Delicious White Bean Chile!!!

White Bean and Chicken Chili

Great on a chilly fall night.

Works great in a Dutch oven when you are camping.

6 cups white beans (We use White Navy beans but when short on this kind, I have used whatever is in the pantry. If using dried beans wash, soak and sort before using. This recipe also works with canned beans).

6 cups chicken broth (Pacific Natural is GF and available at Costco)

2 medium onions, chopped

3 minced garlic cloves

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 4 ounce can diced green chilies

2 t ground cumin

1 1/2 t dried oregano

1/4 red pepper flakes

salt

black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.

Add garlic and one onion and sauté' until tender.

Add chicken and sauté' until thoroughly cooked.

Add green chilies, cumin, Oregano and red pepper flakes. Stir until well combined.

Add beans, chicken broth and one onion.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm with Tostitos and garnished with sour cream and cheddar cheese then dig in!!!

Maggiano's: Friend or Foe

It all started after I had my yearly check-up with my doctor to make sure I was still eating Gluten Free. Everthing was going well and I didn't have to get a blood draw (which I dread) so my mom and I went out to celebrate.

We went to Maggiano's my used to be favorite restaurant. I had my usual, fettucini alfredo with gluten free pasta and a caesar salad as an apetizer.

When my supposedely gluten-free pasta came out I as usual started scarfing it down. But then I found a noodle that didn't really look like the other and noticed that it was a wheat noodle.

The waiter got us a completely gluten free one but we found out that the IDIOTIC chef cooked my pasta in water that wheat pasta was cooked in first. He thought that I just ordered it because I liked the taste. Not because I had an allergy.

So let this be a lesson to you to never eat at Maggiano's without being in the kitchen while they make your pasta, and to never trust restaurants that don't know what they are talking about, just like stinky Maggiano's!!!!!!! Can you tell I'm mad and sick!!!!!

My Favorite Pasta!!!!

Alex's Favorite Pasta!

1 pound GF penne pasta

1 t ground turmeric

3 T olive oil

2 cloves of minced garlic

1 red onion, chopped

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

1/4 pound snow peas (if you do not have snow peas on hand, frozen green beans work well)

1/2 cup pitted and sliced black olives

3 t GF flour (any blend will work)

salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large saucepan of water to boil and add the GF pasta with the ground turmeric. Cook until tender.

Drain, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid.

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and saute the garlic and onion until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add the red pepper and carrots and saute for 3 more minutes.

Stir in the snow peas, black olives and cooked pasta, and cook for 3 more minutes.

Sprinkle with the GF flour and stir until combined. Cook for 1 minute, then gradually add a little less than 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid.

Cook until bubbling and thickened, another 2 - 3 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve while hot and enjoy!

Great Gluten Free Places in Seattle

Gluten Friendly Chain Restaurants:

PF Changs at Bellevue Square

Very knowledgeable and helpful. It is always a fun family dinner here. The kids like the lettuce wraps, lemon chicken and street noodles. The best comes at the end with the Chocolate Dome for dessert. Afterwards, head over to Lincoln Square for a movie or stroll the aisles of the Container Store.

Maggianos Little Italy, 10455 Ne 8th St, Bellevue

Yet another favorite. Great service and great food. Upon arriving, inform your server that you need a gluten free meal. The chef will come out and help design a meal that meets all of your dietary requirements. They even have gluten free corn pasta! My daughter's favorite is a Caesar salad with fettuccine Alfredo sauce. I usually eat a steak or their spinach salad which is very good. Again, the best part comes at the end with gluten free crème brulee. It really is a special treat to eat here.

Outback Steakhouse

Several locations on the Eastside. Very knowledgeable and offers good food in a family friendly atmosphere. My daughter usually sticks with a bun less burger, salad or baked potato. Again, it is worth the trip for the desserts - The Thunder Down Under is a family favorite.

Some Local Favorites:

Cafe Flora, 2901 E Madison St, Seattle (206) 325-9100

A local favorite. The kids may have to be a little more restrained here and a little more adventurous with what they are willing to eat. The restaurant is vegetarian, The food tastes so good you will hardly realize that the restaurant is vegetarian. Items that are gluten free are marked on the menu. Go on a nice afternoon and eat on the inside patio. It is really lovely.

Da Vinci Cafe and Bakery, 10003 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle (206) 782-5735

Da Vinci Bakery & Café is the very first completely gluten free bakery in Seattle. The bakery is completely wheat and gluten free, so there is no room for contamination. Even my non-celiac's love this place. Everything is good. A fun little place to go on a Saturday afternoon. It has really cute decorations and the people that work there are very friendly.

Cinnamon Works, Specialty Bakery, 1536 Pike Place, Seattle (206) 583-0085

The perfect place to grab a gluten free cookie after a stroll through the market. Parents beware, the cookies are monster size. Need help locating it - just look for the man playing the piano on the corner. It is right next to him.

Adults Night Out:

Most of the fine dining restaurants in Seattle are very capable of accommodating a gluten free diet. Just call before you go but I have had wonderful experiences eating at a lot of Seattle restaurants.

Impromtu Wine Bar Cafe, 4235 E. Madison St., Seattle (206) 860-1569

This may not be the type of restaurant to take the kids to only because their pallets may not be mature enough for the food selection. But if you get a night out, or you have older children, do not miss it. It has great atmosphere in the charming neighborhood of Madison Park. The wine and food selection changes seasonally. Executive Chef Dan Ahern's then creates menu items matched to the wines, providing guests with an inspired fine dining experience. The menu is almost completely gluten free and they are more than aptly educated about celiac disease.

Where to Shop:

Most chain grocery stores in Seattle have a gluten free section. In addition to Whole Foods, here are some local stores with great selections of gluten free food:

Fresh Vitamins, 12618 120th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA (425) 821-1819

Great selection of harder to find gluten free items including Chebe Pizza Mix and Kinnikinnick products, in addition to Ener-G and Glutino.

Manna Mills, 21705 66th Ave W, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043 (425) 775-3479

Manna Mills has the best selection of gluten free food~Glutino, Ener-G, Chebe, Kinnikinnick and many other choices.

Natures Pantry, 10201 NE 10th St, Bellevue (425) 454-0170

A good selection of gluten free food in the heart of Bellevue.

Amazon Fresh

An on-line grocery store with 704 gluten free items.
The service offers daytime delivery, local pick up or pre-dawn delivery that has your groceries waiting on your doorstep in the morning if you place an order by midnight the night before.

The New Batter Blaster!

Pancakes in a Can.

This is what our non-gluten free society has come to.

I saw the article about it in the newspaper and my first thought was of disgust! They say it is to hard to mix up some pancakes real quick so they decided to make Batter Blaster!

How disgusting. Everyone supposedly loves it but I think it is all fake.

If you want to find more out about this "organic" mix then go to their website: http://www.batterblaster.com/index.php.

I am disgusted and am going to send them and e-mail about this disgrace to our society right now!!!!!

Lemon Olive Oil Cookies

1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

1/4 cup good quality olive oil

1 egg

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

First combine the yogurt and olive oil well. Stir in the egg, then the lemon juice and zest, to make a coherent mixture.

Next, combine all the dry ingredients together. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry. The dough will be sticky like and might stick all over your fingers.

Form small balls with the sticky dough and roll each ball into sugar. This will make the finished cookies crunchy and shimmery. Place on a baking sheet covered with a Silpat or layer of parchment paper.

Cook for around 12 minutes. The cookies will be soft at this point, but they will fill fully formed. Let them sit on a baking sheet to cool for about 5 minutes.

Carefully move the cookies to a cooling rack and let cool for another 5 minutes. Dig in and enjoy yourself!

Gluten Free Kid's Multi Grain Bread

Gluten Free Kids Multi grain Bread

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup sorghum flour

¼ cup amaranth flour

¼ cup millet flour

2 t active dry yeast

¼ tapioca starch

¼ cup cornstarch

2 t xanthan gum

3 t sea salt

3 t ground flax seed

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1 cup water at room temperature

2 T canola oil (or any kind of vegetable oil)

2 T honeys (we use Anna’s Huckleberry Honey)

2 t apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and stir to combine.

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate large bowl by hand or using a hand –mixer on low just until combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture until fully combined.

Pour into a 9 x 5 inch bread pan that has been greased.

Turn the oven off, place the bread inside and let rise for 90 minutes. Do not open the oven door during this time.

Increase heat to 350 degrees and bake until the crust is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 – 40 minutes.

This is delicious bread with an amazing taste that everybody loves!

Me making the delicious bread!