This is a spin on a one pot skillet recipe I found in Eat Shrink and Be Merry. The recipe is meant to be a healthier version of hamburger helper. Unfortunately, the ESBM version is still made with cream of something or other soup though, so it's 1) still using processed food 2) using cream soup, which K can't have. I have made an altered version of the recipe before and it was quite yummy.
Today I made the lazy version of the altered recipe. It only took 30 minutes from the time I first started pondering making it. I wasn't going to post it, but a nice comment made me realize I'm neglecting my blog and also that even if it seems super quick and obvious to me, that may be because I've made about 3 times now and can whip it out pretty easily. I also apologize once again for the lack of pictures. Pics are what makes a cooking blog, so I'm sorry! Ok, so here's the lazy man's allergy-friendly home-cooked hamburger helper. Keep in mind that it is VERY flexible, so you can take away or add pretty much anything!
Lazy Mom's Allergy-Friendly Home-Cooked Hamburger Helper
1 tbsp olive oil (I may have used more - I like adding olive oil for fat in K's meals. I never feel he's getting enough fat.)
1 clove garlic (If your audience enjoys this!)
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
about 1-1 1/2 cup frozen veggies (I used a mix tonight. Of course fresh veggies would work and would be yummier! Frozen is quicker.)
about 1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup hemp milk (Any non-dairy milk would work. This and the flour give this recipe the creaminess without the processed food or the allergens.)
4 chicken thighs, chopped (Since this recipe is "hamburger helper", you can obviously use any ground meat. I chose to just cut up the chicken I had on hand.)
4 oz pasta (I used rotini tonight. Any pasta of that type works - macaroni, rigatoni, penne, etc.)
chicken broth (I didn't measure - about 1/2 cup, I think. I used this to help cook the pasta.)
In a 12 inch skillet, I heated up the oil and then added the garlic, cooking until fragrant. Then I added the tomatoes and veggies. I cooked them for a few minutes - until the veggies were no longer frozen.
In a separate measuring cup, I mixed together the flour and milk. (Actually, I didn't, but this is what you "should" do ;) ) Then I added the mixture to the tomatoes and veggies. I let that simmer until the mixture thickened.
To the thickened tomato mixture, I added the pasta and chicken and chicken broth. I let that simmer on medium-low until the chicken and pasta were cooked and the mixture was a stew-like consistency. I stirred it every once in awhile, making sure the pasta didn't cook onto the bottom of the pan.
This recipe really was ready in about half an hour. It's great for the little ones because because you can over cook the pasta and it makes it much easier for them to either chew on, or for mom and dad to cut! Using ground meat makes it more friendly to the younger set too. :)
I'm sure this is mired with spelling errors and missing words - I will edit tomorrow! I hope you enjoy it! :D
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 09, 2010
MIA
I've been MIA. I've been semi-single parenting on my first week back to work. My mom is here helping out, but I haven't had much time to cook, let alone blog! Next week should be a bit better, once we get our new routine worked out!
I still have my chocolate chip cookie fail to post, too! :)
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Easy Peasy Shepherd's Pie
This is shamelessly stolen from a Weight Watchers recipe, with mods to make it "K friendly." I was able to make it while K was in his high chair watching me - that is to say, quickly. I did use some short cuts, namely, frozen veggies. With a bit more prep time, this can be made from fresh ingredients.
Easy Peasy Shepherd's Pie
1/2 pound ground beef
1-2 tablespoons of flour
1-2 tablespoons of water
1 cup frozen corn (about that)
1 cup mediterranean chopped veggies (onions, peppers, celery, mushrooms, tomatoes)
1 bag of frozen, chopped potatoes (This is where the judgier amongst you cringe. Cringe away! I was all by myself with a hungry toddler. I did what I could!)
rice milk
olive oil
I preheated the oven to 375 F. That sounded like a good round number.
I cooked the ground beef until there were no signs of pink. Once it was cooked, I sprinkled in some flour and water to make a "gravy." I use quotes because it could hardly be considered a gravy, but at least it was saucy! I then added the frozen veggies. I let them cook for about 5 minutes. (tick, tock, tick, tock)
Meanwhile, I put the potatoes in the microwave. They took 11 minutes. (Please, keep in mind that hubby is out of town and I have a curious toddler who CLIMBS things. I can't take too long to cook. *bats eyelashes*).
When the potatoes were done, I put them in a bowl to mash them. I used rice milk (vanilla - YUM!) and olive oil to make them creamy. I eyeballed the amounts.
Then I put the beef mixture in a baking dish, topped with the potatoes and popped it in the oven for 25 minutes. 30 minutes would have been perfect.
For the record, I didn't wait for the oven part for the hungry little man. He will get those tomorrow! He recommends topping it all off with some applesauce. I'm hesitant to make that recommendation. ;)
Easy Peasy Shepherd's Pie
1/2 pound ground beef
1-2 tablespoons of flour
1-2 tablespoons of water
1 cup frozen corn (about that)
1 cup mediterranean chopped veggies (onions, peppers, celery, mushrooms, tomatoes)
1 bag of frozen, chopped potatoes (This is where the judgier amongst you cringe. Cringe away! I was all by myself with a hungry toddler. I did what I could!)
rice milk
olive oil
I preheated the oven to 375 F. That sounded like a good round number.
I cooked the ground beef until there were no signs of pink. Once it was cooked, I sprinkled in some flour and water to make a "gravy." I use quotes because it could hardly be considered a gravy, but at least it was saucy! I then added the frozen veggies. I let them cook for about 5 minutes. (tick, tock, tick, tock)
Meanwhile, I put the potatoes in the microwave. They took 11 minutes. (Please, keep in mind that hubby is out of town and I have a curious toddler who CLIMBS things. I can't take too long to cook. *bats eyelashes*).
When the potatoes were done, I put them in a bowl to mash them. I used rice milk (vanilla - YUM!) and olive oil to make them creamy. I eyeballed the amounts.
Then I put the beef mixture in a baking dish, topped with the potatoes and popped it in the oven for 25 minutes. 30 minutes would have been perfect.
For the record, I didn't wait for the oven part for the hungry little man. He will get those tomorrow! He recommends topping it all off with some applesauce. I'm hesitant to make that recommendation. ;)
Saturday, April 03, 2010
A word about AFBH
In the previous post (Blueberry Coffee Cake) I mentioned that the recipe came from the book The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook by Cybele Pascal. I really enjoy this cookbook. I haven't made many recipes but they all look very yummy and so far, I'm 2 for 3. (More on that later!) One note that I wanted to make is that Pascal mentions that there should be no modifications made to her recipes. I have broken the rules in that respect when it comes to wheat flour. I do not need to omit gluten from our cooking and therefore do not. So far, the cakes that I have made have turned out fantastic. Also, I have had to use a margarine that is not supposed to be used for baking because everything else contains soy.
I attempted cookies yesterday but the results were less than stellar. So for now, I'm still trying to work out the best combinations and will post both my successes AND my failures. I had a spectacular failure with the chocolate chip cookies. Yummy, but not presentable in the least. I think I will attempt a more traditional recipe next and use non-dairy milk and the egg replacer. I'm hoping that I'll still get to use the recipes from AFBH, but have to figure out the flour portions.
I'll keep you updated on how these attempts work out!
I attempted cookies yesterday but the results were less than stellar. So for now, I'm still trying to work out the best combinations and will post both my successes AND my failures. I had a spectacular failure with the chocolate chip cookies. Yummy, but not presentable in the least. I think I will attempt a more traditional recipe next and use non-dairy milk and the egg replacer. I'm hoping that I'll still get to use the recipes from AFBH, but have to figure out the flour portions.
I'll keep you updated on how these attempts work out!
Blueberry Coffee Cake
My first food entry! I made this because we were having some guests over for dinner (although they brought the dinner - yummy, yummy maki rolls. Mmmm...I'll post them later.)
This recipe comes from The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook (AFBH) by Cybele Pascal. I have made three recipes from this book and the two cake recipes have turned out fabulously! This book is written for many allergies, including gluten. K's allergies are milk, eggs and peanuts (confirmed) and a suspected sesame (this one is all but confirmed since he had an emergency trip after eating hummus) and we think maybe soy, but we can't be sure because we're too chicken to try after said trip to hospital.
So, those are my criteria when cooking - no dairy, eggs, peanuts, sesame or soy. Ack! You can see why I wouldn't willingly add another no-no to the list! I followed the recipe in AFBH quite closely, except for the gluten free part. I used regular flour. Here are the ingredients, with my modifications in brackets.
Blueberry Boy Bait (not a fan of the name, so I just call it coffee cake!)
2 cups Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix (I used white and whole wheat flours - she provides a recipe for gluten-free flour in her book.)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (used to mimic gluten - I omitted because I was using wheat flour)
1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (hmmm....I believe I omitted this, but only because I missed it when reading the recipe. Oops!)
3/4 cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening (This is, like, impossible to get in Canada. So I used Becel RSF which very clearly specifies that it is not to be used for baking. Another oops.)
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons rice milk (This brand is an American one. I use PaneRiso brand egg replacer. So, I work backwards and try to figure out how many eggs should be used and then use the appropriate amount of egg replacer. Difficult.)
3/4 cup rice milk (I used vanilla flavoured.)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries tossed with flour or flour mix (Oops. Another step I missed! I will add more blueberries next time - maybe half a cup more.)
1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I left out the cinnamon because the boys both hate it. I love it. Sad. I also found 1/4 cup to be a LOT. Half that would do, I think!)
Here's the egg replacer I used, for my Canadian peeps (which, as far as I know, are all the peeps I have!)
1. Preheat the over to 350 F. Grease 9 x 9 pan and sprinkle with a little [gluten-free] flour mix, tapping out any extra.
2. Whisk together the flour mix, [xanthan gum], baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the shortening (margarine), brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes or until fluffy.
4. Add the egg replacer and mix for about 20 seconds.
5. Reduce the speed to medium and beat in one-third of the flour, mixing for 15 seconds.
6. Add half the rice milk, mixing for 20 seconds.
7. Beat in half the remaining flour, then the remaining rice milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
8. Add half of the batter to the pan, spreading evenly across the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with half the blueberries. Top with the remaining batter, spreading it as evenly as possible across the blueberries. Top with the remaining blueberries, then sprinkle with the [cinnamon]-sugar mixture.
9. Bake in the centre of the over for 1 hour, until the [cinnamon]-sugar mixture has begun to caramelize and the top is golden. Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes before turning out onto a serving platter or just serve out of the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yummy, yummy!
This recipe comes from The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook (AFBH) by Cybele Pascal. I have made three recipes from this book and the two cake recipes have turned out fabulously! This book is written for many allergies, including gluten. K's allergies are milk, eggs and peanuts (confirmed) and a suspected sesame (this one is all but confirmed since he had an emergency trip after eating hummus) and we think maybe soy, but we can't be sure because we're too chicken to try after said trip to hospital.
So, those are my criteria when cooking - no dairy, eggs, peanuts, sesame or soy. Ack! You can see why I wouldn't willingly add another no-no to the list! I followed the recipe in AFBH quite closely, except for the gluten free part. I used regular flour. Here are the ingredients, with my modifications in brackets.
Blueberry Boy Bait (not a fan of the name, so I just call it coffee cake!)
2 cups Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix (I used white and whole wheat flours - she provides a recipe for gluten-free flour in her book.)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (used to mimic gluten - I omitted because I was using wheat flour)
1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (hmmm....I believe I omitted this, but only because I missed it when reading the recipe. Oops!)
3/4 cup dairy-free, soy-free vegetable shortening (This is, like, impossible to get in Canada. So I used Becel RSF which very clearly specifies that it is not to be used for baking. Another oops.)
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons rice milk (This brand is an American one. I use PaneRiso brand egg replacer. So, I work backwards and try to figure out how many eggs should be used and then use the appropriate amount of egg replacer. Difficult.)
3/4 cup rice milk (I used vanilla flavoured.)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries tossed with flour or flour mix (Oops. Another step I missed! I will add more blueberries next time - maybe half a cup more.)
1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I left out the cinnamon because the boys both hate it. I love it. Sad. I also found 1/4 cup to be a LOT. Half that would do, I think!)
Here's the egg replacer I used, for my Canadian peeps (which, as far as I know, are all the peeps I have!)
1. Preheat the over to 350 F. Grease 9 x 9 pan and sprinkle with a little [gluten-free] flour mix, tapping out any extra.
2. Whisk together the flour mix, [xanthan gum], baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the shortening (margarine), brown sugar and granulated sugar. Mix on medium-high speed for 2 minutes or until fluffy.
4. Add the egg replacer and mix for about 20 seconds.
5. Reduce the speed to medium and beat in one-third of the flour, mixing for 15 seconds.
6. Add half the rice milk, mixing for 20 seconds.
7. Beat in half the remaining flour, then the remaining rice milk, and finally the remaining flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
8. Add half of the batter to the pan, spreading evenly across the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with half the blueberries. Top with the remaining batter, spreading it as evenly as possible across the blueberries. Top with the remaining blueberries, then sprinkle with the [cinnamon]-sugar mixture.
9. Bake in the centre of the over for 1 hour, until the [cinnamon]-sugar mixture has begun to caramelize and the top is golden. Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes before turning out onto a serving platter or just serve out of the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yummy, yummy!
Thursday, April 01, 2010
An Experiment
I think I'm going to take this blog in a new direction. (Who am I kidding, really? There was no direction before!) I'm going to subject you all to my cooking exploits. Muhahahaha! But first, a rant.
My little guy has allergies. Real honest to goodness, please, for the love of god don't come any closer with that peanut butter sesame bagel with cream cheese because otherwise it's the epipen and [another] ambulance ride to the hospital for us. I hate it. I hate reading labels, I hate planning different meals for the three of us and above all, I hate that niggling little worry in the back of my mind that at any moment he might get his hands on something that could, to be all dramatic, kill him. Especially since the last reaction he had was to a food that we had no idea he had an allergy to. Scary times chez nous.
All this hate makes me ask myself, WHY oh WHY would people willingly put themselves through the hassle of not eating a specific food group just for the heck of it? What the heck am I talking about? Perhaps you haven't heard, but dairy and wheat are the new trans fats. New devil foods for the new decade. Now this is a phenomenon more prevalent in hippy type circles - circles on the fringes of which I tend to hover. (Oh, that was awkward. I didn't want to end my sentence with a preposition, but that's tricky!) Ok, fine. You think dairy and wheat are horrible foods? Never mind that the "data" that backs these claims up is often of dubious quality and ignore the fact that humans have been consuming both of these foods for thousands of years - they are indeed evil. You know what humans haven't been consuming for thousands of years? Big macs. Hot dogs. Kraft dinner.
My biggest problem with these groups (admittedly my own problem - I can see when it's me that has the problem!) is that they claim that it's so easy to avoid dairy and/or wheat. Only stupid, lazy people would be inconvenienced by the health of their families. Excuse my while I revisit that hunk of cheddar I scarfed down earlier this evening. It's difficult. Cooking for someone with allergies is a PAIN IN THE FREAKIN' ass.
Enter jeneke. My new plan is to blog the recipes that I make for the family. We have one kidlet with a bazillion allergies, one hubby who is a few pounds away from being taken away from me by Husband Aid Services, and one wife/mom who needs to lose 50 pounds. Why haven't I hired a live-in chef yet?
Come back soon for my blueberry coffee cake! :)
My little guy has allergies. Real honest to goodness, please, for the love of god don't come any closer with that peanut butter sesame bagel with cream cheese because otherwise it's the epipen and [another] ambulance ride to the hospital for us. I hate it. I hate reading labels, I hate planning different meals for the three of us and above all, I hate that niggling little worry in the back of my mind that at any moment he might get his hands on something that could, to be all dramatic, kill him. Especially since the last reaction he had was to a food that we had no idea he had an allergy to. Scary times chez nous.
All this hate makes me ask myself, WHY oh WHY would people willingly put themselves through the hassle of not eating a specific food group just for the heck of it? What the heck am I talking about? Perhaps you haven't heard, but dairy and wheat are the new trans fats. New devil foods for the new decade. Now this is a phenomenon more prevalent in hippy type circles - circles on the fringes of which I tend to hover. (Oh, that was awkward. I didn't want to end my sentence with a preposition, but that's tricky!) Ok, fine. You think dairy and wheat are horrible foods? Never mind that the "data" that backs these claims up is often of dubious quality and ignore the fact that humans have been consuming both of these foods for thousands of years - they are indeed evil. You know what humans haven't been consuming for thousands of years? Big macs. Hot dogs. Kraft dinner.
My biggest problem with these groups (admittedly my own problem - I can see when it's me that has the problem!) is that they claim that it's so easy to avoid dairy and/or wheat. Only stupid, lazy people would be inconvenienced by the health of their families. Excuse my while I revisit that hunk of cheddar I scarfed down earlier this evening. It's difficult. Cooking for someone with allergies is a PAIN IN THE FREAKIN' ass.
Enter jeneke. My new plan is to blog the recipes that I make for the family. We have one kidlet with a bazillion allergies, one hubby who is a few pounds away from being taken away from me by Husband Aid Services, and one wife/mom who needs to lose 50 pounds. Why haven't I hired a live-in chef yet?
Come back soon for my blueberry coffee cake! :)
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