Christmas Eve Flu Bug

The past week has been tense. Our oldest daughter and family have all had a nasty intestinal flu bug that spread through their house like a wildfire! Granddaughter #1 came home from school sick and the rest was history. They quarantined themselves, I delivered pedialyte, Therm o Heat Pads, Tylenol, Ensure for adults, etc. to their front steps and didn't go near the house. Anything to keep fluids in everyone and keep them comfortable.

Our family was to gather today for our Christmas celebration. My husband woke up about 6 am with the flu. My efforts to make everything story book perfect until 1:30 this morning was for naught. We called the kids, told them to stay away and our granddaughters promptly began to cry. (The little darlings love to come to Grandpa & Grandma's...thank GOD!)

Our plan for today was to begin with brunch this morning, a mid afternoon ham dinner with gift opening in between. At 4 pm we all go to church together and then to my Dad's for a gathering of my side of the family. Traditionally we have cheese soup and some snacks, play a family bingo game and watch the little ones open more presents. Along with all the cooking I did yesterday to prepare for our family day, I had prepped for tonight's food plan. I had all the veggies chopped and the pork shoulder thawing in the fridge.

I decided this morning that the heat would kill any potential germs and I could wear gloves while cooking to cut down on cross contamination of flu germs. So I have put together the traditional cheese soup, loaded it into a crock pot and one of our girls will pick it up before church so the rest of the family can still enjoy this very special day.

My Christmas gift to everyone is my cheese soup recipe. It is rich, creamy and easy!

1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped carrot
½ c. chopped celery
2 to 3 potatoes (depends on their size) cut into small chunks (optional)
1 stick butter
½ c. flour
1 can chicken broth
½ t. salt
1 qt. ½ & ½ cream
16 oz Velveeta, cut in cubes

I begin by using all fresh veggies and only real butter. I sweat them in a large pan slowly until the veggies are translucent. Add the flour and blend completely. Allow to cook about one minute to take the raw taste off the flour. Basically, you are making a roux. Next you add the quart of half and half cream slowly while stirring constantly. Keep your heat low or you will have a scorched mess. When everything is blended and smooth, add the broth, salt and chunks of Velveeta. Heat through and serve with crumbled bacon.

Obviously, you can modify this recipe in many ways. Use a lighter milk product, double the recipe or thicken with a gluten free flour, which is what I did.

I used Jules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour in place of regular flour. No one will notice the difference and the soup may be enjoyed by daughter #1 who is gluten free.

This soup is yummy served in bread bowls for those able to eat wheat. We have a local fast food restaurant that will sell us a bread bowl for $1.00 each so that is usually what we use. The creamy soup soaks into the soft bread and creates this yummy comfort food. This certainly qualifies as a once every now and then treat because it isn't calorie conscious at all!

Merry Christmas!

Gluten Free

I am dead on my feet! I have been cooking and grocery shopping for two solid days.This is a good kind of exhaustion as I've been in my glorious element cooking.

Today I made two pumpkin pies, two pecan pies, one loaf of gluten free bread, 1 gluten free pie crust for another pumpkin pie, a sinful chocolate cake (new recipe), dressing and baked chicken legs which I used to make our gravy.

Daughter #1 began a gluten free diet about 6 months ago. Prior to that she had daily migraines and had been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. Nothing the doctors gave her seemed to make her feel better so on a whim she decided to stop eating wheat. In a very short amount of time she was headache free and the irritable bowel syndrome disappeared. Her doctor sees no reason to test her for Celiac disease as she has already figured out that her body doesn't want wheat! There have been many challenges along the way. I made a batch of oatmeal buns yesterday and decided daughter #1 needed her own bread, too. I thickened the gravy with cornstarch and have plenty of veggies planned so she will have plenty to eat.

I spent quite a few hours last night searching for recipes and information. I landed on the King Arthur Flour website and was thrilled. They have tons of recipes, a great gluten free all-purpose flour as well as many grocery shelf products like the bread mix I made today. The flour is a bit pricey, but worth every penny.

I am also amazed at how much easier it is to find the ingredients needed for a gluten free diet. Bob's Red Mill has many options and I can usually find that along-side the King Arthur Flour choices.

I can't wait for tomorrow so I can taste the bread and the pie crust I made from the gluten free recipes!