Grandma Lill's Chicken Noodle Soup

This is the best chicken noodle soup, and I am so loyal to it that I won't even make another. My grandma always made this for us when we would go up to visit her in Idaho, especially in the winter months. The key ingredient is the Mrs Weiss Kluski noodles, although you could use any homemade or egg noodles you have. One of the best parts about chicken noodle soup is that you can make it with leftover chicken, so obviously do that if you have any. I usually plan to make this soup the same week I pick up a rotissere chicken at Sams Club. :) I usually use about 2 cups of leftover chicken pieces, but we like ours really meaty. Still simmer for 35 minutes even if the chicken is cooked, just to get all the vegetables nice and tender. Also you can make this as thick or thin as you want to, but as a general rule use one chicken bouillon cube per cup of water. On an allergy note, check the ingredients on the bouillon because some contain dairy. I use the Tones brand and called their service department to make sure it was perfectly safe.

Grandma Lill's Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe from Lillian Rydalch

8 cups water

about 2 cups leftover chicken, cut or torn into bitesize pieces

3 circular chopped carrots

3 stalks celery, chopped
onion or flakes

8 bouillon cubes

pinch of garlic salt

pinch of pepper

1 bay leaf

1 bag Kluski noodles

Combine all ingredients except for the noodles in a stockpot. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 35 minutes. Add noodles and simmer another 10-15 minutes (or use your noodle package instructions).

Sweet and Sour Chicken

 I could literally eat this meal every night-it's really that good! This is one of the many recipes I've gotten from my best friend here in my small town, Mel. It's been passed along the blogging world many times over. Let me just promise you that this sweet and sour chicken is better than any you will find at Chinese Resturaunts, and my dad even said that it puts PF Changs to shame!

Sweet and Sour Chicken
Mel's Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips or chunks

accent and garlic powder OR salt and pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup oil, veggie or canola

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks or strips. Season with accent and garlic powder or salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. I like to baste the chicken the first 15 minutes and then turn the rest, just so the breading doesn't break apart.

Sauce:
¾ cup sugar
1/4 (4 Tbsp) cup ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon accent or garlic salt

If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stovetop. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.

My Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Well... everyone thinks they are famous, but really I just revamped the back of the Toll house chocolate chip recipe with shortening, less salt, and my favorite chocolate chips. I also use dairy free carob chips for my son's cookies, and milk chocolate chips for everyone else. If you are wanting to impress someone, I SWEAR by Ghirardelli brand milk chocolate jumbo chips. I hate using any other kind- they are divine and well worth the price. Here's a trick that we do in my home so that we don't eat them all at once. Bake up as many as you want for that night, then roll the rest into individual balls, stick them on a baking sheet or a casserole dish and stick them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes is up, you can then dump all of the balls into a freezer ziplock and store them in your freezer without them clumping together. I will usually make a whole batch without chocolate chips, or with carob chips and then just label the ziplock "Scott's cookies". Then anytime we are eating a cookie he can't have, I'll pop a few of his into the oven. Sidenote: You might laugh at the 7/8 cup of shortening, but I learned in my food science class from college that technically if you are substituting shortening or margarine for 1 cup of true butter, you are suppose to use 7/8 cup. And it works, trust me!

My Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes about 2-3 dozen depending on the size

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt (I usually tap off a little less)

1 cup minus a big spoonful of shortening (about 7/8 cup) or try coconut oil!

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 package of carob or milk chocolate chips

Combine flour, soda and salt in a separate bowl

Beat shortening, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture.

Stir in morsels and drop onto tablespoon fulls onto ungreased cookie sheets

Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes

Beef Noodle Bowl

My kid loves any dish with noodles in it, and because of the amazing (and easy) flavor of the beef, he'll actually eat this without bribing or threatening him. One of the ingredients in this dish is KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing which I have heavily stocked in my pantry. If you are ever needing a quick and tasty dish, just cook some chicken and veggies in the dressing and serve with a side dish.

Beef Noodle BowlRecipe adapted from Kraft Foods

12 ounces fettucine noodles (or spaghetti works fine like I did in the picture)
3 cups broccoli florets
2 carrots, peeled, chopped diagonally (or baby carrots slices lenthwise for a fun twist)
2 tsp. oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, thinly cut into strips
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger


Cook pasta as directed adding carrots and broccoli the last 3 minutes (still with a little crunch, not soggy). Meanwhile brown meat in the oil. In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir dressing, teriyaki and ginger and add to the meat. Cook for a few minutes until thickened. Drain pasta and toss in the meat mixture.

New Cooking Blog!

I have been playing around with the idea of starting a food blog for a while now because cooking has always been a passion of mine, and I now love the challenge of cooking every meal without dairy ingredients.
Let me tell you my story, as I haven't always loved the challenge!

We found out our son was extremely allergic to dairy at 10 months old when we heard a hoarse and unusual cry from his room. We took him out of his crib to find that his lips were trippled in size. We traced the culprit to a drinking glass that he was playing with around his mouth before bedtime that had milk in it previously. That was the start of our journey to avoiding dairy. When he was about 18 months old he was hospitalized for 3 days from an asthma attack and so they ran blood tests for allergies. That's when we really found out it was a lot more serious than we thought and that's when I had to become an ingredient reading maniac!

At first my husband and I continued to eat our usual cuisines, and I would fix our son a seperate plate with something I knew he could eat. Then I realized that he was going to get use to the specialized treatment and maybe think he can always do what he wants to do. That's when I took up the challenge to eat "dairy free" as an entire family. I had no idea the challenge I was undertaking and use to cry over the lack of recipes I could find. Then I met several moms out there through the blog world who are dealing with the same stresses I do on a daily basis, some of them so much more complex, and realized that 1-I'm not alone and 2-It could be a lot worse. So with the inspiration those moms gave me (one in particular and she'll know who she is) I've been given the creativity and patience to now find my recipe box filled with yummy dinners my whole family can eat.

I know you can buy cookbooks and google search for dairy free recipes out there, but who's to know which ones are good and which are garbag? Welcome to "Dairy Free- Tried and True" where from one mom to another, you'll know they're good!