T1D and Gluten Free

Gluten Free Sausage Sage Thanksgiving Stuffing

Megan — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 04:55:39 +0000

I can usually maintain my gluten free diet with no problem whatsoever, however Thanksgiving is coming up and my very favorite seasonal holiday type dish, by far, is stuffing. I was then on a mission to make the most delicious gluten free stuffing. This recipe is not hard but a tad bit time consuming, A labor of love indeed! Here is what you will need.

Ingredients:

1 Loaf Gluten Free Bread
1 Lb of Ground Pork Sausage
4 Stalks of Celery
1 Medium Onion
Poultry Seasoning
Rubbed Sage
Salt and Pepper
2 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Stick of Melted Butter

I recommend doing this in stages. You could also do several batches and store in an air tight container to use as croutons on a salad or season with Italian seasoning then pulse in a food processor for Italian style breadcrumbs. First step is to dry out your bread, I used two cooling racks and let it sit overnight or until the bread is stale. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Next you will brush both sides of the bread with melted butter. Cut bread into cubes and spread out on a baking sheet. Season bread cubes with poultry seasoning and rubbed sage. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

When you are ready to make the stuffing preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place croutons in a large mixing bowl. In a large skillet cook your sausage it is nicely browned. While the sausage is cooking dice your celery and onion. Add cooked sausage to the mixing bowl with the croutons. In the same pan that you cooked the sausage add 2 tbs of butter and slowly cook the onion and celery over medium heat until nice and tender. Add the chicken stock and season with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and rubbed sage cook until the chicken stock is heated through. Next slowly add enough chicken stock and vegetables to the croutons to just moisten the croutons. Pour stuffing into your favorite baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Enjoy!

The Holy Grail of Snack Time

Megan — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 04:23:58 +0000

I was in need of a snack that didn’t require much effort and I really wanted to have something crunchy and sweet at the same time. I was thinking to myself how much I used to like “Ants on a Log” when I was a little girl, but I was also thinking about the carb count of raisins and then it hit me… OMG I will use BACON for the ants. This was a gastronomical success if I do say so myself. I am not going to write a recipe for this ( if you can’t figure this one out you should probably just give up!). I highly suggest you try this right now!! Enjoy!

Shrimp and Lobster Scampi

Megan — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 03:04:50 +0000

I was craving some seafood the other day and my local grocer had a special on shrimp and lobster tails so I figured it was a little thing I like to call dinner fate! There is almost nothing easier than a scampi. The ingredient list is short, prep is almost nonexistent, and cook time is less than 5 minutes. Here is what you will need:

Ingredients:
Shrimp raw, peeled, and deveined
Lobster meat
Minced garlic
Butter
Lemon juice
Parsley
Salt and pepper

To complete this dish all you need to do is chop the lobster meat in small pieces, fairly similar to the size of the shrimp, to ensure even cooking. I didn’t put exact measurements in the recipe because you can make as much or as little of this as you would like. Place a nice big saute pan on the stove over medium high heat. First add the butter and garlic and saute until you can start to smell the yummy goodness. Next add the shrimp and lobster. Season with the salt and pepper then finish with the parsley and a nice squeeze of lemon juice. Cook the shrimp and lobster until no longer translucent don’t over cook or the meat will become rubbery. You can serve this as is or over a nice bed of wilted spinach. Enjoy!

Chicken Tenders

Megan — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:05:23 +0000

I used the tried and true “fried chicken” method to make these chicken tenders. This process is a bit time consuming and perhaps a bit messy but the end result was totally worth it. You can make a bunch of these ahead of time and freeze them for an easy meal. I like to have these around for snacks too.

Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Almond meal
Parmesan cheese
Egg
Salt and pepper

I didn’t list exact measurements because this can vary depending on how many you want to make. I started with boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut them into large strips. Season the strips with salt and pepper, you can get creative here with extra spices if you wish.

If you want to make a whole bunch and freeze them I would fry them then cool on a rack then pop them into the freezer. They will be ready to finish in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. I used some barbecue dry rub on mine. In a shallow bowl combine equal parts almond meal and parmesan cheese mix until combined. In another shallow bowl crack and beat your eggs I always use a minimum of 2 eggs, but again, depending on how many you make will vary this number. You need enough egg to coat all of the chicken tenders. One at a time dip the chicken tenders in the egg mixture then into the almond/parmesan mixture and coat evenly. I fried these first then finished them in a 400 degree oven for about 10 min or until no longer pink.

Enjoy!

Scrambled Eggs with Chives and Brie

Megan — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:12:21 +0000

Talk about the easiest and most decadent breakfast ever! Scrambled eggs with Brie cheese and chives. This dish is so easy to make. My Grandmother always make the best scrambled eggs for me as a child. I found out her secret was heavy cream instead of milk in the mix. It makes the eggs so wonderful and creamy.

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
2 Tbs of Heavy Cream
Brie Cheese
Chives
Salt and Pepper

Break the eggs into a small mixing bowl and add the heavy cream, beat until combined. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Slice your brie into small pieces, I used Trader Joe’s Mini Brie Bites for this dish. I am not a huge fan of the rind on brie so this solves that problem for me. Add the cheese to the egg mixture. Use a nonstick pan on the stove over a medium heat. I butter the pan then add the egg mixture and stir with a rubber spatula. You want to keep the eggs moving around until they are just set. I like mine a little softer. Garnish with the chopped chives and BACON!!! Enjoy.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Muffins

Megan — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:35:33 +0000

I needed a dish to take to a breakfast pot luck for a coworker who was leaving our department. Most of the breakfast pot lucks consist of lots of pastries and cakes which I cannot eat. I decided to make something both gluten free and low carb to share. These little egg muffins worked perfectly.

Ingredients:
6 Large Eggs
3 Tbs of Heavy Cream
1/2 Cup of bacon bits
1 Cup of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1Tbs dried chives
salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs and heavy cream and mix until combined season with salt and pepper. Next gently fold in the rest of the ingredients. Place the liners in your muffin pan and fill each liner almost to the top with the egg mixture. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the egg is set. Serve while warm . You can also make this dish ahead of time, simply cool muffins on the counter then refrigerate until needed. Pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds per muffin and Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Tuna Salad Stuffed Avocado

Megan — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:07:53 +0000

This is one of my favorite dishes for lunch. I am totally in love with Starkist sweet and spicy tuna. It only has 4g of carbs per serving and the flavor is outstanding. I vary my tuna salad depending on my mood and contents of my fridge. This time I used

Ingredients:
1 Medium Avocado
1 pouch of Starkist Sweet and Spicy Tuna
1 Celery Stalk
2 Tbs Onion Diced
1 Tbs Pickled Jalapeno Pepper Diced
1/4 Cup Hellmans Mayonnaise

Combine all of the ingredients except for the avocado. You can also be as creative as you want with your tuna salad. When I make this I end up using about 1/2 the tuna salad per avocado. In my opinion it tastes better when you make the tuna salad ahead of time and make sure it is good and chilled. Take your avocado and slice it in half remove the pit. I like to score mine before stuffing it with the tuna salad to make it easier to eat. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Bundles

Megan — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:07:45 +0000

Another Quick and easy recipe I decided to try was the bacon wrapped asparagus bundles. I was grilling some bratwurst and thought this would be a great side to go with them. I was right these were amazing.

Ingredients:
Asparagus
Center Cut Bacon
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

I started by taking the asparagus and lightly coating them with olive oil then seasoning it with coarse salt and black pepper. Next I took 5-6 spears and wrapped a piece of center cut bacon around the middle. I grilled these on indirect heat for most of the time to make sure the bacon would be browned and crispy. You also want to make sure you don’t handle the bundles too much or they may fall apart on you. They will be done when the bacon is browned and the asparagus is tender.I served this next to some wonderful grilled zucchini and bratwurst. Enjoy!

Italian Style Meatballs

Megan — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:25:00 +0000

I found myself with a craving for spaghetti and meatballs. I had already solved the spaghetti problem with my trusty julienne peeler and some zucchini. For the meat balls I needed to find something to take the place of breadcrumbs. I decided t0 use some finely grated parmesan cheese and problem solved. Here is what I used.

Ingredients:
1 pound of mild itlailan sausage
1 pound of ground beef
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 jar of tomato sauce

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and with clean hands mix this thoroughly. When it is all mixed up start forming the meatballs. You can make your meatballs as small 0r as big as you want, I prefer to make mine a little on the small side. This made exactly 24 meatballs. Next I put some olive oil in the bottom of my electric frying pan and seared off the meatballs on both sides. After the meatballs are nice and browned you will add your jar of tomato sauce, turn the heat to low and let them simmer for at least 30 min or until the meatballs are cooked through. Tomato sauce is of course the most traditional way to finish the meatballs, however it can contain a fair amount of sugar. I braised them in the tomato sauce then served them on a bed of zucchini “spaghetti” with a very small amount of sauce to keep the carbs down. You could also serve them with an alfredo sauce as well. Enjoy!

Stuffed Deviled Eggs

Megan — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:42:26 +0000

So I was seeing all kinds of posts about people turning deviled eggs into little chicks. I debated heavily on weather or not I thought this was cute or creepy. Eventually after much deliberation I decided they were more creepy with there little beady eyes that they were cute. I did however think the concept was a good one. I happen to love deviled eggs, but rarely make them because they are difficult to transport just a few at a time. The chick concept lead me to want to stuff the eggs with the yummy deviled mixture. Fill them up and put the cap back on!

Ingredients:
12 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
2Tbs of Dijon mustard
2 tsp of pickle juice ( you could also use white vinegar but I love the pickle juice)
salt and pepper

There is a learning curve albeit not a huge one to making these. The big trick is what end of the egg to cut, it only took me 1 egg to realize this. The bottom or side with the yolk in it is what you should cut. Also it takes a bit of finesse to get the yolk out of the egg without breaking the white. Once you have the yolks separated from the whites put in a mixing bowl and give them a good mash with a fork. Next add the mayo, mustard and pickle juice to the mix. Mix until smooth. I put the mixture in a ziploc bag then cut one of the tips from the bag as a cheap alternative to a piping bag. Fill the hollow egg white with the yolk mixture and top off with the white you chopped off earlier. My Boyfriend gave me the idea of using an egg carton to transport and display the eggs. I put some spinach leaves in the bottom of the egg carton and they turned out beautiful. Just a sprinkle of paprika on top completes this dish. Enjoy!