Feeding My Gluten Free Kid

May 14, 2019

Educate the people in your child’s life, they will want to feed your child from time to time: neighbors (where they play), people at church, school teachers, family, etc. The concern is how to help them be “normal” and still be safe and healthy.

Of course, you can always send your own snacks and treats, but some people will still want to feed your child.

Educate Family and Friends

It is important to educate family and friends that interact with your child. Help them to understand the importance of your child eating gluten free. Educate them about celiac, gluten intolerance, wheat allergy or other health issue that necessitates they eat gluten free.

Some facts about celiac disease:

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease not an allergy. This means they have an autoimmune response rather than a histamine response.
They won’t necessarily see the reaction while they are with your child. (It is not like anaphylaxis or allergic rashes.)
Reactions to gluten last 3-5 days. Explain what those reactions are like: diarrhea, constipation, tummy-ache, headache, moodiness, irritability, etc. These are just the outward symptoms that signal the autoimmune system has been tripped and is now struggling.
Your child must be strictly gluten free. Don’t tempt her with things she shouldn’t and can’t have.
Explain cross contamination and cross contact as well as how to avoid it.
Teach what things to look out for: wheat, rye, barley and oats. *Remember there is more education for oats, because not all oats are safe. I just include to stay away from oats, it is much easier.
Not everything labeled gluten free tastes good or is safe.

This post contains affiliate links. I include these links for your convenience. I earn a small commission for the referral, but your price remains the same.

Lists and Favorites

I feel so bad when someone goes to the effort to get me or my child something that is gluten free, but it is absolutely dreadful and inedible.

This is where making lists can come in handy. Make lists of “normal” foods your child likes and can eat:

Fruit
Vegetables
Popcorn
Chips and salsa (brand names also help)
Fruit snacks: Welch’s, Tree Top, Motts, etc.
Hershey’s: chocolate bar, Kisses, Almond Joy, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Milk Duds, etc.
Jelly Belly, jelly beans
Pixy Stix
Laffy Taffy
Bit-O-Honey
Smarties
Sour Patch Kids
Popsicles
Minute Maid Juice Bars
Philly Swirl Swirlstix
Creamies

Snacks and Easy Meals

For those that spend more time with your child: daycare, babysitter, Grandma, aunts, etc. There is a great list here of easy to find and fix meals and snacks.

I have also put together some easy to make snacks and meal recipes and ideas here.

Feeding My Gluten Free Kid

To make things a little bit easier, I made these business cards.

Create an informational business card for your child

I made these cards for my daughter to give to family, friends, teachers, etc. Basically, anyone who might want to feed her. It says she is gluten free, has her name, my name, my phone # and a website for more information about gluten free and celiac.

Informational business card for my child about her dietary needs.

On the back of the card I gave information about what she couldn’t have. I request that they read labels and if they have questions to please call me.

Candy-Free Ideas For Easter

Apr 1, 2019

Easter -candy free ideas for small kids, pre-teen, and teenagers.

Kids get enough candy these days and can really get loaded up on holidays, like Easter. If you have dietary restrictions, this makes the holiday challenging, because so much of the holiday involves food! Here are some ideas to relieve some of the candy and food overload, for you and your kids.

This post contains affiliate links. I include these links for your convenience to be able to find similar items to what I am using. I earn a small commission for the referral, but your price remains the same.

Easter Baskets and more

Every egg hunter needs somewhere to put their loot! Traditional basket or some other idea? There are so many things you can do! I like the idea of a new pail and shovel for an Easter basket, but you are only limited by your imagination. I recently saw cute backpacks stuffed with fun Easter gifts.

Plastic Eggs

Jumbo plastic eggs are great for some larger things. You can find plastic eggs in many sizes and can even find pre-filled options as well! How cute to have small stuffed animals in an egg!!!

Wanting to make sure things are “fair”; not wanting a lot of fighting for the holiday. We have rules left by the bunny. Some examples:

Eggs are marked with names or numbers and you need to only pick up your eggs with your name or number on it.
There are family gifts to find, but remember they are for the family and not yours alone.
Everyone has a certain number of eggs or treats to find. If you find more, (usually because you are older) don’t give it away to the younger ones, let them find them, too. If you have ever had a hunt with older and younger kids, you know it can be hard for the younger ones and the older ones want to grab all they can find and give away the hiding spots. Older kids can help younger kids, after they have had a chance to find things themselves.
Eggs easily seen are for the younger kids, older kids need to look a little harder.

Fillers

Party favors make wonderful little trinkets to put in eggs for kids. Be careful of the size of the trinkets, when filling plastic eggs, for small children. You don’t want to give them things they will choke on. That could really put a damper on the day.

Pre-Filled

If you aren’t into filling and finding the right size toys and other articles and matching the right size eggs, go for the pre-filled ones. These make things really easy!

Family Gifts

We always do some family gifts. These could be things like an Easter book, movie, newly released movie, movie tickets, a game or a puzzle.

My Grandparents’ Tradition

My grandparents made Easter a lot of fun! There was a plastic egg for each grandchild, with their name written on it. (21 grandkids) Inside the egg was a $1.00 bill and it was so much more fun than just getting candy! However, we weren’t totally without candy at grandma and grandpa’s house. They hid a Hershey’s chocolate candy bar, along with the egg.

An uncle, was usually sent to hide the eggs and chocolate. We knew we were to let the little kids find their own and only help them, if they got stuck and frustrated. It was so much fun that my grandparents did the same thing for my girls when we would visit them on Easter. My grandparents were awesome! (I miss them.)

Fill Easter eggs with $1.00 bills for the kids to find

She was beyond ecstatic to find a whole $1.00 in her plastic egg! She thought she had won the jackpot!

I like the idea and when I have grandkids, I think it will be a better use of the $20-$30 we would spend on toys and candy.

5+ Favorite Gluten Free Snacks

Mar 30, 2019

It can be hard to find the right gluten free snack! There are now a lot of choices and they tend to be more expensive than their gluten counter parts. So, trying new things and discovering it tastes awful is costly as well as disappointing. Here are some of our more recent favorite gluten free snacks.

Mrs. Hewitts Cookie Dough

It looks like their products can be ordered from their site. We usually find them at Costco. I am not affiliated with them and get nothing in return for promoting their products; they are really good and needed to be included in this list.

The dough is frozen and you bake it and have wonderfully fresh, homemade tasting cookies! They really are wonderful!

https://gfbakers.com/product/cookie-dough/

Kinnikinick Chocolate Cookies

Do you miss Oreo’s? These are a fabulous substitute for the chocolatey goodness you may be missing. We use these in many ways besides snacking. They make a great cookie crust for a pie, Dirt Pudding, which is like the pie, but put into cups, homemade cookies and cream ice cream, and to crush and put in hot chocolate.

Yum Licorice

Licorice is one of those snacks I have really missed! I love the Yum licorice and it is my favorite, that I have found so far! I can easily eat a whole bag and it is hard to control myself. I also like that it is a certified gluten free product.

Glutino Chocolate Covered Pretzels

I am a fan of Glutino products. I really like their pretzels, but there is something special about pretzels covered in yogurt!

Udi’s Mug Desserts

Recently my girls discovered Udi’s mug desserts and they love them! We haven’t tried the coffee cake yet, but it is on my list!

I hope this list helps you to try and to find some favorite snacks, too!

Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Mar 25, 2019

Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto is a favorite side dish at our house! I love that it is naturally gluten free! It is easy to make and tastes so good! The most time consuming part of making this dish is the time it takes to spread the cream cheese and carefully roll, the thin slices of prosciutto.

Ingredients for Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Asparagus

Prosciutto (for most families 1 package will be enough)

Cream cheese – softened (used for spreading)

Cookie sheet

Tin foil

Cooling rack

I am not going to put amounts because it depends on how much your family eats. We typically buy our ingredients at Costco, because we feed 4-7 people on average at our house.

Directions for Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

First, wash your asparagus and break off the woody ends. It should snap where the stalk becomes more tender, getting rid of the woody end. Sometimes, you will have over-ripe pieces that don’t want to break and are kind of floppy. They can still be used if you find a breaking point, but likely will need to discard the floppier pieces.

Dry the asparagus so the cream cheese sticks to the stalk when you roll it.

Prepare, your pan. I us a cookie sheet, covered with tin foil. This makes clean up easy. Inside the cookie sheet I put a cooling rack sprayed with non-stick spray. (If you are gluten free, make sure your spray is gluten free.)

Next, spread the softened cream cheese on the prosciutto. Spreadable cream cheese works really well for this.

Now, take your asparagus. You can wrap one alone or 2 or 3 together. For me, it depends on how many people I want to feed, how much asparagus I have versus how much prosciutto I have. Often, it is a combination of 2 or 3 wrapped together. When I do one alone, it is usually with the larger asparagus stalks.

Prosciutto is very thin and tears easily, so be careful as you roll that you are getting all of the prosciutto rolling together.

Set the rolled prosciutto on your prepared cooling rack that is in your cookie sheet. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes.

I hope your family enjoys this delicious side-dish as much as my family does!

Chocolate Dirt Pie- Gluten Free

Mar 14, 2019

This is a no-bake gluten free pie! It is easy to make with simple ingredients. You will love this Chocolate Dirt Pie! For a twist decorate with gummy worms, in the “dirt”.

This post contains affiliate links. I include these links for your convenience. I earn a small commission for the referral, but your price remains the same.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Dirt Pie:

5.9 oz box of Pudding- I used chocolate fudge, but any flavor of chocolate will do. Follow the directions on the package. Which means you will also need:

3 cups milk

8 oz Cool Whip

3 Tbs melted butter

Gluten free chocolate cookies. My family likes K-Toos . However Glutino chocolate cookies also work well and taste good.

Direction for the Chocolate Dirt Pie:

Make your pudding first, by following the directions on the box of pudding. You will need 3 cups of milk to complete this. Set aside and let set up while you prepare the pie crust.

*I spray the pie plate with a non-stick spray, just to be sure it can be easily served when it is time.

You need to chop or smash your cookies really fine. You don’t want any big pieces left. You can do this by using a chopper, food processor or put in a zip-lock baggie and roll a heavy rolling pin on them.

Put 3/4 of the crushed cookies into a bowl and mix with the melted butter. Set aside the rest of the cookie crumbs for later.

When all the crushed cookies are wet, put the mixture into the pie plate. Press up the sides and the bottom.

Remove approximately 1 cup of pudding from the set up pudding. There is a little too much pudding to fit in the pie plate.

Stir in 1/2 of the Cool Whip.

Spread into your crust.

Top with the cookie crumbs that you set aside. Refrigerate for approximately 4 hours. Serve with the rest of the Cool Whip to top off each slice.

Happy Pie Day!

Chocolate Dirt Pie- Gluten Free

Shannon LeMmon

No-bake, cookie crust gluten free pie.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert

Ingredients

5.9 oz box of chocolate pudding
3 cups milk
3 Tbs melted butter
Box of K-Toos chocolate cookies
8 oz Cool Whip
*Optional -Gummy worms

Instructions

Make the pudding first, so it can set up. Use the 3 cups of milk as it is called for on the box of pudding. Set aside. It will continue to set up as you prepare the crust.
Crush the cookies finely.
Spray pie plate with non-stick spray.
Put 3/4 of the cookies in a bowl and mix with melted butter. When crumbs are moist put in prepared pie plate/pan/tin. Press on bottom and up sides.
Remove approximately 1 cup of pudding from the set up pudding. (Let the kids enjoy it.)
Add to the remaining pudding 1/2 of the Cool Whip. Stir until combined.
Pour into the prepared crust.
Cover the top with the cookie crumbs you set aside.
Refrigerate approximately 4 hours.
Serve with the rest of the Cool Whip.
Option * put gummy worms on top in the "dirt"

Special Puppy Treat For Special Occasions- Gluten Free

Mar 9, 2019

My daughter spoils our dog! Penny is now 7 years old and she often wants a treat along with everyone else. We have all kinds of treats for her, but on special occasions it is fun to give her a special puppy treat!

Is it healthy for my dog?

The answer is: yes and no.

The peanut butter is awesome for your dog! Peanut butter is loaded with all kinds of proteins, vitamins and healthy fats. However, make sure to avoid sugar free and/or lite peanut butter. To replace the sugar they load it up with sugar substitutes, like xylitol, which is toxic for dogs. (As are other artificial sweeteners, but I think xylitol is the most harmful.)

The whip cream isn’t harmful and dogs love it! However, it may bother some dog’s tummies. Also, you shouldn’t do a lot, even though they love it! Whipped cream has a lot of sugar and fats that aren’t necessarily the best for your favorite puppy. (Honestly, my daughter should put a little less whipped cream. Also, just found out that the best peanut butter for her is raw and unsalted, we use Jiff.)

This post contains affiliate links. I include these links for your convenience. I earn a small commission for the referral, but your price remains the same.

Special Puppy Treat Ingredients:

A small paper plate (dessert size)

Peanut butter (preferably raw and unsalted, according to Cesar)
Whipped cream

Constructing the Puppy Treat:

1st spread a thin layer of peanut butter across the plate.

Next, apply the whipped cream.

Puppy Treat for a special occasion- gluten free-

Look at that anticipation!

Enjoying Her Treat

Penny is a well trained dog and knows where she is to eat and to wait patiently until told it is time.

Penny always gets her treat at the carpet, by the back door. The plate doesn’t slide as much when she eats here. She patiently waits for the release word that tells her it is time to eat!

If you look closely you can see she still has whip cream just under her nose! She has really enjoyed her treat!

Specail puppy treat for a special occasion- gluten free

It is fun to give her something she really enjoys, once in a while!

Why does it matter that it is gluten free?

Our family is gluten free because of celiac, crohn’s and other medical conditions that respond better when you are on a gluten free diet. Okay, so our dog doesn’t have any of those, so why should she have to be gluten free, too?

Well, because my dog doesn’t wash her face and brush her teeth after she eats, before she licks me. I react topically to gluten and I need to minimize gluten exposure risks as much as possible. It is miserable to break out in a rash because of gluten and one exposure can last for months!

Some other risks, come from the gluten that goes in the air when putting her dog food in her bowl or touching her dog food or treats that contain gluten. Breathing in the gluten definitely is not good! Also, If I forget to wash my hands and touch my lips, skin, table or counter there is now cross contamination risks that can cause me to have a reaction.

A reaction to gluten typically lasts 3-5 days, at least the most obvious symptoms do. Some doctors say that the reaction can continue virtually unnoticed in your body for up to two months. However, on the skin I have experienced reactions that last for several months and took a steroid shot to calm it down.

Cream Cheese Ham Rolls- Gluten Free Lunch or Snack

Mar 6, 2019

When I was first married, I went to a class that was teaching some fun food ideas for appetizers and easy to make, but fun food items. The one thing I remembered and started making after that class was cream cheese ham rolls.

They suggested cutting them into bite sized pieces and putting toothpicks in them, but hey if it is your snack or lunch why bother? Except that might be fun for the kids.

When I was diagnosed with celiac, I remembered this idea and it was a life saver!

This post contains affiliate links. I include these links for your convenience. I earn a small commission for the referral, but your price remains the same.

Lunch Time!

I like Kirkland’s ham, from Costco, for making these. Also, I like the 1 oz cream cheese packets (I find them at Costco, too). It is easy to use and just the right amount! I do recommend letting the packets sit out for a little while to come closer to room temperature, making the cream cheese easier to spread.

Typically, I eat three, sometimes 4. They are filling, easy and have a lot of protein.

Cream Cheese Ham Roll Ingredients

3-4 oz of cream cheese – spreadable

3-4 slices of deli sliced ham- not too thin, because you need it to be able to hold ingredients

3-4 pickle spears

Knife- for spreading

Cream cheese seems to make so many things taste good! I have a few other recipes with cream cheese, you can check out: Cream Cheese Enchiladas, Pimento Cream Cheese Salad, Cream Cheese Chicken Crockpot, Creamy Lemon Pie, and Applesauce spice cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Ham Roll Directions

Spread the cream cheese on the slice of ham.

Gluten Free Cream Cheese Ham rolls - great snack or lunch

When I made these, I wasn’t really hungry and not patient enough to bring the cream cheese to room temperature for easier spreading. It isn’t pretty, but it is still delicious!

Put the pickle spear at one end and roll the spear in the ham. You can do it without the pickle spear, but it is so much tastier with it!

The spears are sometimes really thick and I often cut them to be a little thinner.

It is at this point you could put toothpicks in (usually 3 or 4) and cut into bite sized pieces or just eat as the roll!

Easy Peasy!!!

Serve with chips, Cheetos or Doritos, some grapes and a juice box and you have a full lunch!

Great for travel

I think these are easier to put together on the road because they don’t get slimy and soak in pickle juice until you are ready to eat. I have done them both ways depending on whether we will have time to stop or not.

Both ways meaning: already made vs making on the road.

They are easier, in my opinion, if you can find the one ounce packets and just squeeze the cheese onto the ham and then spread it out with a knife. If you don’t have a knife or don’t want to worry about it you can squeeze the cheese on one end and then carefully roll it. You will still get cream cheese in every bite. However, the small spreadable containers are also easy for travel, too.

Gluten Free Cream Cheese ham rolls great for lunch or a snack

Cream Cheese Ham Rolls- Gluten Free Lunch or Snack

Shannon LeMmon

Easy to make at home or on the go.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Course Lunch

Servings 1

Ingredients

3-4 Ham slices
3-4 ounces of cream cheese
1-2 pickle spears sliced again making 2-4 pickle spears - optional
Knife
Plate

Instructions

Spread cream cheese onto ham slice. Optional: put pickle spear at one (short) end of the ham slice. Roll the ham from short side to short side making it a log roll.
Optional: put toothpicks in and cut into bite sized pieces.

Outdoor Holiday Wreaths

Nov 30, 2018

I wish I had a photo of what my old holiday wreaths looked like for the past few years. Evidently, I have avoided taking pictures of them because they weren’t my favorite! I have been wanting to redo them for a long time! They didn’t turn out the way I wanted. When I first made them they had big bows out of the mesh ribbon. The mesh isn’t as sturdy as wire ribbon. The bows were a little floppy and they looked decent the first year we used them.

However, they didn’t store well. The bows got smashed and looked terrible. Not having time or energy to redo them, I either left them out of decorating or hung them up with just the ribbon that is wrapped around them. Every time we pull up to our house, I have thought “I need to redo those, I hate them!”

This is the year!

The greenery is on a sturdy wire frame and still very decent by itself. So, re-using the wreath made sense!

I got help from 2 of my favorite helpers! They had so much fun designing and decorating.

Supplies

Wreath- something with greenery and a wire frame is going to stand up to the weather the best.

Ribbon- wire is easier to manipulate and twist and get in place.

Wire cutters- essential for cutting the greenery and plastic pieces you will place

Wire- for holding pieces in place.

Hot glue sticks and Hot glue gun- Some things need a little more help to be kept in place.

Bells- any color

Christmas flowers

Christmas decorations

Outdoor Holiday Wreath Step 1

Wrap your ribbon around the wreath. Tie or hot glue the ends of the ribbon to your frame. Make it even around the wreath and when it is pleasing to you cut the ribbon, tie or hot glue it with the other end to the frame.

Fluff the greenery. Pull out the branches, they are made with wire and can be manipulated to the places you want. Make it look nice and full; not like it has been sitting in storage for a year.

Holiday Wreath Step 2

Lay out all of your supplies and tentatively place pieces on the wreath. Do you want all decorations to one side, all to the bottom or spread throughout the wreath. What looks best to you and keep in mind where and how you plan to hang it. Mine go around my lights on my garage.

My helpers like the decorations spread throughout the wreath.

Outdoor Holiday Wreath Decorating

Outdoor holiday wreath decorations

Outdoor Holiday Wreath decorations

Holiday Wreath decorations

*Full disclosure. I got my supplies from Hobby Lobby and used some things I had left over from past projects.

My daughter had a great idea to wire the bells to the center of the poinsettias. Cut your wire a little long so you can wrap it to the wreath and hold it in place. Once you have decided on placement of items wire and hot glue all decorations into place.

Holiday Wreath Step 3

Hang your wreath in place and do any last minute fluffing and twisting.

Happy decorating and Happy Holidays!

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu- Gluten Free

Jul 27, 2018

Chicken Cordon Bleu is one of my favorites! I also love to grill during the summertime. This combined 2 of my favorite things and turned out great!

*If you plan on making your own cream of chicken soup, you will first need to make the mix. Recipe here.

Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu

Approximately 2lbs boneless, skinless thighs
Salt and pepper to taste
Slices of Monterrey Jack Cheese Approximately 6 slices
Approximately 6 slices of ham
2 cups gluten free cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
Toothpicks

This post contains affiliate links. I include these links for your convenience. I earn a small commission for the referral, but your price remains the same.

Preparing the Chicken

Light your grill to preheat.

Lay out you chicken flat (cut side up) sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place cheese on top of your thigh pieces. (I broke the slices to better fit the size of the pieces of meat.)

Next, place your ham slices. (I also cut the ham to fit the meat size better)

Fold the chicken, encasing the ham and cheese inside and close with toothpicks to hold together.

Finally, put it on the grill. I cooked it around 350 degrees, turning with tongs until it was cooked through. I used a meat thermometer to make sure the meat reached 165 degrees and was completely cooked.

A Little Messy

With the cheese it is a little messy, but so worth it! I regret nothing!

When the chicken is fully cooked remove it from the grill and remember to remove your toothpicks.

Cover the chicken breast with sauce and enjoy.

Preparing Chicken Cordon Bleu Sauce

Use either a pre-made gluten free cream of chicken soup or make your own with this mix and recipe.

Start your sauce when you put your chicken on the grill. I use 7 Tablespoons of the mix dissolved in 1/2 cup water (dried onions will not dissolve), and 2 cups of water.

When your soup thickens add 1/2 cup sour cream. When soup and sour cream are thoroughly mixed turn down to warm until chicken is fully cooked.

Meal Suggestions

We love mashed potatoes with this because you can use the sauce like gravy. That is the reason why we make so much sauce!

Green beans or mixed vegetables pair well.

Green salad with garden tomatoes.

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu- Gluten Free

Shannon LeMmon

Chicken Cordon Bleu- gluten free- easy and fairly quick to pull together. Grilled on the barbecue grill.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Course Main

Servings 4

Ingredients

Approximately 2lbs boneless skinless thighs
Salt and pepper to taste
Slices of Monterrey Jack Cheese Approximately 6 slices
Approximately 6 slices of ham
2 cups gluten free cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
2 tsp gluten free bouillon
1/2 cup sour cream
Toothpicks

Instructions

Light your grill to preheat.
Lay out you chicken flat (cut side up) sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place cheese on top of your thigh pieces. (I broke the slices to better fit the size of the pieces of meat.)
Next, place your ham slices. (I also cut the ham to fit the meat size better)
Fold the chicken, encasing the ham and cheese inside and close with toothpicks to hold together.
Finally, put it on the grill. I cooked it around 350 degrees, turning with tongs until it was cooked through.
Remove the toothpicks and cover with sauce.
Sauce:
If using the same mix I use do the following:
Start your sauce when you put your chicken on the grill. I use 7 Tablespoons of the mix, dissolved in 1/2 cup water (dried onions will not dissolve).
Put this mixture, bouillon and 2 cups of water in a sauce pan.
Stir frequently.
When your soup thickens add 1/2 cup sour cream. When soup and sour cream are thoroughly mixed turn down to warm until chicken is fully cooked.
Pour sauce over chicken and use as gravy on mashed potatoes.

I Am Obsessed With My Air Fryer

Mar 21, 2018

Saturday, I got an air fryer and I have used it everyday (4 straight days and counting) since getting it! I am totally obsessed with my air fryer! When I see a recipe, I immediately wonder. . . can I air fry that?!!!

I thought I might have damaged my air fryer!

We did bacon, lots and lots of bacon! In fact, we fried bacon, did tater tots wrapped in bacon, French fries wrapped in bacon, and dill pickle spears wrapped in bacon. (Sounds weird, but it was really good and I WILL do it again!) I only removed some oil/grease out once. Truly, I should have done it again, but I couldn’t find anything to put it in, so I kept going.

I think I did too much for too long. It needed a break and I pushed it. Plus the grease really splattered all over it.

It’s Okay!

It’s taking me a while to write this. So, no I don’t think it is damaged. I needed to give it a good cleaning. Now, I also know that it needs to cool down and not to be pushed so long and hard.

I need a bigger air fryer!

The one I have, I got for $15 with the purchase of my new washer and dryer. It isn’t very big. The basket is 7 inches in diameter and is a 2.75 quart air fryer. Go Wise USA is the brand I currently have.

It is fantastic if you only plan on feeding one or two people, but a bigger one is needed for doing larger quantities! Trying to feed more than a couple of people takes a lot of time! Not quite as bad as cooking with an Easy Bake Oven, but it does take more time than other methods. Not because the air fryer takes a lot of time (It doesn’t), but because of the small quantities done at one time. However, if you are only making food for a couple of people or have the right sized basket for your crew, then it is a quick and fantastic way of making many dishes!

What I want!

Bacon tends to travel in the air fryer unless it is held in place, there are accessories for that

Makes my mouth water! Air fried bacon is very tasty!!!

I want a larger air fryer! On my wish list is one that comes with accessories! You see, when I fry bacon, (Which by the way, tastes amazing air fried!), it curls and doesn’t stay put very well. For larger basket air fryer’s there is a tool for holding the bacon in place.

There are air fryers that come with accessories and so far all the accessories I have seen are for the larger ones. Accessories can also be purchased separately.

We have tried air frying a lot of things!

We have tried air frying so many things! Here’s a list of some of the things we have been air frying:

cheesecake – I made a makeshift tinfoil pan
fries
bacon
French toast (My absolute favorite way to have French toast!!!)
eggs
gf chicken nuggets

Bacon wrapped dill pickle spears air fried

Bacon wrapped dill pickles. They tasted so good! I will be making more of these!

I LOVE how good French Toast made in the air fryer tastes!!!

Not the prettiest cheesecake, but it tasted really good. This is one I would like to perfect. I had to press down the sides of my make-shift tin foil pan, in order to get a decent photo.

I used the same idea as putting your mug in the microwave to cook things (since I don’t have accessories). The mug fit perfectly! It is egg, broken up, cooked sausage, vegetables and cooked in the air fryer.

I LOVE my air fryer!!! Everything tastes so good!

Wish List

I just saw that there is an air fryer oven! It can cook more food at one time, can do rotisserie, and dehydrate food!

I love these options for healthier “fried” foods!!!

Crockpot Naked Chicken Dinner- Something for Everyone

Mar 20, 2018

Dinner time is challenging especially when you have a family with varied palates. With this dish you can please everyone, unless they don’t like chicken! Not only is this naked chicken tasty, but you can add anything to it, you like! Not to mention, anytime you can use your crockpot and make dinner quickly and easily is a plus!

Easy, Naked, Chicken Dinner

Naked? Well, it really doesn’t have much of anything on it. I like skinless, boneless chicken but you could do this with any chicken. The ingredients are simply: olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s it!

Crockpot Directions

Place approx. 2-2.5 pounds of chicken in your crockpot. I love the programmable crockpots! They automatically turn themselves down to warm, so you don’t have to be home, to make sure it doesn’t overcook.

Programmable crockpot for making easy chicken for dinner

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Drizzle olive oil onto the chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. (Don’t taste raw chicken! Salt and pepper the amount of salt and pepper you like to have on your chicken. Approximately 1 tsp of each. Probably a little less than a tsp of pepper, as most people don’t usually like as much pepper as salt.)

Place lid on crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours.

Dress That Naked Chicken

Here’s what makes everyone happy! Each person can decide what they like on their own chicken or eat it just as it is!

Naked chicken with Frank's Redhot Buffalo sauce

I love my chicken with a kick! So, Frank’s RedHot Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce is my favorite. Sometimes I mix in some Ranch Dressing with the hot sauce! Yum!

Here are a few other ideas:

Ranch Dressing
Catalina Dressing
Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce
Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Salsa
Honey

Serving Suggestions

baked potatoes
mashed potatoes
potato chips and dip
corn chips
corn chips and salsa
vegetables cooked or fresh
green salad
potato salad

Leftovers

I love having leftovers of this chicken! It is easy to use in enchiladas, on pizza, in Alfredo and other recipes requiring pre-cooked chicken.

Crockpot Naked Chicken Dinner- Something for Everyone

Shannon LeMmon

This recipe doesn't take a lot of time, is easy to put together and if your crockpot is programmable, you don't have to watch the time!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4

Total Time 4 10

Course Main

Servings 4 -5 servings

Ingredients

2-2.5 lbs. Chicken
approximately 2 T Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to your liking
Optional:
Honey
Frank's Redhot Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
Ranch Dressing
Catalina Dressing
Salsa
Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce
Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Instructions

Place chicken into the crockpot.
Drizzle olive oil over chicken.
Salt and Pepper to your liking.
Place lid on crockpot.
Set on low and cook for 4 hours
Drizzle on top or dip your favorite sauce, dressing or honey.

Ray of Sunshine Baby Blanket- crochet

Jan 27, 2018

Ray of Sunshine Baby Blanket

I started this blanket after cleaning and straightening my yarn “collection”. I found this beautiful sunshine yellow and couldn’t wait to start a baby blanket with it. I had 2 skeins and they did seem a little bigger than what I have found since then, so you may need more than 3.

The whole time I worked on this, I thought it reminded me of sunshine. Then, when I added in the green stripes it made me think of rays of sunshine. I love how it turned out!!!

This pattern has a color change in it. To learn some techniques in changing color, check out this tutorial at Heart Hook Home

Front

Ray of Sunshine- Crochet baby blanket, change of color in the blanket

Back

Ray of Sunshine- Crochet baby blanket, change of color in the blanket

The backside has a nice pattern and is flat, whereas the front side is bumpy and very textured.

Materials

*3 skeins of yellow baby yarn (I used Bernat Baby Coordinates- Lemon Custard)

*The first two skeins I used seemed bigger and were in my “collection” of yarn. You may need a skein or two more than what I used.

1 Scan of contrasting color baby yarn (I used Bernat Baby Coordinates- Iced Mint)

Hook H or I

Yarn needle (for sewing in ends)

Scissors for trimming

Stitch Legend

sc= single crochet. Insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch, (2 loops on hook) yarn over, pull through the two loops that were on hook.
tr= Treble crochet which basically means how many times you pull the loops off of the hook (3), so yarn over twice, insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch, yarn over and pull off two loops, yarn over and pull of two loops, yarn over and pull through the last two loops
sl: slip stitch- insert hook into stitch, yarn over, pull through stitch and the loop that is on the hook.

Alternating Patterns

Pattern alternates from a textured row to a single crochet. The textured row alternates between a treble crochet and single crochet.

Ray of Sunshine Blanket Instructions

Ch 108

Row 1: sc in second ch from hook, sc in each ch across, ch 1, turn. (107)
*The next row alternates between sc and tr.
Row 2: sc in first sc, tr in next, across. The last stitch should end with a sc, ch 1, turn.
Row 3: sc in each stitch across, ch 1, turn.
Rows 4- 76: Repeat Rows 2-3

Now, we are going to add in our contrasting color (Iced Mint)

Row 77: join with a slip stitch, contrasting color with the ch 1 and then turn, repeat row 3
Rows 78-82: Repeat rows 2-3 Join with main color at the end of row 82 with a slip stitch
Rows 83-88: Repeat rows 3-2. Join with contrasting color at the end of row 88 with a slip stitch
Rows 89- 94: Repeat rows 3-2. Join with main color at the end of row 94 with a slip stitch
Rows 95-100: Repeat rows 3-2. Join with contrasting color at the end of row 100
Rows 101-106: Repeat rows 3-2. Join with main color at the end of row 106 with a slip stitch
Row 107- 112: Repeat rows 302. Join with contrasting color with a slip stitch and continue with the border.

Border

Row 1: Ch 1 sc 1st st, and evenly all the way around the edge of the blanket, join beginning stitch with a slip stitch
Row 2: sc in first sc, *sk 2 sc, 5 dc in next sc, sk 2, sc in next sc, repeat from * around the blanket, slip stitch to join beginning of row.

Row 3: join contrast w/ sl st , ch 1, sc around blanket joining with a sl stitch

Easy

Educate Family and Friends

Lists and Favorites

Snacks and Easy Meals

Feeding My Gluten Free Kid

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Easter -candy free ideas for small kids, pre-teen, and teenagers.

Easter Baskets and more

Plastic Eggs

Fillers

Pre-Filled

Family Gifts

My Grandparents’ Tradition

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Mrs. Hewitts Cookie Dough

Kinnikinick Chocolate Cookies

Yum Licorice

Glutino Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Udi’s Mug Desserts

I hope this list helps you to try and to find some favorite snacks, too!

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Ingredients for Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Directions for Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

I hope your family enjoys this delicious side-dish as much as my family does!

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Ingredients for the Chocolate Dirt Pie:

Direction for the Chocolate Dirt Pie:

Happy Pie Day!

Chocolate Dirt Pie- Gluten Free

Ingredients

Instructions

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Is it healthy for my dog?

Special Puppy Treat Ingredients:

Constructing the Puppy Treat:

Enjoying Her Treat

Why does it matter that it is gluten free?

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Lunch Time!

Cream Cheese Ham Roll Ingredients

Cream Cheese Ham Roll Directions

Easy Peasy!!!

Great for travel

Cream Cheese Ham Rolls- Gluten Free Lunch or Snack

Ingredients

Instructions

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This is the year!

Supplies

Outdoor Holiday Wreath Step 1

Holiday Wreath Step 2

*Full disclosure. I got my supplies from Hobby Lobby and used some things I had left over from past projects.

Holiday Wreath Step 3

Happy decorating and Happy Holidays!

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Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu

Preparing the Chicken

A Little Messy

Preparing Chicken Cordon Bleu Sauce

Meal Suggestions

Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu- Gluten Free

Ingredients

Instructions

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I thought I might have damaged my air fryer!

It’s Okay!

I need a bigger air fryer!

What I want!

We have tried air frying a lot of things!

I LOVE my air fryer!!! Everything tastes so good!

Wish List

I love these options for healthier “fried” foods!!!

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Easy, Naked, Chicken Dinner

Crockpot Directions

Dress That Naked Chicken

Serving Suggestions

Leftovers

Crockpot Naked Chicken Dinner- Something for Everyone

Ingredients