Frugal Friday: 5 more tips for frugal gluten free eating

It's Frugal Friday!

If you would like some frugal tips click on the icon above. It will take you to a website dedicated to Frugal Tips.

« How to Feed a Family of 6 for $9.16 a Day

5 Tips for a Frugal Gluten Free Diet

5 More Tips for a Frugal Gluten Free Diet
Posted: 26 Jan 2009 08:35 PM CST
This is the third part in a series “Gluten Free Grocery Shopping on a Budget” in which Heather shares how she feeds a family of 6 a gluten free diet for $350 - $400 a month. (And she says she could do with less if she really tried!)

6) Buy less expensive cuts of meat and less expensive produce. You can have huge savings in this category. Steaks are the most expensive meat we buy, and we don’t pay more than $2.29/lb when they’re on sale. No, we’re not getting the fancy cuts of steak, but it’s not worth the extra money to us. For chicken that we’re just planning on eating plain or barbequed, we buy chicken leg quarters and take off the skin. We do buy boneless skinless for casseroles and such, but for years we didn’t. Pork sausage rolls are bought on sale for $1.50 or less per lb. Etc.

For vegetables, we buy bags of carrots, cabbage (eaten raw and cooked), and frozen vegetables when on sale for $1/lb. We do treat ourselves to baby carrots, usually bought on sale or in bulk for less than $1.50/lb. For fruit, we usually have 100% juice, bought in frozen concentrate, because we don’t go to the store every week. It’s about $1 for 6 servings. When we buy fresh fruit at the grocery store, it’s bananas, or occasionally oranges when on sale. In the fall, from a local orchard, we buy apples for $12 a half bushel (21 lb) and peaches for $16 a half bushel (25 lb). Before we had a local orchard, we rarely had those fruits. Now, we can enjoy them fresh, and freeze some for pies later in the year.

7) Selectively have “normal foods,” when cheaper, for the rest of the family. I don’t want to make everything with a “mine” and “theirs” version, but some things are relatively easy to do. When we have pasta with spaghetti sauce, I make their pot of whole wheat pasta, and mine of brown rice pasta, and then I serve the sauce separately. If I have a busy week and want easy lunches, I buy the cheapest 100% whole wheat bread for sandwiches for the rest of the family. It’s much easier to feed one person for lunch on leftovers and hodge-podge than it is to feed two adults and four children in the same way!

Grow a Garden. We’re not doing this as extensively as in previous years. We have 4 3×20 beds of strawberries that this summer will yield over60 quarts of strawberries. There was an initial investment, and no crop the first year, but every year after that, we’ve been able to expect approximately 50 quarts, or more in a good year. That means that for several weeks we don’t have to buy any fruit, and we’re able to freeze some for strawberry pancake syrup and other uses during the year. This year we also planted 3 cherry tomato bushes, a half dozen summer squash and zucchini plants, 24 cabbage plants, and 120 sweet corn plants. Selective gardening could help the food budget of many people, without too much work or too much space. A tomato plant is agood example of something that meets that criteria.

9) Make your own convenience foods to have for busy days. If you havea couple homemade casseroles, a pre-baked pizza crust, and a few dozenmuffins in the freezer (or a few of your ownjust-add-egg-oil-and-water mixes), you’re less likely to resort to expensive pre-made items. Even if I use dried fruit, I can make a gluten-free muffin mix that makes a dozen muffins for $2.50 or less.

10) Eat leftovers. It’s amazing how many people get rid of leftovers because they don’t like to eat them, or because they get lost in the depths of the fridge. We tend to eat leftovers for lunch, or have a leftover dinner night once a week.

We don’t use coupons: One thing that you may have expected to find on this list, but didn’t, is coupons. I don’t use coupons. One reason is that I don’t make food from scratch only to save money, but also for health benefits. Many of the items that have coupons (breakfast cereals, meals in abox, freezer meals, cookies, etc) are not of interest to me. We don’t buy a local paper, and I don’t have any interest in keeping track of large numbers of coupons to use.

More Tips: Other money-saving things we used to do, but don’t any longer, are to eat non-meat meals 3 nights a week. These can be beans, breakfast atsupper (with eggs), spaghetti (without meat). We have meatless meals 1-2 nights a week on average now. Also, we used to eat much smaller servings of meat, but we’re a bit more generous with ourselves in recent years.Occasional Splurges: And there are things we splurge on for health or taste reasons. We buy real maple syrup and brown rice pasta for the health benefits. Of course, there are taste benefits as well! I used to not buy flourtortillas, but made my own. I used to not buy something like a giant box of unseasoned potato flakes. We used to have smaller servings of meat. But when we were married, my husband was a graduate student making $20,000 a year, and his income is substantially higher now. We could shave $50-$100 off of our budget a month if we wanted to or needed to. But, we’ve chosen to cut down on the number of grocery trips to maximize family time, and we’ve chosen to treat ourselves a bit compared to our strictness of previous years.

It’s not a contest to see who can spend the least on groceries, but about what’s important to your family. If your family has debt, would like moremoney to spend on other things, want to be able to save more, etc, then it’s probably worth considering ways to slash your grocery budget. But, if you’re comfortable, then you certainly don’t have to.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie

I love Pumpkin Pie, but never make it because of the pie crust issue. I could never find a pie crust that was gluten free and easy to make. Well, I found the recipe below at About.com Vegetarian Food Gluten-Free Pie Crust Recipe
This is for a one crust pie:
1/2 Cup shortening (I use coconut oil because my husband has soy allergies)
1 1/2 Cups rice flour
4 Tbsp cold water

Cut shortening into rice flour until a crumb like texture forms. Add water. Work dough with hands until soft and form a ball. (I didn't do that last step. I just dumped it in the pie pan and used a small pastry roller to press the dough down and up the sides of the pie plate)

Place dough in 8 inch pie pan and press it into the bottom and sides of pie pan.

Use fork to prick the bottom of the crust to prevent buckling.

If you want a precooked crust, bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown.

For the pumpkin pie, you don't want to precook your crust.
Here is the filling for the pie:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin Puree
1 can (12 fl. oz) Evaporated Milk
1 unbaked 9 inch pie deep dish pie shell
whipped cream (optional)

Mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves in a small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

New Year's Eve Treat: Homemade Eggnog

To make one quart of Eggnog:

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 Cups whole milk preferably with cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp guar gum (optional--helps it to thicken)

Mix all ingredients in a blender and store over night in a covered 1 quart glass jar. The ingredients may separate over night. Just shake it up before serving.

Gluten Free Carrot Spice Muffins From Glutenfreeda

Gluten-Free Recipe of the Week:
Carrot Spice Muffins

Difficulty: Easy Makes 12 standard size muffins.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/3 cups Gluten Free Pantry French Bread Flour Mix
• 1 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon gf baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1-1/2 cups finely grated carrots
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup golden raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces gf cream cheese
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons gf vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• Grated lemon or orange zest (optional)

Directions:

For Muffins:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tins or line with muffin cups.

In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk all dry ingredients together. Add oil and eggs, beating on low speed. Stir in carrots, nuts, and raisins.

Divide batter into muffin tins. Bake until a toothpick inserted into 1 or 2 muffins comes out clean, approximately 15-18 minutes. Let cool for several minutes before removing from pan.

Set on baking rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

These muffins will keep, covered for several days.

For Frosting:
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla until just blended. Add powdered sugar, one-third at a time, until just smooth and frosting has reached desired consistency. (Optional: `stir in lemon or orange zest for additional flavoring.)

This frosting will keep refrigerated for about 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months. Soften and stir until smooth before using.

Tips:

This recipe is made for 12 standard size muffins, however you can also use jumbo muffins tins, or mini muffin tins - just adjust the baking times as follows:
Jumbo - bake for 22-25 minutes
Standard - bake for 15-18 minutes
Mini - bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Have all ingredients at room temperature, 68-70 degrees F.

Tips for Cream Cheese Frosting:
Don’t overbeat the cream cheese.
Cold (not softened) cream cheese produces the best texture of frosting.

We used The Gluten Free Pantry’s Country French bread flour mix for the gf flour in this recipe.

Gluten Intolerance & Sugar Blues

I had some kids over Thursday for smores around our fire pit. I had a giant Hershey's Bar open, along with Graham Crackers and Marshmallows.

First off, I didn't have the good sense to stay out of the Hershey's Bar. Chocolate affects me later in the month even it I eat it earlier. So I shouldn't have even been drooling over it in the first place.

Secondly, I never even thought about the fact that the kids would drop cracker crumbs on it while fixing their smores. So when I ate some of the chocolate bar, I got glutenized.

Thirdly, I didn't have the good sense to eat only one or two roasted marshmallows, I ate five of them!

So Saturday morning I woke up at 5am in a mess. My head was pounding with a sugar hang-over, I was having a low blood sugar episode and nearly fainted in the kitchen and I had canker sores on my tongue.

Did I learn my lesson??? No! Last night I saw the remainder of the Hershey's Bar sitting on the counter and I rationalized that if I didn't eat it my husband would and he didn't need the soy. The thought never even entered my mind that it was contaminated with gluten! I woofed it down when no one was looking. As a result, I didn't sleep all too well last night. The canker sores on my tongue have gotten more painful and I was being awakened every time I had to swallowed. It was not a good night. I am so frustrated with myself for being so careless and for succumbing to the temptation to eat it! I craved it. It was like I couldn't control myself as long as that chocolate was staring me in the face! I am paying for it now, but I'll pay for it again big time when that time of the month comes. It's a double whammy and it is all my fault. UGH. I hate that.

I think sin is like that. Perhaps this was sin! It looks you in the face and it is so inviting. It looks so good! You just start to feel like you can't do without what ever it is. Then when you give in to the temptation, the results are far less than desirable and you wish you had never even considered it in the first place. It causes you all kinds of grief and trouble in the long run.

Man, I think this goes back to the issue of unthankfulness that I have written about in other posts. When you want something so badly, that you just HAVE to have it, perhaps you need to step back and ask yourself, "Am I content with what I have? Why do I have to have THIS thing so badly that I'm willing to compromise my health (or reputation, relationship with God, etc.) to have it? Am I thankful for what I have? If so, why do I think I need this other thing?" Why do I have to learn these lessons the hard way so often???

Gluten Free: Pear Polenta Muffins

2 cups peeled, cored and diced ripe pears- 2-3 pears- depending upon size
3/4 cup organic ground cornmeal
3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 soft ripe banana, mashed well
1/3 to 1/2 cup hemp or rice milk, as needed
3/4 cup organic brown or raw sugar
1 tablespoon good vanilla extract
A sprinkle of organic raw sugar for topping, if desired

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a twelve muffin tin with liners.

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients- cornmeal, rice flour, tapioca starch, sea salt, baking powder and cinnamon; whisk with a fork to blend. Set aside.

In a separate bowl beat the light olive oil with the mashed banana; add 1/3 cup hemp milk, sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.

Add the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and beat lightly until well blended; but do not beat it to death. The batter should be like a thick muffin batter (not as thin as a cake batter). If your batter is dry or stiff add a tablespoon of hemp or rice milk at a time and stir until it loosens up.

Stir in the pears.

Drop the batter into the muffin cups by spoonfuls; distribute evenly among the twelve cups. I like to make sure there are a few pear pieces sticking out of the tops.

Sprinkle with a dusting of raw sugar.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or so until the muffins are firm to the touch on top and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean. Try the pick method twice- you might hit a moist pear.

Set the pan on a rack to cool for a couple of minutes; then liberate the muffins from the hot pan- this keeps the bottoms from steaming and getting soggy. Cool the muffins on a wire rack.

To store- wrap and freeze cooled muffins in the freezer. They thaw easily and taste tender and sweet when still a wee bit chilled. They also are delicious warm.

Makes 12 muffins.

Cook's Tip-Room temperature pears help keep the baking time even; room temperature ingredients work best in gluten-free baking.

Twice Baked Potato

This recipe comes from GlutenFreeda Twice Baked Potato Ingredients: 4 large baking potatoes 1/2 cup low fat milk 3 oz. gf cream cheese, softened 2 Tablespoons gf sour cream 2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced 2 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400 degrees F. for 1 hour, or until tender. Cool slightly. Cut each potato in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving 14" thick shells. Place potato pulp in a large bowl; mash with a potato masher or a fork. Add milk, cream cheese and sour cream to bowl and stir well with a whisk. Add oregano, salt and pepper; combine thoroughly. Spoon potato mixture into shells. Place on a baking sheet; bake at 400 degrees F. for 15 minutes, or until thoroughly heated. Garnish with with green onions and crumbled bacon bits.

Italian Zucchini Casserole

Side Items  Italian  Italian Side Items 

Submitted by RAQUELIA
65 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

 

INGREDIENTS 3 medium zucchini, sliced 1 Tablespoon olive or vegetable oil 1 medium onion, sliced 1 garlic clove, minced 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 1/2 cups dry instant stuffing mix 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 3/4 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese

 

Directions

 

Serves 6, but as a side dish I think it serves more like 10-12, but I did the servings as 6 per the recipe. You can also omit one or both of the cheeses to really lower the calories and fat..though I think its much better at least with the grated Parmesan which is quite low in calories and fat. DIRECTIONS In a large skillet, cook zucchini in 1 tablespoon oil until tender, about 5-6 minutes; drain and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the onion and garlic in remaining oil for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic salt and pepper; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat; gently stir in zucchini. Place in an greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with stuffing mix; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until golden. Number of Servings: 6 Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user RAQUELIA. Number of Servings: 6

 

Gluten Free: Elana's Pantry

Here's a website I happened upon in my search for recipes to use my apples and pears up that I am getting off my trees. I thought you might like it too if you have to eat this way!

Gluten Free: Apple Walnut Cake

2 Cups raw apple cut into small cubes
2 eggs
1/2 Cup raw sugar
1/3 Cup oil
1/2 Cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 Cups rice flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Method :
Preheat oven to 175C (350F).
Grease 20cm (8") cake tin.
Lightly beat eggs.
Combine apple, eggs, sugar, oil, walnuts and vanilla.
Sift flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
Add flour mixture to apple mixture.
Mix well.
Pour into prepared tin.
Bake for approximately 60 minutes.

Gluten Free Links!

I was looking at my Site Meter and found someone was referred to my blog from Gluten-Free and Celiac Disease (Coeliac / Sprue)Links to Current GF Blog Postings, News, and more! What a cool site for those of us who must eat Gluten Free! Go take a look!

Gluten Free Dining

If you live near Walla Walla and feel like splurging on a good meal, check out the Marcus Whitman Hotel. They have a wonderful restaraunt and many of the items on the menu are gluten free. The meal will run you about $56 for two including a tip, but the atmosphere and food are absolutely fantastic. Just tell your waiter or waitress you need a gluten free meal and they will point out all the gluten free meals on the menu for you.

Another place a gluten free person can eat is in Couer d'Alene at the Bonsai Bistro. Just ask them for their gluten free menu. This is another spendy place, so be prepared to spend a little over $50 plus tip for a family of four. It's a bit less spendy than the Marcus Whitman Hotel. The Bonsai Bistro serves up Japaneses food.

Jamba Juice in Couer d'Alene is another place you can get a gluten free treat. Click the link to go to a gluten free menu for Jamba Juice.

Marsha's Musing: Follow up to May 21

Remember how I said in my post May 21 about the vitamin IV I had, that I can not put my trust in this....my trust must be squarely in God? The reason being that if my trust is in this intervention and then I crash physically, then I will also crash spiritually. Well, the IV wore off and I am dragging around here physically again. I called the doctor and I can not see him until Friday this week. It is discouraging to feel so good and then be back to feeling like a wrung out dishrag, but my trust is in God, not the treatment. He knows what He is doing and I trust Him through it.

My chiropractor suggested that since my body doesn't effectively absorb the nutrition from the food and vitamins I eat that maybe I should be taking liquid vitamins. She said liquid vitamins might absorb more readily than the pill form. You know, I think she just may have a point. I am going to go out and look for some today. I'll let you know how they work!

Gluten Free: Cream of Potato Soup

Cream of Potato Soup

2 cups potatoes, peeled, diced

¼ cup onions, chopped

½ tsp sea salt

2 tbsp potato starch or gluten free flour

3/8 cup chopped Brazil or macadamia nuts (3/8 cup = ¼

cup+ 2 tbsp)

1 tbsp butter

3 cups liquid (potato broth & water)

1. In medium-sized saucepan, cook potato, onion, and salt in a small amount of water until potatoes are almost done. Drain. Reserve liquid.

2. Combine potato starch, nuts, butter, and approximately ¼ cup of liquid in blender. Blend on highest speed for 1-2 minutes until well blended. Stop once or twice to scrape sides and bottom of blender jar. Add rest of the liquid and blend a few seconds longer.

3. Transfer nut milk mixture to the saucepan you used to cook the potatoes. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. I prefer to stir with a whisk to keep mixture smooth.

4. Add partially cooked potatoes and continue cooking until they are tender. Taste and add more salt if desired.

Yield: approximately 5 cups

Books by Marsha
http://www.lulu.com/Marsha-Iddings

Gluten Free:Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix Recipe

Sloppy Joe Seasoning Mix Recipe

Ingredients
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
1 teaspoon dried green pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon instant minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until evenly distributed. Spoon mixture onto a 6-inch square of aluminum foil and fold to make airtight. Label with date and contents. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 months.

Yield: About 1 package or 3 Tbsp of mix, enough for 6 servings of sloppy joes

To make Sloppy Joes: Brown 1 pound lean ground beef in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess grease. Add Sloppy Joe seasoning mix, 1/2 cup water, 1 (8-ounce) can of tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over toasted hamburger buns. Makes 6 servings.

Credits
Recipe from: Make-A-Mix by Karine Eliason (HarperPerennial Library)

Books by Marsha
http://www.lulu.com/Marsha-Iddings

Gluten Free: Lazy Man's Gravy

I apologize for no spaces between steps and lines...I tried several times to put spaces in and Blogger would not recognize them. :-(

Lazy Man's Gravy (Gluten Free)

A simple sauce that can be used for anything and completely tweaked with according to taste. You can substitute all or some of the stock with drippings from the pan if you are making a turkey, roast, etc. Great over French fries!

Makes 2 cups. Time: 10 minutes

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp cornstarch

2 cups chicken stock or beef stock or Herbox Boullion

1. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.

2. Whisk in the cornstarch and continue to cook for one minute.

3. Add the stock gradually, whisking the entire time to avoid lumps.

4. Reduce heat and cook over medium until thickened, stirring

constantly.

5. Taste test and add seasonings according to personal taste. Salt,

pepper and thyme are suggested seasonings.

Books by Marsha
http://www.lulu.com/Marsha-Iddings

Gluten Free: Egg Foo Yung

Once again, Blogger refused to recognize my spacing, so I apologize for the lack of formatting.

Egg Foo Yung

1 T. unrefined oil

1 ½ c. mung bean sprouts

4 eggs

2 tsp. fake soy sauce (8 oz. Molasses & 3 oz. Balsamic Vinegar &

sugar to taste…mix and use what you need for your recipe)

¼ grated onion

Opt.: ½ c. sautéed chopped celery

½ c. mushrooms, finely chopped and sautéed

1 T. unrefined oil for each serving

Heat skillet. Add the oil and sprouts. Sauté the sprouts until just heated through. Beat the eggs until light. Add the "soy sauce", onion, sprouts and other chopped vegetables if desired, and mix well. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a skillet. Pour ¼ cup of the egg mixture into the skillet and brown on both sides. Repeat until the egg mixture is used up. Serve with cooked rice. Serves 4.

Books by Marsha
http://www.lulu.com/Marsha-Iddings

Gluten Free:Possible Relationship Between Myopathies And Celiac Disease

Possible Relationship Between Myopathies And Celiac Disease

ScienceDaily (2007-02-24) -- Inflammatory myopathies are immunological diseases that lead to inflammations in muscular tissue. As of yet, little is known about the cause of these myopathies, but it is believed to be an abnormal immune response by our bodies. Since celiac disease has occasionally been reported in patients with inflammatory myopathies, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona researchers are investigating the relationship between myopathy and intolerance to gluten. ... > read full article

Gluten Free: Ham and Cheese Tarts

Ham and Cheese Tarts

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees and mist a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

· Finely chop ¼ lb. sliced ham (or use ¼ lb of cooked bacon chopped), 4oz Swiss cheese and 3 green onions; transfer to a bowl and set aside.

· Cook 1 cup of gluten free noodles according to page instructions; drain.

· Add noodles to the bowl with ham mixture; stir to combine. Divide mixture among muffin cups.

· In a medium bowl, beat together 3 eggs, 1 ½ cups half-and-half, 1 tsp. salt and a pinch of nutmeg.

· Spoon egg mixture evenly into muffin cups; bake about 35 minutes.

· Serve 2 or 3 tarts to each person with mixed greens on the side.

Glutano Animal Shapes Gluten-Free Pasta

Gluten Free: Fried Rice

4 eggs1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3-1/2 cups cold cooked rice
1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup roasted chicken, shredded
1/2 cup gf bacon, crumbled


Directions:


Whisk together eggs and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat until hot enough to evaporate a drop of water on contact.
Add 1 tablespoon of oil to wok and tilt wok to coat. Heat until very hot.
Add eggs all at once and as they bubble up around the edges, push them to the center, tilting skillet to cook the eggs evenly. Break cooked eggs into clumps. When eggs are set, remove from pan and set aside.
Add remaining oil to skillet and heat until very hot. Saute celery.
Add rice and ginger and cook, stirring to coat grains with oil for about 3 minutes.
Stir in cooked eggs along with green onion slices, carrots, chicken and bacon.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Serves 4

Tips
Fried rice can be made with any type of left- over rice and almost any cooked vegetable or meat.