Now that tomato season is here, it’s time to share some of our favorite recipes to use up all of these lovely red + yellow friends. Yesterday we canned 7 quarts of tomato chunks (technically they are called stewed tomatoes) and today we’re working on tomato juice. There is no better smell than opening up a fresh jar of tomatoes from the garden on February 26th – right in the middle of “is winter almost over, I may actually need Xanax to get me though the next 3 months of darkness in the mid-west” season. The kids love canning tomatoes and it teaches them some good lessons about food, and…
Quick Green Chicken Chili
One of the best parts of traveling is trying new food. And then taking that idea home with you and recreating it in your kitchen. I haven’t always been adventurous with creating delicious food. And I’m probably even more cautious now with a nut-allergic child. However, I still try to sample things I normally would not. Like Green Chicken Chili. I had a spicy version of this when we were in Chicago a few weeks ago. Technically, I consider myself a chili connoisseur. If a restaurant has chili, I try it. It’s a quest to find the BEST CHILI EVER! After we got back from vacation, I was flipping through…
School Safe Treat Box
It’s back-to-school time! If your child has food allergies, now is the time to be pro-active and get your plans and snacks in place. Here’s how we prepare: Contact the school nurse/office and keep an EPI-PEN on file at the front desk. Make sure all medical forms are filled out and complete with the front office. Know your school’s allergy policy. Make sure there is an allergy policy. Make contact with the child’s teacher (s) and make sure they all know about your child’s allergy, and what the steps are to keep him/her safe. Keep it simple here. Talk to your child about saying “no” to all classroom treats. This…
Weeknight Homemade Chicken Soup
You don’t have to be sick to enjoy a good bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup. I’ve been craving this soup for a while. I made a version of it last week for a friend and I just couldn’t help myself today. I had to make it. Ingredients: One Rotisserie Chicken, you can find this at your grocers deli counter. Cube your chicken pieces and set aside. 8 cups / two boxes of salted chicken stock (Rachael Ray is safe) 1 carrot, peeled + thinly sliced 3 ribs of celery, halved + thinly sliced 1/2 white onion, diced small (can also use 1 palm/tbsp powdered onion) 3 garlic cloves, minced…
Vacation Preparation Tips
Did you know that using hand sanitizer does NOT remove allergens from your hands or any other surface? It basically moves the allergen around. The only way to remove an allergen is by washing it away with soap and water or by using a sanitizing wipe. I’ve started to think about what we’re going to be doing on our vacation and the types of bags I’ll be carrying around with my kids. For day-time I’m going to be doing a lot of walking with them, so I usually pick a light-weight cross body bag so that my hands are free to hold theirs (awwwwwwwe). If we’re going to be out…
Cilantro Lime Chicken (Crock pot)
Cilantro Lime Chicken did not disappoint last week – and the good news is that it made a lot of food to eat several different ways. We had two dinners from it and lunch leftovers. This dish can be eaten plain, over jasmine rice, with tortillas chips, as a huge nacho plate with extra olives, cheese and fixins, as burritos, tacos, and quesadillas with red onion and sour cream. This recipe is flexible. It can be frozen for a few weeks if you’re planning on making this ahead of time. Our family loves easy slow cooker meals that are full of flavor. Clean up is simple and I didn’t have…
Nut-free Ice Cream + 1 Year Anniversary of Anaphylactic Episode
Well duh, most ice creams without nuts are nut-free, right? Wrong. If you have looked at the ingredient label of your ice cream lately, you’ve probably noticed a change in the label. All labels have to clearly state if an allergen is present. The top 8 allergens are: Milk Eggs Peanuts Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts) Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder) Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp) Soy Wheat There are MANY other allergies besides these, but these are the most common. What manufacturers do NOT HAVE TO STATE is whether or not the facility in which the ice cream is made contains nuts. This is a…
Perfect Pilaf
Rice is one of my favorite things to make. Now that I know how to make it. I used to suck at making rice. Then I tried a different brand and method, and it clicked for me. We don’t use instant rice – because I can’t make that kind. I always mess it up! We use jasmine rice. Typically, I buy it in bulk since we go through so much. The brand is Rice Select and we use both the Orzo and Jasmati Rice. They come in nice plastic, resealable containers. The kids use the containers for projects when they are finally empty. Good stuff. So here’s what we made…
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