Review of Glutino Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Photo Source:  http://www.glutino.com)

After we visited the cemetery on Memorial Day, our son and daughter-in-law invited us to go with them for a picnic.  We wandered around the grocery store looking for gluten-free picnic items. It was kind of tricky to figure out what to eat without bringing my gluten-free pumpkin muffins from the freezer at home. :)   We finally decided to buy gluten-free crackers, lunch meat, cheese, and these wonderful Glutino cookies.  Ah...these are good cookies.  I am rating them at 9.5 out of 10.  They are very tasty, and I am only docking them by .5 because they are a little crumbly.

Review of Glutino Gluten Free Toaster Pastry

I seldom bought toaster pastries before I found out I had celiac disease because of the expense and lack of nutrition.  However, when I saw gluten-free toaster pastries in our grocery store, I bought them.  I suppose it is because I haven't seen any gluten-free toaster pastries since our diagnosis and haven't eaten one for so many years.  I knew it would be fun for our teenage son and daughter to try them, also.

I am rating them at 7 out of 10.  The strawberry flavor was good, but just a little bit tart.  We wondered where the frosting was on the top of the toaster pastries and we wish Glutino would have added the sweetness of frosting to offset the tart strawberry flavor.  The texture was slightly dry and pasty. But overall the flavor was good and it was fun for us to try something new.

I appreciate how many gluten free products are available in our grocery stores and health food stores, and this is no exception.  It helps us to feel like we are not alone in this journey when new products are developed.  :)

(Photo source:  www.glutino.com)

Recipe for Honey Garlic Wrap-Ups

It is always nice to have a few recipes that can be prepared in under 15 minutes.  This is a quick recipe if you use the convenience ideas stated below.*  I also love how healthy this recipe is...because of the added vegetables.  My husband came up with the sauce recipe, and I love it!  You can find this recipe in my cookbook on Page 105, though additional vegetables are in the recipe below.

Honey Garlic Wrap-Ups

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts* or 1 can chicken chunks

cooking oil

2 cups cooked rice*

2-3 cups cooked cauliflower and broccoli*

4 sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced green pepper

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon butter or olive oil

½ cup honey

gluten-free corn tortillas

ranch dressing

tomatoes, diced

avocados, diced

romaine or butter lettuce

1. Prepare cooked chicken.  *I like the convenience of baking five or six chicken breasts for one hour at 350 degrees, with a small amount of water added to the covered baking dish.  After the chicken bakes and cools slightly, I use one or two chicken breasts for this recipe, and freeze the rest for other recipes that call for cooked chicken chunks.
2. Unless using canned or baked chicken, slice chicken breasts into strips and cook in oil.  Slice mushrooms.  *Add 2 cups of water to a blender, along with peeled onion (about 1/2 of an onion) and 1/2 to 1 green pepper.  Blend to chop finely and pour off water by using a strainer.  (Or use a food processor to chop onions and green peppers into small pieces.)  Fry mushrooms, onions, and green peppers until tender.
3. Prepare cooked rice.  *Uncle Ben's Quinoa and Brown Rice with Garlic is awesome.  It comes in packets that are microwaveable and warm in 90 seconds.  So easy!  (Make sure to read the label because some types of Uncle Ben's rice have gluten).
4. Prepare cooked broccoli and cauliflower.  *There are several brands of microwaveable broccoli/cauliflower packages available and cooking time is about 3-4 minutes. 
5. In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, add garlic, salt, vinegar, butter, and honey. Microwave until combined and more liquid.
6. Pour sauce over chicken, mushrooms, onions, and green pepper.  Add cooked rice and broccoli/cauliflower.  Fry for several more minutes.  Make a wrap using a warmed corn tortilla topped with cooked chicken, rice, and broccoli/cauliflower mixture and add ranch dressing, tomatoes, avocados, and lettuce.  Yum!

Serves 4 to 6 

Recipe for Gluten-Free Sushi Rolls

A few years ago when our friends had an exchange student living with them, he taught our son how to make sushi rolls.  We have had fun making them ever since then.  We love the fresh flavor and the spicy "kick" from the wasabi.

Gluten-Free Sushi Rolls

2 nori seaweed "sheets" (I like Sushi Chef brand because it isn't as "fishy" tasting)
Cooked sushi rice* (about 2 cups)
1/2 can of crab (artificial crab often has wheat in it)
1 avocado, sliced lengthwise into segments
Garlic salt
Onion salt
Black pepper
Wasabi
1 tablespoon ketchup
3 tablespoons mayonnaise


Step 1:  Cook sushi rice and set aside to cool. *With the brand of rice that I found in our grocery store (Nishiki), I have found that it is important to add extra water and to leave the lid off while cooking; otherwise the rice is crunchy.  For the size of the above recipe, I used 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water.


Step 2:  Place one sheet of nori on a bamboo rolling mat or a cutting board.  Spread cooked, cooled sushi rice gently and thinly across nori, leaving about 1 inch at one end of the nori where there is no rice.

Step 3:  Make a line of avocado and crab across the middle of the sushi.

Step 4:  Sprinkle garlic salt, onion salt, and pepper across entire area of rice.

Step 5:  Roll nori, leaving the area without rice to be rolled last (toward the outer edge of the roll).

Step 6:  Wet a serrated knife with water, and slice roll into one inch slices

Step 7:  Combine ketchup and mayonnaise into a sauce.  Serve sushi rolls with wasabi and sauce.

Recipe for Chicken Fettuccine

I am trying to eat healthy foods...I really am.  However, it is important to our family that we have one day a week that we can eat some of our favorite foods that are...um...not exactly fat-free and full of vegetables. Nevertheless, we try to have a good serving of vegetables on our plate as well.  So, for our "day off" this week, we enjoyed chicken fettuccine.  You can find the recipe on page 106 of my cookbook. :)

Chicken Fettuccine

8 ounces cream cheese

¼ cup butter

½ cup Parmesan cheese

1 1/2  cups milk

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon butter

5 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces and cooked

1 to 2 cooked, diced chicken breasts

1 packet gluten-free fettuccine noodles, cooked and drained

1. Cook cream cheese, butter, Parmesan cheese, milk, garlic powder and pepper in saucepan until smooth and warm. Set aside to cool and thicken.
2. Sauté mushrooms in butter.  Fry bacon and chicken. Cook noodles.
3. Gently combine sauce, mushrooms, bacon, and chicken with the cooked noodles.

Serves 7-9 

Gluten-free Food at In N' Out Restaurant and Taco Bell

Finding gluten-free food to eat while travelling can be daunting at times.  We went out of town for our son's graduation, and while we were waiting for the convocation to begin, we decided to grab a quick lunch at the food court of the university.  The food court had Subway sandwiches, Freschetta pizza, Taco Bell, burgers, soup and salad, along with a few other gluten-filled possibilities.  We checked on the soup and salad, but the soups had gluten.  They said the salads were a possibility, but they also sold wrap-ups, and the cross-contamination factor was huge because many of the salad ingredients were going into the wrap-ups.  We realized our only choice was Taco Bell.

I quickly googled "Taco Bell gluten free" on my phone to find out what we could eat.  I knew that we had ordered tostadas before, and it worked out well.  The only thing I could find on their website that didn't have gluten was a Cantina Bowl (chicken, steak, or veggie).  I couldn't see those anywhere on the menu.  By this time, we were at the cash register and it was time to order--with people standing in line behind us.  Don't you hate the pressure you feel in that situation?  We quickly ordered tostadas because they are listed as wheat-free on the web site.  We didn't get sick, so that was a relief.

(Photo Source:  google images)

Later that day, we had to resort to fast food again because we had a long drive ahead of us.  We went to In N' Out restaurant and ordered a low-carb hamburger (make sure to tell them that you have a sensitivity to gluten when you order).  We had a delicious lettuce-wrapped burger, with fries and a tasty shake.  (I didn't say this was a healthy meal. :)  

(Photo Source:  google images)

Recipe for Gluten-free Cashew Shrimp

We ate at a Chinese restaurant recently where they served gluten-free Walnut Shrimp.  It was delicious, and our 18-year-old son said it was one of his favorite foods...ever!  We decided to try to duplicate it, and I think we came pretty close.  Since our son doesn't like walnuts, he ate the shrimp at the restaurant and picked off the walnuts.  :)  We decided to switch to cashews.  Tasty!

Cashew Shrimp

1 egg white
1 teaspoon water
8 oz. raw shrimp
1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Onion salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup cashews, chopped

Step 1:  Pour egg white and water into clean plastic Ziploc-type bag.  Add shrimp and knead plastic bag until shrimp is covered with egg.  Pour cornstarch into pie plate.  Using a slotted spoon, add shrimp and turn each shrimp until coated with cornstarch (or potato starch).

Step 2:  Add olive oil to barely cover the bottom of a non-stick frying pan.  Fry shrimp on both sides until shrimp turns pink and coating turns light brown.  Sprinkle shrimp lightly with garlic salt and onion salt.

Step 3: Combine sweetened condensed milk, mayonnaise, honey, and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Step 4:  Bring water and sugar to a boil until sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat.  Add chopped cashews and stir to coat.

Step 5:  Place shrimp on a serving dish.  Drizzle sweetened condensed milk mixture over shrimp.  Separate sugared cashews from liquid and sprinkle over shrimp.

Serves 3-4