Soup!

So I was going to make that mac and cheese again, but then I found this recipe for cheesy broccoli soup on the back of the cheese packet!

My little helper

1 cup soy milk (I'm going to use rice milk)
16 oz veggie broth
6 oz. Veggie Cheddar Flavor Sheds
2 tbsp Veggie Parmesan Flavor Topping (I'm not using this at all bc I don't have any)
1 cup broccoli florets
I'm also going to add some cut up red potatoes and onion :)

So here's how I made it:

I first added three chopped red potatoes, some chopped onion, and the broccoli to boiling water and let it all cook until soft.

While that was going I simmered the rice milk and veggie broth (I actually used 2 cups water and a veggie bullion cube) (plus a bit of salt and pepper) in a pot, and slowly added the cheese, while stirring, until it was all melted in.

Side note: it may say "melts great!" on the cheese packaging... but it lies.

Once the cheese melted, I added the veggie mixture and let it cook for about 5 or 7ish minutes.

I toasted two pieces of Rudi's gf bread and then broke it off into little bites for crackers :) (Not only does my stove set off the fire alarm, apparently the toaster does, too)

WOW! This soup is REALLY good!! Wowowowowowowowowowoowowowowowowo!!!!!

Okay, I'm done, but you really should go make this for dinner :)

  

It's been a long week.

I was at an AmeriCorps conference all week. Pretty burnt out with work now! I had a good time meeting some great people and learning some interesting information...

It's so snowy out :( ... well, it was three hours ago when I was last outside! My car doesn't do great in the snow (got stuck in my parking lot this morning in about .25 inches of snow), so I'm making dinner with what I have in the house... which turns out not be much! I even cleaned out my cupboard and 'fridge (I always feel good after I pitch stuff!).

I decided on rice. I loooooove rice. (Though, sadly after I started making the rice, I found some pesto I could have made with noodles... maybe tomorrow's lol)

Used a rice cooker. Definitely one of the top ten inventions! I only have brown rice, and for some reason every time I make it, it's still a little hard. So, instead of using a 1:2 ratio, I used a 1:2.5 ratio (uhm, is that right?)

Anyway,
1 cup brown rice
2 1/4 cups veggie broth
1 veggie bullion cube
Some Italian seasoning
3/4 white wine
(Mmmmm I bet some steamed asparagus would be great with this.)
Throw all this into a rice cooker, turn it on, enjoy!

Well, hopefully enjoy... it smells GREAT so far!

Found some broccoli at the last minute and cooked a little bit up.

Ugh, it' looks better than it tastes. I think I put too much wine in it because it's a little sweet. It's not awful; definitely edible! But the rice is still a little bit hard... maybe it's just this kind of rice. Better luck tomorrow.

Dinner Five

I've been eating terrible the last few days. Had some delicious, delicious rye bread on Saturday with spinach dip. It was amazing! And I thought it was totally worth it... until the migraine from Hell on Sunday. So not worth it.

I donated blood today. Forgot that it's not exactly like getting blood drawn at the doctor's. It actually kind of hurts. And I could feel the blood (my blood) flowing through the little tube. Gross. And the finger pricks. Probably the worst part! Of course, my left finger didn't have enough iron in it so they pricked the other one. Yay. But all for such a great cause :) I love donating. But there are NO gluten-free snacks available at the donation center for after lol So I opted for coffee (which I probably would have done anyway).

So back to home cooked meals today. And tonight is my favorite dish (pretty sure I say that about every dish. I. Love. Food.): Bean Enchiladas! I was taught this recipe by my friend, Erin, in high school. I remember making them late at night, watching movies :) Great memories! Time tested.

Refried beans
Salsa
Enchilada sause
Df cheese
Gf wraps (usually comes in packs of eight- I like LaTortilla Factory, but they aren't good cold)
(Onion- chopped... would have used this but I didn't think about it)
(And anything else you would want in it!)

Grease a medium sized baking pan and preheat the oven (I usually do about 350... because if it's any hotter my fire alarm will go off when I open the oven). Pile everything you want into a wrap and fold them however you like (I do bottom first, right side, then left... but I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter lol). After they're filled, put them into the baking pan and cover with enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake for twenty minutes or so, just until it's nice a warm and the cheese is melted and the wraps are a little browned on the ends.

That's it! So little work for something so delicious.

Obligatory Snuggs photo:

Dinner Four

Had my friend Laura over tonight, so I thought I'd make a "normal" dish! Baked mac and cheese.  Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously the best thing I have ever had in my life. It was a little sweet and all delicious.

This was a super easy recipe. I toasted four gluten-free waffles (seriously. waffles.) and crumbled them into a skillet, added some italian seasoning, and browned it a little bit.

Then I boiled the pasta and started on the cheese sauce! Forgot to get more rice milk at the store today,so I used 1.5 cups milk and 1 cup water. Was still very creamy. Took about five minutes (maybe) for the cheese to melt in. Mixed the sauce with the pasta, put it all in a pan, cooked it in the oven, that's it!

Mmmmmm

Finished....

Even Laura like it. She promised lol






Side note:

Look what I did at work today :)

Played with baby bunnies!

 And I brought home a baby Silkie chick!

I want to name her Juliette, but I don't think the guys are too down for that name lol Anyway, she may not be a she at all. But this little one now lives in a crate on my desk. Was afraid Snuggs would like her a little too much... SOCUTEOMG

Dinner Three

Feeling a little adventurous this evening. Going to mix some pasta with a little bit of asparagus, leeks, tofu, garlic and mix it with the spinach and mushroom flavoring from the other night's risotto! Spent $0.00 on tonight's dinner! And on lunch... left over shepard's pie is definitely something I could get used to.

2 cloves of garlic- diced
10 sprigs (sprigs?) of asparagus
2 inches chopped leek
olive oil
As much firm tofu as you want
1/2 cup water
Packet of Lundberg Spinach and mushroom risotto flavoring (no risotto)
Pasta

Heated olive oil, then added the garlic. Let it cook for a minute. Then I added the chopped asparagus and leek, and tofu. Let cook for a few minutes. I cooked it til the tofu was a little browned and the veggies were soft. Added the water and flavor packet. Let the water absorb into the veggies and tofu. While this was cooking on low-medium heat, boiled some water (with a touch of salt and olive oil) and cooked a little bit of DeBoles gluten-free angel hair pasta.

Aaaand.....

I'm SO impressed!! (Not that I really did much other than add things together lol) Definitely a winner!! Tastes a bit like pesto but more flavorful. So happy :)

Dinner Two

Shepard's Pie!

This is one of my favorite dishes EVER. Second only to quiche (and maybe pumpkin pie). But, I've never made it myself before. Yesterday's dinner (and today's lunch) was such a hit. Hopefully tonight's will be too!

Well, first of all, I used frozen california style veggies (I really hate most vegetables other than those). $1.99. Can't beat that. I cooked them before I put them in with the garlic. Also added a bit of asparagus and leeks from the left overs from yesterday.

Getting better at chopping

Messy

I used flake mashed potatoes because I already had them (and they're soooo good!) And three tablespoons of all-purpose gluten-free flour and a little bit of xanthum gum to get it a little bit thicker.



Two hours and fifty dishes later...

Little bit mushy out of the pan

SO GOOD! Maybe it's a little too soon for this but... maybe I should drop all my future plans and open a restaurant! haha :)

Cleaning dishes

Dinner One

Here is the recipe I am *trying* to make.

Fennel                                                Leek (I hope)

Don't buy a vegetable you aren't sure what it looks like without first figuring out what it looks like. I love leeks, but apparently I don't know what they look like in the store, so I accidentally bought fennel (which I clearly don't know what that looks like either).  I went back and got a leek after seeing a picture. Know any good fennel recipes? (Snuggs likes it raw.) Also, fresh veggies are expensive! I'm not sure how to cut down on the cost of these. Usually I just buy frozen bags, but I doubt leeks come frozen... any ideas?

I also couldn't find any raw organic Arcorio rice, so I just bought a box of spinach and mushroom risotto and am just going to use the risotto and not the flavor packet. Probs not the most cost-effective thing.

Had to look up how to blanch the asparagus. Here's how.

Definitely recommend Barefoot Riesling as the white wine. Not only is it super cheap ($4.99), it's delicious to drink while cooking!

Instead of dishing out four bucks for gluten-free veggie broth, I opted for the Garden Veggie bouillon cubes for $3. It makes 16 cups of broth opposed to the 1 quart (4 cups) of the pre-made broth. Tastes good, too.

Once you (or I) get passed the cooking learning curve of vegetable identification and cooking-lingo, this is actually a very simple, albeit kind of time consuming (but maybe it just feels long because I'm used to making pasta), recipe.

Tip: Don't eat the asparagus before adding it to the risotto because you think you have too much asparagus but you didn't know risotto gets bigger as it cooks

Final product!

Wow. This recipe sure makes something Heavenly! I would definitely consider myself... a bad cook. But this is REALLY good! There is so much flavor and I have a lot of leftovers. Pretty good first day.

Day One

My Step-mom suggested writing a blog on my experiences of eating gluten-free, dairly-free, vegetarian, and living on government assistance... so here it is.

I joined AmeriCorps in July 2011. For those of you who don't know much about AmeriCorps, basically it's the domestic version of the PeaceCorps. I work at a church running the community garden. It's a really great program and I make an impact in people's everyday lives by providing them with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Soon we will have tilapia and chicken eggs as well. But... the pay is awful. You don't join AmeriCorps to get rich financially. With my program, which is run though OASHF (Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks), I am required to apply for food assistance, which I can honestly say has been one of the best things since I make less than $800 a month and live on my own.

I also recently found out that I have a gluten intolerance. It causes a lot of strange symptoms like migraines, bad skin, and aggravates my postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (basically makes my heart race really fast).  I'm also allergic to dairy products, which I've known since I was a kid but never really cared. Up until basically today, I'd eat cheese a least at every meal everyday. I've never really been a milk drinker, but even the smallest bit of dairy is starting to mess with my stomach. And, I'm a vegetarian, and have been for about 15 years.

I find it hard to eat somedays. What in the world is gluten-free and vegan? I also hate cooking, salads, and a variety of other normal vegetarian foods. So usually I just stick to gluten-free pastas with red sauce and some veggies, Amy's Gluten-free, dairy-free burritos, mashed potatoes (flakes, of course), gluten-free waffles, or gluten-free potato leek soup. Seriously, that's pretty much all I eat.

I just found this great website: Gluten-Free Goddess. It's full of gluten-free, dairy-free recipes and they sound pretty easy and look delicious!

So, here's my attempt at cooking everyday, on a small budget, gluten-free and vegan. Tonight I'm going to make the asparagus leek risotto. Someone please wish me luck.