Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite day of the year! I love fall, and I love good food. Put the two together and it makes for the best holiday of the year! Since being shoved into a gluten free lifestyle I have been more open minded when it comes to trying new foods, cranberry sauce for example. I have never been able to stomach the canned jelled cranberry sauce. I blame it on having my wisdom teeth and tonsils out within a year of each other which led to my disgust for anything gelled, especially Jell-O. A few years ago I decided to try making homemade cranberry sauce from actual cranberries (no gelatin involved!!!). Since then I have adapted the recipe for my own tastes. It is SUPER easy. I make it the day before and keep it in the refrigerator until time to eat. I also make it for Christmas dinner and any other occasion through out the year that it seems right. So here it is:

Ingredients:
12 oz Cranberries (I have found the frozen variety end up sweeter, but the fresh variety work well too.)
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Orange Juice
1 20 oz can Crushed Pineapple
2 Cinnamon Sticks (optional)

Mix sugar and orange juice in sauce pan and stir on medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Add cranberries and cinnamon sticks and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries begin to pop (this may take as long as 45 minutes, so be patient!). Remove from heat, remove cinnamon sticks, mix in pineapple and refrigerate until ready to serve.

It's sweet and still a little tart, adds a dash of color to the plate, and is probably the easiest side dish for the perfect Thanksgiving dinner.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Getting Caught Up

It has been far too long since I have posted anything. The last few months have been a roller coaster ride for me, and have kept me extremely busy.

I spent the first week of September back in Colorado visiting friends and family. I got to meet my best friend and cousin's daughter, Emma. (Even though she was already ten months old at the time.) We spent a day in beautiful Breckenridge and I enjoyed a fabulous gluten free pepperoni and green pepper pizza at Downstairs at Eric's. (I HIGHLY recommend visiting Breckenridge. It is one of the most beautiful and fabulous places on Earth, and for being such a small mountain community has quite a large selection of gluten free options!) I also had my birthday back in September, and had 2 separate and equally delicious cakes. One my sister had made in Conway, AR the other from New Day Gluten Free in Ellisville, MO.(Pictures are coming of the first cake!)

Stargazer Lily birthday cake c/o New Day Gluten Free

Three days before my birthday I had trigger-thumb surgery, and the day after that I had an impacted wisdom tooth pulled.Recovery has been quite slow, especially for my hand. I ripped my stitches, then had my incisions glued, and ripped the glue open as well. My hand is still sore and swollen, but is getting better every day!

Back in October I received an invitation to write for In Just 10 Pages. A fabulous site with tips and recipes and stories about gluten free living. I am planning on submitting more when time allows! My site has also been added to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness as well as Celiac.com. I feel so blessed that my simple little site and all my effort to share my story and to help others has gotten some recognition from others in the community!

Also in October I gave in to the harassment of various friends and family members and had professional portraits taken. I have been putting it off for a long time, mainly because I have never liked getting my picture taken. Needless to say I suffered through. The photographer was super sweet, and while we were chatting I found out she had been misdiagnosed WITH Celiac, after following the diet for some time. I will post my new pictures when they are in. My photo on the main page is almost 4 years old so I suppose it is time for an update! :)

Last week I volunteered as an election judge. I didn't realize until after I committed to it that I couldn't leave and had to report at 5 am Tuesday morning. It made for a VERY long day. Thankfully my good friends at New Day Gluten Free prepared me snacks, a sub sandwich, and cake to share with my fellow judges. Needless to say I was well fed the entire day!

While I was judging the election, my parents were hosting an election party. I made a gluten free flag cake for the party and decorated it with red, white, and blue icing. Since I was short on time, I used store bought canned icing, and the Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix. The cake came out great, and it flipped right out of the cake pan without breaking apart. After icing it I took a spoon and ate all the extra icing. While doing so I realized the Wilton red and blue icing I got was thickened with wheat starch. I felt like the biggest idiot ever, and am still suffering the consequences of the "glutenating" a week later! It served as a good reminder though that you can never be too careful or read a label too many times!!!

I am putting together recipes and shopping lists for Thanksgiving, my favorite day of the year. This year I am spending Thanksgiving with my parents and various friends that do not have family in the St. Louis area. They don't know it yet, but Thanksgiving will be 100% gluten free, and DELICIOUS!!! I will list some of my favorite recipes later this week, and of course share how my Gluten Free Thanksgiving goes!