Individual Gelatin Salads

A quick and easy blast from the past, with a new country chic twist!

Here's another dish to try to sneak some vegies into a picky eater.  Seriously, does anyone NOT like Jell-o?

So this is an oldie but a goody - a throwback to those picnics and family get-togethers in the 70's.  But with a  fun, modern twist.

Seems no matter where you look these days, everyone is putting individual servings of whatever they happen to be making into canning jars of various sizes.  This is a great way to continue using jars that have chips in the top when they can no longer be used for canning!  So I thought it would be fun to do the gelatin salad in the jars.

Here's how it goes:
Start with a 6-ounce package of orange gelatin.  This is a combination of the hot and quick-set methods you'll see on the back of the package.   Add 2 cups of boiling water and stir to dissolve.  Add 1 cup of cold water and stir again.  Add enough ice cubes to make 4 cups, and stir til the ice cubes are completely dissolved. I mix this up in a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup so I can be sure.  Place in fridge for about 30 minutes.  While gelatin is taking a chill, shred about 2 cups of carrots.  I run mine through the food processor so they are really really fine.  Also, set out 6 8-ounce jars on a cookie sheet.  When the 30 minutes are up, pour gelatin over carrots and stir to mix well.  Pour gelatin/carrot mixture into individual jars.  Go ahead and fill them up - no need to worry about head space here because you won't be canning with them.

CAREFULLY put the jars in the refrigerator.  Set the timer for 10 minutes.  When the timer rings/buzzes/beeps, stir the mixture in the jars (again CAREFULLY).  Repeat this 3 more times, for a total of 40 minutes.  This keeps your carrots from all settling on the bottom.  Then, allow your gelatin to set.

Serve straight from the jar, or top with a bit of crushed pineapple from a can.

This makes a great presentation as is, but if you want to gussy it up a bit more, put on a lid and ring with a circle of burlap, like I did for the photo.  Add ribbon and a name tag if desired, and use as a placecard.

Feeling brave?  Make it as a ring!  Feeling not so brave, chill the mixture in a serving or mixing bowl.  Spoon and serve from there.

No matter how you make it, JUST DO IT!  And enjoy!

Gluten Free Secret Ingredient Cookies

The question for the Mommy Panel recently was how to get picky eaters to eat their vegetables.  Here is your new secret weapon in this battle...

This is another recipe that I found in that same stack of hand-me-down magazines.  I tweaked it to make it gluten free.

SPH Gluten Free Secret Ingredient Cookies
inspired by a recipe by Candace Zaugg
Taste of Home Magazine, February/March 2008
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrots (I do mine in the food processor to make them extra fine)
1 cup gluten free granola (I used Jessica's Natural Foods Chocolate Chip)
1 3-oz. package chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix the cookie dough according to package directions.  Stir in carrots, granola and walnuts.  Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet (I use a cookie scooper).  Bake for 18-20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely, then eat and enjoy!

These would also be lovely dusted with a little powdered sugar if you are so inclined.  We just LOVED them plain!

Another variation:  use grated zucchini.  And the trick with grated zucchini - let it drain in a fine mesh strainer for at least a couple hours before you bake with it.  Zucchini is almost all water.  By draining it first, the water has a chance to escape before the zucchini gets cooked.  No fine mesh strainer?  Use some cheesecloth in a regular colander.  Works just as well.

Feed a few of these to your picky eater, and tell them the secret ingredient is love.

Have a great day!



Recipe linked to Very Good Recipes

Gluten Free Crock Pot Split Pea Soup Recipe

I've had this ham bone in the freezer since Christmas, and it's time to use it up.




Even though we've had an unusually mild winter (so far), it's still chilly.  And when you come in from walking the dog after work, or if you've actually had winter in your area and had to shovel snow, it's especially nice to have a nice bowl of hot soup.  Especially a soup that sticks to your ribs and warms you up from the inside out.  Like split pea soup.

So I have to confess - this is one that my mom almost ruined for me.  I think I've mentioned asparagus and spinach before?  Well, split pea soup in my house growing up came from a can with a highly recognizable red and white label.  It was a sold cylinder of who-knows-what, and it had a questionable smell to match.  One taste, and I swore off the stuff for life!  Then, as a grown-up, I had some REAL HOMEMADE split pea soup that one of my husband's co-workers had made.  It was one of those "Oh, so THAT's what it's supposed to taste like!" moments.

Since then I've gone over bunches of them in cookbooks and online.  By the time I tweaked them all for taste and ease of preparation, this is what I came up with, and what I use every time I make it.

SPH Split Pea Soup
2 large onions, sliced
2 T. minced garlic
1/2 pound carrots, chopped (I used roughly half of a one-pound bag of baby carrots)
1 small heart of celery, with the leaves, chopped (again, half of a one-pound bag of organic celery hearts - there were 2 in the package, and I just used one)
3 medium-sized potatoes, SCRUBBED WELL, cubed, and optionally, peeled (I don't peel them because they will be pureed, for one, and for two, the peels add extra minerals and fiber to the soup)
1 pound green split peas (use yellow if you prefer)
1 ham bone
1 ham steak, roughly 2 pounds (if your steak comes bone-in, you don't need an extra bone), cubed in desired size
@ 2 t. Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or to taste - you can also use soy sauce)
1/2 t. thyme (or to taste)
2 bay leaves (optional - I use them if I have them on hand, but today I didn't)
About 2 quarts liquid (I used chicken stock and water)

Just a quick note about the ham:  Make sure that whatever brand you are using is gluten free.  Yes, the piggy itself does not contain gluten, but the curing and flavoring agents might.  There may be some kind of cross-contamination in the processing of the piggy.  Do a little bit of homework, and be sure your ham is gluten free.

So we are going to use Rachael Ray's "Chop and Drop" method of cooking today.

In a large crock pot, add sliced onions.  Add the garlic.  Chop and drop in the carrots.  Repeat for the celery and potatoes.  Spread the split peas evenly over vegies.  Nestle the ham bone down in.  Top with ham cubes.  Add liquid aminos, thyme and bay leaves.  Add liquid til all ingredients are covered.  For me this was about 6 cups of chicken stock (what I had as leftovers in the fridge), then I used water.  Cover, cook on low for at least 8 hours.  I usually start mine on high for the first few, then drop it to low to let it simmer.

What I do next may surprise some people.  Remove the ham chunks and the bone.  Ok, the bone is no surprise, but I like big chunks of meat in my soup.  Puree the bean mixture - you can use an immersion blender, pour it into a regular blender or food processor - whatever works best for you.  Stir ham back into the soup.  You could even leave your ham in, and puree it with the vegies if you like, or do some of each - it's soup.  And it's your soup, so make it how YOU AND YOUR FAMILY like it.

I love the fact that I don't need to add salt.  There will be plenty between the celery, liquid aminos, ham and stock.  The potatoes will absorb whatever would be extra, and they make the soup really creamy as well.

Make some up now, and put this recipe in your file for the week after Easter and Christmas.  This soup also freezes well.  Serve with a crusty bread (Against the Grain brand), or some gluten-free biscuits.

Enjoy!