Tuesday To Do List — Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Tuesday To Do List is my newest attempt at bringing you tidbits from the gluten-free world each week. This will continue until my mind-that-doesn’t-rest comes up with another way to entertain you guys. You can read my very first to-do list here. Cross your fingers I am back here next Tuesday with another list.

Today we’re talking turkey, pumpkin pie, and everything in between that you might just want to add to your gluten-free Thanksgiving To Do List!

The Gluten-Free Recipe Fix: Thanksgiving Edition is your one-stop-shop for the feast!

We love this stuffing and will make it again this year. (my Trader Joe’s insider says the GF candy cane Joe Joe’s arrive next week at the Glendale, WI location!)

(it’s very stove-top-like, which is celiac sister’s fave. we use less water than called for and it’s pretty perfect.)

Word on the street is that Aldi has gluten-free fried onions for green bean casserole. Mamasita is thrilled about this so I’ll be buying some before heading home to MN for our fabulously gluten-free feast!

Shirley has rounded up FORTY, yes 4-0, pie crust recipes to choose from. (thank you!) I just sent this Best Gluten-Free Flaky Pie Crust recipe to my mama to check out.

Need a quick, easy snack mix? Try this.

Some of our family favorites for you to try — love grandma’s rice!

Want fresh baked bread with your turkey day meal? This recipe is for you.

You know I love a good graphic. (or seventeen) All things Thanksgiving in graphics.

There are always requests for my pumpkin spice cookies with cream cheese frosting.

Shauna and Danny have an app you can download but also a LIST of videos and recipes to try.

Be safe. If you aren’t as lucky as we are to have a fully gluten-free meal, Shirley has tips to remember when visiting the fam. (last weekend the stars aligned during my birthday weekend in Denver and I got to meet up with Shirley and Johnna for drinks and dessert…follow along with both of these lovely, down to earth, gluten-free friends!)

EnJOY the time with your families, my friends. This last week was filled with JOYful memory making, but also tragic events on a global and much closer to home level — I can’t make sense of it all, but in times like these, I gather with my tribe and look for the light.

The week from Instagram…

(follow along: @celiacinthecity)

coffee with my BFF in Denver!

BFF feeds CITC well

 

enchilada chicken stew from PaleOMG

Ophelia’s Denver: doing gluten free right!

Breck with the bees, birthday eve

 

 

 

Mi Casa Breckenridge

street tacos & margaritas at Mi Casa

headtilting laughs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

best friends forever with new arrows of friendship from alex & ani

 

 

 

christopher elbow chocolates & mint chocolate chip birthday treat

 

 

 

 

 

 

our house on the hill (this weather!)

hello, home.

handsomepants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#prayforparis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As much as I wish I were getting paid big bucks to add these links to my page, I’m not. They are not affiliate links. I’m just sharing to share.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday To Do List — what to buy, spy, and try! (or sometimes cry about)

Tuesday To Do List is my newest attempt at bringing you tidbits from the gluten-free world each week. This will continue until my mind-that-doesn’t-rest comes up with another way to entertain you guys. You can read my very first to-do list here. Cross your fingers I am back here next Tuesday with another list…

 

To TRY: Spiked Seltzer arrived. (thanks, guys –that was fast!) You’ll hear more about it next week — my #realfood50 challenge only included beer/wine and ended last night. I didn’t think a spiked seltzer before work was the way to go, but they are chilled and waiting.

Must BUY: Tessemae’s dressings. I’ve been eyeing these up for years when my superwoman friends have done their Whole30 challenges — very few (real food!) ingredients and no sugar, which is hard to find. The honey mustard is perfectly tangy and just a little sweet!

I do SPY with my little eye: another gluten-free cookbook to add to my list, it’s called Gluten Free Wish List, which fits pretty perfectly here, yes?

One very happy celiac sister is going to want to try these Gluten Free Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies ASAP. (me too!)

Checking off MY list: #realfood50 challenge! I did it. Fifty days with no refined sugar, no refined flours, no fast foods, no fried foods, no packaged/boxed/bagged foods with more than five ingredients. Done! You can read all about how it started over at 100 Days of Real Food…we opted for 50 days, but it’s Day 51 and I’m still real fooding and feeling better than I have in a long time. More energy, no breakouts, no tummy troubles. With my birthday coming up, I know I’ll indulge in some treats (or at least some Tito’s vodka!) but I can honestly say, the less junk you eat, the less you crave it. A good reminder that I can do “in moderation” much better than I have been and my body will thank me — although it wasn’t the goal (and is hard to tell since I started the challenge at my heaviest weight ever, 😕 ) I did drop 10lbs and have more to go to get to a more healthy weight, it’s a (hard!) work in progress. Thanks for all of you cheering me on the last 50 days! Let’s hope Lisa and her team from 100daysofreafood.com just happen to stop by and see all the fun REAL FOOD I’ve been up to and ask me to join their team as the gluten-free guru. *fingers crossed*
This week on Instagram…

(follow along: @celiacinthecity)

 

omelet big enough to share with mom

 

homemade chai

 

GF Get Together @ Parkside 23

 

a final visit to Cocina DeLeon (stay tuned!)

 

real food @ Grill Junkies

 

breakfast bowlin’ with my mama

 

homemade tortilla chips

 

a crafternoon with my soul sister and our mamas

 

seeking sun

 

chili Sunday

 

my style lunchable

 

melon-grapefruit lacroix with frozen melon cubes and splash of grapefruit juice

 

Cocina DeLeon enchiladas with brown rice & black beans

 

real food continues …

 

As much as I wish I were getting paid big bucks to add these links to my page, I’m not. They are not affiliate links. I’m just sharing to share.

Tuesday To Do List — what to buy, spy, and try! (or sometimes cry about)

Tuesday To Do List is my newest attempt at bringing you tidbits from the gluten-free world each week. This will continue until my mind-that-doesn’t-rest comes up with another way to entertain you guys. You can read my very first to-do list here. Cross your fingers I am back here next Tuesday with another list…

Pumpkin Streusel Cream Cheese Muffins? You had me at pumpkin.

This harvest trail mix sounds pretty perfect — you could add in and tweak to make it your own.

It’s Day 44 of 50 Days of Real Food, the adventure in real food eating I started in September and will carry me into November — I’ll do a wrap up post eventually, but for now know that it has not been as hard as I imagined it might be. We actually end up eating real food most of the time, it’s those sugary treats that sneak in and the fact that I don’t actually require a fountain soda to do my shopping at Target.

If you want to try a little real food at your house and can’t imagine it being tasty and delicious, just check out these homemade loaded fries I made last night for mamasita to enjoy with me. 😉

(she asked if we could have them again before she leaves — everything but the local cheese, pancetta, and Greek yogurt came from one of our gardens!)

Shout out to my celiac sister who went out of her way to have real food friendly meals all weekend at her house — including this “supreme pizza bowl,” that included me in pizza night!

Anyone else buying apples like crazy? I wait for their season each year — we did a little apple taste testing with Chef Carter over the weekend — his final comment? “If you want to just leave a bunch of those black twig apples, that would be fine.”

Wish I could get this Creamy Gouda-Cheddar Gluten-Free Mac ‘n Cheese delivered. (It’s bookmarked to make in case Gigi doesn’t show up with the goods!)

Buy this popcorn. Just trust me.

This week on Instagram…

(follow along: @celiacinthecity)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As much as I wish I were getting paid big bucks to add these links to my page, I’m not. They are not affiliate links. I’m just sharing to share.

gluten-free pumpkin spice granola

Tomorrow I’m kicking off a new food challenge: 50 DAYS of REAL FOOD! #realfood50
You’ve seen me do the “10 Days of Real Food Pledge” several times over the years, but this time means business. Ten didn’t seem like quite enough since my partner in the challenge had already been a rockstar and done the Whole30 plan. But we weren’t quite ready for 100 days yet, and the idea of having dairy and beer/wine was very appealing and more likely to work for us, so 50 it is. (do check out http://www.100daysofrealfood.com for the “rules” and great recipes)

The best way for me to be successful at these eating challenges is to be prepared — which is why I spent the weekend in the kitchen.

We are nearing “all things pumpkin” season and I have no plans to go without this year, just making some modifications and better choices, like this pumpkin spice granola from my girl Molly — she’s my partner in #realfood50 crime and loves food as much as I do. The perfect person to do a food challenge with, really.

As soon as she posted the photo, I added “#PSL Granola” to my list of things to make this weekend. (and I’m so glad I did) Thanks, MJ!

Ps: Molly isn’t GF so you’ll notice the recipe just says rolled oats, for us GF folks, of course that means certified gluten-free oats… see my notes below for the exact ingredients I used!

PUMPKIN SPICE GRANOLA

Sarah’s Notes:

• I am giving you the recipe straight from Molly because: I love her hand writing. She made a cute collage. I love handwritten recipes, BUT for us gluten-free folks, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats. (I have always been a fan of GF Harvest, which I order through amazon.) But I’m also typing out the ingredients I used below so there is no confusion — with all the drama with the new supposed-to-be-gluten-free-Cheerios-but-they-really-are-not-because-GF-friends-are-getting-sick…it’s best to be clear that you should use certified gluten-free oats if you need to be GF like me. 😉

INGREDIENTS

3 cups certified gluten-free oats

½ cup walnuts

⅓ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds!)

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

⅓ cup pumpkin puree

⅓ cup maple syrup

¼ coconut oil

• Pre-heat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Then in a sauce pan, combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, and pumpkin puree. Heat over low-medium heat to melt coconut oil and combine. (the oil never really fully combines, no worries!) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to coat dry ingredients.
• I used parchment paper on my baking sheet — when it’s fully cooled, you can make a parchment paper “funnel” to get all three million pieces of granola into the storage jar of your choice with less mess.
• Use 2 or more teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice for even more flavor. Also, I added dried currants, this was a mistake, they are too small and got crispy and not in a good way. I didn’t use flax or chia this time because I didn’t have either on hand — this recipe is flexible and allows you to add or subtract what works for you. (I added almonds too!)
• This isn’t a super sweet granola, which I love about it, but if you want something more sweet, feel free to add more maple syrup. (I just used 1/3 cup)

Although it makes an easy morning snack by eating it right out of the jar, I usually add it to plain Greek yogurt, sweetened with a little maple syrup, and pumpkin puree. Full of fall flavor!

Stop back and let me know how you liked it — enJOY!

*This perfectly pumpkiny fall recipe has been added to the Gluten-Free Recipe Fix Carnival: Back to School and Fall Edition. Go take a peek at ALL of the other gluten-free recipes!

Soup’s On Sunday: Zesty Corn Tortilla Soup

Social media is blowing up with talk of SNOW in southeastern Wisconsin this morning.

What the what?

No thanks, you can keep the snow.

I’m not ready for it. My current heat bill is a-okay the way it is, thank you very much. People need more time for leaf raking. And finding their hats and mittens from storage.

Jack isn’t ready to take on the role of Frosty. He can keep his November/December reservation and give us a couple more weeks, can’t he?

Well, just in case…

If there’s going to be crazy snow nonsense, let’s at least be prepared.

Let’s make some soup!

ZESTY CORN TORTILLA SOUP

My mother-in-law made this soup for a Packer game a couple of years ago, and we lucked out by showing up to watch the game with them that day. She went all out and made fried tortilla strips to top it off, plus sour cream, cheese, the works. I couldn’t stop talking about it and have been making it at our place ever since. 

It’s a versatile soup. Forgiving too. If you cook the veggies too long, or don’t chop the onions like a pro? It doesn’t matter — they are all getting puréed anyway, so you can’t really mess it up. And if chicken isn’t your thing, skip it and go heavy on the veg. 

The chicken you use is up to you — for the best flavor, cook the chicken pieces (3 thighs or 2 breasts) in the olive oil in a large Dutch oven, (the same pot you’ll be using for the soup) browning both sides, before adding the other vegetables. Then remove the chicken before puréeing the soup to shred it, and then return chicken to the pot after you have puréed soup. Leftover roasted chicken meat works like a charm, but you can do any cut of chicken for this recipe. If you use leftover chicken pieces, wait to add them in until after you have puréed the other ingredients. 

1 dried ancho chili                                          2 heaping cups chicken, shredded

2 tablespoons olive oil                                    4 corn tortillas

1 large onion, chopped                                  6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)

2 carrots, chopped                                         2 stalks celery, large dice

3 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered            2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 large can (28 oz.) chopped tomatoes -we used stewed tomatoes, frozen from the garden

½ cup cilantro leaves

First things first, we need to activate the flavor in that dried pepper — put it in a bowl and pour a cup of boiling water over it, and let it soak for at least a half hour, while you prep the other ingredients.

IF you need to cook your chicken, do that now, using the olive oil, over medium-high heat.

Grab the pepper that has been soaking and drain the water. Remove the stem and the seeds from inside and slice it into strips.

Add onion, carrots and celery to the pot.  (if using leftover chicken, add the olive oil now for cooking veggies) Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add in your garlic and cumin and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Stir in broth, chili, tomatoes and cilantro and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes.  Tear tortillas into pieces and add to soup.  Continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. (*If you still have your chicken in the pot, remove it now and shred it.)

Remove from heat and using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it’s nice and smooth. Return/add the chicken to the soup and salt and pepper to taste.

Toppers: sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, tortilla strips or chips, avocado, cilantro, or anything else that makes you happy.

Stay warm, my friends. I’m headed back under the covers — with fingers crossed that this talk of snow was just talk. (and that the Packers win today!) 🙂

PS: It’s my brother’s birthday today — no clowning around… Happy Birthday, Jamie!