Computer broken

I will have to take a break from this for a bit, because my computer went into the shop.  Actually, at this point, it has been shipped halfway around the world, taken apart 3 times, and they still can't find out why the DVD player won't work on my brand-new laptop.  Don't worry, though, I will be back.  And so far, I have one new recipe to post up: Mini-Shepherd's Pies.  I even have pictures!  YAY! lol  Right now I am using C's computer, which is REALLY old, slow, and doesn't have my beloved Chrome installed, so it doesn't work the way I am used to.  When I can, I will post again!

bacon and bay scallops over pasta

We tried this on Saturday, which seems to be turning into our seafood night.   I am going to critique some of what ended up happening in hopes that we don't do the same thing next time. :D  


Sea scallops are bigger, but they were $16.99 compared to the $5.99 for the bay scallops.  Unfortunately, even then the grocery was out of them, so DH had to get frozen.  He started to quick-thaw the pound of scallops by immersing them in water directly.  

I think that part of this should have been that as soon as he put the scallops in water, he should have started to pasta water.  He also cut up a package of bacon into small crumbles and started frying them up.  Personally, I like my bacon cripsy, and unfortunately, DH didn't leave it in long enough.  But that's okay.

When the bacon is done frying up, remove as much of the bacon as you can while leaving the oil behind, and set the bacon aside.  Drain the scallops as best as you can, and start sauteing them in the bacon oil.  (Whenever the water starts to boil, add the pasta!)  When the scallops are finished mostly cooking, add in the bacon, maybe a little onion powder and/or salt to taste.  Serve over cooked pasta.

We added some broccoli to this (the steamed in the microwave kind), and it added some freshness to the dish.  Plus an extra veggie. :)  Winner all-around!  C ate his all up, then more the next day for early dinner.

Oh, and for those that are wondering about the pasta, we cook C's pasta separately, because we use Tinkyada gluten-free brown rice pasta for him. :)

Spiedies

This is a recipe that we have adapted for us, because this is one of our favorites meals.  We used to use the Salamida Spiedie State Fair sauce, but that has soybean oil in it, and we have to avoid soy as much as possible.

Please NOTE: this is not the typical NY-style!  We cannot use rolls or bread, so we have adapted it for us.  The sauce is great on rice, though, so don't knock it until you try it! :D

Recipe

Chicken cut into pieces.  We normally use boneless, skinless chicken breast, just because I personally like white meat.  Marinate this chicken in:

• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 2/3 cup of oil (we use canola)
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp of marjoram
• 1 tsp of basil and rosemary (so 1/2 tsp each if using separately--I only have a mix)

Marinate overnight, preferably longer.  Don't worry about the meat, because the vinegar keeps it well enough.  Then we just saute it up, and serve with rice and corn.  I also think that this would be a mix that is good for once-a-month cooking too, but I have yet to try that. :)  It just doesn't last. :)

Just had this last night, and it also warms up great in the microwave for lunches the next day! 

Tomato-free Ketchup

I cannot remember which website I saw this on, but this works pretty well for us.  C cannot have any tomatoes, so I had to come up with a solution.

Recipe

• 1 14.5-oz can of sliced carrots, drained
• 1 14-oz can of cranberry sauce
• 1 15-oz can of pears IN JUICE, with 1/4 cup juice removed  (the syrup doesn't make a huge difference in the main recipe, but it is just a bit sweeter than usual)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar (to taste)
• 4 tbsp of salt
• allspice to taste

NOTE:  DH has me add Worcestershire sauce, but personally, I don't think it makes a big difference.

 I puree the pears and carrots in the blender first, because I don't have a high powered blender.  I then add the cranberry sauce.  Once the main cans are mixed, I add the vinegar, salt and allspice (with the Worcestershire sauce) and continue to blend.

This typically gives me a 24 oz bottle of ketchup, plus an extra 2 cups.  I split the remainder 2 cups into small little containers to freeze (between 1/4 and 1/2 cup per container), and just microwave it for 30 seconds to thaw it quickly.  I also have 2 extra containers of 1 cup each in my freezer to use in recipes as needed.  All they need to is to be mixed well when thawed, but even the normal regular tomato ketchup needs to be shaken once in a while to prevent it from getting watery.

Pork with apricot-glaze

We adapted this recipe for us, but it seems like it was a big favorite last night. :)

Pork cut up in bit size pieces and sauteed.  We used cutlets for this, but I am sure you could which ever cut you like.  The original recipe called for sausage, but that just didn't taste right to me.  Daddy also salted the pork while it was cooking, rather than put it in the sauce.

Apricot-Glaze

• 1/2 cup of apricot jam
• 2 tbsp of red onion
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of rosemary  (optional)

Mix all these ingredients together and add glaze when the pork is almost finished cooking.

We served it over rice, and the glaze was GREAT in the rice.  We served a safe veggie of green beans with it.  C didn't like those as much, but he will get used to it.

Oh, and I cut up carrots and put them into small, snack size bags for C.  I don't like carrots much, but he apparently loves them, plus they are good for him.  Win-win!

Background

A bit of our journey:  C developed hives that no one could explain at around 6 months old.  We had two allergists do two sets of skin testing (SPT) on him, as well as a RAST on him, and neither showed allergies properly.  Fast forward to 18 months when he was diagnosed with autism.  I had been considering whether C's allergies were actually IgG allergies (I will get into this in a minute).  We sought out a Defeat Autism Now (DAN) dr, who did IgG/ELISA testing for C.  He tested very high to some new things, but the biggest shock for us was dairy.  He had been drinking whole milk bottles, then 2% milk, per pedi's orders, for at least 7 months.  When we cut out all that milk and cheese as well as all the other allergies, his hives disappeared.  If he gets something now, his belly will hurt, and sometimes he breaks out in hives.  C's skin is VERY sensitive to any additives, so I have to be careful with soaps and laundry detergent.

For those that don't know much about allergies, there is a difference between the normal IgE allergies and the "intolerance" IgG allergies.  Skin testing and RAST mostly test for the IgE allergies, which are the ones we normally think of: itchy eyes, runny nose, throat closing, trouble breathing, etc.  IgG allergies are also autoimmune over-reactions, but they seem to mostly affect the digestive system.  So C gets a bad stomach ache, sometimes horrible reflux, and can vomit, depending on how much of an allergen he has ingested.  He also has "other end" issues, and that resulted in problems with potty-training, but we are now past that (thank goodness!!).

Some of C's allergies are becoming IgE allergies, including eggs and peanuts.  We really have to watch him around these foods, because we don't know what reaction he could have.  Since the numbers are getting worse, we are watching very carefully.

IgG testing is very controversial, somewhat unreliable, and more likely to give a false positive.  As a result of this, some of the things C has tested positive for we don't restrict too much (tomatoes, for instance).  Some things that didn't not come up we try to avoid to a certain extent because we know that he has reactions to these things.  Now that he is testing negative to some foods, we are introducing them back, but taking it very slowly, since we are also removing some foods at the same time.

Now for the list, in order of severity:

• asparagus
• pineapple
• amaranth
• turkey
• celery
• mustard
• pepper, black
• vanilla bean
• chickpea
• beet, red
• lemon
• hazelnut (filbert)
• milk, goat's
• pepper, red
• milk, cow's
• orange
• cashew
• cherry
• casein
• trout
• oyster
• bean, red
• tomato
• watermelon
• sunflower
• soy
• flaxseed
• banana
• egg
• peanut
• garlic
• yeast, baker's

C can have some of these, but we really need to limit some of it, so he doesn't develop an allergy to it:

• brazil nut
• spinach
• herring
• pecan
• potato, white
• radish
• cantaloupe
• mango
• peppermint
• papaya
• coconut
• lentil
• pea, green
• walnut, black

So what I often tell people is that we are Top 8 free, but not including tree nuts, fish, or shellfish.  The Top 8 allergens are (not in this order) dairy, gluten, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.  Most of the time this is enough, but I typically have to read every ingredient label to make sure it is safe, even when we go out to restaurants (especially then!).

If you are still reading, enjoy our recipes and following our story!