GFCF Apple Pie

This morning I had a bit of extra time- before kids woke up and after zucchini bread was in the oven- so I thought I could bake an apple pie to enjoy throughout the day.

I am loving the pie crust recipe from "Cooking for Isaiah":

2 3/4 cups AP GF flour
1/2 tsp. xanthum gum (if not in AP blend)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cups chilled veggie shortening, cut into cubes
2/3 cup ice water


The book says to mix ingredients in food processor, but with mine out of commission, I opted for my hands and a wooden spoon- SUPER messy, but it works.
I then split the dough in half, threw each round in some plastic wrap and in the freezer it went. It takes about 15 minutes to harden the dough up, so this is when I make the filling of the pie.

The filling:
I just peeled and cored 5 granny smiths, threw in some cinnamon, brown sugar, lemon juice, and pie spice. Nothing was measured, just mixed to where it "looked right".

A few weeks back I was cleaning my mom's kitchen for her, when I found this vintage painter's cloth-type mat in her utensil drawer. Turns out it is used to roll out pie crusts, and what was even better- she didn't want it any longer!
Can I just say, if you like to bake pies- go buy yourself some painters cloth! This piece of fabric saved me SO much time and energy in flouring my counter top, re flouring and cleaning it all up. In LOVE.

Certainly not fancy, but a delicious apple pie went in the oven at 6am this morning (at 350 for 45 minutes) and in our bellies for lunch.

I had a bit of dough and filling left over, so I made some pocket pies for the girls too.

I folded them in half and popped them in the oven- 350 for about 15 minutes. Next time I will cut the apple pieces smaller for these little pies- they turned out tasty, but SUPER not cute.

Get up and Go GFCF Meal

Cooking and baking GFCF is a challenge all on its own- but leaving the house during meal time is an even greater task.
Needing to pack snacks, tea, rice milk, and a dinner- all a while thinking about giving my critters equally delicious meals and treats as they see the normal human eat around them.
I never want them to feel deprived, more so, I want them to have pride in their diet.

A few times now I have come up with a fabulous one pot meal and an easy DE.LIC.OUS dessert to bring with us for a BBQ. Of course we come with snacks and drinks in hand too- but these two dishes have become and will remain, an easy go-to 'get up and go' GFCF meal.
Bringing a whole cake allows an opportunity for the girls to share their diet with their friends and family. I have Quinny help serve each piece- which she is always more than excited to do, telling them it will be good for their tummies and brains.

For the one pot meal:
It being in a dutch oven, allows for cooking to happen after I bring it out of the actual oven. The time between taking it out of my oven at home, driving to our destination and waiting for dinner time- gives the food inside a proper cooking time and has been totally radical.

Mini potatoes
Corn on the cob
Asparagus
with
Garlic gloves
Onions
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Flank steak on bottom, sear on both sides.

Throw in oven for 20 minutes at 350.
Take out and GO

And NOW- this incredible cake.

Bob's Redmill GF chocolate cake mix.
with rice milk and egg replacer.

I also put a middle layer of freshly made raspberry jam, and smothered it on top as well.
Not kidding- one of the best cakes I have ever eaten. Each time it comes out moist and rich and just darn fabulous!

Still seeing wonderful, calming, beautiful results from sticking with GFCF. I just started to organize all of my baking dry goods, and trying out a few of my own GF all purpose flour mixes. Been reading my fanny off- now ready to experiment- will be sharing all my successes (and failures) soon.

Aspergers: A Dual Diagnosis

We got word today that after a year and a half, five therapists and a dedicated Pediatric Neurologist putting all of Lou's puzzle pieces together, we have a dual diagnosis:

Aspergers (autism spectrum disorder) with Sensory Processing Disorder.

I can't describe the relief, excitement, hopefull-ness Jake and I felt when we were handed this information: confirmation of what we had been feeling and thinking for a few years now.

While it does seem odd for parents to be "excited" when reaching a label that has, normally, negative connotations associated with it- for us it gives Quinny and our family, a community to grab a hold of, peers for Quinny to relate to, and many more answers for our journey we have been down, and will continue to paddle on.

A label is just a quick way to explain behaviors that are already in place- it gives Quinny a foundation to hold onto when her quirks are being questioned by those around her; many could see this as her ball and chain, we see it as her compass with the promise to empower.

It explains the wiring of Q's brain and how and why she does what she does that sets her apart from the typical child.

We start even more therapies soon, and will be organizing peer play groups- finding other critters in surrounding areas that are on the spectrum. Giving Quinny the opportunity to feel "normal"- to connect with peers who get her gig, will be vital to her self worth and neuro-developmental growth. SO much on the horizon.


So excited to watch this incredible kid do her thing- SO proud to be her Mommy.

GFCF Pizza To-Die

Made the best pizza tonight for the fam.
GFCF, of course, and full of flavor!

I used the GFCF pizza crust recipe from my fav. cookbook- it certintly looked prettier in the book, but it tasted fantastic!

2 cups GF all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 egg whites
1 tbsp yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp oil

While the pizza crust was rising, I prepared the toppings. Kept it simple by choosing two different pizzas but crossed the same toppings- cutting back on prep time, a lot!





First Pizza- Taco:



Refried beans (homemade this afternoon)
Chicken (left overs from roasted chickens the other day)
Salsa (made in blender yesterday)
Onions
Peppers
Cilantro
Garlic
Lettuce (added after cooking)
Olives (added after cooking)
This was a HUGE hit with the critters (literally, they ate the whole pizza).


Second Pizza- BBQ Chicken:




Annie's GFCF BBQ Sauce
Chicken (left over from our roasted chickens the other day)
Onions
Peppers
Garlic
Cilantro
Red pepper flakes
Olive Oil drizzled on top.

Delicious.

Chicken and Date Night

For the past few weeks I have been making two roasting chickens at a time- one to eat for dinner, and the other to pull apart and use for lunch meat.
I also use the carcasses for proper chicken broth (allow to simmer the next day for a few hours with spices, veggies and water).
I rubbed the chickens with olive oil, stuck carrots, celery, garlic cloves and onions in their middles and added a spice rub (salt, ground pepper, basil).


Mashed taters were boiled with two garlic cloves- and then mashed up with salt, rice milk and some FABULOUS Earths Best 'Butter'. Delicious.
Peas (frozen organic) were easy and fast as I had a date to get ready for! Well, my Grandma's 90th birthday bash, but Jake and I will both be there with no kids, so I am going all out (and by all out I mean makeup, jewelry and hair product).



Success! The ladies loved it- note Lou feeding herself...truly unreal!

Food Budget Mission 2012

Changing our whole family to gluten free and casein free is no easy task- for a crave-y pregnant chick and our budget. The last two weeks I have spent over $400 on food...yes, FOOD!
So I made it my mission to make this gfcf diet fit into the pockets of middle america- aka. the Snell's.

First, I created this coming week's menu for dinner, snacks and breakfasts. For lunches the girls and I tend to munch through, so no menu was needed for that (and Jake always takes left overs from dinner the night before).
Here is the Game Plan:

Dinners:
BBQ, taters and corn on the cob
Enchilladas
Potato belgium waffles
Bean soup
Roasted chicken and mashed taters
Tacos
Pot roast
Pizza

Breakfasts:
Cereal
Muffins
Fruit
Yogurt
Smoothies

Snacks:
Nuts (no peanuts in this house though)
Seeds
Dried fruit
Fruit
Chips and salsa
Rice cakes and jelly
Muffins
Banana bread
Chicken
Frozen fruit bars
Popcorn
Hard boiled eggs (for Jake, Jill and Q...this is a no no for Carter- sorry Chick).

To keep the menu gfcf everything will be made from scratch, from the soup bases to the baked goods. I will be sure to bring you along on the prep. journey- as there is a lot of cooking, baking, peeling, washing, little wasting involved!

Note: Carter is allergic to eggs, peanuts, soy as well as dairy and wheat- SO everything we do is also soy free, peanut free and mostly egg free. She is allowed BAKED eggs only, so I will include these in our baked goods. We only eat hard boiled eggs when she is napping so she won't have hurt feelings OR anaphylactic shock.

I spent $76.00 at the grocery store today (everything we will need for the week), AND I got everything I needed from Winco- yes a discount grocery store!

Can we do this??

Wait and see.

Breakfast Success

I wish I could catalog and shout out all of the differences we are seeing with Quinny's Brain and Carter's skin- going GFCF is life changing for this clan- I mean that, life changing.

When we first started (a week back) I was a wee sad about altering my baking recipes I had come to love- every week home baking our breads, cinnamon rolls, cakes, muffins, scones, bagels...oh the good old days.

A few days back, I picked up a book from Barnes and Noble (choose it due to the pretty pictures inside...yes I am 8).

'Cooking for Isaiah' by Silvana Nardone.

So far I am beyond impressed with the recipes (literally DE-Lious)- as are me ladies and me Jakers.


This morning I made the Berry Corn Muffins:

3/4 cup Cornmeal
1 cup AP GF flour (I used Bob's R.M.)
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup mixed berries
2 lg. eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup rice milk
1/2 cup veggie oil
375 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes a dozen.


These will be a staple in this house!






Note Quinn feeding herself a bite- FEEDING HERSELF BREAKFAST! One of the massive changes.
Second Note- could Carter be any damn cuter?

Gluten Free. Casein Free. Quinny's Freedom?

After a VERY challenging few months with our Lou- it was time to move forward with a medically proven diet for kiddos with neurological disorders- Gluten and Casein free. Two days in: I see a HUGE (truly, HUGE) decrease in her challenging behaviors (anxiety, aggression, anger). Jake sees a HUGE change- "Our sweet girl is back!" he whispered to me while making breakfast. Even my mom (the skeptic) sees the difference! Best Bit?

Quinny said to me this afternoon: "Mom, my body feels better today." Is this HOPE I feel? Could we have found a passage for Lou's brain to heal and thrive? Could this gluten free/ casein free diet mean Quinny's FREEDOM? Fingers crossed people. Fingers crossed.