Gluten-Free Summer Pasta

Yummmmm. This is good stuff. It tastes so fresh. A friend of mine sent me a recipe from the New York Times called Summer Pasta. It is delicious. After making it a few times, using both regular pasta and gluten-free pasta, I have adapted my own version of it based on my personal taste and feedback from dinner guests.

Quick Disclaimer: For this particular time, I used regular pasta, but that is the only thing that is not gluten-free in the recipe so it can be easily substituted. That being said, I have made it using Trader Joe's Brown Rice Fusilli, and it was equally as delicious and fresh. You can use any type of gluten free farfalle, penne, or fusilli.

Another quick disclaimer: I really love garlic, so I don't mind it but some have told me the garlic taste is too strong in this recipe, since the garlic is added raw. If you aren't a huge fan of garlic, you may want to cook your garlic first over the stove in some olive oil. Personally, I like it the way it is.

The roasted tomatoes can be time consuming, but you can leave them for awhile without really paying attention to them. I think they are best slow roasted as the recipe states.... but there is an alternative. You can use grape tomatoes and get a similar taste in about a half hour. But, if you have the time, do it the 4 hour way. It's worth it.

SUMMER PASTA

What You Need:

For the roasted tomatoes:

Roasting grape tomatoes

2 1/2 pounds tomatoes (or as I mentioned, grape tomatoes if you don't have the time to slow roast, I used grape tomatoes this time, but I like it much better the other way)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar

For the pasta:

Salt to taste, pepper optional
1 pound gluten-free pasta, like farfalle, penne, or fusilli
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely minced and mashed

2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ears corn, can be raw if very fresh, or lightly steamed if not
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes (can be red, orange or yellow) halved or quartered
12 ounces fresh mozzarella

fresh mozzarella cut up
(some basil remained from cutting board)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup mixed herbs, cut or torn into small pieces (mostly fresh basil, with some mint and parsley)

What You Do:

Roasting the Tomatoes:

1. Heat oven to 275 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice tomatoes about 3/4 inch thick. Lay slices on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and sugar. Bake 15 minutes and reduce heat to 200 degrees. Continue baking, cooking halfway through until tomatoes shrink and are chewy but not crisp, approximately 4 to 6 hours. As I mentioned previously, if you don't have time to do this - an alternative is baking grape or cherry tomatoes (1 pint) after being halved, in the same mixture, olive oil, sugar, and salt at 350 for 30 minutes or so, turning halfway through. It will give a similar taste, but the best way is to do it the long way.

herbs, tomatoes, raw garlic

Chopped herbs

2. When tomatoes are roasted, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, cook until al dente. While pasta is cooking, chop roasted tomatoes very finely and place in a large serving bowl, along with the chopped garlic, butter and olive oil. Slice kernels from cobs of corn, and chop the other grape tomatoes, and herbs (finely) while pasta is cooking as well. Place tomatoes, corn, and herbs in a separate bowl. Slice fresh mozzarella into small pieces, and place in a separate bowl with the shredded parmesan.

3. When pasta is cooked, drain well. Add to the bowl with butter, garlic, and olive oil while still hot, and toss pasta.

4. Add the corn, cherry or grape tomato mixture and the cheese mixture. Toss well. Add herbs and toss well again. Add salt and pepper to taste while tossing.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

I didn't actually get to use the corn this particular time because unfortunately, it's October and sweet corn is out of season. However, it is SO good with the corn. This is the first time I have made it without and I definitely missed it. I thought it was strange at first to add the corn raw but it's actually delicious and very fresh. If you are able to get sweet corn, don't leave it out. It is delicious with these ingredients.

So good! You should definitely try this one.

Enjoy!

Chicken, Artichoke, and Wild Rice Casserole

This recipe was DELICIOUS, easy, and gluten-free. It could also be made ahead if necessary.

I used some ingredients I had around and modified a few recipes I had found online to make it gluten-free. We loved it. Very hearty and warm and delicious!

What you Need:
1 can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup (it's gluten-free!)
1 cup uncooked wild rice (I used Trader Joe's Basmati Rice Medley b/c it includes veggies. Any wild rice would do, or white or brown rice if you prefer those)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb cooked chicken breasts
1 bag frozen artichokes (I used Trader Joe's frozen artichokes, could also use a can of artichoke hearts or fresh artichokes)
1/4 cup low-fat mayo (could use regular if you'd like)
1/4 cup cheddar cheese (optional) for topping

What you Do:

1. If necessary, cook chicken breasts over stove. I used fresh chicken breast tenderloins and chopped them up first and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I cooked them with olive oil in a skillet for about 5-7 minutes or until browned.
2. Prepare 1 cup of wild rice (or white or brown rice) using 2 cups water and 1 tbsp olive oil. Prepare according to package directions.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine creamy mushroom soup, artichokes (defrosted if frozen), mayo, cooked chicken, and cooked rice. Stir until mixed thoroughly.
4. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. Top with cheddar cheese (optional).
5. If making ahead, cover with foil and place in fridge. If ready to cook - preheat oven to 350 and cook for 30 minutes with foil covering the top.

Remove from oven and serve.

It was really good and really easy! Very hearty!

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Lasagna!

Tinkyada makes a brown rice lasagna noodle that works just perfectly for homemade lasagna. We made it the other night and I literally could not taste the difference in the noodles at all. It turned out delicious. I also recently discovered the key to any lasagna recipe is mixing cottage cheese with the ricotta. It makes it easier to spread the layers, and it really adds a lot of moisture as well.

I made mine meatless, and made a meat-sauce on the side. Feel free to add ground beef to your sauce (to layer) if you prefer.

What You Need:

1 Box Tinkyada Lasagna Noodles
2 Jars Pasta Sauce (I used Classico Sweet Tomato Basil)
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese (I used low-fat, worked fine)
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

What You Do:


1. Cook noodles according to box instructions. Make sure not to over cook.
2. Drain and rinse noodles.
3. In a 9 x 13 pan, layer bottom of pan with a layer of tomato sauce.
4. In a medium bowl combine ricotta, cottage cheese, basil, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, and 1/2 cup mozzarella.
5. Cover the layer of sauce at the bottom of the pan and make a layer of noodles across the pan.
6. Cover noodles with: cheese mixture, some mozzarella cheese, and then tomato sauce. Add more noodles to the top of the layer.
7. Continue layering in this pattern. For the top layer, simply top noodles with tomato sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese.
8. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
9. Remove foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted on the top.

Enjoy! It's delicious! No one will know the difference in this pasta.

Some Gluten Free Updates

I don't have any new fabulous recipes at the time, but I am making gluten-free lasagna tonight and will post the recipe when I'm finished! I did want to share a few exciting things though!

My favorite grocery store, Dominick's (Safeway store, all around the Chicago area) started to label their foods with tags that say "Gluten Free!" It is great because I get very tired of searching labels all the time. I really like it. They have a new program called "Simple Nutrition." Hopefully more stores follow the same trend soon.

Also, a great gluten free breakfast or snack, that may seem obvious but I seem to overlook a lot: Smoothies! It's the best way to make fruit and yogurt a little more fun, and healthy too. Today I just did it without a recipe: Mixed lowfat vanilla yogurt (2 containers) with frozen raspberries (about 3/4 cup or so), fresh strawberries (about 1/2 cup) and 1/4 cup milk. It was delicious, filling, and healthy. I really enjoyed it. I look forward to experimenting with more fruits (I think peaches, mangoes, blueberries, blackberries, etc). I personally don't care for bananas but I know they're a popular smoothie ingredient. Anyway, I just wanted to share that since I do forget about them a lot and I really really enjoyed my smoothie this morning! I think I will start to make them in a larger batch ahead and keep them in the fridge so I can always have them ready for the mornings. Yum.

Gluten free lasagna post to come!

Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole

This was so easy and such a hit! I am going to add this to my "go to" recipes that are easy, few ingredients, and tasty! I modified a recipe that I found online... and this is what I came up with.

Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Casserole

What You Need:

2 1/2 cups chopped chicken breast meat (I used Tyson's Grilled Strips in the green bag, and chopped them up... they are delicious and gluten free)
1 can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup (it's gluten free)
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese
16 ounces broccoli ( I used Green Giant's Steamers and cooked it beforehand to avoid extra water)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt or garlic powder
Rice (optional)

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine chopped chicken, soup, cheese, broccoli (cooked), garlic and pepper, and rice if desired.

3. Mix well and spread into greased 9 x 13 pan. 

4. Cook for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, or until bubbly.

Tips:

I do have some tips with this dish, because next time I would do things a little differently...

1. I served the rice on the side, and put the casserole over the rice. Next time, I would add rice to the casserole. It comes out a little bit watery, and I think this would help, as well as add flavor to the rice. Either way, the flavor was delicious.

2. It is VERY important to cook the chicken and broccoli beforehand, so that the cooking process of those two items doesn't add any extra water to the food.

Overall... it was easy, and delicious! Enjoy!

Fajita Night!

Fajita's are a great gluten-free option! They are easy to make and if you serve them with corn tortillas, they are 100% gluten free!

What You Need:
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into strips
1 red bell pepper
1 green pepper
1 medium sized onion
Fajita seasoning mix (Make sure to check the back for wheat ingredients)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup water
Corn Tortillas
Garnish: Cheese, Sour Cream, Guacamole

What You Do:
1. Slice the red pepper, green pepper, and the onion into lengthwise strips.
2. Heat up olive oil in medium skillet. Cook peppers and onions.
3. Add chicken to skillet.
4. Mix fajita seasoning with water and pour into skillet. Stir and simmer until liquid disappears.
5. Warm up corn tortillas in the microwave and serve.

So easy and so delicious! I like to make fajitas because guests can customize what they want inside their fajitas! Delicious! 

Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan

We definitely eat a lot of chicken in our kitchen. I'm somewhat of a picky eater (no red meat for the most part, though I will cook it now and then) and with Scott being allergic to gluten, we usually meet in the middle at chicken or seafood. 

I try to change recipes so that chicken doesn't get boring. You can make it so many ways. Last night I had the idea to make chicken parmesan. I actually went down the health food aisle at Jewel (local grocery store) and found these Schar gluten free breadcrumbs for around $4.00 a bag. 

I do want to add that about a month ago, I wanted to try making chicken parmesan as well, except I could not find gluten free breadcrumbs. Instead I found gluten free croutons in the health food aisle, and I actually had the idea to grind them in a food processor and use those. It worked WONDERFULLY for breadcrumbs. I have also heard of people using toasted Udi's or some other gluten free bread and putting it in the food processor. Sometimes you just have to be a little more creative!

Scott often tells me one of the things he misses most is any sort of "crunch" in his diet. What he really means is things like: croutons in a salad, breading on chicken or meat, etc. I was hoping these bread crumbs would do the trick, and they did! Everything was great.

Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan


What You Need:

3-4 thin chicken breasts (if they are thicker, you can pound them out)
1 egg
1/2 cup gluten free breadcrumbs (I used Schar pictured above)
1/4 cup vegetable oil or canola oil (You CAN use Olive Oil but I have heard this makes it bitter so I never do it)
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp chopped basil
1 tsp Nature's Seasoning (or salt and pepper)
1 jar tomato sauce (I used Trader Joe's Garlic Marinara)
Serve over GF pasta (I used Trader Joe's Brown Rice Spaghetti)
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and boil a pot of water for the spaghetti
2. Create an egg wash to coat the chicken by beating an egg in a shallow bowl.
3. In separate bowl, mix gluten free breadcrumbs, basil, Nature's Seasoning (or salt and pepper) and parmesan cheese to create breading mixture.
4. Individually dip chicken breasts in the egg mixture, and then coat in the breading mixture. Place on plate once finished. Bread each piece of chicken and set aside.
5. Heat vegetable/canola oil in a medium sized skillet until hot. Add chicken breasts to oil and cook until breading is brown. Make sure to flip the chicken and cook both sides of the breading.

6. Blot with paper towels to remove excess oil and place in an oven safe dish.

7. Top chicken with grated mozzarella and place chicken in oven for about 15 minutes (depending on how thin the chicken is) or until cooked.

8. While waiting for the chicken to cook in the oven, boil GF pasta as directed and drain.

9. Heat tomato sauce in a medium saucepan. I actually added some half-and-half to the tomato sauce. I do not ALWAYS do this, but I had some on hand still from making the Shrimp Scampi last week.

10. When chicken is cooked, take chicken out of the oven and serve chicken over gluten free spaghetti topped with tomato sauce.

Everything turned out great. Even though these breadcrumbs are a little more pricey, they seem like they're going to go a long way. I had plenty leftover and put them in the fridge for future use. I wasn't sure they would cook up as well as regular breadcrumbs, but they did! Enjoy!

Honey Chicken Kabobs

I have found the perfect marinade for kabobs. I have experimented again and again trying to find the perfect flavor... and I finally figured it out. Since most pre-mixed marinades have gluten in them, I've started to make my own sauces using gluten free ingredients. This is my favorite one for grilling... We made them last night, they were delicious! Keep in mind you can vary the veggies however you want. This time, I just used red and orange bell pepper, and pineapple.  When I usually make them, I used pineapple chunks, red pepper, green pepper, and onion.

In the past I have also added: mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes.. Anything goes!

Also, we make them on the grill but you could easily do them in the oven on a cookie sheet @ 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Honey Chicken Kabobs

What you need:
(double recipe as needed, this makes 3-4 kabobs)

3-4 skewers (If you are using wooden skewers, make sure to soak them in water first)
2 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, defrosted and cut into 1" chunks or so
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
Pineapple chunks
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. soy sauce (La Choy is gluten free)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

What to Do:
1. Chop chicken, peppers, onion.
2. In a small bowl, mix honey and olive oil.
3. Whisk in soy sauce.
4. Add garlic and pepper.
5. Let veggies and chicken marinate in mixture for at least 30 minutes (I have done it as long as one day).
6. Alternate chicken, vegetables, and pineapple on skewers.
7. Heat grill and place skewers on grill, rotating every 5 minutes. Brush leftover marinade on skewers if desired (we usually do this). Grill until chicken is fully cooked and serve over white rice.

I don't know what it is about these skewers... but something about the flavor is great. The honey really makes it, in comparison to other marinades. Also, it doesn't need to be just for skewers. You could use it for regular chicken or steak on the grill as well. Enjoy!

Valentines Day: Shrimp Scampi, Parmesan Asparagus, Cheddar Bay Biscuits

For Valentines Day, I wanted to make something a little more fancy. I decided to make Shrimp Scampi using gluten free angel hair (by DeBoles). I also used the recipe for Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits, substituting Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix for Bisquick. The vegetable I went with was asparagus.  Everything was delicious! I could not believe how great the biscuits turned out. Recipes and pictures are below!  This is definitely an indulgent meal. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Shrimp Scampi 


What You Need

8 oz (1 box) gluten free angel hair
1 lb shrimp (I used jumbo, but any size would work)
2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. dry white wine
1/2 lemon, squeezed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. fresh basil, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 c. half and half

What You Do:
1. Using large pot, bring water to a boil. Cook angel hair, drain, and set to side.
2. Melt butter and olive oil together until warm. Place minced garlic in mixture. Add shrimp.
3. Let shrimp saute for 3 minutes in butter/oil/garlic mixture. Add wine and squeeze lemon into mixture.
4. Mix in half and half and pepper.
5. Put pasta in a large serving bowl and top with shrimp and sauce mixture. Top with parmesan cheese and chopped basil.

Gluten Free Cheddar Bay Biscuits

What you Need 

(double as necessary... this made 5 biscuits)

1 cup Bob's Gluten Free Pancake Mix (or any gluten free pancake mix)

1 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup water

2 tbsp. melted butter

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. onion powder

1/8 tsp. parsley

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 375. 

2. Mix together pancake mix, cheese, water. Drop biscuits onto cookie sheet. Place in oven. 

3. Melt butter and mix in seasonings. 

4. After 5 minutes, take out biscuits and pour mixture evenly over biscuits. Bake an additional 6 minutes or so until biscuits are done. 

Parmesan Asparagus

What you need

15-20 spears of asparagus

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tbsp. grated parmesan

1 tsp. minced garlic

What you do

1. Heat olive oil in pan over low heat

2. Add garlic to oil

3. Add asparagus, turning every couple of minutes

4. Season asparagus with salt and pepper and cook until tender

5. Toss with parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Serve. 

Everything was delicious. Like I said, I could not believe how much the biscuits rose and how similar they were to regular biscuits. They were great. The meal was rich but it was for a special occasion. I'm not sure I'd make this one regularly, but it was definitely great and Scott loved it. The angel hair was excellent. I could not even tell the difference. 

Stir Fry (We Love La Choy!)

As you may know, cooking asian inspired foods can sometimes be difficult with a gluten allergy. So many of the soy products contain gluten.

Did you know that La Choy sauces and most products are gluten free? We love their soy sauce, because of it's reasonable price as compared to other sauces... and they also have a Sweet and Sour sauce, a Teriyaki sauce, and the most recent to come out: Orange Ginger sauce! I saw this at the store and grabbed it immediately.

We LOVE orange chicken so I thought this would be an easy way to do this at home, gluten free! It turned out great. Here's what I did:

Easy, Gluten-Free, Orange Chicken Stir Fry

What you need:

La Choy Orange Ginger Sauce (can substitute any gluten free or La Choy sauce you'd like)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 bag frozen asian vegetables (can use fresh vegetables if you would like, but this is so easy!)

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Optional: Fresh pineapple or mandarin oranges

Serve over white rice (I use Frozen Organics ThaiJasmine White Rice, 3 minutes in the microwave and delicious, they also make brown rice)

What you do:

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet. Cook chicken breasts until cooked throughout, seasoning with salt and pepper to your liking. When chicken is cooked, dice it into smaller pieces and place it back in the skillet.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in separate skillet, and place vegetables in skillet with 1 tsp minced garlic. Cook about 5-7 minutes if frozen. If fresh, they may cook faster. 

3. Add about 1/2 cup La Choy Orange Ginger sauce to chicken skillet. Heat with chicken, and add optional fruit (I used fresh pineapple).

4. Transfer vegetables to skillet with sauce/chicken/fruit when sauce is heated. Mix together and continue to heat until heated through. 

5. Serve over white or brown rice.

It was delicious! Scott finished a HUGE plate and ate the rest for leftovers the next day. It was very easy too. You can certainly use fresh garlic or fresh vegetables, but if you're looking for something to do in about 20 minutes, you can buy these ingredients ahead of time! I can't say enough about the rice we use either. I get it at Dominick's, and it's about $4.00 for a box of 3 bags. Each bag of rice is PERFECT for 2 people, and it is the closest I've ever found to chinese restaurant's "sticky rice." It cooks perfectly and tastes great.

Remember, you can use any La Choy sauce. We were so excited to try this one. It's very good! I think the fresh fruit made it, personally. Next time I will probably add mandarin oranges.

Enjoy!

Calling All Bacon Lovers

I made this recipe for Scott recently using one of my favorite tricks: Gluten Free Cream of Mushroom Soup (by Progresso). I was so excited when I found this soup because it's at NORMAL store prices and you can substitute it for a lot of recipes that use cream based soups (which usually contain flour).

I found a recipe online and tweaked it a little and the result was fabulous. I actually prepared it in advance and put it in the fridge so that Scott could just pop it in the oven. He loved it.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Mushrooms

What you need:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into halves (I used 6 boneless skinless tenderloins, instead since they are smaller)
6 strips bacon
1 can of PROGRESSO Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup sour cream (I used regular, but you could easily use low fat)
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms (I bought them pre-sliced in a can, but you could get them fresh and slice them and I bet it would taste even better!)
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

What you do:
1. Defrost the chicken breasts. Take each chicken breast and wrap a strip of bacon around it as many times as necessary for the bacon strip to be wrapped completely around the chicken. Repeat this for all chicken breasts.
2. Mix sour cream and PROGRESSO Cream of Mushroom soup to create a cream mixture.
3. Put bacon wrapped chicken breasts in a glass or metal pan. Cover with sliced mushrooms. (I used an 8x8 pan, but I think anything would work)
4. Cover chicken and mushrooms completely with sour cream/cream of mushroom mixture.
5. Top with cheddar cheese (optional).
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Scott still RAVES about this, and it was so simple (ingredient and preparation wise). It's also something you can easily do ahead. Personally, I'm not a bacon eater, so I didn't try it, but I think anyone that loves bacon and is sick of bland, chicken dishes would love this meal.

Most recipes I found similar to this used low fat ingredients. I chose not to do that, because I thought Scott would enjoy it more this way. However, it could be made more healthy if some simple substitutes were made: turkey bacon, low fat cheese (or no cheese), and low fat/fat free sour cream. I think it would still turn out just as well.

Enjoy!

Some of my favorite GF tips

In a year, I've picked up a lot about gluten free ingredients/store items, etc. One of the first things I learned is that cooking gluten free, and buying gluten free items from the grocery store or a speciality store GETS EXPENSIVE. There are certainly a bunch of substitute ingredients out there and they are all good, but it is pricey. I have come up with some tips to keep things a little more simple, and easier on the wallet.

Here are some tips that will help you out:

1. Trader Joe's is great if you have one nearby. They will give you a list of store items that are gluten free, or you can find it online.

They have some really great things that I am sure I will bring up later. We love their brown rice bread, their brown rice pasta, and many other things. It's much more reasonable than the speciality aisles at the mainstream grocery stores.

2. One of my best tricks: Progresso Cream of Mushroom soup is gluten free! It's just a normal grocery item, but it's great because it means you can use it in any casserole recipe that requires cream of mushroom (or even cream of chicken) soup. I have found some great recipes with this!

3. Always check labels on normal grocery items. They make it a lot easier now, and bold the allergen items at the bottom of the ingredient list. It's still annoying to have to check everything, but it's a quick glance now instead of reading every single ingredient. Look for "WHEAT" in the bold ingredients at the bottom. Not everything is always labeled and it's worth checking out to be able to buy some normal grocery items that actually go on sale. I have found multiple frozen meals, soups, and shelf items that do not contain gluten!

More to come!
Amy

Introduction to the Gluten Free Diet and Cooking

Hello!

My name is Amy and I am from Chicago, Illinois. Approximately a year ago in January 2010, my boyfriend Scott was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, meaning his diet, and therefore my cooking have been altered.

I have loved to cook and bake since I was a little girl, so I immediately gained an interest in gluten-free cooking and baking. I follow several blogs, have read a few books and articles, and have certainly done my fair share of experimenting with gluten-free ingredients. Also, I try to do as much research as I can so that I can still shop at regular grocery stores for gluten free ingredients.

I finally decided I should start my own blog, since I have so much to share on this topic. I plan to write about cooking/baking gluten free, recipes, substitutes, recipe alterations, restaurants, and grocery items that I find along the way. I hope to make it easier for people who are new to the diet!

Thanks so much for reading!
Amy