Gluten-Free Biscuits & Homemade Sausage Gravy Recipe

My friends, you can still enjoy biscuits and gravy! I've always enjoyed making homemade sausage gravy and popping open a can of Pillsbury biscuits, BUT, things have changed...FOR THE BETTER!

I have been able to adjust my homemade sausage gravy and biscuits to an awesome gluten-free recipe.

The only substitution for my sausage gravy is the thickening agent - Before, I used wheat flour, but now I use Pamela's All Purpose Artisan Flour. (Artisan is just a fancy name - it's really just an all purpose flour)

Let me share the recipe with you!

Step 1: 

Prepare gluten-free biscuits. 

I used Pamela's Biscuit and Scone Mix and followed the recipe for "Country Biscuits" on the package. You could also use her Pancake and Baking Mix and follow the recipe for "Drop Biscuits". Both biscuits have a different texture - so depending on what you prefer - try them both - they both taste delicious. Drop biscuits may be fluffier, while the country biscuits are more dense.

Step 2:  Start Sausage Gravy.

Ingredients:

1lb of sausage

1 half stick of butter

2 Tablespoons of GF Flour

2 1/4 Cups of Milk

Step 3: Brown Sausage.

I use a whole package of rolled sausage, which is 1 lb. I have always used Bob Evans Pork Sausage - we enjoy the flavor. You really gotta work the spatula to break it up in smaller pieces - we like it even smaller than pictured below.

Step 4: Add Half Stick of Butter (I know, just read more below)

After sausage is fully cooked, push to one side of pan and add butter. Yep, I'm like Paula Deen, but she probably would have used a full stick! ;) OPTIONAL: This sausage didn't have very much grease to add flour to, so I added some butter. I used what was left-over from making the biscuits - so there you have it! You don't need to use this much butter - you could definitely use less butter! But I have to say, the flavor was FABULOUS! 

Step 5: Add 2 Tablespoons of Gluten-Free Flour.

After butter melts, add 2 TBSP. of Pamela's Artisan Flour to the melted butter and stir. (This flour contains GUAR GUM, which is why I think, it makes it so much like how I used to make it with regular wheat flour). Continue stirring on medium to low heat - it will thicken quickly and you don't want lumps.

STEP 6: Add 2 1/4 Cups of Milk.

Immediately add 1 C. of Milk and continue stirring. As it thickens, continue to add Milk. NOTE: It depends on how much gravy you like to the amount of sausage. I like more gravy, so I probably would have done 2 1/2 cups. As you can see below, it thickens and becomes a lovely sausage gravy! Another NOTE: Do not Salt and Pepper until you taste gravy. I like salt, but as you know, sausage has a lot of sodium, so I didn't even need to salt or pepper this gravy.

Simmer on LOW heat.

Look how thick and delish it looks!! Ready to serve over biscuits!

Step 7:

DIG IN! Enjoy! The gravy is truly delicious and tastes just like I used to make it. Served with roasted red potatoes and cheesy scrambled eggs.

Gluten-Free Egg in a Hole - Share the Love

What a special way to start off your child's morning or your hunny's with a Heart-Shaped Egg in a Hole!  

Step 1: What you need - Gluten-Free Bread (We use Udi's), Egg and Heart Shaped cookie cutter.

Step 2: Cut shape out of bread.

Step 3: Fry up your egg - you can fry it (which we prefer), make it over-easy or sunny side up!

Step 4: Toast your heart piece in a toaster oven and add your child's favorite jam! I topped the heart egg with shredded cheese too.

ENJOY! :)

Celebrating Gluten-Free Independence!

July 4th is full of gluten foods, but this 4th of July, I want to celebrate GLUTEN-FREE living and share my RED, WHITE & BLUE GIVEAWAY with YOU!

John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail about this glorious day back in 1776 (Adams prediction was off by a couple of days):

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

Now, I love John Adams' ideas, but where's the "delicious food" part?? ;)

Don't worry John, I got you covered! To help celebrate this 4th of July, I would love for you to have a chance to enjoy some goodies from Pamela's Products on me! You know, her products are my FAV!

I enjoy having giveaways, especially when I have more than 1 winner! I would send ALL of goodies if I could, but I can't afford the shipping. :( So in turn, I have giveaways to make it fair and use random.org to pick the winners. So in other words, a giveaway is my way of saying "Thank you for tuning in, to Raising Jack and here's a little something I think you would enjoy."

SO, ON TO THE GIVEAWAY!!

3 WINNERS will receive (2) packages from Pamela's Products!

2 Winners will receive:

(1) Dark Chocolate Frosting Mix

(1) Classic Vanilla Cake Mix

1 Winner will receive:

(1) Strawberry Figgies & Jammies

(1) Blueberry Figgies & Jammies

Wait...with it being the 4th of July, it makes sense to have   4 WINNERS, right? 

So, I'm going to include Pamela's Biscuit and Scone Mix along with an individual Pancake and Baking Mix! 

You can make my Patriotic Strawberry Shortcake with this biscuit mix!

There you have it! To Enter the Giveaway, simply click on the Rafflecopter buttons below! Good Luck!

Before I sign off, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend with your family and/or friends! Be safe, eat lots of yummy gluten free foods and enjoy you Independence Day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Freedom Foods is Coming to a Store Near You!

Just in time for Independence Day, Freedom Foods has landed in the United States! Based in Australia, Freedom Foods is bringing their tasty gluten free foods here to the states. I've had an opportunity to sample their cereals on a few different occasions at gluten free expos and I'm happy   to report they have landed in a store here in Tennessee.

Returning from a visit to Indiana, I went grocery shopping this past Sunday and was delighted to find Freedom Foods products in the gluten free section at my local Kroger grocery store.

I've sampled their cereals - Maple Crunch, tropicO's and PRO-TEEN. 

Maple Crunch: Tastes maple-y and may remind you of eating some gluten-free pancakes.

tropicO's: Maybe their most popular among the kiddos - these taste like Fruit Loops.

PRO-TEEN: Made from Chickpeas!! These provide protein and your kiddos would never know they were actually healthy for them. ;)

The also have oats, pancake mixes and Smudge Cocoa spread - which sounds DIVINE! I haven't tried any of these, but looking forward to doing so.

So keep an eye for these products, I think you'll be pleased with their cereals and having a new option for your gluten-free kiddo & you too!

If you have any questions and would like to see if Freedom Foods are available in a store near you, contact: customerservice@freedomfoodsus.com 

What To Bring To a "Gluten" Birthday Party

Pizza, cupcakes, ice cream, candy, cookies...pizza, cupcakes, ice cream, candy, cookies...OH MY! Yep, with a child with food restrictions, parties can sometimes be more stressful than fun. BUT, I am here to tell you that you can make it FUN!

It occured to me, I haven't done a blog post that focuses on "what to bring to a party", but I've done blog posts on gluten-free parties. So I thought I would be a good idea to write about what one should bring to a "Gluten" birthday party!

So, this past weekend, I had to prepare for Jack to attend his friend's birthday party. They had pizza, cake and ice cream at the party, so I knew I had to pack up some GF goodies for Jack bring along.  Jack was riding with the family to the venue, so I would not be there with him to monitor the food situation. So needless to say,  I was a little nervous already, plus with him driving with the family to downtown Nashville for the first time without me, then to a 3-level laser tag facility (insert panick eeekk!)! But, Jack was excited and I talked with his friend's mother and she assured me he was in good hands. So, it was my turn to get his goodies packed up and ready to go!

Packing these goodies up for Jack, gives me a sense of comfort knowing that he has everything he needs in his lunch bag to make for a FUN gluten-free party!

5 Must Haves When attending a "Gluten" Bday party:

1. GF Frozen Cupcake - I have frozen chocolate cupcakes in our freezer. I take a cupcake out about an hour before the party. After 30 minutes, I top with frosting.
2. Cupake 2 Go Container - I LOVE this container. Click here to check it out!   
3. GF Pizza Crust and Toppings - prepare gluten-free pizza as normal. I use Udi's pizza crust - I put three small slices in a container.
4. GF Candy or Snack - Another GF treat that your child loves! 
5. Lunch Bag to carry all the goodies!

Other Tips: 

I always ask the hostess what their menu plans are so I can plan accordingly. I make sure the hostess also knows about Jack's gluten-free lifestyle and that I've provided everything Jack needs for the party. I want the hostess to feel comfortable and not worry about leaving Jack out or not offering him pizza or cake.

Jack's gluten-free bag all ready for the party! Pizza, cupcake, Fritos and Smarties

My 1st Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF) Conference & Expo

I attended my 1st CDF Conference and Expo this past weekend in sunny Pasadena, California.         It was a lovely event full of information, wonderful people and delicious gluten-free food. 

Some Highlights:

• Saturday morning was kicked off with a great line-up of speakers. Starting with Dr. Alessio Fasano. When speaking about celiac disease, he always finds a way to make the audience laugh, even referring to his book, “Gluten-Freedom” as a romance novel. ;) I’m reading his book now and appreciate him writing a book that’s filled with EVERYTHING you need to know about celiac disease and gluten-free living. I remember him saying, “The gluten-free diet for celiacs is like insulin for those who are diabetic.” When it comes to explaining celiac disease to someone, I think using that quote, may just make it a little simpler for some folks to grasp how important gluten-free living is for celiacs. Another important relation from Dr. Fasano speaking is that a majority of the audience learned about the gluten-free diet on their own...doctors are diagnosing celiacs, but not giving them information about gluten-free living - doesn’t really make sense. 

• Lab Corp discussed genetic testing. DQ2 and DQ8. Still very confusing if you ask me...all I know, is my husband got the double whammy                        (DQ2 Homogyzous).

• Quest Diagnostics has brought celiacanswers.com to life which provides information about celiac disease and getting tested. They also put together a great video. 

• Dr. Adelman discussed a trial drug called ALV003. Encouraging those with celiac disease to participate in clinical studies which will help pharmaceuticals further advance and may one day be available for those with celiac disease.

• Dr. John Zone discussed the affects and myths of celiac disease and gluten-free living when it comes to our skin. “Gliadin/Gluten should not go through the skin, unless there's a break in the skin.” Lipstick on the other hand, should be gluten-free. He continued to discuss other skin conditions like psoriasis, hives and their association with gluten.

• Pamela Cureton, RD discussed possible reasons while one may still have problems on the gluten-free diet - possible cross contamination...also discussed other nutritional problems while eating gluten-free - lactose intolerance, constipation, fermentable sugars, etc. Reasons for weight gain on gluten-free diet: your body is finally absorbing nutrients! And remember, "a gluten-free brownie is just as bad as a gluten brownie."

• Resnick Family - Peter and Rhonda Resnick shared their daughter's story and the emotional stress celiac disease can cause one's family as well as the individual facing this chronic disease. The Resnick Family has started an initiative "to effectively provide youth and their families with the skills necessary to cope with celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders."

• The Reigning Queens of Gluten-Free - including Danna Korn - Gluten-Free Guru and Author, Pamela Giusto-Sorrells - Founder of Pamela's Products, Lucy Gibey, Founder of Lucy's and Rachel Berliner, Co-Founder of Amy's Kitchen. They each shared their personal stories with us...I loved it! And I was finally able to meet Danna Korn and see Pamela (my fav person) again!! 

Reigning Queens of Gluten-Free - Pamela, Lucy, Rachel and Danna 

• Pamela and Me - She's fabulous! It was great seeing her again. She is more than happy to talk to you about her products and any questions you have about baking. 

• EXPO - the expo immediately followed the conference and I had the opportunity to try some new products. No matter how often you go to different expos, there's ALWAYS something new to try! I LOVED the Brazi Bites - chewy, doughy little round bites of bread!! How can I get them to the Midwest?! They were DELICIOUS!! 

• PASCHA Chocolate - Lookey what I WON!! CDF was selling raffle tickets and I bought a few and I won LOTS of organic, dark chocolate yumminess! PASCHA is delicious! Free of peanuts, nuts, dairy, soy, egg, wheat & gluten.

• I ended the evening with some awesome gaucamole (I mean awesome) and great conversation with these ladies, Whitney and Carling from Bakery on Main. My hubby loves their granola bars and snacks! 

 

• I had to head home Sunday morning, but the CDF team was gearing up for another busy day at the expo! I'm always so grateful for all the samples I get to bring home to my family. Thank you vendors for your generosity!

WHOA - some serious SWAG!

Overall, a fabulous experience and I'm looking forward to next year already!! Hopefully next year, we can manage for both myself and my husband to attend - I think he would enjoy it as well.

Thank you Celiac Disease Foundation for all your hard work and dedication to raising awareness and making a difference in the celiac community.

Gluten-Free Summer Goodies GIVEAWAY!

Don't worry, I got you covered!! Is your gluten-free child heading off to Grammie's house or camp this summer? Wondering what gluten-free goodies to pack for them??

Celiac Awareness Month has come to end and I want to celebrate our gluten-free kiddos and their stories they have shared, by having a "Summer Gluten-Free Goodies" GIVEAWAY!! 

Looking at the picture below, you'll see, I got your kiddo covered or you for that matter, for a weekend at Grammie's, camp, trip to an amusement park or whereever your child or family may go!!

I wish I could give every gluten-free child one of these prize packs, but my stay at home mom budget and shipping costs won't allow me to do so.  If anything, I hope this gives you an idea of some products to put together for a fun, stress-free, gluten-free getaway.

BUT, how about 3 WINNERS?! YES, 3 WINNERS will receive ALL OF THESE PRODUCTS!! 

A little more about these fabulous GLUTEN-FREE products:

• Pamela's Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies - these taste just like CHIPS AHOY cookies, but they're better, because they're GLUTEN-FREE!
• Pamela's Individual Pancake Packs - makes up to 4 pancakes
• Pamela's Inidividual MICROWAVEABLE Brownie Mix - ready in a minute! 
• Glutino's Pretzel Chips - I actually prefer these over the pretzel sticks - perfect for dipping or just chomping on - love 'em!
• Annie's Microwaveable Mac N Cheese cups - my husband actually enjoys these!
• Annie's Chocolate Chip Granola Bars - Jack LOVES these!
• Smarties Candy - you'll receive way more than what I show in the picture above, Smarties is sending me more candies to share with you!! Not only is Smarties gluten-free, but food allergen friendly too! Love their gluten-free page!
• Lastly, 16 "GLUTEN FREE" Stickers to put on anything that needs to be marked as so.

Remember, 3 WINNERS will be RANDOMLY chosen (Rafflecopter uses random.org to pick 3 winners for me) to WIN ALL of these products!


Good Luck! Just click below, follow, subscribe (free) - BAM! You're entered, that's it! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway