garlic

1 tsp. salt 

1/4 tsp. pepper 

1/4 c. olive oil

1 Tbsp. parsley 

2 Tbsp. lemon juice 

4-6 chicken breast
1 cup chicken broth (Instant Pot recipe only) 

option 1) Thaw chicken. Combine all ingredients.  Place in 9 x 13 dish and bake for 45 mins at 350*. 

option 2) Place frozen chicken breast and ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.  Shred chicken and serve over rice or potatoes. 

option 3) You can also combine all ingredients in a gallon ziplock bag and freeze.  Later put it all in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.  This is an excellent freezer meal to prepare ahead of time and have on hand for a busy day.

option 4) Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken - Gluten and Dairy Free

*Add frozen chicken, broth, and spices to instant pot.
(**If you want to cook your rice in the IP also, see below for directions.) 
*Cook on High Pressure (manual) for 15 minutes, then Quick Release pressure.
*When pressure has all released, remove chicken and shred.
*Return chicken to pot.

If you want to cook your rice in the Instant Pot at the same time:
* After adding chicken, broth, and spices to the Instant Pot, place your trivet on top of the frozen chicken.
*Place an oven safe bowl on top of trivet.
*Add 3 cups of rice and 4 1/2 cups of water to bowl.
*Continue with IP directions above.
PEASE NOTE:  This will cook your rice perfectly for this meal, but you will get some broth in the rice, so it will be slightly flavored.  (In case you wanted rice leftover for another meal and didn't want it flavored with broth.)

*Adapted from http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/10/lemon-garlic-dump-chicken-whats-dinner.html

Minute Bread- Gluten, Dairy, and YEAST Free

You know, trying to find bread that is gluten, dairy, and YEAST free is nigh unto impossible.  And if you do find it . . well, I'm not gonna lie . . .it is not good. Gluten free bread tends to be dry and falls apart easily. Then, if you take the yeast out of there your "issues" get even worse. 

Now, man shall not live on bread alone. . . but, sometimes your child just really wants a sandwich.  

We have found a solution. 

And the best part yet? Kids can make it on their own.  My son started making this, almost everyday, when he was 7.  It is that easy. 

Minute Bread - Gluten, Dairy and YEAST Free (with variation below!)

1 egg 

3 Tbsp water

1/3 c. gluten free flour blend 

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. sugar 

Combine all ingredients in a flat, shallow, glass, somewhat bread shaped dish. Do the best you can; in the end, does it really matter what shape your bread is? You can see my dish above, something we just had.  Use whatever you have that will be close to the size of two pieces of bread next to each other. 

Mix all ingredients with a fork, in your dish thoroughly until well combined. Smooth out flat. Cook in microwave for 95 seconds. Transfer to a rack to cool. 

Slice into two pieces of bread. 

We eat this in all kinds of ways! For sandwiches, toast, any time you need a quick piece of bread.  It is moist, doesn't fall apart, so easy to make, and really . . . just what we needed. 

We have tried it with many different GF flours.  My kids have their preferences, but they always like it, regardless.  Just start experimenting with your favorite flours until you find your favorite. 

Egg salad sandwich: 

One of our favorite variations to this recipe is to make cinnamon raisin bread! 

Minute Cinnamon Raisin Bread - Gluten, Dairy, and YEAST Free 

Follow the instructions above with these variations: 

Mix everything in a bowl first. 

In your "bread" dish sprinkle a swirl or two of cinnamon and sugar, mixed. Add raisins. Then pour bread dough on top and cook as usual. 

Yum yum!

It's especially good toasted with (dairy free) butter: 

Snack Mix

This isn't so much of a recipe as it is an idea.

But when the kids all come storming in the door after school, and they are starving. to. death. I need ideas for snacks quick. 

This is an easy one to throw together and everyone is always happy, especially if I have it ready when they walk in the door! 

In a bowl mix together: 

GF Plain Cheerios

GF Chex (rice or corn) 

Raisins 

Dairy Free Chocolate Chips 

Chicken and Rice Skillet - Gluten and Dairy Free

You have to think a little in advance for this recipe, but it is so simple to throw together, it is worth it. 

Chicken and Rice Skillet - Gluten and Dairy Free

5 carrots, diced 

2-3 celery, diced 

1/4 of an onion, diced, if desired 

2 chicken breast, sliced into 4 pieces each

1 tsp. salt 

1/4 tsp pepper 

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano 

1 1/4 c. brown rice 

3 c. chicken broth 

Cook veggies for a few mins in a skillet, until softened.  Add chicken and spices and cook for 3-5 mins more, turning chicken.  Add rice and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and turn down heat, to low.  Cook for 50-60 mins until chicken is cooked through and rice has absorbed the broth.

Enjoy!  

Peaches and Cream Crockpot Steel Cut Oatmeal - Gluten Free Dairy Free

***One of my children has become severely allergic to oats...so while I do make this for the rest of the family occasionally, I don’t do it very often.***

When I know the next morning is going to be rushed, busy, and early I love to put breakfast in the crockpot the night before.  There's nothing better than having a warm, home cooked breakfast ready to go for you first thing in the morning. 

This recipe can be thrown together in just minutes before you head to bed. It is a favorite in this house! 

Peaches and Cream Crockpot Steel Cut Oatmeal - Gluten Free Dairy Free 

1 1/2 c. steel cut oats 

6 c. water

1 can (15 oz) peaches, drained 

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. salt 

After draining peaches, stick knife in can and chop the peaches up. Add all ingredients to crockpot and stir. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.  Serve with brown sugar (if desired) and milk of choice. 

Crockpot Chicken and Rice Soup - Instant Pot too!

EDIT: Instant Pot version below - using frozen chicken!

This picture drives me crazy. All dark-ish and kinda gloomy looking.  It reminds me of the days we've been having.

Also, I am absolutely frozen to the core.  I feel like I may never thaw out. 

While I am suffering through trying to survive this horrible winter blessed amount of snow we are having, I can think of eating nothing but soup. 

Just try to imagine that this picture looks as good as I promise this soup tastes.  It is FANTASTIC and warms you to the core.

Crockpot Chicken and Rice Soup

2 boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts

1/4 small onion, chopped (if desired)

garlic, to taste

4 large carrots, chopped

3 celery, chopped 

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper 

1/4 tsp. sage 

1/2 tsp. thyme

3 bay leaves 

6 cups of chicken broth 

3/4 c. brown rice (Quinoa works just as well for a little change) 

Put all ingredients, except the rice, in the crockpot and cook for 1 hour on high.  Add the 3/4 c. of brown rice and lower heat to low and continue to cook for 4 more hours.  

After the 5 hours total cooking time, remove chicken breasts, shred, and return to soup.  Remove the bay leaves. 

Serve with either some delicious corn bread or some wonderful breadsticks, and you'll be doing just fine! 

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup - Gluten and Dairy Free

-Add all ingredients to the instant pot and cook on High Pressure for 20 mins.  

-Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 mins, then quick release the remaining pressure.  

-Shred the chicken and stir back in. 

Enjoy! 

Kitchen Tips

You want to save time? 

You want to be healthier?

You want to "extend" your meat?

You want to save money?

Do this: 

*Brown 3-6 pounds of ground beef at a time. 

*Ground up 24 ounces of mushrooms in your food processor and add to the meat, cooking them down with it. 

*Freeze the mushroom/meat mixture.

*Break off parts of it as needed, throwing it into any recipe calling for ground beef. 

No one will ever know.  I promise.  I have fed this to tons of people, even people not in my family, and no one has ever guessed anything was different. 

Mushrooms, while not technically a vegetable, offer many of the same health benefits. 

And . . . they are much cheaper than meat! When I checked last, mushrooms were $2.86 per pound and ground beef was $3.49 per pound. 

Why not save money and get healthier at the same time? 

Why not indeed.  

Mom's Casserole - Gluten Free Dairy Free Hamburger Helper

 Growing up we never had "Hamburger Helper". In fact, I still have never had it, so I don't even know what it tastes like, but I think it is something like this. 

My mom use to make this all the time, and this is her recipe all free of our allergens and full of added veggies.  

We do not do a lot of noodles now days, but on the rare occasion we do, this is the kind we like: 

 Mom's Casserole - Gluten and Dairy Free Hamburger Helper

~1 lb. of ground beef 

salt, pepper, garlic

small can of mushrooms (or fresh, if have)

green, yellow, red bell peppers, chopped 

diced onions, if desired

2 cans of stewed tomatoes (chop the tomatoes up)*

2 cans of tomato sauce

1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 

3 cups dry macaroni noodles, cooked

Brown the ground beef and add the spices and veggies and cook till veggies are softened.  Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Add Worcestershire sauce and simmer a few mins.  Add cooked noodles and bake at 350* for 10-20 mins. 

*If you make this during the summer time, feel free to chop up all the millions of tomatoes you have coming out of your garden and use in place of the stewed tomatoes. 

**Because GF products are expensive, I like to cook 1 C of GF noodles for the gluten free kids, and 2 C of regular noodles for everyone else.  Just split the sauce between them. 

Beans and Rice

This is a quick and easy meal. I always have cooked hamburger on hand, so this is done as fast as I can cook the rice (20 mins). 

Even my boys who are always. starving. to. death. can wait 20 mins! 

Beans and Rice

1 1/2 c. uncooked rice 

1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can of corn, drained (or frozen, thawed)

1 can of stewed tomatoes (I chop the tomatoes up while they're still in the can)

~1/2 lb. of cooked hamburger 

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

garlic powder, to taste

Cook rice and mix with rest of ingredients in a bowl.  Enjoy! 

Gluten Free Dairy Free Secret Pumpkin Waffles

***One of my children has become severely allergic to oats...so while I do make this for the rest of the family occasionally, I don’t do it very often.***

Do you love pumpkin, like me and pretty much everyone else in the world?

I am a huge fan. Pumpkin everything! Yum. 

Thus we must have some pumpkin waffles, right?
(Since my son was diagnosed as anaphylactic to pumpkin, we now use "secret" pumpkin.) 

Gluten Free Dairy Free "Pumpkin" Waffles 

3 cups milk of choice (I use coconut milk)

3 cups Old Fashioned, or rolled, oats

1 cup of sweet potato puree (or pumpkin, if tolerated) 

4 Tbsp. light (in taste, not calories or fat) olive oil 

2 eggs 

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla 

Put all ingredients in blender and blend until very smooth. Batter will be thin, but as it sits for a few minutes, it will thicken up. Cook in hot, well greased, waffle iron. (I use coconut oil to grease the waffle iron.  It works fantastic and is also a stable fat when exposed to heat. Reapply oil after every couple of waffles.)

*This is the same recipe as my waffle recipe, just pumpkin version. 

Gluten Free Dairy Free Corn Bread

Is the whole world frozen over, or is it just here?  

My goodness, we are having quite the winter. 

I pretty much want to eat soup for every meal and that means I just have to have some wonderful corn bread to go with it. 

My kids are thrilled when I make this corn bread.  

Gluten Free Dairy Free Corn Bread 

3/4 c. all purpose gluten free flour*

3/4 c. cornmeal 

1/4 c. sugar (can use less, if desired)

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 

1 tsp. baking soda 

2 eggs 

1 1/4 c. milk of choice (I use coconut or rice)

1/4 c. light (in taste) olive oil 

Preheat oven to 375* and oil a 9 x 9" baking pan.  Stir dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda). In another bowl whisk together wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil).  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  

Enjoy! 

*I just use whatever AP GF flour is found at Costco, and this always turns out wonderfully! 

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Would you like to make your own pumpkin pie spice? 

• Yes, you would. Cause why would you buy it, when you can make it in two seconds? 
• I keep a little jar made, ready to go in my cupboard. 
• 

Pumpkin Pie Spice 

4 Tbsp. cinnamon 

4 tsp. ginger

2 tsp. cloves 

2 tsp. nutmeg