Must Follow Recipes

Homemade Mint Chocolate/Carob Chips

2011-06-24T07:27:00.000-05:00

Haven't tried this yet, but yummmm.... looks so good!

Homemade Mint Chocolate/Carob Chips

soy-free
dairy-free
refined sugar-free option
caffeine-free carob option

What's New In Our Food?

2011-04-05T07:14:00.000-05:00

Check out these stats:

1. Today, 1 out 17 kids under the age of 3 has a food allergy.
2. From 1997 until 2002, peanut allergies DOUBLED.
3. 9 out of 10 of breast cancer cases in the US are not genetic; they are environmental.
Robin O'Brien is so smart! She is the Horton who heard a Who. I've got her book but haven't started it yet. Can't wait! Watch this video. She is so eloquent & passionate. You WILL be inspired! (copied from Cheeseslave)

This video has some FABULOUS information and is well worth the time. PLEASE take the time to watch.

HOMEMADE Coconut Milk Yogurt

2011-03-29T07:58:00.001-05:00

Funky Food writes that she has successfully made homemade coconut milk yogurt at home! I LOVE coconut milk yogurt, but WOWSERS (!), it is expensive!

So Delicious

Check out her starting recipe (originally made with milk, but shows an update at the end of the post) and be sure to read the comments for further suggestions regarding thickening of the yogurt. Then you should check out her updated recipe specific to the coconut milk.

Have you successfully made dairy free yogurt at home? Add your link to the comments, please! Thanks!

Combating Allergies

2011-03-09T06:48:00.003-06:00

Allergies Have You in a Fog? is a great article of 25 tips to help combat allergies (not just food allergies). The author uses a myriad of links to bloggers, commercial products, and medical professionals.

While some of it isn't new information to those of us that have dealt with allergies for a long time, it's certainly a good starting place for those being thrown into the allergy world against their will. :) I know there were a few articles I tagged to check out and we've been dealing with environmental allergies for at least 5 years now - thinking we've tried everything. (And if I were still a food allergy cook, there were a few new-to-me blogs that look like a fun place to check out.) I'm always thankful for new ideas, aren't you? :)

While the author of this article did contact me and asked me to read it, I was not compensated in any way for this review. These are my honest, unbiased opinions and thoughts. Thankyouverymuch and have a nice day. :)

What's Really In Your Food?

2011-02-16T11:20:00.003-06:00

Foodfacts.com contacted me and asked if I would help spread the word about their site. With ingredients changing all the time, this looks like it could be a useful tool in the allergy world. Here's their commercial:

Homemade Almond Flour

2011-02-09T08:59:00.002-06:00

This looks absolutely amazing! And what a savings, too! I haven't tried it yet, but can't wait to do so!

~ The Crazy Kitchen ~: Cooking 101: How to make your own high quality almond flour

Ask the Readers: Chocolate Fountain

2011-01-20T17:17:00.003-06:00

I received this email from a reader and I don't have any experience with this, so I thought I'd throw the question out there to my readers. Please offer any suggestions in the comment section. Thanks so much!

****************

Have you ever come across an allergy-friendly recipe for a chocolate fountain or chocolate fondue? I have a 'turning-fifteen" year old daughter who is allergic to dairy, egg, and peanuts who really wants a chocolate something for her birthday party. If you have any ideas, I would really like to hear them.

****************

Dairy- Free Egg-Free Yellow Squash Muffins (repost)

2010-06-29T11:32:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd repost this recipe as we've got a plethora of yellow squash about to come in and I figure you probably do to! :)
**************************************

This recipe is featured on Allergy Sense and

I found the original hand-written recipe on a piece of notebook paper in a cookbook that I purchased at a yard sale. Because Witt is allergic to eggs, I substituted 1/4 c applesauce for each egg and they turned out great! (and without apple flavor)

(For a healthier version of these muffins, click here.)

2 lb Yellow Squash (about 8)
1/2 c Applesauce
1 c melted DF Margarine
1 c White Sugar
3 c AP Flour
1 Tbs + 2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Boil squash until tender. Drain. Return to pot and mash.

Measure 2 cups of squash into another bowl. Add applesauce and margarine. Mix. Add remaining ingredients. Mix. Fill ungreased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 350 until lightly golden brown; about 15 - 20 minutes.

Cookbook Giveaway: What's to Eat?

2010-04-29T12:19:00.004-05:00

*** Congrats to Spooky!! Giveaway is now closed***

This is my personal copy of What's to Eat? The Milk-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free Food Allergy Cookbook. Some pages are bent and the spine is broken, but all the pages are there and I'm certain it will be of use to somebody. :)

If you'd like to enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment on this post. I will draw a random winner on Thursday, May 6th. US mailing addresses only, please.

Good luck!

Chocolate Cake Brownies

2010-04-13T18:28:00.001-05:00

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free, Peanut-Free

This recipe was adapted from the March edition of Guideposts Magazine. You could substitute regular flour for the rice and amaranth flour if gluten is not a concern.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey
1 1/4 cup milk substitute
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 t sea salt
2 t baking powder
1 cup organic walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate baking chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease the inside of a 9x13 pan with coconut oil. Combine oil, honey, milk substitute, flaxseed and vanilla in order, then mix 1 minute on medium. Gradually add flours and cocoa powder - mix one minute on medium. Add baking soda, salt and baking powder in order, then mix 1 minute on high. Add walnuts and chocolate chips - mix well. Pour into pan and bake 17-20 minutes. Store in fridge.

Makes 12 brownies.

Kale Chips

2010-04-08T09:30:00.001-05:00

I started making these at the end of last summer. In fact, I think it was the first time I had ever tried kale. I HAD BEEN MISSING OUT!!! Oh wow... kale ranks high on my favorite greens list. :)

I started out with this recipe at We Like It Raw and also enjoyed this vlog at Making Love in the Kitchen. There are also recipes that add other flavors, like these "cheesy" ones I still want to try. :)

Ingredients

kale
olive oil
lemon
sea salt (I use Celtic)
honey

Wash and dry the kale. I don't like the stems in mine (they are really hard to chew and take away from the crispiness of the leaf in my opinion), so I tear the leaves into large pieces and compost the stem. However, another option is to leave the stem and just eat around them. Leaving the stem in seems to help the leaf not stick so badly to the tray. That honey can be a pain sometimes! LOL!

I massage in each ingredient one at a time to make sure each leaf is covered. After massaging in the ingredients, you should be able to notice that the kale has reduced in size. If not, you need to massage some more. :)

Now, take a bite of it. If you enjoy the kale now, you'll really like it with the crispiness. Add more of whatever twang you want: sweet, sour, or lemon. You get them all in this recipe! :)

I've made these in the dehydrator and the oven. I don't really have a preference as to which does a better job, so I'll just tell you how I've done it and let you choose.

Option 1: Dehydrate. My dehydrator doesn't have a temperature control. I opened the vent all the way and turn it on. If memory served me correctly, they were done in 6 - 8 hours.

Option 2: Oven. The lowest temp on my oven is 170. I generally preheat my oven to this and stick the kale in for about 30 min - 1 hour. Then I turn off the heat and turn my oven light on. Let them sit over night. By morning there should be a gentle crispiness to them. Turn them over and let them sit longer for more crisp or eat for breakfast. :)

Option 2: Oven. You can also toast them for a quick treat, but you're gonna have to watch them. Heat to 350 for 10 - 15 minutes. (This would not be a raw version, btw.)

Enjoy!! I don't know how long these last as I usually end up eating the whole batch in a day. The kids don't really care for them, but I LOVE THEM!!! So they are MINE... ALL MINE!!!! :)

Tortilla Soup -- Dairy Free

2010-03-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

Finding good soups or a taco soup that is dairy free is a big challenge. So many have cheese or cream cheese. Here's a tortilla soup that my daughter really likes. It also is not very spicy which really appeals to a toddler.

Tortilla Soup (or Taco Soup as my daughter calls it)

(I found this in Everyday Food by Martha Stewart)

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 garlic cloves

1 tsp chili powder

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans black beans

1 can chicken broth (boullion would work, too)

10 oz package frozen corn

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup crushed tortilla chips (I used some leftover taco shells)

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice.

1. In large saucepan, heat oil medium. Cook garlic and chili powder until fragrant about 1 minute.

2. Add tomatoes with juice, beans, broth, corn and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Bring soup to boil, reduce to simmer. Add tortilla chips and cook until softened about 2 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Serve with extra tortilla chips.

**This soup freezes really well. The tortilla chips get a little soft, but you could always freeze a portion before adding the tortilla chip. And then add tortilla chips after unthawing.**

Green Bean Casserole

2010-03-13T17:28:00.002-06:00

I created this recipe because I was tired of not having any "popular" potluck items to bring to family functions. Everyone loves green bean casserole, however, it is hard to find a recipe that doesn't call for some type of creamy soup. I brought this to a family get-together a few years ago and everyone loved it. In fact, they asked me to bring it back the next year. No more cream of mushroom casseroles!!

Ingredients:

2 c. wild rice
4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 small chopped onion
1 t. rosemary
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 lb. steamed green beans
Wheat germ

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Cook rice in broth until done. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Top with a layer of wheat germ. Place in a casserole dish and bake until the wheat germ is toasty (approximately 30 minutes).

To make into a main dish add 2 cups of diced chicken to the casserole before baking.

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free French Toast

2010-02-22T12:40:00.000-06:00

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free French Toast

1/2 cup vanilla soymilk (I used Very Vanilla by Silk)

1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened)

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 Tbps flour

dash cinnamon

several slices of bread (I have used homemade French Bread and regular store-bought bread)

1. Mix ingredients together.

2. Dip bread in mixture. I found that letting it soak in on a wire rack for a minute or two helps. Than I took a knife and scrapped off the excess.

3. Bake each side 5 minutes or until golden brown. I set my skillet at 350 degrees or on the stove on medium to medium-low.

**Stick extras in freezer for an easy breakfast.**

Dairy Free Chocolate (Avocado) Pudding

2010-02-11T11:46:00.005-06:00

Ok, this is going to sound strange, but here are your ingredients:

avocados
cocoa powder
vanilla extract
maple syrup

(not so scientific) Directions

Place desired number of avocados in food processor. (Three regular sized ones give a nice sized portion for four people.)

Start processing. Add cocoa powder by the tablespoon until the green turns brown like chocolate. You may need to stop the processor and scrape down the sides. Add a dash of vanilla. Then begin adding the maple syrup while processing and do several taste tests until it is sweet enough.

Enjoy!

PS. My kids have been known to make a mess while eating this! :)

~I found this recipe at Green & Crunchy

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Chicken Pasta Salad

2010-02-09T14:11:00.001-06:00

This is one of those recipes that requires "special" ingredients. I made it today because I had some leftovers of everything listed that also needed to be used up. Listed at the end of this recipe are some links to more recipes for these "special" ingredients.

I adapted this from my dairy-based, egg-based recipe. I've been pretty successful tweaking my own recipes to make them dairy-free. My goal is to make food that everyone can eat and not know it's missing dairy and egg.

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Chicken Pasta Salad

(This is a small serving size of 2 to 4 small servings. You can easily double this recipe.)

1/2 cup pasta, (I use small shells)

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup chicken, pre-cooked

1/2 cup Vegeniase

1/2 Tbsp Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese, plain

1/2 Tbsp Tofutti Better than Sour Cream, plain

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dill weed

1. Boil water and make pasta. Drain.

2. While pasta is boiling, chop veggies and mix in a bowl with chicken.

3. In separate bowl mix cream cheese and sour cream with garlic powder and dill weed. Mix in Veganaise.

4. Mix all together. Let sit in fridge for an hour before serving.

**Recently I made dairy-free, egg-free dill dip with Better than Sour Cream and Better than Cream Cheese. Also, here's a great dairy-free cream cheese frosting. Vegenaise can be used in place of mayo in any recipe or for sandwiches. Tofutti has recipe ideas here under fun stuff!**

SunButter Winners!!

2010-02-05T18:43:00.003-06:00

From Random.org: The winners are 13, 10, and 5!!

Congrats to: Hanna, NoWheyMama, and Chef Penny!

Buckwheat Pancakes

2010-02-03T14:07:00.005-06:00

Pancakes are a weekend favorite in our house - the only problem is that most of the packaged mixes contain at least one of the foods my son is allergic to. And if the mixes don't contain them, the recipe calls for eggs or milk.

I started making my own mixes not too long ago and not only are they allergy-free and easy to make, but they save a TON of money!!

Buckwheat Pancakes

Blend the following ingredients:

1 1/2 c. water
3 T oil (we prefer coconut oil)
1 c. buckwheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla

You could add 1/2 c. sugar to the mix to sweeten it. We prefer to drizzle our pancakes with maple syrup instead.

This recipe should make 6 large pancakes (8-10 small).

Enjoy!

No Bake Cookie Bars

2010-02-03T11:57:00.004-06:00

adapted from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

Ingredients

1/2 c honey
1/2 c coconut oil
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c Sunbutter
1 1/2 c oats (I used "old fashioned")
1/2 c dairy free chocolate chips

Directions

Melt honey, coconut oil, and cocoa powder on low stirring well to combine. Whisk at least 1 minute once melted as the honey really likes to settle on the bottom. Remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla and Sunbutter. Add oats and chocolate chips. Stir to combine.

Transfer to a brownie pan and refrigerate until hardened (approximately 1 hour or more).

Homemade Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Chocolate Candy

2010-02-02T12:25:00.001-06:00

With Valentine's Day coming up, I struggle with chocolate candy for my dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free daughter. You can buy expensive allergy-free chocolate or you can make your own. Here's what I came up with to make some fun chocolate candies.

Use a mold or silicon ice cube tray. I bought mine at the dollar store, but I've also seen them at the dollar spot at Target. Simply melt dairy-free chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life chocolate chips, and pour into the mold. Chill and pop out.

Here's another recipe to change it up a little. Yummy!

Chocolate Sunbutter Hearts

1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
1/4 cup Sunbutter (or Soybutter)
2 Tbsp daiy-free butter (I use Earth's Balance)

1. Melt in microwave for 30 seconds.

2. Pour in mold

3. Chill in freezer for an hour or longer.

4. Once chilled, pop out and eat!

**Use more or less of the ingredients depending on how many you want to make. You really can't do it wrong.*

(This recipe is featured on Mallergies.)

SunButter GIVEAWAY!

2010-02-01T16:47:00.005-06:00

THIS STUFF TASTES GOOD! I PROMISE!

I bought some Sunbutter in bulk and now I've got more than I can use by the SELL BY date of March 2010. Wanna take some off my hands for free? :)

Giveaway: 3 different winners will receive a 16 oz jar of Sunbutter Natural.

Processed in a peanut free and tree nut free facility. Made on equipment that processes soybeans.

Ingredients: Sunflower seed, dehydrated cane juice, salt, and natural mixed tocopherols to preserve freshness.

RULES
1. Leave me a comment about why you'd like to try it... allergy, curious, don't like peanuts?
2. Open to US mailing addresses.
3. One entry per person.
4. Comments close Friday, Feb 5, 2010 at NOON CST and THREE (3) winners will be chosen.
5. Please leave a way for me to contact you or I will choose another winner.
6. You will have 2 days from the time I send you an email notifying you that you won to send me your mailing address.

Good luck!

Getting to know us and birthday cake!

2010-01-31T18:18:00.011-06:00

I am so excited to be a part of this blog! For me recipes need to be easy to follow and easy to make or I wont touch them lol! This blog has given me many ideas on ways to cook for my 1 yr old daughter with many food intolerance's. We finally did allergy testing and all tests, except for grass, came back negative as we thought, because there is no testing to check for GI response allergies (or intolerance's as they like to call them). We have a plan to slowly introduce dairy/soy/rice/bananas and a variety of other foods that our daughter has reacted poorly to but for right now I will be learning to cook free of all of these.

Our first obstacle....Birthday Cake and frosting!

Since I am fairly new to cooking with many restrictions I visited our local Whole Foods and found many birthday cake mixes. One that I especially thought looked promising is a yellow cake mix by Cherrybrook Kitchen (most all of their products are dairy/egg/peanut/soy free.) It does call for butter so i picked a tub of Earth's Balance dairy/soy free butter and brought it home to make. It was so easy as it only calls for butter, water and the cake mix, and tasted GREAT! Its a bit more dense then your average cake but well worth it to be able to let my daughter have cake on her birthday.

To frost it I made a very simple frosting that required powdered sugar, "safe" butter,almond flavoring and a bit of water to smooth it out. I first melted the butter (the amount of butter depends on how much you want to make. I used about 1/2 cup of butter.) I then mixed in powdered sugar to make it clumpy and added about a teaspoon of water just to smooth it out. If you want it thicker you will want to add more powdered sugar. After I got it to the consistency I wanted I added 1/4 tsp of almond flavoring and 3 drops of pink food coloring. It turned out great and my daughter loved it! You can tell it tasted good by how she dug into it! For everyone else I made mini cupcakes with the same cake mix and frosting mix.

Everyone loved them and couldn't even tell they were allergy free!

Our Story

2010-01-28T08:18:00.000-06:00

Since I've been introducing the new allergy cooks, I thought it would be appropriate to share a little bit of our story, too.

In October 2007, our youngest son (then 5 months old) had an anaphylactic reaction to his first bottle of milk-based baby formula. After allergy testing, a severe dairy allergy was confirmed as well as allergies to egg whites and egg yolks. Because his allergies were life threatening, we immediately began living as a dairy-free/egg-free family. A year later, peanuts were added to his list of allergens.

As I began making more and more from scratch, I found that it was often cheaper (and healthier) to make our own meals and not rely heavily on pre-packaged, processed foods. As I had the time, I recorded some of our favorite recipes here as a way to organize them. I had no idea that it would become a source to meet other allergy families, swap recipes, and share stories. Being in contact with other families has been such a blessing!

2009 began our intentional journey of integrating more whole foods while continuing the strict avoidance of his allergens. I began using more whole wheat flour, coconut oil, sucanat, and the like in our recipes during this time. Baby steps, as they say. :)

In December 2009 at his annual allergy testing, it was determined that our son's allergies had disappeared! All tests came back negative! Gone! God is so good! He passed the live milk challenge that was conducted under medical supervision. He has also passed at-home tests of baked-in egg. He won't touch a straight egg yet. LOL! We will do at-home testing for peanuts after he turns three in May 2010.

2010 will mark the beginning of learning how to cook without limitations of allergens, but within the limitations of nourishing foods. I've started a new recipe blog to organize the recipes I convert towards whole food and cook from scratch.

Although I won't have a lot more to add regarding DFEFPF recipes, there are still several recipes that we've tried but haven't gotten around to posting yet. I'm hoping that the addition of more allergy cooks to Must Follow Recipes will keep the recipes flowing. If you would like to include your family's recipes as well, please email me! {missbecky75 *at* gmail [dot] com}

If you would like to read our full story, feel free to visit us at Boys Rule My Life.

Pre-Packaged Dairy-free, Egg-free, Peanut-free

2010-01-27T08:00:00.005-06:00

NOTE: This is another post that I am transferring from my personal blog. The original post (from May 2008) and all the comments are still available there, but I thought it would be most handy for those that read here as well.

**************************************

(Whew... what a title!)

I admit it... I was a big pre-packaged cooker before Witt's allergies hit us. Yes, allergieS. The dairy allergy was obvious and then the egg allergy was confirmed when he ate something with egg in it... I don't remember what it was, but I do remember him scratching terribly about two hours after ingestion. Poor little guy. I have not tried barley again yet as I just haven't had the time to pay close enough attention. So, at least two confirmed allergies... possibly a third.

Now that Witt starting to eat more table food, I must be more careful now than I was before; so, I want to start a log of pre-packaged foods that he has eaten so I can keep a reference. I hope this list will also help others and verify some of the foods that "appear" to be dairy-free egg-free. By appears to be I mean that there are so many milk derivatives that it is sometimes hard to keep them straight. Also, some things have the same labeling, but might not be milk-derived (ie "caramel color" can come from milk or other places - I have to call the manufacturer to find out). It's a very tedious process of reading labels (many, many times) to keep Witt safe.

Some of these might appear obviously dairy-free, but you just never know... we found dairy products in toddler toothpaste!!!

Although I am do a lot more "from scratch" cooking now, here are the prepackaged foods that Witt has already had without reaction (this will be a living list as I will add as we go and is in no particular order).

Please note that Witt has never had reaction to foods that use the terminology "May contain xyz" or "Processed on lines with xyz". The extent of each person's allergies is different, so be sure to read the labels. This list is not "guaranteed" safe, it is just what worked for us.

UPDATE: Dec 2008 - Witt also tested positive to peanuts this year, so this list will also include peanut free foods he has eaten.

*******************************************

For Milk Allergy Mom's list of tried foods: click here and here.

I Can't Believe It's Vegan also has a huge list of dairy-free egg-free prepackaged foods.

Go Dairy Free has a wonderful list of not dairy free, possibly dairy free, and surprisingly dairy free ingredients.

For other DF Bloggers, check out my Dairy-Free Blogroll.

Cereal/Breakfast
Plain Cheerios
Cinnamon Life
Pop-Tarts: Brown Cinnamon & Sugar with icing
Pop-Tarts: Strawberry (no frosting)
Malt-o-Meal Berry Colossal Crunch
Van’s Wheat Free Mini Waffles
100% Pure Maple Syrup
Lucky Charms
Fiber One Caramel Delight
Kellogg's Frosted MiniWheats (Strawberry Delight)
Kroger Instant Oatmeal Lower-sugar Apples and cinnamon
Malt OMeal Marshmallow Mateys
Bluebird Mini Honey Buns

Cookies/Crackers/Chips

Nabisco Graham Crackers - honey
Cambridge Graham Crackers - honey
Pringles chips- Plain
Best Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Wal*Mart brand)
Kroger Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Ritz Original Crackers
Cambridge Ritz style crackers
Clancy's Pretzel Sticks (from Aldi)
Golden OREOs Original
OREOs
Vanilla MoonPies
SuperPretzels (plain)

Canned/Jarred
Bush's Black Eyed Peas
Del Monte Green Beans
Le Sueurs whole carrots
Plain Applesauce
Canned fruits
Fruit bowls (no parfaits, yogurts, ONLY plain)
Mushrooms

DelMonte Greenbeans

Sauces/Condiments

Ragu Sauteed Onion & Garlic Pasta Sauce
Parkay Squeeze "butter"
Fleischman's Unsalted margarine
Willow Run Vegan Margarine
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
Tofutti Sour Supreme / Better Than Sour Cream
Heinz Ketchup
Kraft Creamy Italian dressing & dip
Kikkoman's soy sauce
Red Star Nutritional Yeast
Rachel Ray's Beef Flavored Stock
Heinz Worcestershire Sauce
Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Hormel Real Bacon Bits (50% Less fat)
Chef's Cupboard Onion Soup Mix (from Aldi's)
Private Selection Organic Chicken Broth (Kroger)

"Cheese"
I buy online from The Vegan Store:
Follow Your Heart Vegan Cheese: "Cheddar", "Mozzarella"
Veganaise Mayonaise
Parmazao Imitations Parmesan

Rices/Pasta

Near East Couscous - Wild Mushroom and Herbs
ASIA Specialties Soy Ginger (from Aldi)
Near East Rice Pilaf Mix - Original
Jehling Ramen Noodle Soup - chicken flavor (from Aldi)
10 Minute Success Boil in Bag Rice
Smart Taste Pastas
THAI KITCHEN Spring Onion Instant Rice Noodle Soup

Baby Finger Foods
Gerber Graduates APPLE wagon wheels
Gerber Graduates mini fruits (dried) - banana strawberry
Kroger Brand Little Comforts Puffs – Blueberry, Strawberry Apple
Gerber Graduates Juice Treats

Drinks
Nesquick Chocolate powder
Hershey's Chocolate syrup
100% Juices
Silk Soy Milk
Rice Dream Milk

Meat

Hebrew National Hot Dogs (of course cut up very small with skin removed.)
Great Value fully cooked Homestyle meatballs (frozen at Wal*mart)
Tennessee Pride mild sausage patties
Brookdale Vienna Sausages
Brookdale Potted Meat
Valley Fresh 100% natural while chicken in water
Ian's fish sticks (GF, CF, DF, EF, SF, NF)
Boca Burgers - original vegan
Hormel Real Bacon Bits (50% Less Fat)
Carolina Pride Beef Smoked Sausage
Banquet Chicken Nuggets
Hormel Natural Choice 100% Honey Deli Ham

Bread

Sunbeam King Thin
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Publix white
L'Oven Fresh white (Aldi)
~~Sara Lee Soft & Smooth 100% Honey Wheat~~ - see Aimee's comment

Random

Mt. Olive Kosher Mini Dill Pickles
Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Tater-tots
Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit

Desserts

Tofutti Cuties (ice cream sandwiches)
Great Value Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Dairy Free Ice “creams” (DREAM, Purely Decedent)
Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Red Velvet (substitute eggs with a little less than 3/4 c unsweetened applesauce)

Fast Food
~~McDonald's French Fries~~ - see Melissa's comment

Burger King plain hamburger with bun

Burger King french fries

Chicken MeeFun (rice noodles) from our local Chinese restaurant (not at a buffet)
Terriyaki Chicken on a stick from our local Chinese restaurant (not at a buffet)

Welcome New Allergy Cook: The Snells

2010-01-15T07:50:00.000-06:00

A little about our food journey...it started when my daughter was born last January. I felt from day 1 she had a MSPI (milk and soy protein intolerance) but her drs were quick to dismiss me. She was so sick for so many months :( She was diagnosed with reflux at 3mo and we were told to thicken her formula with rice cereal. This helped keep the formula down but worsened her allergy symptoms (mucusy diarrhea,eczema,bad stomach aches, off and on rashes, etc) Finally i went on my own and got some nutramigen formula which still didn't help so i went to Neocate (an elemental formula) and simply thick (an alternative to rice cereal to thicken with) and she was a happy baby again! From there we started to try foods. What a hard thing this has been!

We first did the rice cereal which was a no go :( Next I tried green beans and she liked the taste but she had a GI reaction so that was stopped as well. We then tried and failed sweet potatoes, squash, potatoes, zucchini, carrots,egg noodles and bananas. As of now she is almost 1 yr and can eat apples, pears, dairy/soy free puffs, dairy/soy free crackers, kix cereal, strawberries, grapes, neocate nutra (an elemental form of rice cereal) and can have pear, grape and apple juice. Since she has so many foods she has done poorly with it has made it very hard to find and make things she can eat. I shop a lot at whole foods and get mixes or "safe" alternative ingredients there. We have RAST testing coming up on the 26th of this month but unfortunately since that only tests for skin reactions we most likely wont have a better idea of what she is truly allergic to. Its mainly just trial and fail for us.As of now she has not had eggs or anything with egg in it nor has she had peanuts or anything of the like.

I hope that gives you a better idea of what we have been through and we are facing in the future. At this point our daughter will not be on cows milk until she is at least 2yrs so its going to be quite a challenge to find things she can have to get her the nutrients she needs to continue to grow and be healthy. Your blog gives me so much hope that I will have a bunch of different things we will be able to share with her. Right now we put her to bed and then eat dinner just because its so hard to have her watch us eat and know we cannot give her any. Before she was born I never had any idea on how hard this could be!

Welcome New Allergy Cook: Scottish Twins!

2010-01-12T08:34:00.000-06:00

My son, Gabriel, had his first allergic reaction when he was 2 months old, after he had milk-based formula for the first time. While we were in the ER the doctors told us that he had a milk allergy and that we should only give him soy-based formulas. But, when we tried soy he had a similar reaction. Doctors confirmed his milk and soy allergies with blood tests and we thought surely he wouldn't be allergic to anything else.

When he was six months old we started introducing solid foods. We made sure to only try one food at a time and never introduce more than one new item in a week. It was through this process that we discovered his allergies to eggs, pineapple, and tomato. Then, around 14 months Gabe was accidentally given a cereal and we discovered his peanut allergy. By the time he was two years old blood and skin tests had confirmed his allergies to cow's milk, goat's milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, pineapple and tomato.

In December 2009, skin tests showed that he no longer had the tomato, pineapple, or soy allergies. Since I have a soy intolerance, most of my recipes still do not contain soy products.

Feeding Gabe has always been a challenge, but I have reached the point now where I can adapt just about any recipe to be safe for him. Our family focuses a lot on alternative health and whole foods, and we document our journey toward wellness at intendedtemple.blogspot.com. We like to avoid processed foods and many of my recipes reflect that.

Welcome New Allergy Cook: Melody!

2010-01-10T07:08:00.000-06:00

I am a married mother of a 2-year-old girl who has allergies to milk, egg, peanut and other tree nuts. I hope to share my recipes that will help other families who have these challenges with allergies. I grew up with allergies to grass, mold, flowers, etc. Plus I am allergic to raw fruits and vegetables (although I could eat them all when I was pregnant!). So, I have great sympathy for those who have allergies. It's not always easy, in fact it's very frustrating. But you just have to channel your energy to see the positive.

I exclusively nursed my daughter for about 5 1/2 months. After her checkup, the doctor advised I start giving her cereal. I decided to give her cereal with a little bit of milk-based formula. She had less than a teaspoon of the cereal before she started rubbing her chin and crying. Her face nearly tripled in size. I didn't know what it was at first, so I was on the phone with a doctor who wasn't very helpful (one of many not so-helpful doctors). I was so concerned that she might stop breathing, and we lived twenty minutes from the hospital. I eventually recognized the rash as hives (from my own allergic reactions when I was a kid) and was able calm down some. I never imagined her first bites of "food" to be such a big deal.

From that moment I concluded that it was a milk allergy (one doctor said it might be the rice cereal, I disagreed). I didn't even know a baby could be allergic to formula or that formula was milk-based. Once she turned 1, I started her on soy milk and started making food without dairy. We did a blood test and concluded that she might have an egg allergy, too. At a year we did some testing at home, and we determined she is able to tolerate milk and egg in baked goods. Although I still limit that intake because there are no guarantees. At her 2-year-old checkup we tested for other allergens and found out she is allergic to peanuts and cashews, too. Some other tree nuts are questionable, so I avoid all nuts because most nut products are processed together.

We live in the dairy-state, so all I have ever known for cooking is dairy. I had to re-educate myself on how to cook without milk, cheese and a million other products. At first it was very challenging. We were living in an area that didn't have a Whole Foods nearby or any other grocery stores that supported alternative diets. Since January 2008 we have lived in a much larger city, and if I read about a product I would like to try I can usually find it. However, I don't always want to go out and buy what ends up to be expensive ingredients that may only be used once or twice. I really like recipes that are simple and contain ingredients I have in my pantry or refrigerator So I hope you find that my recipes are practical and tasty.

Here's a link to my blog, Life with a Dairy-Free Toddler.

Dairy Free Blogroll

2010-01-09T10:42:00.007-06:00

I have transferred this list from my personal blog. I think it will see more use over here at Must Follow Recipes.

*image from stock.xchng

Adventures in Womanhood and all that it entails...
Allergy Mum
Avoiding Milk Protein
Be Happy for This Moment
Boys Rule My Life
Cooking for Mara
Food Allergy Assistant
FPIESmommy
Give Peas a Chance
Gluten-Free Blog
Go Dairy Free
got no milk
Hampton Roads Food Allergy Connection
In the kitchen with KC
Jeena's Kitchen
Life by Nicole
Life with a Dairy-free Toddler
Living Free!
Living with Food Allergies
Loving Gluten & Casein Free
Malergies
Mama of Boys
Milk Allergy Companion
Milk Allergy Mom
Milk Doesn't Do the Body Good
No Whey, Mama
Not Trying for a Boy
One Frugal Foodie
Pig In the Kitchen
Pleasant View Schoolhouse
Reprehriestless Warillever
Scottish Twins
Settings of Silver
SPEWD Free
The Real Food Experience
The Sauder Chronicles
Three Against Two
Through My Window
Tori's GFCF Blog
Will's Kitchen
YummyAllergenFree
What I'm Eating these days...

If you would like to be added to my dairy-free blogroll... please let me know!

Allergy Test Results 2009

2009-12-16T09:15:00.002-06:00

Check out Witt's allergy test results on my personal blog, Boys Rule My Life! We have some AMAZING news!

Almond Breeze Coupon GIVEAWAY - AGAIN!

2009-12-13T18:00:00.003-06:00

More Almond Breeze Coupons to giveaway on my personal blog, Boys Rule My Life!!! Hurry, quick!!! It's only a 24 hour giveaway!!!

Dairy Free Fudge

2009-12-07T08:05:00.004-06:00

Speaking of fudge... we were speaking of fudge, right? Well, I was thinking about it anyway...

:)

I ran across this fudge when I was searching for a recipe to get more coconut oil in my boys because of their eczema AND wanting to get some local honey in them for their environmental allergies.

I found a perfect recipe for that!!! Original from amanda123ns at allrecipes.com.

HALF recipe:

1/2 c coconut oil (I used extra virgin)
1/2 c cocoa
1/4 c honey (local to you if possible)

Gently melt the coconut oil to liquid if it's in the solid state. Combine liquid coconut oil and cocoa until smooth. Mix in honey. Refrigerate for at least one hour (or until preferred hardness) in a lightly greased container. (I greased a stainless steel bowl with coconut oil.)

Add some almonds and you'll have a Mounds Bar! I'm also wondering if a little Sunbutter might be good mixed in? Maybe next time!

Forgot to take a picture as it was eaten too quickly. :)

Call for Allergy Cooks

2009-12-03T09:27:00.004-06:00

UPDATE (12/08/2009): Thank you all who have volunteered to share your recipes!! I can't wait to see your additions to Must Follow Recipes! At this time, I am going to close "the call for cooks" as I have several interested. Thank you so much!!!

******************

I'd like to see the number of recipes grow on this site. It seems there is a real need for more allergy recipes, as I continue to get emails for suggestions; however, one person can only do so much and I would love to see some more variety on this site.

If you are interested, please email me at missbecky75 [at] gmail [dot] com or leave me a comment with information on how to reach you. Please list the food allergens that you don't include in your recipes and how long you have been dealing with food allergies. I would also be interested in including a vegan author.

Please know that this is not a paying gig. :)

I would like to have 2 - 3 additional authors to begin 2010. Here are the requirements:

Recipes must be free of milk, eggs, and peanuts (at least)
Recipes must have been tried by your family and liked
If you borrow a recipe from somewhere, you must give credit to the original author
You must post a new, tried and true recipe at least once a quarter
You are willing to share your recipes for free

That's it! (Well, that's all I can think of right now, anyway.)

I'm not expecting this to blossom into anything huge, I'd just like to see more offered here at Must Follow Recipes. So if you are interested in including your recipes, please email me ASAP.

Looking forward to swapping and sharing recipes!!

White Cake RECIPE HELP NEEDED, PLEASE!!! :)

2009-11-03T15:48:00.002-06:00

Nathan turns 4 this Friday! He wants a green cake with green frosting. My standard birthday cake is chocolate... which I can't turn green! Thankfully, I can handle the frosting.

I checked our local grocery store today for boxed mixes, but all the white cakes have milk and/or eggs listed as ingredients. None of the local stores sell Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes.

Do you have a DFEF WHITE cake recipe? I'm usually up for just substituting in a regular recipe, but I've heard that doing that with white cake mixes doesn't make for a good cake.

Maybe I should make a yellow cake and add blue?

Suggestions... PLEASE! :)
Thank you!!!

Dairy Free Chocolate Squares (S'mores!)

2009-10-20T11:53:00.005-05:00

We are fortunate enough that Witt has not had any reaction to food that carries the warning of "Created on a line that process dairy, etc." That means we can use Ghirardelli Semi-sweet chocolate chips! Yummm....

To create chocolate squares, I melt the chips with a little bit of coconut oil (you could also use DF margarine). Then I pour the melted chocolate onto a wax paper lined tray. Smooth it out to the thickness I want and refrigerate.

Since coconut oil is solid above 77, it doesn't take long to harden. Then you can take it out and cut it into squares with a knife.

Then if you want, add some roasted marshmallows and a couple of graham crackers! :)

Chicken Nuggets

2009-09-04T11:52:00.006-05:00

Ok, so this isn't really anything earth shattering, but my boys really liked these and I want to remember exactly how I made them. Nathan (age 3 1/2) ended up eating about 3 helpings of these. "Moe chikn, peez!" :)

My concoction for these originated from Heavenly Homemaker's Chicken Nuggets.

2 - 3 boneless chicken breasts
1/4 c unbleached AP flour
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/8 c nutritional yeast
fine sea salt

1/2 c palm oil (or other oil of your choosing)

Combine flours and nutritional yeast in a bowl. Cut breasts into bite-sized pieces and coat in flour mixture. Heat oil over Medium heat in a small pot. (My stove-top tends to run hot, so you may need to use your's on Med-High.) Place chicken in hot oil in a single layer. Cook 7 minutes on each side. Salt while frying.

Using a slotted spoon, remove to a plate with paper towels on top to absorb excess oil. Allow to cool to an appropriate eating temperature.

(For those of you wondering... yes, palm oil is red. :) )

Enjoy!

Yet ANOTHER Giveaway!

2009-08-10T22:49:00.002-05:00

On my personal blog from Ecostore USA!

Giveaway #2 and a Personal Note

2009-07-25T06:36:00.002-05:00

Francesca will be recieving The Milk Free Kitchen! Please email your address to me.

My family is in the process of moving and I don't know exactly when I'll be online again after today. Just yesterday the movers were secured for this Sunday so we have a lot of work to do before then! (This is about two weeks sooner than expected, but I'm ready to get this done!)

A note to my cook book winners: Please be patient with me! I promise you will get your books, it just might take a little longer than expected. :)

Winner and a Giveaway

2009-07-17T06:02:00.003-05:00

The winner of my No Moo cookbook is Kathleen! I've already sent the email to let her know and she has two days to claim her prize (or I will choose another winner).

***************

Now, don't be sad because you didn't win. I found another dairy free cookbook in my stash that I am willing to part with! The Milk Free Kitchen!

Same rules as the last giveaway:

1) Must have a US mailing address.

2) One entry per person. Entries are made through the comments.

3) In your comment, you must include why you would like this book. (Basically, I want to make sure it goes to a person dealing with a dairy-free diet in some way and not to someone that just wants a free book.) If you don't include your "why" your comment will be deleted. If you posted your "why" in the previous giveaway, just write that in the comments, you don't need to "rewhy". :)

4) You do not have to be a blogger to win, but you must leave some way for me to contact you in your comments. I will not hunt you down to tell you that you won... sorry.

5) Once the winner is announced and I email you, you will have two days to claim the cookbook before I choose another winner.

6) You have until NOON CST, Wednesday, July 22, 2009 to enter.

Good luck!

Cookbook Giveaway

2009-07-10T16:14:00.004-05:00

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

We are in the process of moving and I need to part with some of my cookbooks. The majority of them I will be posting on PaperBackSwap, but I thought I would pass this one on to one of my readers.

The No Moo Cookbook was written in 1976 by a mother of a dairy allergic son. It was originally started as a wedding present for her son's future wife. I purchased this when we first learned of our son's anaphylactic reaction to dairy. I have gleaned what I needed to from this cookbook and thought I would pass it along in the form of a giveaway.

Here are the "rules":

1) Must have a US mailing address.

2) One entry per person. Entries are made through the comments.

3) In your comment, you must include why you would like this book. (Basically, I want to make sure it goes to a person dealing with a dairy-free diet in some way and not to someone that just wants a free book.) If you don't include your "why" your comment will be deleted.

4) You do not have to be a blogger to win, but you must leave some way for me to contact you in your comments. I will not hunt you down to tell you that you won... sorry.

5) Once the winner is announced and I email you, you will have two days to claim the cookbook before I choose another winner.

6) You have until NOON CST, Wednesday, July 15, 2009 to enter.

Good luck!

Jeff's Favorite Cobbler

2009-07-02T05:44:00.001-05:00

I think I've only actually made this a couple of times, but Jeff has made it many times over. He's used fresh peaches, fresh blueberries, and for his last creation shown here, a combination of fresh cherries and blueberries. YUMMMmmmmm.....

Cook time will vary depending on how you like your breading. I personally like my cobbler a little gooey, so I take it out a little sooner than most. These pictures show it completely cooked, almost like a cake, but it was still oh. so. good! Let me say it again: YUMMMMmmmmm...... :)

2 large peaches, peeled and sliced (or equivalent amount of other fruit)
1 1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup DF margarine, melted
1 cup AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
dash ground nutmeg
3/4 c up almond milk (or other milk substitute)

In a bowl, combine peaches and 3/4 cup sugar; set aside. Pour margarine into an 8" square baking pan. In a bowl, combine flour, baking poser, salt, nutmeg and remaining sugar. Stir in milk until just combined. Pour over the butter. Top with peaches.

Bake 375 for 45 - 50 minutes until golden brown.

Dairy Free Egg Free Waffles

2009-07-01T06:13:00.002-05:00

Although the original recipe (Naked Vegan Waffle), was already DF and EF, I adjusted a few other ingredients to suit our dietary desires. Here's the resulting recipe for a great basic waffle:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups almond milk (plain or vanilla)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup sucanat
2 tsp vanilla

Sift or whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix the almond milk, coconut oil, sucanat, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Cook on a waffle iron for 3 to 5 minutes, generously spraying both grills with oil before each waffle. Makes 4 (7-inch) round Belgian waffles.

Healthier Yellow Squash Muffins

2009-06-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

I'm still working toward converting my recipes to healthier ingredients (ie more whole wheat flour, less refined sugar, less trans-fat margarine, etc.) I'm sure this recipe would taste just fine with all whole wheat flour, but for now I'm happy with the progress to half WW and half AP. For my original version with "normal" ingredients, click here.

2 lbs. yellow squash (about 8)
1/2 c applesauce (unsweetened)
3/4 c coconut oil
1 c sucanat
1 1/2 c AP unbleached flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 Tbs + 2 tsp baking powder (non-aluminum)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Boil squash until tender. Drain well. Return to pot and mash.

Measure 2 cups mashed squash into a large bowl. Add applesauce and coconut oil. Mix. (Much of the coconut oil will melt from the heat of the squash.)

Mix remaining ingredients in another bowl. Then mix both the dry ingredients and the squash mixture together.

Fill non-greased muffin cups 3/4 c full. Bake 350 until lightly golden brown, about 18-23 minutes.

Note: The coconut flavor will increase as the muffins sit, so if they happen to last a few days, you may begin to notice more hints of coconut.

Fried Zucchini

2009-06-29T14:55:00.004-05:00

I love this recipe because the batter doesn't require egg or milk. Allowing the dry ingredients to settle into the sliced zucchini is the key to a good "batter". The lard not only adds flavor, but some vitamin D, too!

2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika)
2 tsp nutritional yeast
3/4 - 1 cup lard for frying (of course you could also use vegetable oil if you prefer)

Place zucchini in a medium sized bowl. Mix all dry ingredients together in another bowl and then pour over the zucchini. Toss zucchini to cover well with dry ingredients. Let sit for 30 minutes to allow the dry mixture to "cling" to the zucchini slices.

In a large skillet, heat lard over medium heat. When hot, add slices in a single layer. Cook 3 - 5 minutes on each side to brown evenly.

Sorry... no picture. They were gone too quickly. {big grin}

Vegan Rella - Natural Cheese Alternative

2009-06-13T06:54:00.004-05:00

I cannot for the life of me find a website about Vegan Rella, but I've read about it on some of the various food allergy blogs. Some reviews were good and some not so good, but as usual, I wanted to formulate my own decision. :)

I found it at a Whole Foods Market (either in Birmingham or Nashville... can't remember which... it might have even been both). The picture below is high resolution, so you should be able to click on it to enlarge if you can't read the ingredients well enough.

Please note that Vegan Rella is made in a facility that uses milk and soy products. If you can only use products that are made in dedicated facilities, I wanted to make this statement clear. Although Witt is anaphylactic to dairy, we have fortunatly had no reactions to parts per million/billion.

Anyway, I wanted to share my review.

We tried the Mozzarella brand on pizza. No good. The taste was as good as any other cheese alternative, but the texture was not right for pizza. When this brand melts, it MELTS! It stays creamy and it slid right off the pizza dough taking the toppings with it. The kids had a really hard time eating it and my picky eater wouldn't touch it.

I still had a block of cheddar flavor left and decided to try mac-n-cheese because of the creamy texture. I made some elbow noodles according to the package directions. Drained them and added the shredded Vegan Rella, some milk alternative, and a lot of salt.

The verdict? My middle son gobbled it up and asked for more. My youngest son ate what was on his plate and was done. Me? Well, I ate some, but it certainly isn't like the "real" mac-n-cheese I grew up with. I will probably make it again on rare occasions as my middle son really did like it.

Another option would be grilled cheese sandwiches. Go Dairy Free has a review of that here:

Vegan Rella Natural Cheese Alternative - Cheddar Style (Vegan, Soy-Free)
Go Dairy Free - Saturday, 13 June 2009

Food Allergy Labeling

2009-06-12T18:12:00.001-05:00

Find Safe Foods is putting together a detailed description of what people with food allergies really need to safely eat manufactured and restaurant food. Please head over and read her draft. She's looking for input from allergy folks and so far I think she's really done a spectacular job!!!

Follow Your Heart - Vegan Gourmet Cheese

2009-06-05T14:58:00.005-05:00

Since I have tried so many dairy free products, I thought I'd start offering a review of them. "Cheese" is a good place to start, don't you think? :)

This brand of cheese is available in Cheddar, Mozzarella, Monterrey jack, and Nacho.

I use this cheese to top our pizzas as it really does melt and have a good mozzarella taste. However, after the cheese begins to cool, it starts to return to its more solid state, but I like that quality for a pizza because it "holds" the toppings in place instead of sliding them off.

I would not recommend this brand of cheese alternative for a creamy dish like macaroni and cheese. Although the cheddar has a good taste and the texture is good when served and eaten immediately, after it starts cooling the texture is just really off. My boys wouldn't touch it. :(

Price: $4.50 - $5.50 for a 10 oz. block

This brand of cheese freezes well. After opening, I shred the entire package immediately and freeze in a bag.

On a side note, I have one son that will eat this brand of cheese alternative straight from the package. It's not something I would do, but, hey... it's got protien, iron, calcium, and fiber! :)

Pizza Dough

2009-05-27T16:46:00.005-05:00

This is a quick, no-rise pizza dough. I altered the original so much, I think I'm going to call it mine. :) I would like to continue increasing the whole wheat flour in this recipe, but I think for now it's at a good starting point.

(If you want a crust that is completely whole wheat, I recommend this one... although I decreased the wheat germ content when I made it. The kids weren't too fond of that dough, so I came up with this one below which they really liked.)

2 cups AP unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used the white wheat)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or 1 package)
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 - 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp melted lard or olive oil
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp honey
1 cup warm water (110 F)

Combine flours, yeasts, and sea salt in a large mixing bowl; stir to combine. Min the remaining ingredients. Knead dough until all flour is mixed in thoroughly (about 3 - 5 minutes, I suppose).

Roll out crust onto a large pizza pan. Top as desired.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. If using dairy-free cheese topping, you'll need to turn the broiler on HI after the 20 minutes for about 2 - 4 minutes longer to get the cheese to melt.

Pizza Sauce here (substitute nutritional yeast for Parmesan cheese)

Try It Tuesday: Rendering Lard

2009-05-26T16:12:00.001-05:00

Yes, you read that correctly, I rendered LARD.

Why would I do such a thing? Well, I want to cut out shortening and vegetable oils. And since I don't believe in re-inventing the wheel, I'll just point you in the direction to an article that explains why lard is better than the "normal" options.

I've already replaced vegetable oil with coconut oil for baking, but many times that coconut taste just isn't appropriate for sauteing meats or veggies. And, since we can't use real butter due to our youngest's dairy allergy, I am hoping that home-rendered lard will give us the non-hydrogenated and non-transfat option I want, while boosting flavor for meats and veggies... all while giving us a much needed healthy dose of Vitamin D! Wow, sounds like lard is going to do a lot of good things for my family! :)

So on to my experiment of rendering lard at home:

1) I used fat back and cut it into small pieces (about 1" square). This particular slab of lard was salted (and not preserved with nitrates as far as I could tell). Next time, I will remove more of the salt than I did this time.

2) After about 2 - 3 hours on low, it had mostly melted except for the "cracklins". You know it's done when the cracklins fall to the bottom instead of float. I strained it with some cheesecloth inside a collander.

Here are the cracklins (which can be eaten this way, btw, or ground up with onions and peppers into a spread, or crushed and fed to birds, etc) :

And the hot, clear liquid part - it was reddish brown:

3) I let it cool for about 20 minutes and then put it in the fridge for a more rapid cooling. By morning, it was a yellowish-white.

There is more information on rendering lard at The Nourishing Gourmet. She discusses the difference between wet and dry rendering. In her example, she uses leaf lard instead of fat back (as I used).

I haven't actually done a taste test, yet. I'll save that for another "Try It Tuesday". {grin} One last note I should make for myslef, is to not make this right before company comes over. The house does fill with the smell of pork.

All in all, I am quite please with my little experiment and look forward to trying it out!

To check out what other new things people are trying, head over to Naturally Knocked Up:

Healthier Breakfast Cookies

2009-05-02T09:15:00.005-05:00

Although we've enjoyed the previous breakfast cookie recipe I've posted, I wanted to make it a little healthier. I had already reduced the sugar amount from the original, but now I've changed a few more things. I may even try to reduce the sugar further the next time I make them.

Here's our current recipe:

1 cup margarine or coconut oil
1 cup sucanat
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce (not sweetened)
1/2 cup peanut butter substitute
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup dry cereal (your choice)
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS
2 Tablespoons wheat germ
2 Tablespoons hemp seed
2 Tablespoons milled flax
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit
1/2 cup nuts

Directions

Melt together the margarine or coconut oil. Add sugars and cream thoroughly.

Mix remaining ingredient and stir in any or all of the optional ingredients.

Drop by rounded Tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

***Just a few notes:

These cookies do NOT turn a golden brown, but they continue to crisp up after cooking. I have found that I get best results when they are still just a little gooey coming out of the oven and leave them on the cookie sheet to cool for at least 5 minutes. Then I transfer them to a cooling rack.

However, if I do over cook and they are just too crispy to enjoyably eat, they are WONDERFUL broken up into a bowl of almond milk and eaten like cereal in the morning for breakfast! They are practically oatmeal and cereal after all!

For the cereal, we use Lucky charms or Fruit Loops to add some color, but I'm sure something healthier would work, too. :)

For the peanut butter substitute, both almond butter and sunbutter gave good results, but I prefer Sunbutter for it's stronger taste.

When using this much coconut oil, it will be necessary to refrigerate these cookies or they will fall apart easily.

Almond Milk Coupons

2009-03-25T10:35:00.006-05:00

***** closed *****

Giveaway going on over at my personal blog... thought you might be interested!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

2009-02-28T06:54:00.006-06:00

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

***************

This month's Daring Baker's Challenge was a bit of a stretch for me. The original flourless cake recipe they gave us had 5 eggs in it! I almost opted out, until a recipe link was posted for a flourless chocolate cake that used black eyed peas and tofu!

I used her recipe, and received similar results... an extremely moist cake with a sunken middle.

Granted this isn't a recipe I would normally choose and probably won't make again, but it was a challenge and I worked with some ingredients I wouldn't normally pair together. As for taste, I could certainly taste the black eyed peas and although I do like BEP's, I'd rather have them as a side dish than a dessert. :)

Now, my BEP-loving son (who will drink the BEP juice!) enjoyed the crusty outside of the cake; he didn't like the moist inside.

As a secondary part of the challenge, we were to pair it with homemade whipped topping, ice cream, or a fruit puree. I chose a berry fruit sorbet... YUM!

Dairy Free Sorbet

2009-02-25T15:46:00.002-06:00

I adapted this recipe from The Minimalist.

1 cup frozen fruit (I used a combo of black berry, blue berry, and raspberry)
2 Tbsp white sugar
3 Tbsp Silk vanilla creamer
4 - 5 Tbsp water

Put the first three ingredients in your food processor and pulse to break up the frozen fruit. Add water slowly so it stays in a sorbet consistency and doesn't turn into a smoothie.

The boys and I ate this immediately, so I haven't experimented with putting it back in the freezer for a later time... if you try to, let me know how it goes!

Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

2009-02-25T13:37:00.002-06:00

I have tried many ways of cooking these and finally decided on one I like... crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and oh so yummy! :)

Ingredients

sweet potatoes (scrubbed or peeled)
coconut oil, melted
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

Cut the sweet potatoes into wedges about 2 -3 inches long. Place on a cookie sheet.

You'll need just enough melted coconut oil to coat the potatoes. Pour the coconut oil over the potatoes and toss to coat. Generously salt & pepper; toss again.

Arrange wedges on the cookie sheet so that they are not touching and that one of the cut edges is face down.

Bake until cut side of the sweet potatoes touching the baking sheet is crusty and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and carefully turn sweet potatoes with a thin metal spatula. Bake until the second cut side of the wedge now touching the pan is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Use the metal spatula to transfer the sweet potatoes to a platter and serve the oven-fried potatoes immediately.

adapted from Perfect Vegetables

Daring Bakers: Tuiles

2009-01-29T00:01:00.005-06:00

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Baking Soda and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf.
They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

**************************
This is my first month as a Daring Baker! I've seen this around the blogosphere and thought this would be so much fun! Once I qualify, I'll be listed as an Alternative Baker as all my recipes will be Dairy-free, Egg-free and Peanut-free due to my son's allergies.

**************************

The original recipe was taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

I halved the recipe and converted it to Dairy-Free and Egg-free. My final recipe follows:

1/8 c dairy free margarine, softened
1/4 c confectioner's sugar, sifted
slightly less than 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c all purposed, unbleached flour

I also sprinkled blue sugar crystals on one prior to baking, just to see how it would turn out.

We were also instructed to pair these cookies with something light. I sprinkled on some powdered sugar and added a thin slice of lemon including the rind. Then I made some coconut "whip-cream" (recipe from GO DAIRY FREE). I think a raspberry on top would have finished it off nicely, but I'm to cheap to buy them just for presentation! LOL!

My husband and boys LOVED these! In fact, Nathan requested "star cookies" just the other day!

I'm not much of a photographer, but these cookies were good and I'll certainly be making them again!

Amish Baked Oatmeal

2009-01-24T16:50:00.003-06:00

Original Recipe here.

So good on a cold morning! This serves about 6.

Converted to fit our needs below... ;)

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk alternative (I've used both soy and almond with good results)
2 tablespoons milk alternative
3 cups oatmeal (regular or quick)

Melt coconut oil.

Grease 1 1/2 quart baking dish and add applesauce. Add brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well, no lumps.

Whisk in coconut oil and both measures of milk alternative, then add oats. (The coconut oil will start solidifying again and that's fine.)

Stir well, and refrigerate OVERNIGHT.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 35-45 min, or until set in the middle.

Serve hot with warm milk alternative poured over. (My boys also like a little extra brown sugar sprinkled on top.)

To reheat, just put in the oven again at 350 until desired warmth.

Dairy Fee Egg Free Apple Muffins

2009-01-16T12:44:00.005-06:00

I love these muffins! The original recipe came from Mama of Boys, but I have changed it quite a bit to fit our needs and make it a little healthier. I'm also going to experiment with more chopped apple because it's just so good when I get a bite with apple chunks! :)

1 1/2 c AP flour
1/2 c Whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c dairy free margarine or coconut oil, softened
1 c white sugar
3/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 c apple, peeled and chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, beat margarine (or coconut oil), sugar, applesauce and vanilla. (If using coconut oil, the mixture will be "grainy" looking from the oil solidifying again.)

Mix flours, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to applesauce mixture. Stir until just moistened.

Fold in apple chunks. Mixture will be thick.

Spoon into muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

Bake 30 - 35 minutes.

Makes about 18 muffins.

ICING

3/4 c confectioner's sugar
1 Tbsp dairy free margarine
3/4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp warm water

Mix together and pour over warm muffins. If the icing hardens before you have finished pouring, can be reheated in the microwave to return to glaze consistency.

Chap Chee Noodles

2009-01-16T12:36:00.005-06:00

This recipe was taken directly from allrecipes.com. I didn't have to make any substitutions as it was already DFEFPF. Jeff and I loved the dish, but the boys were not really interested... granted it does look a little strange with the clear brown noodles! I will be making this again - probably more along the lines of a lunch for Jeff and I to enjoy together.

Marinade:

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Remaining Ingredients:

1/3 pound beef top sirloin, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1/4 pound napa cabbage, sliced
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
3 ounces cellophane noodles, soaked in warm water for about 10 - 15 minutes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, garlic, sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in sliced beef, and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Heat wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, then drizzle with oil. Cook beef until evenly brown. Stir in carrots, bamboo shoots, napa cabbage, and spinach. Add cellophane noodles, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until heated through.

I'll take a picture next time... :)

Allergy Friends BLOGROLL

2009-01-16T08:25:00.010-06:00

If you are a blogger that deals with food allergies, please leave your blog address and which allergens you deal with below. I'd just like to offer a place where we can find other allergy families and build a support system through an allergy blogroll. Thanks!

For an exclusively Dairy-free blogroll click here:

GO DAIRY FREE for FREE!

2009-01-16T08:13:00.001-06:00

I was a little leery of purchasing another dairy-free cookbook. I've got several, but find that I just like to convert standard recipes to dairy free instead of finding strange ingredients.

NoWhey,Mama wrote a positive review about this book and I began to think about it. Then I emailed her and asked her is she really liked it or "was she just sayin' she did". Isn't that just awful of me!?! I can't believe I did that!

Anyway, she reconfirmed that she liked it, so I ordered it for myself for Christmas (that another whole post in itself).

Let me just say, "I AM IMPRESSED WITH THIS BOOK!" I love it. I really, really do. The first part of the book is about making the transition to DF, the health benefits, etc. Then she goes into different substitutions and how to make your own at home - sometimes for pennies!

It's not all about DF, though. She takes into consideration some other allergies and of vegans. It is truly a comprehensive book that anyone could use. She discusses different oils, how they should be used... which "milks" taste best in different recipes... being frugal... and she does it with a sense of humor as a real person who's been there... done that.

We've been DF for a little over a year now and I have learned SO MUCH from this book in the last month. I truly wish I had the book when we first made the switch.

Let me just say that I haven't even made it to the recipe section yet and I'm recommending this book! I've perused a few recipes and look forward to trying them out, but the information in this book has been so useful and opened my eyes to other options.

If you are thinking about getting this book, I HIGHLY recommend it!

And right now you might be able to get it for FREE!! NoWhey,Mama is hosting a giveaway at her place this week for a free copy! If you don't win, however, you can always get it from the GoDairyFree site (among other places).

P.S. I wrote this review by my own free-will... I get nothing in return for it except knowing that I'm suggesting a really useful book to those on the path of Dairy-free living. Enjoy!

Venison Poppers

2008-12-27T15:44:00.008-06:00

My husband, Jeff, is a deer hunter and we have a freezer full right now! :) This was such a treat! It could easily be an appetizer or a main dish... you decide!

1 lb venison backstrap, cut into 1/2" medallions
Dale's Seasoning sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Lawry's Seasoning Salt

1 can pickled jalapenos
1 sweet onion
Dairy Free cream cheese
1 package thick sliced bacon, cut in half
toothpicks

First let me apologize for not taking exact measurements while preparing. This was something that was just thrown together and worked out spectacularly!

Place the backstrap medallions in a large zippered bag. Add Dale's just to coat and then about 1/8 - 1/4 cup Worcestershire (to taste). Add in a few good dashes of Lawry's and mix well with your hands to make sure the salt is evenly distributed. Allow to marinate for about 15 - 20 minutes while you get the grill started.

While the meat is marinating, chop up the jalapenos and onion. (I stuck them together in a food processor.)

After marinating, add a large dollop of dairy free cream cheese on top of the medallion,

then a pinch of jalapenos and onion, to taste.

Wrap two halves of bacon around the stuffed medallion and secure with a few toothpicks so that the stuffing is held in the center.

Grill until the bacon is nice and done, turning as needed.

I know this wasn't a very specific recipe, so if you have questions.... PLEASE feel free to ask! :)

Frizzled Cabbage

2008-12-27T15:40:00.003-06:00

Taken directly from here with only adjusting to dairy free margarine. Very simple and tasty!

1/4 medium green cabbage
2 tablespoons dairy free margarine (or more if you are feeling decadent)
salt and pepper

Core and very thinly slice the cabbage. Melt the margarine in a large skillet over medium heat. When it is bubbling, add the cabbage. Salt and pepper the cabbage. Stir occasionally and cook until mostly wilted, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let cook, stirring frequently, until cabbage is starting to caramelize (brown), about 10 minutes. Do not let burn. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve immediately.

Chewy Non-Peanut Butter Brownies

2008-12-27T15:30:00.004-06:00

Have you tried SunButter? Oh my word, it's good. At first it tastes like peanut butter, but then you get the sunflower seed in the aftertaste. Yum.

The original recipe is here, but I've altered it to fit our needs. Also, if you don't want to use whole wheat flour, just use a full cup of all-purpose. (I just like to try and sneak some better flour in where I can! {grin})

I could not tell that these were not peanut butter. So moist and tasty. This will easily become a family favorite!

1/2 cup Sunbutter
1/2 cup dairy free margarine, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C ). Grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl, cream together sun butter and margarine. Gradually blend in the brown sugar, white sugar, applesauce, and vanilla; mix until fluffy. Combine flours, baking powder, and salt; stir into the sun butter mixture until well blended.
Bake for 35 minutes in preheated oven, or until the top springs back when touched. Cool, and cut into squares.

(This recipe is featured on Allergy Sense.)

Dairy Free Egg Free Fruit Dip

2008-11-24T16:56:00.003-06:00

We are so fortunate to have Tofutti sour cream and cream cheese substitutes in our local grocery stores! The original recipe came from here and I made it dairy free with the Tofutti substitutes.

It's not as sweet as the fruit dip that has the marshmallow fluff (which contains egg whites), but it is still REALLY GOOD. I will definitely make this again.

8 oz Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese, softened
3 Tbsp white sugar
1 cup Tofutti Sour Supreme
1 tsp vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients together. Chill for 30 minutes to allow flavors to mesh. Serve with fresh fruit.

Dairy Free Pizza - and it's good too!

2008-11-20T10:36:00.008-06:00

I never thought I'd be posting a dairy free pizza, but here it is. I'm still working out the kinks of the sauce and dough for my own personal tastes, but I've found the dairy free "cheese" that works and tastes better than just edible:

Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella cheese substitute and I buy it online at the Vegan Store. I shredded and used the whole block on the pizza.

Now, first let me say there is a trick to melting this. It has to be on a very high temperature. The dough I used (recipe below) says to top the pizza before cooking the dough, so basically you put the completed pizza in the oven at 375 and cook until the dough is finished. THEN you'll need to crank up the broiler on HIGH for a few minutes to melt the cheese.

Now that I've given you my secret to the cheese, here's the pizza:

The Sauce

15 oz. tomato sauce
6 oz. tomato paste
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp basil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried onion, minced
2 Tablespoons sugar

Mix all ingredients together and allow flavors to mesh while you make the dough. *Note: something is "missing". Any suggestions? It's good, but not EXCELLENT.

The Dough

This dough is too bready for my tastes, but the flavor is good. I think next time I will use the same recipe but only use 3/4 of the dough and roll it out thinner. I'll try my hand at cinnamon sticks with the remaining 1/4. [Update: After trying it out, 3/4 of the dough does make a much better thickness (imo).]

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Top as desired.
Bake at 375 degrees C (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Our new favorite pizza dough can be found here.

The pizza I have shown above is mushroom, smoked chicken, and cooked bacon in case anyone is curious. :)

Dairy Free, Egg Free, Knead Free Bread

2008-11-20T10:15:00.006-06:00

Another fantastic recipe from Gayle and recipezaar.com!

This breads texture is a cross between focaccia and English muffin bread. It's wonderful toasted and is so easy to make because it requires no kneading.

2 loaves

Ingredients

1 (2 1/4 teaspoon) package active dry yeast
2 cups warm water, divided
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dairy free margarine, melted (or brushed on Parkay Squeeze)

Your choice of topping

poppy seed
garlic bread seasoning
Parmesan cheese (if you're not DF)
cinnamon sugar, mixture(we didn't care for this one with this type of bread, though)
your favorite herbs and spices

I did a combination of celery salt, onion powder, nutritional yeast, and garlic salt that was good, too. I also experimented with some dip mixes from Tastefully Simple that worked out well, too. So many choices!

Directions

Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water.
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar.
Add the yeast mixture and remaining 1 cup of warm water; stir until combined.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. (About 1 hour).
Stir dough down.
Divide in half.
Place each half in a greased 1 quart round casserole or ovenproof bowl.
Brush tops with melted margarine and sprinkle with topping.
Let rise in a warm place until doubled; about 45 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Remove from pans to cool.

The first time I made this I used a corning ware dish and just a stainless steel bowl. After that I just used the bowls because I liked the looks of it being round. :)

(That's cinnamon on the left loaf.)

Breakfast Cookies: Dairy-free, Egg-free

2008-11-20T09:58:00.010-06:00

Gayle calls these Babysitter Cookies and she's posted them on recipezaar.com. They are fantastic and "healthier" than your basic cookie because you can sneak a few extra things in! :)

Here's the recipe I use:

1/2 cup dairy free margarine or coconut oil
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup white sugar or sucanat
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups AP flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup cereal (we use Lucky charms for the extra colors)
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (Kroger brand semisweet are DF)
1/2 cup peanut butter substitute - (both almond butter and sunbutter gave good results, but I prefer Sunbutter)
2 Tablespoons wheat germ (optional)
2 Tablespoons hemp seed (optional)
2 Tablespoons milled flax (optional)

Other optional suggestions she gives, but I have not tried:
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Directions

Melt together the margarine (or coconut oil) and shortening. Add sugars and cream thoroughly.

Add applesauce, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, flour, oatmeal, cereal and mix well. Mix in peanut butter substitute and chocolate chips.

Stir in any or all of the optional ingredients.

Drop by rounded Tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

***Just a note: these cookies do NOT turn a golden brown and continue to crisp up after cooking. I have found that I get best results when they are still just a little gooey coming out of the oven and leave them on the cookie sheet to cool for at least 5 minutes. Then I transfer them to a cooling rack.

However, if I do over cook and they are just too crispy to enjoyably eat, they are WONDERFUL broken up into a bowl of milk and eaten like cereal in the morning for breakfast! They are practically oatmeal and cereal after all! :)

We really enjoy these cookies!

Dairy Free Meaty Gumbo

2008-11-20T09:39:00.005-06:00

I found this on recipezaar.com here. This is a fantastic gumbo! I think the original serving sizes shown are wrong, though, because I halved the recipe and it still served 6 - 8 easily. This is the halved recipe shown below. I don't have a pot big enough to hold the full recipe! :)

Also the original recipe calls for a hot smoked sausage or kielbasa, but I know that Carolina Pride Beef Smoked Sausage is dairy free so I used it instead.

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil
5/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onions
3/4 cups chopped celery
3/4 cups chopped green bell peppers
1/2 lb okra, either fresh or frozen and cut into pieces
3/4 lb Carolina Pride Beef Smoked Sausage (it's Dairy Free)
3/8 lb smoked ham, cut into small cubes or ham, nugget cut into small cubes
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 bay leaves
1 1/2 quarts chicken stock or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken meat
1/2 tablespoon Pickapeppa Sauce (found it at Walmart near the other sauces)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 bunch chopped green onions
hot sauce, to taste (optional)

2 cups cooked long-grain rice, accompaniment

Directions

You'll want to have everything chopped, diced, measured and ready to go. This recipe takes a little bit of time and some concentration, so have everything ready and nearby before you start cooking.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat and stir in the flour, sprinkling a little at a time and whisking inches. Whisk slowly and constantly for 10 to 15 minutes to make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. You'll be able to smell it when it's just before burning, so you have to pay close attention.

If you get black specks in your roux it is burned and you will have to start over.

Add the onions, celery, okra and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted. The mixture will be pasty and fairly dry.

Add the sausage, ham, salt, cayenne, pepper, and bay leaves and stir well. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the stock or broth and stir well to combine with the roux mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low.

Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Add the chicken and cook just until the chicken is heated through, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley, Pickapeppa Sauce and green onions.

Ladle into deep soup bowls over rice.

Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

Enjoy!

Dairy Free Caramel Apples

2008-10-22T15:20:00.005-05:00

If you'd like to read about my mishaps with this recipe, you can get a good laugh reading this post on my personal blog.

For the recipe (and a much better picture), you can find it here: Dog Hill Kitchen: Vegan Caramel Apples

These taste FANTASTIC!!! Enjoy!

What to do with Leftover Spaghetti

2008-09-15T14:07:00.004-05:00

go here:
Jeff's Recipes- Leftover Feast: Fried Spaghetti

I totally agree with Jeff's writeup - you'll want a stainless steel pan and a metal spatula to do all the necessary scraping. Although it's not a spectacular dish, it is quite tasty and I will definitely make this again!

I made this dairy-free with my spaghetti sauce recipe. Yum!

Okra and Tomatoes

2008-08-25T10:01:00.003-05:00

I borrowed this recipe from Recipezaar.com

Oh, this was so good. (But I'm sure you have to like okra and tomatoes to begin with... LOL!)

8 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 (16 ounce) bags frozen cut okra (or 2lb. fresh okra, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
salt and pepper

Original instructions:

Fry bacon in a large skillet that can be covered, until crisp. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Saute onion in bacon drippings until tender. Add okra and tomatoes, stir to blend. Cover, reduce to low heat. Cook for about an hour, or until okra is tender, stirring occasionally. Do not stir too much or too briskly, because the okra will fall apart. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
**Note: Nanny diced the bacon and fried it and the onion together. My family doesn't like the bacon cooked into it because the bacon becomes soft. If you do it my way, you can sprinkle the bacon on right before serving.

I diced the bacon and fried it with the onion together leaving large chunks of soft bacon mixed in with the okra and tomatoes. I thought it was great and the bowl was empty at the end of our get-together.

Dairy Free Pasta Salad

2008-08-13T12:29:00.005-05:00

I received this recipe from a friend when I was out in the corporate world before kids. Thanks, Kay, we are still enjoying this recipe!
********************

I eventually had to venture out into the world of cheese replacements instead of avoiding cheese all together... especially for this recipe (although, it might be just as tasty without the "cheese")!

This is my favorite summer pasta salad! I hope you enjoy it, too!

16 oz tri-colored spiral pasta, boiled and cooled
1 large cucumber, pealed and chopped
1/2 lb ham, chopped into cubes
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 small tomato, chopped (I do mine fine)
1/2 block "Cheddar Cheese", shredded
1/2 block "Mozzarella Cheese", shredded
16 oz bottle Kraft Creamy Italian dressing and dip (Yes! It is DF!)

Combine all ingredients in a LARGE bowl and let sit overnight. The dressing will absorb into the noodles and other ingredients allowing all the flavors to "mesh".

Non-Refried Refried Beans

2008-08-11T10:58:00.001-05:00

I just made some refried beans that were excellent! Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of how much of anything I put in it. As a reminder to myself, here's what I did:

INGREDIENTS
Pinto Beans
Water
Bacon
Cumin
Garlic, minced
salt

Soaked dried pinto beans 1 hour. Drained.

Put pinto beans, water, salt, and some cut up raw bacon in the crockpot. Cook on LOW about 8 hours. Add cumin and garlic to taste (and more salt if needed). Cook on HIGH 1 hour.

Drain beans, reserving liquid. Mash beans and bacon with potato masher. Add liquid back into the mashed beans until desired consistency is reached.

Dairy-Free Egg-Free Blueberry-Flaxseed Muffins

2008-07-12T10:38:00.010-05:00

I updated this recipe to also exclude eggs. The original is from, "Cooking for Health & Flavor", and it's on page 67. Turned out just as good with the applesauce as it was with eggs (and cheaper, too)! Yippeee! Witt loves them!

1/2 cup milled flaxseed
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 c + 1/8 c applesauce
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk (I used my substitution)
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed, patted dry
1 Tbsp sugar for tops (or however much your kids put on top - mine used much more than a Tbsp!)

(The recipe also calls for 2 tsp grated orange peel, but I didn't feel like grating the orange so I left it out.)

Heat oven to 400. Coat 12 muffin cups (or the muffin pan) with nonstick cooking spray. If you don't have buttermilk on hand and will be using the substitution, start it first.

The original recipe says to mix all the dry stuff first (except the brown sugar) in one bowl and the wet stuff with the brown sugar in another. As usual, I just threw it all in my kitchenaid stand mixer (without the blueberries) and let it do the work of mixing it all. Then I folded the blueberries in by hand.

Scoop batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with sugar.

Bake 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned and tops spring back when touched lightly. Loosen edges; turn muffins out onto wire rack to cool slightly.

Dairy-Free Egg-Free Okra Patties

2008-07-12T10:07:00.005-05:00

I don't fry much at all, but these are really good and this time of year we have lots of okra!

Original recipe from allrecipes.com

3 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 pound okra, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water
Ener-G egg replacer prepared for 1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cornmeal

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a large skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together the okra, onion, salt, pepper, water and egg replacer. Combine the flour, baking powder and cornmeal; and stir that into the okra mixture.
Carefully drop spoonfuls of the okra batter into the hot oil, and fry on each side until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels.

Dairy-Free Egg-Free Yellow Squash Muffins

2008-07-12T07:57:00.011-05:00

(This recipe is featured on Allergy Sense)

I found the original hand-written recipe on a piece of notebook paper in a cookbook that I purchased at a yard sale. Because Witt is allergic to eggs, I substituted 1/4 c applesauce for each egg and they turned out great! (without apple flavor)

(For a healthier version of these muffins, click here.)

2 lb Yellow Squash (about 8)
1/2 c Applesauce
1 c melted DF Margarine
1 c White Sugar
3 c AP Flour
1 Tbs + 2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Boil squash until tender. Drain. Return to pot and mash.

Measure 2 cups of squash into another bowl. Add applesauce and margarine. Mix. Add remaining ingredients. Mix. Fill ungreased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 350 until lightly golden brown; about 15 - 20 minutes.

Glazed Pork Chops (Dairy Free)

2008-07-07T07:14:00.005-05:00

This is one of my favorite dishes and quite possibly restaurant quality in my opinion. :) Enjoy!

Pork Chops, 4
Sage, ground, 1/8 tsp
Pepper, black, 1/4 tsp
salt, 1/2 tsp
Onion, 1/4 c
Currant jelly, 1/4 c
Mustard, dijon, 1 1/2 tsp

Trim fat from chops. Coat a lg nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over HIGH heat until hot. Sprinkle chops with sage, salt, and pepper; add to skillet, and cook 1 minute on each side. Reduce heat to MED; cook chops 4 -5 additional minutes on each side or until done. Transfer chops to a serving platter; keep warm.

Add onion to skillet; cook over MED heat 2 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat; add jelly and mustard, and simmer 2 minutes or until glaze is reduced to 1/4 cup. Spoon glaze over chops.

5 Ingredients/15 Minutes pg 106

Gyros and Dairy Free Tzatziki Sauce

2008-06-10T07:18:00.002-05:00

Original recipe at A Good Appetite. Borrowed with permission...

Here's my slightly altered version:

Gyro Meat
(half recipe shown)
1 med onion, chopped
2 lbs ground pork
1 T garlic, finely minced
1 T dried marjoram
1 T dried ground rosemary
2 t sea salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 325. Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds. Put it into a paper towel and squeeze out as much juice as you can. Add the onion and remaining ingredients into Kitchen Aid stand mixer (or use a food processor) and blend until a fine paste is formed. Place the mixture into a loaf pan, spreading it into all the corners. Put the pan into a water bath & bake until the mixture reaches between 165 & 170, should be about an hour. Remove from the oven & drain off any excess fat. Place a brick covered in foil on top of the meat (we used another loaf pan filled with canned goods for weight) and let sit for 15 - 20 minutes [I didn't need to do this when using just half the recipe]. Slice and serve on pita with tzatziki sauce (below), onions & tomatoes.

You can also cook this on a rotisserie. See Alton Brown's recipe for details on that.

Dairy Free Tzatziki Sauce

12 oz Tofutti Sour Supreme (sour cream)
1 med cucumber, peeled, seeded & finely chopped
pinch sea salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 T olive oil
2 t red wine vinegar
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced (I used about 1 tsp dried crushed leaves)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Can be stored up to a week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Tilapia with Lemon Dijon Cream (Dairy Free)

2008-06-09T21:24:00.006-05:00

Original Recipe from What's for Dinner?. Used with permission...

6 Tilapia filets

Combine in a bowl...

1 C Tofutti sour cream
2T Dijon mustard
1t lemon juice
1t lemon pepper
1t italian herbs

(I always have trouble with fish breaking in a skillet... but the taste is great. ) Heat 2 T oil in a large skillet and cook fish until flaky. Pour dijon cream evenly over fish, cover and reduce to low heat. Simmer 1 minute or until sauce is hot. Serve fish and sauce over noodles.

Note to self: Next time try cooking in the oven 450 for about 10 minutes... pour dijon cream over and heat for another minute or two. Hopefully this will help keep the fish in tact! :) Also, thin out the sauce a little (personal preference).

Green Smoothies

2008-05-29T12:12:00.006-05:00

There's no "real" recipe for these, it's just a hodgepodge of veggies and fruits. However, I have learned that I like the veggies to be liquefied, so I generally add them first with about 2 - 4 cups of water and blend. Then I add my fruits and other ingredients. Blend again. (I love the liquefy button!) I like to drink mine with a straw especially when I'm adding more greens and removing some fruit.

Here are the foods I've used in my green smoothies (not all at the same time... different combinations each day):

Veggies
Spinach
Kale
Mustard Greens (don't like)
Collard Greens
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Snow peas
Snap peas
carrots
avocado

Fruits (fresh or frozen)
apples
pears
bananas
peaches
pineapple
mango
kiwi
strawberries
oranges
blueberries
raspberries/blackberries (don't like because the seeds never really go away)

Other
Milled Flax Seed
Wheat germ (very little... I don't like the taste)
Hemp seed
Stevia
Frozen orange concentrate
Vanilla
Cinnamon (just a little... too much will numb your tongue... trust me.)
Vanilla Soy/Rice Milk

Basically anything will do. Fruits and veggies don't have a chance to go bad around here anymore!

I haven't tried a savory green smoothie yet (garlic, onion, other veggies, no fruit).
Have you?

Alabama Pulled Pig

2008-05-29T11:52:00.005-05:00

I found Alabama Pulled Pig at allrecipes.com and the only thing I've changed is to use dairy free margarine instead of the butter. This takes a while to cook, but it is so worth it! Lots of meat for several, several meals and it tastes wonderful!!

3 cups apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 stick dairy free margarine
1 quart water
5 pounds Boston butt roast

In a non-reactive saucepan, combine the cider vinegar, salt, brown sugar, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and margarine. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Mix in the water, and return to boil. Sauce the pork before smoking, and then every hour or so while it cooks.
Start the pork butt on a slow smoker using hardwood coals or charcoal briquettes and mesquite or apple wood chips. Smoke the pork for at least 6 hours and up to 10. The longer the smoke time, the deeper the 'smoke ring', a red ring of flavor, will penetrate.
After the meat has smoked for 6 to 10 hours, use aluminum foil to wrap the meat. Fold the edges of two sheets together to form a watertight seal. Place the meat in the center and bring the edges up to the top, cupping the meat. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the meat and then seal the foil tightly around the roast.
Place the meat package back on the smoker, or in a 350 degree oven (175 degrees C). If it is on the smoker, increase the heat. Cook the package until the meat pulls easily from the bone. This can be checked easily by pushing on the top of the foil package with an oven-mitted hand to test for softness. It will take up to 2 hours.
Once the meat is done, remove it from the smoker or oven and let it cool. Pull the pork from the bone and discard the fat and gristle. Pull the meat apart in large chunks about 1 inch wide by 4 inches long.
[Optional] Place the meat chunks in a pan and pour about one cup of sauce for every 4 pounds of meat, or to taste. Heat until simmering. Serve immediately or let marinate for several days. The meat can also be pulled into smaller pieces using 2 forks, this is locally known as 'shredded pork'.

Dairy-Free Egg-Free Spice Cake

2008-05-29T10:56:00.007-05:00

I found the original recipe at allrecipes.com

I omitted the raisins and doubled the spices. The cake is very dense and moist, however it tasted even better when I added the DF cream cheese frosting! I devoured the cake. Yes, me. Well, mostly me. The kids had a bite or two. It was after all, my birthday cake (and a test for Witt's birthday cake). Here's my recipe:

1 cup shortening
2 cups water
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups white sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

In a saucepan combine the shortening, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove form heat and let stand until cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9x13 inch baking pan or two round pans.
Stir the flour and baking soda into the cooled spice mixture and mix until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes.

Egg-Free Dairy-Free Chocolate Cake

2008-05-19T10:18:00.009-05:00

I was directed to this recipe by The Thrifty Blogger for a cake I would love, so I tried it. The recipe is for two round cakes: in one I completely omitted the egg and in the other I substituted 1/4 cup applesauce for one egg. Both cakes were very tasty, but the one with the applesauce was better in my opinion... VERY MOIST. However, the center of the cake did sink, so I'm thinking 1/4 cup might be too much... but it was so good I didn't really care what it looked like! :)

I coupled the cake with Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Frosting and it was MAGNIFICENT! Everyone raved about it at Witt's birthday party! (The cake shown here was 1/8 of a cake cooked in a mini loaf pan... for Witt's individual birthday cake.)

Thank you, Thrifty Blogger for a great recipe! I think that was the best chocolate cake I've ever made!!!

My adaptation to HERSHEY’S “PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE” Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup applesauce (may want to reduce a little for a non-sinking center)
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add applesauce, soy milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Dairy Free Cornbread

2008-05-13T15:59:00.005-05:00

Jeff really liked this cornbread - nominating it one of his top two. In keeping with the requests of Go Dairy Free, I am only posting a link to the recipe and not the recipe itself. Enjoy!

I substituted white cornmeal for the yellow.

Basic Corn Bread
Go Dairy Free - Tuesday, 13 May 2008

Dairy free Cream Cheese Frosting

2008-04-25T10:23:00.009-05:00

I used this standard frosting recipe for Jeff's birthday cake. The frosting was spectacular, but the cake wasn't so great, so I'm not posting that recipe. My birthday is coming up and I'm on the hunt for a dairy free, egg free cake again. Witt's first birthday is in May and I'd like to have something he can enjoy!

1/2 cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup dairy free margarine, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 - 4 cups confectioner's sugar

Cream margarine, cream cheese, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Slowly mix the confectioner’s sugar into the creamed mixture until desired consistency/taste and until smooth. (I liked it best with the addition of 3 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar.) Enjoy!

Dairy Free Apple Butter

2008-04-16T10:34:00.006-05:00

With permission from Coins In the Couch

4 cups of peeled, chopped granny smith apples (about 4 apples)
2T balsamic vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar because that's what I had)
1T ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light)
1/4 cup butter, divided (DF margarine)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine apples, sugar, vinegar, 2T butter, cinnamon, salt and cloves in crock pot. Cook 6-8 hours on low. After 6-8 hours stir in remaining 2T butter and vanilla. Serve with warm biscuits. Makes 2 cups.

I also served with crescent rolls because they are dairy free; but really, you might just like to eat it with your fingers, like Nathan. ;)

Blueberry-Flaxseed Muffins (Dairy Free)

2008-04-04T09:45:00.008-05:00

It's been forever since I've posted a new recipe. Sorry folks, I've been sticking with the good old standbys you already see listed! :) I did, however, make try out these muffins last weekend with the boys. We all loved them! The boys really enjoyed topping them with sugar - they thought that was spectacular!

I got this from my new favorite cookbook, "Cooking for Health & Flavor", and it's on page 67.

1/2 cup milled flaxseed
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
1 egg white
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk substitution
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed, patted dry
1 Tbsp sugar for tops (or however much your kids put on top - mine used much more than a Tbsp!)

(The recipe also calls for 2 tsp grated orange peel, but I didn't feel like grating the orange so I left it out.)

Heat oven to 400. Coat 12 muffin cups (or the muffin pan) with nonstick cooking spray. If you will be using the substitution, start it first.

Now, the original recipe says to mix all the dry stuff first (except the brown sugar) in one bowl and the wet stuff with the brown sugar in another. As usual, I just threw it all in my kitchenaid stand mixer (without the blueberries) and let it do the work of mixing it all. Then I folded the blueberries in by hand.

Scoop batter into muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with sugar.

Bake 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned and tops spring back when touched lightly. Loosen edges; turn muffins out onto wire rack to cool slightly.

Dairy-free Buttermilk Substitution

2008-04-04T09:42:00.004-05:00

If you don't keep buttermilk on hand or don't use it because of milk allergies, here is a simple substitution:

1 c soymilk
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Mix and let stand a few minutes before using.

Tasty Turkey Burgers (Dairy Free)

2008-03-05T17:16:00.011-06:00

1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp pepper

In a bowl, combine all ingredients until mixed throughout. Shape into 5-6 small patties and place on a lightly sprayed broiler pan. Broil patties about 6 inches from heating element on LO for 6-8 minutes each side. Switch broiler to HI and immediately broil 2 minutes more on each side.

Dairy Free Faux-Tatoes

2008-02-28T07:08:00.007-06:00

Ok, if you like cauliflower... this is an AWESOME dish!!!

1 head of cauliflower (I used just the florets)
3 Tbsp Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
1 Tbsp dairy-free margarine
splash of plain soy milk
salt
pepper
(you might also like to add: garlic, onions, chives, etc.)

Place about an inch of water and the florets in a large saucepan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until cauliflower is tender (easily mashed with a fork), stirring occasionally.

Drain. Transfer back to saucepan. Mash florets. (Like for mashed potatoes, but the constancy will be lumpier).

Place saucepan with mashed florets on the stove eye while off, but still warm. Stir in cream cheese, margarine, and soy milk until mixed throughout.

My mom says: "DEE-LICIOUS!" and I concur. :)

Baking Chocolate Substitution

2008-02-22T08:02:00.006-06:00

Straight from the back of a Hershey's Cocoa powder box:

3 Level TBSP cocoa
1 TBSP shortening or oil

equals:

1 square ( 1 oz) unsweetened baking chocolate

********************************************
UPDATE: I've used a generic cocoa and it wasn't as good as Hershey's... maybe the conversion is different? Anyway, only use this conversion with Hershey's.

Marmalade Pork (Dairy Free)

2008-02-22T07:56:00.005-06:00

With permission...
Super Yummy Pork from In the kitchen with KC

The original recipe uses pork roast, but I used 4 chops because that's what I had on hand. I'm sure it would be good with any kind of pork! DE-licious! and Eee-zee! :)

mix equal parts soy sauce and orange marmalade (about 1/2 cup of each)
add 2 chopped cloves of garlic (I used minced)

cover pork with marinade
cook in 375 oven until internal temp reaches 160

Serve with steamed spinach and whole wheat couscous - the marinade/sauce is SUPER good on the spinach/couscous.

Dairy Free Apple Muffins

2008-02-12T12:38:00.005-06:00

Head over to Mama of Boys for the best dairy free Apple Muffins I've ever had! The icing is easily made dairy free with the right choice in margarine... yum!

(I haven't received permission (yet... hopefully) to reprint the recipe here... but take the time to make the click, these are good!)

Dairy Free Bean Dip

2008-02-05T14:02:00.003-06:00

1 can black eye peas
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can hominy
1 green bell pepper (chopped)
1 sweet onion (diced)
1 diced tomato
1 diced jalapeño pepper
1 bottle Italian dressing
cumin and cilantro to taste

Drain canned vegetables. Combine all ingredients; chill and allow to marinate for 24 hours. I like to serve this with corn chips.

Marshmallow Squares (Dairy Free)

2008-02-05T13:57:00.004-06:00

10.5 oz miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup dairy free margarine or coconut oil
about 5 cups crispy rice cereal

Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil and spray foil.

Melt dairy free margarine in a large bowl in the microwave. Add marshmallows to melted margarine and mix to coat. Microwave marshmallows and margarine until melted, stirring after each 1 minute. Add cereal to melted marshmallows slowly, stirring to combine well. Pour mixture into pan and press down. Cool in the refrigerator. Cut into squares. Enjoy!

Aunt Glenda's Sweet Potato Casserole (Dairy Free)

2008-02-05T13:50:00.002-06:00

2 big sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/2 box light brown sugar
1/2 cup dairy free margarine (softened)
1/2 cup flour
chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Peel, slice, and boil potatoes until soft. Mix potatoes with eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.

Combine all topping ingredients in a separate bowl using a fork to mix until crumbly. Pour on top of potatoes.

Bake 45 minutes - 1 hour watching for even spreading of topping.

Dairy Free Brownies II

2008-02-05T13:30:00.004-06:00

These were "all the rave" at my last get together! Everyone kept saying, "These are homemade aren't they? You can tell; they are so good!"

2 cups sugar
1 cup dairy free margarine (2 sticks - softened)
4 eggs (well beaten)
6 level Tbsp cocoa powder
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts (optional)

Mix it all together. Pour into a greased 13x9 pan. Cook at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes.

Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-02-05T11:38:00.004-06:00

This recipe comes from the back of a Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chip bag. However, I did not use Nestle chocolate chips because they contain milk products. The Wal*Mart brand of chocolate chips does not contain dairy! (Cheap is good sometimes!)

2 1/4 cup All purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks dairy free margarine, at least a little soft
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs (or 1/2 cup applesauce)
2 cups dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate morsels

I literally put it all in the bowl together and mixed it with my Kitchen-Aid Hobart mixer.
Drop small balls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Cook 11 -13 minutes at 375. Yield: about 45 cookies

For a really detailed look at the original recipe and whether you want to sift your dry ingredients or not, visit Cooking for Engineers - it's a fun site for cooking!

UPDATE: These can also be made into bars. Just spread the dough onto a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan and bake 20 -25 minutes at 375. Use a pizza cutter for ease of slicing while warm.

Oven Fried Fish - Dairy Free

2008-01-08T22:38:00.004-06:00

The original recipe comes from Southern Living Our Best Easy Weeknight Favorites. I use tilapia for this dish and the kids love it!

1/4 c white cornmeal
1/4 c fine dry breadcrumbs (I make my own - so many breadcrumbs contain milk products)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp dried dillweed
1/8 tsp pepper

1 pound fish fillets
1/3 cup soy milk
3 Tbsp dairy free margarine, melted (or drops of Parkay Squeeze)

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large storage bag and shake to mix. Place milk in another storage bag. Shake fish fillets in milk and then shake individually in the cornmeal mixture. Place coated fish in a lightly greased pan and drizzle with butter or drops of Parkay.

Bake 450 for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce if desired.

Suggested sides: corn on the cob, green beans, and French fries

Easy Potato Sausage Soup - Dairy Free

2008-01-08T22:28:00.003-06:00

Easy Potato Sausage Soup

original SUBMITTED BY: Deirdre Dee at www.allrecipes.com

I made this dairy-free with the substitution of soy milk and dairy free margarine. I was afraid the soy taste would be overpowering, but I couldn't taste it at all! Easy, wonderful soup!

2 onions, chopped
1/2 cup dairy free margarine
4 cups diced potatoes
1 (10 ounce) package frozen diced carrots
1 pound Polish sausage, sliced (read your labels carefully if you're dairy free)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups plain soy milk
3/4 cup dry potato flakes

Using a large saucepan, brown onion in butter.
Add potatoes, carrots, green peppers, sausage, water, salt and pepper. Cook on low, for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are creamy.
Add soy milk and cook until heated through and then add instant potato flakes. If you want a creamy potato soup add a 1/2 cup potato flakes, or if you want your soup thick like stew add 1 cup of potato flakes. (Personally I like the 3/4 cup consistency.)
Let soup sit for approximately 5 minutes in order to thicken and then serve.

Taco Seasoning Mix

2008-01-07T16:01:00.003-06:00

I don't know where I found this, but it's what I use when making tacos. I don't buy the packets of seasoning. All the ingredients are dry (not fresh).

6 tsp chili powder
5 tsp paprika
4 1/2 tsp cumin
3 tsp onion powder
2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

I put all of this in a zippered bag and shake to mix.

7 tsp of the mixture is equivalent to a 1.25 oz packet of seasoning (used for 1 lb of meat). This recipe will make 3 packets.

I've always just stored my bag with the seasonings in the cupboard with my other spices, but it would probably stay longer in the freezer (as all spices do - per my MIL).

Must Follow Recipes

Homemade Mint Chocolate/Carob Chips

What's New In Our Food?

HOMEMADE Coconut Milk Yogurt

Combating Allergies

What's Really In Your Food?

Homemade Almond Flour

Ask the Readers: Chocolate Fountain

Dairy- Free Egg-Free Yellow Squash Muffins (repost)

Cookbook Giveaway: What's to Eat?

Chocolate Cake Brownies

Kale Chips

Tortilla Soup -- Dairy Free

Green Bean Casserole

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free French Toast

Dairy Free Chocolate (Avocado) Pudding

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Chicken Pasta Salad

SunButter Winners!!

Buckwheat Pancakes

No Bake Cookie Bars

Homemade Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Chocolate Candy

SunButter GIVEAWAY!

Getting to know us and birthday cake!

Our Story

Pre-Packaged Dairy-free, Egg-free, Peanut-free

Welcome New Allergy Cook: The Snells

Welcome New Allergy Cook: Scottish Twins!

Welcome New Allergy Cook: Melody!

Dairy Free Blogroll

Allergy Test Results 2009

Almond Breeze Coupon GIVEAWAY - AGAIN!

Dairy Free Fudge

Call for Allergy Cooks

White Cake RECIPE HELP NEEDED, PLEASE!!! :)

Dairy Free Chocolate Squares (S'mores!)

Chicken Nuggets

Yet ANOTHER Giveaway!

Giveaway #2 and a Personal Note

Winner and a Giveaway

Cookbook Giveaway

Jeff's Favorite Cobbler

Dairy Free Egg Free Waffles

*Healthier* Yellow Squash Muffins

Fried Zucchini

Vegan Rella - Natural Cheese Alternative

Food Allergy Labeling

Follow Your Heart - Vegan Gourmet Cheese

Pizza Dough

Try It Tuesday: Rendering Lard

Healthier Breakfast Cookies

Almond Milk Coupons

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Dairy Free Sorbet

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Daring Bakers: Tuiles

Amish Baked Oatmeal

Dairy Fee Egg Free Apple Muffins

Chap Chee Noodles

DIRECTIONS

Allergy Friends BLOGROLL

GO DAIRY FREE for FREE!

Venison Poppers

Frizzled Cabbage

Chewy Non-Peanut Butter Brownies

Dairy Free Egg Free Fruit Dip

Dairy Free Pizza - and it's good too!

Dairy Free, Egg Free, Knead Free Bread

Write a Review! (optional)

Your choice of topping

Directions

Breakfast Cookies: Dairy-free, Egg-free

Dairy Free Meaty Gumbo

Dairy Free Caramel Apples

What to do with Leftover Spaghetti

Okra and Tomatoes

Dairy Free Pasta Salad

Non-Refried Refried Beans

Dairy-Free Egg-Free Blueberry-Flaxseed Muffins

Dairy-Free Egg-Free Okra Patties

DIRECTIONS

Healthier Yellow Squash Muffins