Corn Muffins

Corn Bread Muffins

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups corn meal

1 1/4 cups safe flour (you can use oat flour by grinding up old fashioned oats)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups rice (or soy milk)

3 tbsp. oil

1/2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Directions

Mix all of the dry ingredients. Add rice milk, oil, vinegar and mix well. In a greased muffin pan, (I used a mini muffin pan because my kids like the corn bread bite-sized) fill each cup full of corn bread batter. Bake at 400 for approximately 8 minutes.

*For regular sized corn muffins bake at 400 for 20 minutes

*For corn bread, pour into a greased 8x8 pan and bake at 400 for 25 minutes

*If you want moister corn muffins, throw in a 8.5 oz can of Golden Cream Style Sweet Corn (Ingredients: corn, water, sugar, modified corn starch, salt) and a few drizzels of unprocessed, all natural, local honey. These were REALLY good!

This recipe is from Sophie Safe Cooking

A Thanksgiving Day Reaction

I was sitting in the living room with the kids and in-laws watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, drinking a cup of coffee and browsing through the Black Friday Ads, when Brock asked me for a cup of milk. After he drank some, he sat it on the coffee table and I continued doing what I was doing. A few minutes later, I catch Brody from the corner of my eye with a cup to his mouth; realizing what he was trying to drink I grabbed it and saw milk on his face, running down his shirt and all over the carpet. I was sick.

Within a few minutes, Brody had hives on his face where the milk had touched and even on his finger (I was wondering, did he drink some? How much?). We immediately gave him Benedryl and watched him. He was itching and started sneezing. He got congested and started having problems breathing. We decided to give him a breathing treatment (We gave it to him because he was wheezing). I called the doctors office...closed. As we were watching him, I was gathering my stuff in case we had to go to the ER. It scared me to death. After the breathing treatment, his breathing calmed down and we got him to fall asleep on my mother-in-law. I can handle hives, it is the breathing that really scares me.

Well, things are back to "normal" around here. I am cooking and getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving. Note to self...don't have milk (or anything else Brody is allergic to) too close to Brody.

Perfect Apple Pie

This recipe is from my mother-in-law, Ingrid. She is always in charge of making the apple pie for Thanksgiving. This year, she tweaked it a little to make it safe for Brody.

Perfect Apple Pie

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients
6-7 large Granny Smith apples (or 10-12 small ones), peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup natural sugar (less processed than regular sugar)
2 Tablespoons flour (or GF flour)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of ground nutmeg
Pastry Crust for 2 crust, 9 inch pie. We used Wholly Wholesome pie crust from Whole Foods (contains wheat) (Publix or Pillsbury pie crust has only has wheat) Lisa cooks, shops and dines allergen free has an allergen free pie crust you can make
2 Tablespoons safe butter
*1 Tablespoon of lemon juice if apples are not tart enough

Directions
If apples lack tartness; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Combine sugar, flour and spices; mix with apples. Line 9 inch pie plate with pastry. Fill with apples mixture; dot with safe butter. Adjust top of crust, cutting slits for escape of steam; seal. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 for 50 minutes or till done.

Fruit Gobbler

OH MY! I couldn't resist this ADORABLE display of fruit and veggies! What a great idea for an appetizer! Brody can't have cheese, so I would omit and add more fruit...I just love this! Another project for the kids to help with!

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients
Bosc pear (head)
Melon (body)
Cheese (beak and tail feathers) *Brody can't have cheese, so I would sub some more fruit
Red pepper (snood, feet and side feathers)
Raisins (eyes)
Grapes (tail feathers)
Bamboo skewers
Toothpicks

Directions
1. Stabilize the melon body by cutting a shallow slice off the rind to form a flat base. Using a section of bamboo skewer, attach a Bosc pear head to the melon, as shown.
2. Cut a cheese triangle beak (Maybe a cut cantelope would work? and red pepper snood). Attach both, along with raisin eyes, to the head with sections of toothpick.
3. Cut red pepper feet and set them in place. For tail feathers, skewer cheese cubes (or other fruit) and red grapes, then insert the skewers as shown. Pin pepper side feathers in place with toothpicks.

This recipe is from Disney Family Fun

Sweet Potato Casserole

I wanted to share another recipe that has been part of our family tradition for as long as I can remember. We had to change the recipe a little bit to make it "safe" but it is still delicious!

My mom is helping me out again today :)

This recipe is from my best friend's (Connie) husband's (Harv) grandmother (old southern Georgia recipe!) Yeah, that is confusing! :) *This recipe has been tweaked to make it safe! A couple of ingredients like eggs & pecans have been left out; butter & milk have been replaced with safe substitutes! Yummy! :)

-Terri

Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

8 medium sweet potatoes

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 bag small marshmallows (Elyon mini marshmallows from Whole Foods are GF, but have fish gelatin in it)

1/2 stick Earth Balance butter (or 1/4 c. Smart Balance Light, vegan spread)*, melted

1 - 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits (drained or save to replace soy milk if you want)

5 oz. rice or soy milk/rice milk*

1 1/2 c. coconut (coconut is safe for people with tree nut allergies, read about it HERE) OR you don't have to use it

1 tsp. gluten free vanilla

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Topping

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 c. corn flakes (crushed)

1/2 stick Earth Balance butter melted

1/2 c. brown sugar

Boil sweet potatoes 20-30 minutes until fork tender. Drain and run cold water over them till cool enough to handle. Peel potatoes and put in a large bowl and mix with mixer till smooth. (If you want more of a pineapple taste, omit soy milk and add drained pineapple juice from tidbits instead) . Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Then add combined topping ingredients sprinkled on top and bake for 10 more minutes.

Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish

I asked my mom to share this recipe with you all, so here you go...It is always on our Thanksgiving table.

This recipe came from my grandmother (Mama-my dad's mom); although in her recipe, it was never cooked. In the last couple of years, I tweaked it by adding the cinnamon stick and cooking it (after stumbling upon another similar recipe). It seems that when you cook it, it takes out the bitterness of the berries and turns it into a sweet-tart beautiful ruby-colored dish that is oh so good!
-Terri

Fresh Cranberry Orange Relish

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients
1 - bag (12 oz.) cranberries
1 - medium orange
1 - large Red Delicious Apple
1/2 cup natural sugar (less processed than regular, white sugar)
1 cinnamon stick

Directions
Rinse & drain fruit. Slice unpeeled orange into 1/8's; remove any seeds. Core apple and cut into 1/4's. Place 1/2 cranberries, 1/2 orange, and 1/2 apple into food processor. Pulse until the pieces of fruit are small; remove from processor and place in a medium bowl. Repeat process with the rest of the fruit; add to bowl. Add sugar stirring well. Now take all of the cranberry mixture and place it in a medium fry pan and spread it out and add the cinnamon stick. Cook on medium heat stirring constantly for about 10-15 minutes. It should have a ruby-red appearance! Now let it cool; place in a beautiful, small clear glass bowl to show it off! (Cool in refrigerator while you are cooking the rest of your Thanksgiving meal!) Serve & enjoy! (Serves 8-10)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This is another side dish that is great for Thanksgiving (this is one of the dishes, along with Green Bean Casserole that I will be bringing to my mom's on Thursday), but we also eat this with lots of dinner dishes (example: Chicken Marsala...I need to post this one soon, SO GOOD!). It's easy, yummy and the kiddos love it!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Ingredients
5 lbs of potatoes, peeled and cubed
4-6 cloves of garlic, pressed (depending on how much garlic flavor you want)
2 tablespoons of safe butter

splash of white wine

Rice milk (or Soy milk)..OR use chicken or vegetable broth...use what you need to get the consistency that you want
Coarse ground pepper (to taste)
Coarse ground salt (to taste)
I seasoned with Weber Roasted Garlic and Herb Seasoning (ingredients: DEHYDRATED GARLIC, SALT, SWEET RED PEPPER, SPICES, NATURAL FLAVOR)
2 tablespoons snipped chives (optional)


Directions
Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, saute garlic in safe butter and a splash of white wine (let alcohol cook off).

Drain potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl; add the garlic. Beat until smooth (or if you prefer your mashed potatoes chunkier, just mash with a potato masher). Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Season to taste.

White Chicken Chili

My friend Katrina, passed this recipe on to me a while back and it is one of our winter favorites. This recipe is great because it can be cooked in the crockpot and can be made as mild or as spicy as you would like.

White Chicken Chili

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

*DOUBLE THIS RECIPE TO MAKE A FULL CROCKPOT*

*3 cans (15 oz.) great northern beans or pinto beans- drained (I use dried beans because they are cheaper and I can control the salt...cook them according to directions and used them instead of canned)
*1 lb cooked chicken, chopped or torn into shreds
*1 small onion, chopped
*1 red, green, and/or yellow sweet pepper(s), chopped (I use red)
*1 jalapeno chili peppers- stemmed and chopped
*2 cloves of garlic, minced
*2 teaspoons cumin
*1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
*3.5 cups chicken broth (I normally just use the entire container of chicken broth 32 oz...Progresso 100% Natural Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth is Gluten Free)

We serve our white chicken chili with tortilla chips, fresh lime juice and fresh cilantro.
If you can have it, serve it with Monterrey jack or Cheddar cheese and sour cream

Directions
Cook the chicken in a little extra virgin olive oil. Combine all ingredients in the crock pot stirring in the chicken broth last. Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours.

*I always have extra stock on hand so towards the end of the cooking time, if I need to add more I can do that. You can determine how thick/thin you want your chili :)

Safe Green Bean Casserole

My brother and cousin came into town this week and we did an early Thanksgiving (we will be doing it again next week also...my in-laws are coming in town). It was great because I got to try out a couple of safe recipes and see if they were good enough for next week. I normally make the Campbell's Green Bean Casserole, but couldn't this year because of the milk allergy (there is milk in the canned cream of mushroom), so I came across this recipe, changed it a little and it was AWESOME!

Green Bean Casserole

*This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

Cream of Mushroom Soup
olive oil (to saute mushrooms in)
1 lb. sliced mushrooms (any kind you prefer)
6 Tablespoons safe butter (I use Earth's Balance)

2 cups safe chicken/vegetable broth

Splash of white wine (alcohol will cook off, but leave you a yummy flavor)
2 cups rice milk (I used soy..or sub whatever milk you can have)
6 Tablespoons flour (sweet rice flour preferably, but brown rice flour will work ok also) OR use regular unbleached flour if you can
1 teaspoon dry mustard
coarse ground salt (to taste)
coarse ground pepper (to taste)

1 Tablespoon Organic Tamari Wheat Free Soy Sauce

Approximately 2 lbs of fresh green beans, cleaned and cut into 2 inch pieces (I used frozen green beans)

Homemade Gluten Free French Fried Onions (I used Trader Joe's Gourmet Fried Onion Pieces...they contain wheat OR French's French Fried Onion Original...they have wheat and soy)

Directions

To start this recipe, I would prepare the french fried onions. It would be smart to prepare these in advance and store them in an air-tight container, so you are not stuck in the kitchen for longer than you have to be.

First, saute your mushrooms in olive oil and set aside. Next, prepare your cream of mushroom soup. Start by melting your butter in a large saucepan and once the butter starts to bubble, add your flour. Then add your spices- I chose dry mustard, salt and pepper. Once the roux has cooked/bubbled for a few minutes, add your milk and chicken/vegetable broth and splash of white wine. Whisk until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, add your mushrooms back in.
At this point, cook your green beans for 4-5 minutes until bright green (if using frozen, cook them partially). Strain the water from the green beans. Once they are done, put the green beans in a 13x9 casserole dish.

Top with the French Fried Onions.

Bake for about 35 minutes on 350 degrees or until bubbly.

*If using French Fried Onions, mix some in with the casserole and then sprinkle some more on the top for the last 5 minutes of baking.

This will make a huge 13x9 casserole!

I prefered this recipe over the Campbells!

Recipe Adapted From Gluten Free Mommy

Cauley Square Tea Room's Harvest Pie

The pieces missing are the ones that Brody and I ate :)

I was raised in South Florida, and when I was little, I remember going with my mom and grandmom to an antique place called Cauley Square. They had a tea room that served this Harvest pie; and my mom loved it. She made it tonight and created a safe version for Brody and I (we are adding a little wheat to Brody's diet and he is doing alright with it). I wanted to share it with you...just in time for the holidays. The cranberry compliments the apple to give it just the right amount of tartness. It is definitely worth making!

Cauley Square Tea Room's Harvest Pie

*This recipe is free of milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

*substitute pie crust and flour to make it wheat free

2-9" unbaked regular pie shells *not deep dish

We used Wholly Wholesome pie crust from Whole Foods (it only has wheat),

Publix frozen pie crust (only has wheat). Pillsbury also has wheat.

OR use your favorite Wheat Free/Dairy Free Pie Crust

FILLING
1 c. plus 2 tbsp. packed brown sugar
4 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 lg. Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
2 c. fresh cranberries
2 tbsp. lemon juice

CRUMB TOPPING
1 c. flour (substitute oat flour for a wheat free version)

*tip-just grind up Old Fashioned Oats in your blender or food processor)
1 c. packed brown sugar
*1/2 c. safe butter

*The real Cauley Square Tea Room's Harvest Pie has an altogether different topping.
This one is a replacement for those who have dairy allergiess.

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, toss together brown sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, toss together apples, cranberries, and lemon juice; gently
stir in small bowl ingredients. Pour into unbaked pie shells. Make crumb
topping by adding the Smart Balance spread to the flour and sugar. Mix
with fingers until crumbly. Add 1/2 of mixture to each pie. Bake in a 350 degree
oven for 55-60 min. Serve warm! YUM! :) Serves 16. (Makes 2 pies!)

This recipe is from the Miami Herald

Super Sloppy Joes-Super Easy!

We are going over to North Carolina for Christmas to visit my in-laws. I told my mother-in-law that I would start posting my "safe" dinner recipes so she had some options to choose from. Her goal is to make dinner Brody safe, which is wonderful! So, I will be posting quite a few dinner recipes between now and then.

Let's start with this one, it is tasty, easy and good comfort food for cold nights winter.

Super Sloppy Joes

This recipe is free of milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish

(it could also be soy and fish free if you omit the Worcestershire sauce)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning (or you could use salt and pepper if you would like)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (Omit this if you have a soy or fish allergy)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste (you can add more later if you want it thicker)
4 crusty rolls (I used EnerG Tapicoa Dinner Rolls-they are free of gluten, wheat, casein, dairy, egg, soy, nut, corn), split, toasted, and lightly buttered with safe butter, example: Earth's Balance or Smart Balance buttery spread Light...it is non dairy and vegan.

Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered (with Safe butter) bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

* I double this recipe. I brown the meat, throw the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot and let it cook for about 4hrs (SO EASY!). I figure you may as well make more at the same time and then freeze the rest for another dinner. It freezes great!

Recipe from Rachael Ray

Chicken Cupcake

We recently celebrated Brody's 1 year birthday. Since I couldn't buy the cake with coordinating smash cake at Publix (boo hoo!), I made him a chicken cupcake. He was a chicken for Halloween, a chicken would be fun and I thought I could pull it off. I was happy with the result and he had a smile (and lots of frosting and chocolate) on his face.

Cupcake
Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake (you could use any cake mix you like)
1 can of 100% pure pumpkin
Mix ingredients and bake at 350 for approximately 15 minutes

Frosting
Safe Buttercream Icing Recipe
*I left most of the icing white for the chicken and pulled out a little to color red, brown and yellow
*To color the icing,I used Wilton 8 Icing Color Concentrated gel-won't thin icing (bought at Michaels with a 50% off coupon)
-used red for the crest, yellow for the beak and legs/feet and brown for the eyes

Decorating the Chicken
To make the chicken look 3-D, I cut large marshmallows (see picture) and placed them onto the cupcake then dipped a toothpick into the colored icing to decorate the crest, eyes, beak and legs/feet

Safe and Cute...Mission Accomplished.

The Secret Ingredient for Moist Allergen Free Cupcakes or Muffins

I love to bake, but without being able to use egg, I have found it difficult. Egg replacer doesn't like me and I feel like I waste ingredients/time when my product turns out yucky or inedible.

The other day, I spoke to a friend of mine who has two older children who are allergic to egg. She told me that when she makes cupcakes for her kids (when she has to bake them for school parties, etc.), that she buys the box of cake mix (any cake mix) and adds a can of pumpkin...that's it! How easy is that? And a healthy option, in my opinion...LOVE IT!

I couldn't wait to get home to make them! YUM! They are great!

Ingredients
Any cake mix that is safe for your family

1 15 oz can of 100% Pure Pumpkin (I used Libby's)

*The spice cake mix/pumpkin makes yummy "breakfast" muffins and of course the chocolate makes yummy cupcakes. Check out this safe buttercream icing recipe.

Directions

Mix cake mix and pumpkin together in a large bowl. Pour into muffin tin and bake at 350 for approximately 15 minutes.

*These are very moist. We had some friends over the other night and they thought they were great! So, even if you do not have food allergies, try this recipe!

Tip: Regular size muffins fall apart a little bit, but I have found if you make them into mini muffins (if you do not need cupcakes), they do not fall apart and are easy for little kids and adults alike to pop in their mouth :) Just bake for less time (probably about 8-9 minutes).

I have been STOCKING UP on Pumpkin. Last week, it was on sale at Walgreen's for $1 a can, which is a SMOKIN' deal and I saw that Walmart has it for $1.34. Until our egg allergy goes away, we will be using pumpkin in our muffins/cupcakes, so I figure stock up when it is on sale.

Organic SO Delicious Dairy Free Dessert

Before the weather gets too cold and you think I am crazy for posting about a frozen dessert, I thought I would get this post in :) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Organic SO Delicious Dairy Free Dessert (and so does Brody). My husband says he is jealous that we get to eat it. It really tastes like good ice cream, without all of the allergens and "junk". My favorite (so far), is Mint Marble Fudge. It is organic and safe, so I feel it is worth it to splurge every once in awhile :) I am sure Whole Foods sells it, but I buy mine at Kroger (sometimes, it is even on sale).

CLICK HERE for Coupons from Turtle Mountain or give them a call 1-866-388-7853

*On the back of the container, it says their products are tested to make sure there are no allergens. Take a look next time you are in the store, I think you will be impressed.

Whole Fruit Lemon Sorbet

My in-laws are in town visiting, so I made dinner tonight and was looking for a quick, but yummy dessert. This week in the Publix's ad, I saw 1 pint Whole Fruit Sorbet BOGO (buy one get one). My husband was near Publix, so and I asked him to run in and check the ingredients (I didn't think it would be safe). He read me the ingredient list and to my surprise, it was alright for us. We chose Lemon sorbet and here are the ingredients: Micron Filtered Water, Corn Syrup Solids, Sugar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Pectin, and Natural Flavor.

It is super rich, so a little goes a long way. Inexpensive, safe for Brody dessert! I was happy!

*Disclaimer: I can not say that all of the items in my picture are safe. This is the picture I found from the company website and wanted to show you what the sorbet product looked like. I do know that the Lemon Sorbet is safe for my family.


*This BOGO deal ends on Tuesday 11/10, so get there before then if you want to get some :)

Happy Birthday Brody!

Brody at 12 months

Brody at 4 months (before we found out he had food allergies)

Brody is 1 years old today! I wanted to post a picture of what Brody looked like before we found out that he had food allergies. It stared at 4 months; the eczema on his face would get so bad that it would be open, goopy and smell like death. I honestly didn't take pictures when his face was really bad because it made me feel horrible (literally sick to my stomach). The picture above is a "good" picture of Brody's eczema.

I am thrilled to say that we do not have picutres like that any more and I don't have to worry about not taking pictures because his face looks too bad. I am thankful that we have found out what was contributing to his eczema. The eczema still flares up every once in awhile (seems more affected by environmental causes), but it is SO much more manageable and it seems to go away as quickly as it comes.

It makes me sad to think that it took us almost 7 months to find out what was causing his skin problems and fussiness (poor kid was miserable!), but I am SO THANKFUL that we did. For whatever reason, God is having me walk down this path with Brody. I have learned so much about food allergies, have been directed to some great resources in our community and have met other moms on a similar journey, which has been so encouraging. I have become and great label reader and this has made me even more aware about what I am putting in my family :)

Happy Birthday Brody!