Gluten Free

I just posted on my other blog about my Celiac Disease. So I guess that the ingredients and recipes on this blog will be changing. Hopefully that will be able to help others who are going gluten free also!
I just started yesterday. We have lots of gluten in our house, but I was able to find things that were safe to eat.
Last night I made a quick improvise and it was really good- to me anyway (my husband liked it too). I had planned on making pizza- yum!! But none for me... So I found our corn tortilla chips (which are gluten free) and came up with the following recipe:

Pizza Nachos
corn tortilla chips
mozzarella cheese
bell pepper
pizza sauce (checked the ingredients and it was gluten free)
pepperoni (also was gluten free- the kind I had)
**You can add any topping**

In an oven safe dish- spray with PAM (gluten free). Layer chips on the bottom, pour pizza sauce over the chips, and add other toppings. I baked it on 400 for 5 minutes and it was perfect.

All very easy and I still felt like I had pizza!!!

Mexican Chicken Skillet

I got this recipe from the $5 Dinners Site- that is why there are prices. Go here to see the original post.

Ingredients
1 cup black beans ($.40)- I used canned to save time!
1 cup white rice ($.20)
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes and green chiles ($.50)
2 cups frozen corn ($.44) On sale last week for $.88/bag
1/2 onion, chopped ($.15)
2 cups leftover shredded chicken ($2)
1 tsp ground cumin ($.05)
1 tsp garlic powder ($.03)
Salt/Pepper
2-4 oz shredded cheddar cheese ($.65) On sale for $1.25/8 oz this week!!!
Couple Handfuls of Tortilla chips ($.50)

Directions
1. Soak 1 cup of black beans overnight, or for at least 2 hours in HOT water. Drain and rinse. Add to saucepan with at least 2 inches of water covering the beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for about an hour and a half. (You could substitute 2 cans of black beans, but they are not as healthy nor as frugal as cooking your own!)
2. Cook 1 cup of white rice.
3. In large skillet, add diced tomatoes, 2 cups frozen corn, chopped onion, shredded chicken, ground cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Turn on medium low heat and cook for about 15 minutes while rice is cooking.
4. Once rice and black beans are finished cooking, add to the skillet with the chicken mixture. Cook for about 10 minutes, giving the flavors time to mix and mingle in the skillet!
5. Shred 2-4 oz. of favorite cheddar cheese. Stir into the casserole. (Omit if GFCFSF or casein free!) Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve Mexican Chicken Skillet. Scoop with tortilla chips!

Tortilla Pie

This recipe was GREAT! I wish I had taken a picture of it... maybe next time.

Prep: 11 minutes Cook: 25 minutes

1 (16 oz) can refried beans
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup chunky salsa
2 (4 or 6 ounce) cartons guacamole
1 (8 ounce) package of shredded Mexican Cheese blend

Garnish: sour cream, additional salsa, or guacamole-- we ate ours with some scoops- for added crunch!

Combine first 3 ingredients; stir well.

Place 1 tortilla in a lightly greased 9 inch round cake pan; spread with half of the bean mixture, and top with another tortilla. Spread with half of the salsa, and top with another tortilla. Spread with half of guacamole, and top with another tortilla. Sprinkle with half of shredded cheese, and top with another tortilla.

Repeat layers with remaining ingredients, except cheese. (Pan will be full.) Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 3 to 5 more minutes. Cut into wedges to serve.

I think I should have baked it a little longer than the recipe called for- it was still not warm in some areas. I would just leave it covered for a couple more minutes and it should be fine!

A Great Food Blogs

I have two food blogs that I go to often to see what they are making.

One is a friend of mine named Betsy. She has a great food blog that I would love to recommend.
Full Tummies

The other is called $5 Dinners.
She plans meals for a family of four all for under $5. We have tried a few of her recipes and they have been good!

Butterfly Cake

I made this great cake for my daughter's First birthday. It was very easy and so good!

You can go to the Betty Crocker site and watch a step-by-step video if you want to. I watched the video, but then decorated the cake how I wanted to.

Click Here for the recipe and directions as to how to make the cake and enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Pizza with Cheddar

Ingredients:
2 ears of fresh corn- or canned corn
12 ounces skinned, boned chicken breast halves
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce ( I did not measure- just used am much as I thought looked good)
1 12 inch whole wheat pizza crust ( I used a pre-made crust, but you could always make your own)
3/4 cup sliced green onions ( left these off)
1 can black beans ( I added this and they were great!)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese ( I probably used more!)

The directions for this recipe called for you to grill the chicken and the corn (if fresh). What I did for times sake was to use canned corn and I cooked the chicken in a skillet. I browned the chicken cutting it into pieces and added some BBQ sauce after it was no longer pink.
Spread BBQ sauce over the pizza crust; sprinkle with the drained corn, chicken pieces, black beans, and cheese. Bake at 425 on bottom rack for 10 minutes or until crust is brown.

This is very easy and quick.