Meat Loaf "Cupcakes" with Dairy and Soy Free Brown Gravy and Easy Potato Bread

Here are 3 recipes that are super easy and a big hit, and they look and taste so good!

Meat Loaf "Cupcakes"

You can use any Meat Loaf recipe you have, this is my favorite one and its pretty easy.

1 pound ground beef
1/2 Cup bread crumbs ( I use panko)
1/4 Cup Almond or Rice milk (original unsweetened)
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbls Kitchen Bouquet ( I use this in place of Worcestershire Sauce to avoid soy)
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 egg
1/4 Cup Loeb's Onion Crunch (these are a dairy and soy free version of French's French Fried Onions)

In a large bowl mix all ingredients together until combined, but don't mix too much or you will get tough meat loaf.
Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with no stick cooking spray, canola or olive oil (we are now switching from canola oil to olive oil in our house to get away from as many GMO's as possible).
Place a handful of the meat loaf mixture into each muffin cup until full. Press down.
Bake in the oven at 350* for about 30 minutes or until done. While the "cupcakes" are baking whip up some instant mashed potatos, or make some the good old fashioned way, from scratch.

When the "cupcakes" are done pull them out and using a cake decorating kit, if you have one, to pipe the mashed potatos onto the "cupcakes" to frost them. Pop back in under the broiler to brown the tops, this will take just a few minutes so keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

*I am experiementing with stretching my ground meat. I just made this same recipe but added in about a cup of cooked lentils to stretch out the ground beef. I am still working on the flavor, it seemed a little bland, so I am working on the seasoning and how much to tweak the recipe.

I also serve this with dairy and soy free brown gravy.

Dairy and Soy Free Brown Gravy

2 Cups Beef Broth (about)
1/4 Cup Flour
2 Tbls Shortening (I use Spectrum Palm Shortening)
Seasoning to your taste, salt, pepper, garlic powder

In a small/medium sauce pan melt the shortening over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook up until a beige color, more brown than yellow/white. Turn heat up to med/high and add in 1/2 the broth. It should sizzle, whisk fast until it starts to come together. Once this has happened, whisk in additional broth until you reach your desired thickness. Season to taste and serve warm.

If you  make your mashed potatos in advance, say in the morning, you can make a slightly bigger batch and use some of them to make the next recipe.


Easy Potato Bread

1 Cup Mashed Potatos
2 Eggs beaten
1/2 Cup Earths Balance Soy Free Margarine, softened (leave out for a few minutes on the counter)
3 Tbls Sugar
2 tsp Salt
1 pkg Active Dry Yeast
1/2 Cup Warm Water
5 Cups Bread Flour (about 4 for the dough, and additional 1 Cup for kneading)

In a large bowl mix together the mashed potatos, eggs, and margarine.
Stir in sugar, salt, yeast and warm water.
Mix in enough flour to make a dough that can be kneaded by hand.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, roll dough into a ball and drop into bowl, turn over so that the top is greased. Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm location for approximately 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
After 2 hours punch down dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface again to knead out the bubbles.
Divide dough in half and shape into two loaves. Place inside 2 greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise again for about 40 minutes or until they double in size.
Bake at 375* for about 25-30 minutes or they sound hollow when you tap on the tops. Remove from pans and allow to cool.

** You can find Spectrum Palm Shortening at most health food stores. I've found the Loeb's Onion Crunch at Costco as well as at my health food store. The Kitchen Bouquet can be found in the asile where you find Worcestershire Sauce. I got mine at Target Supercenter.

How to Clean a Top Loading Washing Machine

Yesterday, during my homemade cleaning products making session, I thought I'd give a Pinterest find a whirl while I was at it. It was how to clean your top loading washing machine. We've had our washer and dryer since the twins were about 8 mos old, so almost 6 years now and I've never cleaned it, I didn't even know you were supposed to, let alone how!

So I looked at the instructions and did things a little bit my own way. I have to admit my washer had seen better days looks wise. It was also starting to make a squealing noise occasionally when agitating. But after doing this super easy cleaning it looks practically brand new! And the squeal hasn't happened again, and I've run 3 loads through it already today.

How to Clean A Top Loading Washer

Fill washer will HOT water on the largest load setting available. Add 1 Quart of Bleach. Let the washer agitate for 1 minute. Then let the washer sit for 1 Hour. This will kill all germs that may be lurking in all the little nooks and crannies. After 1 Hour, let the washer run through the longest wash and rinse cycle available on the hottest water setting.

Next, refill washer with HOT water again and add in 1 Quart Distilled White Vinegar. Let the washer agitate for 1 minute. Then add in a few squirts of Dawn dish soap. Swish around with a scrubby sponge. You're going to let the vinegar sit for 1 Hour to break down mineral deposits and the like. While that is going on take your scrubby sponge and dip it into the vinegar and Dawn solution and use it to scrub the exterior of the washer. I also broke out my cleaning toothbrush and got into all the cracks and really hard to reach areas by the door hinge. If, like me, your washer has built in bleach and softener dispensers pull those out, if removable, and let them soak in the water. After 1 Hour run the washer through the longest wash and rinse cycle again with HOT water and you're done!

My clothes are coming out cleaner as well. Super easy! Give it a try and see if it works for you!


Besides putting my super clean washer through its paces today with laundry, I'm making Chili and super easy Potato Bread for dinner. These are super easy recipes and taste great, as well as being dairy, soy and corn free. Recipes to be posted tomorrow with pictures! Stay tuned!

Today I'm making up my homemade cleaning products and giving the bathrooms and laundry room a good scrubbing down.

Since finding out the kids were having so many issues with food our grocery bill has gone through the roof. Before we went onto the current elimination diet, I used to save a lot of money on groceries  by buying most items generic or store brand, which is no longer an option for us. Most generic and store brands are full of dairy, soy, and corn (and wheat and gluten) as well as not being made and processed in dedicated facilities to reduce or eliminate the risk of cross contamination. Now most of the food I buy is ordered off of Amazon, in bulk (since I'm buying for 3 boys) and are allergen free (oh how I miss stocking up at Costco!), bought at various "all natural" or health food stores, and at various local grocery stores.

To make up for the money going into the grocery budget I decided to cut somewhere else, since most of our bills are fixed (we don't have very much if any credit card debt) I figured I'd try to make my own cleaning products since the ones you buy in the store are so expensive and I have to buy multiple different products to clean, say, just the bathroom, the most disgusting rooms in my home thanks to all the boys! I figured I give homemade cleaners a whirl and if I didn't like them I'd go back to my old habit of buying hundreds of dollars worth of the stuff at the store. Much to my amazement I actually liked the homemade cleaners better than any store bought stuff I'd ever tried, and believe me I've tried them all!

I have made my own toilet bowl cleaner, disinfectant all purpose cleaner, all purpose bathroom/ floor cleaner, and jewelry cleaner so far and have loved them all. Today I whipped up a new batch of toilet bowl cleaner and disinfectant all purpose cleaner with just a few basic items, many that you probably already have in your pantry.

Here are the recipes I've been using with a lot of success.

Disinfectant All Purpose Cleaner

1/2 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
1/2Cup Lemon Juice
2 Cups Warm Water
2 tsp Borax
A few drops of Tea Tree Oil

Mix everything together in a spray bottle and shake well to mix.

I've used this to clean the outside of and all around the toilet and it works really well. Gets rid of all the peepee smell left from boys that still don't know how to aim.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

3/4 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Water
2-3 drops of Dawn Dish Soap
2-3 drops of Tea Tree Oil

Mix all ingredients in a large measuring cup and pour into an old dish soap bottle with a spout. Shake well to recombine all ingredients right before squirting under the rim. Allow to sit for a while and scrub with a toilet brush.

Some recipes I've seen call for Castille Soap with Teas Tree Oil, but I can never find it anywhere. I love Dawn dish soap for its grease cutting abilities, and hey, if its safe to scrub animals that have gotten covered in oil during oil spills, its good enough for me!

All Purpose Bathroom and Floor Cleaner

1 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
1 Cup Water
2-3 drops of Dawn dish soap

Mix all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake to combine.

This works great on glass shower doors in the bathroom. Another little tip for those pesky glass doors is to buff them with a soft cloth dabbed in baby oil after you've cleaned them. This will help keep them clear until the oil breaks down or gets washed off, but that normally takes close to a month to happen in my experience. I've also used this cleaner on my tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom with great success.

** Make sure you test all cleaners you use on an inconspicuous test spot before going all out with it. You don't want to ruin your stuff just to save money!

I'm also giving my top loading washer a cleaning with a tip I found on Pinterest. I'll let you all know how it went soon!

TIP- A great scrubby to use while cleaning the bathroom showers and tubs is used dryer sheets! They scrub really well and haven't scratched anything yet, so pretty dang safe and free since you were going to throw them out anyway! I save mine in a mesh lingerie bag in the laundry room after I pull them out of the dryer for use later in cleaning.

Soon I plan on making my own dishwasher soap. I found a couple of different recipes and I'm going to give those a try and will post the best one, if any are worth it. I'm really excited about this one since dishwasher detergent is sooooo expensive!

Recently, actually the last few days, we've spent quite a bit of time at the doctors office and urgent care center with 2 of the boys. One, because he started having kidney and urological issues on top of all his "normal" GI issues and the other because he's two and a half and thought swallowing a penny would be a good idea. This from a kid who normally refuses to eat any meal after a few bites because most food ends up giving him some form of tummy distress. Wonder what the thought process was on that one????

Anywho, so at the urgent care, where we spent many long boring hours in the waiting room, they have a TV tuned to the Food Network, constantly. I'm assuming this is considered a "safe" channel for everyone to watch since most adults don't want to be stuck watching Disney Jr. for hours on end without wanting to blow their brains out, and most parents, and their kids for that matter, don't want to watch Maury Povich asking "Who's the Daddy?" while couples duke it out for hours on end. (On a side note, is Maury Povich even on TV anymore? I'm one of those adults who wants to blow their brains out on a daily basis because my kids are watching Disney Jr so I have no clue what adults watch anymore, sorry.) Well, back to the Food Network, though the urgent care considers this a "safe" channel for the masses to watch, for my family it's any thing but "safe". I'm mean we're not "offended" by anything on the Food Network per se, just that everything they cook or bake on there would end up causing a reaction in all the kids that I'd rather not deal with. And seeing all the yummy butter drenched food in all its HD glory is torture sometimes.

But as I was sitting there with one kid or the other I started getting into my substitution mind set and thought that I'd give a couple of the recipes I saw that looked so good but were unsafe for the kids a substitution makeover. So when I actually had a late afternoon with no visits to the doctors office booked I thought I'd work on Chicken Picatta in an Artichoke sauce as well as some mashed potato popovers and I had made some safe sourdough bread earlier in the week so added that as a side. Here are the original recipes I used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-piccata-recipe/index.html , http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Artichoke-Sauce .

Now my Chicken Picatta can't have a lemon butter sauce since we can't do citrus or butter so I had a jar of artichokes leftover in the refrigerator from a different meal. Since I don't like to waste food because our grocery bill is sky high due to having to buy allergy friendly foods I thought I'd better use those up.

Chicken Picatta

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (We have a family of 5, use how ever many will feed your family)
Salt and Pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (if you are avoiding wheat/gluten use flour of choice)

2 large egg (can use egg replacer if needed)

1 tablespoon water

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs (I use Progresso they are dairy and soy free)

Powdered garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning mix (to season your bread crumbs)

olive oil

 

Place your chicken breasts between two pieces of Press and Seal wrap, I like how it will seal itself, place on a cutting board and then beat the chicken breasts, one at a time, with a rolling pin or other hard pounding instrument of your choice, until they are all a uniform thickness. They cook more evenly this way and get super tender!

 

Beat the eggs with water together and place in a shallow dish. Season your flour with some salt and pepper to taste and place in a shallow dish. Place the bread crumbs you seasoned into a shallow dish as well and line up with the dishes of flour and eggs. (Note: I like to run my panko crumbs through the food processor or blender to make them a finer texture when I am breading something, up to you)

 

Dip the chicken breasts into flour and shake off excess one at a time. Then dip into egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs making sure to coat both sides.

 

In a pan heat your olive oil over medium heat, once hot place breaded chicken in one at a time. Let cook until lightly browned on each side. Place onto a parchment paper lined shallow cooking sheet like a cookie sheet. While you are cooking the chicken in the oil preheat your oven to 400*. Once all the chicken breast are browned and on the sheet place in oven for about 15 minutes.

 

Potato Popovers

 

These are super easy. Just use some leftover mashed potatoes, or you can whip up a batch of instant mashed potatoes to use, do this in advance and store in the refrigerator to use later.

 

Season your mashed potatoes however you like, "butter" (We used Earths Balance Soy Free Spread), "cheesy" (use Daiya cheddar shredded nutritional yeast cheese), salt and pepper, whatever suits your tastes.

 

Spray a muffin pan with safe no stick cooking spray and fill each cup to the top with potatoes. Use a fork to scratch the top of each and put a dollop of safe "butter" or brush with olive oil. Place in the oven with the chicken. These will take a bit longer to set up. I had to end up putting them under broiler after I took the chicken out of the oven so they would brown up.

 

Artichoke Sauce

 

1/4 of a small onion chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced (I used jarred minced garlic)

1 tablespoon olive oil

14 ounces canned artichokes hearts, drained, rinsed, and chopped

2 tbls all purpose flour of your choice

1 can or 2 cups chicken broth

Sprinkle of Nutritional Yeast (adds a creamy cheesy flavor*) 

2 tsp dried parsley

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

In a pan heat olive oil over medium heat, add chopped onion and minced garlic and saute for approximately 5 minutes. Add in artichoke hearts and cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Add flour and mix it with the onion, garlic, and artichokes, cook until a light blond color, this helps to remove some of the floury flavor. Add in the chicken broth and stir constantly to break up the flour and to remove any clumps, heat to boiling. Turn down heat and add in nutritional yeast, parsley, and salt and pepper. Continue stirring to combine flavors. Serve over the chicken, Yum!

 

 

*Nutritional yeast is a vegan power house and adds a cheesy flavor to foods. You can find it online or in the baking/cooking aisle of your local nutritional/health food store.

 

** Make sure you are reading all labels on foods you use looking out for allergens that affect you and your family. Whats safe for one person may not be safe for you.

Hello everyone! My name is Heather and I started this blog to chronicle my families life of living and cooking with multiple food protein intolerance's. My 3 boys have all been ill since birth with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and food intolerance's to cows milk and soy proteins as infants, we thought they had outgrown their food issues and were told it was safe to reintroduced milk and soy into their diets at about 18 months old, but nothing really got better, a lot of stuff actually got worse. We stuck it out with our local children's hospital for almost 6 years with no real answers. Finally I got fed up and decided it was time to get another opinion. I took all 3 boys to a large research children's hospital over 2 hours away and we've finally started to make some real progress with growth, weight gain, and overall health! The key has been determining what foods are causing them problems and eliminating them from their diets. The foods we are currently avoiding are all dairy, soy (including vegetable oil, aka: soy oil), corn, citric/asorbic acid, as well as all berries for my youngest. Since all these foods are staples in the average American diet this has forced me to forgo many of the prepackaged and processed foods available in the grocery store. I visit many allergy websites and blogs on a daily basis but sometimes I want good old fashioned "normal" food! So I've determined to make whatever we have a craving for, but with safe ingredients for the kids. I do not make anything in my home if my kids cannot eat it. We can't go to restaurant's or fast food anymore, which is probably not a bad thing! But this makes it hard when we are out and about. So this means I have to cook and make (most from scratch) everything that goes into my kids bellies. I'm always on the hunt for safe foods at the store and travel a lot to visit different stores just to see if they carry anything safe that my kids can eat. If you ever run across me in the grocery store when I've found a safe food you will see me doing a happy dance in the aisle. (I can't be the only parent who does this, right?) Thank you for visiting! Stay tuned for all my kitchen experiments and loads of recipes to follow!