Quinoa with sausage & fennel

I am making this amazing recipe for dinner tonight, and wanted to modify it for TJ.    It is called Ziti with Sausage, Onions, and Fennel, and it is a recipe that my husband's family has enjoyed for a long time.


Here's my version for TJ:


Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped fennel
1 link of sweet sausage, removed from casing 
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup cooked quinoa


Directions:
Heat oil in skillet.  Add in chopped fennel and cook until soft.  Add sausage, making sure that it cooks fully.  When sausage is cooked, mix with cooked quinoa and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Serve warm.

Spaghetti Time!!

My son can't have regular pasta, corn pasta, rice pasta or soy pasta.  So whenever we make spaghetti for ourselves, we make a special meal for him.

This is such a simple recipe!  Cut a spaghetti squash in half, put it in about an inch of water in the microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 minutes.  WHen it is tender (you may need a little longer depending on the size), scoop out all seeds and shred the strands into a bowl.

We usually melt some safe butter on top of it and add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Viola!!!  Spaghetti for the allergic child.... and also a much lower carb version!

Chocolate Quinoa Cucpakes

Yes, I did snatch this from another blog, but I have to tell you that they are OUT OF THIS WORLD!  Even with changes, like using hemp milk and a mixture of baking soda instead of eggs, they are every bit as good as the author promises!!!

http://groovyfoody.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/best-chocolate-cupcakes-ever-made-with-quinoa-a-tasty-and-healthy-new-year/

Zucchini Pie

My mother-in-law's zucchini pie is out of this world, & when TJ saw her making one, he wanted it too. How could I make it "TJ-safe?" I wondered.  Well, here is OUR version.  Enjoy!

1 small zucchini, shredded
2 egg yolks, beaten well
1/2 cup hemp milk (more can be added, depends  how creamy you want it!)
1/4 cup quinoa flakes
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 cup cooked quinoa

Line the bottom of a loaf pan with the cooked quinoa.  This will be your "crust."
Mix together all other ingredients, and pour on top of crust.  Be sure to get all of the extra milk & yolk into the pan.
Bake for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

TJ enjoying his zucchini pie (or "Keeny pie" as he calls it.)  And yes, he has no shirt on.  Happy Friday morning!! :)

TJ's Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 cup ground pork rinds (you can use bread crumbs instead, but TJ can't have them.)

1 egg yolk, beaten

2 cups ground beef

salt/pepper to taste

For the gravy:

1 can beef broth

4 mushrooms, sliced

arrowroot

Directions:

Combine all pork rinds, egg yolk, beef and salt & pepper; form into small meatballs. Place in small baking dish.

For the gravy:

Simmer all ingredients together, being sure to add arrowroot to thicken to desired thickness.

Pour gravy over meatballs. Bake at 400 for 1 hour.

Simple Soup!

I must admit that I was quite daring when I made this baby, but TJ is on his 3rd bowl, so that must say something!

Here's what I used:

1 cup chopped turnips

About 1 stalk (is that what you call it?) of fresh thyme and fresh oregano

1 1/2 tbsp ghee

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 cup chopped escarole

4 cups chicken broth

Sautee turnips in ghee until tender. Add mushrooms; continue cooking until all are tender. Add in thyme & oregano. Cook 1 minute. Add chicken broth. When soup comes to a boil, add in escarole. Cook 5 minutes.

Serve alone or with cooked quinoa.

Note:

Of course you can add much more to this dish- like garlic & onions. We left it out because TJ is allergic to both. I felt that the soup was pretty strongly flavored w/o though. Enjoy!

Cupcakes

Tj-safe cupcakes made using Cherrybrook Kitchen vanilla cake mix, drizzled with Enjoy Life chocolate chips and sprinkled with Let's Do It Sprinklez. (I melted the chips and drizzled them on the cupcakes. The one in the center was my attempt at making it look like frosting.

*Note: the batter was a bit thick, so I added some extra water and a little bit of Silk Vanilla Coconut Milk. The cupcakes were good, a little too moist for my taste though- I cooked them from 20 minutes. Next time I will add all coconut milk (no water to thin) and cook a few minutes longer.

Even with the flaws, TJ loved them (and so did the adults that ate them too!)

Pastry-Free Pot Pie

I am following this recipe, but adding in grass-fed ground beef. We are also leaving out the pearl onions, as none of us like them.

http://allergicliving.com/index.php/2010/07/02/main-pastry-free-veggie-pot-pie/

Follow-up appointment today.... 1:45pm

I am so anxious to visit the GI dr with the baby today. We are getting the results of his second endoscopy, which was last week. He told us that the esophagus was still badly inflamed, but he wasn't sure if it was better/worse/the same as the first scope in December. Once we see him today, we will have that answer and see how we are going to proceed- continue w/ this modified diet, begin meds, or some other alternative that I know nothing about. I have a sneaking suspicion that a steroid will be the drug of choice today, and if it helps heal my son's tender insides, I will do it.

We also have an appointment with a nutritionist in April, although I am pushing for a sooner appointment. Apparently the "good" ones book up quickly. :(

And I am on the lookout for another allergist as I am not happy with the one we are seeing. Any suggestions for an allergist in the Staten Island or NJ area?

Quinoa Stirfry

Ingredients:

2 bags of frozen chicken strips from Trader Joes (note that the ones in the refrigerated section contain soy. DO NOT use them if you have a soy allergy. We use the FROZEN ones as they do not contain ANY ingredients that TJ can't have. PLEASE always read the labels, though.)

3 small zucchini, chopped

1 package of mushrooms, chopped in quarters

1 small package of Trader Joe's pre-chopped onion/shallots/garlic mix

Canola oil

1 cup quinoa

3 cups chicken broth

Directions:

In a large skillet, sautee the onion/shallots/garlic mix in a drizzle of the oil. Once all are softened and translucent, add the zucchini and cook until softened. Do the same with the mushrooms. Once all veggies are cooked, add in the chicken. Once the chicken is no longer frozen, add the quinoa and the 3 cups of chicken broth and mix well. Put lid on skillet and cook until quinoa is tender, about 30 minutes. Mix well and remove from heat. Leave the lid on for another 10 minutes to allow more liquid to absorb.

You will be left with perfectly cooked veggies, quinoa and a small bit of "gravy" from the remaining broth. The result is deliciousness. Enjoy! No rice or other veggies needed. (We had this with a salad.)

This is definitely a TJ-approved meal!

Mini-chopper.... A+!

I just wanted to give an easy idea for those of you looking to make the hash browns. A mini-chopper is a must. It took me about 25 seconds to chop an entire sweet potato plus the onion chunk (versus the annoyance of using the grater for this last week.) I think I like the texture of the finely chopped potato better than the grated ones too....

TJ-safe cake mix!!!

And not at a crazy price either!! (Retail at $5.49 a box)

After repeatedly seeing a commercial for those cake pop trays on Sprout this morning, TJ was crying for cake pops. (Before being diagnosed, I used to make them ALL the time for him.) IT was early & we were both in our pajamas, as you see, but we worked together to mix the batter.

You MUST try Cherrybrook Kitchen gluten-free vanilla cake mix. Believe it or not, it is sold in Stop & Shop (I am so thankful that they opened up near me! It's great to have another alternative to the small health food store, which I love to support, but can't always afford to!)

TJ helped me prepare the batter- it calls for water and butter, but gives applicable substitutions if you can't have real butter (like TJ.) Instead of using oil or applesauce, we actually used his butter (the Earth Balance soy-free spread) and it was delicious. We used a mini-muffin tin. I didn't frost them (I wanted to save the frosting for another time since it is a bit pricier than Duncan Hines!) TJ ate about 5 of them before I made him stop! I didn't want a tummyache!

Delicious butter spread

Earth Balance Soy-Free Spread

This is what we use in place of butter for all of TJ's cooking. It tastes like butter but has the texture of margarine.

Haven't posted in a while....

We have been so caught up in life that this blog has been an afterthought. I will try to be more diligent with posting recipes, especially since we have discovered a bunch of great ones!

Our latest interest is with quinoa. It is so delicious and can work in so many ways. TJ, my baby with EOE loves it, and for me, a diabetic, it is great too. So I plan on posting those recipes here soon too. :)

Keep checking back for updates!!!

Book: Eat Like a Dinosaur

Someone mentioned this book to me, and I wound up pre-ordering it. It sounds like an interesting read. I will post more about it here when I get it. (It doesn't come out until March 20, 2012.)

This is Amazon's description:

Don't be fooled by the ever-increasing volume of processed gluten-free goodies on your grocery store shelf! In a world of mass manufactured food products, getting back to basics and cooking real food with and for your children is the most important thing you can do for your family's health and well-being. It can be overwhelming when thinking about where to begin, but with tasty kid-approved recipes, lunch boxes and projects that will steer your child toward meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and healthy fats, Eat Like a Dinosaur will help you make this positive shift.

With an illustrated children's story describing the paleo diet, and colorful, mouthwatering photographs of recipes without grains, dairy, soy and refined sugar, this book is written for children. For those with food allergies, the top 8 allergens have been visually marked on each recipe for children to self-identify recipes that may contain eggs, nuts, fish, or shellfish.

Parents needn't panic! Details on the tools and products your family needs to get started have been provided, as well as an assortment of tips to help you along the way. Eat Like a Dinosaur will inspire your entire family to shop for new ingredients and get into the kitchen together. Let Matt and Stacy, the Paleo Parents, show you how to make the transformation in your family's life. With positivity, practicality and an appreciation for the fact that even the healthiest children sometimes want cupcakes and chicken nuggets—this book simply provides healthier ways to give kids the foods they love.

Hash Browns ala TJ

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, peeled & shredded coarsely (I used the large part of a grater, but this would've been tremendously easier using a food processor!)

1/4 small onion, grated

Cinnamon, to taste (I used a good sprinkle on top of the mixture in the pan)

Butter substitute (we use Earth Balance- the one that is soy-free, dairy-free, etc.)

Brown sugar (about 1 tbsp)

1. Shred sweet potato & onion into a bowl. Take about 1 cup for this recipe, and put the rest away for another day.

2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in frying pan.

3. Add potato/onion mixture and cook until tender.

4. Sprinkle cinnamon on top (to taste, but I put a good amount on top of the mixture) and mix. Add brown sugar (to taste, but I used about 1 tbsp) and mix again. Cook until fragrant and all ingredients are soft.

Chicken cutlet dinner

So tonight we tried to duplicate a meal that TJ has enjoyed in the past- breaded & fried chicken cutlet, a veggie and mashed potatoes. Clearly. this recipe had to be modified a bit to fit the allergies of my baby. Here is what we did.

For the chicken cutlets:

1. Dip thin cutlets in Ener-G Egg Replacer and then into breadcrumbs. (We seasoned app. 1 cup rice flour breadcrumbs with 1 tsp of Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp of seasoned salt.)

2. Fry cutlets in small amount of olive oil, until crispy.

For the veggies:

1. Peel & slice 5 carrots. Boil about 5 min, until crisp-tender.

2. Add 1/2 bag of frozen peas. Cook until all are soft.

3. Add 1 tbsp of Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread.

Delicious. Everyone enjoyed these!

The mashed potatoes were done as follows:

1. Boil potatoes (we used 1 1/2 potatoes) until very soft.

2. Mash in bowl and add 1/4 coconut milk, and salt/pepper to taste.

3. Enjoy!

Cookbook Recommendation

Sophie-Safe Cooking: A Collection of Family Friendly Recipes that are Free of Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Fish and Shellfish

I downloaded this book on my Kindle and love it. We have made the chili (substituting ground beef with ground turkey) and the baked apples. Yummy.

Product Spotlight - Amys Kitchen : Natural and Organic Foods

Product Spotlight - Amys Kitchen : Natural and Organic Foods

TJ LOVES this macaroni and cheese! It is made with brown rice pasta and non-dairy (non-soy) cheese. Yummy!!!

Tempt Vanilla Ice Cream

This is TJ's favorite "ice cream" so far: http://www.livingharvest.com/products/ice-cream.

It's made from hemp milk (yes, like pot!) and is so healthy, it's unbelievable. He loves this! It has a weird consistency when it melts, but it's delicious if eaten right away. Oh and if you have a soy allergy, we learned the hard way that there is soy in sprinkles! Always read the labels !!

TJ's Hamburger Helper

We attempted to make cabbage rolls (yummy, and so appealing to the Polish part of me!) but then realized that it had eggs in the filling. The recipe to follow was so spur of the moment, but came out delicious. I would definitely make this for myself!

Ingredients:

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 medium garlic clove, chopped

Olive oil

1/2 lb beef/pork mixture (any meat mixture would work here)

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (to taste)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 cup tomato sauce

3/4 cup cooked rice (we used a "safe" white rice for this)

1/2 bag of frozen peas

salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

In a skillet, drizzle a small amount of olive oil and sauté onion and garlic until translucent. Add beef/pork and brown. Drain. Add seasonings, mixing thoroughly. Add tomato sauce and cooked rice, stirring to coat. Add peas and cook until defrosted. Sprinkle salt/pepper to taste.

This was a recipe that TJ kept screaming "a more!" to. :)

First things first

After months of vomitting and being told many things, we have *finally* come across our diagnosis- esinophilic esophagitis. So now we are avoiding all of the allergens that popped up in our son's bloodwork- corn, wheat, soy, milk, peanuts, walnuts, codfish and egg whites. What you will find in this blog are links to great recipes (and yucky ones, because those are the ones we can possibly transform!), a list of interesting and useful webpages, and a listing of all foods that TJ enjoys. Thanks for reading and please leave comments!