The Not hamburger Burger

My husband is the most amazing man.  I know, I've said it before, but he is.  Being allergic to all things cow, I have been missing things like cheese, chocolate and his dad's famous Back Yard Burgers.  This week, he came up with an  awesome recipe for burgers that go great on the grill so I am not left out at family cook outs anymore.  Straight ground pork just doesn't seem to ever get enough flavor from seasonings, so he's added a 'secret ingredient'.  He bought a package of hickory smoked bacon!  After putting it through the food pro, he added it to 2 lb of plain ground pork.  The bacon gave it a very nice smoky, (almost bbq) flavor and I completely forgot about beef at that point!  Trust me, saying that, from a former Texan point of view, is not something you will normally hear.  My favorite food on earth has always been a nice bit of beef and potato in most any form.


1 pkg bacon (your favorite)
2 lbs plain ground pork
no extra seasonings (doesn't need anything at all)

This recipe makes 8-12 burgers depending on how thick you make them.  Dad's Backyard Burgers are thick, so it made 8 for us.

Non Dairy Cream Cheese!

Now,  you know, I don't like to post about 'regular' products, but I found one this week I just  have to rave about!

One thing I have truly missed being Dairy Free has been Cream Cheese.  I have tried a lot of other cheeses and out of them all, this one stands out as my choice of a superb replacement!

It is Go Veggie Cream Cheese Alternative.  Dairy free, gluten free, lactose free, casein free!  

Ok, so at first glance, it looks like putty.  But....it is amazing!  Tastes just like cream cheese (even my dairy loving husband will eat it!)

Our first attempt at cooking with it was a pork stroganoff using the cream cheese as a replacement for sour cream in the sauce (use your favorite noodles and meat)  and it was wonderful!  

I don't particularly care for their mainstream cheeses (but I am picky picky picky about my cheese) but this one I do love.  

We found it at our local Publix Market and being in a food adventuring mood, we decided to try it and have since kept it in the fridge constantly.  

It also comes in a Strawberry and a Chive and Garlic blend that I have yet to find anywhere locally, so if you've tried it, let me know how you like it!

Taco Bell Update

Hi all!  Thank you all for the comments!  I am really glad this is helping out.  I have updated the Taco Bell page to now include a link to their nutritional info page.

Rough few weeks

Actually, its been a rough month or more and I haven't felt much like posting anything.  I will update and add new restaurants this week though.

New Restaurants wanted!

I am still looking for new places to add to the list.  If you have one you'd like to see here, just let me know and I"ll do my best to get it on here fast!

Taco Bell

Added

Yummy soups again!

One of the foods I missed the most being dairy free was cream of chicken.  It was my base soup in so many of our  favorite recipies, I got  depressed thinking about it.  However, I happen to be blessed with an amazing husband who researched until he found a replacement for everything!

One thing he found was Better Than bouillon  Organic Chicken Base.
It is gluten free and dairy free and also comes in a Vegan chicken base that is pretty darn good.

I have also found that Campbell's makes a gluten free/dairy free Chicken Stock (honestly, you would be surprised at the  amount of stock/broth/bouillon that have wheat and dairy  products in them!)

EASY CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP

2 cups chicken stock
2 cups Almond Milk  (unsweetened, original)
1 can diced chicken (or your favorite type)
1 cup of either Bisquick for our dairy free or
    1 cup of your favorite baking mix for gluten free
     You may need to add a pinch or so of Xanthan Gum to
     make it thicken if you use plain rice flour
add to taste
onion powder
garlic powder
celery salt
pepper

Mix your dry with the milk to a smooth texture
bring your stock to a low boil and slowly pour in
the milk mix, wisk to keep it smooth (too slow and you will
end up with dumplings instead)

add in your chicken and let simmer until the broth thickens to
the texture you prefer

serve and enjoy!


you can do this with broccoli, mushrooms (use veggie bouillon) ham (trust me, not as crazy as it sounds!  makes a great gravy over your favorite biscuits for breakfast.)  We've used this for sausage gravy and cream gravy when you start missing something to have with your baked potatoes or over turkey dinner.


A quick word on the sausage I mentioned above.
There are a couple of good brands that make a gluten/dairy free  breakfast sausage that you can find in your regular grocery store.
Just read the label to make sure.