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Gluten and Dairy Free Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
I have always loved to bake. However, when we learned that our daughters needed to be strictly gluten and dairy free it was a challenging transition. These days it’s almost second nature to me, and it’s hard to remember how overwhelming it was at first. For our Poetry Teatime this week I made gluten and dairy free pumpkin cupcakes with faux cream cheese frosting. I know that not everyone is ready to embrace The Best Season of the Year (aka Fall), but I’ve been ready for weeks. At least I waited until September to break out the Autumn flavors, right?! I baked a test batch first and before adding icing I had everyone try one.…
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Gluten Free Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli Soup
This is one of my go-to soups for busy weeknights. Add a green salad and a loaf of gluten free bread, and it’s also a great meal to take to a friend. Actually, this soup is hearty enough to be a meal by itself. If you add the pasta right before you serve it, it holds its shape and texture better. Two of my kids have been strictly gluten and dairy free for years, and I recently found that I need to be gluten free as well. Fortunately there are quite a few great gluten free pastas on the market these days! I have made this with gluten free ditalini,…
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Poetry Teatime!
It’s been a LONG time since I’ve updated the blog. My younger two will begin 1st grade next week after Labor Day, and we are still homeschooling! One thing that we will be incorporating into our regular weekly schedule is a Poetry Teatime. So, we thought it would be fun to invite my mom over to join us for our first tea party of the school year (a week early.) I made a super yummy and entirely gluten free (and mostly dairy free) spread of fancy tea party foods. We picked some flowers from the backyard and lit a candle. It was all so lovely and we can’t wait for our next…
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Refried Cuban Black Beans w/Extra Veggies
I’ve made “refried” beans with other recipes, but this one is the best. And it’s freezer and prep-ahead friendly! I also love that I can get in a lot of extra veggies this way! Black beans seem to work best for hiding a lot of extra veggies, but I’ve used pinto beans as well. Both options are delicious. I use my Instant Pot all the time, and pressure cookers and beans are a perfect match! My kids are gluten and dairy free so I topped these with dairy free “cheese” and avocados. Serve hot or cold with corn chips for dipping. Forgot to soak your dried beans last night? No problem! Just…
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Homemade Cream of (Anything) Soup!
I really try to use only real food in my cooking. This is not to say that I don’t sometimes reach for a processed or pre-packaged ingredient, but in general I try to avoid them. In some cases this means added expense, but usually it leads to a more frugal meal plan! Such is the case with cream of (anything) soup. And, have you ever looked at the ingredients in a can of condensed soup?! Not the most appetizing ingredient list! I don’t use cream of soup very often, but there are times when I want to make a casserole, and it calls for a can of cream of mushroom or…
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Peach Freezer Jam (Honey-Sweetened and Pectin-Free!)
Several weeks ago (when it was still summer!) the kids and I took a little trip to a local farm to pick peaches. We love picking berries, peaches, apples, or anything, though we don’t get out to do it as often as I’d like. It can be a bit of an adventure with my toddlers! This year Lily picked quite a few peaches on her own, which was pretty exciting. She kept asking if they were apples or onions, which was cute. She also tried to make a run for it several times, which is something we’re working hard to change. I’m sure other special needs mamas can relate to…
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Zoodles and Nomato Sauce – Grain-Free, GAPS and Paleo AIP Friendly Dinner
What the heck are zoodles? And what is nomato sauce? It’s zucchini noodles and sauce similar to tomato-based marinara, without the tomatoes! As part of the GAPS diet, my toddlers are completely grain-free. This means no pasta, not even gluten-free. No quinoa. No rice. None of that. Tomatoes are allowed, but I noticed my youngest had an eczema flare-up after eating them. I’m not sure the tomatoes were the cause, but I was so frustrated that I decided to try incorporating some AIP ideas, such as removing nightshades temporarily. I had seen the idea of making “noodles” out of zucchini a long time ago, and it came to mind recently,…
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Easiest Ever Ground Beef in a Slow Cooker
One of the best time-saving kitchen tips I’ve found is that you can cook ground beef in a slow cooker. Recipes that call for ground beef usually require you to brown it first (slow cooker or otherwise). Personally, I despise raw meat. Looking at it, touching it, cleaning up afterward… it is high on my eww factor list. And, I have this thing for totally and completely cooking meat. My husband jokes that I like my steak cooked like a piece of cardboard. I disagree with that. Hmph. However, I will admit that I like meat well done, and I probably brown my ground beef longer than most…you know, just to…
