Homemade Grain-free "Macaroni" and Cheese - recipe

Cheese Sauce:

Shred:
8 ounces cheddar
6 ounces mozzarella
4 ounces feta
4 ounces parmesan
3 ounces asiago
3 ounces romano
4 ounces Jack


Mix until smooth
1/3 cup starch mixture (mixture is made of equal amounts sweet potato starch, potato starch, and tapioca starches)
1/3 cup chickpea flour (besan flour)
1 teaspoon dried mustard (powder)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
and 1 1/2 cups water


Mix starch/flour mixture into 6 cups cold milk.  Put in HEAVY bottom pan and turn stove to medium low.  Slowly heat, stirring constantly.  Once see steam rising, start dropping in small handfuls of shredded cheese every couple minutes until all cheese added.  DO NOT LET BOIL.  Simmer at most until slightly thickened and cheese is melted into sauce.

If gritty or clumpy, blend with hand blender.


In large pot, bring salted water to boil.  Boil 2 sleeves Sweet Potato Noodles (these are the ones I use:  Rhee Bros Sweet Potato Noodles) for 10-12 minutes.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water.

Dump noodles into glass casserole dish.  Cover with cheese sauce and stir sauce through noodles until all is covered.  Need to be sure have some extra sauce over the noodles as the noodles suck up the liquid.  I save rest of sauce in fridge until next time I need cheese sauce (broccoli, baked taters, mashed taters etc.)

Bake in over at 350 for 1 hour or more until browned on top and bubbly.

BBQ and Meatballs = Recipes

BBQ sauce - Use safe for you ingredients if you have allergies

tomato paste = 2 cups.
water = 4 cups
chili powder = 1 tablespoon
garlic powder = 1 tablespoon
onion powder = 2 tablespoons
honey = 2/3 cup
lemon juice = 2 tablespoons
vinegar = 1/4 cup
paprika = 1 tablespoon
oregano = 2 teaspoons
oil = 1/2 cup
salt = 1/2 tablespoon

All mixed well and dumped into a Crock pot for 24-48 hours on low.  If too thin, turn onto high for about 3 hours.

Meatballs:
2 pounds ground beef
2 jumbo eggs
6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces shredded feta cheese
3 ounces shredded parmesan/romano/asiago cheeses
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all together.  Form into meatballs.  Layer into glass baking dish.  Cover with BBQ sauce.  Cover and seal with foil.  Bake at 400 for 45 minutes, until meatballs cooked all the way through.

Grain free pancakes (and grain free "flour" mix)- recipe

Grain Free Pancakes

"flour mix"
1 cup chia seeds
2 cups almond (or other nut) meal
3 cups ground flax meal
1 1/2 cups date sugar (or other dried sweetener)

Pancakes
Dry:
1 1/2 cups flour mix
1 cup tapioca starch/sweet potato starch 50/50 mix (any starch should work)
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Wet:
3 eggs, whisked smooth
1 cup milk

Directions:
Mix wet into dry.  Stir well.  Let sit a couple minutes.

Heat skillet with plenty of oil/butter/fat.  Once hot, pour in mix by about 1/2 cup at a time.  Turn heat to medium high (these take longer to cook than regular pancakes and will burn faster, so lower heat for longer time does the trick).

Once bubbles break through the pancake, it is time to turn them.  Flip them and cook another minute or two.

Pour in a bit more oil and do the next batch.

I had mine with some butter and honey.  Tasted delicious.  My son, who is not grain-free, also was willing to eat them and said "not too bad mom".  :)

When you are broken...

When you are broken, you can choose to hide the flaws through masks of makeup or layers of clothing or pounds of extra weight.

When you are broken, you can choose to withdraw from your life, protecting the injury from any additional trauma... hiding so that nothing increases the pain.

When you are broken, you can choose to accept that form and shape may have changed, that work will be required in the present and the future, and then practice the art of Kintsugi.

Sometimes it is important to know that things can be stronger at the mended places than ever they were when surfaces were unmarred and the illusion of perfection existed.

Grain-Free Chicken Nuggets

Homemade chicken nuggets. 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken chunked into bite sized cubes. Soak those in 3 eggs blended smooth with 5 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup diced onion, 1 teaspoon salt...puree until foamy and smooth. Dump over chicken. Marinate two hours or more. 

Dump in 3-4 cups bread crumbs - I use my grain free bread (recipe located here) pulsed in blender until consistency of Panko crumbs.

Stir until all coated. Turn out onto a greased cake pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until crispy and baked through.

Casserole - beans, taters, chicken, cheese - super easy

Delicious one dish meal -
4 cups baked potatoes (peeled, chunked),
1 cup shredded cooked chicken,
4 ounces mozzarella cheese - cut into small bits
4 ounces mild cheddar cheese - cut into small bits,
1 can (1 1/2 cups) beans (drained of any broth) - any type will do, but I used black beans/kidney beans/pinto beans mixed.

Mix all a glass casserole dish (cake pan sized).  Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Books on how to make and do things - homesteading, food preservation, yarn crafts

Here are some of the books on how to make and do things that I am currently reading.  If you have read them, what do you think?

Home Crafts

The Weekend Homesteader

The Ultimate Guide to Homesteading

The Homesteading Handbook: A Back to Basics Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal Medicine, and More (The Handbook Series)

he Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual of Living Off the Land & Doing It Yourself

Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition

Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills

Canning:
Canning and Preserving for Beginners: The Essential Canning Recipes and Canning Supplies Guide

Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry

Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

The Complete Guide to Food Preservation: Step-by-step Instructions on How to Freeze, Dry, Can, and Preserve Food (Back to Basics Cooking)


Yarn Crafts
A to Z of Crochet: The Ultimate Guide for the Beginner to Advanced Crocheter

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Crochet

How to Crochet: The Definitive Crochet Course, Complete With Step-By-Step Techniques, Stitch Libraries, and Projects for Your Home and Family

Getting Started Crochet (Getting Started series)

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Knitting


I will let you know what I think of each of them when I have completed reading each set.

Do you have any other suggestions?