Lactose Free Hamburger & Bun!

This recipe isn't mine, it's a Gordon Ramsay* Hamburger!  I saw him cook it on his show, Kitchen Nightmares*, and thought it sounded so yummy.  So, I scoured the Internet looking for the measurements, since he just tossed it all together.  Low and behold, I found it!  It took some tweaking, the original recipe I found was way too watery and made a mushy burger, yuck! So I hope you enjoy this also. I included the brand of bun I used, since it's lactose-free and very delicious.

Ingredients:

Ground Beef
Salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
A few splashes of Worcestershire sauce (not much!)
1egg yolk
2 tablespoons ketchup
Enough chopped onions to equally distribute in beef
Fantini Bulkie Rolls (Italian bread, lactose-free)

Directions:

1.    Take all ingredients and put together in bowl.  Use hands to mix well, making sure everything is evenly distributed. Form beef into patties, in the thickness you desire.

2.   Cook on grill to desired taste.

3. Serve on bun and enjoy!

(*This blog is in NO way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Gordon Ramsay, Kitchen Nightmares, Fox or any of it's affiliates in any way.)

Roasted Potatoes Recipe

What I like most about this recipe is, it's so simple and easy to make, yet uber delicious! I got sick of making boring mashed potatoes, and they aren't that great for you.  I've been trying to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables to make better side dishes and snacks.  These potatoes go great with almost any meal! Last night I had them with a homemade Chicken Salad sandwich, but I've tried them with other meats and varieties as well.  I'll post the recipe for the chicken salad as well. 

I originally found this recipe online, but I didn't have some of the ingredients it stated, so I made up my own combination of simple ingredients. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium white potatoes cut into wedges
Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste

Directions:

1.    Mix olive oil and seasonings in bowl well.*
2.   Add potatoes and toss to coat well.
3. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet, making sure potatoes are flat and not overlapping.
4.  Bake for 20-25 minutes at 450°F, turning occasionally. 

20-25 minutes make for crispy potatoes, as seen in the photo.  If you'd like softer potatoes cook for only 15 minutes. 

*I use a tupperware container, and when everything is in, put the lid on and shake away! Sometimes there is a bit of olive oil and seasonings left in the container.  After spreading the potatoes on the pan, I brush the extra on potatoes that look bare. 

Chicken Salad Sandwich

I can't take credit for this recipe, I found it on Martha Stewart's website.  I only made maybe one or two minor adjustments.  The poached chicken is mine though, so I'll take credit for that! Oh yes, and this is lactose free!!

Ingredients for Salad:
1 cup diced chicken (see below for instructions) 
1 heaping tablespoon minced onion
1 heaping tablespoon minced celery
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste

Directions for Chicken:

There are not any ingredients listed because it's up to you how much flavor you'd like, play around with different herbs and spices.  I didn't measure anything, just went with it. Poaching a chicken, rather than boiling, makes for a more moist chicken!

1.    Fill a pot with water and/or chicken broth, (I used just water, but I bet chicken broth is tastier!) slices of onion, chopped fresh garlic, lemon slice, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for 10-15 minutes to infuse flavor.

2.   Bring to a boil, then immediately add chicken and cover with a tight lid.  Take pot off stove and let sit for 10-12 minutes.  If not done, repeat.  Then, drain, cool and chop chicken.

Directions for Salad:

1.    Place all ingredients in bowl and mix well to bl;end.

2.   Serve on bread or roll for sandwich, or on greens for salad.

-- I used an italian bulike roll, since it was a lactose-free bread.

Glazed Doughnut Muffins - lactose free

Ingredients:
¼ cup vegan butter
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon nutmeg             
1 teaspoon cinnamon                                                                    
1 teaspoon vanilla                                                                         
2 2/3 cups flour                                                                     
1 cup lactose free milk      

  Glaze Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted       
1 cup powdered sugar
¾ teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water                                        
                                                                                
--I used Earth Balance Vegan buttery spread, and Lactaid Whole Milk

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 425°F and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups.

2.   In a large bowl, beat butter, oil and sugars until smooth.  Beat eggs, 1 at a time on low speed.  Add the baking powder, baking soda, spices, and vanilla until smooth.

3.   Stir the flour and milk into mix alternately, beginning and ending with the flour.

4.   Spoon batter into cups, about ¾ full.

5.   Bake for 16 minutes, cool 5 minutes in pan then move to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before baking.

Glaze Directions

1.    In medium bowl, mix the butter, sugar, vanilla and water, whisk until smooth.

2.   When muffins have cooled, dip muffin top into glaze, allow to harden then dip again.

Dairy & Egg Free Blueberry Muffins

Can I just say these are soooooo delicious! One of my favorite muffin recipes.  You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, but personally I used frozen.  Fresh blueberries are hard to come by, and they go fast.  Using frozen blueberries helped them not get mushy and get that rich, blue color. 

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
Dash of ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup lactose free milk
3 tablespoons melted vegan butter
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

* I use Lactaid whole milk and Earth Balance buttery spread.

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 350°F and line muffin pan with paper liners.

2.   Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

3.   Stir in milk and melted butter by hand until dry ingredients are all wet.

4.   Fold in blueberries, and then fill each cup 2/3 full.

5.   Bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Dairy & Egg Free Apple Muffins

Looking for a delicious muffin to enjoy for breakfast?  Here is a very tasty apple muffin recipe that is also Lactose-Free and possibly egg free!

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour
½ cup white sugar
3 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup 100% apple juice              
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg (can substitute for 3/4 cup all-natural applesauce)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added more, I love cinnamon!)
2 cups apples, chopped

Directions:

1.    Heat oven to 400°F, and grease muffin pan or line with paper cups. 
2.   In a medium bowl, combine apple juice, oil and egg; blend well. 
3.   Add dry ingredients all at once and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy).
4.   Stir in chopped apples.
5.   Fill cups 2/3 full, and bake for 18-22 minutes.
6.   Cool 1 minute in pan and serve warm. 

Welcome!

Hello,

This is my first post on this blog, so I figured I'd start off by writing a little about myself.
I've suffered from many health troubles over the years, starting off by being diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease at the age of 3.  Since then, I've been diagnosed with many other illnesses and have had many ups and downs, but I haven't let any of them bring me down.  I pursued my dream of photography last year, and am beyond happy and excited for the future of that.

Recently, I found out I'm severely lactose-intolerant.  I suffered over 2 years with horrendous gastro-intestinal (tummy) troubles without any answers.  Being an already thin person while loosing weight, it became increasingly alarming that everything I was eating would go right through me.  I saw a couple different GI specialists without answers, but finally found one that actually gave me some answers and possible tests to try.  First being, eliminating lactose and then trying to eat it again to see if that would help or not.  Welp, yes it was! I stopped lactose completely for two weeks and over the first few days, I noticed I was getting better, to the point where I had no symptoms.  I tried introducing a little back, and was in horrendous pains and had the tummy troubles for 3 days! I have stopped eating and drinking anything lactose, and am again symptom free.

My biggest worry has been, what do I eat? I love to cook, especially bake!  Slowly, but surely I'm learning what I can and can't use in recipes.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of lactose-free recipes out there, so I figured I'd share my recipes, and recipes I've found on the Internet that us lactose-freeers can enjoy!  I hope you enjoy this blog, and please feel free to comment on the recipes your substitutions, any lactose-free products you enjoy, and how you enjoyed or not enjoyed it.  :)