Parmesan Ham Pasta

This picture really doesn't do this dish justice. I think that brown rice pasta isn't as pretty as semolina pasta. But thankfully the flavor is good. This recipe is a family favorite that I adapted to fit Noah's needs. When Anna was little, she loved this so much we named this Annaham'n'noodles. Once again the kids had multiple servings. And Noah has had salad two days in a row. Parmesan Ham & Noodles

1/4 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese
garlic salt & pepper
ham
about 8 cups pasta ( I used brown rice fusili)

Bring water to a boil, add pasta.
Melt butter, add cream. Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes. Add Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, pepper and ham. When pasta is done, add to sauce and toss.

This is super fast. It is done as soon as the pasta is.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Even though it says Buckwheat, these are wheat free and soy free. We tried them first without blueberries and preferred them with blueberries. Noah had 5 pancakes, Isaac had 3 and both Abby and Anna had 2. Kevin said he liked them better than plain pancakes. Buckwheat Blueberry Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/2 cups Bob's All Purpose Flour (wheat free, soy free)
3 T sugar
1/2 t baking powder
2 1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t xanthan gum
1/4 t salt
1 T butter, melted
2 t vanilla
2 cups buttermilk
up to 1 cup milk
1 egg
Mix dry ingredients. Blend wet ingredients, reserving 1 cup milk. Combine wet ingredients to dry ingredients, adding reserved milk until desired consistency.

Wheat Free Dessert

This is what we had for dessert tonight. The brownies came from Trader Joe's--wheat free, gluten free and dairy free. They were extremely rich. I added chocolate chips, but the chocolate flavor was so good, they were just a pleasant addition. Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was yummy!!! For dinner we had turkey burgers--animal style, as friends call them. Noah even ate his lettuce. I thought that without a bun, you could actually taste the meat much better.

The kids loved the mac & cheese so much that the 9x13 was gone by the end of lunch. I made another one today so Kevin could have some leftovers for next week and fixing something for Noah's lunch would be quick, easy and not take much thought. I used the brown rice pasta this time and of course we had to do the taste test. Nobody could say that they liked the brown rice or quinoa pasta more. We found brown rice noodles at Trader Joe's at much more reasonable rates. So we will probably eat more of the brown rice pasta. The one nice thing about the quinoa is that is is a complete protein in and of itself and has great nutritional qualities. So on a meatless dinner day, I will probably opt for quinoa.

Cooking Wheat Free and Soy Free

We have just begun our 2 week completely wheat and soy free diet. Because I feel that diets work better with support, I am joining Noah in going completely free for the next 2 weeks. Then slowly I can start introducing wheat into his diet. When we figure out how much he can handle on a daily basis, we will do the same thing with soy. It's definitely going to be a challenge. But I have already found a wheat flour substitute to use as a thickening agent. White Rice Flour. I made the Creamy Ham topping ( see January posting for recipe) for baked potatoes last night and we couldn't tell the difference. Tonight I made Macaroni & Cheese with Quinoa noodles and used rice flour in the cheese sauce. We haven't eaten baked yet, but the taste before it went into the oven were yummy. I have decided one good thing to come from this will be that it will sever my dependence on processed flour. Not to mention forcing us to quit our fast food addiction. It will be interesting to see how we feel at the end of 2 weeks and what I will be craving.

The kids loved this so much they had seconds and thirds. We couldn't tell a difference. These are the muffins. The texture was different from what we are used to. It is a much more dense bread, but the flavor was good.

And they were chock full of fresh blueberries. That helped.The all purpose flour that I used was from Bob's Red Mill and it gives me hope for pizza, cookies and other yummy things we were taking for granted.