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And The Verdict?…

February 2, 2009 By 5 Comments

So today I put the new oven thermometer in the oven and turned it on at 400 degrees. About twenty minutes later, the thermometer was showing 350 degrees. So THAT is why the things I have been trying to cook have not been turning out right.

After fooling around with the oven for an hour or so, I figured out that to get the oven to 400 degrees, I need to set it on 450 degrees. That should make things better as far as trying to make a cake or cookies.

And after all that, I made a gluten free pizza. The crust turned out pretty good. I baked it for 12 minutes at 400 degrees, then put the toppings on and baked for another 12 minutes. Perfect! Oh, and no picture of it because we ate it all!

Filed Under: Cooking, Gluten Free

Oh, Excuse Me…

February 1, 2009 By 9 Comments

It has been brought to my attention that I have not written in my blog for 4 days. FOUR DAYS! Where has the time gone? It’s not like I was doing anything really important, like working, or cleaning, or even reading the long awaited mail.

It’s just that I have been doing nothing. And going nowhere. You know, being a complete mush head. Lolling about on the sofa watching TV. Playing games online at POGO. Sleeping until 10:00 then taking an afternoon nap before snoozing on bed before actually going to bed.

When your life is like that there is absolutely nothing interesting about it, for you or for anyone else.

So, today, we got out of our pajamas and out of the house and went for a drive. Only I was driving so I couldn’t take any pictures to prove it. I wanted to go here, but we didn’t, so I have nothing to write about. Because I am sure you don’t want to hear about how we drove over to Blythe, California to go to K-Mart and buy an oven thermometer:


Oh, Yeah, Baby! and it even says Martha Stewart on it. Now I’m cooking! Oh, sorry.

So, there ya go, all the drama that was the drama, and all the news to make you sorry you asked.

Filed Under: Cooking, Life on the road

Kielbasa and Potato Soup, Gluten Free

October 26, 2008 By 4 Comments

I am currently reading “Sun Kissed” by Catherine Anderson. (Yeah, it is a dumb love story romance) I started reading her books this summer when I found them in the tiny library at the North Rim. One of the characters in this book was cooking for his family and was making Kielbasa and Potato Soup. There was no recipe given in the book, but it sounded so good that I decided to make some.

Here is the recipe I used:

4 large red potatoes, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch of green onions, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cloves garic, minced
1 pkg kielbasa, cut into bite sized pieces
1 small can evaporated milk
2 cups water or chicken broth
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Cover the potatoes with water and cook until tender, drain, set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and garlic–sautee until tender. Add the kielbasa, sautee until the meat is heated through, about 5 minutes. Mash the potatoes coarsely and add to the dutch oven. Add the seasonings and milk. Combine the tapioca flour with the water, then add to the dutch oven. Turn heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

This soup was thick, like New England Clam Chowder consistency. I served it up with some gluten free crackers and some swiss cheese slices. There was none left to take pictures of.

Filed Under: Cooking, Gluten Free, Recipes

Pumpkin And Peppers

September 24, 2008 By 5 Comments

A while back, I was invited to a potluck dinner at the campground. Someone had brought a most interesting dish that was made with sweet potatoes, red peppers, and onions. I know it sounds weird, but it really was good. So, this weekend when we went to the grocery store, they had some of those little sugar pumpkins and the first thing I thought about was that sweet potato dish. I got one of the pumpkins and used it instead of sweet potato. Do I have to tell you it was YUM!

To make this, use a small sugar pumpkin. Cut it open and scrape out the seeds and stringy stuff. I cut mine into four pieces. Spray it with olive oil, put it on a baking sheet, and bake in the oven for one hour. Let it cool enough to handle it, then scoop out the pumpkin pulp and throw away the peel.

For my pumpkin and peppers, I put some olive oil in a skillet. Sautee some red pepper strips and onion. Add in two cups of the pumpkin and cook for a few minutes to blend the flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste. Very easy, very yum. I served it with baked ham and broccoli. I think it is my new favorite dish. I know I will never buy canned pumpkin again.

I used the rest of the pumpkin, about 5 cups, to make a pumpkin souffle.

5 cups cooked pumpkin, mashed
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 small can evaporated milk + 1 can of water
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all together well, and pour into a greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream. MMMMMM.

Filed Under: Cooking, Recipes Tagged With: , ,

Not Much Going On

August 12, 2008 By 4 Comments

Yes, we had days off, three of them, but we didn’t go anywhere. Well, I didn’t go anywhere. FabGrandpa went to Kanab, to have some more work done on the truck. This time, it got a new starter. And I think this is the last thing we will need to do for a while. At least I hope so.

(Kathy and Zach)

He got up and was ready to go around 5:00 a.m. yesterday. I got up just about the time he left, took a shower, and went back to bed. I finally got up for the day around 9:30, just in time to have a cup of coffee before he came back home.

(Shirley, John, Bob, and Gary)

Later, in the late afternoon, we had a dinner party across the street. Kathy and Ace had been gone to the South Rim for three weeks. I had been watering her plants, and a couple of others had been feeding her Kitty, so to thank us all, they made dinner. MMMM, they had potato salad, baked beans, and pork ribs. All of it was very good, and all gluten free I might add. After we all ate, we went out to the fire ring and just visited around the campfire. What a nice, relaxing, day.

(Gary and Sue)

So, since I will be on the late shift when I go back to work tomorrow, I have been cooking all day so we will be able to eat at a halfway decent hour all the rest of the week. I have baked chicken thighs, country style pork ribs, potato salad, rice, jello salad, pinto bean soup and tuna salad. for tonight, it will be stir fried chicken with garlic, french cut green beans, corn and the last of my sweet red Italian peppers. I’ll serve it with some rice and a pear salad, then we’ll eat the last of that chocolate cake. (John and Zach)

And while all that cooking was going on, we also defrosted the refrigerator, cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed all the carpet and shook all the rugs, and just generally cleaned everything. Yeah, how exciting! But now it is done and next time we have time off, we will go somewhere and I will come back with some fabulous pictures to share. But, for now, just know we are living the good life up here on the Kaibab Plateau.

(Ace and FabGrandpa)
Filed Under: Cooking, Friends, Gluten Free, Life on the road

Gluten Free Chicken Corn Chowder

December 12, 2007 By 1 Comment

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I found a really good deal on chicken the other day—only 89 cents a pound for leg and thigh quarters. The only catch was that you had to buy 10 pounds of it to get that price. Those of you who know me know that I live in a tiny little travel trailer and have a tiny little freezer. That 10 pounds of chicken just about filled up the freezer. So I have been cooking chicken just about every day for the last week. In order to not have the same old thing day in and day out, I have been trying new things. The chicken of the day for today may be the most yummy thing made with chicken, EVER! If you have a gluten freedie that you feed, or even if you don’t this should be on your menu soon. It tastes like love in a bowl.

Chicken and Corn Chowder

2 cups cooked chicken, diced
6 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
3 shallots, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 ½ cups frozen creamed corn or 3 ears fresh, scraped off the cob
2 oz evaporated milk
¼ cup sour cream
1-3 tablespoons potato flour (or regular wheat flour if you are not gluten free)

Put the chicken, broth, corn and potatoes in a dutch oven and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. In the meantime, melt the butter in a skillet. Add the onion, celery, and shallots and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the onion mixture to the dutch oven. When potatoes are done, add the evaporated milk and sour cream. Add flour and stir until desired thickness is achieved.

This is very good served with buttered gluten free bread or cheese toast.

For an interesting variation, add a couple of roasted, diced poblano peppers with the onions. Yuummmm!

Filed Under: Cooking, Gluten Free, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,
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