I feel like chicken tonight...

...like chicken tonight, chicken tonight!
Does anyone but me remember that old jingle? Maybe I am just crazy. Anyway...

I am still in a veggie mood because I am afraid to eat anything else. I don't know all the places gluten can hide yet, so I am weary of eating anything packaged. The great thing is that I have lots of veggies on hand. The not-so-great thing is that the hubs is getting a little sick of potatoes. Ah, well. One more night of dinner and then we fly out to Colorado for a family reunion. That should be a blast, even if it is full of food mines and explosions.

So here is tonight's dinner. Roasted chicken and veg.


This is really easy too. Grab a large 13x9 baking dish. (Side note: I heart Pyrex) Cut your potatoes, carrots, and onions into chunks that are roughly the same size, dump them in your baking dish. Drizzle Olive Oil over the top, then sprinkle on salt and pepper. Toss to coat (in the pan, trying to avoid dishes- ya dig?). On a separate plate, drizzle your chicken with olive oil. Add salt, pepper, and seasoning on both sides. Put on top of the veggies in the baking dish, then cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees F for about an hour or until the veggies are tender and the chicken reads at an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.

Yum!

I'm all about the easy...

So this was our dinner. Hash is lovely.

Olive oil in a large skillet. Add cubed potatoes and diced onions. Add ground beef (mmm, bessie...) Cook until everything is done, stirring occasionally. Salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of sugar.

Yum, and totally gluten free.

In other GF news, I will have the tests run next week. Since I feel a lot better already, I think this may be the path that I am heading down...

Stir Fry, My style

So, this is what I made for dinner last night. It was mighty tasty. I had forgotten that I like to cook. Well, mostly.

I am really trying this whole gluten free thing. Even if I don't end up needing to eat gluten free, I think that I would still try it. If for no other reason than it might get me cooking at home more, and eating out less. That would probably also help me lose the extra fifty to sixty pounds that I have gained.

So this post is to remind myself that home cooking is a good thing. (Picture Martha saying it).



My Stirred Fry

Wok Oil (just a bit)
Chicken
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Snap Peas
Carrots
Broccoli Shoots
Onions
Hoisin Sauce
Rice Wine Vinegar
Sesame Oil

All amounts are at your discretion. Choose what you like, and how much you like. Chop and size according to your tastes.

Heat your wok over high heat. Glug the wok oil in the wok (I used about two turns). When the oil is hot, toss the chicken in. Brown for a few minutes until the chicken is mostly done. Push chicken to the sides of the wok and add a veg. Cook until the veg is just barely warm. Push that veg to the sides of the wok and add another veg, continue until all the veggies have been added. (Cook whatever will take the longest first, then add from there). Hopefully, by the end, all the veggies will be added and crisp-tender.

Add a bit of hoisin sauce. Stir. Cook until eveything is done to your liking. Turn off the heat. Add a bit of rice wine vinegar. Stir. Take wok off the heat, then add a few drops of sesame oil. Stir.

Serve over rice.

Makes about as much as you want to consume. It really depends on how many veggies you added. If your wok is too small, the cook each item separately until almost done to your liking. Take the item our of the wok just before it is cooked through and set aside. When everything is cooked, then you can add it all back in, add your sauces, and voila! Stir Fry.

OMG

I can't believe it... I mean, I did it, and I can't believe it...

I rejoined facebook...

Here I am...

Yeah...

The Farmer's Market

I went to the Farmer's market today with my hubby and a good friend. It was the first market of the season. We arrived shortly after the opening and the park was packed. It was beautiful.

The vegetables, the (small amounts) of fruit, the craft vendors, the homemade food, and the people were all great. The market was filled with wonderful smells. I began to realize something. Even if I have to live without wheat or gluten, I don't have to feel deprived. Many of the foods that I adore contain no gluten.

Carrots don't have gluten. Neither does onions, bell peppers, lettuce, or milk. The first cherries of the season- that I paid an arm for- don't contain gluten. They were surrounded by much anticipation, but they don't contain gluten!

The hubs and I decided to join a milk delivery service from Winder. We ordered milk (in glass bottles), half and half, and even groceries. With the grocery delivery, the farmer's market, and all the stuff I hope grows in my garden, I should be perfectly fine without wheat.

My booty from the market? Brilliant!

• Cherries (Even if they did cost the earth, it was worth it to have my first cherries of the season).
• Onions from my favorite root guys
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Green Leaf Lettuce
• And the Winder Dairy stuff, which will be delivered next Monday.
  

What's in my fridge?

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Iceberg Lettuce
• Eggs
• and lots of condiments
  

Not sure how I feel about this...

I may have celiac. I heart pastry, pie, and cake- and I might have celiac.

In my last post, I mentioned that I had all these tests done to figure out what the heck was wrong with my stomach, and why it hurt all the time. I was talking to my Doc, chatting with a friend, and reading Gluten Free Girl's book. My doc said she wanted to test me for celiac. My friend said my symptoms sounded just like hers before she went gluten free. The snippets in the book reminded me of how I feel all the time. So, I scheduled an appointment with my Doc.

In the mean time, I have been gluten free for the entire day, and I feel a whole lot better than I have in the past month. I know, I know, I have not been tested yet. I know it could be worse. I could have other major health concerns. As far as being gluten free goes, this is a fairly easy thing to deal with. But...

I am already allergic to things. No avocado. No mint. Can't have hydrogenated peanut oil. No white chocolate, coconut, or pecans. NO BEE STINGS! Allergic to chlorine bleach, fragrance, something in household cleaners, and I have asthma.

Can't I catch a break? Oh well. I think that I can deal. Even if I am Celiac. Which I may not be. Because I have not had the biopsy done yet.
****

In other news, the Salt Lake City Downtown Farmer's Market opens tomorrow! YAY!

Hopefully, I can grab lots of bounty and make stuff. Gluten Free Stuff. Maybe... Mostly...

What was I thinking?!?

So...I realized that I was being a bit ambitious when I decided that I was going to post once a week. Seeing how my life has been completely up in the air and crazy, I am not sure what I was expecting.

I started a new position at my job in February. For the first little while, it was completely smooth sailing. Then I actually started to get busy at work. Like tear out your hear- cry in the shower- can't sleep for thinking- doubting everything- busy. It was bad. Couple this with an insane amount of catching up in my personal life, and I was done. March was not a happy month. So, I took a step back from everything and decided that I could some things but, if I didn't want to go down in flames again, I couldn't do everything. In April, I started to slooooowly reintroduce myself to things that I like and started saying no to things that I don't like. Working on creating that work-life-project balance.

The updates on the things that have been going on for the month of May?

• The job has calmed down a bit and I am starting to find my groove.
  
• I decided (in my infinite wisdom) that I would start to train for a half triathlon- even though I have no fitness level at all. Maybe I will write about that one....later.
• I also decided that I would train for next years half marathon. I am still in too much shock to talk about that one yet.
  
• I am really not making any progress on my training for these two things, but I am trying.
  
• I gained 10 pounds, bringing my over total to 50 :( . Do you see the correlation to the craziness of the marathon/ triathlon?
• We purchased another new kidlet for our zoo. A Sunday Conure who we named...wait for it... Sunny!
• I was at the Dr.'s office many times in March and they still don't know what is wrong. I had asthma issues, and I totally bruised my wrist. Although I have to admit that one was funny. Totally epic fall on my face in the living room of my house- bird went flying, dogs went crazy, and I went screaming (thought the wrist was broken). Oh, and the hubby has been sick.
• I started twittering. It's fun and completely pointless.
• We started to redo a basement wall after having to tear it down due to water damage.
• I've been trying (for two months) to get my seedlings in the ground. But if they are not in this weekend they are not going in...

Although all of that has been quite overwhelming in the last little while, I am finally starting to get a handle on things and feel like I can post regularly. So, here is wishing myself good luck.

Ciao.