Cooking with Special Dietary Needs - It's Not Half Bad

01/18/2026

Just in time for the Sunday Football snack- a sweet twist on meatballs:
Raspberry Chipotle BBQ sauce.
I bought ground chicken since that's leaner - and cheaper - than beef. Since chicken doesn't hold it's shape as well as a meatball without adding fillers, I used egg as a binder and browned the meatballs in oil so that they would keep their shape.
For the BBQ sauce, I added bourbon, maple syrup, worchestershire, garlic, cayenne, and tomato paste to my favorite BBQ sauce and a big dollop of raspberry jam. I brought all those ingredients to a simmer to incorporate it all. I wasn't concerned about cooking off the alcohol since I was going to bake it. After the original browning, I baked it in a shallow baking pan for 20 minutes at 375°F then transferred the meatballs into a casserole dish, covered them with the sauce and baked covered for another 20 minutes until bubbly. Yummy.
Bon Apetite

01/10/2026

My husband and I were at Sam's Club and I saw a lean Picanha- brisket points. Suddenly I wanted pastrami. I researched the web and came up with this: curing in wet brine for 5 days, let it dry for 1 day and in the 7th day i had pastrami after 8 hours on the smoker. The last hour I had wrapped it in butcher paper and set it back into the smoker to "steam" it. So now I know why a good pastrami from a good Jewish or New York deli can cost upwards of $30 per pound. If it's done correctly, it's heaven on rye bread. You can PM me for details

01/03/2026

I'm going to try to make my own pastrami. Did you know that not one single store in Sun City Center carrots pink curing salt? Hello Amazon!

11/09/2025

I found a gluten-free recipe for muffins, but it uses butter and whole milk. My husband is lactose intolerant. I substituted goat's milk and used ghee, both can usually be tolerated well by those who are lactose intolerant. The muffins came out better than expected: soft, moist and so delicious! PM me for the recipe

10/19/2024

My husband, Terry Lee Crippen , wanted chicken soup. OK, so that's what's for dinner. Last night I made a rotisserie chicken in my airfryer oven, so I had plenty of chicken left over. I made the chicken in my Instapot pressure cooker. Peeled off the skin, and threw the carcass in, bones and all. Added fresh onions, celery (sorry, didn't have carrots on hand), celery, a fresh sprig of rosemary, oregano, and salt and pepper. 2 hours later and soup's on.
OMG! A roasted chicken adds so much to the flavor of the stock!!!!!!
Y'all got to try it!
Bon appetit

09/28/2024

Lemon chicken
Hurricane Helene gave me a gift I wasn't expecting- she knocked 2 lemons off my tree and while they weren't completely ripe, there was just a bit of yellow to the rind and that was just perfect for cooking. The original recipe was "Chicken Piccant" and called for capers. I haven't t met a caper that i could ever like, so no capers. I'm gluten free, so regular flour is out. I used gf oat flour (Bob's Red Mill is what I used) but you are free to use whatever you like. The main purpose of the flour is to make a gravy at the end, so something starchy, not rice flour. Let's cook!
You'll need boneless, skinless Chicken breast, flour, salt, pepper, oil (I use Avocado oil for its bought smoke point), zest from the lemon (optional), 1/4 cup lemon juice, ½ cup dry white wine (white zinfandel, chardonnay, Pinot Grigio..... all are good. If you can stand to drink it, it goes into the pot. Moscato is too sweet for this and will fight with the lemon and lose). I don't prefer cooking wines because salt is added to the wine, and then you're apt to add too much salt. You can substitute chicken stock, and aging, go for reduced sodium. Minced garlic, thin sliced onion, and thyme leaves.
Your going to ask me "how much do I use?" I add the ingredients with abandon until my ancestors whisper in my ear‐ "that's enough dear." The amount you use is subjective - if you want more or less garlic, that's what you go for. I use 1 large (or 2 small) cloves of garlic per chicken breast, a bit more of you picked up the chicken from Costco and the thing looks like it's impersonating a young turkey.
Directions:
Split the breast's and with a rolling pin or flat side of a meat hammer, pound the breast flat (between 2 sheets of parchment paper) Until the chicken is about a half inch thick or so. Dredge the chicken in the flour seasoned with salt and pepper. In a large heavy bottom skillet heat up your oil over medium to medium high heat. Add the chicken but not so that it crowds the pan. You can cook the breasts one piece at a time depending on the size of your pan. Pan sear the chicken for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. The chicken should be about cooked all the way through at this point. Remove it from the pan and set aside. Add your minced garlic to the oil and simmer for 1 minute. Scrape up all the bits of flour stuck to the bottom of the pan. When the garlic becomes fragrant, usually about a minute, and the thyme, lemon zest onions and saute till the onions become translucent. Add a tablespoon of oil if necessary. Once the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes, stir in the lemon juice and white wine or chicken stock. Stir until completely combined and add the chicken back to the pan. Cover and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is completely tender. Remove the chicken and set aside, keep it warm, and simmer the sauce in the pan until it's reduced and a little thick. This is your gravy. Pour the gravy over the chicken and serve. Today I used as a side dish, quinoa. My doctor said I needed to eat more quinoa and less potatoes, so here I am trying to make bird seed taste like it's not birdseed. So for one cup of quinoa, I used two cups of chicken stock with a little bit of lemon juice added, minced garlic, and some thyme leaves. Bring the quinoa and water to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover, and let it cook for about 12 to 15 minutes until all the moisture is absorbed. Since I made too much quinoa the night before, I use the leftover to make a tabulley salad. Traditionally, debule is made with Bulger wheat or couscous. Since I'm a Celiac, I'm using the leftover quinoa. Mix the quinoa with a little bit of olive oil lemon juice, garlic, and any kind of fresh vegetable you have in the refrigerator. I use chopped olives, tomatoes, Bell pepper, and cucumbers. I've added just a bit of minced fresh basil from my garden, but that is optional if you don't have fresh basil
If you try this recipe, tell me what you think and be sure to send me pictures!
Bon appetit

08/28/2024

08/19/2024

Salmon steaks! Detwiler's Farm Market had fresh salmon steaks on sale, so tonight's supper featured that. Pat dry and light salt & pepper, I pan seared it in ghee. Once it was almost cooked thru, I removed it from the pan and put in slices of sweet potato and caramelized it un til golden brown. Flip the slices, scatter minces garlic around the pan, place the fish on top of the sweet potato, smother with fresh spinach, sliced green olives and diced tomatoes. Add about 1/4 white wine, cover, reduce heat and simmer until spinach is wilted. Plate the salmon (still on top of the sweet potato, arrange the spinach mix on top and scatter cheese crumbles on top.

08/12/2024

Ghee, better than mere clarified butter, is a fantastic substitute for regular butter, especially for a lactose free or low lactose diet. Butter, when broken down, constitutes 3 parts: oil, milk solids (which has the lactose) and a minute bit of water. When you heat the butter, the water rises to the top while the milk solids sink to the bottom. If clarified butter is all you want, you can stop there, skim off the froth at the top and run the rest thru a sieve. Ghee is made when you continue to simmer the butter over low heat until the milk solids caramelize (not burned, so watch the pot) and the oil turns a honey golden color. DO NOT STIR THE POT! Stirring will make the solids rise up during the caramelizing process. To check the milk solids, gently skim a spoon across the top, being careful not to disturb the milk solids at the bottom.
A few hints- use a heavy bottom sauce pan that's large enough so that there's about 3" of melted butter in that pan. 2 pounds of butter (8 sticks) will fit easily in a 2 quart pan, or a pan with a 7" to 8" diameter.
Use unsalted butter. A lot of recipes call for salt anyway. This way, if you have to watch your sodium intake, it'll be easier to regulate your salt intake.
Once your ghee is done cooking, remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool so that you don't burn yourself while straining the caramelized milk solids out.
Don't be so quick to throw away those milk solids. If you aren't lactose intolerant, this makes a great spread on toast.
There are additional benefits to using ghee for cooking over butter besides being lactose free. Butter's natural smoke point is around 350° F/176°C. Direct heat over this temperature will result in burnt butter. Whereas, clarified butter can be heated to 450°F/232°C without risk of burning.
Ghee can be kept on the counter (covered dish) up to 6 months. If in a hot climate, less. It can be stored in the refrigerator. An open container of ghee can be stored in a refrigerator up to a year, but it should be brought up to room temperature before using.

Bon apetit

08/12/2024

Beer...and coffee....
I often add beer and strong black coffee (hold the cream and sugar) to my beef dishes. Stew, corned beef, chili....
But choosing the right beer is important. Yes, a lot of it is a matter of personal taste, but I would recommend using one that isn't quite so "hoppy." Pilsners are generally spicier and have more hops than other lagers so they tend to be bitter. You can't go wrong with a nutty brown ale. Not only does beer give the dish flavor, but the tannins and acids in the will help tenderize the toughest cut of meat by breaking down the meat fibers.
And coffee? Coffee adds an earthy, complex flavor with hints of bitterness and sometimes fruit or citrus. The acidity in coffee can also bring out the meat's natural flavor without overpowering it. It also adds color.
Try it some time... and leave me your comments - with pictures. Or you can PM me for my own family recipes.
Bon Apetite

08/10/2024

Mayhap jelly...... what is a Mayhaw? I was passing thru a traveler's test area on the Florida Georgia border (in Georgia of course) and without looking up what a Mayhaw is, I bought a small jar. Terry Lee Crippen and we were scared to try it once we got home. I finally opened it and tried it on my toast. Ingredients are sugar, mayhaw juice, pectin, and citric acid (you can substitute lemon juice). Yummy!
So what is a Mayhaw? According to Google, it's from the apple family, closely related to a crab apple. Sweet and tart at the same time!
Now the chef in the back of my brain is thinking that this would make a great glaze on pork loin or pork chops instead of using apricot jelly
Bon Apetite