Prost!

So in case I didn't tell you before, I am 100% German.  And I love October because it is host to my favorite holiday  - OKTOBERFEST!!! 

I married into a seriously awesome family - complete with 3 brothers-in-law who decided to throw an Oktoberfest party at my in-laws house. The boy thinks he's Irish but he was ready to embrace his German heritage!  So the boy, MOB (my other boy - that being my husband), the dog and I piled into the family truckster and headed West.  And I loaded the car with all sorts of German goodies and was ready to put on my dirndl and polka!

There are some great GFG (Gluten Free German) foods - sauerkraut (the boy loves it), bratwurst (not the beer brats, the regular) and of course, German potato salad.  But I wanted to make the boy something to say "JA JA!" about, so I made these:

Beer Bread Cheddar Muffins.  Did your mouth just water?  Because it should have!  And how does one make GF Beer Bread Cheddar Muffins you ask?  With this awesome stuff:

 

Tastefully Simple Beer Bread mix.  Meine Damen und Herren (ladies and gentleman) this stuff is seriously good.  They had the recipe on the back of the mix for the muffins, which do not call for GF beer or anything carbonated.  Now if you make the beer bread the classic way, you can add a carbonated beverage of your choice - gf beer, soda, club soda - whatever you like.  They have some great GF mixes that you can find here

They will have your little GF weiner schnitzel saying "das ist gut!" in no time!

What are your ethnic family foods that you make GF? 

Soup! There it is....

So school has only been in session for a month - A MONTH I TELL YOU!!! - and the boy is already home sick (sad face).  And there's no better sick-day meal than soup.  The cure-all, good in your belly medicine we all find comfort in when we are under the weather.

And thankfully, there are some great GFP2B soups out there that are just what the doctor (and mom) ordered!

So you here go my stuffy nose, fever, need soup so I can rest kids - our favorite GFP2B super SOUP list!

#1:  Gluten Free Café Chicken Noodle Soup

This stuff is sooooo good!!  And Gluten Free Café makes all kinds of great soups - Chicken Vegetable, Black Bean - they even make a GF Mushroom Soup which is great for recipes. 





#2:  Progresso

There are so many Progresso Gluten Free soups - I'm boiling over with happiness!  You can see a complete listing HERE and let me tell you - they are AWESOME!!  And affordable (bonus for us GFP2B-ers). 

The Chicken Corn is probably the boy's favorite.  It's so rich and delicious!  Serve it with some Fritos (seriously - very good) or some good GF Crackers and it makes a great meal! 




#3:  Thai Kitchen Rice Noodle Soup

This is one of my personal favorites. Love Thai Kitchen soups and this one is stocked full of noodles and tasty broth.  They have several flavors and can easily be found in your grocery store.  You can add cooked chicken or shrimp to make it heartier.  So good.






Amy's, Wolfgang Puck and a few other name brands have some great options. And you can always make your own (if you have the time).  I like to get GF broth and throw in chicken, carrots, onions, garlic and rice to make an easy soup.  Here's another one of my favorite, easy GF soup recipes - courtesy of my sissy, Missy :)  It's SOUPer (like her).  Love you sissy!

SOUP-er Easy Soup (or Soup Without a Name)

1lb ground beef or turkey burger
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 spaghetti sauce jar filled with water
1 can GF beef broth
1 can dark red kidney beans
1- 1 1/2 cups GF macaroni noodles
 Seasonings:  Salt, pepper, garlic, Italian spices, red pepper

Brown beef or turkey in large stock pot in a little bit of olive oil (make sure you season the meat - I use salt/pepper and garlic).  Add the jar of spaghetti sauce.  Fill empty jar with water and add that to the pot.  Add beef broth, drained and rinsed kidney beans along with seasonings to taste (I like crushed red pepper because Jimmy likes his chicken spice - sorry, Seinfeld reference - but you can skip this if you'd like).  Cook for about 30 minutes until everything is well blended.  Add macaroni noodles to soup mixture and cook until tender. 

Serve with parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

So when you're feeling poopy, grab some soupy (really bad, I know)!  Wishing you all good health this cold and flu season!

What GF soups do you like?  Any recipes you can share?